[03] A New Look

This is going to be torture. 

Alana’s fingers laced through Rina’s long purple hair. Rina tensed up because she does not like people touching her. I’m not a petting zoo. Rina smacked Alana’s hand when she had had enough. She walked towards a little wood stool in the corner of the cottage. The pain from her leg dissipated. Little mice scurried around the floor as Alana poured tea for herself and Rina. “I hate mice,” said Rina. Alana responded with, “I don’t care.” Rina rolled her eyes and grabbed the tea from Alana’s hand. “That’s some long hair you have there,” said Alana. “Thanks, I guess,” Rina responded. Alana stared at her hair for a few minutes. Rina stared back at her with a look of annoyance in her eyes. Her light grey eyes shined as the sun rise broke through the small windows. 

Suddenly, Alana stood up and walked to the kitchen. She pulled a knife from a cutting board that had been sitting out. She walked behind Rina with the knife and grabbed her hair. Rina did not even realize what was going on because she was so focused on drinking her tea. Then, Rina felt Alana’s grip get tighter on her hair and she jumped up quickly. She turned around and saw some of her hair on the ground. The piece that was cut started to turn silver. Then, almost magically, her eyes started turning green. Her skin went from a pale white to a light brown shade. Rina didn’t even notice the changes because of her anger that quickly took over her body. “Are you crazy!?” she shouted. Rina ran towards Alana and threw her on the floor. She sat on Alana and pinned her arms down. She grabbed the knife from Alana’s hand started to cut her hair. She only cut a chunk out and then stabbed it back into the cutting board when she stood up. Alana slowly stood up and looked into Rina’s eyes. “What is wrong with you!?” Rina screamed. Alana sat on a bench beside the front door.  Rina walked towards the mirror in the living room and looked at her hair. My hair is ruined. What do I do? Alana stood up from her bench and walked behind her. “In order for you to return home, you need to be unrecognizable. I knew you would react this way, so I cut it without asking. We need to cut the rest of your hair,” Alana said as she grazed Rina’s shoulders to calm her. Home? “I’m going home?” Rina asked. Alana took a deep breath and looked at Rina through the mirror. “You need to go home to retrieve an emerald from the palace of Rosada that belongs to Nira. But, if would’ve returned looking like yourself, you would’ve been killed. Your kingdom has made it illegal to go to Elantris because of your cruel king. Your body has changed because this is Nira's picture of you. She sees you like herself,” explained Alana. 

She knew she had to do it. I might as well since I’m already unrecognizable. Rina took a deep breath and slowly nodded her head yes. Alana grabbed the knife once again and started to cut. Her hair turned silver the moment the knife hit it. She cried but knew this was for the good. Alana then grabbed a broom and cleaned up the hair. They both planned the trip back home and went to bed. They planned on leaving the next day.

When she woke, Rina put on a blue dress she borrowed from Alana. She ate a piece of bread and sat at the table along with Alana. They went over the plan once more and started to leave the cottage. What if I never return here? What if I’m killed? They walked into the city together. With a steady pace, almost identical, they walked towards the forest. “I’m scared,” Rina said as she twiddled with her now short silver hair. Rina’s new eyes focused on her steps and took a deep breath. “Don’t be,” replied Alana, even though she seemed nervous too. “Just follow this path with me until we reach your home,” Alana said trying to calm Rina. 

After several hours of endless walking, Rina started to recognize her surroundings. She used to play there as a child. Her ear perked up as she heard the familiar sounds of children playing the forest. As they approached the gates of the kingdom, her heart started to beat faster. When she finally was close enough to touch the golden rods, she heard someone shout “Stop right there!” What have I done?

[02] A Helping Hand

Only a few more steps

Rina stumbled down the narrow dirt paths. Her leg was weary, and she could not withstand the pain of walking any longer. She winced with every step she took. Her eyes focused on the small cottage just a little farther up the path. She increased her speed in a hurry to get there. Suddenly, black spots came across her vision and she fell to the ground.

“That looks painful.”

Bright light shined through Rina eyes as her lifeless body moved again. A woman, who only looked a few years older than her, lifted her body from the ground. The woman’s long brunette hair fell across Rina’s face as she was elevated. Rina looked around at her surroundings in confusion. What happened? She looked down at her bandaged leg and quickly remembered the amount of pain she was in. Her tear-filled eyes looked at the woman’s light complexion. The woman’s face was kind and she smiled at Rina as she wiped a tear from her cheek. “Hello Rina. My name is Alana,” she said. Her voice was soft and calming to Rina who was crying at this point. Excuse me, do I know you? Rina responded, “Who are you? Where am I?” The woman’s smooth hands held Rina’s. “What happened to your leg?” Alana asked. Rina unclenched her jaws to speak. “I was chased by a monster in the forest.” Alana nodded her head and smiled as if this was a common thing. “Why were you in the forest?”

Why do you care?

Rina quickly became irritated with Alana and asked where she was but there was no response. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and spoke. “I am a Cleric of Elantris. Obviously, I am not good enough, judging by my leg. But that’s beside the point. Where am I?” Alana raised her eyebrows and a look of question arose on her face. “Why do you think you aren’t good enough?” she said. “I ran away from the monster and instead of defeating it, I missed my only shot with my bow and arrow. I just shouldn’t be a Cleric. I mean, relaying messages straight from Nira? I can’t do that,” Rina said. Alana set her hand on Rina’s which was resting on her crippled leg. Alana raised her shoulders and spoke in a different tone than before. Her voice was not rosy and nice anymore, it was bold and deep. “I am going to be honest with you. You were not born to be a Cleric. You weren’t even born to be here in Elantris. You were a mistake in the system. But I believe in you. I can teach you. You can prove to them you weren’t a mistake and you should be here,” she said.

Umm what?

Rina sat up and looked deeply into her eyes. She did not know how to respond. She had never been spoken to like that before. The loss of her parents caused people to pity her and they never treated her as a young adult. Still, Rina wanted to leave. Great speech. Bravo. Now, why am I still here? “I can’t do that,” she said, trying to end the conversation and leave. Her body tightened as she used every limb but her right leg to stand. Alana stood with her and moved towards the door. She turned the rusted key in the doorknob and told Rina she could not leave yet. “You have to listen to me or else you will be killed,” Alana said with a serious tone. Rina sat down in the chair a few feet away from the door. Her ears perked in eagerness to listen. Alana sat next to her. “If you do not listen to me, the other Clerics will kill you. You have the power to communicate directly with Nira. You may be a terrible Cleric now, but I can train you. Trust me.” Rina nodded her head agreeing to follow Alana.