Chapter 15 - Hopeless Truths

The sun rose and brought forth another beautiful day in Gemhules. The Sharumez household was up and busy preparing for their day. Akirexer hid her sadness the best she could as she served everyone their breakfast.

Naian, Emelinia and Alainara were oblivious to the heartache of Sharumez and Akirexer. This was because Sharumez forbade Akirexer from talking about the matter yet.

Sharaina was the last one to join the table. She sat down with a cold and distant look on her face. Alainara was sitting opposite her but she looked right through her. The rings around her eyes indicated that she didn't have enough sleep.

"Sharaina," Akirexer began. "Would you like to have pancakes or bread?" she asked but Sharaina didn't answer.

Akirexer and Sharumez looked at each other tensed. Sharumez glanced over to Naian and Emelinia and they seemed to not have noticed Sharaina's bad mood. Sharumez turned his attention to Sharaina and saw that she was deep in thought. He and Akirexer exchanged tensed looks once more.

"Sharaina, your mother is talking to you." he said, in the softest way possible.

Sharaina slowly lifted her head to face her father. She stared at him for quite some time and it made Akirexer feel uneasy. Sharumez started to worry if Sharaina had some how overheard them the previous night. Naian and Emelinia were still unaware of what was happening.

"Why do want to send me away papa?" she asked blankly and this time Naian and Emelinia stopped eating.

Oh goodness she heard us. "It's not like that my child." Sharumez tried to explain.

Sharaina got up from her chair. "Why did you agree to send me away?" she asked, this time there was some emotion in her voice.

Akirexer grew even more tensed. "Please calm down honey. Now isn't the time to talk about this? Your father and I will explain everything later to you." she pleaded.

Sharaina looked at Akirexer in disbelief. She stepped away from the table and covered her face in thought.

"How can I calm down when I am been driven out of my own home?!" Sharaina raised her voice and Sharumez stood up.

"Please we mean no harm. What choice do we have in this matter? No one is kicking you out of here this will always be your home." he tried to reason with her.

"When were you going to tell me? When I have a week or day left?" Sharaina's tears fell.

"Sharaina, please calm down. You must understand that we wouldn't want to hurt you in any way. We are just as helpless in this situation as you are." Akirexer held back her own tears as she explained.

Sharaina waved her hand and a strong force pushed the plates off the table and dropped the picture frames on the wall. Akirexer covered her mouth and gasped. The miniquake that followed forced Naian and Emelinia off their seats. Alainara took refuge in Sharumez's arms.

Sharumez remembered King Raglan's words, As she is now, she is a risk to be around because there is no telling what she would do in her anger.

"I will not leave you hear me? I will not and you can't make me!"

Sharaina ran up to her room and banged the door so hard that Akirexer hiccuped. She ran after her and tried to open the door but it was locked. Akirexer cried and begged Sharaina to open the door but she didn't. Naian joined Akirexer at the door and called out to Sharaina but all they heard was silence. Little did they know that she was hugging her legs in a corner as she cried.

"She isn't opening the door." Akirexer worriedly said to Sharumez when she went back down to the dinning room. "What should we do now?" she asked.

Sharumez sighed, "You know that when she gets like this, it takes a little while to calm her down. Leave her alone for now."

Akirexer slowly nodded her head to his words.

"Come, we must find a wagon heading to Vanimaq." he said to Emelinia.

"Good bye, Mrs Sharumez. Thank you for everything."

Emelinia showed her gratitude with a bow. Akirexer only gave her a faint smile.

"If she doesn't come out of her room by the time I get back, we will figure something out." Sharumez assured Akirexer and left with Emelinia.

Sharumez and Emelinia rode to the market in silence. When they got there, Sharumez looked around to see if anyone was going to Vanimaq. To his disappointment, no one was going there at that time. The only person who was going to Vanimaq was scheduled to leave after 4:00 PM. Sharumez returned to his wagon and ordered his horses to move.

"Are you taking me to Vanimaq?" Emelinia asked him, stunned by his gesture.

"We will get there soon." he replied without taking his eyes off the road.

"Please, you don't have to do this. I am just a stranger to you and right now your family needs you." she declined.

Sharumez didn't say anything back to her. He just kept his eyes on the road and controlled the horses.

"You have already done more than enough for me." she added.

Sharumez looked back at her with a half a smile which Emelinia saw right through.

"We will be there soon." he repeated his words.

Emelinia sat back and kept quiet. She couldn't understand Sharumez's kindness. He literally put her needs before those of his own family. Before him, only her mother had been so nice to her. Emelinia felt her heart warm up at the thought of seeing her mother after so long.

I'm coming mama. I really hope that you are okay.

The journey went smoothly and before Emelinia knew it, they were in Vanimaq. Emelinia couldn't contain her happiness as she smiled at her home village. She got out of the wagon and looked around smiling. The village had changed a little due to the new infrastructure.

In the past it had a market of a few street vendors and a handful of shops but now there were more shops. The population also appeared to have increased. Vanimaq was a lot smaller than Gemhules and majority of the people who lived their belonged to the lower class.

"I'm finally back home." She couldn't believe it.

Emelinia caught Sharumez smiling warmly at her.

"Thank you so much for everything you have done for me. I will forever be grateful for your kindness." she happily said with her hands put together.

"You are welcome child. Will you be able to find your way home from here?" he warmly asked her.

"Yes I will." Emelinia joyfully nodded her head.

"Okay I am returning home now. If you are ever in Gemhules, please don't hesitate to visit us."

"It will be my pleasure to come over to your house again." Emelinia replied and Sharumez rode away waving goodbye to her.

****

Several hours had gone by but Sharaina hadn't come out of her room. Akirexer felt helpless and restless about that. Earlier she tried calling Sharaina down for lunch with high hopes that she would agree because she missed her breakfast. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to get Sharaina out of her room.

When Sharumez finally arrived home, Akirexer desperately ran to him and blasted him for taking his sweet time away from home. She calmed down when Sharumez explained that he had to take Emelinia to Vanimaq. When Akirexer told Sharumez that Sharaina still hadn't gone out of her room, he became worried.

"What do we do now?" she asked him.

"Have you tried calling Liss and Mayla to come and talk to her?" he asked her back.

"Yes I did but neither of them are in the village." Akirexer replied with a frown.

Sharumez remembered Light and his eyes widened. "What about Light? He is actually the best person to talk to her because he can relate to her situation."

Akirexer bit her finger in frustration. "Why didn't I think of him?" she asked herself. "Naian! Naian come here quick."

"Yes, mama," Naian answered.

"Please go and call Light. Maybe he can calm your sister down. Hurry to his home now." Akirexer pleaded.

Light was caught off guard when Naian explained what was happening to him. Nami and Light's sisters listened to everything silently. Nami wasn't happy when Light agreed to go with Naian without a second thought. She remained grumbling to herself.

Sharumez and Akirexer were happy to see Naian return with Light. They all followed Light upstairs to Sharaina's door. Light knocked on the door and listened for any sounds.

"Sharaina, its me, Light. Please open the door." he said through the door but Sharaina didn't open it.

"Sharaina please open up. I really need to talk to you." he pleaded but she didn't open.

Akirexer felt hopeless at that point. "What shall we do now?" she held her aching head.

Light rushed downstairs and went outside. Sharumez, Akirexer and Naian followed him out. By the time they caught up with him, they found him looking up at Sharaina's window. Light picked up the ladder on the lawn and positioned it under Sharaina's window. He glanced over to the concerned parents.

"This is unfortunately the only way for me to get into her room. I hope you don't mind." he said to them.

"Do what you must." Sharumez gave his permission.

Light smiled at them. "I will do my best to make her come to terms with this. Please, don't worry."

"Thank you," Akirexer emotionally said to Light.

Sharumez held Akirexer as they watched Light go up the ladder. The window was already opened so Light easily slid into the room. He looked around for Sharaina and saw her hugging her legs in a corner. He felt awful to see her like that. He silently went over to the corner and sat beside her.

****

Emelinia joyfully walked home to her mother's house. She was a product of an affair her mother had with a married man. Her father denied getting her mother pregnant and when she finally gave birth to her, he completely rejected her. This was because Emelinia was a female seer.

The shame for having a child outside wedlock forced Emelinia's grandparents to disown her mother and kick her out of their house. Emelinia's mother worked hard in people's farms and bought a little house that sheltered the both of them. When times got tough, her mother opted to send Emelinia to Cherilisia.

Emelinia stopped in her tracks and looked at her home with teary eyes. Her tears fell when she saw her mother go out of the house with a dish of wet laundry. Her sky blue haired mother screamed the moment she saw her. The two women emotionally embraced each other.

"Did Queen Lavila give you leave?" her mother asked as she wiped her tears of joy.

Emelinia shook her head. "No mama, I ran away."

Fear crept into Emelinia's mother. "Did she find out about who you are?"

"No, she didn't." Emelinia quickly replied. Her anger was palpable.

"Are you sure?" she stressed.

"Mama no one but us know about that issue. Please you know how much I hate it when you bring up anything related to that man." Emelinia sat on the stool outside upset.

"Okay, tell me why you ran away." her mother changed the topic and Emelinia sighed.

She listened in silence as Emelinia explained everything that happened from the time she warned the cleaner to how Sharumez and Jenu rescued her. Her mother shed tears and hugged her.

"You have been through so much. Don't worry, you are home now." she lovingly said.

A little baby boy crawled out of the house. Emelinia was puzzled by that. She watched her mother pick him up and when she started breastfeeding the baby, Emelinia stood up in utter shock.

"Mama, what is this?" she pointed at the baby.

"He is your... brother." her mother answered with shame.

"Who is the father?" Emelinia asked angrily.

Before her mother could answer, a fat, sweaty and drunk man walked out of the house. He looked at Emelinia and her mother and staggered towards them. When he recognized Emelinia, he threw his almost empty whiskey bottle to the ground and it broke. The sound of shattering glass startled the baby and it started to cry. The man furiously eye balled Emelinia's mother.

"Channy! I thought that I made it clear to you that I don't want this outcast girl here. That was my only condition in order for me to marry you!" his raspy voice thundered.

Emelinia felt consumed by utter disgust. "Mama! You married this fat bastard? Of all people?"

Channy burst out crying. "I am so sorry my child but I had no choice. The thought of bringing another fatherless child to this world made me agree to his conditions. He is the one who helped me secure a job for you at the castle so that you didn't have to suffer." she explained herself with her hand on her chest.

"And you didn't find it necessary to tell me all this? Do you know how much I worried about you because you weren't returning any of my letters or coming to visit me like you promised? I have been lonely for the past five years mama! How could you do this to me?" Emelinia cried.

"What are you still doing here you outcast? Get out now before I break every bone in your body!" he furiously pointed at Emelinia as he tried to maintain his balance.

Emelinia scowled at him, "Shut up you fat loser. I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to my mother." she pointed to her devastated mother. "You will regret choosing him over me mama. Be rest assured that I will never ever come back here."

Channy cried even more, "Emelinia my daughter, please forgive me."

"Good bye, mama." Emelinia ran out of the gate crying.