Forever Misplaced, page 11
Kody took a chair between her father and Tristan while Briony sat across from her between her mother and Havu.
Dinner was casual and relaxed. Kody and Tristan talked about life on Earth, while Callum and Minda told of life in Hivagora, and of Kody’s first few years. Briony talked about fun things to do around the city, making plans in the next few days to show her and Tristan everything, and Havu sat quietly and observed, his expression blank and unreadable.
Servers ducked through the branches to refill glasses, replace trays, and transition dinner to dessert. Kody filled herself with cookies dipped in creamy chocolate mousse, and eventually they all settled onto the nearby couches, full and sedated. A servant parted the willow branches, letting in a small breeze, and they sat as the evening grew dark and watched the fireflies, or some similar magical variety, as they danced over the garden.
When they said their goodnights, Callum pulled Kody into another tight embrace. “I take a break in the late morning for a walk in between meetings. If your sister doesn’t monopolize all of your time, come join me.”
Kody nodded. “I’d like that.”
“Perfect.”
They said goodnight and Tristan found her side as they left the garden.
“What do you think?” he asked her low enough not to be overheard.
Kody thought about it for a moment, and shook her head. “It all seems too good to be true.”
Tristan smiled and nodded once. “It’s a lot to take in, but try not to miss the moments that matter. Not everyone gets their happily ever after.”
They reached Kody’s apartment and Briony moved in to give her a hug goodnight while Havu escorted Tristan back to the lower levels, where they both had rooms.
Kody lay in bed worrying about bugs flying into her breezy open bedroom and hovering around her face as she slept, but she found none. It was then she also realized how cool the city of Hivagora was. Since the moment Kody had fallen into the Twoshy, she’d been hot and sweaty. In Tristan’s apartment, at night, and even on their journey through the forest, Kody had continually had a small sheen of sweat on the back of her neck and in other various places. She tried to think when the weather had changed to the moderate temperature it was now. Swimming upstream via frog, she’d been soaked from the journey, and when the waiting attendant had dried her, she hadn’t realized the temperature was for once comfortable.
Kody relaxed into her pillow, smelling lightly of lavender, and sighed with contentment. In the heat of a scorching summer, this city was comfortable and cool. As long as the temperature didn’t drop to freezing in the winter, she thought she might very well enjoy living in this magical forest.
Kody awoke the next morning feeling fantastic. It was the first morning in a long time she didn’t wake in a puddle of sweat. A light breeze blew through her room, and small birds chirped outside her window. She pulled on a flowy robe and wandered into her sitting room, wishing she had a phone to call Briony, to see when breakfast was or when and where she needed to be.
A small table sat just inside her front door, covered with food and a teapot. Kody smiled. Being served was something she could easily get used to. The tea was warm and spiced with something lovely, and her accompanying eggs and fruit turnover were wonderful. After eating, she took a shower in her waterfall and got dressed for the day.
With nothing left to do, Kody exited her rooms, stepping out onto the long path and the open air. She leaned against the railing and looked down. Her stomach didn’t exactly turn, but she regretted that fourth turnover. She stepped back from the railing and took a deep breath. She had a hard time understanding how high up she really was, and she thought perhaps she should never think about it again.
“Elv don’t fly,” Briony said from behind Kody, causing her to jump. “Whoa now, don’t test the theory.” Briony took her arm and pulled her a little further from the railing.
“Has anyone ever fallen?”
Briony laughed. “No, there’s a railing.”
“What about small children climbing it?”
Briony gave her a weird look. “Children aren’t that stupid. Are Hu children that stupid? How do they make it to maturity? Never mind. Come, I have much of the city to show you and we’re losing daylight.”
Kody laughed as Briony grabbed her arm and pulled her to the basket lift. The ride down caused Kody’s stomach to fly out of the basket at some point, and her legs felt a little shaky descending the staircase into the atrium tree.
Briony dragged Kody first to a row of workshops, Elvs sewing and stitching, working metal and wood. Briony introduced her to all of them by name, and the Elvs greeted her, welcoming her home. When they left the last clothes dyer, Briony whisked her off to a market with shops selling anything Kody could ever need. Briony introduced her to shoppers and shopkeepers, every face and name bleeding into one as she tried to find things that stood out about each. Olivia was the tall willowy Elv who sold wooden spoons, and Marc was the short round Elv with piercings lining his pointed ears who sold decorative pillows. Kinf, a man buying socks, was very friendly and didn’t want to let go of her hand after she offered it to shake, forgetting the Elv didn’t do that.
“Should we find Tristan?” Kody asked as they left a shoe shop, and a handsome Elv with a nose ring stopped them to introduce himself.
“You’re meeting Dad, right?” Briony asked, pushing the tall nose ring guy back on the path after he’d held Kody’s hand and wished her the most wonderful reunion with her people.
“Yes. He said late morning. I don’t even know what time it is.”
“Oh, yes, it’s tricky without the sun. Remind me to teach you that spell. How about when you go to get Dad I’ll find Tristan and we will meet up with you for lunch?”
“That sounds great,” Kody replied over the shoulder of a new man with red hair who went out of his way to introduce himself.
Now and then they passed an Elv who didn’t seem interested in meeting Kody, and a few who nearly seemed offended at the sight of her. When they encountered these people, Briony laughed it off and led Kody to see something new and exciting.
Kody wasn’t sure if Briony was getting bored or if she sensed her sister’s annoyance, but next she took her to the library. It was a beautiful old building built out of the stump of a fallen giant tree and wound down into the ground. The librarian was a shy girl with purple hair that Kody thought might make a great friend as she shared novel recommendations. If only Kody could find a way to power on her phone, maybe she could copy out books from her reading app and translate them. Copyright be damned.
After the library, Briony led Kody back to the largest tree in the center of the city. They were stopped by countless good-natured Elv trying to introduce themselves to Kody. When at last they reached the tree, Briony showed Kody the paths to take to reach their father’s office. When they entered, Callum dismissed his attendants along with their questions and clipboards and greeted his daughters.
Briony told Kody she’d retrieve her for lunch and left the newly reunited father and daughter for their morning walk. Callum led Kody through a back door of his office that opened to an overgrown wooded path.
Chapter Fourteen
Every part of the city Kody had seen so far was a neatly manicured picture-perfect portrait of nature, but the path her father led her down felt like a magical forest where any plant might transform into a nymph and speak to her. The path was dotted with the occasional leaf, and plant life grew and blended in a wildly unkempt mess that somehow made the outdoor space feel even more alive.
They walked for a time, Callum content with the silence, but a question ate away at Kody.
“May I ask you what my birth name is?” she said at last.
He didn’t respond immediately, continuing his slow wandering pace down the path, and Kody followed at his side, hoping her question hadn’t somehow been impolite. She didn’t want to offend this man before she’d had a chance to know him. After a long moment, they came to a small pool of water, crystal clear and shaded by an old, gnarled tree, its roots dipping down into the pool.
“Names hold much meaning for our people,” he said at last. “A person’s name rarely follows them through life, but may grow and change along with the soul it describes. Your sister, for example, was not born Briony.”
Her father knelt beside the pool and slipped his hand in, causing a ripple that distorted the view of the many colorful stones at the bottom of the water. He cupped one hand and brought it to his mouth to drink, then shook the excess back into the pool. Where each drop landed, a ripple pulsed out, and a moment later Kody spotted what she had believed to be just another jewel toned rock move up and inspect the impact point of a water drop. The small fish, a beautiful golden yellow, found nothing on the surface and slowly swam closer to where Kody and her father stood.
She met her father’s eyes, and he grinned at her before shrugging and reaching into the flowy over robe he wore. He rummaged around for a moment and pulled out a fist. He held it out to Kody.
Kody hesitated, remembering a boy making the same gesture when she was young, but he’d dropped something slimy in her hand, and she’d never been so trusting again. But this was her father, and if he was the sort to carry slimy things in his pockets, it would be good to know now.
She held out her hand, and he dropped a handful of small seeds into her waiting palm. They were tiny and roundish, and she had absolutely no idea what they were. Her father picked out one small seed and threw it into the water. Kody watched and nearly dropped them all in shock as dozens of jewel covered fish rose from the bottom of the pool and swarmed the seed.
Callum laughed. It was a deep belly laugh and caught Kody off guard. She smiled, watching as his laugh shrank to a chuckle, and he placed a hand on her shoulder. “They are lovely, are they not? Keep feeding them or they may grow legs and come for us.”
Kody hoped the small smile lingering on her father’s lips meant it was a joke, but at this point, she would believe anything was possible in this strange world. She pinched a few seeds and threw them into the water, and marveled at the rainbow of colors flashing through the water as the fish swarmed their offering.
“I hope you have more in those pockets. I doubt this will tide them over,” Kody said as she threw another pinch of seed into the pond.
Her father, to her relief, pulled out another handful, and joined her in feeding the desperate fish.
“Do not worry about feeding them all. My dears are fat and well fed. This seed is not nutritious, but they go mad for it. My aquarist is forever telling me I spoil them, but I like sweet things that are bad for me. Why shouldn’t these creatures, who bring me so much joy, receive the same?”
Kody sprinkled the last of her seed into the pool and watched her father as he watched the fish, an adorable little smile on his face while he rooted for different fish to get the treat first. She suddenly remembered this man was the king of all Elv, and wasn’t sure how that thought, which had seemed so important before, had somehow slipped her mind.
When his seeds were gone, Callum led Kody to a bench made of woven branches on the water’s edge where they could watch the fish float lazily in the pool, looking for missed treats before settling back on the bottom for an afternoon nap.
“When Briony was young, maybe four or five, she was always climbing trees, going higher and higher. It drove her mother mad, always worrying she would fall, which she did often enough. One day we were enjoying the autumn leaf fall, and your sister was climbing and climbing away, up an old oak. She wandered out onto a branch with none beneath her to catch onto in case she fell, so of course she lost her grip.”
“Was she okay?”
Her father patted her shoulder. “Her mother used her magic and asked the tree to produce new growth and catch her. After the oak set her gently on the eres, and your sister endured a scolding, she immediately climbed back up and surpassed the spot where she fell.”
Right, they had magic. Of course they didn’t mind small children climbing to their deaths. Briony’s comments about Elv children not being that stupid made Kody roll her eyes.
“Her mother tried to call her back, but she would not listen. I told her mother then, it was as if she were the briony, always climbing higher and higher to find the sun. That became her name, and as sometimes happens, this second name fit her in more ways than I could ever know. Much as the briony vine, your sister is always growing and always stretching, reaching for anything she can spot in the distance, never satisfied in existing only where she is planted.”
Kody smiled. “From what I know of her, that seems to fit her well. She’s someone I believe can accomplish anything she sets herself to.”
Her father nodded. “When you were born, you were our Aylass, the moonlight through the canopy.”
Aylass. That was her name.
Her whole life, she’d wondered what her true name was. Had anyone even named her or had she been so unwanted? Most foster and adopted had their birth name, but that was just one more place where Kody was set apart.
Aylass, she was Aylass, moonlight through the canopy . . . But she didn’t feel like moonlight. She didn’t feel like an Aylass. Aylass would be a lovely, elegant girl who glided through life wearing fine gowns like she was born for them. Kody frowned.
Her father nodded again. “You are no longer Aylass. That name was lost to you when you were taken from us, but the loss of a name is no loss at all, instead it is a symbol of change and growth. Kody is who you are now, and now is all that matters.”
Something swelled in Kody’s chest. It was exactly what she needed to hear, even if she hadn’t known it. His words expressed acceptance of her exactly as she was.
“Tell me, what does Kody mean to you?” her father asked.
Kody thought for a moment but shook her head. “I don’t know. I’m sure it has a meaning, but I don’t remember ever looking it up. The social worker who named me said I looked like a little bear, and Kody sounds a little like one of the bear names, so she picked it. Not really anything special.”
Callum nodded knowingly. “Courage.”
“What?”
“Bears represent courage to our people. There is also an old legend about bears having the courage to evolve and the ability to be open-minded. To grow in your other world, and then to come here and discover this one, I believe courage is exactly what you have. Kody, you are well-named, and I am honored by the person you have become.”
His voice was a little thick, something shining in his eyes, and Kody looked away, focusing on a purple and chartreuse fish swimming near her feet. If she just focused on that one little fish, and the flash of colors it made in the water, the pressure behind her eyes would disappear and she wouldn’t start crying.
Her father put his hand on her back, and the gesture broke something in her, and the tears fell. Undoing all the barriers and walls she’d built around her heart to keep it safe and unbroken. He pulled her close to his side, and they sat watching the fish and quietly crying over their lost time and new beginning.
Back in Callum’s office, he explained the power structure of the Elv. He was king, and while Kody thought that would mean he was the most powerful Elv in the forest, she was surprised to learn he didn’t have the gift to use magic. The Elv didn’t need his power; they needed his wisdom, guidance, and leadership. He explained that the forest lent a bit of its power to the ruler, granting him or her a different type of power. One better suited for leading than for shaping ruakh, and he was content as he was. Kody wondered if that was what gave him such a presence.
Callum showed Kody maps of the forest detailing where other Elv settlements and cities lived. He explained many of the smaller towns were separatists. Elv, who believed their calling was to be one with nature and that their ancestors venturing out on the continent building stone and brick castles, was the ultimate cause of the fall of Elv kind. Hivagora, with its mesh of styles, was hated by some small parties of Elv, and Hu were seen as outsiders or enemies. Her father frowned as he spoke of the political problems and Kody couldn’t help but remember the few Elv who’d shot her nasty looks during her tour with Briony.
“Most of our people only wished to live a prosperous life, protected in their forest where they know an enemy could never uproot them,” Callum continued, running a thumb over the frown in her forehead. “Everyone who met your mother adored her, and once our people have a chance to know you, I believe the same will be said of your legacy. The politics are good to know as you move through the world but are nothing that should trouble you.”
Before long, Briony arrived with Tristan in tow, and they said goodbye to Callum and ventured back out into the city. Men and women still stopped them to speak with Kody, which Tristan seemed to find endlessly annoying until a cute brunette Elv stopped him to chat and Briony pulled him the other way.
They had lunch in a little café on the edge of the river, watching ducks and otters float by with the occasional giant frog.
Briony ordered an extra meal and left Tristan and Kody to enjoy the river while she took lunch to an on-duty Havu.
Kody smiled and waved her sister off, promising they would wait for her. She turned back to Tristan, who was watching her oddly.
“What?” Self-consciousness straightened her posture.
“I’m glad you found your family,” he said after a moment with a soft smile she hadn’t seen before.
“Thank you.” Kody grew quiet, not sure if she should ask what was on her mind. She took a sip of her carbonated fruit juice and asked anyway. “What happened to your family?”
“They died,” he said with a shrug. “I was an only child, and they both came from small families, and here we are a century later. I have some distant cousins and met them once, but it was super awkward.” He looked down. “I could tell they didn’t want to be there. They didn’t see me as anything other than a spectacle, just one more of the Misplaced, and my home country had a lot of Misplaced. So one day I asked the tavern owner who was hosting me if I could have a horse and I rode. I reached Leronia first, the Misplaced there is a nice girl, but the role of national freak was taken so I kept going and I reached Rohap, one of the few nations of the Twoshy that didn’t have any young heirs to steal at the time the spell snatched us all. They weren’t used to having Misplaced to deal with, so they were a little more accepting. Then I met Rawford who offered to teach me a trade. So every time I traveled, I found a horse and I made my way to Rohap.”
