Tales of Fire and Ruin - Chapter 6: Chapter 6

I had to tell them.
I couldn't allow an elf to stay within the walls of the Montbow mansion without my family knowing who was sleeping across the hallway. Endris had promised to keep an eye on Oleander, but he was only one man—a partisan man—who had clearly taken a liking to his charge.
As usual, my mother led the way home and everyone else followed, with Conrad and Valda riding side by side, and me riding beside Endris and Oleander. Guilt picked at my conscience as we climbed the rugged ridge leading to our mansion, but I pushed it away. I couldn't speak up about the elf in front of Endris. I still needed the grouchy guide to take me on a dragon hunt, and I needed him to do so for free.
Once we reached the mansion, I dismounted my horse with deliberate slowness to ensure I was near the end of the line, behind Oleander. We walked to the stables out back, and a rush of shame heated up my face as the elf's gaze gliding over the walls of our home. Salt and slime had corroded stone over time, and veins of climbing plants swarmed upward. The embarrassment at Oleander noticing the pitiful state of the mansion only grew after we had brought the horses to the stables and went inside.
Entering the foyer, it was immediately clear vultures had feasted here while I was away. I searched the double-flight staircases, the walls, and the high ceiling, and eventually realised the relief carvings of ships decorating the upper reaches were now visible. The family banners, which used to proudly adorn the walls, were gone. Our footsteps on stone echoed as we all stepped inside.
Mother turned to Valda. "Valda, show Endris and Oleander their lodgings. They can take the free rooms on the left side of the first floor."
Mother shot Valda a stern look when the latter hesitated. I agreed with my mother. The previous occupants of the rooms were gone and wouldn't return.
After a brief silence, Valda offered us a closed-mouthed smile. "Yes, naturally. On my way," she said, gesturing for Oleander and Endris to follow her.
Endris narrowed his eyes at me over his shoulder. Then my mother took me and Conrad aside and guided us into the dining room so we could speak in private. I steeled myself for the conversation that was coming. I had to decide what to do: tell them or not.
I was the last to enter the room and closed the door behind me. A musty smell clung to the heavy red carpets, and rose to fill the entire room. Mother perched on a bench beside the large, ashen table while Conrad casually leaned against the wall. I took a seat on the bench opposite my mother and Conrad.
Light of the oil lamp overhead cast shadows on my mother's cheeks, accentuating her high cheekbones as she turned to me. "Oleander lost his memory, but he knows he needs to travel to the Starcross woods?" she asked.
The words 'he's an elf' burned on my lips. I was obligated to them if Oleander was going to stay in this house, but I couldn't tell them if it meant I estranged Endris by breaking our agreement to keep this secret.
Conrad crossed his arms. "Oleander has a strange accent and a highly unusual name," he drawled. "From what hole did you say you dug him up again?"
"I found him in the valley of the Serpentine mountains," I said.
"Huh." Conrad narrowed his mismatched eyes at me. "If he's really from the Starcross woods, he's a long way from home."
"He's not sure he's from there," I corrected Conrad, slightly irritated. "But it's an educated guess Endris and I made from the way he talks and looks."
Mother nodded slowly. "But he's not sure where he is from," she said. "And he's in your debt. Perhaps you can convince him to stay here while he recovers, rather than leaving tomorrow."
"I really don't think that's wise," I protested. "His family probably misses him. Besides, whatever skills he had before he lost his memory, he doesn't have them now. He was unable to help Endris or me with anything besides simple chores even a child could do during our journey here."
"Thankfully, I only need him for simple chores even a child could do," Mother replied lightly. "I need him to run some errands. Places where we best not show our faces as Montbows. We need all the help we can get, now that you have returned all but empty-handed."
Grimacing, I averted my gaze to my hands.
"And what does Father think of this?" Conrad added.
"He's not well today. We best leave him be."
"I see." I fell quiet for a moment, choosing my next words carefully while I gathered the courage to meet my mother's eyes. "We don't know Oleander. He could be working with enemies of our family. We kind of have a lot of those, you know. Why take the risk and keep a stranger here?"
Conrad raised a brow. "Surely even you know better, Laurence," he berated me. "The enemies we have don't go through the trouble of feigning amnesia and an accent. They go through the front gates armed with the law."
"There are easier ways to harm us, Laurence," my mother agreed.
"I suppose," I sputtered. I was running out of arguments. Mother and Conrad would get suspicious if I stumbled through words any longer. I needed more time to think, so I caved and stood. "Fine. I will talk to him about staying a little longer."
I'd especially talk to Endris, however. Leaving Oleander here while he and I went back to the Serpentine mountains was an even worse idea than making me heir of this family merely because of a god's unrelated-to-politics blessing. The elf couldn't survive without us helping him stay hidden.
As I walked through the corridor, my mind far away at the Serpentine mountains, Valda emerged from the shadows as I entered the foyer. I'd almost pulled my knife, but caught a flash of yellow and black, the bow in her hair, just in time.
"Valda, don't do that," I scolded her. "Don't jump me."
"Me?" Valda pointed at herself indignantly, her brows almost disappearing into her hairline. "I was simply waiting for you, and I wouldn't have had to if our mother just let me in on this secret conversation, too. What did you speak about?"
I sighed. "Keeping Oleander here. Mother has plans, it seems, to send him places where we can't show our face. Perhaps she will even have him open the door for 'visitors' and charm them with a smile."
"Please, no." Valda wrinkled her nose. "He's too adorable for that. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. I don't know how Gisela stands it."
"You help her too."
Valda snorted loudly. "Hardly! It's mostly Gisela. I'll only bat my eyelashes for a suitor with money. He needs to have money—that's the most important part. I already have a list of potential husbands, so hurry and get knighted already. I need an invitation for the palace's autumn ball."
"Money is the most important part?" I smiled, forever amused at my sister's cunning outlook beneath her cute, dimpled smile. "You realise you have to live with the man for the rest of your life too, right? You better love, or at least like, him, too."
"Optional." Valda waved away my concerns. "I'll choose someone who is away most of the year. Perhaps a merchant who only looks for a reliable wife to overlook his land while he is away. I can't wait to have my own mansion."
"I will gladly give you this one after I become the head of this family," I joked. "If we looked at suitability rather than anomalous skin marks, the heir should've been you or Conrad."
"Believe me, I've spent many nights looking for marks of the thunder god on my body after playing in the woods, but alas." Valda shrugged. "The thunder god doesn't favour me like you."
"Yeah yeah, god it," I joked. "The mark is everything."
Valda giggled as she punched my arm. "I don't know, though. You think it would be between me and Conrad? I wouldn't count Gisela out."
I looked around the foyer. "Where is Gisela, anyway? And Fynn?"
"At the old Marchpass ruins, practicing archery. Start them young, right?"
"So young, Fynn probably isn't even strong enough yet to draw the bow."
Valda shrugged. "Doesn't stop Gisela."
"Pretty much nothing stops Gisela. I remember from when we trained together."
"I'm surprised you remember your training." Valda giggled. "She kicked your ass so hard I thought you'd have a concussion. And Gisela will kick your ass again once she hears you let a dragon escape."
I groaned. "Go away, pest. I have important heir things to do."
A grin lingered on Valda's face. "You're going to our guest to charm him into staying here?"
I laughed awkwardly. I didn't want the word charm and Oleander near each other, just like I didn't want to be near Oleander. "Mother wants it," I said. "So if I say no and she says yes..."
"It's still a yes," Valda finished my sentence sing-song. "Good luck! I brought Oleander to the room on the far left."
"Yeah. Thanks."
Leaving Valda in the foyer, I ran up the long flight of steps leading to the first floor, thinking to myself that I didn't need luck; I needed a damn miracle. I marched to what I hoped was Oleander's room because Valda sometimes liked to play little practical jokes. I knocked, half expecting to find Endris glaring at me.
After a curt knock, I opened the door.
Unlike many other spaces in the mansion, this room looked exactly the same as when I'd last seen it. The walls of the bedchamber were covered with yellow cloth drapes with more illustrations of ships, thunder, and water depicted on them. Books and papers were haphazardly stored away in an old bookcase tucked in the corner, and the bed was placed against the back wall.
At first, I didn't see Oleander and though he wasn't in the room, but when I walked inside, the little lump below the sheets in the bed stirred. Upon closer look, a small tuft of silvery hair poked out above the covers. Oleander appeared to be asleep. He trashed and moaned, muttering words in a language I didn't understand.
If he was resting, I couldn't talk to him. Too bad. I was happy to tip-toe back to the door and leave. When I reached the entrance, however, Oleander suddenly woke with a start. He shot upright in the bed, panting. Pearls of sweat glistened on his forehead as his bewildered eyes darted around the room before settling on me. He visibly tried to pull himself together, taking deeper breaths to calm himself.
"I can come back later," I quickly offered, already retreating into the hall.
"No, I'm sorry," Oleander breathed, his shoulders rising and falling fast. "I had a nightmare about..." he trailed off with a frown.
"Do you remember something?" I asked, trying not to sound too eager. If he remembered, he'd likely want to leave. I tentatively stepped back into the room and closed the door.
Oleander brushed aside some strands of hair clinging to his forehead. "I'm not...sure. I saw a landslide and dragons."
All my hope deflated. "That is what actually happened. Interesting it's so clear. I would've expected if you're so confused you take your clothes off in the frost, you'd have some delusions."
Oleander grabbed the sheets and clutched them to his chest. "No, I saw dragons," he murmured. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed thickly. "Have any of you ever killed a dragon? Your family? Are you all knights?"
I laughed. "No, no. We were merchants. Gold, gems, and cloth, mostly. I'm the first one in the family attempting knighthood. Most storm-touched like me went on voyages by ship as her guardian, or stayed here as fearsome protectors of the coast."
"Why are you not doing that?"
"Because... it's no longer an option," I curtly replied.  There were no trading posts overseas anymore thanks to dear uncle Harold who burned bridges with our contacts for a larger profit. Now, we only had knighthood and favourable marriages left.
Oleander's grip on the sheets loosened. "I apologise for the sudden questions barrage. You must've come here to speak with me about something. How can I help you?"
I cleared my throat. "Mother told me to ask you if you wanted to stay here while you recover, and you're going to say no."
Oleander face fell. "Do you want me to leave that badly?"
"Well, I..." I opened and closed my mouth. A silence fell.
The truthful answer was yes, I did. Not because Oleander had been such a pain in the ass, but he would run into so much trouble here. I would also run into so much trouble with my family if it ever came out that I didn't tell them immediately he was an elf, even if I told them now.
"It's truly best if you leave and head for the Starcross woods tomorrow," I finally pressed out. The hurt look on Oleander's face brought a sharp twinge to my heart, but I didn't take my words back.
"Because I'm...?" Oleander reaching up to his hair to feel if his ears were still hidden.
They were covered, but if a few more strands of hair had escaped his ponytail, the tips of his ears would've been visible. What if Valda, on another day, decided she wanted to wake Oleander and offer him breakfast? What if he had been trashing all night? What if the wind tugged on his hair a little too hard, or someone insisted he loosened it up and he got oddly defensive about saying no?
This would end in disaster.
"Yes," I admitted. "It's because of that."
Oleander bit his lip and turned his head away from me. "Oh," he said. "Since you didn't hurt me, I thought you weren't like them."
"Hey, my family isn't bad, and the town isn't bad," I defended them. "It's—it's complicated. You are just much safer with your own people."
"What if they are no longer alive, and that is why I was wandering in the valley alone and nobody else came for me?"
Oleander's voice cracked.  I scratched my chin, an uneasy feeling washing over me.
"...Well, shit," I said. "You have me there."
Oleander looked up and met my eyes. "What would I have to do to change your mind about me? I would very much want to change your mind."
The sincerity of the question and the sudden determination caught me off guard. At a loss for words, I studied the headboard and the flowers painted on in them to stall. "Listen," I started slowly, "I don't think you're bad. You haven't tried to drink my blood or sacrifice me to a tree god or something. I don't need to be convinced."
"Then why tell me I can't speak to you and that I should leave the mansion without meeting my eyes?"
My cheeks grew hot. "That's not what I said!" I protested. "Just tell my mother no when she asks, and leave tomorrow. As planned."
I turned on my heels and made for the door.
"Wait," Oleander said. "I fear my hair will loosen too much if I sleep with a ponytail instead of a braid. Can you braid my hair for me?"
The thought of sitting on the bed as I touched Oleander's silky hair made my throat dry up.
"I have told you before: stop. That is inappropriate now that we're in the mansion," I crisply told the elf. "Ask Endris."
I shut the door before Oleander could respond and resisted the urge to zap one of the few remaining vases in the corridor to smithereens.
I marched to the next door and knocked. "Endris!" I called. "Outside, now."