Naveen

Maleen:

I stood where I was. Normally I would have rushed to her when I saw her in distress. Now she was tainted. There was an air around her that sickened me.

Rina:

I took in several gasps of air. The image of Aero sinking into the chest of the queen swelled in my mind while the feeling of being stabbed in the heart burned in my chest. My red swallow buzzed around me. “She has Iris,” I choked. Of everything, that was my biggest grief at the moment.

Never before had Maleen not been able to help me. That was enough to drag me fully out of my readiness to fight and I frowned down at Rina. "Who has Iris?" I asked softly. I tried to keep a watchful eye on Aero in case the sparrow decided I was a threat and wanted to sink itself into me again.

Rina:

“Naricia. The sorceress. Alia. She has Iris.” Aero gave a sorrowful chirp and landed on my shoulder. “Talon… I killed the queen. With Aero. She tricked me… It’s all over. It’s over.” I put my head in my hands despite the blood.

A sinking feeling settled into my chest. The cause was lost then. The month's I'd spent at the castle had amounted to nothing, and to top it all off Rina was now a fugitive. "I see..." As she no longer seemed to be clinging to me I released her and stood up, pacing slightly as I tried to make a plan, any plan that might turn things around. But nothing came to mind.

Dorian:

I thanked Maleen and the elf and stood up when they were finished.  “My lady, we need to be moving,” I said to Rina then addressed Talon.  We had never been close, but I respected him and hoped he felt the same.  “We had to abandon our horses when we fled.  Can you help us get somewhere safe?” I asked him.

Something to do, finally, from a source I hadn't expected. I bowed my head to Dorian and called to my men. "We can, we'll make sure the three of you are safe. But we need to get moving again as soon as possible."

Dorian:

Maleen had done a beautiful job of healing my injuries but I still felt stiff as we walked. My attention flickered between Maleen who I was very close to and Rina who I had sworn to protect. Maleen kept looking at her too but she kept her distance. Rina, for the first time ever, looked lost.

“You can ride with me,” Maleen said when we reached the horses. Rina looked to Talon.

My men and I fanned out.  One moved ahead of us, the other trailed behind and I kept pace with the group.  I tried to keep my gaze roaming, searching the surrounding landscape but my mind was elsewhere entirely.  The goddess had done this, she was supposed to view many as her children, to nurture and protect.  But she was bringing pain onto Rina.  Cruelty.

When we reached the horses we'd left behind my men mounted up first, and I started too as well before I felt eyes on me. Sighing through my nose I beckoned her over. She wasn't dressed for riding. That heavy and stiff looking dress looked like it would be too awkward to ride in and wouldn't leave room for myself. I wasn't sure what idea I should do, cut it to a more manageable shape, or simply run beside the horses. Injured as Dorian was, he was in no shape to ride hard.

Rina:

I watched Talon eyeing me with dissatisfaction. It was my dress. I realized it was a problem when I reached the horse. Aero flew into my hand and I used the dagger to cup my dress away. I had no shame now. I didn’t like that the other elves were around to see, but there was nothing to do about it.

I stepped out of the fabric at my feet and up to the hors wearing my shite, bloodstained shift, and the bodice of the ruined dress that gapped in the front from the stab of the sword. “Better?” I said dully. There was something off about Talon. But then there was something quite off about me too.

Nodding I helped her up onto the horse. She was being more practical than I was about it all, even though she was still not her usual self. Swinging into the saddle behind her I set us moving, keeping my elves closer this time as we started to move again.

Dorian:

We decided to get to a cabin that Maleen, Wren and I had once stayed in when we were with Brian’s army. It was the only place that could keep us all and offer some degree of safety. The elves agreed to stay until we decided on our next step.

Rina:

Once we were at the cabin, Maleen guardedly gave me a change of clothes and sent me to clean up with a pitcher of water. The clothes were Dorians and I had to roll the cuffs of the pants and the sleeves. I belted them around my waist and went back to the others free of blood. There was no mark on my chest where I had been “stabbed”. I felt oddly naked being in clothing that didn’t weigh me down and constrict my breathing.

They were talking about the next step when I returned. “The only place I have to go is back to Brian. If he will take me. If nothing else I must warn him of who Alia is,” I said. I was returning to myself slowly. Not the woman I had been with Talon in the castle, but the warrior who traveled alone.

The time that Rina was gone had let me return to my senses. I drew walls around my heart, and shut everything up inside of it. I didn't even look up when Rina returned, I kept my eyes on my map and quietly made plans and contingencies in case we were attacked here in this cabin. I kept one pointed ear in on Maleen and Dorian's conversations, interjecting when appropriate as they talked about possibly what to do next.

"The three of you are welcome to take refuge with my people if you wish. But I don't recommend another climb up the mountain. Either way you should all try to avoid human populations whenever you can. Soldiers will be looking for you, and likely assume you are going to be where you are most comfortable. In their minds I assume that would be among your own kind." I glanced up from the map to look at the three of them in turn before looking back down at it.

Rina:

He looked right over me. It twisted something in my heart even if I didn’t want it to. “I think going to Brian is the best option,” I said. I could be on my own. I had been before. My worry was Maleen. Lke me, Dorian had been a wanderer. He was employed by the Kingdom before, but he quit that life when he met us. So far I had been supporting Maleen. Now I had nothing. I had a small payment from Brian to collect, but it wouldn’t be enough to keep us all in a house.

I studied Talon. Why was he so indifferent? This wasn’t the man I knew. Throughout the conversation he continued to be distant. The other elves too were apathetic, but it was in their nature. Had being back with his own people changed him?

I didn’t sleep. Talon insisted that Dorian, Maleen and I get some sleep while they took watch, but I couldn’t. My mind whispered worries to me relentlessly. Finally I abandoned my attempt to sleep and tiptoed out of the room with my sleeping companions.

“Rina?” Maleen’s soft voice.

“Go back to sleep, I just need some fresh air.”

I took care to walk silently past the elves in the front room and stepped outside. It was colder than I expected and I had left the cloak inside.

I looked up when Aero chirped softly to see Talon finishing a round about the house. It had been my secret hope to have a moment alone with him. Perhaps his manner toward me was an act for the other elves. Maybe he didn’t want them to know about our relationship.

"You should be trying to get some rest." I remarked softly to Rina as I came to a stop before her. I would have rather been wearing my lightest armor to enjoy the feel of the moon on my skin. But with the trouble that was likely to be heading our way it seemed prudent to wear my full plate. Bringing the walls up had been a good idea, I felt less chaos within me as I stood before Rina.

Rina:

Indifference. I searched his eyes, looking for something behind them but, as always, I couldn’t read him. “I couldn’t sleep,” I said simply. I took a step closer to him. “Talon…” I didn’t know how to start. I didn’t know what to say to him. It was as if we had never known each other.

“Why won’t you look at me?” It was a silly thing to say as he was currently looking right at me. He hadn’t avoided looking at me. But when he did it was like I was any other person.

"It's not easy to face failure sometimes." I looked away from her and let out a slow breath. "We never accomplished anything for my people did we? In all the months we spent at that castle." My gaze slid back over to her face. "Nor did I enjoy being a discarded tool."

Rina:

I stared at him momentarily speechless. I swallowed. “I did my best Talon. A mason would never be expected to do the work of a carpenter. That’s what we- that’s what I was faced with. I did my best and it wasn’t enough,” I said feeling tight in the chest. “You were never a tool to me,” I whispered a second later.

"A mason at least would have made a finished work, no matter how unskilled it might be." I shook my head. "It was a losing battle from the start, that part isn't your own doing at least." Her last words brought a faint sharpness to my gaze. "I don't know if I can believe that Rina. 'I need someone who can help me reach my goals.' Never mind what had been sacrificed along the way."

Rina:

My lips parted in surprise. Those were my words. I had said them to make sure he would leave. Now, in front of him, I couldn’t bring myself to tell him why I had said it. I turned away slightly and looked out at the trees.

“You yourself said that marriage for political power was common. I couldn’t get things done on my own. If things hadn’t gone the way they did I may have been able to do something…” I hugged myself against the cold. “You weren’t a tool… you were a friend when I needed you most.” I glanced at him hesitantly.

When she turned away slightly I did fully, facing out away from the house to survey the trees and landscape. "It is. And no you couldn't. It was a nice thought, but nothing came of it." I glanced at her when she glanced at me and I just shook my head. "I tried to be."

Rina:

I was desperate to get things resolved between us. I thought of how our last fight had ended. We always got through it. I reached to grab his hand with both of mine. “Talon, I never meant to hurt you,” I said. It was a lie. I had meant to hurt him out of necessity. The truth was that I hadn’t wanted to hurt him.

“I did continue to try to help your people. I was simply over my head. I wanted the very best for y- for your people. I didn’t know things would end this way. I’m deeply sorry that I couldn’t manage to accomplish a single thing. If it had been in my power, I would have done it in a heartbeat”

"For all the cruelty and duplicity I don't think I can believe that you didn't mean to hurt me." I stared down at my hand in both of hers. Her stutter only brought me to doubt her words even further. She didn't care anything for my people as a whole. Perhaps she'd only cared for me and wished to make me happy. That idea was like a blow to the heart, and I stuffed it out of sight before looking away.

Rina:

I blinked and felt ice in my chest. “Cruelty?” I asked, squeezing his hand slightly without meaning to. “Duplicity?” I let his hand go, but I didn’t step away. “Talon, I did what I had to do. It was the only way… What more could you have done if you stayed? There was nothing but danger for you there. I sent you away for your own good. How is there cruelty in that?” I asked knowing I was stepping far too close to the truth. I was never very good at holding cards to my chest when I got heated.

I gritted my teeth at her words. Slowly I turned to look at her, my gaze was softly smoldering, but it wasn't passion I felt but cold anger. Reaching for her I gently cupped her chin in my hand and raised it so she had to meet my gaze. Once I was sure I had her attention I gripped her chin more firmly, no longer a tender touch. "You did do what you had to do...you started out the morning sweetly, doing as you pleased. You kissed me with more passion and emotion than I think I've ever gotten from you before...then you put on airs as if nothing had happened. As if that morning never existed. Cast me aside as I was no longer useful to you. But perhaps their is no cruelty in that. Maybe I'm wrong in my understanding. Maybe the danger that I willingly put myself through every day never existed. Maybe the harsh words and the dagger like glares I received every day were nothing for you. I was treated like trash and dirt for months." The longer I went on the lower my voice got. "And it all came to a point when suddenly the one person who had asked me to come, the only one there who didn't try and treat me like the rest of the humans...she lost her use of me and sent me away. And in the process left me to wonder...was I just being used? Was I only around because you wanted something from me? Even now you hold my hand, you sob into my chest, you say you never meant to hurt me...but I still wonder what is it you really want from me. And are you just going to use me again?"

Rina:

I was surprised by him grabbing my chin. My eyes widened when he gripped it tighter and my eyes narrowed with every word he spoke. When he finally finished I shoved him and jerked my chin away.

“You were there of your own accord, Talon,” I hissed. “I didn’t trick you or coerce you into doing anything. I told you could go. You chose to stay there with me.” My fists balled at my side and my face felt warm even in the cool night breeze.

“I wasn’t using you. You were there as my friend. And I thought I was for you as well. But you assume the worst of me. You always set me apart from other humans. You said I was different. Yet, when I do something that displeases you bring it back to humanity.”

“What reason would I have to use you? You were my lifeline. You made it bearable to be in that place. You were my only true companion. How can you say that I was simply using you? After everything we went through, you think it was easy for me to send you away? That I would have done it if there had been any other option?” My eyes flicked between his and my tone softened.

“You insult me by thinking so little of my character. I would have hoped in the months of being with me you would have come to know me better.”