“It’s okay, you can release me now,” said Liza.

Eliot reluctantly moved his arms away. The half-elf took her canteen and splashed some water on her face, letting the droplets wash some of her puffy and crying appearance away. After venting her feelings with such intensity, she was feeling much better and was more coolheaded about the situation. She once again stared at the restrained elf. That man was her father, Alluin Vanarel, someone she hadn’t seen for almost thirteen years now. His current appearance was rather woeful, yet she didn’t feel a single shred of pity for him. After long minutes of staring, Liza finally made her mind.

“Since he can’t see us right now and Fanu made it so he doesn’t know we’re here, there’s something I want to do. Could you guys help me?”

“What do you need?” they asked.

“I need Boro to change into his dragon form and fly beside me when I exit the barrier. Once we’re outside, you just need to read the things I’m going to write on this parchment to him. I don’t think he would have recognized me if I talked, but I’m also not sure if I could keep my cool if I was the one asking the questions. Given this opportunity, I want to make sure I get his most honest answers. As for the rest of you, I’ll have to ask you to stay inside the barrier, as more than one set of footsteps could confuse him. If it looks like I’m about to go crazy again though, quickly cover me with the barrier and restrain me if needed. I must stay calm and collected if I want to learn the truth and get to his innermost thoughts.”

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. Liza took another deep breath, prepared her writing utensils and patted Boro on the head before moving forward. The dark-skinned boy transformed into his dragon form and quickly floated after her.

“Shame, I wish I could hear what they’re going to talk about,” said Ben.

“Yeah,” agreed Eliot.

The redhead just smiled at their remarks, took a high stool from her ring and placed in front of her. Then she settled down the magical tool on top of it, walked till the border of the sound barrier and casually stuck one of her ears out. Ben and Eliot quickly looked at each other and rushed to do the same. Outside the barrier, Liza’s first steps reverberated in the quiet room.

“What, am I hallucinating again?” Alluin spoke out loud.

*scratch* *scratch*

“Wait, that sound is different. Father, is that you? What brings you here so stealthily after all this time?” he asked sarcastically.

“Ha-ham,” Boro awkwardly cleared his throat. “You’re not hallucinating, nor am I your father.”

“Who are you? How did you get in here? Did my father send you?”

*scratch* *scratch*

“The name is Boro and I’m a member of the divine clan. Your father didn’t send me, but he did let me in after I asked if I could talk with you alone.”

“Figures! Only a member of the divine clan, the great benefactor of the Valenfele, could move that stubborn bull. Why did you want to talk with me though? Don’t get me wrong, I’m delighted to have someone to speak to after all this time! It’s just queer that you would go out of your way to see a prisoner,” he quickly added.

*scratch* *scratch*

“Why do you take so long to answer? And what’s with all that weird sound? Are you writing or something?”

*scratch* *scratch*

“I’m rather young, so I’m still learning about other cultures at the moment. Thus, I must constantly note down my observations. You could say it’s like a travel journal.”

“Oh, I see, that makes sense. Then, is this the reason you requested to talk to me? To see what a ‘criminal’ like me thinks of our laws and punishments?”

*scratch* *scratch*

-

“She might have gone wild earlier, but man, Liza is super strong. I don’t think I would be able to remain calm like that in such situation,” said Ben. Since only one of his ears was sticking out of the barrier, his commentary could only be heard by Fang Chu and Eliot who were still inside.

“Indeed, maybe I should’ve taken her as a disciple instead. If only I wasn’t lured by the strangeness of your constitution back then…”

“Hey, don’t say such mean words after the hell you have been putting me through the past months,” replied Ben while feigning feeling hurt.

“Shhh!” interrupted an angry Eliot.

-

“Kind of. I wanted to know why you were locked away, especially now that I’ve seen the strange situation you’re being held is like,” said Boro.

“What, the old man didn’t tell you? Well, it’s not much of a story. Like you’re doing right now, we, the Valenfele, also have a time during our youth when we go out in the world to learn, called the journey of discovery. Though unlike your noble intentions of educating yourself about other cultures, ours is more designed to make us see the ugliness of the human world and the importance of our own values.”

This time Liza didn’t write anything, but made a gesture with her hand.

“Go on,” said Boro.

“When it was my time, I did indeed see the ugliness of the human world, but I also saw its beauty. Though there were some that stabbed their ‘friends’ on the back, there were others who helped complete strangers without asking for anything in return. It was a world filled with opposing extremes, much different from my own, be in its music, cuisine, law or customs. I was fascinated. When the time came for my travels to end, I decided to not return. The few years of the journey of discovery were nothing compared to our long lifespans. There was so much more I wanted to see, so much more I wanted to do…” said Alluin with a mellow voice. It was clear he was reminiscing times which he dearly missed. Specially towards the end, where his last words came by means of a soft sigh that conveyed many feelings, like yearning and resignation.

Unaccustomed to speak so much in one go after years of silence, Alluin got a small coughing fit. Boro waited patiently in the air for him to continue or for Liza to write something new. Meanwhile, the half-elf was squeezing the hand that was holding the parchment with all her strength. This was much harder than she thought it would be. Though she looked fine from the outside, the truth was that she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, grab him by his collar and directly ask him what she wanted to know. Why did you leave? Did mother and I mean nothing to you? Weren’t you going out just to take care of some small trouble? Why didn’t you return? Is it because your journey of whatever was over? How could you be here, speaking so casually, while mother had to go through that and die? How is that fair?

Alluin finally controlled his coughing and continued. “Since I didn’t return, my father organized a group to go out and search for me. He worried I might have fallen prey to the humans and their ‘sinister ways’. His men found me when I was on the road and it was there and then that I knew my journey was over.”

With her hands slightly trembling, Liza wrote down the next question.

“That was it? All of this just because you didn’t return when you were supposed to?”

As one would expect, Alluin interpreted the “all of this” as if Boro was referring to his current predicament, when in fact, Liza, the one who wrote the question, was thinking about her entire journey and life experiences so far.

“Well, I said I would only return if they promised me to help some of the local villages with a few tasks and if they gave me a couple minutes alone in the next city so I could retrieve some belongings. Those demands made it clear to them that I was friendly with the humans. That certainly didn’t help my case, but I wouldn’t have returned peacefully otherwise. Regarding this setup you find so strange, it is more because I’m his son than anything. Only those of the elder’s bloodline can command the heart of the forest. If he only locked me inside here like it’s usually done, I could’ve just waltzed right out, so my father had to get creative. Normally, vines or ropes would do the trick, but I guess he was really angry this time since he bound me with thorny ones and even covered my eyes so I could not see. You need to reflect inwards; forget outside distractions and take your time examining your flawed self, he said.”

At this point Liza was barely holding on. Oh, I see! They came to pick you up because you were late in returning! Why didn’t I think of that? I guess all is forgiven now… like hell it is! Thought the half-elf, her anger beginning to boil again. Feeling impatient, Liza decided to jump ahead and quickly wrote the next question. On the parchment, the words “what about your wife and daughter?” were written with such a haste and fury that they were hardly legible. Boro, albeit still young, was extremely intelligent and could see that this question was too direct and would throw away what Liza was trying to achieve earlier. Therefore, he took the liberty to change it a little.

“Tell me, Alluin, do you have kids?”

When this question was uttered, the elf jerked slightly and the thorns prickled his skin, drawing small droplets of blood. He also began to cough incessantly once again. This question came out of the blue, taking him completely by surprise. After a couple minutes of coughing, Alluin finally calmed down a little and talked with a much rougher voice due to his dry throat.

“What are you talking about? I’m single, there’s no way I’ve kids.”

Snap. The quill pen on Liza’s hand immediately snapped in two and she felt weak on her legs. Inside the bubble, Fang Chu cursed out loud and ran to grab the magic orb, moving it forward so it would cover Liza once again. The half-elf let go of the parchment and collapsed to her knees, knocking over the ink bottle she’d left on the ground. Boro remained floating on the air, unsure of what say or do, while the others rushed over to comfort Liza.

“Cough, what was that snapping sound? And why would you ask me something so strange?”