I sleep in a dark corner of the longhouse, and Siv makes sure that I am warm and comfortable. The dancing flames of the fire pit make me think of home. I try to push away my tears as I drift off to sleep. I am an island, alone in the dark.
I dream the same dreams as always. I am in a different land, two suns light the sky up bright in hues of red and orange. The landscape is desolate and barren. Nothing grows beneath the two scorching suns. Yet there is a city more fair than anything I’ve ever seen. It’s white and bright, with buildings as tall as the sky. The streets are narrow. The people have horns, and some have strange faces. This strange place was once home. Now this is my home.
I wake up from a loud sound, the door slams open. Someone says it’s morning, I hear mumbles. At the door is a tall man with long copper hair, he has a tail like the rest of them. I’m sure that underneath his hair he has pointed ears as well. He scowls at me then he marches towards Siv, he looks unhappy. I hide under the blanket. I don’t want any more unhappy people. I just want to be left alone. I can’t hold the tears back anymore, they roll down my cheeks like it’s a stormy day. I hear them talking loudly.
“Siv, who is that child? He’s not one of us?” The man growls loudly.
“Relax, Are, he is just a child. He is not human, his parents turned on him thinking he was a changeling. What was I supposed to do? Leave him in the woods all alone?” Siv tells him before she lowers her voice and whispers, “I think he’s a blood child…”
I can hear her whispers, my ears are sharp. I stop my tears, wondering what a blood child is.
“A blood child?!” Are exclaims with his rough voice.
“Shhh, did I whisper so that you could shout it out to the world?” Siv grunts at him.
“Sorry, Siv. I don’t think we should keep him here. I just passed a human house on the way back. Death. A man and a Volva were dead. There was no one around, so I caught a closer look. The man looked like he had been killed by a blood child. And the volva. I do not know what killed her. No wounds, no markings. It was bizarre, Siv,” Are remarks in a calmer manner.
“Sounds like that’s where the child came from. He said his father had brought a volva to see if he was a changeling. Of course, a Volva can’t tell the difference between us non-humans. The man must be the child’s no-good father. I didn’t know he had killed him, he didn’t tell me that much,” Siv says with wonder in her voice.
“Either way, what are you going to do about him? What I have heard about blood children is nothing good. Savage creatures who drink blood, some can even create other blood children,” Are questions.
I looked down at my hands, the blood was still there. The blood was still on my face and my clothes. I felt my heartbeat pick up speed. Was I what they called a blood child? I had never heard of such a thing. Drinking blood? I had done that hadn’t I? Drunk my father’s blood. He was dead? I felt my heart tighten. I didn’t want him to be dead, no matter how cruel he had been in the end. I remember when he was kind and loving. What of my mother? She must have gone to get help. I felt my heart breaking as I huddled up under the blanket. I am an island in this dark and cold world.
I hear Siv whisper, “We could sell him, there are people who will pay greatly for a blood child,”
“Do we want to deal with those people, Siv?” He asks her with a low growl.
Siv sighs, “It was merely a suggestion. I suppose we could send him in the direction of his own kind.”
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