I awoke to the sound of birds chirping. Despite just waking up, I still felt tired. I was about to roll over and try to go back to sleep when the smell of breakfast fully woke me up. What could I say? I was a hungry girl.

Yawning, I rolled over to find Kiena lying next to me. She looked so cute sleeping there. It almost felt like a crime to move, but Food was calling, and my stomach was answering. Slowly I raised myself, making sure to keep my tails as close to me as possible. The slightest touch of one of my tails could quickly wake her. Finally, when I was sure that I was clear of her, I stood up, brushing myself off. That ritual last night really took a lot out of me. I don’t even remember coming back to the house.

“Good morning, love,” Amethyst meowed as I walked into the living room. She had already had breakfast laid out. Nivtal was there too. It looked like she had been waiting for me the whole time.

“It is good to see that you are well,” Nivtal said, flying over and landing on my shoulder. It was still weird having a girl sitting on my shoulder, but I guess it was easier to stand on the ground trying to look up at me or fly the entire time. She frowned at me and continued, “You used way too much blood. If I hadn’t stopped you when I did….”

“I did as you told me,” I argued. Nivtal shook her head and looked down at my hand. It was bandaged, but I could still see traces of blood on it. I wondered why she hadn’t healed my hand like the other day. It would have been simple for her, right?

“No, if you had listened, I said you only needed a little blood. You could have died, do you know that?” Nivtal asked, the irritation in her voice cutting through me like a hot knife on butter. Amethyst looked concerned at her words. Great. Just what I needed, Amethyst worried about me.

“I am sorry. I will be more careful next time,” I said before anything else could be said. Amethyst handed me my food, and I ate in silence. There was no sense in beating a dead horse by apologizing again. Nivtal turned her back and headed out the door. I didn’t even try to stop her. I didn’t realize that I had upset her that bad, but I didn’t want to make it worse. Kiena didn’t seem to be paying attention to any conversation as she worked on another piece of wood. I wondered what she was going to make this time.

After breakfast, I headed to Keba’s. I needed to get some work done, plus it gave me an excuse to get out of the house before anything else could be brought up. Making Amethyst worry about my well-being wasn’t exactly the most fantastic start to a relationship. It was a good thing that the weather was so lovely. It wasn’t exactly hot, but it wasn’t so cold that I would want a jacket. Not that I would be able to have a jacket. Being stuck in this time did have its disadvantages. At least among the beastkin.

When I got to Keba’s, he greeted me with a smile. Today we were going to be finishing a home for a couple of the teens. At least, that is what they felt like to me. But then again, from what I understood of the Keyama, they aged differently than humans. So what I would consider a teen could be considered an adult by their standards. However, there was still so much that I didn’t know about their race despite living here for so long.

“How’s my favorite worker?” Keba asked. The smile on his face was intoxicating. It was nice to see someone happy after what had happened at the house.

“I am good. Ready to get some work done,” I said, trying to return a smile. It was difficult, but I seemed to manage because Keba didn’t ask me what was wrong.

“Well, we will only be working for about an hour. I have to go talk to the elder in a bit. Something that has been weighing on my mind,” Keba said. This made me curious, but I didn’t press him to explain what he meant. It was his business, after all. I set to work carving the wood that would soon become the doorway to the house. Something was soothing about carving the wood. It was almost as if it was speaking to you as you worked, telling you the way it wanted to be shaped. When I worked, I didn’t worry about anything else.

After about an hour, Keba motioned to me that it was time to go. While I could do the work myself, Keba said that he wouldn’t feel right making me do all the work. After all, I was still only his apprentice. Sighing, I set down my tools and brushed myself off. I was about to head out when Talissa came to the shop.

“Keba, I was told that you wanted to speak with me. What is it? I am going to be very busy today,” Talissa said. Keba looked at me, then back to Talissa.

“I would rather that we spoke in private,” Keba said. Talissa gave him a look that said that she wasn’t in the mood to wait.

“Whatever you have to say, you can say it with her here. After all, if it wasn’t for Coralin, we wouldn’t have the protection that we do now,” Talissa said, her voice showing that she was getting annoyed. What was her issue with him today? Usually, they seemed fine. It didn’t make sense. Was it all a cover? Where there problems in the background that nobody knew about. I didn’t want to know, but Talissa made it very clear that she didn’t want me to leave.

“This is a matter between you and me, Talissa,” Keba said. Talissa gasped, then growled. It was the first time I ever heard her growl. At this moment, I wanted to be anywhere but here.

“I do not have time for this. Either spit it out, or I am leaving,” Talissa said, anger now in her voice. Keba didn’t seem phased by it.

“Very well. I am tired of this lie that you have spun to our daughter. I have watched her suffer for too long, blaming herself for her sister being taken. She even raises little Kiena. She feels that it is her responsibility to raise her because she feels she got her sister kidnaped,” Keba said. For a moment, I was confused at who he was talking about. That is until he brought up Kiena. So Keba was Amethysts dad. I would never have guessed that.

“KEBA. THAT’S ENOUGH,” Talissa yelled. Then she looked at me, and the look in her eyes made me feel as small as a cockroach.

“NO. You wanted this to be out in the open, so I will not stop now. Our daughter blames herself for what you did. Trading our oldest daughter in hopes of peace. What did you think was going to happen. Did you think the human would keep his word? Instead, he killed our daughter, and all you did was sit back in your hut and spin lies,” Keba said.

The moment that Keba said those words, anger built inside me. How could someone use their own daughter as leverage to try and make peace? It was unethical. It was monstrous. As the anger built, I watched as my hair caught fire again. I needed to calm down. I didn’t need to make a mistake that I would regret, but something needed to be done. People needed to know what had happened. Amethyst needed to know what happened. Maybe then it would help ease the guilt that has been weighing on her mind for so long.

“Are you okay, dear?” Keba asked, looking at me with worry in his eyes. I couldn’t answer him, though. I was so pissed that I was starting to see double.

“No, I am not okay. How could you allow this to happen? Why would you allow your daughter to be a bargaining piece for something that you were never going to obtain?” I said, the anger pouring out with every word. To watch Amethyst suffer. For Kiena to not have her mother. This was something I would never understand.

“Talissa didn’t give me a choice. The elder’s word is the law. I could not go against her. It has been our way for many generations,” Keba said. It didn’t make anything better. I understood that everyone had traditions, but this was their daughter. There never should have been thought of trading her for something that was never going to happen. If they had had trouble with the humans all this time, one life wasn’t going to change all that.

“You call yourself an elder, but you are a coward. You trade your flesh and blood for a dream. I can not allow this lie to go on anymore,” I said, my blood boiling. It took everything in me not to attack her. But, instead, I had another idea.

“There is nothing that you can do about it. You have no authority here. Remember that you are here on my permission,” Talissa said. I almost laughed at that comment, but I had had enough of listening to her worlds. Concentrating on her mouth, I summoned vines and wrapped them around her mouth. I then bound her hands. Then, using the levitation spell that Talissa taught me, I lifted her into the air to drag her with me. Keba said nothing in this, only watching in shock.

As I dragged Talissa through the village, people and watched in horror. Others screamed and ran. I knew how this looked, but I didn’t care at that moment. I knew what I needed to do, and I knew that she wasn’t going to go quietly. Keba followed behind, keeping his distance. I knew that I should be upset with him, but he was following tradition. Talissa, on the other hand, was not innocent at all.

As we got to the center of town, I called for the people to join me. One by one, people exited their home, only to gasp or scream as they saw Talissa. Then I saw them. Amethyst and Kiena. The looks of terror on their faces. I knew that this would be scary for them, but they needed to know the truth. I hoped that Amethyst would forgive me, but I could no longer stand by and allow her to blame herself for her sister when it wasn’t her fault at all.

“People of this village. I know that you are all scared. I know what this looks like, but please hear me out. The woman who you all have called elder all this time has lied to you. She has lied to you about the worst thing imaginable. What really happened to her oldest daughter,” I said. I watched as people whispered amongst each other, everyone except Amethyst. She looked as if someone had just slapped her in the face.

“Though she told you all that her oldest daughter was kidnapped by humans, that was not the case. Instead, Talissa used her daughter as a bargaining chip to try and by protection from the humans. She traded her own daughter for something that was never going to happen,” I said. I watched as everyone turned to one another with surprise and disbelief in her eyes. Then one by one, they turned to me. They began calling me a liar and a traitor. Some even began throwing rocks at me.

I am telling the truth. I heard it for myself,” I tried to convince the people, but they weren’t buying it. More and more began throwing rocks. IT was as if they were afraid to get near me.

“She’s telling the truth. Talissa traded our daughter for the hope of peace with the humans,” Keba said. The moment the words were out, everyone went speechless. It was as if he had told them they were all going to die at that moment. Then he cleared his throat and began telling the tale of how Talissa traded her daughter. As he talked, one by one, they all started to believe him.

“Talissa is no longer fit to be called elder in this village. An elder does not put one person in danger for a false promise,” I said. After that, people started agreeing with me. Amethyst looked as if she was going to cry. Everything in me wanted me to run over and hold her tight, but I knew that this was all a shock to her. I was about to say something else when the ground started shaking. People began freaking out while others ran back into their homes. A spot of dirt directly in front of me began to rise. Then, things that looked like roots started sprouting from the dirt.

Once the dirt settled, standing before us was a creature that looked as if it was made of roots. Even its face looked like a couple of knotholes in a tree.

“Lord Rigrot,” Keba said, his eyes wide open.

“Talissa, Elder of the Keyama, I have heard of your transgressions and have deemed you no longer capable of leading these people. Therefore, from this moment on, you are no longer the elder. You are no longer allowed to speak of your daughter again. This is my ruling,” Rigrot said. Then he turned to Amethyst and said, “Amethyst, you have been loyal to your mother for some time. Therefore, I hear by appointing you as the new elder. May you always have the best of intentions,” the creature said before burying himself back underground.    

Once the creature was no longer in sight, I released Talissa. She didn’t say anything and instead headed back towards the elder’s house, only to be stopped by some villagers. They didn’t seem to want her to go home.

“That is enough. Let Talissa pass,” Keba said. Reluctantly, the villagers moved, allowing Talissa to move past. I watched as she walked away, her tail between her legs, her ears drooped, but I couldn’t feel sorry for her, not after what she had done. I turned to look at Amethyst, only to find her gone. After everything that happened, there was no telling where she might be, so I went looking for her.

I asked around the village to see if anyone saw Amethyst leave, but no one seemed to know. So I checked the house and the lake. I even went to Talissa’s to see if she was there, but only Talissa was there, and she didn’t want to speak with me. Then, after asking around a bit more, someone finally told me that she had seen Amethyst leaving the village with Kiena. So, as fast as I could, I headed out of the village to try and find Amethyst and Kiena. If anything happened to them, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself.