Chapter 8: Chapter 7: The Dream of the Butterfly V

The landscape changed completely to a very old forest, with huge trees and very little space to move around. Reilan and Reilanis stood in a clearing, looking toward a campfire in the middle. There, adding sticks to keep the fire burning, was 14-year-old Reilanis.

Adult Reilanis looked at her and began to tremble. Her breathing quickened and she took a few steps back. Her thoughts stopped when she recognized that precise place and moment. Reilan noticed the panic on her partner's face and immediately realized what was happening. Reilanis moved her gaze to him, eyes that begged for help, begged him to get her out of this place as quickly as possible. Reilan didn't hesitate and caught her in a hug.

“Lani! React, come on, you have to calm down. It's just a memory, okay? There is nothing here that can harm you.”

"No, no, no, no, NO! I don't want to see this again! – She shouted with all her might, her voice breaking and the terror reflected in her golden eyes. – Please, please, get me out of here, I don't want to live this again, get me out of here, I beg you.”

Reilanis had given in to fear. Her whole body trembled and she held onto Reilan with all her might and she continued to beg him to get her out of there. Reilan didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to say to her. He had never had to comfort anyone, much less from a panic attack, so he did the only thing he could think of.

“Lani! Look at me, look at me. – The girl took her head out of Reilan's chest. Her face was stained with tears, fear ingrained in her expression. - Everything will be fine. It's over, there's nothing you can do now. But you must get over it. Listen to me, you've been through all this, faced it, and survived. You stayed strong until the end.”

"Strong?"

“Yes Lani, you have been very strong. You ARE strong and brave. You are not a coward.”

"I'm not... a coward..."

"You are not. You don't run away; you don't let yourself be dominated by fear. That's you, a powerful and brave girl, do you understand me? – Reilanis nodded slowly. She seemed less affected, but she was still shaking profusely. - Good. Remember that I will be here with you, I will not abandon you.”

Reilan turned to look at the young Reilanis preparing a sleeping bag on the ground. She placed a small candle to one side, which she then lit, causing a bluish smoke to come out.

"What's that?"

"It's... a Virma light, when you turn it on it releases an aroma that keeps monsters away - Next to him, Reilanis answered with a low tone and a broken voice. You could hear her trying to calm her breathing. Emphasis on trying. – Rita gave me one of hers, for when I left town to look for her… ”

“What a useful item. It makes sense that it exists, especially for solo travelers.”

“. . . I wish it would… also drive humans away.”

Before Reilan could ask what she meant, there was the noise of several people approaching the clearing. The young Reilanis reacted to the sound, and she prepared to fight or flee. The adult Reilanis clung to Reilan tightly, her body begging to flee right then and there. Her eyes stayed on the scene in front of them; in her mind, there was only fear for what she knew would happen next. She was trying her best to calm her breathing, but it was harder than she had ever thought.

Ten or more men, all human, emerged from the trees, carrying torches, swords, and other weapons.

"What the hell…?"

Young Reilanis went on guard, glancing at each of the men who approached her.

"My, my, but look what the spirit of the winds brought."

A bald, muscular guy walked through the group of humans, straight at the Oni girl.

“I had heard rumors about your kind and how much they liked to keep themselves locked up in their lands. But to think that one of you would venture into the outside world.”

"What do you want?"

“Oh, can you even talk in common? Hahaha, what we want, little lady from the Oni tribe is you. Catch her, but don't damage her too much, I need her to be as healthy as possible so I can sell her."

"Yes sir!" – They all shouted, then slowly advance towards the young Reilanis, surrounding her and leaving her without a space to escape. Young Reilanis was nervous. She raised her fists and ran her gaze over each of them, waiting for anyone of them to get closer.

To her right, a guy with too much hair on his face moved first, tired of the others being so careful around a child. He raised his weapon, a type of spear or mace, made of wood and poorly wrought iron. The young Oni reacted by ducking into the swing that was headed straight for her head. She closed the distance between her and the guy with the big beard and with her fist hit him powerfully in the center of his chest. The man fell to the ground unconscious or dead, making a loud sound, like a sack of potatoes being thrown to the ground.

The rest's eyes widened in surprise. They didn't expect one of his companions to go down so easily. But that didn't break his concentration. They were used to dealing with strong races and were always victorious. They kept their formation and advanced slowly. Some had swords, others spears, and maces, weapons that, in that kind of formation, made it difficult for Reilanis to break through the encirclement. With that in mind, she decided to attack first, going towards one of the men with a wooden mace.

She lunged as fast as she could, taking advantage of the fact that the bastard wasn't expecting her attack, jumping up and letting him taste the soles of her boots right in his mouth. As soon as he fell, she grabbed his weapon and went for the next one, a skinny man carrying a spear. Young Reilanis readied the mace, aiming at the spearman's head; he reacted by drawing his weapon towards the Oni, believing that she would impale herself. Reilanis waited for the last moment and took a light step to the side, just missing the spear that was going to pierce her stomach by inches, then with all her strength, she slammed down on the spearman's hands, breaking his fingers. The man dropped his weapon accordingly, a moment that Reilanis took advantage of to deliver a second blow, this time to the head of his enemy, splitting his skull. She immediately ran out of the place, into the dark forest, intending to lose them in the dark.

Believing that her plan had succeeded, Reilanis smiled.

Unfortunately, after only a few meters, the leader of those men appeared next to her, and before she knew how he had reached her, he lands a kick in the ribs, sending her back a couple of meters and crashing hard on the ground. One of the men standing near her fell on top of her, pinning her to the ground.

"Wonderful. Rold, Bearl, undress her, we have to check the new merchandise.”

Reilan watched from afar, clenching his teeth. He'd seen the memories before, but experiencing them in this vivid way… there was no way he wouldn't be furious. Reilanis, still clinging tightly to him, had begun to cry again, denying words. She was trembling in terror, her legs had turned to jelly and if it wasn't for Reilan holding her, she would have already fallen to her knees in grief.

Reilan watched as young Reilanis kicked and struggled against the men tearing at her clothes, shouting a thousand curses and promising she would kill them as soon as she was free. One of those who were savagely undressing her threw a hard punch at her face, almost knocking her out. Then, the two men positioned themselves to grab her arms and her shoulders, keeping her firmly on the ground.

The bald man who seemed to be the boss brought in another man, a hideous fat old man with a neatly manicured beard and mustache. He was wearing a blue suit with a button-up waistcoat, which seemed to be making a monumental effort to hold itself together. He was walking with heavy, slow steps towards the Reilanis on the ground, who was pulling her feet everywhere trying to get free.

"So, Mr. Gallard, what do you think?"

The fat man approached Reilanis and looked at her, the look in her eyes was like an appraiser, measuring the monetary value of some object. His eyes licked every part of her body, tasting every inch of her skin. The young Oni felt a chill run through her body, a sickening sensation that made her try to free herself even harder.

“I would say it could be worth a significant amount, maybe 60,000 to 90,000 Vors. She has no visible scars; she appears to be well-fed and somewhat strong. We could sell her as a good combat slave.”

"What if she were a virgin?"

The fat man thought for a moment, shifting his gaze to Reilanis's crotch, who immediately pulled her legs together, hiding it. The fat man nodded to the bald man, who went straight to her, grabbed her legs and pushed them apart, then tucked her head between them and examined her closely. After a moment he pulled away from her and smiled broadly.

"We have the jackpot, Mr. Gallard."

"Wonderful! – Shouted the fat man, with clear emotion in his voice. – With this, the price of it rises even more. If we go to Port Haldus, it could reach over 300,000 Vors.”

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“What if we go to the kingdom of Culsat?”

"Culsat?"

“I’ve heard rumors of an old noble who likes slaves of exotic races. If we sell it to him as it is, he could pay twice as much."

“Hmm. Culsat is far away Dorian. But…"

The fat Gallard put his hand to his well-groomed beard, considering the words of the bald mercenary named Dorian. Then a sinister smile crossed his lips.

“I think I have a better idea. We could raise her for a while.”

“Raise her?”

"Yes. We train her to be stronger, we take her to Cristalia to teach her the arts of a courtesan, and we can sell her as a highly-skilled sex slave and a bodyguard. There wouldn't be a single noble who wouldn't pay at least half a million Vors for something like that."

"Hoho, what an incredible idea my lord Gallard."

Young Reilanis now stared in terror at the "beasts" who spoke of her as if she were a valuable commodity. She started screaming at them to let her go, thrashing with every ounce of strength she had in her body, in a desperate attempt to break free. But it was all in vain, they had her pinned tightly against the cold, hard forest dirt.

"Rold, knock her out and get her to the cart, we'll put the seal on her once we get there."

Fat Gallard gave the order and turned around to go with Dorian, who nodded to the other men and went with him. Rold, who was holding her from her right side gave her an amused smile and hit Reilanis with calculated force on her jaw, knocking her completely unconscious.

Immediately the wind swept away the memory, changing the landscape.

They were now in completely black space, but for some reason, they could still be seen clearly. Reilanis had snapped in that instant. She fell to the ground, hugging herself, crying at the top of her lungs, begging for them to stop. Even Reilan was beginning to be affected by the memories of his mate, but even more so by her piercing screams. Reilan crouched down beside her, slowly stroking her hair, then slowly drawing her head into an embrace, softly whispering words of comfort.

“Reilan, please, I beg you, get me out of here. I don't want any more of this, I don't want to live it again. I'll do anything, so please!"

Reilanis, with her face on the ground, begged with all her might, her voice cut by the hiccups of her crying, her face a mess of tears and snot, and pain too palpable in her tone. Reilan almost couldn't bear to see her like this. His heart felt broken. What horrible things did she have to experience for her to act this way? But despite the pain, this was causing them both, how hard it had become for Reilan to see her in this state, they couldn't back down. If they did, Reilanis's life would only get worse.

“Lani, we can't. You have to face it.”

"WHY!? - Reilanis yelled furiously. – Why do I have to go through this again!? Why did I have to leave the village!? I should have stayed; I should have listened to Mika! “

“Lani! Lani!”

Reilanis looked up from the ground, ready to lash out with all her fury at her mate, but seeing his expression, stopped her instantly. Reilan was crying too, the expression on his face, mortified that he didn't know what to do. Reilanis could feel the empathy in his eyes. Not pity, not disappointment or revulsion, just sadness. She could see in him how much it hurt him not to be able to do anything more than see, more than just give her words that might not help at all.

“Lani, I can't even imagine how hard this is for you, I can't even think how you managed to hold out for so long without falling. But if it hadn't happened, you would never have found your family."

"My family?"

"Yes. Miriam, Elisa, Neminah, Vistelia, Orpheanus. Aren't they your family? If you had stayed in that town, what would have happened to Miriam when she was born? Who would have healed Elisa's wounds and prevented her from dying in a cold cave in the middle of the forest? Who would have protected Neminah, nurtured and healed her broken heart? Lani, we can't leave this here. You need to face it, you have to beat it, or this will haunt you forever. If you don't do it for yourself, do it for them.

“…”

Reilanis began to reflect. If she hadn't stolen Miriam's egg, the cub would have ended up a slave to some human kingdom, condemned to serve them for who knows how many hundreds of years. If she hadn't started traveling with her, she would never have found Elisa, no one would have arrived in time to heal her wounds and she would have ended up dying alone, in a cold, dark, and sad cave. If Elisa and Miriam hadn't insisted on moving to another city to improve and be stronger, she would never have found Neminah, possibly the girl would not have survived much longer eating garbage and would have died in some dark alley like a rat. She would never have met someone as radiant as Vistelia, or someone as kind and protective as Orpheanus.

"Lani, there's something you want to do when you get out of here, right?"

Reilanis opened her eyes, surprised by his words. She didn't think he would notice.

"I…"

“This is a weight that you have to take off your shoulders, but the only way to do it is if you face it. Out there, on the other side of that door, they must be worried about you, thinking that something terrible must have happened to you. You have to get out of here, get over this, and change their worried faces to ones of relief. Let them see a new Reilanis, a much stronger one, a Reilanis they can depend on much more. A Reilanis they can trust completely…and one who can trust them.

“I… I want to do it Reilan… I want to end all this. But I am so afraid… the things… the things that I experienced there…”

“I know, Lani. But I`m here. You are not alone; I am with you and I will not let this consume you.

Reilanis hugged him tightly, crying, releasing all the pain that she had accumulated over the years. Years of nightmares, years of scars that refused to heal and festered. A disease that had penetrated deep into her body.

How many hours were they like this, in that lonely space? Reilan lending her a foothold, something Reilanis needed.

Both slowly separated. Reilanis was a mess, but she was breathing easier now. The panic had crept out of her. There was still some anxiety left, but there was a flash of new determination in her eyes and a warmth in her heart. Reilan saw this and smiled, relieved that he had at least helped her mate, even if it was only a little.

From his pocket he took out a handkerchief, and, like a father tending to his daughter when she is sad, he wiped the tears and snot from Reilanis's face. He combed her hair with his fingers and cupped her cheeks, smiling at her.

Calm washed over Reilanis. She felt the warmth, kindness, tenderness, and relief. There was no doubt in her mind, in the short time the two of them had shared that body, Reilan had become someone special. A brother, a father. And, oddly enough, he had the loving touch of a mother. Something that Reilanis, deep inside her heart, wished for with a burning desire.

In her town, she had never felt envy of the other children while seeing them with their parents, she never wanted to have them, and she didn't even think about why she didn't have them. But now, thanks to Reilan, she began to wonder if that was how it felt, to have a father. She began to enjoy it, to wish that she could stay like this and enjoy those warm feelings that were giving her relief and comfort.

Reilanis pulled away from him, eyes half closed and a soft smile. Her calm had returned to her, bringing relief to her taller mate. The girl nodded. There were no words of any kind, but the look between the two was enough for them to understand each other. Reilan turned around, Reilanis positioned herself to his right and they both looked ahead, where a long stone corridor with bars on both sides began to form, groans of pain echoing throughout the place. Reilanis slowly returned her gaze to her mate, and he returned the gaze. The girl linked her hand with Reilan's, she trembled a little, but she searched for a firm grip. They both nodded and determinedly walked to the end of the hall. At last, they would face the worst memories, the greatest trauma that haunted Reilanis through all these years.

 

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