Gifts of the Living Phoenix

Chapter 2

Later that evening, Everett and Edric had gone home with their parents after the Council meeting and Faith was left alone with her father.  Her mother was with some tribal members helping someone deliver a new baby and had not been seen all day. 

            “Faith, how do you feel about Everett and Edric?”  Asked her father suddenly looking at her.  “Are they nice to you?”

            “I like them all right, why?  I mean, as much as you can like them since they’re boys,” Faith said scrunching her face a little.

            “I know you three are close, but if you had to choose one friend between the two of them, who would you choose?”

Her father’s question took her by surprise.  Faith thought he was joking, but when she looked up at him puzzled, she realized he was looking at her in all seriousness.  Yet Faith’s innocent mind didn’t quite grasp what he was asking. 

            “Why would I choose between them Father?  They’re both my friends, my best friends. I couldn’t choose between the two!”  Faith said in alarm. 

            “There may be some changes to come in a few years, I just need you to be prepared.  We’re going to be changing some of the schooling and training you all receive too. I don’t want you to be caught by surprise when things don’t go the way you thought they would.”

            Faith was quiet after that.  “Ok father,” Faith nodded.   It was all she could really say since she had no idea what he was referring to.   Her father didn’t say much after that, appearing lost in his own thoughts.  Faith figured that he would tell her when she needed to know.  The one thing that Faith knew and felt in her heart was that with a doubt she absolutely trusted her father and knew that he would look out for her interests, no matter what. 

            “Faith!  Can you help me with these bags dear?”  My mother came through the door with bags of food items that she must have received from the family she helped. 

That’s generally how we paid one another, in kind, or through food, or other forms of trade.  Most of us had the ability to sew our own clothes but there were people who sewed for trade as well.  Most everyone had some kind of useful skill that they could barter with or utilize as a form of employment.  Faith’s mother was a healer, though Faith didn’t really see the need for healing since most people didn’t really get hurt, outside of having babies.  Having babies - that looked painful. Faith never wanted to have babies after witnessing what actually happened the last time in that scenario.  Her mother had asked her to help a couple of months ago but after Faith fainted in the room, she never asked her to help with babies after that. 

            There was nothing wrong with being a healer like her mother, but the one thing Faith wanted above all else was to be was a shapeshifter.  She wanted to hunt, to be a warrior like most shapeshifters.  She liked that she could cast magic, but to her, magic seemed dull and boring - full of reading and memorizing spells and other nonsense when she could be out running and fighting!  She loved the feel of the wind against her skin as she ran outside.  It was invigorating and that’s when she felt most alive. 

            Faith’s father knew of her secret desire, but he never chastised her.  Faith’s mother on the other hand scolded her often.  She said that females were not supposed to be fighters and should know their place in the home.   Faith didn’t know what she meant by “know their place,” but she knew her behavior never pleased her mother.  Not like her baby sister, Hope.  Hope was the perfect little girl, the perfect well-behaved female that her mother wanted Faith to be.  It’s not that she wanted to displease her mother, but Faith just couldn’t do it.  Every time she sat down to do something inside the house, she had trouble staying still and her insides felt like they were going to erupt.  It was probably the reason that she was so often in trouble with Everett and Edric. 

            Faith looked over at her sister Hope and smiled at her fondly.  She was the perfect little girl, but she didn’t resent that her sister was the perfect girl in the family.  Rather, she was relieved that one of them was good enough and didn’t disappoint their mother.  For that, Faith was grateful to Hope. 

            It’s not that Faith didn’t love her mother, she did, but she was her father’s daughter.  Her father had been an elf warrior – unique in that most elves were magic casters and didn’t engage in physical fighting.  However, her father fought to break out the stereotypes that were placed on him.  In fact, all of her uncles were warriors too, her grandfather had insisted upon it.  He had placed great emphasis on the Geniason males knowing how fight physically and not just with magic.  Faith thought that maybe he had foreseen changes to the outer world that made him rethink how to raise his sons. 

            Faith had met her uncle Colvine a few times, but he was busy helping to build a different elfen tribe in the second underground realm- known as the second realm for short.  She had lived her whole life in the first underground realm where most of civilization held together in tribes.  It was said that the second realm tribes were ready to start living above ground and that Uncle Colvine had gone with his family to assist in those activities.  Faith hadn’t seen him or Uncle Colman for a few years. 

            “Faith, help me set the table,” requested her mother.

            “Yes, mother.”

Faith slowly set the table for the four of them to eat dinner.  She was lost in thought, thinking about the world above them and didn’t hear her mother ask her to grab the tray of food.

            “Faith, please!  I’d like you to grab this tray!” 

Her mother looked at her exasperated.  Faith didn’t blame her, she was day dreaming again and she felt bad she hadn’t heard a word she said.

            “Sorry mother, I didn’t hear you,” Faith mumbled.

            “Please do stand straight and please stop mumbling,” her mother sighed.

            “Yes mother,” Faith sighed.

Dinner was short and sweet and Faith wanted to go to her room and look over her casting spells for her upcoming test.  She was such a bad elf these days.  Wishing she could fight and train like Everett and Edric were doing instead of learning spells.  When Everett and Edric were learning how to fight, she had to take cooking and healing classes.  It just seemed so unfair.  Why couldn’t she learn how to fight too?

“Still thinking you want to learn how to fight?”

Her father’s statement caught her off guard.  Faith blinked up at him from reading her book and didn’t understand his meaning at first. 

            “Yes, I would really love to learn,”  Faith said wistfully.

            “Come then, and don’t tell your mother.”

Her father grinned at her and took her outside to the side of the playground area that was slightly hidden from view.  There he taught her some defensive moves and ways for her to defend herself should she ever find herself in a situation that didn’t allow her to cast a spell. 

            “Casting a spell is your primary means of defense,” her father said, “But it shouldn’t be your only means of defense.”

            “Mother won’t like that I’m learning these things. Won’t you get in trouble?” asked Faith.

            “What she doesn’t know won’t hurt us.”

Her father turned and gave her a full-on smile that warmed her heart.  He put his hand on her chin and tilted her gaze so she looked into his eyes with such love and affection.

            “You my darling, can do anything you put your mind to it.  Never let anyone tell you otherwise.”

            Faith spent a lot of evenings after that with her father, training to fight, learning both defensive and offensive skills.  She learned that it was not always about being on the offensive to attack and that sometimes you needed to take in the situation to know how to engage and know what needed to be done.  Her father was both patient and demanding.  Once she committed to learning how to fight, her father’s expectation was that she was no different than any of the boys learning to fight and should be treated no differently. 

            “Oooph!”  Faith said when the air was pushed out of her as she fell on her back.

            “Again!  Your stance is weak and anyone can knock you down like that.”

Her father was unrelenting when it came to the basics.  Faith had learned that he wasn’t going to allow her to half ass anything – and now she was in too deep to quit.  Faith set her lips in determination and readied herself again for the attack.   Her father moved quickly and tried to push her off balance but she managed to swerve to the left this time and use his weight against him pushing him down instead.

            Surprised but pleased, Faith looked down at her father who looked up her with pride.

            “Good. You’re finally getting it,” he said. “It’s not always about blindly attacking but using your opponent’s own weight against him - as his downfall.  “Let’s go in and try again tomorrow.”