Page 62 of I Married A Syllen

Mirella

My heart was trying to beat its way out of my chest as I stared at the nearly twenty Syllens gathered on the beach. Their hostility towards me was palpable, especially from the big male with hazelnut skin and amber eyes slightly paler than the burnished gold color of his skirt. He had to be at least 6’5 with bulging muscles comparable to Taelen’s. I didn’t even want to guess at what wrongs the Settlers had done to him to stir such resentment.

The female who had declared that Nym had told her about the land claiming me was also impressive. Like Nym, she was very muscular in a fitness athlete way, not a bodybuilder. She had a beautiful khaki complexion with a dark olive skirt. Although also clearly suspicious of me, she seemed a bit more open to giving me a chance to prove myself trustworthy. The question was how much had Nym told her about me.

Are they even aware that I understood what they just said in their native language?

“My brothers and sisters, this is Mirella, my soulmate,” Taelen said in Universal before gesturing at the big male. “Mirella, this is Athusa, the Thesh of the Ungaro Tribe. And this is Orian, the Thesh of the Galnir Tribe,” he added, waving at the female.

He introduced me to the other people present, including the Osheos of both tribes, and other members who occupied critical roles such as healers, farmers, and architects. Naturally, I forgot pretty much every name except for Orian and Athusa.

The latter gestured for us to sit around the covered pit of their gathering area along the beach. Unlike Taelen’s village, this one wasn’t split over two shores closed off by a mountain. Ungaro was built over a sprawling valley facing a large body of water. Some elevations gave the landscape an interesting shape, but none of them would qualify as mountains.

They also had the hand-shaped healing temple sitting atop one of those small hills on the left side of the village. On the opposite side, also in a slightly elevated section, I recognized the face of the goddess Taelen said represented the building which provided shelter and food to visitors. The usefulness and practicality of this approach finally took its full meaning now that I was the stranger visiting another village.

Most of the Syllens settled directly on the ground while a few others sat on white benches carved out of wood or stone around the pit. They formed a half circle on the opposite side from us. Although I doubted it had been their intention, I suddenly felt as if I was a condemned person facing a jury to whom I had to plead my case.

“Greetings,” I said, impressed by how steady my voice sounded even though I felt faint with nerves. “I understand your shock and even anger at seeing me here. But like Taelen said, I’m not one of the Settlers and least of all your enemy. I’m here to help, and I hope that in time, I will earn your trust and even friendship.”

The dubious looks they cast my way, especially coming from Athusa, indicated this would be a seriously tough hill to climb. Thankfully, I didn’t fear a challenge.

I launched into a detailed description of the events leading to my meeting with Taelen for the first time in the Botanical Garden.

“The Kalrin showed you the way to safety?!” Athusa asked, his incredulous tone reflecting the disbelieving expressions on his companions’ faces.

“Yes, it did,” I said firmly.

“Not only that, but after Nym fed the Kalrin, she handed her over to my mate, and the Kalrin snuggled against my Mirella,” Taelen added proudly.

Stunned whispers spread around the attendees. Their troubled expressions mixed with confusion indicated they were starting to waver. That obviously didn’t mean they were ready to trust and embrace me. However, this sign of the land accepting me shifted their stance where I was concerned.

“How did you get the Kalrin to accept you?” Athusa asked, still sounding unconvinced.

“I spoke to her in your language,” I said with a nervous smile.

As one, they snorted, their fading dubiousness coming back with a vengeance.

“You spoke the tongue of the Syllens?” Orian exclaimed with a hint of mockery. “We would hear those words from your lips.”

Feeling beyond self-conscious, I cast a nervous glance at Taelen, who nodded encouragingly. I took a deep breath and went for it. Right on cue, they all snorted, chuckled, or flat out burst out laughing. I felt mortified. While I had expected amusement, based on the way Taelen, Nym, and Drannor had reacted to me speaking their language earlier, I didn’t think it was as disastrous as this group seemed to find it.

“Your grammar is broken, and your pronunciation flawed, but your words are understandable. You speak like a youngling,” Athusa said with surprising softness and a glimmer of approval in his amber eyes.

“I know,” I said sheepishly. “As I didn’t have one of you to teach me, I learned your language based on a lot of speculation and guesses. But now that you’re awake, I’m determined to learn how to speak it properly.”

“That’s not possible,” Orian said in a sympathetic voice. “Even if you learn the proper grammar, you will always speak like a youngling. You require gills to be able to make some of the sounds of our language. Our younglings only master it once their gills fully mature.”

“I see,” I replied, my shoulders slumping in discouragement.

“Do not be sad, my mate,” Taelen said reassuringly. “You will still learn and be proficient in it. Don’t your own people have different accents when they speak?”

“Yes, we do,” I replied with a grateful smile.

“While I now understand why the land and the Kalrin chose to show you and your companions mercy, they still attacked your people,” Athusa said, shifting back to Universal, his tone stern but significantly less aggressive than previously. “Your people stole the trees from their home.”

“You’re right,” I conceded, also shifting back to Universal. “And for this, we’re truly sorry. We had no idea the Kalrins were alive. We thought they were mere statues, like the giant ones you carve as landmarks throughout your territory. Our people are actively returning all the Kandra trees sheltering Kalrins back onto your lands.”

Although slightly mollified by that statement, they still were nowhere near close to trusting me or absolving humans. And my next words would only make matters worse.