NOVEL FROG Chapter 74: Jealousy
I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists as the wagon rolled away from the construction site. Within minutes, the area was swarming with what looked like emergency workers rushing towards the site. Over the top of the construction tarps, I could see thick plumes of smoke. Thankfully, the panicked screaming died down as constables ushered people away from the accident.
"Another accident?" I overheard a woman say this as our wagon rolled along the road. "It's the third time this week!"
My head perked up, and I turned towards two women in thick, heavy dresses walking along the sidewalk near us.
"Bloody bastards, they'll work themselves to death!" The other said it with a sigh as we continued along the way.
Eventually, my sobbing brother calmed, his face red with embarrassment. Poor guy, I thought to myself, turning to face him. I can't imagine what he's been through. They were caught in the worst when Isa and I got on the boat. I sighed softly.
"Cailynn," my father said, "Which building was it again?"
"18th Star Lane." My mother answered, "It's the red brickhouse between the apartments."
My father nodded as we continued down the road.
Eventually, our wagon began to turn off the road onto a dirt path in front of a narrow, brick house jammed between two larger apartment buildings. A small stable was on the side of the house, in a tight alley.
"Alright, kiddos," My father said, "I think this is the place." He turned to us with a big smile.
My mother nodded and said, "This is it. Come on now, everyone; it's time to hop off. I'm sure Ruby is eager to rest."
My mother stood up and gestured for everyone to do the same. One by one, we hopped off the back of the wagon, my knee joints cracking the moment I landed on hard, dirt ground, and I groaned softly as I stretched. Once everyone was off the wagon, my father guided Ruby over to the stable and began to unhitch her from the wagon. It was at this moment that the front door to the house opened up.
Stepping outside was a tall and curvy elven woman with long blonde hair and short, pointy ears. She turned to us, her dark casual dress swaying in the air as her large, green eyes widened with confusion.
"Hello, Saria," my mother said with a smile. "It's been some time."
The woman on top of the steps blinked and shook her head. "Forty years, its been, Cailynn." She glanced towards my father, who was just stepping out of the stable now and coming over to us. "Slyrann…" She greeted him.
"I take it you didn't get my letter?" My mother asked my aunt.
She nodded and said, "We did get your letter; we just expected you to arrive sooner. Aenorin and I were fearing the worst."
My mother smiled a little as my father stepped up and said, "We sort of got held up. Y'know traffic jams and the like." He joked, and my mother swatted him over the back of the head, and Isa punched him in the back.
He yelped and laughed as he rubbed each area, grew a bit more serious, and said, "Things are bad out there, Sari."
"So I heard," she said softly as she laced her fingers together and held them at her waist. "I've been praying for you all each night, and I'm happy that God was able to bring you here safely." She gestured for me to come forward. "Please, come inside; I'll get some tea ready."
As my aunt Saria stepped into her home, I heard my father mutter under his breath, "God sure did lend a hand. Whichever one he is." He then cleared his throat and said, "Come on, everyone, let's go settle in! Make sure to thank your aunt."
The interior of the house was astonishing when we set foot inside. As if stepping back into the modern world, I could've easily been fooled if I was told this was just a normal city house back on earth. The landing area upon entry held two stairs, one leading to a basement and the other to what looked like a living room. Between the two stairs, however, was a shrine. A small table holding a bowl of water is surrounded by twelve candles of different lengths, each one lit and flickering gently. Above the shrine was a very, very familiar symbol of an androgynous face gazing down upon the world.
The symbol of the All-Father that Isa told me about. My aunt Saria was standing by this shrine, her eyes closed and fingertips dipped into what I presumed was holy water. She seemed to be muttering a silent prayer as she waited for us to enter. After a moment, she sighed softly and smiled as she took her fingers out of the water and turned to face us.
"Make sure to wipe your feet as you enter," she said, pointing to the mat. "Up these stairs, here is the living room; please make yourselves comfortable. I'll be in the kitchen getting tea."
"Excuse me, Saria." My mother held up a hand. "But where is Aenorin?"
My aunt bit her lower lip and said, "He's currently at work at the construction site. I heard there was an accident not too long ago with him, but thankfully he's okay."
"Do you know what happened?" My father asked.
"Unfortuantely, I'm not allowed to disclose such information. Both he and I are on the project, and it's company regulations not to speak of the inner workings."
My mother and father shared a glance and said, "Right."
My aunt bowed. "My apologies; the most I can say on the matter is that the project is highly confidential."
"Well, if that's the case," My father said with a big grin. "You and Aenorin must be doing well." He chuckled as he glanced around the house, just as my mother elbowed his side.
Aunt Saria smiled and giggled as she nodded. Without a word, she began to make her way up the stairs. Bending over, I began to unlace my boots as Varis went on ahead without taking his shoes off, only to be stopped and scolded by my mother.
He huffed but nodded and sat down on the steps, removed his boots, and placed them beside the door. I felt odd stepping out of my boots barefoot. Having spent so long with them practically glued to my feet, I felt naked. Not that I hadn't taken them off during our travels; such times were usually before rest or when I got cleaned up at Mr. Shwarz's farm.
Once our feet were free from the confines of our shoes, my brother and I scurried our way up the stairs before nearly dying when our sock-covered feet slid on the smooth hardwood floor. "Watch yourselves!" My father called out, snatching both my brother and me just as we began to fall. "No running, you two."
"S-Sorry," My brother said as he was taking a deep breath and recomposing himself.
I silently nodded, and my father released us. The living room was quaint; to our left was a large coffee table in the middle of the room, beside a fireplace with two sofas and an armchair. To our right was a hallway, which I assumed led to a restroom and the bedrooms. Directly in front of us were the kitchen and dining room, where a second fireplace had a range built into it similar to what we had back home.
"Th-this is a nice place you have here, Auntie," I said softly as my eyes wandered along the alabaster walls, which were decorated with paintings and portraits of other elves I assumed were family and landscapes, as well as more religious iconography.
Aunt Saria, who was halfway into the kitchen, paused and turned to face me and Varis. Her green eyes were wide. "Oh, Auntie?" She cocked her head and smiled. "That's right." She chuckled as if having forgotten. "Thank you, and it's a pleasure to finally meet the two of you, Luna and Varis." She hummed and turned away as she began to prepare the tea for us all.
Varis brushed his way past me and made his way over to the living room sofas, and I chose to follow behind him. With a leap and a huff, he tossed himself onto the large couch, which I scampered up beside him. The faint smell of charcoal came from the unlit fireplace, giving the home a cozy feel as my parents and Isa sat around the coffee table with us.
As we sat and waited patiently, I suddenly squeaked when I felt something poking my side. I turned to look and saw Varis for the first time in a while, looking at me with a sly smirk. Without a word, his eyes flicked to the left a couple of times. At first, I didn't realize what he was doing until I glanced at the fireplace.
"You know you can speak, right?" I whispered to him.
He held a finger up to his lips. "Shush." He hissed.
Confused I frowned and cocked an eyebrow at him as he motioned towards the unlit fire with finger guns. He's not implying what I think he is, isn't he? I thought with a sigh.
"I'm not lighting it on fire," I whispered.
Varis put his fingers to his lips and hissed, "Why not?"
"Because it's not my fireplace," I replied.
"But I'm cold," he whined.
"Then go ask if we can light it," I whispered while gesturing to Aunt Saria.
"What're you two talking about over there?" My father called over to us, causing us both to flinch and perk up.
"Oh, uh, nothing!" Varis stammered.
"Varis wants me to light the fireplace," I said with a smug grin as my brother gawked at me.
My mother smiled faintly and said, "You know you can always just ask."
Varis huffed and said, "I know, but I wanted to see Luna use her magic."
Mother shook her head. "No magic in the house, especially anything fire related." She stood up from the couch. "I'll go ask Saria if it's okay to light the fire."
Before she could even go into the kitchen, Aunt Saria was already stepping into the room. "Go right ahead," she said. "I normally don't mind a little chill in the air, but if you're all cold, feel free to light the fire." Aunt Saria took a seat in the armchair. "The tea should be ready in a few minutes," she said.
My mother nodded with a smile and walked over to the fireplace. Nearby was a small box of matches, which she grabbed and used to light the fire. A brief moment of silence fell over us as we watched the flames come to life. Nobody said a thing, and I couldn't help but feel a bit of awkwardness begin to form.
Finally, Aunt Saria cleared her throat and said, "I couldn't help but overhear, Luna." She turned to look at me. "But you're able to perform magic?"
Feeling on the spot, I blushed and shifted a little in my seat and said, "I, uh, yeah…" I nodded.
"She's very exceptional," my mother said as she returned to the sofa to sit beside my father. "For such a young age, she's able to cast a few radiance tier spells."
My aunt's eyes widened. "Wait, really?"
"Momma," I said softly as my blush darkened and my aunt looked at me with a big grin.
"Like mother, like daughter, I say." She chuckled, and my mother snorted.
"She's doing much better than I ever did, if I'm being honest." She giggled, and I whined and covered my face as both adults laughed.
I lowered my hands and glanced off to the side towards my brother; he was frowning a bit, his eyes cast to the floor. I looked at him for a second and then took a deep breath and glanced at my aunt. Nervously, I asked, "Aunt S-Saria, is there anywhere Varis and I ca-can play?"
Aunt Saria smiled and nodded. "We don't own any toys, but there are the guest bedrooms we have prepared. One is for your parents, but there is the one I prepared for you two after I received Cailynn's letter. But if you want to go outside, the back yard is pretty open, if not a bit bare. Aenorin and I don't really use it, but it is fenced in."
My parents both looked at Varis and me as they waited for my answer. I glanced at my brother. "Want to go out and play outside?" I asked him.
He didn't answer right away. Instead, his gaze shifted to look at me for a second before flicking forward. Taking a deep breath, he said, "Sure." He pushed himself off the sofa and began to walk towards the kitchen, where the back door was.
I looked at the adults and said, "We'll be outside if you need us." I got up off the sofa, hopped onto the floor, and followed after my brother.
It feels like it's been ages since Varis and I spent some time alone with each other. Come to think of it, it's been almost a full month since everything went to hell. Yet it didn't feel like it. The backyard behind our aunt's house was indeed bare. The grass was overgrown, and there was a dilapidated shed in the far corner. It was also small. Even with my little frame, I could easily run to one end of the yard and back in probably just a handful of seconds. It didn't help that the house was also smashed between two multi-floor apartments, which made things more cramped, and behind the yard was a dirty-looking alley.
The noise was also intense. Honking horns, shouting people, the engines of airships flying overhead, and the roar of trains screaming by. You could hardly think out here. As I stood on the back porch, I watched Varis walk out in the middle of the yard and onto a dirt patch where a hefty rock was. Bending over, he picked it up and tossed it up and down in his palm before winding back and throwing it towards an overgrown bush entangled in the fence.
He grumbled a bit more before kicking the dirt as he shoved his hands into the pockets of the overalls he wore. I watched him for a few more seconds before finally stepping down from the porch.
"Hey," I said softly, though he didn't hear me. So I cleared my throat and called out once more, "Hey, Varis."
He stopped and turned to look at me, and I froze. His expression was much, much different from inside or when we were traveling on the road. Instead of his neutral demeanor or grumpy look, he instead looked pissed.
"Why did you come out here with me?" He asked. "Why even ask to come out here?"
I frowned a little and ran a hand through my hair. "I, uh, wanted to hang out with you. Why do you ask?"
"Hang out with me?" He repeated this and turned fully to look at me. "You always seem to fit in with Ma, Pa, and Madam Soza."
I blinked. "Th-that's not true—"
"It is, though!" Varis snapped. "It has always been like that. Ever since you started walking and talking, You always seemed to speak just like them. You're smart like them; you act like them; it's always when Ma or Pa say something that you seem to start acting like me."
I blinked. What is he…?
Varis clenched his fists. "Last year you said we were a team; I was the brawn and you're the brains, but…" His knuckles turned white. "But you're very strong, Luna."
"Varis," I said softly, "that's not true." I shook my head.
"But it is!" He snapped his blue and green eyes red as tears began to form. "You're very strong. You can do magic; you survived an adventure with Madam Soza; you saved me! And I did nothing! Nothing!"
I opened my mouth to speak, but he continued.
"Ma and Pa, they always cared for you. They always did things for you." He wiped his eyes with the sleeves of his shirt. "You could do anything; you can read super well; you can write; you can do math; and now you're amazing at magic! What can't you do? You even have that Master man in your head, and the two of you saved us? You're good at everything! But me? What am I good at? I'm not good at anything! Papa wants me to protect Momma, but I can't…" His voice cracked. "I can't do anything… I'm little. I'm little… I didn't even have a weapon when the monsters came." He sniffed again. "Momma never taught me magic; she didn't even try! She focused only on you!" He jammed a finger at me.
As if shot by an arrow, my heart twinged, and I took a step back. I was stunned. I couldn't think of what to say.
"How can I be the brawn when you can do anything, Luna? How can we be a team, when you do everything? I'm pointless; I'm useless!" He started to sob. "Momma and Papa, only care about you—"
"That's not true!" I spat, finally finding the will to speak. "I never wanted this," I said to him as my own emotions began to boil over. "I never wanted to do any of this, Varis. I never asked to have the memories and knowledge that I have. I never wanted to speak to the Master; I never asked to have this life! None of us wanted this!" I sniffed as tears began to well in my eyes. "All I wanted is what you want; I wanted to live happily ever after in Oren."
"Then why? Why are you so good at everything?" He asked as he sniffed. "Why do Momma and Papa only care about you—"
"They don't just care about me, Varis," I said. "Papa stayed with you when we got separated; Momma stayed behind to save you all. I don't…" I trailed off.
Part of me wanted to tell the truth, to explain why I am the way I am. Yet, I didn't. My family is already concerned with the knowledge of the Master, and I didn't want to burden them with the knowledge of my actual past. Nor did I want to retread those grounds.
"I don't know why I am the way I am," I finally said. "I just am. But that doesn't mean you aren't special, Varis."
"I'm not!" He spat. "The only thing Papa taught me was how to shoot, but even then, I never got the chance to protect them. They treat me like a little kid, but they treat you like an adult."
"That's not always true," I said. "Sometimes they do, yes, but that's because…" I trailed off again. He was right. Mother and Father, on most occasions, spoke to me like adults; the same is true of Isa. Hell, just a couple of days ago, Mother was telling me in the wagon how I seemed to have grown up. I genuinely didn't know what to say at this point. I've never been in this spot.
But I have been in his.
In my old life, my parents always paid attention to my older brothers. After I was in middle school, they always had their eyes on Matthew and Mark. The two of them were always getting into shit. Some good, some bad, yet it always garnered my folk's attention, leaving me in the dark. So I retreated to my room. I didn't want the bad attention they got, nor did I have the guts to do the things that gained them praise. I never had their skills. The two of them were athletic, charismatic, and smart. I was neither of those, and I resented them for it.
And here's Varis, my brother, resenting me. I can't just tell him what I told him before, but what should I tell him?
I began to step towards Varis, my vision downcast. He sniffed and choked back a sob as he wiped his eyes again. "I just want to help," He said, "I want to be useful. I want Momma and Papa to treat me like they treat you. I want to be cool; I want to do magic like you—" Suddenly, he stopped as I threw my arms around him and hugged him tightly.
"You don't have to be like me," I said huskily as I held back my tears. "You're right in thinking that it's mean of Momma and Papa to only look at me; however, that doesn't mean you aren't special. I see it. You are strong, and you are smart. I believe in you, Varis. I love you," I said, choking back my tears at this point. "I wish I knew all the right words to say like they do in the story books… But it's true when I say that you are special. You have many talents. You ask what I can't do, and what I say is that I can't shoot, I can't run, and I'm not physically strong. I-I struggle talking, and I'm a crying baby too." I sniffed and looked up at him. "But you got to remember, we are little. Momma says that we elves can live super long. So we have plenty of time to grow and learn cool stuff."
Varis was shocked. His face burned with embarrassment and he looked away. "Bu-but I want to help now. I want to protect you all."
I didn't know exactly what to say: "I was fortunate to receive the powers I have." I gulped. "But, in time, we can find something. Maybe we can talk to Ma, Pa, and Isa…" I gritted my teeth. This was so much harder than I expected. "We'll figure out something. We are a team, Varis. We'll always be one, and heck…" An idea flashed across my mind, and I released him and looked him right in the eyes. "If Momma won't teach you magic, then I will!"
Varis's eyes widened. "You will?" He asked, and I nodded.
"You were able to do a little bit of it when we went camping. Maybe I can train you some more, but it's not easy," I said, and Varis smiled widely.
"You're for real? You'll teach me?!" He asked ecstatically.
I chuckled lightly and nodded. "Yes. Though, we should probably check with Momma first."
"But Momma might say no," Varis said with a whine.
"Maybe, but… if she does, then… I'll teach you anyway." I smirked. "Because you never know, she might say yes, and Momma is a better teacher than me. Though she does like to lecture a lot."
"Gah, I hate lectures…" Varis sniffed.
My smile broadened. "She does, but it's good to know." I took his hands in mine. "Brother," I said softly. "Just know that I do care about you. I never saw you as weak or dumb, and I'm sorry if I ever made you feel that way. Know that you don't have to be alone, and I can help you."
Varis blushed harder with embarrassment and nodded. "Okay… so when do we start?"
Ah, the attention span of a child. I smirked. "We can do some little spells, uh, over by that shed." I giggled as the two of us went over to practice some basic motes.