Goodbye and Gone
Nacilme and Anarion S'Rhaaerjhu
The tall town house looked dark and empty, as it always had. No
cheerful children ran through its halls, no happy pets frolicked.
Nacilme snorted. Anything that came close to frolicking would have
been shot on sight, she thought bitterly. He ruled that house with an
iron fist, taking no foolishness and tolerating no idiocy. Elements
but she hated him.
Reluctantly, she climbed the stairs to the front door. Her codes
should still work, even if it had been over a month since she'd been
home. "Home," she snorted. "What a contradiction."
The door swung open in cold silence. The day was balmy with a softly
scented breeze but she was greeted with a blast of frozen air, sending
a chill down her spine. Her dark eyes stared all around inside before
she entered. It was silly really, there were no monsters in that
house, nothing to truly hurt her, not any more. She had left them all
and now she returned to gather her belongings and tell them she
wouldn't be back.
Her small room was on the top floor. She had once shared it with her
rinam but Cala had died three years past so now it was hers alone.
Each step she climbed drew her further back into the world she had once
inhabited, a world of terror and fear.
Opening the door to her room, she crept inside and gasped. It was
empty, nothing left of her beautiful scrolls and years of research.
Not even her bed remained.
"You won't find anything in here," a voice said from behind her, making
her jump and squeal.
"Anarion!" she huffed when she realised it was simply her dianvm.
"What are you doing, creeping about?"
The tall, dark haired and dark eyed man leant against the door jam and
smirked. "I could ask you the same thing, rinam. Be glad di'nanov
isn't here, or he'd be wanting a word with you."
Her face paled to almost white, despite her deep tan. "Ie? Why is
that?"
"To tell you he knows," her brother said with a snort. "As if he
should care. Good for you, little rinam, for finding somewhere to be
accepted. Is she nice, your new hru'hfirh?"
"Um..." She tilted her head to the side, a soft smile turning up her
lips. "Nice isn't quite how I'd describe her. She's not hateful, if
that's what you mean. But nice? Erm... na, not likely."
"Not hateful is a start," Anarion observed sadly. He closed his eyes
and opened his arms out to his sister who ran to him and he cuddled
tightly. "I miss you, little io. I wish I could come with you."
Laying her head on his shoulder, she held onto him as if he would
disappear in a puff of smoke. "You can. Come home with me, meet
Iruvande. She'd love it, I'm sure she would. She misses having
family."
"I cannot, you know I cannot. I am eri'hfirh and, as di'nanov loves to
tell me over and over, I have responsibilities here. Who would look
after ri'nanov? And the little ones? He would have free rein with
them as he did with us. Na, rinam, I have to stay here." Giving her
one final squeeze, he was about to let her go when he heard a noise
from the ground floor. "He's home early. You have to go," he
whispered in urgency. "Through the servants' entrance, come on."
Grabbing her hand, he dragged her to the back stairs and they took them
two at a time. They were in such a blind rush that they didn't see the
tall figure until they ran into him. One strong hand lashed out and
grabbed Nacilme by the scruff of her neck, while the other knocked
Anarion to the floor.
"Paenhe," the man said in a deep voice, "a word with thee before you
leave us." He snorted at the prone form of his son. "Stay there, boy,
I will speak to thee later."
Anarion didn't have a chance. Their father stepped over him and pulled
Nacilme in his wake. She felt tears already in her eyes but refused to
cry them, even when she was thrown to the floor of her father's
office. Her hands scuffed the rough fabric of the rug and one of her
wrists hurt from taking the fall.
"Why did you come back?" her father asked in quiet, dangerous tones.
"For my belongings and to say goodbye to my family." Climbing to her
feet, she rubbed her hands together to stop the sting.
"I did not give you permission to stand, child." With a sweeping
motion, he back-handed her and she stumbled back to the ground. "What
right do you have to this House? You have been cast out. Your name
will not be remembered here, not spoken of. You are less than dead to
us."
Wiping at the emerald blood that weeped from a cut on her lip, she
nodded. "Where are my things?"
"Incinerated," he barked. "There is nothing left of you here."
Her head bowed, she felt the tears start to drip down her cheeks, the
salt stinging her lip. "May I go?"
A harsh hand wrapped around her hair, dragging her to her feet. Her
father shook her hard then snarled. "I tried. The Elements cannot say
I did not try. But you were a stubborn, evil child. You would not
learn your lessons, even when I beat them into you. Always the clever
comeback, always the rude remark. You could never be sweet and
courteous like your rinam, could you?" Pushing his face close to hers,
he spat into her eye. "I have hated you for a long time. Cruel and
twisted child. Get out of my sight."
The force he used to throw her away from him made her head rebound from
the hard stone floor, opening a gash on her forehead. Crawling away,
she tried to stand but was too dizzy. Her brother leaned down to help
her but a snarl from the doorway stopped him.
"Let her crawl away like the filth she is," their father snapped. When
Anarion still tried to help her, the older man grabbed his wrists and
thrust him backwards. "Touch her again, boy, and I'll throw you out as
well. Who would look after your ri'nanov then?"
"Let me be," she whispered as she used the wall to pull herself up and
the world span violently. "I am fine."
"Nacilme..." Even she heard the slap her father gave him for uttering
her name and she winced.
As she reached the door, her father threw it open then gave her a hard
shove, sending her flying down the stairs, her head cracking on every
step. Sprawled on the walkway beneath, she coughed a little until she
heard the door slam behind her and she started to cry. "Over now," she
spluttered. "I don't have to go back again."
|