Chương 15

I was wandering around the camp built in and around the spire when Mama caught up with me not long after.

"There you are. Sorry to have to run, did you look around?"

"Yeah… Is there going to be a war?" I asked, and Mama blinked, taken aback in surprise.

"A… war? What?" She asked half laughing as if the idea was ludicrous.

"I heard mention of trolls and all the arrows being made."

"Oh those are for the events later." Mama said, waving off my fears in an instant.

"And yes, there is some troll activity at the border. Like there always is, nothing you need to worry about my Light." Mama said reassuringly, obviously sensing I was concerned. But I knew the Trolls weren't just jokes and irritants but a serious threat. Yet… I couldn't prove it, all I could do was continue to prepare.

"Arrows for events?"

"Yes, it's rare for us Rangers to gather together, so there will be archery contests and the like. There is a young Ranger section as well, want to try?" Mama asked, and I pouted at her.

"I'm not that good with a bow."

"You're not bad either! C'mon!" She urged me on as I followed her around, and was introduced. Most of the people were older Elves, but Mama was obviously well liked, as she was greeted warmly by everyone we met, until we weren't.

"I heard a funny rumor, and what do I see but the truth before me. Should have guessed, it would be you Felomin who was so audacious, you always did like to try and show off, didn't you?" The voice was haughty. Mama and I both turned from talking to one of the rangers, as he was telling Mama about what had been going on around his home. There stood a ranger.

He wore expensive robes over his leathers, and had his hair coiffed and well maintained, in a way that it stood out from the well groomed, but mostly wild haircuts of the other rangers. Yet, even with that, the bow he carried was not a toy, and every inch of his gear spoke of wealth and ease of use. The guy might be polished like he wasn't in the forest, but he was still obviously a ranger.

"Faromin." I blinked at the odd tone in Mama's voice as I shifted back to see her face and took in the fact she was obviously not happy.

"What do you want?"

"Want? Why would I want anything from you?"

"Now now, Faro, my little brother! What is this, you are bullying our little cousin?" I shifted taking in another new person. She was dressed similarly to Faromin, in fancy robes and hunter leathers, but she had a smile on her face and a gregarious personality while she sashayed over.

"Feromin."

"Ugh, my dear little cousin, look at you! Dreadful! But look! Oh what a cute little little cousin, your daughter no doubt?"

"She is, you know that." Mama said flatly, obviously not happy.

"Do I? Come now cousin, no need for scowls, I had nothing to do with your situation." She said, while Faromin just scowled, glaring at his sister and at us.

"And you, my littlest cousin, call me Aunty Faro okay? Even if your mother had some trouble with the family, you are still of my blood."

"Ah… Thanks?"

"What a cutie! Felomin, however, did you create such an adorable child?"

"The normal way." Mama growled and hugged me to her tighter. Mama was obviously defensive around both of the rangers, so I stepped closer to her at her obvious urging. Feromin pouted and shook her head.

"Fine I'll give you some distance little cousin, honestly, so defensive. Whatever. Faro, little brother leave our cousin be." He didn't respond but huffed snootily and turned to walk away. Feromin walked away with him, waving behind her back at me, as she smiled and moved away.

"Dorah, be careful around those two okay?"

"They're my cousins?"

"Yes. It's complicated, but just avoid them if you can, okay?"

"Sure Mama."

"Good girl." —-- There was a feast that evening, and more Rangers arrived constantly, sometimes in ones, or twos, and one time in a group of twelve that were greeted with happy cheers. It really was a little event. Archery contests happened constantly, and it did ease my heart as many many of the arrows that were being fletched were used up nearly instantly. Or maybe my heart simply grew heavy because the High Elves were playing, while war was coming.

Mama and I had a little camp outside the tower set up and soon were eating and feasting, and Mama got dragged into a few archery events where she performed well, but didn't often win the whole thing. Although I noted with a smirk, Mama's arrows often dug far deeper than any others. Papa had enchanted Mama's gear after all. It made sense few would be able to match the power of her bow.

"Woo! Mama! Show them!" I cheered for her, and got a happy grin and her ears wiggling as she walked up to take another shot from a challenging Ranger.

"Your mother has improved." The voice startled me as I looked up to see Feromin. My Cousin. She sent me a grin, as I realized she had definitely slinked up right behind me to be able to talk.

"Mama's awesome, of course she has."

"Heh, and her bow is better than it ever was. I guess there is some advantage for her marrying an Enchanter, no matter how… Difficult his situation."

"Papa is amazing." I said flatly, and she didn't seem to catch my cautioned tone. No one talked shit about Papa in my presence. I'll hit them!

"His situation is tragic, but considering how cute my littlest cousin is, he did something right! Your mother is a bit wary, she has reason to be of course, but I would love to learn about you. A new family member is always a cause for concern."

"You should talk to Mama then."

"Moh!" She made a cute noise of distress.

"My littlest cousin is wary just like her mother! I just wanted to know her!" She made distressed noises, but that only made me more wary not less. She noticed, and sighed.

"Oh well, if you want to come by, our camp is in the tower, on the second floor. Come by sometimes. There are other members of our family, some even around your age, we would love to meet you." Her offer was actually gentle, and I nodded slowly, as she seemed pleased and then she waved goodbye, giving me space. Just in time for the shout to erupt.

"Felomin! Misses by a hair!"

"Aww!" I whispered, turning to see Mama's arrow right next to her opponents, but it was obvious which shot was more accurate. I raced up when she finished shaking hands with the other ranger to slam into her.

"You did great!" I cheered for her, because frankly, her arrow had gone nearly entirely into the target. If that was a real person, her arrow would have been a lot more devastating. —--"Come on Dorah!" Mama cried out from the crowd bouncing up and down and shouting. Eugh. She was embarrassing me. I took a breath and nodded. Mama had seen a teenager, only a couple years older than me practicing and apparently knew the boy's father, and so now we were having a friendly competition. Stupid bow.

I shrugged and nodded, the boy had taken the offer with aplomb. Not taking offence to competing with a younger Elf. At least none that he had shown. We stood dozens of yards from the targets, farther than I had really practiced before, but… It was fine.

"And begin!" A ranger called out, and the cheers rose up. This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Seriously, these Rangers really loved their archery competitions. I pulled back and breathed and already I noticed the boy had sent two arrows down range. Wow. He was fast, I released, and even at this distance hit the target, but not very well. I drew a second and fired, then a third.

Five arrows were launched and luckily all five had hit the target, although the fourth only barely. And then the other boys' arrows had all landed fairly well in the center. The cheers of the crowd were loud but I nodded to the older boy.

"You're very skilled." I said to him and he nodded.

"You as well." He said, but his heart wasn't in it, just the response to someone to not hurt their feelings. I nodded, accepting the words either way. Archery just wasn't my thing. At least I'd gotten a few points in Bows for it.

"You did great!" Mama was there laughing and grabbing me and I just laughed at her exuberance. As long as she was happy. As Mama twisted me around I saw Faromin. The grumpy Cousin was watching with a scowl on his face. But whatever, wasn't my business. —-- Night fell, and the party was still going on, it was… Interesting. I'd never really seen a High Elf party before and despite being full of Rangers, we were close to the capital, and had enough nobles that it seemed to be split.

Inside the tower was a more haughty party, with the important people of the Rangers, and Nobility, and outside the more rough and tumble type. I laughed as another High Elf getting drunk on wine was engaged in a game with a few others showing their bows with their feet while doing hand stands, and it was hilarious cause those guys were very drunk.

"Stay here for a little, okay Dorah?" Mama suddenly said, we had both been sitting around a fire on a surprisingly comfortable outdoor bench and eating the food.

"Sure, what's up?"

"Just see someone I want to talk to."

"Okay." I agreed and watched as she rushed off chasing after another ranger, someone else I'd never seen. It was interesting to see so many High Elves. This party had more people than the entirety of the village. I continued to snack, watching the archery games, when someone plopped in front of me. And I looked across at another girl. A teenager, or maybe in her twenties.

"So you're Alah'Dorah."

"Umm… Yeah? Do I know you?"

"No, I guess not. I'm Falomin." She replied and I just stared at her blankly for a while until she started scowling.

"Falomin!"

"Yeees? That's what you said your name was?"

"Falomin… Dawnspear?" I just looked at her blankly for a minute, and her face scrunched up… She looked kinda like Mama…

"I'm your Aunt." She replied after a long moment of gritting her teeth, seemingly very annoyed I didn't recognize her.

"Oh." I said a bit stunned, and then took in even more. Dawnspear? I don't think I've ever heard Mama say that name before.

"Jeeze, how do you not know this?"

"Mama doesn't talk about her family."

"Of course not! She betrayed everyone, and married an exile! Caused us no end of political problems. She's lucky she even has the right to call herself a Dawnspear."

"Okay." I said, because what else was I supposed to say, my teenaged Aunt is like saying weird family history I had no knowledge of.

"Oh and what is this!? My former littlest cousin, and now littlest cousin!" Feromin the older cousin walked up and sat down on the bench, it was obvious she had been inside the tower, at the important party as she now wore nothing but a robe, no sign of her Ranger gear.

"Aunt Feromin, you are interrupting."

"Oh nonsense! We are all family, and this is such a delightful meeting! I've been hoping you two would meet, have you seen your sister yet?" Falomin just stared at the woman not responding.

"Oh pish, fine! Since you are being all dour! You know… I'm curious, little Dorah, I saw your Archery earlier, you were quite good! There is going to be the big event tomorrow! You should take part. Falomin is going to be in it as well."

"Feromin."

"No no, Falo! My little cousin, surely taking part with your young niece is going to be fun!"

"I'm not sure I want to take part in some event. Archery isn't my best."

"Oh it's not just archery! Trust me my dear, oh there is Liennar! My dear! We have another one to mark down for tomorrow's young event."

"Oh, the Ranging? Ah, it's Felomin's daughter. A bit young to take part, don't you think?"

"Nonsense Liennar! She's a Dawnspear by blood! And her aunt here is going to be with her. It'll be a good experience for her!" The man shrugged.

"I'll put her down then."

"Wait I didn't sa-""Excellent!" I was interrupted by the exuberant Feromin who leapt to her feet and practically dragged the man away, my voice ignored as she spoke.

"Say I wanted to join…" I trailed off. Okay that was super not okay. I definitely don't like her very much.

"Feromin is playing a game." Falomin said suddenly as she rose up.

"I don't care for her nonsense, so I'll be clear. In tomorrow's ranging event I won't be helping you. Your mother made her choice."

"What? What does that mean? Hey don't just leave me with some cryptic nonsense and walk away! Hey!" I watched as my 'aunt' walked away leaving me alone at the table, and the sudden chill down my spine. This whole thing. Falomin appearing just as Mama wandered off. Feromin appearing, and this event that apparently I won't have a teammate for? It felt like something was up.

I stewed in my frustrations as I waited for Mama to return, and it was a long time, over an hour before she did, but it wasn't her just walking up, but running.

"Dorah!"

"Mama?"

"Why is your name in the Young Ranger competition?"

"I didn't say I wanted to take part in a competition… Feromin was here, and… My Aunt? Falomin?" Mama hissed in through her teeth and I could see she was worried.

"What's wrong?"

"You are too young for the competition. Did they force you?"

"Feromin convinced Liennar that I wanted to take part, and walked away when I tried to protest."

"I see…" Mama hissed this time not out of worry but anger.

"Falomin told me… She wasn't going to work with me, like Feromin said, what is going on?"

"It's… I was meant to take on a responsibility, but ended up eloping with your father." Mama admitted, a bit shyly.

"It caused a lot of trouble for the family, since your fathers status was very bad. But I did it without permission… And I didn't care. I don't regret it. But… It made me disliked by many of the family, and so they tried to make trouble for me… And you."

"Okay…" I trailed off and then just shrugged.

"I don't think I care. If they want to be mean, that's their problem."

"That's… You're a good girl Dorah, but this is definitely our problem. The Event is dangerous."

"How? I thought it was an archery competition."

"It is… And more. The Young Ranger Competition is full contact my daughter. Spells are layered over everyone to keep them from dying, but you can still get injured."

"What do we shoot each other with bows? That's crazy."

"And more. Everything is open including magic. You are meant to show off what you can do."

"Sounds super dangerous."

"It can be… Which is why we need to find Liennar and pull you out. I saw your name on the board but we can explain it was a trick and get you pulled out. Really! Trying to get you hurt! I'm going to remind her who she is messing with." Mama growled furious. I was following after Mama as we walked through the camp, and I noticed a congregation at the location of a large board that had names on it. My name on it.

"Ah! And there she is! The daughter of Felomin Dawnspear!" Feromin called out, and the crowd tittered along with her.

"Oh no." Mama whispered, as our approach had been noticed.

"And look, Felomin as always believes herself to be just the best. She brought her daughter, only a decade old, to the meeting and the girl is even arrogant enough to join the Event!" She tittered and the sea of High Elves tittered along with her, only a few throwing worried looks. Liennar was one of them, the Ranger was near the board and was looking left and right as if understanding what was really going on. This was Elf nonsense. What was Elf Nonsense?

It's what happens when you get very old, very bored, powerful individuals and put them into social situations. I could practically feel my energy tank at the idea of dealing with all of this. This was social games, Feromin had set this up. Pretending to be nice, tricking me, and now putting me into a no win situation. I compete and lose, ruining my reputation, or I withdraw my name, and face social humiliation. This was the sort of nonsense elves lived for. Hence the crowd.

Mama was tense, obviously angry, and as such she wasn't thinking.

"This is so dumb. You're the one that signed me up. If you want to play games, why not play them with someone who cares." I called out, loud, and unfiltered. The entire crowd went silent, as I broke their stupid game. They would make fun of me no matter what I do. They had already put me into a situation where there was no gain. So fuck them.

"Hey! Take my name off the board. I never agreed to compete, and I'm not interested!" I called out, and Mama hissed through her teeth.

"Dorah!" She whispered to me.

"Don't say anything else, let me handle this." She begged me desperately, and I was more than willing to relent. I don't care about any of these peoples opinions after all.

"Ooh, now that all eyes are on you, too embarrassed to show your 'skills' Little Dorah? I mean we all saw your skills earlier, and it was nothing impressive, no doubt your fathers blood ruining what little your mother brought to the table. Your mother was foolish enough to marry a man exiled!" Feromin added fake gasping at the final word, and the gasp was matched. Apparently not everyone had known, or they were just good at faking it. Mama went tense, and her hand was clenched into a fist.

"The only thing embarrassing here is your face." I muttered, and there was a hush. Oh right, elves have good hearing. Feromin was smiling but it was sharp and dangerous.

"Such a rude little child. Is this what we expect from our young Rangers? Insults fit for children?"

"Feromin. If you talk to my daughter again. I will be challenging you to a duel." Mama interrupted my awesome burn I was about to drop and I kept my mouth closed. She had just told me to let her handle this.

"Oh Cousin, really? With your skills? You've gotten worse, and you know I'm above your level."

"Talk to my daughter again, and I will be challenging you to a duel. Not an archery competition." Mama said with deathly seriousness and Feromin just scoffed out a tittering laugh.

"Oh you always took things so seriously! Honestly. This is so embarrassing for you, Felomin. After all, why are you even here? This is a meeting for Rangers, who protect Quel'Thelas, not a lone unwanted half exile that lives on what might as well be Troll lands. I mean you might as well be a troll. You see them more than other Elves don't you?"

"Liennar. Take my daughters name off the board. She didn't wish to compete."

"Of course. Mistakes happen, I'll remove it."

"Come along Dorah."

"Yep." The talk behind us was loud. They didn't bother to hide their critique of Mama, of the comments badmouthing both of us. But I had grabbed Mama's hand as we turned away. I didn't care about them… But I think Mama did. What a stupid situation.