Post 13

A wrinkled hand shook her shoulder to wake her up.
“Dearie, dearie, we are here.” A voice murmured. Cassia slowly opened her eyes to look up into Marantha’s aging face.
“We’ve reached Laddinley.” Cassia looked up to see Atropos, clad in his leather tunic, holding his weapons, ready to disembark the gypsy’s wagon.
“Is everything all right?” Cassia asked, noticing how armed for battle he was. He smiled bitterly.
“I don’t know yet. We’ll soon find out.”
It didn’t take them long to exit the gypsy’s home. She bid them farewell, waving her hand, before the wagon turned to smoke once again, and floated off into the slowly rising sun.
“Perhaps I misjudged their type.” Atropos said, watching where the wagon had been just a few moment before. Honey yipped, as if in agreement, and turned to face the waking forest.
“I don’t see any city.” Cassia remarked, crossing her arms.
“Human eyes usually can’t.” Atropos countered, making his way to a large tree, spiraling up into the sky. He shouldered his bow and grabbed a hefty branch, then pulled himself up onto it. It appeared to take no effort on his part. Then he reached his hand down, toward Cassia. “Hand me Honey.”
Cassia picked up the while fluff ball and put her in his hands. Then Cassia grabbed the first branch and hoisted herself up. She was panting by the time she reached her footing next to the elf. He smiled and shook his head, handing her Honey again before leaping onto the next branch. The process continued, Atropos first, then Cassia handed him Honey, then Cassia followed. It was a slow procession.
Finally, Atropos stopped once the girl had joined them.
“Welcome to Laddinley.” Cassia tried to hold in her shock at the beauty of the city. It spanned treetops, connected by ropes and bridges. There were buildings built into trees, so that no other eyes could tell the difference. Members of the Brotherhood stood carefully on branches high in the trees, keeping watch for any enemies that would come this way. Even in the waking morning, the city was alive. Elves swung from tree to tree, children ran about, playing war or other childish games. Birds screeched and sung and called out to the world.
“I’ll take you to your family.” Atropos said, pulling her along a branch that twisted around the tree. He seemed to be taking her along the safest route, only bridges, no swinging from vines or crossing a bridge made of only a rope.
Soon they arrived at a tree smaller than the others. There was a hole on one side, which Atropos led her into.
Cassia heard her brother’s voice soon through the darkness.
“Mama! I want play!”
“Not now darling.” Mistress Graystone’s voice sounded strained. Indeed when Cassia entered the room, lit only with torches, her father and mother were on opposite ends of the room, both sitting in wooden chairs. Cassia’s mother was close to tears, while her father looked at he did when contemplating information he had received about Tempest, or when he was playing chess against any of his children.
Atropos took this in, and immediately became furious. “What has happened?”
“Most of the Brotherhood is gone.” Master Graystone said, his voice close to monotone. “The Sisterhood went with them. They believe it is war.”
“How did they find out?” Cassia asked, too worried to realize this was the first time she had seen her parents in days. They both looked up at her sadly, as if some great tragedy had occurred since they had last set their eyes on her.
Padrig ran up to her, smiling and raising his arms to be picked up.
“Cashia! Cashia! Want play!”
“Soon, all right?” She murmured to him, bouncing him up and down in her arms a little. He giggled and when she put him down, ran from her arms.
“Are you all right?” Her mother came over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “You look exhausted.”
“There will be time for this later.” Atropos’ mood had not cooled and he strode over to Master Graystone. “Did they send her? Is she all right?”
“She’s still here.” The Mistress said, her voice once again harsh and stressed. “Is she all right? We’ll leave that for you to decide.” Atropos looked at her, then ran out of the room so quickly it was hard to see him.
Cassia was surprised at the departure of her companion. She had been with him for days without end, now it felt as if she was missing something.
“Where’s Archia?” She asked her mother.
“Here.” From the other hole emerged her sister. Still with child, still teary eyed by her loss. But it seemed that grief was over shadowed by something else. Cassia’s mother patted her back, then pushed her toward her sister,
“You two have many things to talk about.” She said, walking back to the corner of the room and sitting to entertain her son.
Archia led her to a dimly lit room, with two beds, though only one was unmade.
“This is our room.” She said, closing the wooden door behind them.
“What has happened?” Cassia asked, taking a seat on the neat bed. “Why is everyone so upset?”
“War does that to people, Cassia.” Archia didn’t sit; she merely began to pace, back and forth. “But there is another reason. Oh, it’s too terrible. And even I wasn’t here for the worst of it. It can only imagine what it was like for Thad and Padrig, being here while they were at each other’s throats…”
“What?” Cassia repeated her question. Archia sighed, and Cassia could hear the sadness there. The loneliness. And Cassia knew that the only thing keeping her sister alive now was her baby.
“Father came here many, many years ago, when he was a young man. He stayed here, on the run from granddad for the moment, and made many friends with the Elves, which is to our benefit, as you can see.” She paused to take a breath. “One Elf was a girl names Crystalia, which means beauty in the Elfin language. She was his age then, and they were great friends. Sweethearts, even.
“Do you know who the Sisterhood of Elves are?” Archia suddenly asked. Cassia only shook her head. “Of course you don’t, you’re too young to know about them. Cassia, they’re a group of soldiers’…whores.” Cassia started. She had never heard her sister use that word. Certainly, she knew what one was. She had an older brother, who educated her about the world she had never had experienced.
“During a war, they follow the soldiers around, in secret. Hiding in the forests surrounding battle zones. When a wounded soldier finds his way into the trees, they take him in. They give him a…companion, who heals his wounds and then…” Archia shook her head, letting Cassia know all she needed to. “Anyway, it’s what they’re trained to do. From birth, Cassia. They grow up, knowing that’s all they’ll ever do is have children, with soldiers, who will never see them again.
“Sometimes, if the elfin woman isn’t accepted into the Sisterhood, they’ll marry a man from the Brotherhood. But most aren’t given that option.” Archia said bitterly, near tears of fury. She took a few breathes and sighed, sitting down on her bed.
“What does this have to do with-” Archia held a hand up to stop her. She took a long breath.
“Crystalia wasn’t a member of the Sisterhood yet. She was too young. So she still wore the necklace that all elfin girls wear. It has a pendant made of blue stone with spells cast on it by Elfin mages. It keeps them from having children until they’re in the Sisterhood. Only they have that privilege.” She spat the word, rubbing her stomach. “Years later, before Father was married to Mother, but he was already engaged, he visited Crystalia again. She was a member of the Sisterhood now, and had removed her necklace. It turns out their love had never died.”
“A few months later, because Elves give birth sooner than humans do, she had a daughter. Diamantina, she named her.” Archia took a steadying breath. “Diamantina is our half-sister, Cassia.”
“What?” Cassia gasped. An elfin sister? By her father? How was that possible?
“She looks just like you.” Archia said, tears in her eyes again. “She’s older than both of us, technically, but Cassia, Elves look so much younger than they are. She looks just like you, except her ears. She could be your twin.”
“What?” Cassia couldn’t comprehend this. She had come back, hoping for warm smiles and a “don’t worry about it.” Instead she got this?
“Mother’s furious at Father. How could she not be? He doesn’t know what to do, he’s falling apart.”
“That’s who Atropos was talking about.” Cassia said, nodding slowly to herself. “She’s a member of the Sisterhood?”
“Not yet. She’s found loopholes to not be. She’d rather marry Atropos.”
“What?”
“They’re sweethearts, apparently. I didn’t find out until I got here and by then he was gone with you.” Archia buried her head in her hands. “It’s all been so terrible. I don’t know what to do anymore. I stay locked up in here, Thad’s off in the library. Only Padrig stays because Merle’s with Thad and…and our family is coming apart-” There was a knock on the thin door. “Come in.” Archia whispered.
The door opened, and suddenly it was like looking into a mirror.