Chapter Sixteen: Reality


    The inside was clean but sparse. There was a table, a very small kitchen, and a bed area tucked off to the side. There was also a couch and a very ragged-looking carpet, but that was it.


    Not entirely, Ash thought. There were bright, colorful drawings all around the room. One in particular drew his attention, one of the ocean. The artist had done a great job of using lighter colors to play across the water.


    Whoever had drawn it had amazing talent.


    “Arisa drew these. She was always drawing, creating fantastic images like these. She would go out to the sea and draw and draw.”


    Rosalia smiled gently as she sat on the couch,


    “These are beautiful. I hate to pry, but was Arisa involved with anyone before she passed away? Or maybe had feelings for anyone?”


    “Why’s that relevant?”


    The father interjected, his voice gruff.


    Ash held up a hand,


    “Maybe let’s walk it back. I’m Ash, and this is Rosalia. Sorry, we didn’t introduce ourselves before.”


    The father grunted,


    “I’m Holt. My wife’s name is Lea. Now, what’s this about, eh?”


    Ash tried for a smile,


    “We really do need to know about your daughter’s relationship. It’s a lot to explain, but I promise, it’s related to the monster.”


    Lea looked at her husband, and Ash nearly felt his mouth fall open. She was crying.


    “Let’s just tell them, Holt. It’s not like it matters! I don’t care if they know!”


    Holt went to his wife and pulled her into a hug. He kissed the top of her head,


    “If you want, love.”


    Holt turned to them and coughed, then swallowed.


    “Arisa was a half-elf.”


    He delivered it like he was delivering news of a terminal illness. Rosalia scrunched her brows, ears moving,


    “I don’t get it.”


    Holt looked at her,


    “How do you not know? You’re half-elf, aren’t ya?”


    Rosalia nodded,


    “Yeah, my Mom was an elf. What of it?”


    Holt and Lea shared a glance. Lea sniffled,


    “Do you…truly not understand?”


    Rosalia frowned, shaking her head.


    “Half-elves…they aren’t treated well. In Aerlia, they are fairly tolerated. But in Elendari? They are considered less valuable than some cattle. They call them mixed-bloods, or shashti, unclean.” Lea explained, wiping her eyes.


    Rosalia put a hand over her mouth, This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    “That’s horrible! Why? I don’t get how anyone could have that kind of view of another person.”


    Lea laughed, but there was no humor in it.


    “When has anyone ever needed a reason to hate anyone else? Light, but you’re young. If you need a reason, they claim it is because humans are inferior and that by mixing your blood, you have deprived Elendari of a true elf.”


    Rosalia’s eyes began to water,


    “That’s terrible! What a horrible view to have!”


    Lea sniffed,


    “It’s almost refreshing to see people who don’t know such hate. Please, don’t get the wrong view. I love my people, and there are many there who are fighting to get half-elves out of the nation, smuggling them here to Aria, where they are not so hated. It was how I came to be here. I fled with my daughter, and we met Holt here.” Lea reached out and squeezed her husband’s hand.


    Lea turned back to Rosalia,


    “While they do that, they also fight to change the culture and to change the laws regarding half-elves. It is one of the core issues of our entire nation.”


    Ash cleared his throat,


    “I’m so sorry that happened to you and you were so affected. But you said that Aleria doesn’t treat them the same. How could your daughter have died because of it?”


    Holt spoke up, his eyes hard,


    “It happened because of that noble brat from the Silverbloods.”


    Lea nodded,


    “He came here from Elandari, and his ship arrived not too long ago. He saw Arisa as he disembarked and claimed he was smitten with her at first sight. They talked for hours. Holt and I, we weren’t okay with it.”


    Lea looked almost ashamed, closing her eyes as tears fell in large drops.


    “We told her to cut it off, that it would never end well. But she said we didn’t understand that he treated her like a princess. That we wanted her to be miserable.”


    Holt kissed the top of his wife’s head as she let out a keening sob.


    Rosalia was openly crying, and Ash felt ice run through his veins. He didn’t know the full story, but he saw where this was going.


    “He took her out one night, a romantic night on the water, he called it.”


    “Then he drowned her,” Holt cut in, voice rough with emotion.


    Ash looked away, color draining from him.


    “How did you know?” Ash asked hoarsely.


    “Because he came and told us he did it. Said I should take it as a lesson never to spread my legs for a human again. Then he laughed, claiming he did the world a favor.” Lea’s hands balled up, pressing into the couch.


    “Half-elves are playthings to them. He made my daughter feel special, and then he killed her, and it meant no more to him than discarding a broken tool.”


    Ash felt the grief and rage from the parents like an oppressive weight. It threatened to smother them all.


    He was tempted to let it.


    “Why didn’t Aleria do anything about it? That’s murder!”


    Holt laughed,


    “What evidence did we have? It was our word against his, and he’s a powerful noble with connections. We’re no one. Just people.”


    “Nobles are meant to be better than that. They’re given the power to care for the people, to better us. Not take advantage.” Ash rubbed the back of his neck at the looks he got,


    “So I read anyway.”


    “What’s written in books is all nice and flowery at times, lad, but it isn’t reality. This is. Now, some nobles are probably just dandy, but power corrupts. You best learn that now.”


    Ash didn’t argue with him.


    “Do you know where she was drowned?”


    Holt grunted,


    “Off the wharf aways. If you just head off the pier and go out a few miles, you’ll find the spot.” Holt hesitated, then added, “If you go out there…and maybe if you fancy a spot of diving, I’d sure like to get Arisa’s locket back. It was a simple thing, not expensive, but we gave it to her for her tenth birthday, and she wore it everywhere. We’d love to have it back.”


    They had what they came for, but it didn’t feel like enough. Yes, he and Rosalia didn’t need anything more from them, but it felt wrong to leave it there.


    Unsure, he said,


    “Rosalia and I have some time…do you maybe want to tell us about Arisa? What was she like?”


    For the next hour, Lea and Holt talked of their daughter. She liked to draw from an early age, and she had an inquisitive nature and the ability to experiment with everything.


    “She liked to grab my beard and pull as hard as she could,” Holt said, laughing as he pulled on his beard.


    Lea talked about how Arisa liked to cook with her and sing silly songs with words that didn’t rhyme.


    “They were just nonsense words, but oh light, we had so much fun!”


    Ash and Rosalia laughed, and after some time, they stood up.


    “We need to be going. We’re sorry for your loss, but if we can find that locket, I promise we’ll bring it here.”


    Holt shook Ash’s hand, his grip impossibly tight.


    Then, it was time for Ash and Rosalia to return.


    They didn’t have a monster to kill, but a young woman to put to rest.