The wind wasn't on Tamsin's side as she tried to move silently through the trees. All it did was make her life more difficult, flinging leaves and twigs into her face far more than necessary. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought that some of her subordinates were purposefully inconveniencing her.
Unfortunately, Tamsin did know better.
She was the only one of her company that would dare get this close to the break in the trees. It was too close to the Telmarine town to approach safely. Of course, the only reason the others wouldn't dare tread closely was that she had made it clear precisely what she would do to them if they weren't killed or captured by the Telmarines first. But the point still stood; it was dangerous to be this close to Telmarines.
All Narnians were hated by the Telmarines, but she and her fellow Elementals could blend in well enough. But that made it even more dangerous for them at times; escape was unlikely if they were discovered in a town. It was a double-edged sword for her people.
Nonetheless, Tamsin didn't regret that she had to do this job alone. She would prefer to take all the risk herself than lose any of her people. No matter how much she was beginning to loathe foliage.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, she saw the objective of her mission approaching.
Miss Golzar, a quarter-dwarf school teacher, walked briskly towards the forest, followed closely by a small figure. She really hoped it was a dwarf rather than a child; she was terrible at interacting with children.
As the two got closer, Tamsin shifted in the trees and prepared to descend to the ground. And she would do it in the most dramatically impressive way possible, just to spite Golzar for how long Tamsin had to wait.
"Tamsin," Golzar whispered as soon as she and who it, unfortunately, became clear was a child began entering the tree line, "are you here?"
That was, of course, the moment the child stepped on a branch. As Golzar and the child looked behind them, Tamsin dropped to the ground as silently as she could.
"This is the only one?" Tamsin questioned softly. Both Golzar and the child startled fiercely at the sound of her voice.
"Did you really have to do that?" Golzar demanded, whispering as loudly as she could without speaking.
"Yes," Seeing the annoyance on Golzar's face made Tamsin deeply satisfied with her petty revenge.
"Of course you did."
"Now, who is this little one?" Tamsin gestured to the child, finally allowing them into the conversation.
"This is Neto," Golzar introduced, pushing the boy forwards, "Neto, this is Tamsin."
"Well, hello Neto, it's very nice to meet you," Tamsin nodded at the boy. He did not react, other than continuing staring at her.
"Neto," Golzar prompted, pushing the boy forwards more.
"You as well, miss," The boy finally greeted. His voice was quiet, though whether that was shyness or exhaustion because of the late hour, Tamsin couldn't tell.
"Neto, why don't you go and rest on that tree root," Golzar suggested and gestured the boy farther into the forest. Once the boy was sufficiently far away so he wouldn't hear them, Golzar turned her weary stare back to Tamsin.
"I thought you said that there was an entire family?" Tamsin broke the silence, "Or is he all that's left of it?" Tamsin really hoped not. It wouldn't be unusual for her to only save one Elemental of a group, but she wished she was always able to help them all.
"His parents are fine. Stubborn, but fine," The older woman reassured. "The father is a blacksmith and a popular one at that. He couldn't get away without drawing more attention than would be safe. And if both the mother and the son went missing at the same time, it would be too suspicious for the guards to overlook."
"Both parents are Elementals?" Tamsin's eyes widened in shock. If there was an Elemental child within a Telmarine settlement, they typically had only one Elemental parent. Tamsin had never seen a case of two Elemental parents outside of the Elemental settlement, far away from Telmarine and Narnian reach alike.
"Both vulcanus, same as Neto," Golzar confirmed. "They said that was how they met; the father used his fire to help his smithing, and the mother noticed one day while she was purchasing a dagger."
"Are the parents going to stay in town, or do they want to follow at a later point?" Tamsin asked. It would be harder to get Neto's parents later. She tried to only go to the same town every couple of months. Any more and the Telmarines could figure out that people were disappearing for more than the typical never-to-be seen again reasons. The absolute soonest she could safely go was three months later. If the Telmarines discovered that Elementals were living all across Narnia, both in and out of Telmarine settlements, it could reignite the Narnian hunts. That was very much not ideal for Tamsin. Or anyone really, she supposed.
"They want to wait until the commotion and search parties die down before they think about leaving. Don't want to draw too much attention."
"You know how to contact me when they do," Tamsin nodded. In most towns and cities all across Narnia, she had contacts. Those who would smuggle information or people, Elemental and Narnian, to the Elementals.
Usually, her contacts were people with a Narnian parent or grandparent. They would let her know if any Narnians needed to escape to the safety of the forest. The Telmarines dared not enter the forest, most of the time; they thought it was cursed.
Tamsin didn't exactly do anything to discourage that idea. She may have even encouraged it on occasion. Apparently, screeching a few times in what people think is an abandoned forest gives the impression that there was a curse. Who knew? Certainly not her. Perish the thought.
"Good luck. And watch out for Neto; he'll need all the support he can get without his parents," Golzar said, bidding the younger girl farewell, before turning and walking towards the boy.
Tamsin stayed in place, allowing the two privacy while they said their goodbyes. It was a sombre scene between the teacher and her student.
After the student and teacher were satisfied with their final words, Golzar exited the forest, grasping Tamsin on the shoulder as she passed.
"I'll carry that for you," Tamsin offered, gesturing to Neto's bag of things. "It's a bit of a walk before we get to my horse, then we'll ride until we reach Elemental territory."
Neto didn't respond.
Tamsin missed Golzar already. If this was what she could expect for the next half-day of travel, she was dreading it. But she didn't think she could get anything out of the boy, so instead of trying, she simply took his hand and led him in the direction of her horse.
Never let it be said that she was good with children.
Tamsin made it about thirty paces before she couldn't bear the uncomfortable silence anymore.
"Have you ever ridden a horse before?" She really hoped the boy would actually speak to her this time.
"No," Neto practically whispered his answer, but Tamsin's shoulders relaxed, most of the tension leaving her body. She could do this.
"Well, my horse, Dawley, is very nice, so that shouldn't be a problem."
Silence descended between them once more as they continued walking.
They soon made it to Dawley, and Tamsin lifted Neto onto the black horse's back before hoisting herself up behind him.
"Let's get you somewhere safe then," Tamsin said, making sure the boy was secure in between her arms. She nudged Dawley forwards, and they took off into a canter, heading deep into the woods.
After hours of riding, most of which Neto spent sleeping against Tamsin, they finally made it to the deepest part of the forest. The trees grew taller and thicker, something unmistakably ancient about them. The forest floor was completely hidden by rolling fog. As they continued deeper into the forest, the fog seemed to rise higher until everything within view was obscured from view.
Tamsin slowed Dawley to a walk. Relief coursed through her as soon as they were completely enveloped by fog. Ever since Neto had fallen asleep against her, Tamsin had been paranoid about her ability to protect him while keeping him on the horse if danger appeared.
She closed her eyes as the fog surrounded her. The feeling of it on her skin was like the gentle safety of coming home. In her mind, Tamsin saw the comforting Light that sat at the centre of the Elemental settlement. It was calling her back. With her eyes still shut, Tamsin steered Dawley towards the Light.
What kept the settlement safe was that the only way to make it through the fog was to follow the call of the Light at the heart of it all. Only Elementals were able to feel it, so only they could make it through.
At the very beginning of the settlement, undina and pygmy worked together to create defences for their people. Undina created and shaped the thick fog surrounding them, and pygmy changed the very ground they walked on, creating steep drops and sudden walls. They made it so that there was no way for Telmarines to wander into the settlement without meeting grievous injury or a grisly end.
The only way to make it through the fog and avoid the traps in the ground was to follow the call of the Light. Neither Telmarines nor other Narnians could make it through.
When they exited the fog, Tamsin shook Neto awake. The sight of dawn breaking over her home was a beautiful sight to see; she didn't want him to miss it.
"Welcome to Beacenfyr, Neto. Welcome home."
Most of the residents hadn't woken up for the day yet, but there were scant few fireplaces releasing smoke into the sky. Morning dew shone in the sun from where it rested in the grass and on top of roofs. The sculptures made of vulcanus glass lit up in the dawn sun, lighting the settlement up in a warm glow. It was the most comforting sight that Tamsin had ever seen.
"It's beautiful," Neto whispered, wonder filling his voice.
"I'll show you my favourite spot," Tamsin promised.
She dismounted from Dawley but left Neto on him, getting him to hold onto the saddle. She smiled to herself as she led the horse and boy through the houses; she always loved seeing an Elemental's first reactions to the central square.
When they left the cobblestone roads for the soft grass of the square, Neto gasped in amazement. Tamsin watched as his eyes filled with awe. He had seen the Light.
"People say that the Light, right up there in the case, is what gave Elementals our power," Tamsin said as she helped Neto off the horse. She began to tell the story passed down from generation to generation of Elementals. She spoke and spoke, telling him the story of their people as he stood and watched the Light.
Long after Tamsin had finished her story, she and Neto stood in the square watching the Light. She quietly stepped forward towards the metal pole that the Light and its case sat on. She stopped just shy of touching it.
"Want to see something amazing?" Tamsin asked, turning to look back at the boy. When he nodded in agreement, Tamsin closed the distance between her hand and the metal, letting palm rest flat against it.
Power rushed through her. Tamsin could feel the Light in every part of her body; her awareness expanded past her body. She was no longer looking at the world through only her eyes; she was in every drop of dew in the grass, floating through the sky in the morning mist. Tamsin could feel every drop of water resting on the ground and in the clouds in the sky.
She took a deep breath and pulled on the connection she had with the water.
She pulled it to form one stream, circling the square around them. Distantly, she could hear Neto's gasps of amazement.
She circled the water faster around them, letting it dance and bend so that it would light the world up around them with rainbows.
Tamsin couldn't hold it for more than a few minutes before she began to feel exhausted, so she removed her hand from the pole. Instantly, the water dropped to the ground. It soaked the grass around them, and Neto shrieked a little when it splashed him.
"Oops," Tamsin smirked as the boy glared at her. She had her revenge for all the awkward silences the child put her through. She snickered as Neto's expression soured even more.
It was good to be home.
Edited 19/06/2021 : Reworked for clarity, edited grammar.