Dragons of Westeria

A new Life

The town of Remings.

After seamlessly moving from village to village and spending another couple of nights traveling through another forest, I made my way toward the outskirts of town. The town was simply bustling. Everyone seemed happy, business owners were hawking their wares and children were running around laughing and playing. I adjusted my scarf to make sure my hair was decently hidden and made my way into the heart of Remings slowly taking everything in. In the town center, there was a large fountain. People were everywhere, lovers were strolling or sitting closely together on benches, families were laughing and shopping or going into the local pub to eat. It was absolutely amazing; I have never seen so much life. As I passed the pub, my stomach growled, I was out of the food, and a hot meal would be a welcome treat.

I took a step inside and was met with a wall of noise, the inn in my old village was never this lively. It makes me even more curious about Imporia, how is there a place like this? Are the other towns and villages the same? What about the cities? The few towns and villages that I had quickly traveled through were smaller like my old village and I hadn't taken much time to pay attention, trying to move as unnoticed as possible.

A woman notices my hesitation and spritely walks up to me, dressed in a dark brown skirt and white blouse adorned with an apron, i instantly recognize her as a waitress.

“Can I help you sweetie?

I look over at her and see a flash of shock run through her eyes as they meet mine before quickly transforming in to a warm smile, she patiently waits for my answer as I nod. People often react like she did upon seeing my eyes for the first time, it had been a rare occasion seeing as how mother always had me cover them in public, but the few people who have seen them would have varying degrees of shock.

“I need something to eat.” I look around again. “Is it always this busy in here?” I ask wonderingly.

“Always!!” she laughs. “Come, come! There is a seat over here by the bar if you would like, you look new here.”

I look at her without answering.

She gives me a knowing look and says “I have never seen you around, so it was easy to tell that you are not from around here. Working in the pub, I pick up on the newcomers pretty easily.”

The lady seems genuinely nice, and I can’t help but to start to feel more at ease. I follow her to the place she had indicated and sit down.

“My name is Jerica” she says to me. “Today we have a creamy chicken soup and potatoes, does that sound good?”

“It does! Anything hot will do.”

Jerica looks at me for a moment and heads off to get my food. When she comes back, she informs me that she went on her fifteen-minute break and sits down on the chair opposite me.

She is a middle-aged woman; she looks athletic and seems to be bubbly and warm hearted. Standing shorter than I, she is around 5’6, soft brown hair running down her back and kind green eyes that almost look like emeralds.

“How old are you sweetie?”

I look up at her, the warmth and kindness in her eyes immediately stops the lie I am about to give her. She has a motherly way about her, the kind I had wished for often as a child.

“sixteen”

“You are young” She scrutinizes my face. “Where is your family?”

“I don’t know” It was the truth; I had no idea where they had gone.

“What do you mean, you don’t know?”

How do I explain everything to her? Explain something I can’t figure out for myself.

She sees my confusion and I can see the questions in her eyes. Jerica is a complete stranger to me; I don’t want to scare away the only kindness I have received. Can I trust someone I just met? Will she send me back? Is it safe to talk about it? As these thoughts run through my brain Jerica lets out a gentle sigh.

“Looks like there is a lot to that answer” Jerica places her hands on mine, they feel warm and instantly calm me down. “Don’t worry, we can talk about this later in private. Do you have somewhere to live yet?”

I shake my head. “I was going to get a room at the inn until I can figure that out.”

“Nonsense! You can stay with me!”

“I don’t want to inconvenience you.”

“You are young enough to be my daughter, and something about you makes me want to take care of you, I couldn’t live with myself if something were to happen. Please stay with me.”

I take a moment to think it through and then nod my head. “Ok, that would help a lot, thank you. I plan on finding a job, so I can pay you.”

“That isn’t necessary.” Jerica shakes her head emphatically.

Before she can say anything else though, I stop her and speak. “Please”

She looks deep into my eyes and eventually agrees, suddenly she laughs loudly, it is a joy filled laugh that sounds like bells tinkling. “What is your name, child? I forgot to ask”

“Ella”

“It is nice to meet you, Ella child. I get off work in about two hours, why don’t you go explore the town and meet me back here then?”

I nod to her as she gets up and goes back to work, I finish my meal, then go explore as Jerica suggested.

When the two hours is up, I have thoroughly explored Remings and am peacefully hanging out by the fountain when Jerica comes out of the pub. Her face lights up when she sees me and waves, I get up and make my way over to her. Surprising me, Jerica pulls me into a hug, and I imagine that this is what it would feel like to be hugged by a loving mother. I am stiff at first, but it feels so warm that it doesn’t take me long to hug her back.

“Let’s head home, child.” She says smiling as she links her arm in mine.

We head down the road towards the area of town where the cute houses were during my exploration, she tells me silly stories from her time at the pub, making me smile for the first time in a long time. She puts me completely at ease, it feels as if I have known her for so much longer than one day.

Once we get to her house, I can’t help but notice how bright and loving it is. Walking up her walkway, the yard is covered in bright green grass and lined with beds of flowers that vary in bright colors. Her porch is full of comfy chairs and pillows just asking to be sat in and the house itself is a simple white with dark blue shutters. It is adorably cute; I have already fallen in love with it. Stepping inside, it is a small but cozy home. It is a one-story house with a living room to the right of the door, a large kitchen to the left and what looks like bedrooms toward the back of the house with a bathroom and a laundry room. We walk towards the back of the house and Jerica opens a door leading to one of the bedrooms.

“This will be your room, if you need anything please let me know.”

“Thank you so much.” I say as my eyes burn with unshed tears. I haven’t cried in a really long time, and the first true act of kindness throws me off balance.

Jerica, seemingly not noticing my change in emotion then gently says, “Go ahead and put your things in the dresser, take a shower and when you are ready, I will be out here waiting for you.”

I give Jerica a small smile and head into the bedroom. I put away my meager belongings quickly and then head into the bathroom, where a towel and a large sleeping gown is waiting for me. Knowing that Jerica hadn’t missed a detail about me makes me a little uncomfortable but something inside me tells me that I can trust her. I can only hope that these gut feelings of mine aren’t leading me down the wrong path.

I haven’t taken a hot shower in so long that I forgot how good it felt, I spend way longer under the spray of water than i had meant to, letting my emotions ease and my muscles relax. I wash away the dirt and grime from my travels with the soap that Jerica had left for me to use. When I lived with my parents, I wasn’t allowed to use anything but cold water and to make sure I didn’t disobey them, they would make sure the hot water was off when I would need to shower, which was rare. I was only allowed to shower once a week, water was an important commodity that was wasted on someone like me. Shaking the memories free, I turn off the water and get dressed, I am no longer there, they don't control me anymore. Heading out to the living room, I join Jerica on the sofa in front of the fireplace.

“I know that you must need sleep, but I made a small dinner and if you are up to it, how about we talk for a little bit?”

I then notice the plate with salad sitting on the coffee table and nod my head. “I’m not that tired yet.”

Jerica smiles at me and we both eat in a companionable silence. When both plates are empty, Jerica picks mine up to take them into the kitchen. Soon, she comes back and hands me a cup of tea, it smells of lavender and Chamomile.

“I get the feeling that you have been through a lot, child. I know that I am a stranger to you, but would you feel comfortable with telling me what led to you traveling on your own?”

I wrap my hands around the hot cup, letting the warmth seep into my skin and take a moment to collect my thoughts. I look into Jerica’s eyes and try to decide if I should be open with her, that gut feeling is back, telling me that I am meant to be here like it was fate for Jerica to come into my life, something about her makes me feel safe. Trusting this feeling, I tell Jerica everything, once I started though, it was like I couldn’t stop. I told her every detail of my childhood, the abuse, the insults, being sold, and everything that happened at the church. Anxiety filled me; I didn’t want Jerica to think that I was crazy.

My family had abused me for as long as I could remember, telling me that I was an ugly child, beating me when my temper would show. I had been locked in the basement when I had shown rebellious streaks, which was something that my parents could never destroy. They would use belts to whip my back and would starve me if I became too "greedy". I wasn't allowed to go to school like the other children and rarely got to walk the village unescorted. When I did get the chance to go out into the village, I always had to have my hair and eyes covered with hats adorned with veils. Mother always said that I had cursed eyes and ugly hair, saying that if someone saw me outside of the family that misfortune would befall them. As a small girl, this terrified me, and I never questioned it but as I grew older doubt had taken hold. I felt as though she lied to me, wasn't she and my father proof that this was not true?. The only part of my childhood that I would enjoy were the nights of the storyteller. Twice a month this elderly women with long white hair woven into twin tails, would sit in the center of our village next to the large fire pit, telling us legends, myths and stories. Her tales always gave me a sense of something more and unbeknownst to her, she gave me the sense of hope to escape. Those stories made me curious and had me wanting to explore and find out if they were true.

Jerica sits there taking it all in, at moments she looks angry before masking her emotions, the part that surprised me the most was the fact that she didn’t seem as shaken up by the fire at the church as I did.

“You pitiful thing.” She says and then places her hand on my knee to comfort me. I feel warmth coming from her hand that again, instantly calms me.

“You don’t think I am crazy?”

“Not at all.” She sits for a moment before continuing. “It seems as though there is a lot you do not know, child. Your parents kept you very sheltered from the way this world is.”

“I know what you mean, I was homeschooled, but I had always felt as though my parents kept a lot from me. When the storyteller would come into town, my curiosity grew. I was about 6 when I had asked my parents about the storyteller's stories, but they told me that they were just children's stories and had forbidden me to ask about them again. I had found some discarded books that I would keep hidden to read when I was able to and had noticed then that they had kept my learning simple but I wanted to learn more.”

“I think I can answer some of the questions you have about your wedding day, and possibly about your parents. Although, this is just a hunch, so please bear with me. Ella, are you aware that humans are not the only beings in this land?”

“Not the only beings?” I questioned, perplexed

Jerica carefully nods her head. “This may come as a shock to you but there are many races that are not human, some have magic, others have different physical abilities. There are shifters, Vampires and Fae. I would say that half of this worlds population is fae or supernatural, however, Myreland has more of a human presence than either Imporia or Desterica. My guess is that your parents raised you in a predominantly human village.”

I had heard stories about all of these beings from the storyteller, these were the stories that mother told me to never ask about again. Even back then something about the stories resonated with me as if part of me had already known.

“Have you felt the warmth that spreads calmness through you at my touch?”

Shocked, I connect my eyes with hers. Jerica smiles at me gently. “This is because I am an Earthen elf, I can heal physical, mental and emotional pains or wounds by connecting with nature. I was able to comfort your anxiety and help to calm your nerves.”

Once again, I feel as if I had already known there was something different about Jerica, it was as if a deeper part of me could sense it.

“Ella, did either of your parents have the same color eyes as you?”

“No, father had brown eyes and mother had blue. My mother said my eyes were cursed and simply just didn't like my hair, the sight of my hair seemed to anger her.” I say as I take the scarf off of my head.

Jerica stares at my hair in awe filled wonder. “Your hair is gorgeous, sweetie, and so are your eyes, which are definitely not cursed.” She sits and thinks for a moment before continuing. "Although, your eyes are rare even among the other races, Ella. I can tell that you are not human though."

"Not human?"

She nods and looks into my eyes. "Most of the races don't tend to come into their birthright until their 18th birthday, some at 16. Although there are exceptions with both early and late bloomers with every race, I don't feel that this is the case with you. I can definitely sense a dormant power within you, and I have a hunch as to who you are, but I will need to look into this matter more closely. Red hair is a sign of great power and your eyes, are only known among rare bloodlines, but before I tell you any more than that, I need to do some research and confirm my suspicions."

My brain is racing with all this new information, it is like a door has opened in my mind and although a part of me accepts everything she is saying, it is a lot to take in.

Jerica looks at me and pats my knee before standing up, “It is getting late, and I know I gave you a lot of information to process, child. I don’t have all the answers for you, but I can help you find them. I can also teach you what you should have been learning from your parents. You need to know about Westeria and the three kingdoms, you also need to learn about the many races that coexist within these lands. The more you learn about everything else, the more you will learn about yourself. If you are up to it, I can be your guardian and mentor and start homeschooling you around work at the pub. Would you be ok with that?”

"I don't want to put you in any kind of danger if my parents are still alive, Jerica." I say worriedly.

Smilingly she says, "I am more than capable of protecting you, and I will take care of you as if you were my own daughter, you are safe and welcome here always."

“Then yes!" I am overwhelmed with the kindness she has shown me. "It is a lot to take in now though, and I am starting to feel tired.”

Jerica nods at me and pulls me into a hug. “Go to bed, hun. Take all the time you need to process everything I told you, when you are ready, we can begin your lessons.”

Heading to my new bedroom, I flop down on the softest bed I had ever had the privilege to lay on, nestling deep down into the sheets, I fall into a deep exhausted sleep.