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sttvrllightt · 7 months ago

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the fall of blood, chp. 3

⋆౨ৎ˚ summary: A girl wakes up in the middle of a wintery forest, drenched in blood. Unsure if it's her own. With a raging fog sitting upon her mind, unable to recall her own name nor what has gotten her into this position. The world will slowly unravel in front of her eyes as she will take on an adventurous journey with someone who hasn't yet captured her trust. An invisible force pushes her into the path forged by her destiny as she goes off to conquer her own mind.

⋆౨ৎ˚ genre/tags. strangers to friends into lovers (sort of), slow-burn, mutual pining, annoyance to yearning, fantasy world divided into two territories, world full of magical creatures and enchantments, humans, elves, orgs, mystery, lots of bickering, hidden powers, amnesia

⋆౨ৎ˚ warnings. mentions of violence and misogyny, mature themes, blood, gore, mental health issues, side effects of amnesia, discrimination, name calling

⋆౨ৎ˚ chapter. 3/x

⋆౨ৎ˚ words. 4,2k

⊱ ━━━━━━━━.⋅ εïз ⋅.━━━━━━━━⊰

I stand in front of the gates of the city which I assumed would be bigger, it seems more like a larger village. It took me couple of hours to make it here. It's getting dark, the sun has already hidden behind the horizon. A chill runs along my spine as I take a peak at the gates again. On top of the gate, there are two signs. One which is the name of the city: Hearth, the second one reads "HUMANS BEWARE". It's written in a crimson colour, possibly blood. I take a deep breath and grip the hood of my under-layer, covering my shamefully rounded ears.

I might not have any idea how this world functions, however, I know better so I will simply stroll through the city and go on into the woods. I will be better off. The words of the elven boy ring throughout my mind, perhaps I should have listened. Regret bites and chews on my insides, despite that I take my first step into the town, because I cannot take any of it back and mold it to my liking. I pull my hood further over my head, making sure my ears are safely hidden beneath it. The path in the city is clear of snow due to the amount of people walking past it. So instead of snow, I sense slippery mud as I hurriedly rush through the city. Otherwise, the smaller town seems quite peaceful with its ivy covered rooftops of the cottages, half wooden half stone walls and large entrances embroidering the buildings. Hearth has a pleasant atmosphere. Regardless of the danger.

I keep myself low, I am not brave enough to glance over the place properly. It begins to snow just as I make my way to the small centre of the town where there are couple of elves passing by, I could recognise their pointed ears from a mile now. I am swallowed by fear that if I make one mistake, I could end up dead. And this fear only skyrockets when my eyes take notice of a huge figure. An org. There are orgs in this town. He could squash me with one swift movement of his large hands. The snowflakes tangle in the strings of my hair which stick out of my hood. I cling to my leather armour. An attempt to calm my nerves.

"You there," I hear deep voice call out, I am not sure if I should bolt or play along. If I would take off, it would portray me as a threat, a possible enemy. In the end, I chose to stop in my tracks and carefully tilt my body towards the echo of the voice. My eyes are barely visible due to the cloak which means my vision isn't the greatest either, regardless of that, I could tell the deep voice belongs to an org. His skin is ivory tinted, covered by plates of leather and boar skin. I let my hood ride up a little, allowing me to take more of his frame. As soon as my orbs fall onto his face I take notice of his humongous teeth which poke out of his jaw. I slowly swallow a dry lump in my throat "care for a little treat?"

"I got no coins, sir," I respond softly, not wanting to give him any reason to be suspicious of me.

"No problem, little one, pretty elves like yourself get a free one," he points to the the building behind him which I assume is a tavern since I could hear chatter, even laughter, coming out of it. I stare at him in disbelief, utterly helpless to respond. He steps closer, his huge figure hovering over my noticeably smaller frame. For a moment I could feel his warm breath caress my face. It sends goosebumps all over my body.

"If you insist, sir," I overcome my fear and do not let the disgust caused by his words and close proximity bubble to the surface. Every cell of my being screams at me to run, to disappear out of this town forever, however, I am too far gone to do that so I let the org open the door of the tavern for me.

"Sure do, pretty one," I hear him say as I pass the entrance and step inside, I acknowledge his words by a simple nod. The corners of my lips immediately twitch in horrification as I step in. The tavern is magical, overflowing with elves and faeries along with the orgs who serve those in the tavern as sort of bodyguards, knights even. The interior is wooded, walls covered with tapestries and hand painted canvases. Plenty of candles crown the place with pleasant, warm atmosphere. The tables which the folk sit at are decorated with different kinds of fur skins. It could take any mortal's breath away due to the overwhelming magic, yet that magic is utterly useless when all I could focus on were the chained humans carrying trays of food and drinks. All of them in thin gowns, barely covering past their knees.

"What are ya gaping at?" a raspy voice makes itself known when I stand frozen for longer than intended. I tilt my head in the direction where the voice came from. It belongs to an ethereally looking fairy with wings of a smaller size, still beautiful though, they are vivid and reflect each colour surrounding it. Her raven hair is soaking wet, so is her thin gown, and as I inspect her further, I notice the sharp pair of teeth hidden behind her thin blueish lips. She appears sickly, yet there is something alluring about her. Something that could drive mortals like me mad. I mutter a quick apology and depart from the entrance of the tavern before I get too mesmerised. Passing the human slaves as I take a seat at an empty table.

"Good day, madam, what will it be for you today?" I am taken by a surprise when one of the human servants approaches me and I am at loss for words. My eyes soften in empathy, this is not how it should be. I take a deep breath before responding, cooling myself down. I explain the situation which occurred outside, I don't forget to mention I have no coins on me. The girl scribbles a note down onto the paper in her hands as if this situation happens often. I mean, why wouldn't it, right?

"I understand, will be here shortly," the human girl says as she bows and departs towards the bar. Relief washes over me despite my surroundings, at least no one has taken a particular interest in my presence, expect for the org which has now made it inside and is heading towards the table I am currently seated at. I curse quietly under my breath. I stupidly thought he would leave it at that. When he finally makes it, he settles himself down opposite me, barely fitting in the space between the table and the cushions of the seating.

"Why don't you take off your hood, beautiful?" I lift my orbs from the table to meet his. His words suggest the org is being nice, however, his expression tells me otherwise. The corners of my eyes twitch in unfamiliar uneasiness.

"I don't think it's necessary to-" "Take it off or I will," I am almost instantly interrupted by the force of his now dull voice, my whole being freezes in fright. I imagine every possible outcome of this situation and my stomach turns at each image. I hesitantly raise my arms in the air and grip at the hem of my hood. I prepare myself for the worst as I slide it down and reveal my ears.

"What's a beauty like you doing in this shit hole?" he asks after examining every inch of my features, his voice is not tinted with any kind of suspicion or threat anymore. I am stunned, trying to not let it show.

Does he not realise my place is the same rank as the servant girl, or is he playing a game?

"Just passing by," I slightly shrug as my heart thunders in my chest, I dry my sweaty palms into the fabric of my trousers. He crosses his huge arms across his chest before nodding along, he hums and then clumsily crawls out of the barely fitting seat. Your drink will be here shortly, he mentions before disappearing back into the snowy scenery of the outside world. And only then I relax, feeling how good it is to be warm and not surrounded by the deadly frost which is the only thing I have seen and felt for days.

I move my hand upward to put a string of my hair behind my ear and as the pillows of my fingertips brush against the shell of my ear, it hits me. The elven boy from the woods must have enchanted me, because my ears are not rounded. Instead they are sharply pointed upwards.

That is why I haven't been killed or abducted yet. I need go get out of this place, the spell could be temporary.

I abruptly stand up and without realising, knock the human servant to the floor, the tray in her hand flying into the air. The sound of glass breaking follows soon after. The chatter dies down and every single pair of eyes lands on me as the girl lies on the floor with fear stitched in her eyes. Panic rushes through me, my instincts telling me to run and not look back, but I can't leave the girl to take the blame. I crouch down and offer her my hand as a gesture of help. Her wild eyes watch me with a similar kind of panic.

To her, I am not a human girl enveloped in the same fear. For her I belong to those who have hurt her and made her stuck to this godforsaken place. I remind myself.

To my surprise she accepts my hand, with that I hear the whispers creeping through the creatures around like a plague. One loud bang and the door of the tavern swings open, the ivory coloured org rushing towards us. I expect him to launch at me, but I am terribly wrong. He grabs the girl mercilessly by the throat with one of his hands without a sweat. Her tiny hands grip onto his ivory skin, convincing him to release her. She immediately gasps for air, her legs dangling and swinging in the air as he deprives her of air even further.

"You think I feed ya to destroy this place?" he spits out into her face with a disgusted look, she opens her mouth to speak, however, she is left mute due to her lungs emptying of air. Her pleading eyes land on me. I could blame it on her, save myself. But I don't.

"Sir, you got it all wrong," I haltingly place my palm on his arm, his head tilts to me a second later "I am the one who accidentally caused her to fall, it's my fault entirely," he arches his eyebrows at me and lets out a mocking chuckle. He probably thinks I am insane.

"You siding with these beasts?" he suggests and the magical creatures scattered across the tavern join in on him. Shouting insults my way for defending this poor girl, regardless of them seeing the whole thing play out. I stand my ground with a firm expression, unsure how to respond. I shoot the servant an apologetic glance as this is all due to my mistake.

"No, I was simply stating how it happened," I utter out, my voice cracking at the end. The org doesn't answer me and turns his attention back to the human he has been strangling. Her face is fuelled with agony as it begins to turn blue, veins popping out as the lack of air is starting to be life threatening for her.

"Should've paid more attention," he grits through his teeth and with one swift movement snaps the neck of the girl. Her lifeless body crumbles to the floor with a loud thud. The silence which was nestled upon this room livens up, the conversation continues to flow in the same banter as before while the terrorised expression of the dead girl stares blankly back at me.

"And about you elven girl, I am feeling quite generous," his whole body turns to me with a smug grin as he looks me up and down, again "you are going to work here to pay it off," I am utterly unable to bring myself to react as the heaviness of death drags me down. I gulp down the remains from my stomach which were almost let loose to come back to the surface.

"Until I deem your debt collected," with these words I blink couple of times to bring myself to reality. If I had known she would end up dead anyway, I would have kept my mouth shut to spare myself from this unnecessary trouble. How unfair it is that I get to live and she died. All because of me. The guilt is quick to catch up to me.

"Hey, are ya listening, little one?" he nudges me with his large hand, pushing me to the side. All I can bring myself to do is nod my head.

"Good, you will start tomorrow early in the morning," the org says in approval and we begin to depart from the centre of the tavern. I look at the girl crestfallen for the last time, failing miserably at saving her. As we walk, I listen carefully to what he has to say, but somehow the words sound like an ancient tongue I can't depict. We walk along a long dimmed hallway which has multiple door to it. I suppose the tavern serves as an inn as well. At first, the interior is nice fitted. Made of stone and fine wood. However, the further we go, the rougher and uglier it gets. I almost lost count of how many stairs we went down. When the only thing illuminating the place are candles, that's where my worries start to settle. Amid the chaos I still give my best to remember the way out of here, mapping it out in my head. What brings me to pay attention to the org is when we stop in front of another door. He pulls out a set of keys, he fiddles with them to find the one that fits the lock.

"You're gonna sleep here with the peasants," he remarks and relief washes over me, because I assume he means humans. He mentions something about picking me up in the morning and showing me the way things work in the tavern. Then he pushes me through the door and I am met with the stares of many starved looking humans. My orbs glide over the room which looks more like a cellar with the air being so wet it could cause mold easily. I suppose it does.

All of the humans are dressed the same. In the thin gown that barely reaches past their knees, they must be shivering with cold. My heart aches at the sight of women clinging their children to their chest at my arrival. I am not brave enough to speak out aloud, I don't have the right, but as soon as I notice yet another door on the other side of the poor room, I stroll to it.

I breathe out when I figure out I am right and it truly is a bathroom. I shut the door with force and collapse to the ground, my arms hugging the shape of the toilet seat as my stomach empties its remain straight out. The imagine of the lifeless body lying on the floor haunts me and millions of what if's shoot spiralling into brain. I feel hot, wet drops of streaming tears running down my cheeks. After I finish throwing up due to the disgustingly haunting imagine I got to see, I am left sniffling away my tears. I collect myself together after what feels like forever and scoot my body over to the sink. I lift my gaze and I am stunned to see a reflection of a stranger staring right back at me. The one thing that stands out are the ears which are still very much pointed. For now.

My features are ordinary. Unlike the eleven boy I met in the woods. What was his name again? Ayen, was it? I should've have listened to the stranger, shouldn't have been so stubborn. I navigate my thoughts back to the imagine of a woman in the mirror. The colour of my hair is a lighter shade of brown, quite similar to the one my eyes are coloured with as well. My features aren't exactly sharp, they more of a soft contour. I prop my head in all angles so I could get a picture of my face sewn into my memory. Something I have to get used to.

I have no idea of how much time I have spent in the bathroom, but it must have been more than I suspected, because by the time I come out, most of the servants are curled up together in one corner of the room in uncomfortable looking positions. They are pressed together to keep their body heat high in this chill room. I seat myself in the opposite corner, not wanting to disturb their peace. I had already done enough. I reach for my small bag resting at my hip to use it as a pillow. My bag. It's not here. The org must have took it when I wasn't paying attention. I breathe out in complete defeat. The small knife is also in the bag. I am unable to defend myself once the enchantment wares off. I hide my face into my palms due to frustration and for a split second I think I might cry my eyes out. Instead of that I curl my tired body into a similar position of those in the room. My face is facing the wall, my back turned to the others. Unafraid amongst my people. The heaviness of my eyelids causes me to relax as they begin to close. Silence hangs in the dead of the night, the only thing which could be heard were the soft breathes of the people in the other corner.

ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

I am awaken in the middle of the night, I gasp for air the second my eyes fly open. My chest shakily moves up and down as an aftermath of nightmares. The reason why it has been so hard for me to rest. Couple of hours ago I fell asleep due to exhaustion, I wasn't even properly thinking which is why there weren't any troubles lying down to rest. Yet, the same cannot be said now. I lazily sit up and rest my back against the extremely cold wall, it jolts me up throughout my spine. Causing me to feel more awake.

"Can't sleep?" a soft feminine voice calls out of the dark, it takes me by a surprise so my head turns into the direction where it came from. A figure rises from the shadows. It's a girl. With short ginger hair and that much I can tell due to the dark. There is only one small window resting nearly on the ceiling. It's so high nobody can reach it without the help of someone else. Because of that, there is not much light. Not even moonlight can peak into this level of darkness.

"Not exactly, I keep having nightmares, you?" I respond in a similar tone with a touch of firmness which wasn't intended. The girl doesn't hesitate nor flinch as she sits not so far away from me.

Is she not afraid, or did she not see my pointed ears?

"I have the same problem," she whispers back carefully to not wake anyone "if you don't mind me asking, what did an elf do to end up here?" she asks with a broken smile, probably broken by endless days spent in this rabbit hole.

"It's a long story. Let's just say I was at the wrong place at the right time," I don't think too long before whispering back with the same ease. Seeing her up this close gives me a better perspective of what she looks like. Besides her flame like coloured hair, there are two piercing emerald orbs staring right back me with a gentle outline.

"What brought you here?" I add out of curiosity, after speaking the words out, I realise how rude she might interpret it, but before I can specify, she answers without a hitch of opposition.

"The war. When it started, my family and I tried to run away, but we got caught and ended up here," she exhales as if it's something casual and the questions within me rise. Her confession feels like a piece of a missing puzzle. War? That's what the boy from the woods must have meant by telling me I am in a dangerous territory.

"The war, right," I nod in understanding when in reality there isn't a piece of information I have received and fully understood. I reflect on how many things there are that I have no clue of. It urges me to scream in desperation.

"I am Amara, by the way," she beams with a smile yet again as the words dance in the air, her fingers playing with the strings of her orange hair.

My name. What is my name? I have been so preoccupied with everything surrounding me that I haven't had a second to wonder about my name.

"I-" I open my mouth in an attempt that it might come crushing down to me, I am left speechless instead "I am Sage, nice to meet you," my mouth speaks the first word which reaches the surface up from the depths of my cursed mind. It tastes wrong and bitter on the tip of my tongue. It will have to do for now.

"Sage? That's an unusual name for an elf," her words aren't meant to cause harm, however, they do in a way. She truly thinks I am an elf. Everyone around me does. This poor girl kissed by the sun whose life has been destroyed by the war, by the ones she presumes I belong to and she is still showing kindness to me despite all that she went through.

"You see, it's part of the long story," I chuckle and throw my head back against the wall, scanning the dark ceiling. I hear Amara hum in a response, clearly gathering that is all she will find out. Honestly, it is not trust which I lack to come out with the truth, it's more how ridiculous it would sound to her ears. Waking up in the middle of the forest, pondering how you got there in the first place, why you didn't bleed out or froze to death. And most importantly questioning who even are you. Meeting a strange elven boy in the forest who enchanted me without exactly telling me. The only reason why I am still alive. Doesn't it sound a tad too much blown out of proportion?

Silence is heavy in the air, but it doesn't last long. Amara speaks softly and quietly to me about how working in the tavern looks like. What kind of creatures visit regularly and what simply stops by unexpectedly. She mentions couple of stories which have happened to her during her three year stay here. Some are pleasant, some less pleasant. Eventually, she describes how the creatures torment those in this room. The orgs are never the worst, it's those shimmering with enchantments. Tricking and nastily playing with the feelings and strings of heart belonging to mere humans. She names the ones who have been lost to those charades. And also points out few of their names, stories, lives before the war began. She confesses that she speaks those names out loud worrying she might forget them one day.

It makes my heart ache in a foreign way. We continue to chat for who knows how long.

"You will make it out here one day, Amara," I whisper with fondness after another set of comfortable silence sets.

"I won't. Neither will you," her words take me by a surprise, causing my features to fall into a shocked expression, regardless of the soft tone of her voice.

"Wait, why do you mean, won't?" I say lightly with the hint of a snicker, as if something was funny.

"The org is cunning, he makes you think you're here temporarily, but it stretches into eternity," she sounds as if she is hundred percent convinced about it, which is most definitely a result of being locked up here for too long. Amara must have lost her hope a long time ago. I don't blame her, nonetheless I need to leave this place. The sooner the better.

"No, I need to get out of here. I will, and you will with me," as I mumble out the words, I offer her a soft smile for the first time since we struck up a conversation.

"You know, perhaps you could grow to like here a little. It isn't so bad, at least after you get used to it," she responds kindly, totally ignoring my attempts to reassure her. To fill her heart with hope once more. We don't speak any further after that and I don't sleep either. Unlike me, Amara falls asleep minutes after our friendly encounter, gaining strength for the upcoming day.

During the rest of the night, I plan my way out.

#fantasy #magic #magical creatures #love #pining #slow burn #forest #winter #conflict #adventures #betrayal #elves #discrimination #battlefield #mystery #power #tw violence #tw blood

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sttvrllightt · 7 months ago

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the fall of blood, chp. 2

⋆౨ৎ˚ warnings. mentions of violence and misogyny, mature themes, blood, gore, mental health issues, side effects of amnesia, discrimination, name calling

⋆౨ৎ˚ chapter. 2/x

⋆౨ৎ˚ words. 1,9k

⟡˖ chpt. 3 ⟡˖

⊱ ━━━━━━━━.⋅ εïз ⋅.━━━━━━━━⊰

Each step feels like stepping on a dagger. I have been strolling God knows where for couple of days, it has not been long since I woke up in the middle of the forest, yet it seems centuries ago. As a stranger to myself, I continue walking. These questions keep popping up in my head, questions to which I have no answer to. I acclimated to them, I may not understand anything, but at least they don't make me cry out in frustration anymore. Nonetheless, the heaviness is yet to be lifted from my chest. Thankfully, I had not heard the haunting whispers since I stepped a foot on the battlefield. They do make me wonder and I could tun through them endlessly until eventually I would become mad, because right now it looks like there is not a single way to crack them open.

My stomach grumbles as I am lost within my thoughts, I have already used up all the supplies I found on the battlefield. The hunger is taking over my body along with the tiredness. I wasn't able to get a good night's sleep, either I am too cold or too terrified of what will happen if I decide to fall asleep. Did not end well the last time I wake up. I have been at war with myself since then. And it is only getting worse with each day spent walking into the unknown. Everything is so strikingly bright, it makes my eyes want to give out on the spot.

I take a hitching frustrated breath as my body threatens to shut down. At one point it gets so bad that I wonder about ending it, leaving my body to freeze to death in the cold blanket of the snow.

My dark thoughts are washed away when I see the vastness of a frozen lake ahead of me. For a split second I stand still, only hearing the sound of my wildly beating heart in my ears. I grasp the last string of strength hanging and run forward to the edge of the iced covered lake. I slump down on my knees and impatiently search for the small knife I found in my belongings when I woke up in the middle of the nowhere on a chilly morning. I grasp the knife and with imprecise hand dig into the ice. My finger push the square block of ice under the surface, the coldness of the water numbing the sensitivity of the tips of my fingers.

I lean my head down and drink the bitterly cold water like a thirsty animal. That's exactly how I feel when the water rushes down my throat. I drink until my stomach feels like it might explode due to the fullness. I crawl away from the edge, leaning my back against a tree nearby. I glance at the overly bright sky and I silently thank whatever invisible force that guided me here. For a while, I remain sitting there with my eyes shut, resting. What makes me get up is the rumbling of my stomach. I scoot around the area to locate a big and thick branch which could serve my purpose. When I do discover it, I carefully sharpen one of the sides to the point where it could pierce through flesh. I skilfully sharpen the edge till I feel satisfied.

I once again step over to the edge of the lake, holding the wooden spike I made with effort. This should be easy, I think to myself, the fish should be peacefully at the bottom of the lake, because of the winter season. And I am right when just after couple of tries, I am successful.

I slit the head of the fish so it wouldn't suffer any longer, the fish is smaller, however it should be sufficient. I let out a shaky breath and bring the fish to my mouth, the smell makes me gag. My eyes shut while my face cringes in disgust. I bite down my opposition and dig my teeth into the flesh of the fish. I don't bring myself to chew it, I bite down and stuff it down my throat. It takes me multiple bites to finish it. Each one feels like the food might come back any second, making me nauseous.

I give myself time to digest it before trying to hunt another one to take with me. My eyes flutter open when I hear the crack of a branch, as if someone or rather something stepped on one. I hurriedly stand up, gripping my weapon. My senses are in a complete concentration. When I hear another sounds familiar to those of walking I take a fighting position, my feet move instinctively and steadily while my arms hang in the air, holding the wooden spike, ready to strike any upcoming second. It comes easily, as if I was destined to move so gracefully. However, I am met with a face of a man, instead of ravaging animal. I instantly lower my weapon few inches. The man quickly gestures surrender with the palms of his hands. My gaze becomes firm, not letting it betray my intentions. We both stare at each other without a single word, the corners of my lips begin to twitch in anticipation while my heart feels like it might give out any second out of fright. As my orbs carefully scan the figure few meters ahead of me, they notice one significant thing. The tip of the ear belonging to the man is pointed. I slowly lower my weapon even further, no longer sensing danger, but amusement. The placement of my eyebrows changes due to the movement of my eyes, causing them to lift in a questioning manner.

"God, you spooked me there, little human," the man calls out when he clearly eyes me lowering my weapon, my lips immediately move to scoff at the words. The weapon remains in my hands, the core of me still on high alert. In response to that, the man puts on a smug smirk, making his features more attractive. His figure is tall and lean, covered in a similar type of armour as me, the only difference being its colour and the way it was handcrafted. I would say it looks more sophisticated and flexible. The colour of the man's hair is honey like, it glistens and stands out due to the light of the winter sun, peaking right at him. While his eyes beams with evident clarity same as the waves of the ocean on a stormy day. The features defining him are sharp and soft at the same time, causing an innocent gleam to surround him. Regardless of that, I do not dare to respond. Not yet.

"I see," he breathes out, his warm breath flowing in the freezing air "I am not here to hurt you, human," he adds and it all causes me to become even more suspicious.

"Anybody could say that," I decide to respond after thinking it through, my tone unwelcoming and cold. My senses come to life once more when the man decides to take a step towards me. I lift my weapon, startling him.

"Easy there," a sound comes out of his mouth, a light chuckle. I huff in response and gesture for him to keep still. To which he simply nods.

"I suppose you're aware your kind is not welcomed on this territory, but you needn't worry, I am not here to report you," with his words, another set of questions bubbles to the surface. What does he mean, my kind? On this territory? The outline of my eyes widens in shock slightly, however, I can see he took notice of that. I open my mouth to speak and nothing comes out. It leads me to furrow my eyebrows together, I try to appear more confident.

"Then what are you here for?" I play along, betting on my instincts which told me to trust his words. If he's lying, I am busted and probably dead too. I stand there, snow crunching under my feet as I take a step back where the giant lake lies. The weapon I made rests near my hip, prepared for action.

He shrugs and with that, I get more worked up. "I felt sorry for you, I have been following you for couple of hours," he admits as my world comes crushing down, he had been doing what? My jaw drops a little in defeat, but I quickly grit my teeth together. "Now that I am saying it out aloud, it sounds creepy. Whatever, I am Ayen." he smiles slyly.

"This is absurd, I do not need your pity nor your name, because our paths are dividing," my voice is sharp and precise, I do not spare him a pleasant glance. My lips are curled up in something unknown, perhaps a grudge has been forged because I was so preoccupied with my own thoughts that I had not acknowledged his presence.

"Don't be like that, you need my help," he cocks his head to the side and shows his gloved hands into his pockets, another smirk plastered across his stupid face. His words do not cease the boiling feeling within my veins, they also suggest that I might be in for trouble which worries me. Everything would be so easier if my mind wasn't so stubborn and would give in to me.

"For what?" I tilt my head to the side as well while I cross my arms at my chest, looking at him with sort of a challenge.

"You won't last a week like this, not so close to Hearth," he puts it simply and steps closer, this time I do not lift my weapon. I presume he mentioned a city nearby, a sense of relief washes over me. This boy might be useful after all.

"Good, because that is exactly where I am headed," I stand my ground as he looks down on me. I can hear the echo of his laughter rumbling through the empty forest. His laughter does not shake me.

"You wanted to help me, so be so kind and show me the direction," I roll my eyes as the words flow out of my mouth without any hesitation. This could lead me somewhere useful, a good start.

"I warned you though," he snickers and points his finger to the right "just go that way, eventually you should arrive at the gates of the city," he adds for clarification and I nod in gratitude, not able to bring myself to speak it out loud. For a quick moment, there is silence between us once again. Our eyes are locked on each other, sharp and untrusting. I am the one who breaks the eye contact as I kneel down to gather up my things

"Oh, and don't follow me, go your own way," I utter, it comes out more like a mumbling though, nonetheless I am sure he heard me and hopefully got the memo. In response my ears catch a phrase spoken by him, a phrase I cannot shifter out. It sounds awfully similar. To what? I have no idea. My heart skips a beat and when I lift my gaze from the ground as I stop packing to demand an explanation, the man is nowhere to be seen.

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sttvrllightt · 7 months ago

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the fall of blood, chp. 1

⋆౨ৎ˚ summary: A girl wakes up in the middle of a wintery forest, drenched in blood. Unsure if it's her own. With a raging fog sitting upon her mind, unable to recall her own name nor what has gotten her into this position.The world will slowly unravel in front of her eyes as she will take on an adventurous journey with someone who hasn't yet captured her trust.An invisible force pushes her into the path forged by her destiny as she goes off to conquer her own mind.

⋆౨ৎ˚ warnings. mentions of violence and misogyny, mature themes, blood, gore, mental health issues, side effects of amnesia, discrimination, name calling

⋆౨ৎ˚ chapter. 1/x

⋆౨ৎ˚ words. 1,2k

⟡˖ chpt. 2 ⟡˖

⊱ ━━━━━━━━.⋅ εïз ⋅.━━━━━━━━⊰

With one deep breath my eyes flutter open, my chest begins to unevenly, mostly rushingly, come up and back down to get as much air as possible into my system. I quickly sit up, at first I register the pool of dried blood underneath me which my clothes are stained by. I scan my surroundings just in case I could tell where this blood came from or for any signs of weapons. When I do not find anything useful, I avert my gaze to the palms of my hands that are too stained by the dried blood. I arch my eyebrows at the sight and the heart inside of my chest begins to pound faster than usual as thousands of questions flood over me. I try to recall what has happened, what led me to be sitting in a wintry forest. I wonder how I did not freeze to death, how did I manage to get into this position, however, nothing comes. It feels like starring at a blank page which has not yet been stained. No matter how hard I ponder, there's this fog clouding upon my brain and no amount of energy makes it unravel.

I sit still in the chilly snow, not giving up, until the coldness makes my whole body numb. It does not stop me though, it only makes me want to try harder. I do not move an inch, not until the stinging pain of the frost is all I can think about. I do stand up then. Only to collapse on my knees with my eyes filling up with the bitterness of frustration. Due to the despair, my fingers take in as much snow as they can, crushing it to the point where the vessel of blood in my palms turn purple. Till the sorrow overcomes my despair.

After that, I feel the heaviness of my own tears as they stream down the swell of my cheeks. Along with the metallic taste in the back of my mouth. With the top of my lungs I let out a wretched sound, accompanied by sobs which are grasping at my sore throat. I bury my head into the palms deprived of sensation. I do not fight the tears and I do not have an idea of how long I spent wailing. In the end it does not truly matter, because it does not change the fact I must have become mad.

I wipe the tears away with the leather of my armour. My upper arms are protected by rounded, fully covering rerebraces which sit perfectly under the shoulderplates. The lower arms are covered by vambrace. The breastplate is made from many layers of smaller leather pieces. It covers almost everything from the neck down. My upper legs are covered by rounded, half covering cuisses. The lower legs are protected by leather shin guards which have intricate gilded design patterns covering everything. Thick pants and a long sleeved shirt made from leather and fur are worn beneath this all. I scan my specially crafted leather armour and it only rises yet another longing to know how I ended up in this cursed situation. I push all the thoughts aside by shedding few layers of this perfectly made armour. If I want to move around peacefully, I need to keep a low profile. I take off the upper arm and leg armour, leaving it in the snow, not bothering to cover it up. My hands search each pocket carefully, the only thing I find is a small yet sharp knife hidden in my breastplate. I scoff under my nose and the I am on my feet once more to survey the area properly. I do not discover anything else. Strange.

The sun is nearing its centre of the sky which could only mean one thing, it is going to go lower now. Soon it will start getting dark. I close my eyes to think straight, but it is no help. Where am I supposed to go? I curse under my own breath as the world sprawls before me in all directions. I stand there for what feels like eternity. As the time passes, suddenly a string of force pulls me to one of the directions. I hear a faint voice whispering in gibberish. It spooks me enough to unleash my small dagger despite the fondness the voice carried. When my orbs do not take notice of any figure, I put the dagger back in place. I cannot make out anything the voice said, it is the last sense of hope I have left so I do follow. My feet move on their own, making the first step towards the unknown. A chill crawls my back, there is no way of coming back. No way of knowing if I am making the right decision.

Without any additional thought I move forward, the sound of snow crunching as I march away following me. After few minutes of mindless walking, the air which would normally be fresh and smell of nature's wonders is now thick with the stench of gunpowder, blood, gore and death. My steps quicken and soon enough there is an enormous field spreading in front of me. Normally the blanket of the snow covering the area would be pure and untouched, instead it is bathed in blood. There are only remains of weapons and camping, the bodies must have been taken care of. Still, the smell of demise hangs in the air. Despite the emptiness of the battlefield, I could still detect anguish of the lost souls. Suddenly my chest feels a bit heavier.

I decide to keep on walking, I do not choose to look back. Nonetheless, the battlefield does seem overly familiar. I stop in my tracks and after some debating, I change the course of my journey directly to the core of the field in hope to find something that might refresh my memory. Perhaps seeing these circumstances will punch me across my face in realisation. It truly feels humiliating and helpless to be so lost, not even knowing who I am. Each time I move closer, there is this familiarity which makes the hair on my body stand up, giving me goosebumps. I scoot over the area of where the battle has played out. Not a single thing in particular strikes my attention, although I do find some supplies in the form of food. I simply take what I find to be useful, then I hear it again. This alluring voice calling out to me. I abruptly turn around to be met with chilly wind grazing my face.

"Hello? Who is it?" I breathe out when I finally muster up some courage. The sound of my own voice sounding odd to my ears. My body turns in every direction to catch a glimpse of someone, something. I am left unsuccessful. I grip the supplies I found tighter and then I run, my feet moving on its own. I do not know what has gotten into me. The course of the feet brings me back to the forest, to be hidden by the naked crowns of the trees. I do not stop running there, I do not stop until I cannot feel my legs. Yet the pain is incomparable to the storm ragging inside of me.

#fantasy #elves #magical creatures #magic #battlefield #betrayal #conflict #adventure #love #pining #winter #forest #slow burn #mystery #tw violence #tw blood #discrimination #mature theme

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