Written: 8/14/23
Word Count: 1,335

My eyes nearly popped from my skull. I felt a strange sensation like all the sounds in the bustling marketplace were covered under a sheen of cotton I'd stuffed into my ears.

"I—what?"

"Don't feel rushed!" Resinee jumped in. She swatted at her brother, the slap against his giant bicep sneaking into my muffled hearing, amplifying it into something to wince at. The elva nearly tripped over herself as she moved closer to me, her smaller height and large eyes making her look like a needy child. I couldn't stop the shiver of discomfort as it washed over my skin.

Good thing my limbs were covered by my coat and poncho.

"We don't expect you to get started right away. You're still in training, right?" Resinee continued, despite the look of "what in blazing hell" plastered to my face. "You're so young, so you must be. The Missus was something exceptional. That's why it's good you came here around this time, before Hunting Season starts. Hopefully, you'll only have minor illnesses to deal with for now. Not too many of them land here unless they're forced, but when they do, we'll bring them over. Oh! You want to check out all the supplies in the clinic, right? If there's anything you're missing, you should send in an order slip. We'll prioritize it with the mail carrier."

"I—"

"Come along, now!" Resinee pulled me along, tugging me back the way we'd come, back to the village's entrance. We left the bustling market stalls selling all their mining equipment and sweets far behind, the noise carrying on for a while longer.

The three elves lumbered behind us. Resinee and I had switched places with them. I didn't know how to make my voice or legs work to stop this strange caravan from running us right off a cliff.

Resinee took me across the rope ladders connecting this mountain to the next one. My feet pressed down on the first step with nothing underneath it, a sharp swoop dipping into my stomach. But Resinee didn't let me catch my breath or grow used to the sensation of seeing a whole valley below with nothing to obstruct my vision. She raced across the boards, the dull echoes of the wooden slats banging together and swinging through the air instilling in me a sense of panic that I barely kept a lid on.

I swung my eyes behind me, only to see the three lumbering beasts waiting at the other end of the bridge. With sinking realization, I understood. They couldn't walk on the bridge with others. That's how burdensome they were.

"Oh my Goddess," I whispered to myself, turning to face the front.

Luckily, the rope bridge was over. Resinee didn't slow down as our feet skittered over more of that bright-orange rock, the loose pebbles skidding beneath our feet. I was afraid of falling, but that didn't stop the elva one bit. She clodded over them on bare feet, not a slight twinge of hesitancy in her steps.

The houses on this mountain were more box-like, built from a darker wood. They were almost black, which made me wonder where they'd found trees like that. These houses had windows with actual window panes. Their doors were similar to ones I'd grown up with in the Capital. No more of the bubble-shaped, wild-looking domiciles.

But the longer I looked as Resinee took us up a steep slope with more dangerous pebbles to trip on and skid across, I realized these weren't housing abodes. All of these buildings were much larger than the round ones, and each one had signs.

MEDIC. LESSONS. LAW.

Each simple word splayed from a metal sign swinging off one of the house's eaves caught my attention. So the market was for clothes, food, and entertainment, which made sense because their biggest supply of jobs was inside those mines. But out here were the more official offices.

MAIL. MONEY. VET.

My eyes alighted on a graying wooden fortress on the downslope of the peak Resinee took me. We started down the slope at alarming speed. I tried to dig my hand out from Resinee's grip, but her hands were much more wiry than one would initially think when taking in her dainty frame.

Aunt Rosetta's vet clinic was a sprawling thing with a full garden. Wooden gates, a trickling waterfall, brush and trees. A little oasis, all for the flying beasties. My heart started burning, and I feared I might throw up.

A huge wraparound porch went as far as I could see. Wooden benches, swings, and chairs decorated the deck. Fanciful, hand-painted pots of overflowing flowers with bright and vivid colors sat shaded beneath the massive awning. Unlike the other buildings, this one's roof was made of rounded plates that sat, connected all together into something like the disjointed segments of bugs.

Resinee finally stopped pulling. Heaving a breath, she faced me, a manic light in her eyes. "Here it is! What you've been waiting to see!"

My breaths wheezed as sharply as hers as I tried to make sense of all the questions I had amidst the burning in my heart. I placed a hand over my chest to help center myself, but it was useless. The feeling spread to my lungs. I was helpless to stop it.

"Like I said, you can just put any correspondence to us in your mailbox. We'll make sure to get you any supplies you wish for. And you needn't worry about food because it'll be delivered here every morning and every night," Resinee explained, ticking the items off her fingers as her foot tapped a restless beat against the reddish dirt in the oasis. "Any dragons that fly in, we'll bring here straightaway. All appointments for the medic building can be made through the correspondence between us in your mailbox. Don't worry about being outside when we come to pick up the day's load. You just focus on staying insi—you. Focus on you. Um, what else?"

The lumbering giants appeared, blanketing out the sun high up on the hill. From this distance, the faces I'd avoided looking at appeared villainous, hard.

"Tourists won't bother you. They stay there." Resinee gestured to the backside of a rather tall building from within the brush to the far left of the property. "They know not to come here, for fear of walking into dangerous situations. Anyway, welcome to the Haspa Mines!" The elva clapped her hands together. "We're so excited to have you! Shame what happened to the Missus. It's a lesson to us all to be more careful. Now, just make sure you stay here, okay? If you need something, ask in the mailbox. Otherwise, just...stay...here." She finished with a wide smile that didn't gleam this time.

I didn't even know if I was blinking. I wasn't sure which emotion was winning out against me, enough that it stilled my legs and my tongue from demanding answers. From the burgeoning horror of wondering why Aunt Rosetta stopped coming back to the Capital. Why the letters decreased each year.

The gleaming eyes, the looks of hope from each villager I was introduced to.

This secluded, shadowy corner of the village.

The rules, designed to keep me in place, designed to keep me locked down.

What in the naga was Aunt Rosetta dealing with? Why had she stayed in a place like this? Was the dragons' health that important to Dark Elves?

"I'm going to get going now. I'm sure your aunt has a directory or something to help you pick it all up real fast." Resinee waved as she spoke, hiking up the hill with less haste than when she'd run me down here.

I watched her meet those villainous figures, watched the waving stop. Watched them walk away, disappearing within moments on the other side of the hill, not giving me one backward glance.

I was left alone in an oasis with invisible cage bars locking me in place.