Belvdu is quiet today, the chilly sea air nips at the cheeks as I breathe it in. The water is a foamy green-aqua, waves gently lapping at the shore. Today is my birthday and I am spending it down at the western port. Mother is standing on the furthest end of the dock talking to merchant as she bandages his hand. I can't hear their convocation over the wind, but she seems to be enjoying his company.
Today the port is especially busy, merchants and sailors from all over are gathered here selling their wares or waiting before they sail out again. While making sure my hair doesn't fly out from its tight bun, I serve the various travelers potato stew. A few volunteers are with me, a couple are from the temple while others are just random volunteers from the street.
"My little folly of joy." Mother lightly touches my face, her stormy eyes crinkling at the corners. "Working hard as ever." She tucks a stray chocolate curl behind my ear then does the same to her own pen straight white blonde hair.
"Of course, live by the motto." Since Victor's attack more happenings have been going on. Attacks on some poor souls who just happen to be walking to streets at night, more knights litter the streets and the crown has been trying to pass a curfew for our little island nation, but on certain nights many people including me are still at the temple late at night, other late night establishments are losing business, and refugees from Yaklin come in on small boats. Many here thinks the attacks are from Yaklinations, but according to Victor it is something demonic.
"That's right my dear, for one evil deed, three good ones must be done in its place." She picks up a bowl and hands it to a young girl with sun kissed red braids. "You live by those words so well, now my folly what is it that you wish for your birthday?"
Every year since I could talk I always wanted to help others, and I have been blessed enough to do so. However, now sixteen I want to know something that she never talks about. "Tell me about my father." For a brief second her joyous smile is replaced with a frown that slowly transformed itself into a tight line. I have only asked her this one time before when I was three years old. I asked, 'Mommy why are you paler than me?' I never meant it to come off as rude, I was a child I didn't know any better, yet she struck me. She slapped me across my cheek that day and warned me to never bring up our colors ever again. I was a gift from the gods and she had been blessed to have a child. She never laid a hand on me since then and I never brought up my father, until today.
Since I am the opposite of my mother, darker skin, darker curly hair, and deep green eyes I always assumed that my father was just like me. The wind whips harder threatening to lift the skirts of my dress over my head, but I hold steady and stare at my mother. "This is not the time or place."
"You said you were blessed with me mother, why can I not know about the man who helped create me?" I am thankful for the winds, no one looks in our direction. "I have the right to know." She mutters a prayer to herself and looks out to the seas as if she's trying to lose herself in them.
"We will discus him tonight, but not here not now." She walks away, posture stiff. I wonder if I have angered her once again like I have so many years ago.
"Magnolia is really something," Tonni, a girl who I grew up with shakes her head. "I never seen her look so shaken up, what did you ask?"
"It no longer matters, she said I will receive my gift tonight." I plaster on a smile as I go back to serving. Tonni however, I can feel her eyes on my back. "I asked about my father, that's all." I turn to ladle some stew into a bowl handing it to an old man in tattered clothing. I make a note to find a cloak for him later.
"Your father huh," She smiles while handing out some bread. "Well either way, happy birthday dear friend." She pulls a decretive hair pin from her headwrap. It is a simple wire hairpin with wires at the top folded into a delicate flower.
"Thank you!" I hug her tightly.
The sun has gone down, and the docks are quiet once again. The winds have not let up and my hair had blown free from its bun hours ago. Victor stopped by to help with what he could but left shortly after since the sea air seem to worsen the ache in his arm. Mother is packing away the last pot putting it away in a nearby shack down on the beach. I stare at the emptying streets, only horseback knights are around.
Yesterday I did heed Victor's warning about going home at night, so I left early from temple and made it home just before nightfall. But tonight, we decided to stay out to help clean the dock and finish passing put all the stew as not to waste it. I pull my cloak tight around me and mutter a prayer to myself. "Let's go my folly, I will explain everything once we are home."
An hour of silence spreads between us, but it is comfortable. Mother walks slightly ahead, nodding to the knights we pass. I try to smile, but we are close to where Victor was attacked and my unease grows. This area never has enough lights so it's unusually dark. The buildings along the street are dark, devoid of life. I shouldn't worry, we passed a knight a few minutes ago, but I stay alert and as close to the street lights as possible.
" Begone demons of the night, you cannot taint my light." I start the prayer as we cross where Victor had fallen, where I first saw the shadow. Mother doesn't look worried, but she does look back every two minutes to make sure that I am still there, and my eyes stay trained on her back.
"My folly, I believe we are safe. Lightening does not strike the same place twice." Yes, she is right, but I can feel the same clenching feeling in my heart. The darkness is starting to close in around us, I can feel it. Mother stops in her tracks just as the sea wind stops blowing. The wind never stops. "Adara, behind me now." Her voice is barely above a whisper, but there is a sharpness to it, an urgency.
I move to step behind her, from the corner of my eye I see the shadows shift in a nearby alley. I freeze, another shadow moves but quicker this time. "You cannot compel me to join you, I walk with the gods. I am protected." I'm shaking, the air around us turns cold, chilling me to the bone. This presence is different than from two nights ago, this feels darker.
"Adara, move now!" I turn my head to look behind me, but it is too late, a large beastly animal lunges at me. A scream leaves from my lips as I throw up my arms to protect myself. Footsteps come just as quickly from behind me, I hear an unworldly scream, yet no harm has come to me. In my frightened state I look up to see not a knight but my mother on top of the beast wielding a curved dagger. "Run, now and don't you dare look back!" She yells as she struggles against the monster.
My feet are rooted to the ground and all I can do is stare in horror. Mother swipes at it again, snarling it throws her somewhere in the darkness. There is a thud, I want to go to her, but I'm stuck here. No, I can't be stuck, move. Go. Run! The monster looms over me, dripping thick dark blood onto the road. Its giant maw opens wide showing a huge row of sharp teeth. Saliva drips, breath close to my face, it smells of rotting flesh and death. A claw raises up and swings at me, I pull myself together and jump out the way. I roll until I hit a lamppost. I cry out as I try to get up, but the hulking figure stays two feet away from where I am.
"I said stay away from my daughter! May Lottie see you in the underworld!" Mother jumps on its back burying her dagger deep into it's back. I cover my ears as it lets out a sickening wail of pain. She twists the blade more as it staggers around, then it starts thrashing trying to knock her into a building. I hear a sickening crunch.
I look up to see her still struggling, but she looks limp and so does the monster. It tries to knock her off again. I look around for something I can throw at the beast, I spot some vases near the corner. Ignoring my pain, I run over to then and start throwing them yelling at the top of my lungs for it to stop hurting my mother, for it to return to from once it came. Another deafening scream leaves it, the beast swings and thrashes hard this time throwing off my mother further away and the beast starts to deteriorate, turning into dirt and ash.
Staring at it shaking, what was that? I shake my head and quickly run over to where my mother had fallen. I run through the pool of dark blood not caring if my shoes or the skirts of my dress were ruined. "Mother!" I kneel by her, her hair is matted slick to her forehead, and she looked broken. She is barely breathing, but she's alive. "Don't worry mother I'll go get help and you'll be ok." I take off my cloak wrapping it around her carefully. I hear her let out a groan of pain.
"No, no my dear folly," She wheezes in between words, holding her side with one hand and the other covers my own. She lets out another wheeze and coughs, blood trickles down the corner of her mouth. "Stay with your dear mother." Mother starts shivering from being on the ground, and the winds from the sea have returned like nothing happened. I gingerly place her head in my lap stroking her hair trying not to wrench away when I spot blood on her scalp. Her knuckles are bruised, I tried not to look but one of her legs seem to be twisted into an odd angle.
We stay silent for hours until a hue of pink touches the sky. "Mother look, its sunrise help will be here soon" I tried to keep my tears at bay for the past few hours, because I know she'll be fine. I wipe away the few stray tears that fell. "You will be good as new." Mother is looking up at the sky, her wheezing has gotten slower and her breath shallow.
"My dear folly," Another pained breath. "You know that I will not make it before the sun touches the sky." I raise my head to the sky, the sun has yet to touch it, Tanin's moon still above us. I shake my head.
"No mother, don't talk that way."
"I am sorry that your birthday was not what you expected." Her stormy eyes are starting to lose their light. "You, Adara you are my greatest folly. The one I would do anything for without any thought to myself." Another cough but this time it is stronger, every time she jostles it makes the wound n her side bleed more. The blood soaking into the cloak and the ground below her. "Can you see it my dear, Lottie and Imma? They are so beautiful." Her voice cracks as she tries to reach for what she sees.
I grab her out stretched hand tightly, tears running down my cheeks. "No mother, Lottie mustn't take you away from me, not yet! Please Lottie allow her more time on this mortal ground."
"So beautiful." Her voice fades out with one last crack, the light leaves her eyes no longer a is there a ranging storm. I cry out loudly unable to control it anymore.
Mother come back. Mother!"