A Rescue [Closed]

[Shadow]

There were raging fires from homes being burnt to the ground. Screaming was coming from the people trying to run for their lives. Men were going from home to home slaughtering everyone in the clan. What have they done to deserve this?
The day started just like every other day. Amanes woke up and dressed in a two piece light brown outfit made of animal hide. The top tied around her slender neck and around her back. The neck line was in shape of a V that showed the cleavage of her firm well rounded breasts. The top ended about two inches below her chest so that her flat stomach showed. The bottom was a short skirt that tied around her slim waist and went to about mid thigh. She wore leather sandals that laced up her legs to her the bottom of her knees. She had silver earrings at the top of her elven ears. She had cloths of fine silk but she preferred to wear this type of clothing. It made her feel more at home with her people than flaunting off her jewels and fancy fabrics. She brushed her long brown hair and then headed down stairs to join her parents for breakfast.

She greeted her parents for the morning and they enjoyed a lovely breakfast of fruits and vegetables. They ate meat but not very often. They favored to eat off the land and the food it provided. After breakfast she would go and mingle with the people of her clan. Amanes was adored by her people. They all spoke of how the clan couldn’t ask for a more kind and gentle princess. She helped out the clan many times when crops were bad. She was able to heal them and help them grow. In times that water was low she was able to produce a small amount of water each day so that her clan would not go thirsty. As long as she was there her clan would never starve or go without water.

She was in the fields that were just a little outside the main part of the village. She was speaking with the farmers, asking them how the crops were doing when the sound of many shouts and the stomping of hooves echoed not far in the distances. She told the farmers to hurry home. She rushed off to her home to warn her parents that trouble was on its way to the village. By the time she got half way she could hear screaming and she could see smoke rising in the air. She ran faster to the village. She had to get to her parents and her people she has to do what she could to keep them safe. She was no fighter but she had to try.

When she got to the village people where running around screaming trying to get away. She could see the men that were raiding the village. They looked to be human bandits. She found a bow and a couple of arrows someone had dropped and picked them up. She wasn’t the best with a bow but she was decent enough. She continued to rush to her home. When she got to the middle of the village she could hear her mother’s screams and her father yelling at a man to let her go. She looked to where their voices where coming from and saw a man dragging her mother by her long dark hair and the other holding her father’s arms behind his back and shoving him forward. Amanes grabbed an arrow and aimed the bow and the arrow at the man that had her father. She let out a breath and released the arrow hitting the man in the middle of the head. Her Father didn’t hesitate he lunged out at the man that had his mate, but the man released her and grabbed his sword in time and plunged it into Amanes’ father’s heart. Amanes and her mother both screamed. Amanes readied another arrow and was about to let it go when her mother lunged out at the man blocking her shot. Amanes cursed under her breath as she lowered the bow and rushed to her mother’s aid. Her mother stared hitting the man but he just backhanded her hard across the face knocking her to the ground. The man looked to see Amanes rushing towards them. He grabbed a small dagger from his boot and threw it as Amanes piecing her in the right side of her abdomen. Amanes could hear her mother scream her name as she fell to her knees dropping her bow and arrow. The man turned his attention back to Amanes’ mother and grabbed her by the neck choking her. Amanes cringed and screamed in pain as she grabbed the handle of the dagger, pulled it out and dropped it to the ground. Blood began to flow from the wound. She picked her bow and arrow back up and yelled out at the man as she aimed it at him.

“Leave her alone!”

The man smiled at her.

“Gladly.”

Was all the man said as his hands moved to the sides of her mother’s face and snapped her neck. Amanes screamed and let the arrow fly sending it through the man’s heart. Amanes dropped the bow and pressed a hand to her side. Her body was growing weak from the blood loss. She looked around her at her village. Most of the men were ridding off some had captives. Others were burning the homes. Tears streamed from her beautiful sapphire eyes and down her cheeks as she knew there was nothing she could do. Her vision was fading and her body grew weaker. She fell to the ground and the last thing she saw before darkness took over was the last of the men riding off, leaving the village to burn to the ground.

[Cordeliane]

As the smell of death and smoke reached his nose, he sighed, he had been heading in the direction the smoke was now coming from. The fires no longer blazed and the smell of death was in the air as well. It was not a good sign, he just hoped his sister who he was tracking or trying to track through the strange lands was not in that village. He continued his way to the village, in hopes that there would be some survivors, somebody who could tell him what had happened and possibly why. Although he knew in the lands outside of his home it was not uncommon for Raiders and men to destroy villages on raids or for humans to burn down the homes of those different from they are out of ignorance and fear.

He shook his head at the destruction of the village; it was such a waste of like. His hand clenched the sword on his hip as he walked around, he wanted to use the blade to help but there were limits on Aiges he could only use its special ability on one person for one moon cycle a use. How could he decide who should be given the gift of life when so many died? He had yet to use the swords other ability ever because who was he to decide who should live and die? If he used Aiges to revive one person how would he know they were truly worthy of such a second chance, they might waste it on something foolish such as revenge.

Sighing as he looked at the dead left where they fell without proper burial, it sickened him that this should be so. He would have to give them a mass burial, in a mass grave, it was the least he could do for the people of this village. He did not like such a waste of life and it saddened him that this type of thing still happened in the world. He came from a place where this type of thing had long ceased to occur, Allywir had not had such things in a few millennia, but then Allywir was closed off from the rest of the world by the same magic that closed off the whole Faerie world from this one.

Placing his pack on the ground, his heart heavy with the task at hand, he began gathering the dead, laying them out in the street to count their number so he would know just how big of a grave he would have to dig. He was saddened at the senseless killing, and moved through the ruins of the village careful not to disrespect the dead any more than they had been. Most of the bodies he moved were still warm and had yet to stiffen. He worked his way to the centre of the village, where he spotted a lovely girl fallen with a bow at her side.

He rolled her on to her back and stooped. He saw the shallow rising and falling of her chest; he swallowed and carefully gathered her in his arms and walked off with her to a nearby clump of trees. There he sat down with her and hoped he was not too late. He cradled her in his lap as he called on his magic, as long as they would was not fatal, and she was just bleeding out he would be able to help her, he could heal all but fatal wounds. Giving a small prayer to the gods of his people, he began sinking his magic into her, slowly stopping the blood from flowing as he knitted tissue back together.

His work, burying the dead forgotten as he healed the girl in his arms pouring his magic into her. Hours would pass as he sat there holding her, the wound vanishing as if it had never been. He could not replenish the blood she had lost from the wound only time and the right foods would do that, but he had done what he could to save this one life. He would leave her in the safety of the trees as he looked for food and clothing, and anything else he could scrounge up for the girl, for when she woke up. He would get back to burying the dead as soon as he saw to it she would have what she needed when she woke.

Having found a blanket that was only partially burned and some fruits and veggies that were dirty from being on the ground but otherwise find he returned to the girl and rolled the blanket placing it under her head. He would place the fruits beside her, and then remove his now blood covered armour, and the shirt under it. He would cover her with the shirt before going back to work gathering the dead.

Once he had the dead gathered he would look for a shovel to dig the grave for them, after a few minute of searching her would locate one in a half burned shed. He would test the shovel than walk back over to the area he had allocated for the grave. There he would start digging, shovel after shovel, in a grave that had to be at least 10 feet in length, and a good 15 feet deep, it would take him many hours if not days to dig such a grave alone by hand, but it had to be done. Sweat would trickle from his brow and his chest as he worked and the hours passed, he would not stop to take a break other than to drink some water from the skin he had with him. When/if the girl woke up that would be how she would find him, dirt and swear covered digging a massive hole in the ground.

[Shadow]

Amanes could feel herself slowly coming back into consciousness. She opened her large sapphire eyes and saw she lay under a tree. She slowly rose up to a sitting position. There was no pain but she was a little dizzy and weak. She looked down where the knife wound should have been but it was gone. All there was now was just dried blood. She hadn’t noticed the shirt that covered her at first, but as she looked where her wound should been she noticed it. She held it in her hands and looked around to see if she could find the owner to it. As she did she happened to notice the fruit and veggies that lay next to her. She wondered who had helped her. She looked over and saw she was still in her village. Tears filling her eyes and began to slowly fall. Was she the only one left alive? Was the one who helped her from the village or someone who was passing by? She listened and could hear the shoveling of earth. She looked to where the sound came from. She saw the bodies lay out and could see an eleven male digging. She did not recognize him so she knew he wasn’t from the village.

She went to stand but had to hold on the tree as she started to fall. Her body was still too weak from blood loss to stand. She sighed and sat down with her back leaning against the tree and watched at the male dug into the ground. She did not know how long she had been out or how long he had been digging, but it must have been a good while. He was covered in dirt and in sweat. She grabbed a couple pieces of fruit and nibbled on them as she watched him dig what she believed to be a grave for her people and if that was what he was doing she was grateful to him for that and for saving her life. She owed him and would do all she could to repay him for his kindness.

[Cordeliane]

(For the markings on his back that she would see.

Varian at one point pulled up his long hair into a ponytail, showing off his back and the family marking showing him to be the Crown prince of his people. He did not notice the young woman had awaken and was watching him as he worked, he was so focused on what he was doing he had not even checked on her since he had healed her. He stopped to take a drink from his water skin and wipe his brow with his forearm, the muscles on his back rippling a bit as he then stretched some.

His back still to her he looked up at the sky, it was late afternoon, and he had gotten a fair bit of the grave done, he had dug out the width and length of the grave and a good two feet down, but he still had a lot of work to do. He sighed and sat at the edge of the grave rolling his shoulders trying to loosen. Once that was done he grimaces and realized he had not checked on the girl.

Turning he looked up startled to find her watching him, he flushed a soft pink color his golden eyes going wide. Varian was not the most graceful around women especially pretty women, and this girl he had saved was pretty. He went to step towards her forgetting for the moment he was two feet lower than the ground before him and tumbled forward catching himself on his hands as he flushed deeper and looked away from her.

[Shadow]

As she watched him she would notice the markings on his back. So he was a prince. Her marking was her snowflake tattoo on her on her right shoulder. Whatever season a member of the royal family was born they would be given a tattoo symbolizing that season. She was born in the winter so was given a snowflake as her making. Her parents nicknamed her Snowflake. Her mother was born in the spring so she was given a daisy as her marking and her father was born in the summer so he was given a sun.

Amanes smiled at him as he turned around and saw her. He was very attractive and the blushing of his cheeks just made him even cuter. She looked to him as he fell forward and giggled softly to herself. She went to stand up to see if he was okay but she was still too light headed to do a lot of moving. She eased back down and sat on her knees with a hand to her head, trying to make the world stop spinning.

[Cordeliane]

Varian blushing stood up and carefully climbed out of the hole he was in. He gave her a shy smile and started walking towards her again, as he walked he managed to trip over a pile of dirt causing him to stumble, but not fall. His blush deepened and as he corrected himself he walked into a low lying branch beaning himself in the head with it. He groaned and there was a small cut on his head above the moon more on his forehead.

Varian winced as mishap after mishap happened to him, it always happened to him when he was around strange women, even women from his own city did this to him, turned him from a graceful prince in to a bumbling one. He sighed softly as he stopped about 4 feet from the girl and spoke softly “I am glad to see you are awake and well I am Varian Defleur, I was passing through and saw the carnage here. I was too late to help all but you”


He was currently oblivious to the fact he was shirtless, and covered in sweat and dirt. He was never good with women and he needed to speak to this one to understand what happened here and if his sister had been seen in these lands.

[Shadow]

Once the spinning stopped Amanes looked back at the elf prince. She smiled back at him. She tried not to giggle as he fumbled about and blushes that appeared on that handsome face of his, was just too cute. She winced as he hit the branch cutting his forehead. She smiled softly to him. She spoke to him her voice was soft and gentle.

“It is a pleasure to meet you Verian. Thank you for…”

She looked down fighting not to cry as the memories of the destruction of her people and her village played through her head.

“…for helping me. I am in your det. I am Amanes Aleaneplith, but you can just call me Snowflake.”

She smiled at him and held out his shirt to him.

“I believe this yours.”

She wouldn’t mind if he kept the shirt off. He looked very nice without it, but she had a feeling if he noticed he was without his shirt later rather than sooner he might end up hurting himself again. When/if he took the shirt she would place a hand on the ground and as she raised it a small aloe plant would grow. She tore a piece of the plant off and looked up at Varian smiling and holding out her hand for him to help her up. When/if he helped her up she would smile and put some of the aloe from plant on her finger and gently put it on his cut on his forehead.

“There that should help it heal faster.”

She smiled at him as she looked into his golden eyes.

[Cordeliane]

Varian who was used to being like this around women just smiled at her as if nothing happened. She would run sooner or later all the women who were not his family did, after all he had ruined more dresses and trod on more feet then he could count. He just wasn’t good around women, they made him nervous and that made him clumsy. When she looked down and thanked him he blushed deeper and prayed she did not cry. Crying girls were not something he could deal with even his sister’s tears made him uncomfortable, well his younger sisters, only the eldest girl’s tears could he handle and she was the one he was looking for.

“It was nothing, anybody would have done the same, lady Amanes”

When she held out his shirt to him he went bright red and mumbled something of a thank you to her as he took the shirt, dropped it, then picked it up turning his back to her to put it on and once again smacking his head on the low lying branch.

He got his shirt on quickly and turned to face her only to smack into the tree from which the branch hung. Embarrassed, he turned and faces her sheepishly and looked down at the ground. He was making a wonderful first impression he was sure. He held his hand out to her as she tried to stand not realizing her intentions. So when the cool aloe touched his forehead he jerked back smacking into the tree and stumbling back words falling on his ass.

“I uh. . . I am a healer there is no need for that thank you” He flushed softly and stood. “You should eat, build your strength up, We will be here a couple days yet,” He wanted to ask her to look at the people and tell him who were family so they could be buried together in the grave as such but he couldn’t do that to her, as it was still too fresh in her mind the slaughter of the village.

[Shadow]

She could help but giggle at him. His clumsiness was very cute and his blushes were even cuter. Watching him helped to keep her mind off the things that had happened for now, but she knew she was going to have to come back to reality soon. She wished that all this had been a nightmare and that the nightmare had turned into a dream of a handsome clumsy prince that made her smile and laugh, and when she opened her eyes everything would be back to normal. She knew this wasn’t a dream or a nightmare that it had all really happened, but for now she wanted to be lost in the dream of the clumsy prince.

It startled her as he jerked back as the coolness of the aloe touched his forehead. She shook her head, knelt beside him and gave him a smile and a look that said “what am I to do with you”. She giggled lightly.

“Are you always this clumsy? I will eat soon. Right now I am more worried about you. A healer that would explain why there is no scare where my wound should have been. Again I thank you for saving me.”

Her hand would touch the place where the dagger had penetrated her skin. She looked over to where he had been digging and then to the bodies. She closed her eyes and turned away from the sight and from him as tears slowly slid down her cheeks. She did not want him to see her cry.

[Cordeliane]

Varian looked at her with wide eyes and her giggle made him flinch. He hated being giggled at it reminded him of the gaggles of girls his mother paraded before him hoping he would marry, Like he wanted to marry some social climbing ninny without a brain. He was Crown Prince and he was sick of girls after him for his position, but he did not think this girl knew anything of him or his people, since his people did not often travel through the barrier blocking Allywir from the rest of the world, so she would not know who he was. Here he was just another elf, clumsy but none the less normal, common.

He went a deeper shade of red as she knelt beside him and gave him the same look his mother and sisters did when he messed up at a ball or gathering. “Yes I am always so unless I am with my soldiers” he gave her a shy smile and nodded “Yes, it was not too bad of a wound, and it was no trouble saving you, I would hope somebody would do the same if it were one of my sisters”

Varian watched her turn away and Winced she was going to cry, he had no idea how to comfort a woman who had lost not only her family but her entire village, and survived alone. He swallowed and cleared his throat as he pushed himself to his feet only to get his feet tangled and end up face first next to her on the ground. He mumbled something about going back to digging as he stood.

Once on his feet he turned and once again that low lying branch was his down fall. He walked into it for the third time and swore softly. He marched over to the things he had placed down his armour and sword, tripping and stumbling over a tree root as he went. He grabbed his sword and unsheathed it with the grace of a fighter, and stalked back over to the nemesis branch, stumbling and tripping over the same root. He looked at the branch which had not beaned him 3 times and with a swift movement cut the damned thing down, only to have it fall on his leather clad foot.

He groaned and put his sword aside leaning it against the tree as he kicked the branch off his foot sending it flying in the direction of the grave. He then walked back over to his sheath and sheathed the sword. With that done he looked at Snowflake “I am going to continue to work, the animals will not touch the dead so there is no fear there, Eat I will stop when the sun has set. “ He then walked back to the hole he was digging , and that branch the one out to get him, tripped him and sent him flying into the hole in the ground.

[Shadow]

She gasped as he fell next to her. She would look at him her head tilted to the side and gave him a soft smile. She felt sorry for this poor guy. If he wasn’t careful he was going to end up getting hurt bad. She winced as he hit the branch again. She watched as he tripped and stumbled around to get something. She gave him a curious look as he got his sword. It didn’t take long for her to figure out what he was going to do. At first she wanted to protest, but she had to admit the branch had it coming. She covered her mouth with her hand and suppressed a laugh as the branch fell onto his foot. As he walked over to get the sheath for the sword and put it away she was able to get a straight face, so when she looked at her there was no laughter there just a friendly face. A frown would appear on her full light red lips as he mentioned the dead. She nodded to him. She watched him as he headed back to the grave and saw the branch and was about to call out to him, but it was too late he had already tripped and fallen. She eased herself up slowly her body was still weak but she wanted to make sure he was okay. She walked over to the grave and looked down at him.

“Are you okay? Maybe you should rest for a bit. Come and join me and have something to eat. Then you can get back to work.”

She looked to the branch and then back where they had been earlier.

“Wait here a moment.”

She stood up and picked up the branch. She walked a little past where she had been laying and tossed the branch away. Then she looked around at the root of the trees. She knelt down and placed her hand on the ground and the roots sank back into the ground. Once she was sure all obstacles were out of the way she stood up a little more light headed now that she used some of her abilities. She mostly likely shouldn’t have but she didn’t want Varian to hurt himself anymore, but she had a feeling he would still manage to get hurt somehow.

She walked back over to him and held out her hand to him to help him out.

“Come on and eat with me. I will not take no for an answer.”

She would keep her hand held out to him until he took it. When/if he took her hand she would not let his go. She would lead him back to the little campsite. She would then let go of his hand, smile at him and sit down and hold out a piece of fruit to him.

[Cordeliane]

Varian was beginning to really hate that branch as he pushed himself out of the mud. He turned to look at her and shook his head “I am fine really; I need to get this done Lady Amanes.” He chuckled as she removed the branch and obstacles from his path, yes he was clumsy but those had nothing to do with it, he just got that way around young unmarried or widowed women. He was going to use that branch for fire wood later, but for now he would just shake his head.

He sighed as she just held out her hand to him, a silent insistence that he take it and do as she requested of him. His sister Faylynn had always been as insistent as this girl was being. He missed his sister and would find the runaway, but for now he had to focus on this girl and finding her a place, he was not sure he wanted to keep her with him.
He got to his feet on his own, not risking accidently pulling her into the mud with him, once he was standing he took the offered hand in one of his. His hand was calloused from working, it was not the soft hand of a pampered prince but one of a man who worked and hard. Varian trained with his uncle’s guards keeping him in shape and fighting with them as one of them. He did so to earn their respect, his uncle was a pampered prince and Varian was nothing like him, and he showed the people this by working hard and helping in whatever tasks he could around the kingdom.

He managed to stumble over his own feet as he walked the short distance to their resting place and sighed. This day was not turning out how he had hoped it would. He had hoped to learn if his sister had passed through here and then be on his way. Now he had a lone survivor he needed to take care of and a pretty one at that. He sat done across from her keeping his head down his cheeks pink, waiting for the next accident to happen.

As she handed him the piece of fruit he fumbled it dropping it on his knee and watched with a sigh as it rolled away. He was not really hungry any way and the thought of eating in front of her made him nervous, he had once stabbed himself in the hand with a fork, he had been so nervous. He was just glad there were no such things here right now.

He sat the quietly, not making a move to retrieve the fruit, and spoke softly “is there anywhere else you can go? An allied village or neighbouring town that will take you? It is too dangerous here alone, and I cannot stay I am looking for my sister”

[Shadow]

Amanes smiled as he took her hand. His hand was rough but she didn’t mind. It just meant he was a hard worker and she liked that. Her hand would be soft and smooth just like the rest of her very lightly tanned skin. She would look back at him as he stumbled on his own feet. She would smile. He was just too cute. She just shook her head as he dropped the fruit. She had a feeling he wasn’t going to get use to her being around. She sighed. She took a bit of a plump strawberry, the color of it almost matching her full lips. She wiped the juice that started to run down the side of her mouth. She looked to Varian then away from him as he spoke to her. Sadness filled her eyes. When she knew she could hold back the tears she looked to him.

“There may be one village I could go to but it is a long journey from here. It is at least about a week’s journey from here. I can make it there on my own once my strength is up. I take it your sister has gone missing. Do you have any clue as to where she might be?”

[Cordeliane]

Varian sighed at the sadness in her face as she ate and spoke of the village. It was a long way off and there was no way he was letting a lone female head out on her own, he just could not do it. “I will escort you to his village Lady Amanes; I would never let you go there on your own”

His face went soft as she asked about his sister. And he sighed “no she is not missing so much as she has runaway, our mother arranged a marriage for her for political reason and she is not happy. She has never met the man, and well does not want to get married, when the head of our family told her she had to go ahead with the arrangement she took off running.” He sounded almost proud of his sister despite the worry in his voice for her.

"I had hoped she had stopped by here, and that somebody had seen her. She is a pretty girl with long blue hair. She would have been traveling with a hawk and ferret" he sighed and shook his head he had given his sister both pets since they had both loved animals and the out doors unlike the rest of their siblings.

[Shadow]

Amanes smiled at Varian. She was grateful he would escort her, but she didn’t want to keep him from finding his sister.

“Thank you but finding you sister is more important than helping me. You have already done a lot for me and my people. As I said before I am in your debt and I intend to repay that debt any way I can.”

As he talked she could tell he cared a lot for his sister and she could hear the pride in his voice.

“Oh I see. I am not sure what I would have done if my parents wanted to force me into an arranged marriage, so I could understand why she ran away.”

Amanes tried to think if anyone new had came to the village, but shook her head.

“I am sorry but we have not had any visitors for many months. The last visitor we had was a male traveler and he only stayed for a two days.”

She sighed and thought for a moment then looked at Varian shyly.

“I could help you find your sister. I am a good cook, so I could make sure you have a good meal while you travel.”

She hopped he would let her join him in serach for his sister. She had lost everyone and everything she had ever known and she really didn’t want to go to the other village. Mainly because the chief of the village had been asking her parents to arrange a marriage between her and his son, but her parents said it was up to her. That they would not force her into something she did not wish to do. Of carouse she said no.
She wanted to meet someone and fall in love, not marry someone then get to know them and find out that they have nothing in common and have to spend the rest of their lives just tolerating each other. But she was already twenty years into her adulthood and a princess. She would need to find a life mate soon. She sighed if he did not wish for her to go she would go to the other village and accept the chief’s offer to wed his son.