The sun was setting as the two walked upstreet. The butler walking roughly five paces in front of Eliahope. “Can you tell me how your master is afflicted?” she questioned between breaths as the butler rushed to the residence.
“Chest pains. Shortness of breath, and profuse sweating.” The butler reported, marching onward, “He had fatigue before a few days ago. He was planning a trip to the embassy to check in with health professionals before they closed the border - the he got this sickness and started planning for the isles. Truly a blessing you showed up when you did - I do not think he would last the long boat ride and travel to the isles.”
The two walked in relative silence the rest of the way before arriving at a small manor. “This is it. Please take off your shoes before leaving the entryway, and I will take your coat.” The butler muttered quietly, “And if you could please tuck your hair behind your ears - he will be immensely more comfortable with you attending to him.”
“If you don’t mind sir, are you and elf?”
“No ma’am. I am but a human. As you are aware, elves are not comfortable with anyone other than elves handling their lives - notable exceptions are butlers, in which elven custom allows for us to deal with the mundanity.”
“Ah - W-well, apologies for the… elven contradiction.” Eliahope laughed nervously, before submitting to silence.
The two soon reached the small mansion, Eliahope’s heart raced as she entered the door. She immediately recognized decor similar to her father’s home. Elven craft for the aristocratic. A lump in her throat formed as she was suddenly hit with a wave of nausea as she relived the moment of her first visit with her father - after her mother sent her to the embassy.
-
“Now Eliahope, when we meet your father, be on your best manners.” Her aunt had reminded her, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
A younger Eliahope felt so many different emotions. Both fear of the man that shared half of her self, but also an excitement of a potential connection, now that her mother was sick. Someone who could be there for the young girl who feared death - what better father than an immortal one?
She went up the hazy dreamlike steps - covered in royal blues and greens with intricate patterns in ever textile and surface making the home almost mesmerizing.
Her aunt stopped outside the door to his study, before turning to the young Eliahope - just a child in elven standards - as she tucked a piece of hair behind her nieces ear, as she demonstrated standing straight and proper before turning to open the door.
“Brother…? I have someone you must meet.”
-
“Madam? Are you well?” the butler put a hand on Eliahope’s shoulder, startling her as she quickly backed up and her back hit the door.
“I-I apologize! It’s just so dark in here I thought I saw a spirit,” Eliahope muttered before curtseying, “I apologize for my loss of composure.”
The two made it up the steps - Eliahoep soaking in every moment as her hands trembled amongst the banister. The now haunting swirls burned into her mind like a haunting memory. She stopped outside the door, before taking a deep breath, tucking her hair behind her ears, back straight, shoulders back, eyes low, hips aligned, steady head, and stepped in as the butler opened the doors.
The room was quiet. A bed chamber, smelling stale and stifling. “Master Adontemus, are you awake, sire?” She steadied her breath and walked into the room before going to open the windows. Immediately her aunt’s words rang in her head as her mannerisms of the embassy became pronounced in her thoughts. Her aunt had described these reminders as elven etiquette - to her at the time, she made sense of it as make pretend. She didn’t act like this. It wasn’t normal, but if she wanted to be accepted as a elf - play pretend as one - she had to act like one.
The room was quiet for some time before the man coughed, “Yes, ma’am… Are you a doctor? The one from the embassy?” His voice was shaky and had a thick elvish accent.
“A nurse from the empire sire. I trained under the Ennai sister Tulala.”
“Ah… Sister of the ambassador. A-are you related? Where is she?”
“Back in the embassy sire. I was sent by the embassy as there was a lack of elven medical care amongst the empire. Merely an apprentice”
She sat at his bedside, preparing for a reality that was not true. This man was not her father, and had no relation to her. And had been cut off from the embassy for at least the past few years. And on top of it all, his symptoms were not similar to the plague. There was nothing of this visit that could benefit her other than gold, and nothing that could hurt her outside of the normal.
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“Ah. I knew the Ennai family… as a child, but still I knew them.”
“I will send your regards to my mentor then, sire.” She muttered - she checks his pulse, his physique and looked him over. “Sire it appears you may have an infection of the lungs. Have you been coughing up much phlegm?”
“Yes, too much. I cannot leave my bed without fatigue.”
“Then, luckily for you, it will not take you terribly long to recover. Tomorrow I will come by with some herbs. You are to boil them in a kettle and pour the mixture into a cup. Put a tea towel over your head as you sit over the cup so that the steam may be inhaled. After the drink is cooled down where it does not produce as much steam, add honey and drink.” Eliahope began writing the directions down, “Under no circumstance are you to swallow any phlegm - keep a bowl or spittoon nearby so you may dispel of any phlegm that may dislodge during this. You should drink plenty of water, and get proper bed rest. If you see no signs for approval in the week, please call for me again.” Eliahope smiled warmly to the man, before handing the directions as well an invoice, “I will be back tomorrow to collect payment and to deliver the herbs. I simply plan on getting them tomorrow from the market, if you would rather pick them up yourself.”
“Yes ma’am, that would be preferred.”
“Understood, then if that is the case, please deliver the payment to me at my residence by the end of the week. You know where to find me if anything worse arises in your… master.” She gave one more look around the room of dainty yet crowded details on every surface. Even if the room was mostly bare, every surface of the walls was covered in tiny yet immense details that when attempting to take in the overall pattern could cause claustrophobia and headaches.
Eliahope walked, dissociated and silent, back to her apartment. She returned to her apartment with the landlady standing guard outside in a shawl, tapping her foot.
“I-I’m sorry madam. I wish to be a nurse assistant for my kind. This may happen often.”
“Never mind that. A mother knows her children will return home late, and so should a landlady. I will have you know I was about ready to call for the local officers with how exasperated and frantic that man was. Please be mindful to the other ladies and quietly make it back up to your room.” She tugged her shawl around her and turned, “I am glad you made it home safe, dear.”
And with that, the older woman went into her office, and Eliahope left alone with her thoughts. Quietly, as to not disturb others, she climbed the stairs to her apartment and slid in, pressing her back behind the closed door. She softly let herself fall to the floor as her breathing quickened. Tears flooded her eyes as she sat there, flashes of memories of her father throwing a vase at her, screaming for her aunt to take her away immediately, and that he was disgusted by her. The look in his eyes, one that she was like a ghost. She sat there, head in her hands as she tried to banish the thought from her mind. Half of the equation that made her, despised her. Was disgusted by her. Felt genuine contempt for her - just upon meeting her and knowing she existed.
After some time, she trembled as she made her way to the small bedroom and pulled herself up and into the small twin size frame. Curling up, she stared at her wall, the pattern being softly illuminated, which reminded her much more of the comfort of her childhood home with her mother. With the bleak remembrance that her mother was no longer here, her mind wandered to her Aunt, and the memory of her after their visit to her father’s.
-
Curled up in her bed, her back facing her aunt who kept a reassuring hand on Eliahope’s arm. Tears welled in her eyes as she hugged her knees to her chest tighter. “Aunt Tulie, Why did he act that way…? Is he truly my father? Did he know who I am?”
Her aunt Tulalia sighed as her hand stiffened slightly, “Eliahope, that man is the elf that loved your mother long ago, he is the person who helped create you. But, in 50 years, he grew cold, bitter and frankly unrecognizable from the elf in love that your mother knew. He knew, regretfully, exactly who you were. How could he not? Other than the elf ears you’re the spitting image of your mother. I can promise you this - you shall never have to deal with him again unless you wish to. I will make sure he never crosses your path.”
But Eliahope had returned to the mansion. A week later, than a month after that, the month after that, and then a year after that. It wasn’t until 5 years of attempted contact with no difference in response that Ellie was met on the doorstep, her father’s servant banning her from the premise.
She sat on the doorstep as her aunt barged in past the servant. She heard her father’s door barge open and her aunt scream at him - berating him, each word clearly heard from the street, but muffled as it encounters a young Eliahope’s ears as she sat on the sep, dissociating the experience. Some moments later, her aunt stormed out from the house, her face a bright red with rage which immediately softened to heartache at the sight of Eliahope. “Dear… let us go home. You need your rest.”
Eliahope slowly stood up, patted the dust off of her, and took her aunt’s hand as they walked home.
“How about I teach you nursing? Wouldn’t that be lovely?” Aunt Tulie chimed, trying to change the thoughts battling in Eliahope’s mind. “An extremely useful and valuable skill. COmpletely respectable for a young elf.”
-
Eliahope sniffled as she lifted her head from the bed. Daylight broke through her small window and streamed in. She must have fallen asleep and had a nightmare, she thought, reliving all that hate and hurt. Quickly, she got ready and put on her coat, heading towards the inn for her friends.
As she got to the bottom of the stairs, the landlady was there once again, holding a small envelope which she handed nonchalantly to Eliahope. “The butler dropped this off this morning. Spend wisely.”
She peaked, only to realize a cheque for far more than she originally wrote. Her face going gaunt, she quickly stuffed the cheque in her bag. “Thank you madam,” Eliahope squeaked before running down the road.
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