I became confused as to why the kid called Elphyete mommy. The word just hung there in the middle of that dark, crowded square, sounding so strange and out of place against the background of the slave auction. I looked at Elphyete, but she didn't seem to have an answer for me yet. She was too busy holding the little girl, her silver hair falling over the child's dark shoulders as they stayed locked in a hug. The slave owner was still standing there, looking nervous and holding a stack of papers that needed to be finished. He wanted his money, and he wanted us to leave before any more trouble started. Elphyete finally let go of the girl just enough to stand up, though she kept a firm grip on the child's small hand.
After Elphyete signed the paperwork, we headed back to the hotel. The walk through the underground city felt even longer this time. The city was still dark, lit only by those flickering lamps that looked like small sparks in a big, blacked-out room. We passed the same jagged stone buildings and the same groups of people whispering in the shadows, but I wasn't really looking at them anymore. My mind was on the little girl walking between us. She had long black hair and skin the color of smooth grey stone, and those silver eyes were looking at everything with a mix of fear and wonder. Elphyete was walking with a very straight back, acting like the princess she was, but her long ears were twitching constantly. The tips were a soft pink, showing how much she was actually feeling inside.
We finally made it back to "The Deep Rest," the hotel where we had stayed the night before. The lobby was quiet, and the man behind the desk didn't even look at the new child we had with us. Elphyete and I temporarily took her in, leading her up the stairs and back to the huge room we had paid for. Once the door was closed and the heavy curtains were shut, the room felt much safer. The golden light from the lamps made the space feel warm. Elphyete sat the girl down on the edge of the large bed and turned to me. She said to me that she'll be truly free once we found the king and went back. Until then, she was under our protection. The little girl didn't seem to want to go anywhere else, though. She kept hugging Elphyete, her small arms wrapped tightly around Elphyete's waist as if she was afraid the silver-haired elf would vanish if she let go.
We fed her food first because she looked like she hadn't had a real meal in a very long time. We had some bread and some of the meat we had bought earlier. The girl ate slowly at first, but then she started eating faster, her silver eyes glowing a bit in the lamplight. Elphyete watched her with a very soft expression, her ears turning a deeper shade of pink as she reached out to brush the girl's black hair away from her face. Elphyete cleaned her as they both headed to bath. I stayed in the main room, sitting in one of the wooden chairs and trying to process everything that had happened in the last hour. I could hear the sound of splashing water and the quiet murmur of Elphyete's voice from the bathroom.
After bathing and they came back to our room, the whole atmosphere of the place changed. The girl was now wearing a large, clean shirt that Elphyete must have found for her, and her grey skin looked much brighter now that the dirt was gone. Elphyete walked in right behind her, her silver hair still a bit damp and clinging to her shoulders. Elphyete smells nice, like the sweet flowers from the surface that she always seemed to carry the scent of. She looked at me and I saw Elphyete smirking, a playful look in her eyes as she noticed me staring. I just looked away, feeling my face get a little warm. I wasn't used to this kind of situation, and having a child around made everything feel much more serious and strange.
The kid looked at Elphyete and me for two times, her silver eyes moving back and forth between us as if she was trying to figure something out. She looked very curious now that she was clean and fed. She looked at me, then back at Elphyete, and then she asked Elphyete, "Is he my daddy?".
I covered my face out of embarrassment, feeling my heart start to race. I couldn't believe she had asked that. I was just a sixteen-year-old student, and the idea of being a "daddy" was the last thing I ever expected to hear in a dungeon city. I could feel the heat in my cheeks even through my hands. Suddenly Elphyete laugh, a bright, clear sound that filled the huge room. She looked at the little girl and said, "I'm sorry but we're not your parents".
The change in the girl was instant. Suddenly the kid teared up, her silver eyes filling with big, heavy drops that started to run down her grey cheeks. Her shoulders started to shake, and she looked so small and heartbroken that it made my chest ache. She said that her parents got killed when they tried capturing me. The words were quiet and full of a pain that no child should ever have to feel. She had lost everything because of the people who had put her in that cage. Elphyete didn't hesitate for even a second. She reached out and pulled the girl into a very tight embrace. Elphyete hugged her and said that we could be her new parents.
I just went quiet for a bit trying to process what happened. I looked at Elphyete, and I saw that she was completely serious. Her ears were a very bright, pulsing pink, and she was holding the girl as if she was the most precious thing in the world. I didn't know what to say. I wasn't ready to be a parent, but looking at that crying child, I knew I couldn't say no. I just sat there in the chair, watching them, and slowly nodded my head. If this was what Elphyete wanted, and if it meant this girl would never have to be alone again, then I would do my best.
After that, the mood in the hotel started to lighten up a little bit. We took the girl down to the lobby because we needed to meet up with the rest of the group to tell them what was going on. Tokine and Euphyne were there, and when they saw the little girl, they immediately wanted to know who she was. Once they heard she was staying with us, they started to treat her like a younger sister. Tokine and Euphyne played with her for hours in the lobby, running around the chairs and showing her some simple magic tricks. The little girl started to laugh, a small, shy sound at first, but it grew louder as she got used to them. It was the first time I had seen her look truly happy.
We all ate food together in the hotel's dining area. It was a simple meal, but it felt much better than the ones we had eaten before. The whole group seemed to accept the girl as part of our team. Ishighi watched her with a quiet, protective look, and Hanashighi kept trying to give her extra pieces of fruit from her own plate. After we were all full and tired from the long day, we said our goodnights to the others and went back to our room.
Once the door was locked and we were back in the huge room, the reality of the situation hit me again. I looked at Elphyete and asked, "Now what?". We had a child now, and we were still in the middle of a dangerous mission in a dark underground city. Everything felt much more complicated than it had been when we woke up this morning.
The kid didn't wait for an answer. She walked over to the giant bed, her silver eyes looking at the soft blankets. The kid suddenly went to the middle and said that she takes the middle. We just chuckled at how confident she was being. It was clear she was already starting to feel like she belonged with us. Elphyete went to the right side of the bed, and I went to the other side, leaving the little girl tucked safely between us.
The room was quiet for a while, with only the soft sound of our breathing. The little girl lay there, looking up at the ceiling. Then, she turned her head to look at Elphyete and then at me. The kid suddenly asked if we would name her. She didn't have a name, or at least she didn't remember the one her parents had given her before they were gone.
Elphyete thought for a minute, her eyes closed and her ears twitching as she considered different names. She wanted something that sounded beautiful but also strong. After a moment, she opened her eyes and smiled. She said that her name will be Salphyiete, but Salphy for short. "Cute, isn't it?" Elphyete asked, looking over at me.
"Yeah, Salphy," I said, nodding. It sounded like a perfect name for her.
"Salphy," the girl repeated, a tiny smile appearing on her face. She seemed to like it very much. She snuggled deeper into the blankets, looking much more relaxed than she had all day.
"Mommy, what's your name?" Salphy asked, looking at Elphyete.
"Elphyete, dear," Elphyete answered, reaching over to pat Salphy's hand. Her ears were a soft, happy pink now.
Then, Salphy turned her silver eyes toward me. "Daddy, what's your name?".
I looked at her, and for the first time, I didn't feel embarrassed. I felt a sense of responsibility. "My name is Sogha," I said.
Salphy just chuckled, a small, bubbly sound that made the whole room feel warmer. She looked very content, lying there between her two new parents in the middle of a huge bed in a dark city. She closed her eyes, her long black lashes resting against her grey cheeks. After a few minutes, we all fell asleep, the three of us huddled together in the darkness of the underground dungeon floor. The journey to find the king was still ahead of us, and the Building of Entertainment was still waiting, but for tonight, we were a family.