The Tribes of K'haren - Completed

Chapter 37.2

'You don't have to do this.' Kran whispered in Nume's ear, keeping his eyes locked with hers.

'Yes, I do. They're right. I ask from them what I refuse to do myself.' She said, her voice shaking slightly.

Kran nodded, knowing he couldn't change her mind anymore. 'I'll be right behind you. You're not doing this alone.'

'Thanks...' she muttered with a weak smile before walking a few steps away from him.

They were standing next to the rock now, the crowd had insisted on her family meeting her there, proving that she had forgiven them. Nume, however, wasn't entirely sure what they expected her to do. If they asked for words, she was willing to give them. Should they want her to hug her mother or anything of that sort, she'd back away. Nume had never been the kind of person to hug others or show affection in a physical way. Yes, sure, she'd cuddle with Kran when it was cold and she felt lonely, but that was different, that was Kran. She trusted him and knew he'd never misinterpret it as more than it was.

As she stood there, facing her family, her head was empty. She couldn't think anymore, everything was gone. Then, slowly, reality came back to her. The first things she noticed were noise and light. It was bright, middle of the day with the sun standing high and they were close to the river which didn't allow silence even when everybody fell silent, waiting for what was going to happen next.

Moments passed and Nume started feeling anxious, she was sure she'd be sick if the anticipation continued without anything actually happening. Therefore, she felt both gratitude and relief when Kran decided to step forward and speak up.

'You have come and joined us a while ago. At first, I must admit, I wasn't sure what to think of you. But now that you have proven to be helpful and respectful, I am glad we have accepted your request. Expelling you would have made us no better than those who still refuse to tolerate us who we are all in some way different from what they consider to be normality.' Kran spoke to Nume's mother, father, brother and sister mainly but also to the rest of the tribe standing nearby as well as the whole city watching eagerly. 'It is true that there is a somewhat unfortunate history standing between us. But I do think that we are all mature enough to overcome it and live in the present rather than the past.'

At that point, Nume couldn't resist shooting a glimpse at Mersha who had a sly smile on his face. When she looked back, she realised Kran had stepped aside and was waiting for her to step forth and say something herself. Swallowing hard, Nume walked up to him and looked at her younger brother. If she could truly forgive one of them, it would be him. Therefore, she decided to speak to him in her heart and try to find a way to make herself believe she could also forgive the others.

'When you came here-' Nume started, her voice weak and shaky. She cleared her throat and started again. 'When you came here, I wasn't very nice to you. I was afraid you might hurt my friend or somebody else here and thus reacted in a harsh and unfriendly way. Now I see that I had no right to do so. You came here to show me that you have forgiven me for what I have caused you to go through. I know now that my actions, even if triggered by the way you treated me, had consequences for you as well. For that, I want to apologise.' Nume decided to talk on and on quickly for she feared if she stopped, she wouldn't know how to continue. 'I am happy to see that you've decided to join our cause and I am sorry for treating you so miserably even after you did so. Truth be told, I never really was yours. I've always had a mind of my own and I never fitted into your society. Running away was nothing I had planned, it was just my only way to react for I did not know how to talk to you, how to make you understand that the life you had planned for me just wasn't anything I could live happily with. Unfortunately, you had to plan my life this way because your lives also depended on mine going by the plan. But throughout my life, I've always been a troublemaker, I want to apologise for that as well. I tried to be good for you so you'd be proud of me and could live happily, but when you asked me to marry the one man I will never be able to truly love, you broke my heart. It just showed me that you didn't know my true self at all. But now-' Nume swallowed, closed her eyes and took a deep breath before continuing. '-now that you are here by my side, I think we have a chance to finally get to know each other. Only if we know what everybody involved truly wants can we find the best solution for everybody.'

The silence that followed was short but to Nume, it felt like forever. Being quiet was worse than talking in front of a crowd because now she had time to think and take in how everybody stared at her. She saw all their faces and taking in their emotions nearly made her faint. Subconsciously, she reached out for Kran's shoulder with her left hand and used it to stay standing upright. When she realised her mother was talking to her, saying that she indeed wanted to get to know Nume and so on, Nume panicked on the inside. She was glad Kran was standing next to her and truly happy when Tarlequin stepped forwards, unknowingly hindering her family from getting close enough to touch her.

The faun spoke up to everybody else once Nume's family had stopped talking, telling them to take Nume's bravery as an example they should follow. Some of them nodded silently, others cheered loudly but some, Nume noticed, looked sad and scared. She assumed that they would end up staying in the valley of healing for they truly feared to go back home. Somehow, Nume felt responsible for them more than ever. She decided to make it her personal task to go with them when they finally found the strength to do so. This way, she hoped to be able to help them overcome their fears and still protect them from any real danger that might be expecting them.

// Here we go again, don't forget to vote and leave a comment below. I wrote this all in one go, hoping to make it sound more natural. Thinking a speech through for a character who actually comes up with it spontaneously can totally ruin it sometimes so please let me know whether it sounded natural!