Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters.
Leurielle was decidedly prettier then Zellphori, and Ellara practically cried at seeing her old towns' leader waiting there for them. "Elliha!" shouted Ellara, practically running to the old woman.
"My child," Elliha said in standard, hands clutching the girls' face. "It has been to long."
Ellara nodded, a few tears threatening to spill. "He's dead." she murmured, bowing her head.
A grim look passed over Elliha's face, before she nodded and said, "Good. Meritha and Lywa may sleep peacefully now, as will many others from Leurielle. We thank you for your service."
As everyone caught up to the two Rendorians, Ellara quickly made introductions. "Elliha, this is Captain Kirk, Commander Spock, Lieutenant Sulu, Lieutenant Uhura and Ensign Chekov. Everyone, this is my towns' leader, Elliha."
With a smile, hands were shaken, and the rest of the crew was shocked at the almost complete one-eighty in Ellara's personality from earlier. She had gone from terrifying murderer to reminiscing Counsellor.
"Well, if you'll all follow me, I shall bring you to the town hall." Elliha said, a twinkle in her eye. "That was where I told your parents about you, just a month before you were born, Ellara." she teased, poking Ellara's nose.
Ellara smiled softly, remembering when her parents told her about the event. It had been a full moon, which was said to bring luck to the child. She supposed it was just superstition, then. After all, her life had never been one filled with exuberant amounts of luck. "Are you alright, child?" Elliha asked, placing her hand on Ellara's forehead. "You're burning up."
"I'm fine." Ellara waved her off, causing Elliha to frown. "Let's just get to the meeting. I would like to see my father after this."
The meeting for those in the Leurielle sector went much better then the first, with smiles and hugs exchanged all around. Everyone there spoke standard, so Ellara had no need to translate, and the Captain even told a few jokes.
By the time it was done, most people's minds had been taken away from the events in Zellphori, forgetting about Ellara's actions.
"It was wonderful to see you again, Elliha." said Ellara with a smile, hugging her old leader.
Elliha stroked Ellara's hair, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "And you too, my child. You too. Stay safe up in the stars."
With that, Ellara bowed, and began the short walk to her father's house. "I won't be long." she told the crew, who had all begun to look around the beautiful market.
Ellara gazed upon her childhood home, taking in how there was much maintenance that needed to be done. She knocked on the door, feeling slightly out of place. That, however, was rectified as soon as her father's eyes landed upon his daughter. "Ellara!" he cried, pulling his daughter in close.
"Papa!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Nalli.
The two held each other for a few minutes before breaking apart, still remaining close. "How you've grown…" murmured Nalli, holding his daughter's face. He quickly smushed her cheeks together, drawing a laugh from the two of them. "Come in, come in." he said, gesturing inside. "I haven't had a chance to clean up, I didn't know you were coming over."
"Me neither." replied Ellara, flashing him a smile. "I was told about the mission this morning, and it's been complete chaos ever since."
Nalli let out a side smile, beginning to put things away. "Father." Ellara said, calling for his attention. He looked up, brows furrowed. "He's dead." she said plainly, not giving any more explanation.
"You mean…" her father inquired, checking to make sure she meant what she said. Ellara nodded, tears beginning to form. "Oh my daughter!" Nalli exclaimed, rushing over to his daughter and bringing her to his chest. "Thank you, thank you so much."
The two spent half an hour reminiscing and discussing their new lives. The visit was cut short with a comm from the Captain, and Ellara was sent off with some fresh candles, two of them blessed by their favourite Priestess. Ellara thanked him with the promise that she would come back on her next shore leave, and returned to her crew.
Yantaro and Galleck were fairly uneventful, with only two people spitting at Ellara's feet. She was impressed. Practically everyone they had passed in Zellphori had either called her a name or attempted to spit in her eye. But of course, as usual, Zellphori refused to progress to a better time.
By the time they were done in Galleck, Ellara was practically sweating buckets, and the others were huddled near her, due to the meeting being in one of the colder regions. "How are you so hot right now?" the Captain asked, genuinely fuddled.
Ellara shrugged, not knowing herself. "I am concerned about the possibility that you have caught an illness, Counsellor." spoke Spock, his tone as cool as the environment they were in.
"I doubt it." replied Ellara over her shoulder. "Rendorians rarely get sick. Anything we do catch would kill you in five minutes."
Her statement that was supposed to be reassuring caused slight panic to fill some of her crew-mates' eyes. Noticing it, Ellara rolled her eyes, letting loose a sigh. "For crying out loud, guys. It only affects Rendorians. Studies have proven that other races can't be infected. Thought you would have done some freaking research."
With that, Ellara requested to Lieutenant Commander Scott to beam them up. He complied, and Ellara took off before the others could even begin to settle down.
"Fascinating." said Spock as he stared at the slight burn marks in the carpet from where Ellara had stood.
The minute she reached her room, Ellara had hopped into her shower and shoved her fist in her mouth before letting loose a scream. Her skin felt like it was being singed off, and she was in a ridiculous amount of pain. The last time she had felt like this was when she had gotten her scars. But it couldn't be that time yet, it wasn't her… Oh dear. It was Ellara's twenty-fifth birthday according to the Rendorians, who's calendar was a day ahead of the one belonging to the ship. Everything made sense. Why she had been a bit hot headed, the increase in body heat, the pain. Ellara's body suddenly erupted into flames, and she screamed, sinking down to her knees. She couldn't turn on the water yet, the flames had to die down.
Spock had been walking to Ellara's quarters when he heard her scream, and quickly sprinted the rest of the way. He inputted the override code, and ran to her bathroom, whereupon he saw her on fire. The flames were licking up her skin, a beautiful green that was slightly enchanting. It only lasted a moment, and they soon began to dissipate, leaving a groaning Ellara. She slowly moved to turn the knob, and Spock saved her the trouble by putting the water on to cold. Ellara immediately sighed in relief, curling into a ball and took a moment as steam rolled off of her in waves.
Once she appeared to be sufficiently cooled off, Spock gently placed a towel around the Counsellor and allowed her to dry herself off, putting on some loose clothing once he had left the bathroom. When she emerged, Ellara had a deep blush spread out on her face, head pointed towards the floor. "May I inquire as to what just occurred?" asked Spock, still as calm as before.
Ellara sighed, realizing she would have to explain. She took a seat on her bed and began. "Every ten years, from their fifteenth birthday on, Rendorians have this event where we burst into flames to renew our marks." At this, she gestured to the purple lines adorning her body. "They aren't just pretty stripes. They're scars, completely different for each person, like a fingerprint. This event is also very private, meant only to be seen by family and our betrothed." Ellara began to blush again, embarrassed that Spock had seen her in this particular moment.
Spock understood immediately why she appeared to be much more reserved then before, and gave a small nod of his head. "I will not tell anyone of what I saw. I will, however, request that you go down to the medical bay and see Doctor McCoy about his burn medication. It should help with the healing process."
Ellara gave a small smirk, reaching into her nightstand and pulling out her own creme. "Two steps ahead of you, Commander Spock. If I could be alone for a while, though, I would appreciate it."
The subtle message was received by the Commander, and he bid her a good evening before leaving her quarters. That was not an event that Ellara was excited about repeating.
So, chapter nine! And if you're wondering, when I kept saying "it's been nine years, ten years, whatever", that was what I was referring to. Ellara catching fire. She literally became hot headed, I can't! I'm sorry, I think I'm funny. Anyway, Ellara saw her family again, and Spock saw a private moment that he shouldn't have. She's gonna be awkward around him for a while. That, I am very good at writing, haha. *deep sigh* Poor El. Her dad forgot her birthday. Tbh, he is supposed to be a less present father because of the death of Meritha. So... yeh. The beginning wasn't as fun to write as the "on fire" part, so I'm definitely going to be starting some Spock/Ellara development soon. They need to at least be friends soon. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please leave any comments or constructive criticism, it's always appreciated! Can't wait to post next week. I assume exciting things next chapter.
PS - I also added a little AN at the end of the prologue, which pertains to the title of the story. So, if you're curious... yeh.
AwesomeFangirlOtaku01: I always anticipate what cool new comment you'll give next! It's honestly so great to read. And hells yes she's a badass. She's Rendorian; they're raised knowing how to fight in case someone attacks. She probably went a bit overboard, but he did kill her family. And oh my god yeah Spock better get ready. He won't know what hit him. Or who. Heheheh.
animexchick: Yesssssss dramaaaaaaaa I love writing it so much it's so fun! Yeah. I don't know if I'm going to have her have to do a bit more work to get over her grief yet or not. We'll see... we'll see. :)
- fangirl0012345
Updated September 3rd, 2016.