Roving in the Lost World
---- A tale of a Roving Cat
When I am dead, my dearest,
Sing no sad songs for me;
Plant thou no roses at my head,
Nor shady cypress tree:
Be the green grass above me
With showers and dewdrops wet:
And if thou wilt, remember,
And if thou wilt, forget.
I shall not see the shadows,
I shall not feel the rain;
I shall not hear the nightingale
Sing on as if in pain:
And dreaming through the twilight
That doth not rise nor set,
Haply I may remember,
And haply may forget.
-----------Christina Georgina Rossetti
Preface
Life meant a mystery to most of people who always fell in melancholy to the unknown future, or imagined for something which never came true. But to those who had limited time on earth, there would be another story. To those who counted each day as the last one before doomsday, the energy used on solving riddle seemed to be a genuine waste. I was living on a land of this sort. Here prevailed war and fear; here stuffed with dead bodies; here spread ill news. However, I was touched by nothing because, to most of people, I had been vanished long before on this continent. While I could see everything, no one could see me. Precisely speaking, no one cared to see me. When I strolled before them, or when I stopped to listen to them all my ears, when I observed them as they were alone, they never cared to notice my existence. I roved on the land with my free will. What I needed was their absent-mindedly hurt.
This was a land of wonder with a long history, around by the oceans. She had breed all creatures here. The vast woods spread from the time unknown, the plain stretched to the places without names, the creeks flowed in the, mountains with their wild or peaceful will, roaring river consisted of her veins from south to north. Here lived the human race as well as the others. In the golden era, diverse creatures were quite busy with their own business in every corner of the continent. In the dense woods, wise elves flourished. On the plain dwarves enjoyed their diligent labor and fruitful harvest. But, humans were the true master race on the continent. They lived in their respective city state like stars spread on heaven, enjoying the absolute power related to the whole continent. There once even humans living in the continent’s north pole where filled with thorns and swamps. Later, a Dark Lord emerged which caused humans went south gradually. The north pole was left to the Dark Lord and his subjects—the hybrid beasts, half human half beast. There became the cradle of all miseries on the vast land.
When I was roving around the continent as a cat, long gone her golden days. What I had seen was the war among different races. They were alien to each other and did not trust everyone else. The humans’ city-state had long been sundered apart. Sometimes they may united together for the fear of the Dark Lord, but in most of time they would fight each other for the dominant power over the continent. The situations in royal families were even worse. Love or hatred always went with the throne fight. At this time, as the shadows from the north were unprecedented near, what they could do was only fight in broken alliance, which consumed their power and fortune, whereas, the Dark Lord had been expanding his will and domains. More and more people devoted to his rule, even some people living in the utmost south. That had forced the races kept migrating. Some had to face the danger of extinction. Dwarves were the first victims. Finally, the last dwarf vanished and the land permanently lost her most hospital watchers.
During the long journey of my roving life, I had been to the peaceful towns of the dwarves, the murderous as well as worrying human kingdoms. I was a lodger in the glorious territories held by elves, and a pass-by through the horrible swamp in north. I loved the dwarves’ home most, for there had prevailed a sense of nature and plainness. Most dwarves live on cultivating the land. They were mild and optimistic. They treated the other creatures kindly as their friends. My heart would be forever bleeding for the creature and their towns. Elven lands were amazingly beautiful, but they could only be viewed as a hostel in one’s life journey. One could not linger there too long for the elves’own sake. They were truly fair and lovely as well as extravagantly sentimental. They loved singing, but never to the future; they love composing poetry, but never with positive verses. According to their own tale, the elven ancestors were all from the western ocean. They trudged across the water to help humans fight against the evils. As it was an ancient story, nobody really knew if it was a genuine one. However, the ballads related to the saga became the main spiritual support for the elves today. They loved the ballads with a pride of the wonders and glories their ancestors created with humans. It was just for this case, the elves insisted that they did not belong to the continent at all. They even proclaimed that their souls would back to the spiritual homeland across the ocean. No one ever proved this faith. From other races’ view, it was only an subterfuge imagined by the elves alone. Elves had once lived quite happy with the other continental races. They had even married humans. But with time passing by, the conflicts between them and the other races escalated. They turned to be liens eventually. Perhaps it was due to the obvious sense of superiority held by the elves. As the time came, when the continent finally lost her peace and prosperity, it was no longer an amiable place to them. Therefore, they were longing for leaving the continent, but did not know where to go. As a result, they had to confine themselves in the dense woods either in the north pole or in the south pole. They lived far away the others, always complaining and always in sole fight against the Dark Lord. Due to this, their territories were always surrounded by a strong sense of sadness. Except that, they were quite nice to be with. They particularly loved weak animals. When they were seeking inspirations, or their emotions flooded, they would hold me with extreme tenderness, which enabled me to share the exquisite creature’s sweetness and superiority for a moment
Swamps in north pole were extremely horrible. Time did not exist there. Such kind of place could satisfy the dark needs in human’s heart, but no one really loved going there. The land I fear most as well as longing for most is human’s land. It had been long in shadows from the north. Sometimes I could enjoy the most gentle touch from humans, sometime I had to evade the most fierce attack from the same ones. Life and death, love and hatred, knowledge and desire, peace and war were woven into a great picture there. In human’s land, my small cat’s heart turned to be unsteady all the time, swinging between joy and sorrow, love and hatred. Humans loved singing and beriming. When they were in such mood, there would look greater than deities, nicer than evles. At this moment, I would have the illusion of eternity and forget that they were merely mortal, with short time on earth. I still remembered one day I saw a seemingly arrogant warrior, he played his harp after a fierce fight with the monsters. I could make no sense of what he was singing, only the melancholy melodies around me so long. At last he noticed me. He smile at me and spoke slowly, “My dear little thing, do you love the song? Isn’t it charming? Ach, how are you supposed to know this. It tells a very old tale. Music and poetry are the two most beautiful things in the world. All of our masks will drop in front of them.” Then, he smiled bitterly. At that moment, he was no longer an arrogant emperor or ambitious prince. He was only a big boy loaded with heavy burden from his life. He left me fast, leaving me in a daze.
For a moment, what I heard most was talking about “time”. What was the time to harvest corns? What was the time in war again? What was the time in hope of reinforcement? What was the time leaving the continent. But what time meant to me? Nothing. I heard an elf once asked me gently, “Where are you from, my dear little thing?” He was so fair, and I really wanted to give him an answer. But I had lost my memory. Lost all of my past. Who was I and where I was going. I lowered my head to see my hands. But they could not be called hands. They were just paws with yellow and white hairs. At this moment, I realized that I was only a cat, but not merely a cat. I was able to hear the whispers from all creatures, and sense the joy and sorrow of the plants. No matter where I was wandering, it seems I was always seeking for wastelands. In every full moon night, I would find out, I was in a wasteland. I would feel my body’s expansion, expansion with agony. I would find myself lying deadly on the land motionless. The hairs on my paws vanished, while I turned to be blunt. I would read the flying bird’s thought no more and catch the whispers from the little grass no more. I laid still like a discarded rag, waiting for dawn in a dead silence. When sun rose, I would be a tiny but free cat again. So when the elf asked me this question, I could only stared at him, soundlessly. I was trying to find out a reasonable answer, but in vain.
Lingering in the high land was good to me because no where could be a better place for me when I transfigured myself. Mounst was surrounded by a vast moor dotted with broken relics along the high-land history. A death valley that no man dared to go made it look even more isolated. In bright daylight, the land would show an astonishingly primitive beauty, chaotic mist prevailing, signs of life glimmering. However, it turned to be a Hell in deep night. Even if endeavored as a cat, I would be scared by going there. Although my memories had nearly turned blank, there were still some remnants in my aged brains. I knew it had never been a peaceful land. The moor had witnessed so many wars between humans and monsters, even the homicides among the royal blood. The nights were freezing, even in mid-summer days. Lena told me once that she had heard weird ghost calls from the heart of moor. I thought it was merely her illusion. Besides, I knew how eagerly she was to to leave the land. Perhaps it was only one of her subterfuges. But later, as I was in the moor myself, I heard more mysterious voices than mere ghost calls. Plants are rare here. I thought it was lucky to be so because my ears would not be tortured by so many sighs from the plants as I had heard somewhere else on the miserable continent. I remembered that one day I was stumped to the ground by a root from an aged tree. Trees were the creatures who retained their most tender hearts from primitive times. Usually they would immediately apologize to me for any tiny hurt unless they were no more alive. This time I heard nothing from this tree. So I presumed that he was dead already. I lifted my head only to find out he was just too weak to utter a word.
“Are you all right?” it was I who felt very sorry now..
“I am dying,” he spoke in a sorrowful voice.
“Haven’t you sensed any changes here? It is colder and colder. My companions are diminishing. The dark clouds from north have overshadowed the sun. Humans ignore us. They tend to use us, out of their hatred, to make lethal weapons rather than made tools for living, out of love. Their ancestors had never done this to us. We are only woods in their eyes today. My, I am so old and exhausted.”
“Anyway, they are much better than the monsters,” I tried to console him lest he be killed by his ruefulness. “They will love you as long as they still love their ancestors’ land.”
“Perhaps, yes. Who can tell what will happen if the war goes on endlessly. The land is going to be desolate. When I was young…”
“At least there is an Elven Woods, ”I stopped him before he unfolded his nostalgic mental stream. It was quite common every time when a tree started their talking.
“The Elven Woods! ” he was refreshed by this name, but the moment was too short to make him feel better. “What a familiar name! And what a pity I am so far away from it. I wish gale had not brought me here when I was merely a seed. I wish I could see Elves again before I die. What a fantasy now! The Elves have locked themselves in their woods for so long that no one will see them again. They are killing themselves in this way like dwarves. My dear little cat, the Elven Woods will die some day with the Elves. You know, it is just the race with two legs, not the others, who has given life to the land. If they are gone or changed, everything on the continent will disappear or change. I know in my wooden heart, if the Elves are no more here, there will be no more Elven Woods. Then the human race…”
I was marveled at a tree’s wisdom. Before I heard this, I had never thought that the Elven Woods would die someday. Of course, I would not tell him, the trees in the Elven Woods were as unhappy as he was now. The Elves were no longer a merry race. Since the time needed no artists, they had turned themselves into warriors. Thanks to the arts in their blood, they did not stop singing, but the melodies were either pathetic or furious. They sang for the lost time, lost companions, lost love… All in all, everything they thought they had lost. Thus they had been torturing the trees around them unconsciously. The old tree was right that everything in the world could not get rid of the influence form the two-leg creatures.
Elven Woods! Elven Woods! My little cat’s heart was aching in this more and more sad moor. The old tree inspired my dream of being there again. At least there was still tenderness surrounded. But it was impossible at this moment because my legs were controlling my brains, the burning fire roaring in my body. I knew, my legs would choose a place for me rather than I chose where I could hide myself. According to my past experience, they would take me to a dead place without any single sign of life, only with sand and stones covering my naked body. No one could see my agony, no one could hear my groans.
“Shall I die this time?” That was the question I asked myself every time I was suffering. Fear and longing for death were the only thoughts in my transfiguration. But this time I had a strong desire to live because the old tree enlivened my memory of the Elven Woods. I must go there once again, to see the trees there, to talk with the animals, to touch the Elf who once asked me where I was from. He was so beautiful that I missed him so much…
Darkness came.
My hairs were dropping from my body. I ran like hell. My heart seemed exploding from the heat inside it, an invisible hand blowing my head tearing my soul out of my body. It was darker and darker and I had to leave my fate to my legs. My hairs were dropping. My body was expanding…
I was still able to catch the cries from the living creatures en route, “an Animagus!” a little wild flower screamed.
“A were-wolf!” shouted a tree.
“No, no, it is only a cat…”
Suddenly the gossips stopped. I felt the stigma in air. My destination was here.
My eyes turned blind. The whole world lost its meaning to me. What I could feel was only the tortures inside my little body. I knew nothing around me . Whether I was tearing apart by a monster or I was boiling in an oven from Hell. I could not feel whether I was bleeding or not because I was blind and numb. I began to howl. But I was unable to hear the voice of my own. I wonder if any others could hear it. Perhaps the voice had been immersed into the legends of the vast land.
Suddenly, every painful struggle stopped. My eyes were open again. To me, it was, again, a peaceful and beautiful full-moon night.
I looked around and soon found out it was a place that I had never known. There were no living things, only messy stones around me. I had to wait for the dawn again. “Time means nothing to a cat,” I consoled myself. However, I realized that I could not call myself a cat now. I was a monster instead, a hairless monster with mud and blood without hairs. Although the moon shined brightly on heaven, it was still hard to tell what color my skin was. The only part I could move on my body was my head. What I could see was that I had long black hair dropping from the top of my head. It was greasy and entangled wrapping my dirty body like a blanket. My sense was coming back, “ It could keep me warm.” I encouraged myself. I knew that at this moment I was no longer a cat. But what I was? A human? Because I had two legs like them. Or an Elf? I killed this idea on the instance it appeared. What kind of an Elf could look like this?! Suddenly a weird thought attacked me. A monster?! I felt panic. I often heard that a monster would be changed into something else by the curse of their masters or fellows, as a result of a punishment for their failure or conspiracy. Looking at me, I thought I was more like them in such a situation.
A monster. What a weird idea! But as far as I knew, there was nothing impossible in this world. Hadn’t I seen so many lives die at their flower ages? They should have been surrounded by corolla of life, drinking from the goblet of their eternal youth. Some other turned ugly and evil by the power they once had, reducing themselves to the Dark Lord’s servants. Why should I overestimate myself that I was not a cursed monster? After so many years’ futile seeking, I had abandoned the whim to find out my origin. What I had been dreaming of was someone could ease my pain in this tough moment. Of course, it was impossible. Even if someone happened to drop by, he may either kill me or eat me alive because I could not expect a nicer reaction with such an appearance. “How good to be a cat,” I sighed.
“Another boring night,” I mocked at myself. “ At least no one will annoy me.” I started counting the stars above, making awake dreams in this sleepless night. But I was wrong this time. Some ominous noises had broken the darkness. I got company now.
I heard coarse howls from troop-horses. They struggled, blowing out their nostrils. Heavy metals clashed, smashing the darkness into pieces. My strength came back to instantly. Oh, my dear, how long hadn’t I seen a battle with my cat eyes. Not since the warrior with harp talked to me. My curiosity overcame my fear. I elongated my neck to see what was happening.
Two groups of riders were fighting in the light of moon. It was hard to tell who was who first. A fetid smell mixed with blood and sweat was prevailing in air. It must be from the monsters. Humans gave off this kind of smell too sometimes, but not so strong and disgusting as the monster’s. Even in such a cold winter day, it still could beat down any fragile life. The helmets of the other group shone ghostly in the dark. I heard arrows flying, bowstring whistling, people shrieking. Just within a double distance of an arrow-shooting range I, a motionless monster, laid on a desperate earth.
“Retreat! We cannot hold on!”
“Your highness! Cover him! Ax left! Uhr, be careful! Hammer from the right side!”
“Gods! Where come out so many monsters! Terrific shooting! Who did it?!”
People kept falling from horses. Furious yelling and desperate wailing made the air freezing. The slaughter ground was moving to me inch by inch. The fighting people had abandoned their arches but drew out swords. The monsters were much taller than humans. Their figures were deformed enough to terrify any creature made from blood and fresh to death, even by looking at them. Their merciless giant axes simply split the human bodies into half. What a weak and ephemeral flesh the humans seemed to be at this moment! For them, there was no chance to win the fight, only to survive it. A young warrior had trapped himself into a more dangerous situation than his fellows because the monsters seemed focusing on him much more than others. He was a fearless fighter. Monsters’ corpses had piled up in front of him. But I could see he was fighting with his last strength. Lude! It was the prince of Mounst! “My prince!” I soundlessly cried from my heart. “Watch your back!” It was futile. He dropped. A fatal stroke from his back ended his fighting. I heard everybody’s screaming except mine.
When a moment like this came, what people could do was praying for a miracle. It was rational to be called a miracle because it either came too late or too uncertain. The Mounst riders dropped one by one till the last of them. The dawn was coming soon. But to me, it would be an endless darkness. The monsters’ hails flooded the vacant moor. They were about to cut all heads from the slain people or the-half slain, I was lying near them helplessly. The primitive excitement aroused by the fight submitted to a fatal sick in heart. I closed my eyes and the horrified face of the dead Elf jumped into my mind vision so vividly that I felt panic. The images of the children lying not very far from me now must look like him very much. I would never see them riding on their home land again. Both Elves and humans believed the other world and afterlife, even if no one had ever returned from there to relate the true color there, whether it was merry or sad, bight or dark? Living people mourned for the dead. They mourned because everything disappeared so easily, all of the suffering, struggling, even happiness died with them so rapidly. Who knew the truth of rebirth. Even if the dead could come back in another shape, it would also be another stories. Life, family or love would never be the same. How could an unforeseeable future replace what they had at present?
I was drowned in my messy thoughts, so desperate and lonely that I did not care how the monsters would treat their booties. It was all over now. It was just another bloody memory to me, I told myself, abandoning the idea of so-called miracle while it did happen. The monsters stopped their madness all of a sudden, leaving the whole land a morbid tranquility. No, not totally tranquil. There were subtle sounds stinging everybody’s ears. It was piercing but on one disturbed except the monsters and me. I heard them agitated. The sounds became even more unbearable mixed with the murmurs from the apparently-scared monsters. I began losing my sanity. Suddenly, they were all gone, the sounds, the monsters. My vision recovered. The first daylight awoke me. I was changing to a cat again. Compared with the process of being a monster, it was much more comfortable to back to a cat. I could move freely during the transfiguration. I rolled on the ground, stretched my half renewed body, ready to go the slaughter field, only to find that I was stopped by an unexpected shadow in front of me.
Yes, it was only a shade, mysterious and lonely, glimmering in the half bight morning.
“Where to go, you little monster,” he asked me coldly.
“I am to see the slaughter ground. To see what has left,” I answered unwillingly.
“What I want to see is what is left for you to be a something.”
His words reminded me of my awkward situation. I was still a monster now, half human, half cat, with a bare tail stuck to me.
“It is none of your business. I am a cat in transfiguration.”
“A cat?” the coldness in its voice was replace by curiosity. “were you a cat when you were born?”
“I don’t know. Can you tell me?”
No response.
“Well, if you have nothing more to tell me, let me pass to see the dead,” I became bolder as I saw it was not so dangerous as I had thought.
“Oh, the dead. No, not really,” the shadow lowered his voice in a funny way as if it had known some unknown secrets.
I would not waste my time on the shadow. The first ray from the sun had floated down onto the ill-fortunate earth. It was a quiet morning enlivened by golden lights as if an invisible finger had touched an invisible harp gently and woke up the earth. The mild corona colored the land with a sense of shyness. The rough stones and sands seemed refreshed from the sunlight. I got my illusion again as if the bloody nigh fight merely a nightmare. No, it was a waking dream because only in such a kind of dream I could see the broken limbs and bodies so real. The sunlight could not erase the bloody smell in air. Corpses piled up together that I could not tell the monsters’ from the humans’. It was not the first time I had seen this, but it kept scaring me. I hopped in the dune of deformed flesh, looking for the prince of Moust.
“Are you looking for the heir of Mounst’s throne now?” the shadow floated near chuckling. I felt angry. He must be a victim of a similar fight. Only by this could he be so glad to see the people who suffered the same ending as his. I was just about to show my teeth to him, only to find that he was enthusiastically showing me the way. He led me to a little tower of bodies. Actually it was a tower of headless bodies. The only one with its head left was a half monster, half human form. I was not afraid of the dead, no matter how terrible it may look like. If an Elf could be turned into a monster by the torture of death, what else should surprise me? I stretched my neck to make a clear vision of the head. Suddenly, a bloody and muddy face rose right just in front of my nose, bight eyes staring at me. I cried out and jumped as far as a cat could.
“It is you! I know I will see you again,” he seemed mocking at himself. “When I was born, a fortune teller told my mother that some day I would see a young elder in Mounst, and he would make my life significant. Now I see, you are the young elder. But you can no longer make my life significant because my life is leaving me now.”
“That is why you said I was weird?” I asked in heart.
“Your life is leaving you very quickly,” the shadow interrupted unexpectedly. “No one in this land enjoys long life. You are going to die like your forefathers. One of them is still lying in a cave only a few steps away from here. He is not the first victim in the Death Valley and I swear you are not the last one.”
Now I saw where my legs led me. The Death Valley! I thought Lude must be angry at what the shadow said. I glared at it as hard as cat’s eyes could manage because I knew ghosts had a natural fear of cat. The shadow did floated aback a bit, but Lude started speaking in an unusual steady voice.
“ You are right. I know you are telling me the truth. I have seen the skeleton left in the cave. I am always curious, particularly when I was very young. I saw the bones and talked to its master. He told me, the future of Mounst was upon my father, not on me because I was doomed dying young.”
“No, he is wrong,” the shadow floated forward again. “The future of Mounst lies on nobody but the Dark Lord. I was one of the kings in the land, an enemy of your ancestor at the beginning and an unfaithful ally later. We fought each other for the land that we both loved. It was me who lured your ancestor to explore the cave in the Valley. I knew he would never turn back. What a fatal stroke to his father! My intrigue succeed. The son died and the father heart-broken. But I was no winner. My knights and I died in hands of the Mounsters. I had been paroling here since that time. The hatred between your ancestors and I died with time passing by and with the Dark Lord coming near. I always talked about the future and feared that would be no future. Our greedy has been nurturing the Dark Lord. Death will take the last of u s away. The land will be a pasture of His backyard!”
“You are wrong!” the dying shrieked suddenly. Both the shadow and I were scared. Tears in his eyes, “My father, my father…”head dropped, ending the last cry.
“Poor kid. He gets rest at last,” the shadow sighed.
“Not yet,” a faint voice replied. A surreal hope rose in my heart again.
“Could you, my little cat, do me a favor?”
I stroked his face with my mustache.
“Would you go north, to the Elven Woods? Yes, I knew the hidden land. I met Elves there many years ago. One of them gave me a harp. In return I left him an arc with the strings made from horse bristles. And there was an Elven girl… please tell them, there are a wisp of my hairs mixed in the strings, and I was… ” He was unable to go on. Death was shadowing his face. He was extraordinarily calm and beautiful. It seems that he was backing to something charming in the past, together with expecting the ending of all sufferings. The head dropped again. The words were silently gone.
We waited in silence, waiting for his soul drifting out of his body, but nothing happened. I was wondering the unfinished sentence of the young man. He was what?
“Perhaps he is different from us,” the shadow said faintly. “He seems leaving without any fury. A soul without fury will on longer linger in the cursed land suffering from tortures.”
“Will he can go then?” I said in doubt. “I see no single soul out of any body in the death ground? None of them have any fury? ”
“It is a totally distorted time. Now the earth seems abandoning everything once belonged to her, visible or invisible. I am always feeling an unknown squeeze around me as if I were to be drawn into somewhere horrible or thrown away to a void. I felt that there will be no room for any creatures, alive or dead. I can’t figure out what happened to the souls here.” The shadow’s voice choked. I felt so sympathetic with it. Everything on the continent was too tired to hold on, even the ghosts. I became to wonder if there would be any bright future waiting for the creatures. However, at least there was still daylight around us at this moment and the sands beneath me could still offer me some feelings of warmth. I had to say farewell to the shadow and seek for the hidden world called the Elven Woods.
Chapter Four Mounst Fortress
I was back on my journey again, but with a handsome young warrior by my side. People would definitely confuse themselves at the sight of Reya by wondering if she was a boy or girl. Dressed in light coat, equipped with bows and swords, she looked no less an Elven ranger in the Woods. I could say I even saw a slight kill lust on her fair face. Wars, I signed in heart.
We kept running on a horse Reya borrowed from her father. I had no chance to ask her what had happened in the cave. Besides, she looked so grave that I didn’t dare to say anything. I perceived that she must have known the death of Lude. If so, why run in such haste? She could not manage to attend the funeral anyway. If she had seen the situation in Mounst, it was also beyond the reach of her own to handle. Based on those, I guessed, she was running to Mounst, not only because of Lude, but also because of the Elf called Bryan. The cave must have instructed her clearly where Bryan was and what he was doing now.
So was I deducting in a bag hung across her shoulder in front of her breast. I was longing for Mounst too because my transfiguration time was due. I desperately need Mounst’s moor to go through the torture again. Moreover, I was more and more curious of Bryan. I had concluded from the father and daughter’s conversation that Bryan was quite special in Elves. Besides, Reya might love him very much. I wanted to know him in person.
Traveling on horse was much better than walking with legs, particularly when the rider was an Elf. I felt great pleasure with the steadiness of ELven horse. It was said they were the offspring of gods. This kind of horse could run with an amazing velocity but never made people on them feel uncomfortable. Elves had never rode their horses with harsh yelling. They just spelt their orders out and the horses would understand. However, at present Reya was ridding the horse like a human did . She kept stepping in the saddle irons frantically and never allowed the horse stop for a rest. Last night, it had been raining all the time. Reya stubbornly rode the horse forward. The loyal horse obeyed till the morning. He could go on no more. No matter how Reya bullied or wooed, he simply refused to move a bit. Reya signed and quit. I thought she must have gone crazy.
Only at this moment, I could have a good look to see our situation. It was a strange place to me, higher than nearby land, basically no woods around. I was surprised to see that the towers in Longburg were shining brightly on horizon. The land had been bathed by a shower last night, so the air was quite fresh. A fair hair young warrior was gazing at a fleeting flock of birds over her. What a picturesque view! Moreover, what made me more excited was the terrain. I saw the moon faintly hung on the other side of the heaven. It would soon be a full moon again. That means I would soon be a monster! My heart was boiling for a new suitable place. Reya had no idea about that. It was clear that she was not carrying me to king’s city of Mounst. I was worrying that she might take me to an unknown place and put me in trouble. Now I could feel my legs were in command and something inside my body stirring up. I could not control my body and began twisting from one side to the other.
Reya noticed but she mistook my uneasiness as a result of long-time running on horse. She smiled at me apologetically, landed herself on the ground and put me down. The horse was gasping desperately. To my surprise, Reya seemed quite cool now, totally different from the days on horse. She scanned around calmly, locking her sight to the towers in Longburg. I had heard that Elven eyes could peer out things thousands of miles away. I wished she could tell me what happened inside the wizard territory.
“Longburg…Mounst…” her eyes’ color changed, as dark as the ocean at night, horrible and immeasurable. I was a bit sacred. I had never seen an Elf could be so dark, so close to a monster.
“My Bryan…”she spelt the name glumly.
I let out a cry timidly. She realized a companion by her side.
“Eh…you knew where we are heading for, don’t you?” she put herself together and back to a nice Elf. “My dear little cat, our eyes have been blind by the dense woods, while you are always more clear about the mundane world than our self-claimed wise Elves. You came to the Elven Wooods to tell me that Lude is gone, right?”
I didn’t dare to see her.
“I wish you could tell me what he mentioned before he died. He must have mentioned Bryan and me.”
“He died happily, without sorrow or regret. He was hopeful to the future,” I wished I could tell. Lude came to my mind again.
Reya gazed at me to read my mind. I gazed back and tried my best to make the pictures clearer. Finally, I saw her complexion relaxed.
“I see,” she signed and I felt a burden in my heart relieved.
“I will never see him again,” her voice choked with sobs. “I had never expected we could be together forever. He only was a mortal creature compared with Elves, but I had never expected I would loss him so soon. How I regret! I had been planning to Mounst for so many years. Instead of going there, I kept finding me excuses to postpone the journey. I was scared by the outside world, reluctant to step out of the Woods, even though I had seen that the Woods is no more a happy home.”
She turned her head to Longburg. “Yes, we all know the creatures in the Woods are changing too. They are weaker and weaker, immersed in melancholy. The Elves should be to blame because we just indulged in our own business, busy with saving our territory and traditions. We deliberately ignored them, just like we are self-deceivingly ignoring the outside world. We have forgot why our ancestors came to the continent, forgot our own trace here, forgot we are the part of this world.”
“Lude is dead. My little friend, do you know where Bryan is? He is en route to Mounst. Perhaps has been there already. I have seen it. He will fight for the glory of the Elven Woods and the continent. He can die of this. Yes, he can, because the Dark Lord has sent out his monsters to finish Mounst once for all.”
How could it happen so quick! I was shocked.
“I heard battles from a remote place last night. I am sure the final war has begun,” she said unemotionally.
“I wish…” my mind suddenly turned sharp.
“Look!” Reya thundered unexpectedly, pointing somewhere ahead of her. I saw numerous dark shadows rise in Longburg.
“Listen! Listen! Sounds from battles!”
But I could hear nothing. Unbearable lust was once again tearing my body apart. I roared like Hell.
Reya was scared. “What’s up!”
I could not answer her. My soul and body was about to be torn apart. I started running, to the deep of the open land. Clops after me. That was Reya calling me from behind. I wish I could turn my head back to see her. A stick or rock may hit my head. I felt dark around me and fainted for an instant. But it was over soon. I could see the bright world and I could see Reya running to me.
“Wake up, cat!” she cried.
“I am awake!” I felt odd. No, I was not because I could see her cradling a little yellow thing desperately as if a mother were waking up her baby. Was that me? Or Was I dead already? I could see Reya jumping onto her horse again with the yellow little thing in the bag in front of her breast. I saw she was running with my body with my soul following them behind.
“Reya, where are we going?” I cried. What a miracle. I could hear my voice. I could see two transparent hands waving in front of me. They were my hands! Clean like crystal. But apparently Reya had heard nothing. The horse was galloping.
The land was so vast seeming endless. I saw Reya stopped on a top of cliff. She seemed paralyzed on horse. I saw a magnificent fortress lying quietly at the foot of the cliff. It was as majestic as a king. I would be quite happy to see it if it were not at this moment. The king was not surrounded by glory but by death now. Corpse, broken limps and smoke mixed with blood-stained rocks had contaminated the once solemn city . Dirty people ran everywhere. A deadly battle must have just gone minutes ago.
Reya was shivering all over but managed to be calm. I saw she was just pretending to be so. She whispered to the horse, cautiously descending down from the cliff. People down there soon found her. Rays of sunshine went with her. A dazzling halo radiating from her golden hair, together with her sparkling broaches and weapons, kiwi colors wrapped an goddess sliding down from the heaven. The people done there were simply enchanted by this sight.
The goddess came to them soon. A few Mounst warriors stepped towards her. I saw their amazement turned to be giggles. Reya slid down to the ground and exchanged a few words with them. They stopped giggling, but shook their heads ruefully, pointingat a giant crack on the fortress wall, just few yards away from them. Her face was as pale as a ghost’s. She came back to the horse. More and more people were noticing her presence. Those who were looking for the dead also stopped their working to see her. They cried no more. The place was as silent as a tomb. She seemed ignoring all of them, but heading for the crack without any hesitation. However, I could see she was peeking everywhere subtly, especially the places with dead Elves. She was not as brave as she looked like, I told myself.
A boy appeared. He was bloody and worn-out, only with eyes still shining like stars. He was also En elf. He rushed to Reya, hugging her frantically. I thought Reya would do the same. But I was wrong. Shivering still, she kept emotionless. She simply pushed the boy away and interrogated him with her gloomy eyes. I could see the dark ocean again.
Obviously, the Elven boy was disappointed at this. He turned back, moving inside the crack. Reya followed him silently. It was a devastated site. Bodies intertwined together. The air stank with burnt fleshes. I guessed it was the very place that the most ferocious fight had happened. I had to face the agony again. What was waiting for us? The dead Elf’s face emerged again.
At worst, another destroyed beauty, I tried to appease my beating heart.
A messy people crowded in a torn-apart wall corner. The Elven boy went straight to them. Reya shivered harder. The Elven boy never turned back his head as if he was controlling himself to do so with all his strength.
The messy people were all warriors, their amours shabby and face bloody. None of them showed any surprise at the two Elves approaching. They looked like being broken down by the slaughter last night. Sorrows were hidden under their blood and dust masks. To my surprise, the king of Mounst was one of them. He seemed to be stranger to me now. The hesitating and fatigue old man in his Palace Hall had completely vanished but a dashing winter lion instead. Only, the lion’s eyes were flaring with hatred and ferocity. It was the flame of lust for killing as if the slaughter last night had not satisfied his desire. He was holding a warrior in his arms. Compared with the king, the warrior was so calm and peaceful that it could remind people of what a merciful death could do to the creatures in this miserable age. He must have been charming. But I would never know. Reya went to him soundlessly like a ghost. Her complexion was so formidable that no one dared to speak.
It was he! I uttered a cry that no one could hear. He was the one that I had seen his sorrow and this was the one that I had heard his songs. Bryan! At this moment I did wish Garr, the mole could be with me now. The lifeless body belonged to the Elf we had been so eager to see.
“Reya,” the Elven boy drew me out of my day-dreaming.
Reya remained emotionless. She just peeked at the boy and went away.
“Reya,” the ELven boy chased after her, obviously wondering what to say.
“Grandele, I am so sorry that I came to late, but the fight is over,” she said finally. “I am going back to the Woods. Where will you go.”
“Honestly speaking, I do not know. I must go wherever needs me. Plenty of things to do,” the Elven boy shrugged. “Bryan had done what he should have. Now he can rest at last, but no rest for me yet.” He forced a smile bitterly. Reya’s eyes softened. She surveyed the boy’s face with great sympathy and tenderness. something unspeakable were there. Suddenly, she smiled brightly. Grendale looked at her puzzling at first, and then smiled in return. I felt my heart broken into pieces in their smile.
“Somehow, we have tried our best. The attack came too sudden to allow us prepared. Everybody in Mounst had donated their last strength. Last night, Longburg was also attacked by dark magic from the Dark Lord. Thanks to the reinforcement from Tara, Longburg is safe now. The Dark Lord retreated with empty hands. See, the king of Mounst? His son is dead, which may contribute to his determination now. The old alliance revived at last,” the Elven boy said wearily.
“Oh, you came for Bryan. He was simply flied to his death, so quickly that we hardly had any conversation. He even had no time to ask about Lude before he jumped into the messy fight. I think he must have been suspicious of Lede’s death from the very beginning because he had not seen Lude coming to meet him. He looked around and disappointed. But he was so self-restraint as to ask nothing. Only I noticed that. In such a critical moment, how could Lude be out of Mounst? Bryan must have sensed something, but reluctant to prove it. ”
“Oh, it is better to be so,” Reya said thoughtfully. “Had you been fighting by his side?”
Grendale shook his head.
Reya signed, “Bryan have done what he wished. He and his human friends leave their bodies to the earth they once lived. The earth must have been satisfied by her children’s return. I think his Elven soul must have flow across the ocean, back to our spiritual homeland.”
“hey, our spiritual hometown?” Grendale’s voice turned to be slothful. “Perhaps. Who can tell? We were born on this continent. Everybody has been talking about the spiritual homeland but no one has really seen it. It’s only alive in legends and ballads. Perhaps it’s only our imagination, a place where we can extend our imaginations and emotions. At present, what I know simply is that I will never see the Bryan who is lying on the ground not very far away from here. Even though we can meet each other some day, I can’t figure out what it will look like. I’d rather he were not lying there but standing here--- by my side, writing his poems, singing his songs, talking to me about the past, the present, the future, the Woods, the continent, and----about you,”Granndale gave Reya a naughty wink.
“So would I,” Reya’s voice shivered finally.
Another silence.
“Well, I’d better leave now. See you, my dear friend. I will see again, eh?” Reya said with a sound of hesitation.
The Elven boy smiled, hugging her again. “Certainly, Reya. I will see you again, no matter where we are. And Bryan, all of our dears, we will see each other again,” he said tenderly.
“I wish it will include me,” a familiar voice came behind me. A beautiful girl like a fully blossomed lily emerged from nowhere. The Elves watched here amazedly. The princess of Mounst came to them with a broken bow in hand.
Reya’s eyes widely opened. Lena seemed floating to Grendale, drawing his knife tenderly from his belt. The two Elves just looked at her without any motion as if there were spelt. A wisp of hairs fell down with a light from knife. Reya turned to Reya, “They are yours. You will mend the bow with the hairs, will you?” she handed the bow and hairs to the girl Elf. “It will be useful to you some day.”
Reya accepted it carefully without any words.
I looked at the three admirably. Who could tell the human from the Elves. They were all so beautiful and so young, but so sophisticated. They were elder youths. Their golden hairs were shining same halo in the sunlight. They were sad, tired, but still smiling. Soundless words were flowing from one another. I was drunk by this. It would never die in my memory.
Time of reunion, time of farewell. Who can tell the difference between the two in this tough era. No matter what it was. We would be together, always together.
Tag
In the rich sunset see how brightly glow Yon cottage homes, girt round with verdant green! Slow sinks the orb, the day in now no more; Yonder he hastens to diffuse new life. Oh for a pinion from the earth to soar, And after, ever after him to strive! Then should I see the world below, Bathed in the deathless evening - beams, The vales reposing, every height a - glow, The silver brooklets meeting golden streams. The savage mountain, with its cavern'd side, Bars not my godlike progress. Lo, the ocean, Its warm bays heaving with a tranquil motion, To my rapt vision opens its ample tide! But now at length the god appears to sink; A new - born impulse wings my flight, Onward I press, his quenchless light to drink, The day before me, and behind the night, The pathless waves beneath, and over me the skies. Fair dream, it vanish'd with the parting day! Alas! that when on spirit - wing we rise, No wing material lifts our mortal clay. But 'tis our inborn impulse, deep and strong, Upwards and onwards still to urge our flight, When far above us pours its thrilling song The sky - lark, lost in azure light, When on extended wing amain O'er pine - crown'd height the eagle soars, And over moor and lake, the crane Still striveth towards its native shores.
------ Goethe
The appearance of Elves enlivened the whole Woods. Wherever they passed by, the creatures there would be inspired and excited. By and by, the Elves passing us became more frequent than before. Just as what the aged tree said, all Elves were wearing armors or plain clothes for fighting. Instead of musical instruments once accompanied with them, arrows and weapons had occupied their leather sacks. We found it was a lucky day for us because the mood was quite delight. Perhaps no fight had happened yet. I was pleased to see that the unnecessary sensation and self-torture vanished totally in the Elves, but replaced by warriors’ firmness and confidence.
It was not common to see a mole traveling on a cat’s back. So we were soon noticed by all Elves. Elves had special affection to animals and plants. I could hear their sweet laughter and whispers and saw their delicate long fingers pointing to us. Great joy filled our little hearts. I waved my tails as often as possible and Garr just kept showing his proud incisors. Minutes later, we were in the Core. Since we were in the residential area, there were more Elves with robes. I felt quite lost in the big city. How could I found out one Elf from so many? Besides, my transfiguration time could be very near. This was not a good place for me to do that.
“Say, Mr. cat, oh, do you have a name,” the mole said.
“Sorry, just cat.”
“All right, what are we supposed to do now?”
That was the question I was about to ask him.
Try luck? I said to myself. There were many Elves here, but not eager to greet us as those we met en route. They seemed busier and more serious. Anyway, it was an atmosphere of headquarter.
“Have you seen someone familiar?” I asked Garr.
“Not really. What if he has gone to war?”
Both of us were dismayed by this idea and both of us knew we didn’t dare say, “What is he is dead?”
Some Elves were coming to us. The mole on my back suddenly started somersaulting. I felt uncomfortable but knew immediately what he was doing. “Please, say something before…” I protested. Garr had no time to reply me but continued his play. At least, he caught the sight of the Elves.
“How cute!” one of them exclaimed.
“Cute? They are trying to catch our sights,” an Elven girl laughed. She was smart. I lifted my head to see her clear. She was an elegant girl, not as strong as the princess of Mounst, but more artistic. Little animals tended to love pretty girls more than boys, so we came to her and rubbed her robe with our hairs.
“They are with me,” she said contently, holding me in her arms. Another Elf stretched his hand to make the mole jump onto his palm, “Reya, of course, you can see through the little trick not because you are smarter, but because you always did the same to us.” He said jokingly. “ Are you hungry? Want to eat something?” he turned to us lovingly.
Garr and I tried our best to shake our heads.
“They can shake heads. Extraordinary!” Elves almost knew everything on earth, so they would not be surprised by our behavior but amused.
“Then, why you are hanging about here?”
Good question, but I did not know how to express the concept of “looking for someone”. They could only get “mew, mew” as my reply. I kept moaning and tossing in Reya’s arms till the Elves had sensed something. They held breath and watched us intensively. That was the sign when the Elves wished to do spiritual communication with animals. This magic was one of the special talents the Elves inherited from gods. In ancient times they even could interpret animals’thought before the animals formed one. Unfortunately, with time passing by, the magic had been fading away like many talents the Elves once had. Now they could only decode ten to twenty percent of what the animals tried to express, sometimes even failed to do so. We cooperated to their meditation by looking at their eyes directly and forming an Elven image in our minds. But to our dismay, they seemed quite at loss.
“They are looking for something,” one of them said finally.
“I saw a blurred figure, like a warrior,” another went on. “But that’s all. The figure fleeted away, and then I could only see myself. I do miss Bryan here. He is the best one in this magic.”
What a stimulating name! That meant Bryan was still alive. The mole and I waved our tails harder. They misunderstood us to interpret it as a sign of impatience.
“Let’s take them back,” Reya suggested. “Let’s wait for Bryan.”
“Who knows when he will be back？ Perhaps he is ranging to Mounst now. Your Bryan.” Reya’s suggestion aroused a little tide of joking. She blushed.
“He belongs to the few among us who still can master the magic like our ancestors,” Reya tried to change the topic in this way. “Besides, he has been traveling outside the Woods more than us. Don’t forget he has human friends.”
“So have you. The Mounst boy, I believe. You always talk about him as if he were one of our breed. Reya, haven’t your father told you that the marriage between Elves and humans is an ancient story? Eh, you girls,” an Elf said with a friendly teasing tone.
What a lucky day for me! I cried in my heart. It was the very girl Lude mentioned to me before he died. I stopped my turns and toss, watching her intensively. She noticed my change. “Why he is so calm now,” she asked curiously.
The others also saw that. The Elves were quite sensitive to any changes in other creatures.
“Why he became calm down when we mentioned Mounst?” An Elf stared at me interrogatorily. “Are you from Mounst?”
I nodded eagerly.
“You know who we were talking about?”
Nodding...
“You are looking for his friends?”
Nodding...
“Roy, do not scared them.”
“My dear little sister,” the Elf called Roy beamed at her. “Here we have an envoy from Mounst. I have never expected that after so many years we boycotted us from human affairs, the first messengers from the human world turn to be a cat and a mole.”
“Roy, I think only the cat is from outside world. The mole just leads him here,” Reya said thoughtfully.
Garr waited for no second to nod as a sign of agreeing. No residents in the Woods were willing to be treated as outsiders, particularly by the Elves. But what he did just made all Elves turned to me.
“You are from Mounst, little cat? How about Lude and Mounst? ” after a short silence, Reya asked me in a voice I could hardly describe.
Difficult time again. I could not mourn in front of her now. It was not a proper time as I could see the old happy memories were just reviving in her heart now.
“Reya, how can you expect a cat answer you,” one of her companions interrupted in time.
“Yeah, but Gerry, why Lude sent a cat to see me?” a sound of uneasiness noted in her sweet voice, but to my comfort, it soon turned to be a self-assuring one. “No, how stupid I am. Who said the cat should come here with Lude’s instruction. Even if so, it must be he knew how hard the Elven woods treats the outsiders. Last time it was only luck for him to find us and play with us.” She turned to me again, “Bryan is not here. I haven’t seen him for long. I hope he will come back soon because only he could interpret what message you are bearing with you.”
“Sure it is,” Roy added. “Let’s go back home first. He may come back at any moment.”
Both Garr and I were very happy to hear this because we felt the fatigue we had ignored due to the eagerness and excitement.
Roy put Garr on his head and went away. I was comfortably lying in Reya’s arms as if I were in Heaven.
I must have been much thinner than before due to the days’ trudging, for I could feel Reya had no trouble in carrying me while working. I loved the feeling traveling in Elven arms. They seemed walking in clouds. I wished I could be forever with them in the clouds. Garr was naughty again on Roy’s head. The Elves talked with each other in a low voice, seemingly quite serious. But I was too tired to care for what they were talking about. I fell in sleep soon.
As if in a sweet dream, I felt I was put in a very soft place. People kept going around by me. But the fatigue was still controlling my eyes. What I could know was the words floating in my ears.
“What’s that, Reya?”
“A cat from Mounst. I believe he is a messenger from the prince of Mounst, Lude.”
“Lude? But why…”
“I don’t know. We are isolated here, forbidding ourselves to the outside world. Perhaps Bryan would tell us something new. Have you seen him lately?”
“Only yesterday. He simply came for asking me check up his armors. He told me he had been very busy recently.”
“Busy? Busy with what?”
“A mysterious mission I guess. He wouldn’t tell. Er…my kid, the things going on in the Woods are also more and more mysterious. Everyone seems expecting for something…Even the Core is more like a theater than before. Is there anything coming all of a sudden? I could feel Bryan’s melancholy so strongly that I did not dare ask him why. His eyes were shining with a very strange light which, to me, was quite familiar, but just couldn’t remember when I had seen it before. Now you mentioned Mounst. I remember it was the same light in his eyes years ago, when he was the prince of Mounst off the Woods. He seemed lost himself for quite a long time and then told me ‘How an odd creature the human race is. The humans must know their life is short, but they still hold on their lives stubbornly and always look forward to the future, even in such a dark time. While we can enjoy such a long life, but always live in the past and isolated us to any future!’ ”
“Father, Bryan has a burning heart much morebgenuine than his appearance. He has always been facing the future and what unknown in the future. He loves people with guts, no matter they are Elves or humans. Do you still remember our guest few months ago, the prince of southern Elven Woods?”
“You mean, Grendale?”
“I mean him. He came with some human warriors on behalf the king of southern Elves to visit the high-land states for seeking alliance. I think the southern king have realized the value of humans more than us. Bryan talked to Grendale once. Grendale told him his adventures and the happiness and frustration of collaborating with humans and other races. I believe Bryan was completely fascinated by Grendale. He treasured every minute spent with him. I still remember his passion when he escorted the fellowship away. That scene seemed only happing in our ancient ballads.”
“As for the humans. They are not only odd but peculiar. Lude, for instance, sometimes he could be very violent, while sometimes so naïve and pure. He worshiped Bryan like a god, not only because Bryan stood for beauty and immortality, but because the Elves are honest even in the most violent time. Elves are self-defender, but not like humans, for humans can turn themselves into intruder any time unexpected. Elves are not perfect, but seemingly much more perfect than humans. And Bryan has seen that too. He has never expected that Lude could be the same as him. However, he loves Lude because Lude stands for a primitive human character, rush, crazy but comparatively pure and naive.”
“Eh…Reya, I remember Lude seemed have fallen love with you when he left.”
“Father, he was a only a kid.”
“I believe he is no more a kid now, but a bright warrior. Judging from the days I remember, he should be as handsome as Bryan today.”
“Father, I want to go Mounst,” Reya said suddenly after a short pause.
“Are you crazy, my kid?! It’s dangerous to leave the Woods!”
“I wanted to know what has come to Mounst. You and your Elves are making weapons extremely crazy. We have heard some rumors, but no one knows exactly. I wonder if all of these are pointed to something in Mounst or the whole high land. Besides, I want to know what has happened to Lude.”
Everybody living in such an age was smarter than others had expected, I said to myself half dreamingly.
“My kid, what has covered your bright eyes? Haven’t you seen the dark clouds raping Longburg. Tara, as we have heard, is struggling with her last breath. What can be better in Mounst?!”
Deadly silence.
“I must go to Bryan. I will go where he goes. If I am right, his latest mission must be connected to what is happening in Mounst, Tara, or even the whole high land,” finally Reya broke the stalemate. Her voice was so penetrating that woke me up totally. It seemed piercing through my heart. I remained eyes closed waiting for the conclusion of their conversation.
“Father, I can no longer bear staying here, waiting for any fate coming to finish us. I implore you to permit me out of the Woods. I will find Byran and he will take care of me.”
“But, my kid, outside the Woods, there will be death and terror. You’ve never been out of here. Have you ever thought that you may never come back?”
“Sure, I have. Since Lude left years ago, I have been thinking this over and over again. Grendale’s stories aroused my passion again. Father, our race is dying. Every Elf knows that. But we are evading the fact and become strangers of the continent to which we belong. What a rich and diversified home we once had. Our land once was filled with friends different from us. Now we don’t have any but ourselves. We are isolated from other races. I asked myself sometimes whehter is the fault of the Dark Lord, or the blame should be on ourselves? The answer lies outside the Woods. I will go out and see. Don’t worry for me, father. I will come back.”
“What you have said is not strange to me. That’s what Bryan once told me. All right, go to find him. Isn’t this cat looking for him too? Before he wakes up, take him out. I must go out to check the weapons we newly made. So no one will be here with him. Where is the garrulous mole?”
“Roy has taken him away. He was to patrol around the Core. He thought a mole could bring him good luck. ”
My body was lifted gently. I could smell the fragrance from robes and hairs agian. I was willing to be taken away to any place in the magic cradle.
I chose pretending asleep in order to lie in Reya’s arms. My worries and fatigue would be dissolved with each minute I stayed there. But she could not wait for my natural wake-up. I heard her calling me and shaking me tenderly. How could I refuse such a sweet request? I had to open eyes, only to find her fair face was overshadowed by dark clouds.
“Shall we go to find Bryan?”
Of course, I answer to myself. After having heard the conversation between the father and daughter, I was even more curious of that Elf. I could hardly wait to see him in person. But how? I questioned Reya with my puzzled eyes. She smiled, “I will take you to a place, but you must promise me not to let out any sound and never tell it to any other creature.” I winked at her and pressed my body closer to her breast. She tried to put me down, but only encounter my protesting twists. She had to abandon the idea automatically and let me enjoying my coziness.
I had heard that the Elven Woods was an intricate world with some places even forbidden to the Elves. It seemed that Reya was planning to do something against the rules. Breaking rules was always stimulating. I was eager to do it. I crunched lazily in my warm cradle, bathing in sunset. Kiwi creatures were hopping in the dimming light, stirring up waves of golden rays. Reya was turned golden too, glittering like a goddess. Her face was blurred, but the light rolling along her golden hair resembled the flows of the Mother River. I stretched my paws to play her hair. She noticed my naughtiness and hiccoughed, “You certainly know how to enjoy yourself. Can you see a Heaven here? My father said, the Woods is a heaven. He is right. Even if I have never been out of here, I know only the territory belonged to the king of south Elves can match the wonders here,” she was surely quite proud of her home.
I showed my support with an ogle.
“Isn’t it good to be held like this? I remembered the time when Lude was stumped down by a tree. He also pretended to be hurt to lure me holding him,” she looked at me affectionately as if I were the boy. I bet I must be a smiling cat at her words.
“I was seldom willing to be held or carried to walk. Our Elven girls are quite independent in spirit,” she went on with her happy memories. “Except once, my friend Alexia was injured by monsters outside the Woods. She was carried back by Bryan and his brothers. I suddenly felt I should taste this luxury too. So I insisted on his carrying me to my home. He was worn out by my weight. But I was so cruel as not to allow him to ask help from his fellows. It did work for a long time because he would mention this torture to Alexia and me every time he saw us together. To tell you secretly, you do not know how happy it is to be held by Bryan. He was the most versatile in the Elves.”
I bet you believed so, I said soundlessly.
“But he is sure very sad for something that I don’t know,” Reya added thoughtfully. “He did show his resentment to the situation in the Elves some time. He was longing for going out of the Woods.”
I wished she could go on talking. Elves could be more conserved than humans. They were not used to monologue in this way. Reya soon realized what she was doing. She ended her speech with a light sign. Why revealed herself too much to a little cat? We went on silently for a while. Then, I heard she was speaking again, “Here we are.” I stretched my head, seeing a cross just ahead of us.
“We are turning left and I need your aid,” She lowered her voice.
I tightened my body.
“You must go down from the left side and soon you will see a gate and a guide. Don’t be afraid. He is an Elf, one of my cousins. His duty is to stop anyone who tries to pass the gate. Behind the gate there is a sacred place I have never stepped in. It was a cave for Elves to do meditation and conduct soul communications to the outside world. Since the start of Dark Age, the hearts of Elves also evolved darker and darker in their souls. They were obsessed with wild ideas and horrors, so the cave was closed to them because too many whims will cause chaos in real world. Our king and queen still have the privilege to go there in case of emergency, but today even they have seldom gone inside unless they have to. We, the average Elves, dare not go inside, partly because we fear to know the reality of the outside, partly because we are afraid of losing control of our minds as to do great harm to our beloved ones. Some of us may have curiosity instinctively one day. Thus, the guide’s duty is only to rid the Elves of the place. Today I mu