I Always Felt So Cold in Your Company

The walk home seemed much longer as Ariana trudged slowly along the shaded pathway. Her head was buzzing with the events of the afternoon, and frankly she couldn’t understand any of it. Had she just happened to wander unknowingly into the middle of a fight? What bothered her most was that the two had appeared to have some sort of bond. Not only did the elves look alike, but they also had similar carvings in their bows. Human legends told that elves who were connected tended to carve similar designs into their bows, their most important possessions. She frowned as she stopped to re-adjust the heavy elf on her back. Her limbs were beginning to ache with exhaustion and she didn’t know how much farther she could go.

Luck seemed to be on her side, for around the next bend her house came into sight; she’d never been so happy to see that lonely wooden cabin. By the time Ariana had hauled the unconscious elf to the door of her cabin, the sun had begun to sink low in the sky. She dumped him onto her bed, then carefully looked around outside before closing and locking the door. Ariana gazed cautiously at the elf as she approached him, but he didn’t move. She frowned as she noticed the bleeding had continued and nearly soaked part of his shirt. After putting a pot of water on to boil, she removed the vest from the elf’s injured chest and pulled his shirt to the side. The sight of his wound made Ariana’s stomach churn a little. Though the arrow didn’t pierce any vital organs, it had torn up the skin and was still bleeding. Ariana removed a few healing herbs from her medicine cabinet, mashed them in a bowl, and poured a bit of the hot water on top. She stirred the mixture, and dipped a clean rag into the bowl, slowly dabbing around the protruding arrow.

Without warning, the elf’s hand shot up and his fingers closed around Ariana’s slender throat. The wet rag hit the floor with a dull thud as she gasped for breath, eyes wide and panicked. She tried with all her might to pry his fingers from her neck, but he didn’t budge. Ariana could feel her lungs emptying and her vision began to blur. Suddenly, she was on the floor, coughing and gasping for air. She looked up at the elf, who was grasping his shoulder with a pained expression on his face. Ariana slowly rose to her feet, rubbing her tender neck. She slowly took a step back toward the elf, who immediately jerked away when he noticed her approaching. He gripped his shoulder in pain again.

“I mean you no harm,” Ariana said quietly. The elf’s untrusting blue eyes snapped to Ariana’s face. She held up the rag and bowl of healing herbs. “I’m just trying to help.” She tried to give off an air of firmness, but underneath she was terrified. He eyed her suspiciously, but laid back in the center of the bed. Ariana’s eyebrows rose in surprise, but she returned to nursing the wound. She tried to ignore his grimaces and grunts of pain as she wiped away the blood and cleaned the injury itself. She set down her bowl and rag on the bedside table, examining the arrow protruding from the elf’s chest.

“This has to come out,” she whispered, gesturing to the arrow. The elf’s crystal blue eyes widened incredulously and he sat up in protest. Ariana rolled her eyes. “You can’t just leave it in there. You’ll die!” The elf’s expression was grim as realization dawned on him that she was right. He grimaced, hands twitching as his muscles tensed with anxiety. Ariana gripped the slender arrow with two hands, glancing at the elf’s deep frown. He gave her a curt nod, bracing himself. “This is going to hurt,” she mumbled, squeezing the arrow tightly and pulling sharply upward. The elf let out a shout of pain and gripped his now open wound. Ariana quickly grabbed the rag and pressed on the wound to minimize the bleeding. The medicinal herbs helped reduce the blood loss.

After several minutes of applying pressure, the bleeding slowed down. Ariana removed the cloth, dipped it in vinegar and reapplied it to the wound. The elf tensed and clenched his fists in pain. Ariana gave him a sympathetic gaze.

“I know it hurts, but you have to clean it,” she mumbled, removing the damp cloth and wrapping his shoulder in clean bandage. Ariana dipped her hands in the pot of hot water, washing away the blood. “It’ll be a few days before you have full function of your shoulder, again,” she stated, knowing that even the immortal elf would need time to heal. When Ariana turned back around to say something else to him, she saw the elf had fallen asleep. She smiled to herself as she dried her hands on a cloth before glancing at the elf again. He looked almost angelic as he lay there. She shook her head, bringing herself back to reality and grabbed the bowl of bloody water. She walked outside and dumped it, but as she was walking back into the cabin, she froze, the crunch of branches echoing in the silence. Without looking back, she darted into the house and slammed the door shut as quickly as she could. But before the door had latched, it swung back open, knocking Ariana to the ground. Her eyes widened in fear as the black-clad elf stepped into the doorway. She shivered as his dark eyes swept over her and landed on the sleeping elf. The dark-clad elf smirked, stepping toward the bed. “What do you want?” Ariana asked loudly, swallowing her fear. The dark elf’s eyes snapped back to her and he stared at her intently, as if analyzing her for the first time.

“So,” he said in a deep murmur that made her blood chill. “You are the one that everyone has been talking about.” Ariana didn’t understand what the dark elf was talking about, but he smirked and walked toward her faster than she could scuttle away. He reached down and grabbed her by the neck, yanking her upright onto her feet and holding her jaw tightly. His red eyes bore into hers, and she felt as if his gaze was piercing her very soul. Ariana could hardly catch her breath, and her heart felt like it was going to explode. The dark elf slowly lowered his lips to hers. Suddenly, a dagger flew between the small space left between their chests, and both pairs of eyes snapped to the elf on the other side of the room, standing in an aggressive stance. The dark elf dropped his grip on Ariana’s face, but tightly locked his hand around her wrist.

“Leave,” said the injured elf, his voice soft and musical, but still threatening. The dark elf scowled at the pleasant sound. However, he did not argue, but stepped toward the door, dragging Ariana in a death grip behind him. The blue-eyed elf was suddenly blocking the doorway, faster than Ariana could even blink. “Let her go,” he murmured in the same tone. The dark elf made a stance as if to fight, but the other laughed. “You’re as injured as I am, I can see the blood stains even on the black cloth.” The dark elf narrowed his eyes at his opponent, but released Ariana and threw her to the ground. He walked toward the door, stopping briefly beside the blue-eyed elf.

“I can taste her power,” he whispered so quietly that only the other elf could hear before shooting Ariana another piercing glance, licking his lips, and disappearing. The door swung shut behind him, and the blue-eyed elf fell to his knees. Ariana immediately jumped up and ran to his aid. He gave her a strange look, but allowed her to help him back to the bed.

“You need to rest and regain your strength,” she mumbled as she checked and made sure the wound hadn’t gotten any worse. To her surprise, it was almost fully healed on the surface, but the elf still seemed incredibly weak. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth at the wonder in her eyes.

“You haven’t been around elves much before, have you?” he asked, his voice musical and enchanting. Ariana shook her head, too befuddled to respond. “Thank you.” She looked up at him confused. “For saving me,” he clarified as he laid back down. “My name is Elashor.” He smiled, and his beauty and elegance shown through his dirty and rugged appearance.

“I’m Ariana,” she replied, flustered. “And I believe I should be the one thanking you. By the way… Who was that?” Elashor’s expression immediately darkened at the mention of the dark elf.

“His name is Elanjar, and he is a traitor.” Ariana decided not to pry any more; the whole room seemed to darken at the mention of his name. “We can’t stay here,” Elashor said, standing and slipping on his bloodstained vest and lacing it shut. Ariana frowned, still mesmerized by his musical voice.

“What? Why?” She couldn’t really wrap her head around what he was saying.

“We can’t stay here. Elanjar will be back, and he won’t be alone. We aren’t safe here anymore,” Elashor replied, grabbing a cloak and turning to her. “Do you have another one of these?” Ariana nodded, opening a trunk and pulling out an old cloak that had belonged to her father and held it out to him. He took it and nodded his head in thanks, fastening the clasp around his throat before looking up at Ariana expectantly.

“But… Why do I have to leave?” Elashor frowned, glancing at the door before walking over and throwing Ariana’s cloak around her shoulders. “I don’t think I’m the right person to tell you what’s happening right now. But you have to trust me on this. We have to go. It isn’t safe for you here anymore.” He fastened the cloak around her neck. “Pack anything you need. We can only spare a few minutes.” Ariana looked down, weighing her options. Running off to who-knows-where with a strange elf she’d met only hours before who was covered with blood spatters did not seem like a smart idea. But when she thought back to the Elanjar and any possibility of him coming back, especially without Elashor to protect her, her blood chilled. She nodded, quickly grabbing a few things that she didn’t want to leave behind: the little fresh food she had left, her twin daggers, and a small white gem that had belonged to her mother that she kept wrapped in a gray cloth. She tossed these in a small bag and slung the strap around her shoulder under her cloak before turning and nodding at Elashor. He drew his bow before kicking the door open and surveying the woods. He gave the all clear to Ariana, She paused in the doorway, glancing back inside at the only home she had ever known. With a deep breath, she closed and locked the door, following Elashor down the path leading away from town and pulling her hood on. “So… Where are we going?” she asked, trying to distract herself from the sinking feeling in her stomach that seemed to get worse with every step away from everything she had always known. He shot her a mysterious glance, with a small smile.

“We’re going where you’ll find all the answers you’re looking for. We’re going to see Amnestria.”