126 Scam 3 (1/2)
An hour later, sipping tea from a cup that had just been filled by one of her maids, Seline shuddered as she remembered that all-consuming fear that had filled her at that moment she knew she would never forget in her life.
She was wearing the same white silk gown she had donned before, but it was wrinkled now due to how much she had been clutching and releasing it, unable to keep her hands still every time she relived that memory. The other two beside her were just as disturbed; in fact, when she looked at them, she felt faint pride as she saw that she was handling it much better.
'After all, it wasn't my stupid idea that brought about that display of power. And, oh my, so much power! The Forn are indeed the Forn…'
The Forn were the darlings of the world, while they were flies buzzing around what was left after they walked past. She grimaced, removing the comparison from her mind, and then, she scolded herself, trying once again but failing to remove the part of her that still remembered where she originated from.
The one beside her was the first to speak. He was wearing grey robes worked with mythical creatures that were supposed to have gone extinct even on the Mainland. He was almost bald, with a few tufts of hair at the very back of his head that he was stubbornly holding on to, and his pockmarked face had seen battle, but the main battle it had fought was with time. His raspy, rough voice always grated on her ears whenever he spoke, but like many things on the island, she had gotten used to bearing it as she had no other choice.
”Too close… we came too close to losing everything.”
The other man, whose age was between hers and that of the oldest one, spoke without raising his head. He was wearing off-white robes, his curved nose appearing looking curved than usual due to the way his head was bent, for the first time in her memory, and while he said his piece, he repeatedly brushed his hands through his unkempt, reddish hair.
”What choice did we have? There are too many stories of people assuming identities…but maybe we should have known that no one would be foolish enough to impersonate an elf. The punishment is so horrific that I've heard it is only whispered of, even on the Mainland! The accused are strung up in the air, above the walls of the Elven Kingdom, being fed to carrion and bugs and all manner of beings with sharp beaks and sharper teeth. They are healed for a week, eaten away, healed, eaten, healed, until their very sanity cracks! It scares me even when I think about it! But how could we have known that he was one of the Forn? This is definitely the first and only time that one of them has come to the islands! Very few normal elves even make the journey, as it is…but no one has definitely heard of an ancient one coming for any reason, whatsoever! What does he want? Are we going to die?”
The two men nodded hurriedly, as if abhorring even the idea of harboring any more suspicion.
A few moments later, with a thoughtful look, the old man said, ”I am more or less up-to-date with the politics of the Mainland…but this is truly unprecedented. The family they belong to is perhaps in the top twenty of power, if the major forces that are not families are not counted, of course. They keep to themselves, for the most part, so people whisper that they might actually possess even more strength than what they show on the surface…but no one is sure. Everyone steps on their toes around them because of their link with the elves, which is unique even among the hundreds of powerful families on the Mainland. If they came here, with even one of the Forn in tow… there must definitely be something big going on!”
His eyes shone, showing his excitement, but with a slight shake of her head, Seline spoke and deflated him as surely as if she had pricked the balloon he had become.
”Indeed…something big is afoot, but in front of it, it is most probable that we are small enough to be crushed. They can swat us aside, and with their power, even the Garbonor family might not say a thing.”
All three lapsed into silence, then, dealing with their own thoughts inside their own heads instead of speaking out loud. Seline was most concerned about the fact that there were too many precedents bent set by what was happening here. The islands were usually called the slums of the Mainland, mostly forgotten except by the family in charge of them, and after a recent bidding war, the Garbonor family still held the lease for three more years.
The need for secrecy was obvious, of course. Whatever was happening here would send waves of alarm throughout the Mainland if known…and no matter what, she did not want to be the one responsible for such a blunder.