Man From The Shadows

Man From The Shadows

Part II

Raleek rested on the pile of wood that he had just cut and stacked. The cool autumn breeze swept over him cooling him off from the mid-morning chore and the songs of the birds brought him peace of mind. He couldn’t remember being so relaxed. Despite his nearly healed wounds still aching he was able to appreciate the simplicity of it all.

“Raleek, come over here and help me load this here wagon up, for the journey to town.” Pa called looking a little tired as he wiped his brow.

“Sure thing.” Raleek answered sitting up and pushing off the pile of wood. A smile crossed his lips as acknowledge, the fact that this family had welcomed him into their lives and nursed him back to health. It was the least he could do for them. A sadness came over him, he would be going into town with them on their supply run, but from there he would go his own way. He hadn’t realized how much he had grown attached to them, until he thought about that little fact. He would miss this simple quiet life.

“Uh…. How far exactly is this town we’re heading too?” He asked awkwardly rubbing the back of his head, as he came to a stop to see the piles of things that needed to be loaded.

“A few days.” Pa, grumbled nudging one of the bags with his foot. “Don’t know why Ma thinks we need all this here stuff.”

“Well because, there are more then just the three of us going now.” Olive sweetly answered as she gently bounced on of the twins, in attempt to quiet him. “There is the boys, Raleek, me and of course you two. How can we go with anything less?”

“What are you doing to that boy?” Pa asked changing the subject to the fussy baby in her arms. Raleek couldn’t help, but quietly chuckle.

“I don’t know I can’t get him to stop.” Olive softly wined in defeat, she didn’t know what else to do. He had been fed, changed and burped.

“Well maybe if you two would name them already he wouldn’t be complaining so much.” Pa blatantly pointed out. “First parents I ever did see, who didn’t name their whelps upon birth.” Pa grumbled under his breathe as he bent down to start packing things up again.

“Whoa, wait a minute…” Raleek’s spoke up. “Since when are they our kids?” Raleek protested motioning towards the irritated Olive, earning him a glare.

“Well since you two brought them wailing into this here world, that’s since when.” Pa stated in a matter of fact tone.

“Whoa, hey hold your roll there. We didn’t make these babies.” Raleek felt a little nervous about the old man’s logic. He wasn’t sure exactly how things worked outside the order, but he knew that it took doing certain things to create a baby and he was pretty sure him, and Olive had done no such thing.

“And, your point is?” Pa asked actually giving him a dumbfounded look of confusion. “I don’t see how that sort of thing has a lick to do about it.”

“Well they don’t need names anyways…. I call that one Ra and the other one is Oli, if those aren’t good enough, then go right ahead and name them. Their your grandchildren anyways.” Raleek stated, flustered by the hole ordeal. (Why did I just do that?) He mentally asked himself after the fact. He already knew the answer though, his mind had gone blank and he no longer had a viable argument in the matter. What Pa said was true enough, they were the only living people present at the time of birth and in some messed up way, that made them the only parents they had. Not to mention the responsibility that he felt for them, it was a losing battle.

“Well it’s about time you up and named them.” Pa gave him a dismissive wave and then motioned for him to start helping. The conversation was over and Raleek had been tricked into naming the children, which in turn made him feel even more responsible for them. How was he going to leave them now?

Raleek thought it better to bite his tongue on the subject and just go to work. He wasn’t all that good at social interactions and often found himself flustered or annoyed by it in some way. Shaking his head he quickly packed up the remaining items and helped tie down what needed to be tied down. Olive was softly shushing the infant as she shifted to some sort of wave and jiggle motion in hopes of quieting him.

“Olive, stop upsetting that boy of yours.” Pa scolded her and she gave him a disbelieving look, that quickly shifted to one of challenge, that brought the hint of a smile to the old man’s aging features.

“Why are you so confrontational today?” Raleek softly asked the infant as he reached out and gently removed him from Olives arms. “Are you trying to be heard? What would you like to say, Ra? I’ll listen.” He softly spoke to the baby and moved to sit down on the porch. As if like magic the infant instantly fell silent and started sucking on his small fist, while he stared up at Raleek, who’s attention was completely on the boy.

“Well I’ll be…” Pa scratched his head. “The boy knows who his dad is.”

Olive opened her mouth to argue with her father, but the newfound silence of the child was just to wonderful to chance messing it up. She quickly closed her mouth and spun on her heals to head back inside the house. The other baby was still asleep and she finally had a chance to sit and relax for a minute.

“Hey Pa!” Ma loudly called from the porch causing Raleek to look up from the now sleeping baby in his arms.

“Yeah, Ma!” Pa loudly called back as he moved to relieve her of the sack of baby stuff she was carrying. Raleek shook his head and pressed the finger tips of his free hand to his forehead. He couldn’t figure out why they always spoke so loudly, when they were standing right next to each other. Neither one of them had a hearing problem, in fact they heard the slightest noises all the time.

“Did he name them babies yet?” Ma asked heading back into the house.

“He sure did and its bout’ time too.” Pa grinned. Causing Raleek’s gaze to snap toward him.

“Hold up…” Olive rushed out the door pointing a finger at her father as a stern look crossed her face. “You planned that whole thing?” She demanded putting her hands on her hips. Raleek shifted his gaze from Pa to Olive as it all sank in.

“No pumpkin, it’s just a happy coincidence.” He casually answered giving her a kiss on the forehead and a wink as he moved around her to go inside.

Raleek stood up and was about to protest the trickery, but Olive sighed and held up her hand as she rubbed her temples. “No point in arguing with them now. Its done passed.” She softly relented.

“And, you’re okay with that?” He asked in disbelief, earning him an expressionless stare as she folded her arms in front of her. “Right.” He softly said adverting his eyes. He had only known her for about two months now and most generally she was right about these things. “I’ll go get Oli.” He softly said handing her the sleeping baby, as he walked around her.

“Good idea.” She nodded, taking a deep breath as she looked at the covered wagon. How had her life changed so drastically in such a short amount of time? One moment she was aiding her sister in returning home and the next she was a wife and a mother of twins. Wife to a man, who didn’t even realize that by saving her life, he had claimed her as his life partner in accordance to the customs of her people. He was clueless to life outside where ever he came from. Sighing she looked down at the peaceful child in her arms. She struggled with weather or not to tell him about it or just keep him in the dark. A simple act of rescue could get a person married, but a small act of mistreatment in any way could also get them divorced. One of the two brought into this sort of union could also break it should they up and leave, like he was planning to do. She had to admit that somewhere along the way she had grown attached to him and didn’t want to let him go. However, her customs were not his and he had a right to find his own way of life.

“I’ll tell him when the time is right.” She softly whispered, as she brushed a kiss across the babies balled up fist and smiled. He was a fat little thing, they both were and she had grown attached to them as well.

“Come on Pa, it’s time we head out.” Ma, called into the house as Raleek came out carrying the bundled up Oli.

“I’m a coming woman, hold your girdle.” Pa, called back from inside.

“Well why you taking so long?” Ma demanded.

“I’m feeding the hounds.” Pa answered in the same tone.

“Here hold him.” Raleek quietly said to Olive as he handed her the second child, completely ignoring the commentary of the older couples.

Instinctively, she wrapped her free arm around the baby and only managed a soft gasp, when he immediately lifted the three of them into the back of the cart, before crawling in himself. He plopped down in the only available space left to him, putting him shoulder to shoulder with her as he motioned for her hand the children over. Unsure what to make of his actions, she done as he asked and he slid down into a slouching position, making his chest a bed for the twins. He laid his head back closed his eyes as if trying to block the whole situation out of his mind.

It wasn’t long before they were on their way and silence fell over the entire wagon. Olive leaned back and listened to the steady hooves of the horses until she drifted off to sleep, using Raleek’s shoulder as a pillow. If he minded it, he didn’t say anything so she didn’t think about it.

It was early morning on the third day of traveling; when they entered the Quaint little town of ‘Forge Folk’. The citizens were verily waking up and starting to move around, when Pa pulled the wagon to a stop and pounded on the wooden frame.

Startled, Raleek clumsily sat up pulling out his daggers as if he was prepared to fight and looked around the dark interior of the covered wagon in search of the enemy. It took the shocked look on Olive’s features to realize that there wasn’t an enemy there.

“Sorry.” He quietly exhaled dropping the daggers next to him as he ran his hands through his black curls, trying ease the rapid beating of his heart. “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?” he softly asked finally looking back up at her and she slowly shook her head.

“Just surprised me, that’s all.” She softly assured. Exhaling a second time he retrieved his daggers and put them back in their sheaths. “Um… we kind of have to get out here.” She nervously informed him as her eyes darted towards the back of the wagon.

“Why?” He asked a bit suspicious of her suddenly anxious actions.

“Well um….” She awkwardly laughed. “I’m kind of… uh…. A known sympathizer of humans and mixed blooded people…” She carefully chose her words as he stared at her in irritation. “There is a reward for me… and they uh…. Have a picture… of me.” She sheepishly admitted.

“You didn’t think to tell me about this?” He calmly asked, but his expression betrayed his tone.

“Well I didn’t think it mattered….” She began, but was silenced when he moved into a crouch putting his face a few inches from hers.

“We’ll talk about this later.” He hissed and quickly moved to exit the back of the wagon. There was no time to waste if they were stopping at the edge of town and even though he was furious that she had kept this from him. He couldn’t really judge or blame her, since he, himself was a man on the run from certain factions. The only defense he had in the matter was that he hadn’t kept that information from her. “Come on, hand me one of the kids and then their stuff.” He quietly instructed as he stuck his head and arms back inside. She nodded and gave him one of the twins freeing up an arm; so she could collect their things with her free hand.

They didn’t have a whole lot of things so it didn’t take to long. When she handed him the bag of the baby supplies, he draped it over his shoulder and then held his hand up to help her down. Once she was safely on the ground next to him he struck the wooden fame of the wagon with his palm indicating that Pa and Ma could continue on. Without hesitation the old man started the wagon moving once again and Raleek quickly draped a second bag over his shoulder, before laying a hand on Olive’s back to guide her into the woods, along the trail. He could get them into the town without to much trouble and hopefully she knew where they were suppose to meet up with her parents after the fact.

“Is this a Dark Elf community?” He quietly asked her as they skirted the town, staying within the treeline for added cover.

“Yes, it’s a community that believes in human slavery.” She quietly answered when he pulled her behind one of the large trees, as a patrol of Dark Elves passed by. He pressed his finger to his lips, when he heard one of the soldiers stop and hesitantly walked in their direction. She gave him a questioning look, as he handed her the baby in his arm and silently lowered the bags to the ground near his feet motioning for her to stay put; while he slipped into the shadows and out of sight.

Her heart began racing and she did her best to keep calm. It wasn’t easy though the footsteps grew ever closer and the thumping of her heart echoed in her ears. Gulping she closed her eyes and silently prayed that the soldiers did not find them. Just when she thought for sure they were going too, she heard a brief scuffle fallowed by a muffled thud as something hit the forest floor. She grew somewhat panicked, not knowing if Raleek was okay or not and Ra softly fussed causing her to realize that she was most likely holding him to tightly and she loosened her hold slightly.

“This way.” Raleek’s soft whisper came from beside her startling her to the point of nearly screaming, but he covered her mouth quickly to keep her silent and only removed it when he knew for sure that she saw who it was. He gave her a slight nod of understanding, when her gazed turned into daggers. Without any further delay he lifted the bags back onto his shoulders and then took one of the boys from her so they could move faster. “There’s a small shed that stands a little ways away from the main buildings. We’ll go there and decide where to go from there.” He breathed into her ear as he guided her toward the building he was talking about.

They slid inside through the door that was lopsided on its hinges and Raleek looked around one last time to make sure that they weren’t seen before he pulled the door shut and handed his baby to her so he could latch it in some way. She silently walked the few feet to the back, where wood chips were thickly covering a section of the floor, before she carefully laid the babies on the pile and allowed herself to exhale in relief. This was definitely a risking situation, she couldn’t remember so many enemy troops patrolling the streets of this village. Usually it was fairly easy to avoid them, but for some reason they were thicker then ever before. Not to mention the added stress of having two half-elf babies with her. It was twice the danger. It wasn’t just the Elves who had a kill on sight mentality towards mixed bloods, it was also the humans.

She looked up at Raleek’s back as he strained to wrap a bar through the locking rings of the door tight enough to hold added pressure should anyone try to get in. Once he was satisfied with that he took a few steps back and started assessing the building its self, as if forming some strategy for escape should the need arise. She wondered what other amazing things he could do, that he kept hidden from others. The discerning look that crossed his face told her that he was definitely talented in this sort of thing and most likely had it down to an art. Who and what exactly was he? She didn’t know, he never shared his abilities or experiences with her. However, just by what she had seen since their paths joined, she would wager that his life was full of hidden experiences.

“We’ve done all we can for now.” She softly said turning her attention back to the boys who seem to be exploring their surroundings as well. She knew that was ridiculous since infants could only see a few feet in front of them, but there was a certain element about the way they looked around that brought a smile to her face. “We should relax while we can.” She added turning her gaze back to the man that was now casing out the place for hidden area’s.

“This building has all the making of a hidden escape, I’ve seen several in my time. I would rather find out if I’m right and be prepared for an escape then just wait and see what happens.” he quietly explained, crouching down on the floor near the large pile of wood-chips.

“Aren’t you being a little over couscous?” She whispered leaning towards him slightly to see what he was currently focused on.

He didn’t answer, instead he reached down and started pushing some of the pile to the side revealing a small hatch in the floor. Her jaw dropped and she looked at him in disbelief, how could he have possibly known that was there? He uncovered it completely and pulled it open with a jerk, to look down inside.

“It looks big enough, for us to go down one at a time. We’ll have to pass the kids through, but it should be easy enough. Their is a hint of a breeze moving the dust around down there, so there is an exit on the other end. If its like all the other escape tunnels I’ve seen it will lead somewhere out into the surrounding woods. Most likely in the hollowed out trunk of a large tree, or a cave under the roots of one.” He calculated, blowing her mind even further.

“Who are you?” She breathed, realizing that she knew absolutely nothing about this man and his abilities, yet she never felt safer then she did, while she was with him.

“Apparently I’m your husband.” He stated still a little salty about the whole incident that took place before, they headed out on this supply run. “Raleek Stronenburg, might as well remember it since it’s said to be your last name too.”

“Honestly, are you ever going to let that go?” She sighed straightening up. Scoffing, he looked at her and shook his head.

“Sure, lets talk about how you failed to inform me, that you’re a wanted woman, with an award?” He countered. She blushed and quickly looked away from him.

“I didn’t think it mattered, since you would be divorcing me when you left anyways.” She smirked.

“What makes you think that I would shirk my responsibilities like that?” He asked a bit annoyed with the fact that she thought he would leave and never look back. Sure he had planned on leaving, but he wouldn’t go far from them, somebody had to make sure they stayed safe. “I’m not a fool Olive, it didn’t take me long to realize what your customs are. What I don’t understand is why you were so afraid to tell me yourself.”

“Raleek I…” She began, but his hand instantly covered her mouth and his eyes shot up towards the door. When his eyes narrowed dangerously, she knew that what was on the other side was something up to no good and fear began to coil around her bones.

“Go.” He whispered and motioned for her to enter the still opened hatch. To afraid to argue, she took a hold of his hands and let him lower her down into the dark tunnel. Once she was safely down he disappeared for a moment and then reappeared with Oli cradled in his large hands. She quickly reached up and took the infant from him, gently laying him down on the ground out of the way before she returned for Ra. Once both children were safe, he tossed their things down in through the hole before, rigging up a way to shut the hatch and possibly hide the door with the chips once again. Then he lowered himself down the door coming down after him. It would’ve have banged into place if he hadn’t done some type of gesture that seemed to manifest elemental water energy. Silently lowering it into place. Feeling drained from the energy use, he stumbled back a couple of steps and took a deep breath before, turning towards the oddly silent Olive.

“Don’t move.” A man quietly growled as he held Olive captive with a handful of her hair and knife blade to her throat. She still held the children cradled to her chest and she was trying not to swallow as a tiny trickle of blood seeped out of her flesh.

“I will only tell you once.” Raleek’s form and mentality took on a lethal tone, as he slowly circled like a cat ready to pounce. The man was a little nervous and his eyes darted around as he carefully turned, keeping Olive between them. “You have to the count of three, to release my family unharmed before, something very nasty happens to you.” Raleek growled narrowing his eyes dangerously.

“Listen I don’t want any trouble, I’m just trying to…..” The man coward slightly, but ended up lowering the blade and releasing Olive, as his attention shot up towards the hatch they had come in. “Smoke…. Those bastards lit the place on fire.”

To Be Continued….