Linh
"Because we're Banished." Leila said, staring the guard straight in the eyes. "The Council Banished us. And we hate them."
One of the other guards laughed. "So bad even the Council rejected you, eh?"
Linh blushed, but Leila held her ground. "We were wrongly accused. We didn't commit any crimes."
"That's a pity. We like rule breakers." The leader said, examining his sword.
"Wait!" Leila cried out. "Don't you want to know what we did?"
"Why not?" The leader said. "This ought to be good." The guards all laughed.
"Linh was Banished for attempted murder of the Councilors. And I was Banished, along with my brother, for murdering my parents."
The guards all stopped laughing and stared. "I thought elves have fragile minds."
"Most of them do." Linh said, surprised at how easily the lie came out. "But a few of us are different. We can kill. We're not limited by guilt."
Leila smirked, also looking surprised at Linh's lie. "Yup."
"How did you do it?"
Leila grinned. "My brother and I poisoned our parents."
"And I'm a Hydrokinetic, so I flooded part of Atlantis and drowned the Council. Unfortunately, some other Hydrokinetics were there and messed it up."
The leader stared at them in shock. "Welcome to Ravagog. I'm King Dimitar."
Tam
Tam finally found a tree. It was just one tree, and it was kind of lopsided. It also didn't have any leaves, but it was better than nothing. Tam didn't have a blanket or anything, so he took off what remained of his jacket and curled up on that.
Tam realized that that wouldn't be enough, and got to work fashioning a bed made of grass. It was not the most comfortable, but it was enough. Tam was so exhausted, and he fell asleep almost immediately.
Linh
"You're King Dimitar?" Linh gasped. Leila stared in shock for a moment before quickly recovering and bowing. Linh followed suit, even though bowing hurt her sore muscles.
"Yes. You may rise." King Dimitar said, and turned around, ready to walk into Ravagog. He paused. "I'll get you some food and then some medicine. I'm not sure if it will help much, but it has to be better than nothing."
"Thank you so much." Leila gushed, following the King. He led them and a few of his guards into the palace.
Ravagog was beautiful. The air was green, and it looked creepily stunning against the black palace of Ravagog. Half of the city was above ground, and the other half was underground. There was a layer of smoky fog covering everything. Green lights poured out of the windows. King Dimitar led the way into the creepy midnight black palace.
The walls of the inside were dark, and green flames illuminated the hallways. "It's beautiful." Leila said, in awe.
"It really is." King Dimitar replied, looking proud. "My wife takes the credit for it, of course."
They walked along, with King Dimitar pointing out rooms along the way. Orges bowed as they passed by, some looking frightened, some confused, and some friendly.
"Here we are, the infirmary. Well, one of them, at least. We have several different ones."
The infirmary had several stone beds on each side. The walls were lined with shelves of elixirs and other tools. A male ogre was standing in the middle of it all, mixing something together in a big pot. "Come and sit down." He said after bowing to the King. "Let's get these wounds treated."
Leila and Linh looked at each other, and sat down on two stone beds right next to each other.
"Alright, have you eaten anything recently?" The ogre asked.
"No." Linh said, embarrassed.
King Dimitar spoke up. "Axel, I have some business to attend to. Take care of our guests." King Dimitar left, his guards following.
Axel nodded. "Alright, I'm not all that sure what you can eat. I'll get Lady Cadence to come see. Stay here."
Linh waved to Axel before turning to Leila. "Why do you think that he's being so nice?"
"Who? Axel or King Dimitar?"
"King Dimitar. I got the impression that he didn't like elves."
"Maybe he just doesn't like the Council." Leila suggested.
"Maybe he just likes murderers." Linh said. Leila stared at her.
"Linh, you do know that we didn't actually murder anyone, right?"
"I know, but maybe he likes us because you said that we didn't feel guilt." Linh said.
"And because he thinks that we're less weak than other elves." Leila said, catching on.
Linh nodded. "Exactly." They stayed silent for a few moments, just appreciating that they got into Ravagog and were about to be fed and get their wounds treated. They reflected on how far they'd come just to get to Ravagog.
"Do you think he's okay?" Linh asked. She was, of course, talking about Tam.
"He's going to be fine. He probably leaped away with Ruy and Kai." Leila said, a bit impatient. She'd reassured Linh over and over that Tam was going to be okay, but she still didn't believe her.
"But I don't think he did. I've met Tam. He probably ran after me like you did, and got lost in the smoke." Linh sobbed.
Leila grabbed Linh's hands and stared into her eyes. "Linh. Tam is a survivor. If he did follow you and got lost, then he could still get out. He probably got to the river, or maybe he went in the other direction. But I know he made it out."
Linh sobbed, and wrapped her arms around Leila. "Thank you." She whispered.
Tam
Tam woke up to realize that he was no longer outside. The next thing that he noticed was that his head hurt, a lot. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around.
He was in a simple room, laying in a bed with a pink flowered blanket. The walls were a warm yellow, and there were pictures of smiling people on the walls. There was a window with pink curtains. On the other side of the room there was a brown wood desk.
Tam knew one thing for sure. He wasn't in the Lost Cities anymore. He was in… the Forbidden Cities?!
The white door opened slowly, and a woman peeked her head in. She noticed him looking at her. "Good, you're awake!" She said cheerfully. "I'm Mrs. Smith! What's your name?"
"Uhhh. Tam. Why am I here?" Tam said, confused. Then he noticed her eyes. They were a warm brown. She wasn't an elf.
"My husband found you on our property, wet and freezing cold! If we hadn't gotten you, you would have gotten hypothermia!"
"Oh. Okay. What's hypothermia?" Tam asked.
Mrs Smith shook her head. "Do you have amnesia?"
"Um, no? I don't think so? What is it?" Tam blinked. What are those weird names that she keeps talking about?
"Calm down, Anne." A man said, coming in through the open door. "You're scaring the poor child."
Tam frowned. He wasn't a poor child.
"Would you be a dear and tell us why you were sleeping outside in the rain last night? And why you have so many burns?" Mrs. Smith asked, finally getting around to asking some sensible questions.
Tam paused. What would he say? "My house burnt down. We didn't have a chance to call for help. My parents died, and my sister made it out, but she's gone missing."
"Oh, we heard about the big fire down the way. Didn't realize that there was anyone living there, though." The man, (Mr Smith?) turned to his wife. "Why don't you go get him some food. We can take him to the doctor when he's feeling up for it." Mrs Smith nodded and left.
"Wait, no doctors!" Tam said. What if they find out that I'm an elf? That I'm not human?
"Alright, we might have all the supplies that we need here. I'll be right back and go get them." Mr Smith left, leaving Tam alone.
Do I escape? What do I do? Tam sat up and groaned. He was sore, and his burns hurt like crazy. He was also cold. So he grabbed the blanket and wrapped himself up in it. I'll stay here for a little while longer. Just until I feel well enough to leave. Then I go find Linh.
Wait.
How do I find Linh now? If I keep going back up the river, there will be more humans. Leila and Linh are smarter than me, they wouldn't stay with the humans. So where else could they be?
That's when Tam realized it. Ravagog. It's crazy, but it makes sense. They escaped, and went down the river to Ravagog.
I need to go as soon as I can! What if the King kills them? What if they die from their wounds?
"Tam? I got you some food. I made you tea and some soup." Mrs Smith said, coming in. She handed him a tray.
Tam downed the drink in one breath. It was really hot, and it didn't taste that good.
Mrs Smith laughed. "Easy, there. Try the soup, but blow on it first, it's hot."
Tam pulled himself up into a sitting position. He used the spoon and tried a small sip of the soup. It was hot, but he already could hardly feel his tongue. He took another bite, then another. Soon he had eaten the whole bowl. "This is really good. What's in it?"
Mrs Smith smiled. "Thank you! It's just classic chicken noodle soup."
Chicken. That's another human animal. But Tam didn't care. It tasted better than fish. He wasn't sure what noodle was, but assumed it was another animal. "It's good. Thank you."
Linh
Axel came back into the infirmary, followed by... an elf? "This is Lady Cadence."
"Greetings." Lady Cadence was carrying a large bag, and she opened it up, revealing several gnomish plants and a few Bottles of Youth. She handed a bottle to each girl. "Drink up. You'll need to regain your energy."
Linh and Leila took the bottles gratefully. The sweet liquid calmed Linh's aching throat.
Lady Cadence gave them each a fruit, much like the ones they ate at Excillium. "Eat these, and then I'll give you your elixirs."
The girls wolfed down their fruit. Lady Cadence laughed. "First, she said, go into the bathroom and try these clothes on instead. They might be a bit big for you, but that's all I have on me."
Leila and Linh went into the bathroom. Linh held up one of the clothes. "I think it's a …. Dress?"
Leila snickered, and grabbed a different on. "Okay, these look like pants. And I think this is a shirt. I'll take these ones, you can have the dress."
Linh groaned, but was relieved to be wearing something that didn't smell of smoke. Both girls changed and headed back into the infirmary.
"Perfect! I've picked out the right elixirs for you." Lady Cadence handed each girl a few vials. "Drink these, and then I have some balm for you to put on."
The elixirs were gross. But they eased Leila's aching bones and hurting lungs. Leila made several amusing faces as she drank hers.
"Okay. Rub these all over your burns. Start with one on your arm, I want to make sure it works before you put it on your face."
"Okay…" Leila said. She put a small drop of the balm on part of her arm. "It doesn't hurt at all." She sounded surprised.
Linh followed suit, smearing it all over her arms. Then she moved on to her legs. Beside her, Leila was doing the same thing.
"You can use the mirrors in the bathrooms if you need to do your faces." Lady Cadence said.
Linh nodded and walked into the bathroom. She pulled her hair up into a bun, and got to work putting the balm over her neck. Then she moved on to her face. "Do you think it's going to scar?"
Leila paused. "I hope not."
"It may." Lady Cadence said from the doorway. "If you put this on everyday, then it hopefully will heal soon. But it may still scar. However, I think that it will only scar on your arms and legs, since the burns there are far worse than the ones on your face."
Linh nearly cried. She didn't want scars all over herself.
"Hey. It will be okay." Leila said. "She said that it probably won't scar your face. If there are scars on your arms and legs, then you can just cover them up. But in my opinion, scars show that we won. That we survived."
Leila made a good point. Linh sighed.
"Well said." Lady Cadence smiled at Leila. "Now, come on. You can come with me to Riverdrift where you can clean up. The King wants you to come to dinner with him tonight."
Tam
Mr Smith had came back and gave Tam new clothes, and told him to take a cold shower. "After you do, put on this cream."
He did, and it felt so good. When he got out, he put on the cream, which also felt really good on his burns. Tam tried on the new clothes, which were a bit too big for him, but he wasn't complaining.
When he got out, Mrs Smith announced that it was time for dinner. She made something called "roast and baked potatoes" Tam had no idea what a potato was. He assumed it was a type of noodle.
Mr and Mrs Smith asked him a few questions about his personal life, and he was as vague as possible. They thankfully didn't press too hard.
After dinner, Mrs Smith told Tam to look through the bookshelf in the room he was staying in and said that he could read until bed. "We're going to bed at 10:00, so please be quiet after that. You should try and get some sleep tonight, especially if you're going to look for your sister tomorrow."
Tam nodded. "Okay."
Later
Tam had looked through the giant bookshelves, looking for anything about wilderness survival. Then he found a few novels that looked fairly interesting.
He went to bed at around the same time as the Smiths did. He was tired, but he felt a lot better after eating, sleeping, and getting medicine.
The Next Morning
Tam awoke late the next morning. It was already ten o clock. He walked into the kitchen, and found a plate waiting for him, along with a note.
Dear Tam,
We're off shopping and doing some important business in the market. We left some breakfast for you. Just heat it up in the microwave.
We also have a special surprise for you. Look outside.
-Anne and Frank Smith
Tam felt tears well in his eyes. They were so nice to him, and he was leaving. I have to. Besides, maybe I can come back and visit them someday.
Tam had no idea what a microwave was, nor how to use it, so he ate the delicious round circles cold. They were still pretty good.
Look outside. Tam walked onto the big back patio. There was a strange machine, and a backpack.
Tam walked over to it. For Tam, it said. There was another note.
Tam, we know that you're going to go find Linh. So take this bicycle and helmet to go find her. I hope you know how to ride! Don't worry, this used to be Frank's bike, but he never uses it anymore and said that it was okay for you to have it. In the backpack I included some food, a pocket knife, a jacket, more of that cream for your burns, and a few other necessities. Good luck, Tam!
This time Tam really did cry. No one had ever done anything so nice to him before. He put his old clothes in the backpack, and slung it over his shoulder. Then he paused.
Tam walked back inside, grabbed a piece of paper, and wrote them a note, saying how thankful he was. Then Tam set his old knife on top of the note. He'd hid it in his boot, and it had jewels on the handle. That should pay them back for everything. Tam decided.
He walked back outside, and managed to put on the strange helmet. Now all he needed to do was figure out how to "ride" this bicycle.
Bonus: Mrs Smith
When Mrs and Mr Smith returned from their shopping, they went to check on Tam, unsurprised to see that he had gone to find his sister.
What a good young man. Anne thought to herself. He reminds me of Frank when he was a boy.
"Anne!" Frank called from the dining room. "You have to see this!"
Anne took off running, hoping that everything was okay. "Is everything alright?" She asked, breathless.
"Look, dear." Frank held up a knife. The handle of the knife was covered in beautiful gemstones. She gasped. "Are those real?"
Frank shrugged. "I have no idea. I think it's from Tam. He mentions in this note that he hoped that he repaid us."
"What note?" Anne asked. Frank handed it to her. She read it over.
Dear Mrs and Mr Frank, I just want to say thank you so much. For everything. I hope this repays it. -Tam
Anne reread it. "We'll take it to the pawn shop tomorrow and see if the jewels are real or not."
As she started to cook lunch she wondered. Who exactly is that boy?
A/N
I know that isn't really what Ravagog looks like, but I got the idea in my head and decided to roll with it!
I love how Tam assumes that noodles and potatoes are both a type of meat. The round things that he was eating for breakfast were pancakes, by the way!
I absolutely love Mr and Mrs Smith, especially how nice they were to Tam!
This is the longest chapter yet, at about 3000 words!
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