Dinner, as simple as it was, was a delight. Cellestra kept talking as I was unable to, and most of it had been about how my magic was so obviously different than what she was used to. I didn’t mind having her ramble on about what some would consider odd topics for small talk.

In fact, I had no idea what I would even talk about. What did normal people talk about anyway? The weather? Future plans?

My future plans were clear and simple; grow stronger, find my parents, and pray that they would recognize me.

That was until I’d run into this elf. Her kindness and interest in my magic had given me an additional goal. That, and this so-called curse of hers intrigued me. She still hadn’t shared the full story behind it, and when I asked about it after dinner once more she had simply remained silent and her kind smile had disappeared.

I instantly regretted asking.

Seemingly to distract herself, Cellestra decided to wash the dishes at that point before making a cup of tea. She then sat back at the table and looked me in the eyes.

“I’m sorry, Kealyna. I want to tell you. Don’t get me wrong. But I don’t want you to worry about things like that. There are more important things for you to worry about.”

That made me think. My parents were pretty much the only thing I had, so they were important to me, but I couldn’t deny that Cellestra had grown to be important to me as well. I truly wished we would be able to travel together later on. I wondered when it would be a good time to tell her what I had in mind.

“Ever think back to your parents?” I spelled out a question as Cellestra sipped on her tea.

The elf sighed deeply. “All the time. I wonder if they actually loved me… like… deep down. I don’t know how much they were pressured into doing what they did. I wonder about everything they would say if I were to meet them again… if this curse was gone...”

I took a moment to think about her words.

“How about you?” She asked.

“Much of the same.”

“Heh,” Cellestra chuckled. “Yeah, your case is probably even worse. You’re not exactly elven anymore...”

The elf looked through the window and sighed once more. The outside world had gone dark a while ago and I already had a feeling of what she would say.

“Let’s go to bed before we start digging up too many sad things about the past.”

I couldn’t exactly say I agreed with her. I wanted to know more about Cellestra’s past, but I could see where she was coming from. I did not want her to feel sad or uncomfortable about this, so I honored her decision.

The brunette extinguished the candles and led the way to her bedroom once more. The pillow I slept on was actually smaller than my leg span, but it was still far more comfortable than the table or the floor.

Cellestra wished me good night and I replied with a wave before she canceled the flame spell that illuminated the room.

I then went to sleep…

Or at least, I tried to…

I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t know why, but a certain expectation kept tugging at me, preventing me from falling asleep. My attention constantly shifted to the elf. It was as if I expected her to start thrashing and have horrible nightmares. I wanted to make sure that I would wake up to help her.

And now it kept me awake…

Why?

Why was I so fixated on helping her? I helped people out as a knight, sure, but Cellestra somehow had my undivided attention.

She was the first person that I experienced this with and it was actually frustrating as I had no idea why.

I somehow dozed off while I was lost in thought, but I didn’t actually fall asleep. I was still somehow conscious of what happened in the bed next to me, and soon enough, my fears became reality.

Cellestra was moaning in pain and started thrashing about with her arms under the covers.

I stood up in my half-dazed state and climbed into her bed. Out of pure impulse, I enhanced my healing light spell to its next level. There was no logic behind that decision and it scared me. No logic other than badly wanting to help this suffering elf.

I allowed the enhancement to occur before I slowly crawled my way over to Cellestra. I got close to her face and placed my pedipalps on her forehead after she’d just turned, and cast my healing light.

Her movements stopped and I cast it a second time. Her hand moved and fell on the bed beside her head, her palm turned upward. I cast my spell once more to be sure she was relieved of what ailed her. When I was about to turn around to go back to my pillow, I saw her mouth change into a smile.

It struck me.

I couldn’t look or turn away from it.

Her smile was so beautiful…

Whenever I saw her smile, happiness filled me.

Would she mind if I stayed up here?

I could always tell her she was having a bad dream if it turned out that she did mind it. It wasn’t like me to think such things, but my mind told me to make up a lie just to be close to that smile.

I planted my head on her pillow and placed two of my legs on her hand. I then relaxed and quickly dozed off myself.

____________________________________________________________________________

I woke up to the yawning of a certain individual next to me. I was still lying with my head on Cellestra’s pillow and I was certain that by now she’d noticed me. At least she didn’t scream, so that was good, right?

“Kealyna?”

Here it comes.

“Was that you tonight?”

What did she mean?

She turned her head around on the pillow and looked at me. “You got rid of my nightmares didn’t you?”

So she did know.

I gestured yes.

“Yesterday too?”

I gestured yes again.

Cellestra sighed. “Thank you,” She said softly.

She then started getting dressed and I figured that if she knew about this, I might as well ask what those nightmares are.

Cellestra opened the door and waited for me to walk through before closing it again. She made a quick breakfast with some of the bread from yesterday while I waited for her on the table.

“What is with nightmares?” I asked her as soon as she sat down.

“Part of my curse, I guess. Though, I think it’s partly because I’m not completely honest with you. It eats away at me when I’m awake and I guess it carries over into the night.”

“Why not tell me?” I spelled out.

Cellestra stared out the window for a few seconds before turning back to me.

“Because I’m afraid of what you might think. I like you, Kealyna. You’re the only person I can talk to. I told you before it’s so damn lonely out here and I don’t want to ruin our friendship.”

“Please tell me.”

I wanted to know what was wrong. I couldn’t help her otherwise. I doubted it would be so bad that it could ruin our friendship.

Celletra sighed again. “You see, how do you think I managed to survive here, on my own? There are wolves living in this area. You know I can use magic, but do you really think these wolves would even dare to get close if it wasn’t for something else?”

That confused me. I had thought about it before, but I didn’t look into it too much.

“You see, when this curse was first applied to me before I was even born, it was done so by a dungeon. The dungeon died, but some of its effects seem to have manifested in me. Animals won’t attack me, no matter what I do.”

That wasn’t so bad now, was it?

“But, you see, as much as they ignore me, they turn hostile to anyone else. And by hostile, I mean, extremely hostile. They are sometimes driven into a frenzy and won’t give up until their target is dead. This merchant that visits me? He’s the only one that dares to come close, and he is a retired adventurer. He can defend himself if need be.”

Cellestra looked to be close to tears as she continued.

“I should have told you earlier. I realize now that I may have put you in a lot of danger due to who I am.”

Her story explained a couple of things that had gone unanswered so far, especially the bloodlust in the local fauna…

That wasn’t her fault. Sure, she could have told me, but I managed just fine. If anything, it helped me get quite a bit of experience, both in numbers and alertness. She had no reason to feel guilty about something she couldn’t control.

I put my pedipalps on her arm that rested on the table and cast my healing light, causing her to relax slightly. I then started pointing at the letters once more.

“No need to worry. Am fine. Still friend.”

“You’re the first person to look at it that way. This is the reason I was exiled. This, and my appearance.”

Appearance? Was it the purple eyes? That wasn’t so bad.

Cellestra closed her eyes and seemed to be finished talking. She slowly started eating her breakfast while I was left wondering what was wrong with her eyes…

I liked them.