Chapter 7: Punished again

Three weeks later and I was once again alone. Not that there wasn't plenty of jobs for me to do now that I was more or less healed and indeed I knew I was far stronger than I was before the fall. The regular and rich food ensured that. My prick too was large enough to satisfy L'ncze and we mated regularly each night but I suppose I was getting homesick. Not for the house I lived in, not for my mother but for the world that I had known until that fateful day. I loved my partner and my new family but more and more I felt like a prisoner. A prisoner in a prison without bars; a prisoner of love. I began to loathe the low ceiling with its delicate tracery of roots and the everlasting green light from the moss. I hated the loneliness of the days when everyone went out. Even B'nack and Mrna went out sometimes and this was one of those days. I had the whole place to myself. "There's nothing to stop you taking a peep outside," I told myself and making up my mind to do it, I stealthily crept along the passage that I knew led to the entrance. I suppose it was the guilty feeling that made me act like a thief and furtively make my along the passageway to an area where the tunnel became narrower and the root 'beams' lower. It was darker there with no moss lighting and I almost ran into the wall when the way turned sharply right. A few yards more and I came to a curtain of vines. Fresh air passed through them and for the first time in weeks, it tickled my flesh. Only then did I remember, that I was naked. My clothes were still back in our room, folded on the bench near the hearth where L'ncze had placed them long ago it seemed.

Being naked in the open air wasn't going to stop me looking out and seeing the greenness of the countryside again. Pushing aside the vines, just as the elves must have done hundreds of times, I looked out. It was dark; it was night time. That was a shock. All the time I'd lived with the elves, I'd assumed they went out by day and slept at night like humans. In a flash it came to me. "That's why their eyes are so large and perhaps why they are green. They can see in the dark. That's why we never see them."

Some light filtered through the trees; the moon was about half full although at that time I had no idea if it was waxing or waning but there was enough light for me to see the outlines of trees and bushes. The gentle breeze felt cool, but not cold on my skin, yet it was enough to raise a few goosebumps. Oddly there was no clear path to and from the entrance and I knew that I shouldn't move far or I would soon be lost. In any case my bare feet were not used to the rougher ground. For a short while I took in the sights and sensations around me; the silver grey lighting of the bushes, the quiet night time noises, the mournful hoot of a owl. Only the distant glow in the sky from the streetlights of a distant town related me to human civilisation. Suddenly it all became so overwhelming. Slumping down on a nearby rock I again contemplated my life and my situation in it. "I'm much better off with the elves than I was with my mother. I have friends here whereas there really is no one in the human world that I really care about. I now have a woman who loves me and I love in return. It's really the confinement that depresses me. I've escaped now but I haven't really escaped at all." For no real reason, tears sprang to my eyes and I started quietly sobbing.

"Come back inside Henry and talk to me about it." Mrna placed a hand gently on my shoulder and guided me through the vines and back to her room. B'nack followed. Bravely trying to stifle my tears, I sat alongside her and accepted the cup of wine she offered. It soothed me and took away some of my inhibitions. B'nack sat opposite us but kept quiet. "You're not happy here," Mrna stated in a low voice, "I've noticed that for some time. Do you wish to return to your real family?"

"No, I have no real family other than J'cob's," I stated clearly, "But..." Through tears and sobs I tried to explain my loneliness and my feeling of imprisonment without seeming ungrateful for all care and love the elves had shown me. Part way through I saw L'ncze appear in the room but B'nack ushered her out and I continued to unburden myself to the elderly elf whose arms surrounded and comforted me. Gradually, encouraged by soothing words, I poured out my fears, the story of my life, my love for L'ncze and my feelings for the others in the community. In that short while Mrna became the grandmother I never had and with my tears running down her ancient breasts, I became her grandson.

My diatribe of woes and fears and loves ended and for a while Mrna just held me close. B'nack broke the silence. "Henry my boy," he made it sound as if I was really his son, "As you know we are the elders of this family." He swept his arms to indicate all the elves in the area, "As such it is our responsibility to look after those in our care and try to sort out any problems that crop up. You know, I'm sure, that L'ncze loves you dearly but she is also very possessive of you. Behind that possessiveness I believe is the fear that you will one day run away and return to your roots." I tried to tell him that I wouldn't do that but he bade me be quiet and listen to him. "Allowing you to wander freely outside brings with it several problems concerning your safety and ours. You discovered tonight that we only go out at dusk and return about dawn. We can see very well in low light levels whereas you cannot. It was pure chance that L'ncze had gone out a little earlier on the day she found you and we believe it was the spirit forces that compelled her to do it. We go out at night because the risk of being discovered by humans is much lower. The risk is reduced because we able to pick up the scent of any human within half a mile or more of us and we can take avoiding action." I could see the need to be careful and the dreadful assault that might be made on the community if they were discovered. "Did you see a path up to our entrance?" I was asked and shook my head, no. "Elves are much lighter on their feet than humans and it hasn't anything to do with their weight. You and L'ncze are about the same size and weight, but if she walks over a patch of grass the blades will hardly bend, you on the other hand, will leave footprints and over time will create a path that other humans might be tempted to follow. Lastly there is the problem of what you can do outside to contribute to supporting the rest of us. You have no hunting skills or any knowledge of the plants that are good for food or medicine. You could gather wood and the easier to spot fungi and plants but what you can do outside is limited. Your being outside would be more for your enjoyment than our benefit. That in itself is not a bad thing." He paused and I was about to comment when he went on, "I think there are ways around all these problems so that you can go outside regularly especially when there is a moon to allow you to see. I will discus this with other elders and see what we can do. Henry, you've mated with L'ncze and are now part of her life, maybe even you are already the father of a child growing within her so it is your responsibility to help and care for her in any way you can. I believe you will do that." B'nack stopped and moved to the hearth and I guessed his speech was at an end.

"Go to L'ncze," Mrna whispered, "I have no doubt she is worried as to what is happening here."

Worried? That wasn't exactly the situation when I walked in our room. L'ncze was very obviously in a bad mood and furious with me. She didn't see me enter; her back was towards me and she jumped up and down and thumped my pillow while muttering and swearing. Ra'chel signalled me to wait but I ignored her.

"Alice," I started as I approached her.

"You little shit! You little bloody shit!" Her face showed her fury. Never before had I seen anyone as angry. Tears streamed down her red cheeks as she turned to me. "You shit!" she continued, "After all we did for you, after we restored your health, after you said you loved me and wanted to stay for always, at the first opportunity you try and go back to them. You shit! Once you'd fucked me a few times, you'd had enough and wanted one of your human girls. One of those you despised perhaps? Don't think you're coming back here after that and sleeping in my bed."

Thinking perhaps she would calm down if I held her and hugged her close I went towards her. That was a mistake. I'd hardly got to within a yard when, quick as lightening, she swung her fists. One caught the side of my head and the other forced all the wind out of my stomach. I collapsed to the floor in agony. Vaguely I remember Ra'chel lifting me on to the bed and J'cob holding his daughter away from me. My senses returned in a few minutes but my head felt like a hammer had hit it and my ribs were once again very painful. "I'm sorry Henry, I'm so sorry. Let me stay I won't hurt him. I'm sorry." Slowly turning my head towards the voice, I saw L'ncze struggling and being half carried, half dragged from the room by J'cob and B'nack.

"Lie still," Ra'chel's calming voice came through to my brain, "Lie still, we'll keep her out of your way until she's calmed down."

"I wasn't trying to go away," I wheezed.

"I know but L'ncze was blind to anything except you were outside and thus in her mind you were leaving her. She also saw your being with the elders as a sign of your guilt. J'cob and I soon realised you weren't running away when we saw your clothes still on the stand. No boy would try to go back to his own folk stark naked."

"I just wanted to see the sun again ... I didn't know it was night time ... I..." A fit of coughing overtook my words and Ra'chel again told me to lie still while she made up some medicine. I guessed it was the toadstool stuff again because it relieved the pain but made me very sleepy.

Sometime during the night, (or was it the day?) I woke feeling very thirsty. My head spun and my chest gave me much pain when I tried to get out of bed. Immediately L'ncze jumped out of bed where she'd been sleeping between her mother and father and was by my side. Her movement woke Ra'chel but she only looked at her daughter. She knew her daughter would not harm me now. "What do you need Henry?" she whispered and once more tears flooded her face.

"I'm thirsty," I croaked.

"Now get back in bed," she ordered when I'd drunk a cupful, "Lie down and rest." Perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised when she climbed in alongside me but I guess I was just a little apprehensive. There was no need to worry though. L'ncze was back into her caring mode that I knew from my early days. I tried to speak with her but she put her fingers across my lips. "Sleep and rest yourself my dear. Mrna explained it all. We can talk better after breakfast. For now, just remember that I am truly sorry for what I did and not just for the punishment that I will receive."