Chapter 5: The Neighboring Village

We walk through a quiet town with few people and not a single child in sight. The houses are made around the Forrest, careful not to disturb the natural order as much as possible.

In the center of the town is a tree that is slightly larger then the rest with a small cottage built in front of it. As we approach an old man walks out of the house eyeing us with clear distain.

"What is the a Chief from the boarders doing here?" his voice sound more like an accusation then a question but no one seems to mind it.

"A child with sacred eyes was born to our village. We seek refuge only for the night. We will be on our way as soon as we are rested." Our Chief steps forward with pride event in his eyes.

Suddenly the old man stands in front of me looking at my eyes. I see wonder and joy but most of all.... I see greed.

"Good! Good! With an offering like this the Great Elven King will be pleased."

Grandpa village Chief furrows his eyes "Offering? She is a priestess of the Goddess. Not a tool to be bought and sold as the humans do to our and their own kind" His words are firm without giving an inch. "Since when has the King stood above the Goddess?"

"Watch your tongue!" The Chief snaps at us, "The King is the rightful ruler of the Forrest. All that live in it must obey his words. He will allow her to be his bride and bare his children for her sacrifice. Don't be greedy."

"Bride!? Sacrifice!?" My mother exclaims in shock. "The king is several thousands of years old while my daughter has just been born. Even for our kind with our long lifespans that is too much and what sacrifice?"

The old man looks at my mother with obvious distaste "You have no right to refuse. the Kings strength must be stronger then anyone else's in order to protect the Forrest. Her eyes for a seat right behind his Majesty as his Queen is more than enough payment for a child born at the boarder."

"You have spoken like this since we came here. I admit our village is isolated due to the distance between our villages but since when has the location of a village dictated ones worth and what do you mean by her eyes?" My Father steps forward as the rest of the village looks on in confusion.

"Ha! A boarder village truly is filled with nothing but ignorant fools." the old man's tone is haughty, as if even speaking with us is below him. "The King will raise this thing as a child bride and when she comes of age and the king beds her for the first time. She will offer her eyes to him or else her entire village will perish along with her. After her eyes are taken by force of course."

Horror and panic spreads throughout the entire village.

"How horrible!"

"How can the King be so cruel?"

"The Moon Goddess's priestess is to be defiled?"

"Blasphemy!"

As my Father steps forward, rage twisting his features Grandpa village Chief stops him. He straightens his back and nods but I still catch the horror and defiance in his eyes before they disappear. "I understand. Then instead we will make haste to the Palace so as to not keep the King waiting." My father's head snaps to look at Grandpa Village chief horrified by his words.

The old man nobs his head as he smiles smugly. "It's good you have learned your place. Now get lost. You boarder village beggars are not welcome here."

"As you wish." Grandpa village Chief bows as we make our way out of this horrible village.

As soon as we are out of sight my father grabs Grandpa Village chief by the scruff of his shirt and slams him against the closet tree. "What the hell was that, Tyrion! I will die before I let my daughter be bought and sold like a slave!" My father's face is filled with rage, betrayal, and sadness at the thought that Grandpa Tyrion might go along with this.

Suddenly Grandpa Tyrion's face turn pitch black as he strikes my father over the head as he scolds him. "You Brat!! How dare you think for even a second I would allow one of our own to be treated like that! Have you lost your mind! Maybe if I hit you hard enough I'll be able to knock some sense back into you!" Grandpa Tyrion keeps hitting my father who can only try to shield himself as best he can.

All tho, I don't miss the relief I see flicker past his eyes. The other villagers tease him for his impulsiveness.

"Pfff, I can't believe you fell for Tyrion's little act."

"Yeah, I mean come on, really?"

"Seems you're still a child even after becoming a Father."

Everyone is laughing and smiling at his actions. "You're right. I was foolish." My father smiles in relief as tears threnten to fall from his eyes for the villagers who didn't waver for even a second.

I smile in my mind seeing the happiness in my Father's eyes and the loyalty within the rest of the village even with a King's wrath hanging above them like an executioners axe ready to take their heads. "I will never forget this." I think to myself."

My mother steps forward and looks towards the Village chief, "What now? We can't go to the Temple it sits on the Palace grounds. What do we do? Where do we go?" My mothers words are answered by silence. Nobody knew what to do now or where to go.

Grandpa Tyrion steps forward "First lets put more distance between us and that village then we should rest for the night. We'll figure out a plan in the morning when everyone is well rested and thinking clearly." Everyone nodded as we started walking further and further way. When night fell and everyone was tired we stopped and set up camp for the night.

Everyone was exhausted both physically and mentally. The shock of just how much our once kind and peaceful race had changed was too much to process at one time. Add to that the physical effort they put in to journey this far and it's easy to see why everyone fell asleep almost as soon as they stopped moving. Like that the night past peacefully as a new day came to life with the rising of the sun.