Grace for The Fallen

The Skrul

Daetheia Grace

   I followed the Elf Leader, slightly nervous. I didn’t know who the Skrul was, or how he was supposed to unlock my supposed ‘gifts’, but I guess I would find out. We were currently climbing one of the tall hills ringing The Valley. I looked up to see how far we had to go and saw the mouth of a small cave, the inside shrouded in shadow and mystery.

   “That’s where we are headed,” Lefal told me, seeing where I was looking. I swallowed in trepidation and nodded. It didn’t look like a very welcoming place. I was about to take another step forward when I felt a hand on my arm, stopping me.

   “Look,” Lefal pointed behind us. I turned around and gasped. The whole Valley was spread before us, the very edges of the vale visible to us from our high perch. I could see a great pavilion in the very middle of The Valley, with colourful, mismatched cottages and houses branching out from that point. There was a great lake off to the left side of the valley, kept cool by the shadow of the surrounding mountains. On the right-hand side of The Valley, the fringes almost swallowing the houses situated there, was a vast, sprawling forest.

   The trees reached almost as high as the mountain beside them, and I marvelled at how I hadn’t noticed the forest before now. Their bark was so white that it was translucent, reflecting the golden light of the sun into and around the forest so that no corners were in shadow. The leaves were green and golden and orange, shining in the sun as if they were precious gems. There was abundant vegetation in and amongst the ghostly trunks.

   “That’s Vhugala Forest,” Lefal commented, once again correctly assuming where I was looking, “The lifeblood for us here in The Valley. It’s where we get our water food… anything, really.”

   “Water?” I asked. As soon as I had said it, though, I could hear it. A sort of trickling, gurgling sound that I had come to associate with a river or stream. Wait… hear?

   “I… I can hear it,” I stuttered, looking warily at Lefal. But she merely looked at me and nodded in satisfaction.

   “Your Elf senses are starting to kick in,” she commented, “That’s good. It’ll take about a week for them to develop fully, but I see that the process has already started.”

   “Oh. Is that one of my… gifts?” I asked hesitantly. Lefal seemed amused by the question.

   “Gifts?” She repeated, then shook her head, “No. A gift is something that is specific to you. Everybody has advanced senses, but gifts are special. Unique. Normally you can have up to four different gifts, but there have been Elves that have been known to have more. Take Theron, for example. He has seven gifts. Definitely the most I’ve seen in my 700 or so years of living.”

   A squeak popped out of my throat.

   “700?” I asked. Lefal grinned.

   “Well, actually closer to 800 now,” she mused, and I swallowed loudly.

   “Ok,” I muttered, “Ok. 800 years old. Ok,” Lefal chuckled a bit, a surprisingly warm, grandmotherly sound.

   “You get used to it,” she assured me. I just nodded my head, and we walked on. I spared one last glance back at The Valley and felt a twinge of anger and disappointment towards my own… no, the humans. If they came here, if they found this refuge, they wouldn’t think twice about the innocent lives they would take before they mercilessly slaughtered every elf in this haven. They would probably even enjoy it, sadists that some of them were.

   “Daetheia,” I looked up, only to see that I had stopped walking. I ran up the stairs that had now appeared, carved into the mountain-face, to catch up to Lefal. As we climbed up the stone staircase, Lefal began talking.

   “The Skrul is very… temperamental,” she explained, “He will not hurt you, but it would be a good idea not to anger him. Just remember to be polite. Try not to display any sort of surprise when you see him. His appearance is not unpleasant, merely upsetting. And it is a rather sensitive topic for him,” I nodded, taking in everything that she was saying as though it was life and death. Lefal’s footsteps halted and I looked up, only to see nothing but a black abyss before me. I breathed in deeply, and Lefal put a comforting hand on my shoulder.

   “You have nothing to fear,” her voice was now a whisper, the tone of her words making the words themselves meaningless. I nodded anyway.

   “Don’t forget what I told you. Just be respectful and you should be fine,” she smiled then, and it made me relax a little, “Good luck, Daetheia. I’ll be here when you come out.”

   With that, I turned and walked straight into the engulfing embrace of the awaiting shadows.

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   The inside was warmer than I had expected, only a faint draft playing around my ankles. It was, however, just as dark as I had imagined. My footsteps echoed around the tunnel as I walked and every sound made me wince, then wonder why I was so concerned about being quiet. It’s not like I’m not supposed to be here. Right?

   I walked on for a bit longer, the tunnel seeming to grow longer with every step that I took, the shadows seeming to grow even darker… I shook my head.

   “This is ridiculous,” I muttered, and the sound of any voice – even my own – soothed me, “Hello?” I called out, my voice bouncing back on me, the echo mocking the shaking in my voice, “Is anybody there?”

   I thought I heard a faint chuckle behind me and quickly spun around. Nothing but shadows.

   “Hello?” I swallowed. This time a faint rustling noise, like a cloak brushing against stone, came from just in front of me. I thrust out my hand to see if there was something there, and my fingers came into contact with the edges of a rough piece of material.

   “I know you’re there,” I called out, and was surprised at how steady my voice sounded.

   “Do you?”

   The voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. It was soothing and yet at the same time made every instinct in my body scream ‘run!’ It was definitely male. Smooth and deep. But one would never call it human. The sheer power in it filled the air with crackling energy, like an oncoming thunderstorm.

   “Yes,” I whispered, certain he could hear me, “I know you are there,”

   “Am I?”

   “Please,” I pleaded, “Please. No mind games. I just want to know why I am here. Please.”

   A brief silence. Then suddenly the cave was filled with a blinding light. I covered my eyes with my hands, blinking furiously behind them to try and dispel the black spots swirling in vision.

   “You can look now,” I could hear the amusement in his voice.

   I slowly pulled my hands away from my eyes, trying to prepare myself for what I may find. But as soon as I saw him, my mind went blank and I couldn’t help but stare.

   He was beautiful. Flawless. And I wasn’t saying that from the view of attraction or infatuation, I was merely stating the facts. There wasn’t a defect on him. His skin was unblemished and as pale as the face of the moon. His hair was blacker than midnight with strands of dark blue in it and fell in thick, silky waves until just past his shoulders. His body was lean and yet well-muscled. The epitome of male perfection.

   I looked up into his face, and found it to be just as beautiful as the rest of him. Yet… I couldn’t seem to focus on the shape of one feature. As soon as I did, it would shift and change into another shape. A different type of mouth, longer eyelashes, a more defined jaw. The only part of his face that I could see properly was his eyes. They were constantly changing colour, from purple to red to black. And they were terrifying. Beautiful in their coldness. Stunning in their cruelty. Gorgeous in the depth of their pain.

   I suddenly remembered what Lefal had said about not staring at him, and immediately dropped my gaze. I heard him cluck his tongue.

   “They always stare,” he commented, a faint hardness in his voice, “But you… you looked away. Do you find my appearance unsettling?”

   “No,” I replied quickly.

   “Liar,” he purred.

   “I’m not lying!” I immediately protested, raising my head to glare at him heatedly, “You’re just… not what I expected,” I realised that I had been looking him in the eye and immediately looked away.

   “Beautiful. Terrifying. Hypnotizing. Cruel. I have been called all of these things. But never unexpected.”

   “I meant no disrespect,” I whispered.

   “I know. I always know what you are thinking. I know everything about you the minute you set foot in my… dwelling. So, I warn you now and I will only warn you once. Do not lie to me. If you do, it will not end well for you.”

   I swallowed and nodded, trying to make my mind blank. Trying to not make myself think anything. Yet that itself is a thought, my inner monologue reminded me. Despite the situation, I could not help but be slightly amused.

   “What are you thinking about?” The Skrul’s voice sounded slightly amused.

   “Uh… thoughts,” I responded, “Why couldn’t you just look yourself?” I asked, then immediately clamped my mouth shut. But the Skrul didn’t seem offended by the question.

   “It is… refreshing to hear people talk after so long in solitude,” he admitted, “You are the only intelligent being to come here in over a year.” He sounded slightly bitter.

   "I'm sorry," I felt a twinge of pity for him, and reached my hand out to touch his arm. He immediately flinched as my hand met the coarse fabric of his thick black robes, and I pulled away. He looked at me curiously for a second. It was just getting awkward when he suddenly spoke.

   “You are here for your gifts, yes?”

   “Yes,” I nodded, “And information? Please.”

   He simply turned around in response, and started walking further into the tunnel. I only hesitated for a second before following him.

   And was consumed by the darkness once more. 

-Rebecca Underwood