Legends of Belariath
Salina Kyle
The Journey Home - Part Five
Sighing, I watched us pull through the gates of my parents' estate. Basal went up to the front doors and rapped his cane against the dark oak. An elven man opened the door.
"I have a friend who has come a long way to meet her parents," my friend said. The elf's eyes widened in shock. Carefully, I stepped down the wooden ramp onto the cobble stone path.
"Lady Bray! Lord Shatal!" he cried, running back into the house. People came flooding out of the building all of them staring at me. A human woman and a human man came to the porch. When they saw me, the two of them ran down to throw their arms around me.
"Oh my baby," she cried, as tears ran down her cheeks.
"My little girl," he moaned, "I knew you'd make it. I just knew it." A thunderous pounding brought all our heads up to see the destroyers of my home charging through the gate.
"Stand aside, Bray," the large gray centaur growled, "This has gone on long enough."
"Its okay, Talan," the woman said, stroking the back of my wolf body. "Shalla will become human at dawn. That should satisfy the council." My eyes glared up at this man-horse seething with a hate I never thought to feel toward any of the Lady's creatures. He stared down at me as disgust twisted his handsome face.
"Isn't that right, Shalla?" my father said, "Go ahead and tell him. That's why you've come here. To join your family." My eyes went to Xenex, Basal, and Tag.
"I've come here to find myself," I said, smiling at my parents. "I want to know who I should be."
"See," my mother pleaded employing the creature with her eyes, "Please let me have my daughter."
"We will stay here and see that the abomination is taken care of," Talan growled. It was quickly agreed to.
We were all given guestrooms. It surprised me a little that my parents had rooms designed to be used by centaurs. My mother told me that she had friends that came to visit once in a while. She really loved her family and missed them. I was shown the rooms that would be mine when the change took place.
'If you don't like the colors or the way it has been decorated it can be redone,' she had said, 'anything you want is yours. We'll even give your friend Xenex a suit of rooms right down the hall from you. He's very handsome.'
'You should see his horns,' I had returned watching her eyes widen.
'He's not human?' she had asked. Slowly, I shook my head running a finger over the shiny brass bedpost.
'Is that a problem?' I had asked. The woman, my mother, shook her head. Still, I got the feeling Xenex had suddenly lost his favor with her. We went down to dinner with friends and enemies.
Late that night, my friends and I had a meeting. I'd made my decision to live my life as the Lady had made me. Basal had made a choice as well. He and Tag wanted us to go with them. Our human friend knew of a land to the east that would offer some protection from the centaurs. It turned out that the mage my parents had hired was an old friend from Basal's youth. After some explaining of the true situation, the wizard agreed to help us 'escape'. When everything proved ready, I handed the magic user a scroll to give to my parents. I'd probably never see them again. The mage cast a portal spell that took us to the far side of the continent. A jump-start on the hunt that would begin for my life as the centaurs would be coming for me. I was prepared to live the rest of my life on the run, and these people I had only known for weeks insisted they would stay with me. I had the truest 'family' I could've ever wanted. I had to wonder at the look on their faces when the Magi handed them my scroll.
The Elven servant, Kishlan came racing up to where the lord and lady of the estate stood in the main hall. The three centaurs pawed at the fancy carpet in great agitation.
"Where is she?" Talan growled. The poor elf paled before the rage of the large creature.
"Kishlan, where is my daughter?" Lord Shatal growled.
"My Lord, I have all the servants searching the grounds," he gulped nervously; "They're all gone. The man, the orc, the young man and their wagon have vanished from the estate."
"How can that be?" Shatal growled, "There's no way they could've left by the gate without my knowledge. Search again. -"
"That would be a waste of time, Lord Shatal," the mage said, as he appeared before the crowd of anxious people, "The child of the Lady of Light and her friends are far away from this place."
"What do you mean Shalla is far away from here?" Lady Bray cried, "Where's my baby, Magi?" The human mage sighed a little in disgust after hearing what the wolf-centaur had been through.
"While you were the one to give birth to Shalla you were never truly her 'mother', My Lady," he said in a soft but commanding tone, "A true mother would've loved her child no matter what the child was or was not. Shalla is proud of who she is and what she is, and I doubt she would ever consent to being changed into something she is not." Suddenly, Talan lunged forward in a great rage.
"You helped them escape," the centaur hissed, "You used your magic to help them leave here undetected."
"I don't deny that," the man said, with a small shrug, "Basal is the son of a dear friend. When they came to me and told me all they had been through, I agreed to cast a portal for them to use."
"You stupid human," Talan raged, reaching out toward the puny old man, "You're going to-" As his hand reached the shoulder of the magic user, a bright light flashed then a great crashing from the front doors. When everyone could see again, many mouths fell open in shock. Talan had been thrown across the entryway through the front doors, and laid stunned just beyond the porch. Their eyes went back to the enraged wizard. A field of white energy surrounded his body an inch above his robes.
"I am NOT a defenseless elderly priest, beast" he hissed, taking the scroll from his sleeve. "If you ever dare to try to touch me again I won't be so gentle." He turned to the lord and lady of the manor. "Shalla left this scroll for you. Take it so I might leave this place." Upon putting the document into Lord Shatal's hand, the Magi promptly disappeared. Looking to his distraught wife, Shatal unrolled the paper.
"To Lady Bray and Lord Shatal, I thank you for wanting to protect my life, but in doing so I would loose who I am. The Lady made me to be a wolf-centaur I'm surer of this then ever before. The Magi said that it was a miracle that I lived through the birthing. This is what I am. If you can't love me the way I was born then you can't really love me. I know the centaurs will try to hunt me down. My friends and I are prepared for this. It was nice to meet you, but I never really felt you were my mother and father. I hope you'll understand my choice some day.
The Lady's Light and Love be with you, Shalla, child of the Lady of Light."
Silence fell over the group as a rock hitting the ground. The other centaurs had gone to help Talan get up, and see to the burns that covered his hand and wrist.
"I knew this would happen," he growled, "That abomination is evil and must be destroyed. Nothing you say will change my mind, Bray. I should have never listened to your pleas in the first place." With that, the centaurs took their leave. After a moment of hesitation, Kishlan quietly went toward the kitchen area. This left only Bray and Shatal in the front hall gazing in shock at the door and the letter. Tears ran down her cheeks but quickly slowed to a stop.
"Our little girl," she whimpered.
"Shalla has made her choice," he hissed, "Her name will never be mentioned in these walls ever again." Throwing the scroll into a fireplace, the man stalked up the spiral stairs. Bray stood before the fire watching as the paper darkened then turned black. Sighing, the woman headed for the kitchen. The servants would have to clean the hall and repair the front doors before the ball they would host that night. At least no one would know about Shalla, her wolfling child.