Bedside Manner

As she struggles to deal with her new appearance, Lysa has a long talk with her brother, Bruce.

10.

Bedside Manner

 

“I guess you think I look horrible.”   Lysa finally said after a long silence.

“Horrible?   Hardly that, sister.    You look beautiful, but-“

“But, different?”   She finished for him.

“Obviously you are different.   You’ve seen your reflection in the mirror.    You are physically a Hutcaiah Elf, I guess.”

“And you don’t think that is disgusting?”

“No.  I won’t lie to you, Lysa; it saddens me that my little sister no longer bears the form of her people.    Our parents taught us to be proud of who we are, and to be worthy of the respect that our people have labored so long to achieve.    But I know now that this was not your desire and that it is difficult for you too.”

“What changed your mind about how you looked at this?”   Lysa asked him as she positioned herself back against her pillow.

“It was speaking to Lady Deborah and Queen Mathlyn.    They helped me to realize that you are my sister no matter what you look like.   Nothing can change that.”

Lysa smiled and squeezed her brother’s hand, “Thank you, Bruce, it is a burden off of my mind.”

“So how does it feel to be an Elf?”

“I feel so lightweight.    They are so light in form, Bruce.    I feel like I could blow away in a strong wind.   I feel very graceful, too.    My eyesight is incredibly good, my hearing is somewhat better than it was, but there is one thing not as sharply tuned as before:   my sense of smell.    An Orc’s sense of smell is far better than an Elf’s, I would say.”

Bruce nodded, “When I was sitting with Lady Deborah while you were still recovering, she was telling me about some of the myths and legends of the Orcs that the Watchers have heard in their years of watching our world.    Do you remember the tales that our mother told us about how Orcs were created?”

Lysa’s eyes twinkled, “Yes - I remember the story where she said that the Orcs were once more beautiful than the Elves but that they were cursed for their arrogance and made ugly.”

“That’s the one!”   Bruce exclaimed, “You see, Lady Deborah told me an even older tale like that.    She said that when those Sidhe who created the Elven people had finished their creation, that the self-proclaimed leader of the Sidhe, Mórálach, was proud of their creation and bragged about them to the rest of the Sidhe.”

“Deborah said that when the other Sidhe grew tired of listening to Mórálach and his fellow creators bragging about the Elves, several of the Sidhe decided to create a superior being.”

“They took some of Mórálach’s Elves from one of the planets that they had placed the Elves on, and worked in secret.    They reformed these Elves, making them stronger and more fertile, so they would rapidly increase in numbers.”

“Deborah said that they then released these new creatures, which they called ‘Orcs’ into the same worlds where Mórálach’s Elves had been placed.      The Orcs were a handsome and strong race and quickly dominated the other races in this world.     Deborah said that the Elves of these worlds were very attracted to the Orcs.   When Mórálach and his fellow creators found out, they were very angry and cursed the Orcs with brutishness and short life-spans, though they could not remove their strength.     That is why Elves and Orcs hate each other, yet are also strangely drawn to each other.”

 

“Is that a true tale?”   Lysa asked when Bruce finished.

The Orc shrugged, “She didn’t say, either way, but I sensed that it must be true, at least in part.”

“So Orcs and Elves would be related to each other?”

“Yes, eons ago, I guess.    She told me this to get me to see that there really is very little difference between the two races.   Orcs are strong and powerful, Elves are graceful and intelligent.    Deborah assured me that Yesh loves both races equally.”

“That’s good to know.”   Lysa responded as a cloud of despair suddenly passed over her face.    She tried to hide it from her brother, but he saw her fighting away the tears.

“What is it?”   He asked softly.

“I was thinking about Aaron.   Bruce, if Yesh loves everyone equally, then why would he allow this to happen to Aaron?   From what they told me, the Hutcaiah will torture him.   Even if we are successful in rescuing him, he will be a broken man!    He should have never been allowed to go off with them.”

“We had no choice, Lysa.     He volunteered to save us from invasion.”

“Yes, I know.    But I can’t stop thinking about him right now!   He’s probably alone and scared and in pain!”    She began crying, embarrassed at showing such emotion in front of her brother, but to her surprise, Bruce came over and wrapped his arms around her and let her weep for a few minutes.  

“I’m sorry, Lysa, I truly am.   I’ve had my eyes opened to many things these past months and I see them somewhat differently now.    Please know that I have the greatest respect for Duke Aaron and I understand of your… feelings for him.    I understand… and approve.”

She looked up at him, surprised, and Bruce turned away from her glance, embarrassed.   It was a huge step forward for him, and she didn’t want to make it more awkward for her brother, so she turned the conversation back to Aaron.

“Bruce, do you think he’ll still be alive by the time we attempt the rescue?”

“I’m confident he will be alive, Lysa.   The Hutcaiah revere their moon goddess and Deborah told me that the sacrifices they make to her are always living and whole before the ceremony.    So Aaron should not be tortured.”

“Well, they could torture him terribly, stopping short of killing him, and then simply heal him before the ceremony.    So he’d suffer horribly until then.”

“But we don’t know either way, Lysa.   Speculation will just drive you insane with worry.”

“I know!    It’s making me wild, thinking what could be happening to him!”

“Then you need to focus your energy on preparing yourself for the role you will play in his rescue.    Right now, that means that you must rest.    I’m going to let you try to get some sleep.”

“I won’t be able to sleep; my mind won’t let me.”

“At least try, sister… for Aaron’s sake.”

Lysa nodded and Bruce patted her on the shoulder then exited the room, leaving the girl to try to calm her emotions enough to allow herself to rest.