Part 3
Two
days soon passed them by and on the third morning they arrived at a
well-travelled road. At first Layora was confused as to where it might be
leading, and it wasn’t until after she had let Snow wander for a
while, sniffing up and down the area, that she saw the tops of houses a little
ways off. She knew they would have to go and venture into the town to replenish
their food stores for their journey and so they followed the road for a while
and soon the town was in view. It wasn’t very big, but it wasn’t very
small either, as there were about two dozen buildings in total. Sighing deeply,
Layora looked out across the town, wondering what the people might be like
there. She looked down at Snow as he sat quietly by her side, his gaze turned
upwards, looking at her. He was getting huskier, his body filling out a little,
his hair now turning from the puppy soft to a hardened winter coat. She still
loved how soft he was and smiling at him, she gently rubbed his ears. “I guess we’re going to
have to go take a look. It might be a good opportunity to trade for meats and
vegetables.” Snow simply
listened to the sound of her voice and when she waved him forward and started
walking off towards the town, he eagerly followed.
After a little bit of a walk she
asked Snow to stay by a few trees clustered together. She wanted to make sure
he was a safe distance away from the town but within whistling distance; where
she could easily call him if anything went wrong. It wasn’t until she
was a good deal away from him, that she wished he was once again by her side.
The lack of companionship weighed heavily on her as she approached the town and
absentmindedly, she started biting at her lip. She could see a few people
busying themselves outside, but many seemed to be indoors with the colder
weather having arrived. Mustering what little courage she had, she pulled her
hood a little tighter and tried to hide her ears with her hair before starting
towards two townsmen who stood under an outdoor overhang that fronted a small
building. It looked like a blacksmith’s shop and as she got a little closer, she
could see that they were working on horseshoes and several small blades. The
smell of fire and iron filled her senses and she calmed a little and smiling as
best she could, she called out to them, “Hello! I was wondering if I might have a
little help, I’m travelling and I need to purchase a few
things.”
The two men had not noticed her
presence until she had called out and upon hearing her voice, they spun round
and looked at her with more than just curiosity; at least she thought as much.
They put down what they had been working on and warily, Layora came a bit
closer as they fully turned to look upon her.
“Hello there!” The younger of the two men had spoken first
and he even waved. A very surprised look was gracing both his and the older man’s features
and she smiled even more. He looked no older than seventeen and the older
gentleman must have been in his early forties. They looked kindly upon her and
soon she was standing by them.
“Hi there, my name is Layora,” she spoke
calmly and in a clear voice and she carefully extended her hand to the two men.
The older gentleman nodded and took her hand, “It’s nice to meet you, Layora. My
name is John and this is my son, Leo.” He motioned
for the younger man to come forward. He walked over to his father and was
smiling so much, Layora wasn’t sure if it was genuine or completely
forced. But she soon realized that his eyes were giving him away; he was happy,
happy to see someone like her and although she didn’t realize
it, the two men did.
“It’s lovely to meet you. I’ve heard
only wonderful things about your people, the Elves I mean- they are beautiful,
you’re
beautiful,” he tripped
over his words clumsily and ended up almost laughing as he finished speaking.
Layora’s smile slipped and she looked
upon him with confusion. She wanted to know what he meant and wondered how he
had known she was an elf. “Thank you,” was all she
managed to whisper for a moment and then she found her voice. “But I don’t have any
people. Are there other elves here?”
Leo’s look of curiosity turned to
confusion, “Not here, over the Mountains. Isn’t that
where you’re from?” His father
raised his hand slightly, begging him to stop speaking for a moment.
“Where are you from?” He asked
and offered her a seat by their work table, a small wooden stool deeply worn
from use. She sat down quietly and put her pack at her feet on the snow covered
ground, the light weight of it making it slump close to the ground. “I’m not from
anywhere you’ve heard of, I’m sure of that. I’m searching
for the elves though. I’ve never been with my own kind before.” She suddenly
worried that she had shared too much and tried to remain conscious of the
goings on around her and the way the two men reacted to the information she had
given them. The older man nodded at her in understanding, “I see miss,
so you’re going
over the Mountains?”
Layora inwardly grimaced, “I am, as
soon as possible too. I would like to find them before Spring. But the more I
continue to look upon their height, the more I think this to be impossible.” She glanced
down at her hands, her gloves already looking worn from her recent climb. “It’s not
impossible, it can be done. It’s just going to take a bit of help.” He winked
at her and his smile had now returned, as did his son’s. Layora
looked upon them nervously, “Help? I couldn’t possibly ask a couple of
strangers to help me on my way. I’m merely here to try and find some food and a
few other necessities for my journey.” The older
gentleman shook his head, “We won’t be taking you over, we’re just
going to help you find the path-“
“The short-cut!” Leo piped, with yet another very large smile.
Layora started to smile a bit, “You know of a path?” Leo and his
father nodded. “It’s not far, maybe half a day’s walk
around to the East and you’ll find it. It’d be easy for you to find, I’m sure.
There are markers set up because it’s traveled so often by many people.” Layora
visibly relaxed and for a moment, she felt so much lighter. Relief, that’s what it
was, honest relief. She now knew that it was possible, that she could make it
to the other side before the Spring. John noticed her relaxing and he sighed a
little, “Come on
then, we’d better
get you ready. What kinds of things were you hoping to find?”
Layora nodded and stood, shouldering
her pack once more. The absent weight didn’t bother her this time and she glanced
towards the Mountains behind the townsmen, “I think I’m going to need some rope, picks and food and
whatever else I can find.” They
nodded, almost in unison and soon John was waving her down the road a little
towards a few other shops. “We’ll get you what you need, not to worry. There
may be things you don’t know about your people, but we’ll never
forget what they did for us. I’m sure you’ll learn of that soon enough.” Layora
listened and followed him, it was true, she wanted to know what the elves had
done for them, but she was in no hurry to ask just yet. It was not something
she could take any credit for and she could only hope that it wouldn’t be used
as a way to aid her. She felt that she did not deserve any part in their
accomplishments because she was not one of them and she was not even sure if
she ever would be considered as one of them. With this lingering thought, she
followed the townsmen into shop after shop where she was greeted with nothing
but the most sincere smiles, generosity and kindness.
In one of the fish shops, she was
given two large fish, bundled neatly for her to pack away and in the meat shop
she was able to acquire a generous portion of different kinds of salted meat
for her stores. She felt far more confident in her decision to travel over the
Mountains and soon she was heavy with food and teas and little trinkets. She
was unable to pay for anything as the townsfolk would not let her and was
completely taken aback by their generosity. All they could talk about was what
the elves had done for their town, how the battle raged at the base of the
mountain and never touched them. The elves had stood strong against their foes
with much courage and strength and when the battle was won, the townspeople
felt indebted to their service. The elves would hear of no such thing, but took
their kindness in stride. When they had left, the town revered them and missed
them greatly. But they knew that if ever called upon, they would come to their
aid and the townsfolk to theirs.
Layora heard
many different accounts of the battle, of the elves’ beauty and
grace and she took it all in. She had only ever read about the elves and to
hear first-hand accounts of what had taken place, about the people she so
desperately wanted to be a part of, was amazing for her. She could barely ask a
question or two without being interrupted, however. The people she spoke to
were a little older and wished to share every detail with her, never letting
her truly ask a question. Even if she managed to, they rambled on about other
things they had seen, dancing around her questions. She could only smile and
listen, nodding her head from time to time. She did appreciate all that they
were doing for her, but she wished she could ask more intimate questions of the
people they spoke of; but that didn’t seem plausible now. She knew that
eventually, she may have the opportunity to speak to other elves and learn
about their customs later. It just upset her that she could not learn more
about their customs now, as she was worried about looking rather silly upon
meeting another elf for the first time.
She learned
much of the way they dressed and how they fought and spoke. Their language
sounded beautiful according to many of the people, but they also used the
common tongue whenever necessary and with great eloquence. Layora grew more
nervous as she learned more about how the elves carried themselves and soon she
was feeling rather trodden upon. She felt as if she was nowhere near as refined
as the elves were made out to be and she worried as to whether she would be
received by them. She grew quiet as the day progressed and by late afternoon,
she was asking to be shown to the base of the Mountain path. Leo and John were
with her most of the day and as they led her to the edge of town, many of the
townspeople stood and waved to her, watching as the three set out towards the
Mountain.
It loomed
over them and as they got closer, Layora began to grow tense. She hoped that
Snow was listening, following carefully somewhere close by. She missed him
dearly and couldn’t wait to be in his company again. “It’s not much
farther to the path, but we’ll leave you to it. If you travel through
those trees there, you’ll find a bend in the road, take the right
path. It looks as if it heads away from the mountain, but I can assure you,
that is not the case.”
Layora
nodded quietly, she felt emotionally and physically drained and had no
intention of starting the climb tonight. She simply wanted some quiet away from
the town. She had grown so used to the quiet; the noise she had experienced
today was almost too much for her to bear. Sighing, she nodded and smiled, “Thank you
both so much for all of your help; for all of your kindness. I cannot thank you
and your people enough for what you’ve all given me. I hope to find the elves by
the Spring and I thank you for showing me the way.”
Leo grinned
and nodded, reaching out his hand to her, “It was a pleasure to meet you, Layora. You’ll make it
there by Spring, for sure and don’t worry, they’ll love you.”
Layora
trembled a little and tried to keep the tears that sprang to her eyes at bay.
His words hit her hard and she simply nodded in thanks and shook his hand first
and then his father’s. They waved good bye to her as she headed
off in the direction they gave her and soon she was in the shadow of the
Mountain. She looked back after a while and noticed that they had left. Once
she felt safe enough, she whistled sharply and continued towards the trees.
Snow came bounding up beside her and even ran circles around her for a moment.
Finally she stopped and rubbed his ears, kissing the top of his head, “Hey boo, it’s alright.
We can go back to being just us again.” She nuzzled
his face with hers for a moment and sighed deeply, closing her eyes briefly.
When she opened them again, she found Snow’s bright blue eyes staring back at her and
all she could do was smile, his face resting in her hands, his breath on her
skin.
~
The next morning Layora found the
path and upon taking the curve to the right and she found that it was indeed
leading her away from the Mountain as they had said. She nervously followed it,
unsure of what she may come across. The path became narrower the further along
she went until they were practically climbing through the trees and underbrush.
Maneuvering as best she could, Snow close behind, they made their way through
the tangle of trees together. Eventually the trees thinned and although the
brush still remained for her to wade through, she could finally see a clearer
path ahead and it was right at the bottom of the Mountain where she stopped to
look up at its magnificence.
It loomed over her and the sight of
the snow covered rocky peaks was enough to send shivers through her. She knew
she would have to climb in some spots, given the terrain, but this path was
something she had not foreseen and she was eager to see where exactly it would
take her. They had said it was well travelled, though the path through the
little forest was overgrown, it did not look well-travelled. This puzzled her
of course, but she thought that perhaps they had taken a different path once
down the Mountain. Sighing deeply, she urged Snow ahead of her as they
continued along the path as it curled around the great Mountain. Snow trotted
along in front of her, seeming to be rather happy today. It was rather cold out
and Layora did her best to shake it from her bones, thankful that it wasn’t snowing
yet.
They travelled for a while in quiet,
enjoying the presence of one another. Layora would pinch his hind quarters from
time to time to get him to play with her a little and every so often he would
get so excited that he’d run circles around her; almost knocking her
over with his antics. She laughed whenever he did this and was forced to stop
and wait for him to calm down enough for them to continue. The snow had started
to fall around late afternoon and now they were well along the path, moving up
the Mountain. Layora pulled herself from rock to rock in some of the steeper
places along the path and Snow continued to lead the way, picking his route
carefully through the snow. Layora felt tired by the early evening, exhausted
really, so she decided they had better stop for the night and try and get some
rest. The climb was proving to be a bit difficult from the start.
~
Two days soon passed and Layora had
made decent progress up the Mountain, it had surprisingly become easier when
she found that it almost leveled out in places and gave her only a slight
incline moving upwards. Her main goal now that she had climbed a good distance was
to come around the Mountain to the other side. She did not realize however,
that her journey was going to be cut far shorter than she had expected.
Later that day Layora came across a
leveled area, it was still full of rocks, but the Mountain side jutted upwards
so steeply in front of her that she was forced to stop. She looked up and down
the peak before her, unsure of how she was going to get around either side of
it. It was beautiful up here and she turned to look out into the snowy void.
She could no longer see down the path she had come, she could barely see a few
feet in front of her with the blowing snow whipping up around her. Sighing, she
readjusted her pack and crossed her arms as she went closer to the wall of
stone, hoping to sit down and make something to eat. Snow trotted around her,
sniffing here and there while he looked around the area. He seemed content
busying himself with his wanderings and as Layora approached the rocky wall; he
suddenly let out a startling bark. Layora jumped and turned to look at him,
totally surprised by his call. He rarely barked like that and she worriedly
looked upon him.
“What’s the matter, Snow?” She called
and started towards him, but he was faster. He raced past her nearly knocking
her over and bolted towards the Mountain side where he disappeared through the
snowy haze. Layora gasped and rushed after him, terrified that she may lose
him, “Snow! Come
back!” She called
him over and over again, fear rising within her. She trembled hard and suddenly
in the midst of her run, she came into a dark place where no snow touched her
and there she saw him. He was standing a few feet from her in a dimly lit cave.
She collapsed in front of the pup, who only licked her face in response. The
fear had left her, but the panic still lingered and she continued to tremble as
she wrapped her arms around him. “You silly animal, you scared me so much-If I
had lost you…” she choked
and rubbed his ears.
It took her several minutes to calm
down and soon she was looking about curiously. They were indeed in a cave and
she could not see too far into the darkness, but Snow continued sniffing and
roaming around her. The cave was rather large, with the ceiling high above her
head and the walls at least 30 feet apart. She was thankful to be out of the
wind and snow, but hesitant about going any farther into the cave. Snow did not
seem to mind, however, and he continued to roam about, his nose nearly to the
floor. Layora suddenly came upon a hand written note on the cave wall and she
had to look closely to make it out. It read,
‘Whoever travels through this pass, be wary of
the darkness; be wary of the heaviness and unhappiness that will indeed
accompany you. But know this, the other side is not far, the darkness does not
bite, the heaviness won’t last forever and happiness will greet you
with the light.’
Layora was smiling, her heart
racing, “It’s a way
through, Snow!” She laughed
and hollered at him as he came running towards her. “We can go
through; it’s a tunnel through the Mountain.” She was in
awe, amazed that such a thing existed. Shaking her head, she rubbed Snow’s ears,
smiling warmly at him. “We’ll have a much better time of it if we travel
through here. We’ll just be careful and things will go
alright.” Snow’s ears
twitched beneath her fingertips and he whined a little, following her gaze as
she looked into the darkness.
.
They spent the night near the cave’s edge, not
wanting to start the hike into the tunnel just yet. Layora had built a small
fire and cooked a bit of meat for the two of them whilst they waited out the
evening light. Soon the sky was dark and very little light passed into the cave’s mouth.
Layora kept close to the fire with Snow and wondered whether she should set up
the tent inside or simply move in a little farther to sleep in her blankets.
She decided it would be warm enough to sleep by the fire under her blankets and
putting away her food; she brought out her blankets and sat down on them, Snow
coming eagerly to her side to lie down. She had to shuffle him off of her legs
a little and she laughed lightly as she did this. She had wanted to work on a
couple of arrows as she had broken two of them recently and hadn’t managed
to make a new bunch.
Pulling out two sticks from her
pack, she started carving them down. She spent almost an hour doing this,
getting them to a very precise length and soon she was carving little bits of
writing into the shafts. Once she finished, she pulled several feathers from
her bag. She had found a few hawk and owl feathers over the last month and she
kept them safe, knowing she would put them to good use sooner or later. She cut
them carefully with one of her knives and soon she was lashing them to the
arrow’s tail with
fine leather she had brought with her. She still had almost two coils left of
the leather and she was amazed at how long it had lasted her. She could only
hope that when she went to make more, it would turn out even half as fine as
this one.
After another half hour or so, she
had finished fashioning two new arrows for herself and content with her work,
she put them away in her quiver and lay down for the night. Barely under the
blankets, Snow was on top of her as he tried to snuggle with her. She laughed a
bit and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him over to her side, “Settle you.” She
whispered and rubbed his belly. “It’s bedtime, so get some sleep, we start off
early tomorrow into the tunnel.” She rubbed
his ears and soon they were both fast asleep by the dying fire.
~
Layora sat cross legged at the
opening of the cave, her gaze falling on the snow covered ground just outside.
The sky was clear today, the snow had stopped and as she gazed out across the
vast expanse of stone and snow, she could see the thousands of trees all around
her, climbing up the Mountain and deep into the valleys below. She took in
these sights for as long as she could, enjoying the Sun’s warmth on
her cheeks, even the cool air rushing past her. She enjoyed the brisk morning
so much so, that when she finally stood and turned her back to the open air,
she stopped and took one last deep breath. It would be the last time she would
see daylight for a long while.
Looking
down at Snow who had joined her side, she reached out and rested her hand on
the top of his head. His eyes closed briefly and soon they were looking off
into the darkness before them, the light at their backs. “Time to go,
Snow,” she
whispered and picking up her makeshift torch they started off together. She lit
it easily enough as they began to disappear into the darkness. They could still
make out the sides of the tunnel from the light outside streaming in, but it
was already growing much darker.
After a while the darkness didn’t seem to
bother her, it was just a little tiring having only the torch light to guide
her; its warm glow making her feel a little sleepy. Something that she had not
anticipated was the inability to discover what time of day it was. She knew her
body would tell her when it was time to rest and eat, but she would never know
for sure what time of day it really might be without the Sun. She sighed at the
thought of being mixed up in time and continued walking at her steady pace.
Snow had long since moved ahead of her and although she could still see his
bright fur; she wished he would stay closer. She thought that he might be
scouting ahead of her for any danger and felt a little more comforted by this.
She glanced over her shoulder now and then and could still see the pin prick of
light far off but after a little more walking, the next time she looked back,
it had completely disappeared. A sharp pain nearly winded her when she no
longer saw it and she stopped for a moment to breathe. She hadn’t expected
to feel so lost without the light and the walls around her only seemed to get
closer. Snow circled back and sat down in front of her, whining softly.
After a moment she knelt down and
wrapped her arms around him, “I know we can get through this Snow, I didn’t think it
would be so bad, but I’m scared. I need you to help me be strong. We
can do this together, I know we can.” He licked
her cheek a couple of times and she buried her face in the ruff of his neck,
holding him tightly. He seemed to like this and simply stayed like that with
her for a little while. After she felt she had collected herself, she stood and
picked up the small torch she had dropped. It still burned but not as bright as
before. She decided that when it went out, she would make camp and light a
small fire to keep them warm for the night.
It lasted what felt like several
long hours and when it was near going out, she unloaded her pack and started a
small fire with the last dying embers of the torch. Snow had curled up on the
blankets she had pulled out and Layora lay down next to him to relax a little.
She didn’t feel like
eating just yet and Snow wasn’t pestering her for food so she decided to
simply relax with him for a while until she felt hungry. After an hour or what
seemed like an hour had passed, Layora pulled some of the fish out of their
wrappings and grilled it over the fire for a little while. She put a little
pepper and salt over the fish once it was fully cooked and kept a plain piece
aside for Snow to enjoy. He didn’t much care for seasonings. As she had just
started eating, he was just finishing, it always seemed that way. He would eat
so quickly and sometimes it did startle her. She sighed and ate another piece
of the fish, it was definitely good and she wished she had made a little more.
She instead settled for eating some dried nuts she had acquired from the town
and even fed Snow a couple of them.
After a little while they turned in
together, curling up on their blankets by the small fire before them. The
flames flickered and lit up the walls, shadows playing along their surface.
Sighing, she watched the flames dance for a while, but her eyes were
continuously drawn to the shadows on the wall opposite her. She shuddered as
shapes formed and she shut her eyes tightly, knowing full well that it was her
mind and sight playing tricks on her. Snow sensed her discomfort and nosed her
arm a little, lifting it slightly to try and get her to pet him. She did pet
him, scratching the top of his head and playing with his ears. It didn’t take long
before they were both asleep, the fire still glowing not far from them.
~
Layora was shaking, she hadn’t been able
to stop shaking for the last three days, or at least, she thought it had been
three days. There was no real way of knowing while they were in the darkness.
She had been in the tunnel for a week and the darkness was wearing on her to
where paranoia was starting to set in. Every shadow, every little noise sent
her running, sprinting as fast as she could in the darkness. Snow would follow
her, his eyes fixed on the torch she carried as she ran. She was beyond
frightened now and keeping any kind of control over her mind and body was
nearly impossible. Snow was the only thing that kept her somewhat coherent, somewhat
grounded. Her entire body was shaking, her hands trembling and tears came
frequently. She was not used to the darkness; Elves in general never were ones
to live underground or in the dark. Layora would soon understand more of why
this was, but for now she lived in terror. She constantly stared off into the
darkness ahead of them, hoping to see a light, hoping to see anything that
might signal the end of the tunnel. She took to running during her time awake,
as fast as she could for as long as she could. The second week of her journey
through the Mountain was coming to a close and she was beginning to wonder
whether or not she would ever find the other side.
.
The next morning Layora awoke and
found that Snow was not by her side. She immediately sprang to her feet and
called out to him, trembling hard as she packed up her blankets, grabbed her
torch and smothered their cooking fire. She stood still, afraid to continue on
their path or turn back to look for him. After a few minutes she decided to continue
on a bit, listening for any sign of him. After a few minutes of calling him,
she could hear him running, the soft pads of his feet hitting the stone floor
as he went. She sighed deeply and when he came into view she gave him such a
look that he stopped just shy of her and laid down, laying his head right down
on the floor before her feet. She shook her head sternly, “Where did
you go? You scared me, why did you leave like that?” He whined
and finally stood up and started to prance as he moved away from her. Confused,
Layora tried to keep her voice steady, “What are you doing, you silly pup.”
Then he was off, racing away from
her and Layora didn’t think twice and took off after him. He did
not try and get away from her; he merely kept pace with her, encouraging her
forward. She suddenly wondered if he had found the end of the tunnel, ‘had that
been why he had disappeared?’ She thought
and tried to run even faster. Adrenaline was coursing through her and soon she
was ahead of Snow, he running flat out just a little behind her. Fear was
driving her now, she was frightened that she would not find the end of the
tunnel, frightened that she might never get out of the darkness. But she told
herself over and over again the words that she had read, ‘Whoever
travels through this pass, be wary of the darkness; be wary of the heaviness
and unhappiness that will indeed accompany you. But know this, the other side
is not far, the darkness does not bite, the heaviness won’t last
forever and happiness will greet you with the light.’ This, the
promise of meeting her kind, her people and Snow’s loving companionship was what
kept her going.
Minutes later she could feel air,
cool crisp air was making its way through the tunnel and now Snow was ahead of
her again. He was running as fast as he could with Layora running as fast as
she could close behind him. She was gasping, breathing hard as they got closer
and closer to the end. She could feel it and soon she dropped the torch as she
finally saw a light and it grew, larger and larger as they got closer. It was
the exit. Tears sprang to her eyes and she cried out with happiness as they
burst through the mouth of the tunnel and into daylight. It was late afternoon,
it had to have been, The Sun shone brightly high up in the sky and trembling
hard, Layora fell to her knees in the cold snow, dropping her things to the
floor with her. Snow was running around her, yipping and whining as he rolled
around in the soft blanket of freshly fallen snow. She shook her head and
trembling hard, she finally stood. Her eyes were bleary, sore from the light
and tears she had shed, but she didn’t care. She wiped them and stared up into the
sky, breathing deeply, enjoying the fresh air and the wind caressing her,
toying with her hair.
She had dressed lightly while in the
tunnel but now she realized that it was still indeed Winter and she would need
her coat and gloves again. She went through her pack and pulled her coat and
gloves from the bottom, putting them back on. She stayed away from the opening
to the tunnel and refused to look at it again while she remained there. Snow
had stopped his playing and was now watching Layora intently, waiting for her
to pick a route to take. There were large posts in the ground off to her right
and she went over to them warily. They were the markings to the path and
relieved that it had been so easy to find, she called for Snow to accompany
her. Not knowing how long it would take her to get down the Mountain, she
proceeded to follow the path. Getting as far away from the tunnel was her
number one priority at the moment and as she walked, she glanced down at Snow
and smiled warmly at him. “Thank you,” she
whispered and patted his head. He merely barked softly and trotted ahead of
her.
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