Chapter 82 – The Roots of The Kitsune

    I couldn’t look her in the eye. All I could bring myself to do was hold my breath and brace for what was coming.

    What were you thinking?!

    “Oh my...” Elenia muttered.

    I immediately flinched, my body already trying to jump out of the chair and get to the door or maybe even the window if it was closer. It didn’t matter what it was; I just needed to get away from here!

    But I couldn’t. Ava had her arm wrapped around me, and she wasn’t letting me move even an inch from where I sat.

    I shouldn’t have done this!

    “That’s quite a rare combination of traits you have.”

    ...

    What?

    “Your hair is such a pure shade of white that it almost seems like an illusion, but that might as well be trivial compared to your eyes...” She paused for a moment, “I don’t think I have ever seen someone with clear grey eyes like yours.”

    My eyes?

    Not my hair, but my eyes?

    I slowly looked up at Elenia’s face, only to see her golden eyes looking back at me. She didn’t get up; she didn’t lunge at me, she didn’t try to grab me. She just... looked at me.

    “The more I look at them, the more I think that you’re someone very special, even if I don’t really know what exactly that means,” She leaned back on the sofa again, “Anyway, you answered my two questions; so it’s only fair that I now answer yours.”

    Is that it?

    Is she really not going to do anything else?

    I...

    ...

    I was left speechless. I just couldn’t figure out what Elenia’s intentions were. Even as I looked into her eyes, I didn’t see any animosity, any anger, if anything, her gaze reminded me of-

    “Hey, it’s okay. You can ask your question now,” Ava nudged me a little, “You’ve seen that nothing is going to happen to you.”

    Is that really true?

    ...

    I wasn’t sure if anyone could see them, but I could feel tears welling up in my eyes for some reason. But before they even had a chance to fall, I wiped them away with my sleeve and tried to just think about the task I had been given by Ovia.

    ...

    “The village... c-...” The words got stuck in my throat as I tried to ask my question, “Can you... tell me about it?...”

    “You want me to tell you about the village?” Just from her voice, I could tell she was very confused.

    Nobody said anything after that, leaving the room in complete silence aside from the quiet ticking of a clock.

    Of course, she’s confused! What did I expect?!

    Ovia told me all Kitsune grow up there!

    I didn’t think this through enough!

    How do I fix this?!

    “Were you-” Elenia finally started speaking again after what felt like a small eternity, but with each word, my heart beat faster and faster, “-born outside of the village?”

    ...

    Everything stopped for a moment.

    As those thoughts crossed my mind, my mood took a downward turn. Something started to weigh down my stomach, but I knew exactly what it was. It was the guilt from hiding what I knew... from lying to everyone.

    “Unfortunately, aside from the founding myth, the village isn’t all that different to any other village. It’s just a little out of the way,” Elenia said as she sat back down on the sofa opposite us, “What is special about it is the people there... and there’s someone in particular I think you would like to meet.”

    “Who?” I found myself asking the question without thinking.

    “The village elder,” She replied, “They have eyes that can see into the soul, or at least that’s how they explain it. If they look into your eyes, they can tell you many things, but what you might be interested in is the past. Even if you yourself can’t remember, apparently, your soul never forgets.”

    The soul...

    What would they see if they looked at me?

    ...

    Would they see where I came from?

    ...

    Would that even be a good thing?

    What would they say to me?

    They would know that I...

    I didn’t let myself finish that thought.

    “Now, I might be overstepping, but... I want to take you to the village,” Elenia said, “I don’t know what happened to you, and I won’t try to get you to tell me about it either.”

    What?

    “You don’t need to look so surprised. I know when it’s not appropriate to pry. Just... I want you to know what I’m thinking.”

    “What do you mean you want to take her to the village?” Ava asked, pulling me close.

    “It’s only an offer. I won’t force her to,” Elenia picked up one of the papers she had set on the desk, “I would only be able to do so once I’ve finished business here anyway, so it will take a while. Oh, and of course, you could come as well. I’m not in the business of splitting up families.”

    ...

    To go to the village...

    I...

    “I’ll... think about it,” I eventually said.

    I didn’t know what might happen to me if I went there... but... there might be answers there... No matter how I felt, I couldn’t just turn the offer down.

    Elenia took a moment to respond, “I guess that’s as much as I can ask for at the moment,” She stood up again, this time walking over to the door, “No matter what your answer is, you’re free to come and go from the Volpe Rossa merchant guild, just remember to bring the ring with you.”

    Both Ava and I stood up before I quickly pulled my hood back over my head. However, as soon as I did, Elenia’s expression changed.

    “Now look, I understand that you don’t want to attract too much attention; trust me, I know the feeling all too well, but at least in this building, you can keep your hood off. No one will do anything to you here, especially when their boss is a kitsune herself,” She then smiled again, “And I know how stuffy it can get wearing the hood everywhere you go. Especially with how humid it gets in this town.”

    I didn’t do anything and just kept my hood up.

    “Then next time,” Elenia once again placed her hand on my head, “I want you to walk in here with that hood off, alright?”

    “Next time?...” I asked.

    “Of course! Throughout this conversation of ours, at least if I have been keeping track properly, I seem to have asked one more question than I should have, which means I’m now in debt to you,” She chuckled a little, “You’ll need to come back here in order to collect it from me after all.”

    “Thank you for having us,” Ava said as she stepped between Elenia and me.

    “The pleasure was mine,” Elenia bowed slightly, “Oh, and just as a little parting gift. If you talk to Tybalt on your way out, he will be able to give you some excellent recommendations for lunch nearby.”

    Ava’s face went bright red.

    “A merchant has to know how to pick up on these things,” She said as she opened the door, “Just head back down the way you came. It will be a bit quieter at this hour.”

    With those last words, Ava and I left the office. But just before the door closed, I managed to whisper a few words, “Thank you.”