To her credit, Evangeline was waiting for Emirial as he descended the upper levels of the tavern. He knew he hadn’t overslept, the sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon. She was at least wearing more durable travel leathers rather than the dress she had the previous night. She had also reapplied her makeup, it was a much more subtle blend of colours. Had she even slept?

“You’re awake at last,” she said.

“Right on time, I think you’ll find,” he smirked. Emirial had forgone his cloak, it was wrapped up into one of the bags he was carrying with him, revealing the full might of his Elvish armour.

It was a night-black coloured metal, the carved detail on it was astronomical though. Each part slotted in so perfectly with the other. Elvish writing styled the chest plate in a dark silver which read: Warrior of the damned.

“You look terrifying,” she said, almost regretting her choice of companion. At least no one would attack them when he looked like this.

“Thanks,” Emirial grinned. His blue blades rested over each shoulder, standing out against the infinite black. “We should get going.”

The girl bade her farewells to some of the patrons who were clearly still up from the previous night. The bartender was eyeing up Emirial something awful, hand resting on his baton. Not that it would do him any good.

Emirial headed outside the tavern, wanting a breath of fresh air, or what could be classed as fresh air in this town. The cool morning air rushed around him as the door gently thudded behind him. He took a deep breath, the smell of fresh fish was the most prominent. They were close to the port, so it made sense, even if it turned his stomach.

Humans were walking down the streets with carts of fresh bread or linen and other items ready for the morning market. They all kept staring at his eyes and ears if they could make it past the glooming dark metal. Most of them scurried away at a quickened pace, bringing a devious smile to Emirial’s otherwise warrior like features.

The door opened behind him. “Shall we go?” the sweet voice sounded. Why wasn’t she more terrified?

“We should get some horses. Can you ride?”

“There is a stable at the edges of the city, and of course I can ride, why wouldn’t I?”

Emirial looked at her thin womanly frame. “Human women are generally weak, I just assumed.”

She gave him a dangerous glare that said otherwise as she stormed past him, throwing a rude gesture over her shoulder. Emirial simply laughed it off and followed her quickened steps. She was almost jogging at this point, in a fury or to annoy him, he didn’t know. His much longer legs had no difficulty keeping up.

Everyone moved out of their path as the thud of his boots echoed down the streets, a warning to anyone who would get in the way. A small trail of soldiers was casually following him, not that he cared. They wouldn’t cause much of an issue if it came to that.

Evangeline paused at one of the vendors selling a mixture of bread and cakes and lifted a loaf before fumbling into her pouches to get a silver piece for it. A hand reached over her and placed a gold coin on the counter. She looked around to see Emirial had paid for it, payment for his earlier comment perhaps? She scoffed and walked off without a word mentioned.

Emirial lifted a loaf from the counter also and noticed the frail older woman had stood far enough back that he couldn’t reach over to grab her. Did she really believe this small wooden frame would be able to stop him? He unsettled her with a quick wink before following his guide.

They had continued walking through the city for fifteen minutes before the walls began to loom in front of them.

“Why are you moving so fast? You are going to tire yourself out,” he said.

“I’m not as frail and stupid as you seem to think.”

“I never said you were. It’s just humans in general,” he blurted.

She stopped dead in her tracks and slowly turned around to face him, her eyes narrowed in rage. “What makes you so much better than me? Or us humans as you like to remind us.”

She was beautiful in the morning light, the sunlight brightening her eyes spectacularly. “It doesn’t really matter,” he said. He hadn’t stopped walking when she did and was soon past her. The sound of neighing ahead drew his attention to the stables which, within a few seconds he was knocking insistently on the door. No one answered. “Come on,” he shouted as he started pounding on the door, the wood groaning in protest under his armoured fist.

“No one is going to answer if you are knocking like that.”

Emirial continued relentlessly and finally grunted as the door swung open and a man and woman were standing in the entrance, a sword in his hand. He turned to face Evangeline his voice full of cockiness. “You were saying?” She only glared at him.

The woman standing in the door frame stumbled backwards as her husband moved around her to stand in front. His simple, almost blunt sword grasped in both hands and pointing outwards. Emirial knocked it from his hands in a quick blow as it slid across the floor. Fear glistened in the man’s eyes.

“I’m not here to harm you, I need two horses.”

There was a considerable pause where Emirial did nothing to look less daunting. “I thought the other elves were just my imagination,” the human woman said, her husband confirming with a quick glance in her direction.

“What other elves?” Emirial quizzed. He figured who it was but wanted to be sure, to make sure he was on the right trail.

The man stared back at him. “About a month ago seven elves appeared. They didn’t look like you though.”

They looked less threatening, Emirial thought. He had the answers he needed though, now just to get to the city to find them. “Horses, two of your best,” he said, throwing a small pouch onto the rug at the man’s feet. He glanced back at his wife, which could have been a farewell as he walked out of the house and into the paddock. His steps didn’t falter though as he bravely had his back turned to Emirial.

“We don’t have many, but you can have two of our fastest.” He said, pointing to two beige coloured horses which were saddled already. Probably why he chose them, as Emirial spotted other mounts which would have been much faster, maybe less durable, and prone to needing more frequent rests though. Or perhaps he chose them because it would mean we would walk further away from him.

“Done. You may go,” he ordered.

The man scurried off as soon as the words were said. Evangeline shouting, “I’m sorry,” after him.

Emirial had mounted the larger of the two in one swift fluid motion and was waiting on Evangeline. She was dwarfed standing next to the horse as she tried to pull herself up, using the saddle as best she could but kept slipping down, her clothing was getting dirtier with each attempt. His ears perked up as he heard the locks glide shut on the doors of the house.

He watched Evangeline for her fifth attempt, she was never going to ask for help, she was far too stubborn for this and he almost respected her for it, but he didn’t have the time for this. His boots thudded on the ground, sending droplets of mud through the air, splashing on his armour and his mounts legs, it whinnied in response.

Evangeline didn’t have time to protest as he grabbed her by the waist and helped her up. “Thank you,” she whispered angrily, as she swung one of her legs over the saddle.

He was sure he saw a blush appear on her cheeks as she looked away, he turned back to his own horse, concealing a smirk. He wasn’t going to help, but it proved him right after all, and she knew it. Human women were weak, at least to Elvish standards.

“Lead the way, your highness,” he said smugly. Maybe these few days would be quite fun after all.

She patted the neck of her horse as she spurred her onwards, she gladly obliged, clearly restless to get out of the paddock at last as she nudged into a small sprint. “Woah,” she shouted as she struggled to get the horse under control.

“You need to be firmer on the reins,” he shouted after her.

“I know what I’m doing.” Came the sulk as she pulled, the horse thrusting its head side to side in protest.

“Could have fooled me,” he scoffed, nudging his own horse in front to lead. He could feel her eyes burrowing into the back of his skull, maybe wishing she had a dagger she could plunge into his nape. She had lost her husband recently though and was just trying to make a life for herself. Emirial felt something stir deep in his chest but decided to ignore it.

She rode up beside him after finally winning her little battle, the horse's expression told Emirial it wasn’t finished yet, it wasn’t going down easily. “Salithius,” he whispered, reaching over to pat her mount.

“What?” she said.

“It means strong-willed.”

The gates ahead were blocked by an array of pikemen. The stone here was darker, scorched even. The only issue was they pikes were facing inwards directly towards the two riders.

“Let me lead,” she said as she spurred onwards. Emirial followed curiously waiting to see how this would go.

“Where are you headed?” one of the bearded soldiers asked.

“Saskinar City.”

“Bad idea.” Was all the reply they received.

Emirial rode up to the guard he aimed his pike too close to his horse, making it rear up onto its hind legs. The other guards became uneasy as they viewed him in the full glory of his armour “Why is it a bad idea?”

He began to stutter, “We received word this morning, the city has been taken.”

Already? Emirial thought. He was too late to stop it.

“Treason, by her own uncle no less.” One of the others completed, his armour rattling as he shook his head.

Oh. Well, that’s reversible, at least it wasn’t the beasts from the message Urgost told him about. Although Emirial was sure, he would give them a good opponent.

Come to think of it, this town was somewhat in the dark about that whole thing. No preparations, no bolstering their defences, very few guards. This Queen’s uncle seized the city from her when they should be summoning their armies. Did anyone know?

Evangeline nudged him to ask. “Do we still go?”

“The Queen will be returning to reclaim her throne. It is the best place to find her. Let’s go.”

The guards moved out of the gatehouse to allow them to pass through. It would be a long few days travelling to the city and she would hold him back. However, he was secretly glad for the company, not that he was going to admit it to her.

“Freak.” One of the guards spat on the ground behind him.

Emirial stopped his horse, this was going to be fun. He leapt off his mount within a few moments, sending him scattering down the road and was standing in front of them, allowing full view of his armour.

“Emirial, don’t.”

“Who said that?” he knew who it was, but he wanted to see if the little rat would own up to his words. Nothing but silence as the guards shifted uneasily, moving into a defensive formation. He withdrew one of his shimmering blue blades from its sheath and swiped it across the wall to his right, cutting smoothly through the stone. “I said, who said that?”

They were visually terrified, the smell of urine hit him a second later. Weak.

“Please, Emirial,” she pleaded.

“You are lucky there is a sweet young lady here, or you would have paid for that comment.” He said, his sword gliding to point to the one who uttered it. The colour drained from the man’s face within seconds before he fainted and lay in a heap on the ground.

~

They were travelling down a worn woodland trail. The moss-covered trees blotted out the view from the sky, but it was getting dark, the sun would be gone from the world soon. Emirial almost felt like he was home. The trees weren’t as full of life, and there was no sound in the clearing beside themselves, but he did start to miss it, he hadn’t realized he would have.

“We should set up camp,” Evangeline suggested.

They hadn’t spoken for the last hour. She was angry at another comment he had made, but he didn’t mind the silence, it was refreshing compared to the busy town they had left. He couldn’t even remember what the comment was, some insult to the weakness of humans he imagined. They were feeble though, pathetically so.

“Not here, we need a more open area. Too many dangers camping in an area like this.”

“It’s getting dark though, we can’t see in the dark.”

“Humans can’t,” he blurted out before he realized it, awaiting another scolding from her but nothing came.

They continued along the track. Emirial could briefly hear running water nearby and pulled on the reigns to nudge his horse in the direction of it. The animals needed the rest and drink as much as he did.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“There is a stream nearby, we can stop there if suitable.”

Evangeline sighed in relief as she followed him off the trail, it was a tight fit squeezing through the trees. Emirial had no issues with his own larger mount, but Evangeline’s rebellious beige runt was giving her much difficulty.

Emirial had paused, waiting for her, but she was having no luck at all. He concealed a grin at her struggle. A few minutes passed by before she finally gave in. “Help me.”

Emirial briefly waved his hand behind him. The horse calmed down considerably and began walking through the trees with a new lease on life.

“Never mind, I managed.” she said, beaming proudly.

The small stream greeted them before long, it was safe enough for the horses to drink from, the bank to this side was quite shallow, allowing them to stand and drink safely. It sloped drastically at the other edge which would stop any creatures coming that way.

It was in a big enough clearing that Emirial was happy enough to stay here for the night. The trees were far enough back to give him a good enough view into the woodlands, no one would be sneaking up on him here.

Evangeline was off somewhere; he wasn’t too sure where but could hear her fumbling through the trees, cursing at a branch that poked her leg. She was back moments later with a pile of wood. “We need to build a fire,” she said answering his gaze

“No fires. Draws too much attention.”

“It’s f-freezing,” she stammered. She did look paler than she had earlier. Emirial never knew what cold was. Sure he could feel the nip of the wind in the air, but cold and heat were foreign concepts. His body regulating his temperature, so he didn’t feel it ever. “And don’t mutter something about humans. I’m sick of hearing about it.”

Emirial looked momentarily stunned. “Fine,” he murmured as she dropped the logs in a pile at his feet.

“Do you know how to light one?” she asked, having no idea herself. She hadn’t even spent this much time in the wilderness in her entire life to date.

Emirial clicked his fingers together, and the flames spread over the twigs and branches.

“Show off,” she muttered, a smile gracing her lips.

He looked at her again, she didn’t know he possessed magic, yet she still didn’t cower before him or what he was. They both sat around the fire for some time in relative silence, the horses were grazing quietly at their side attached to the makeshift hitching rail Emirial had created.

She was huddled close to the fire, his cloak resting over her shoulders. She had refused it at first, but it was too cold for her, and she finally succumbed to his insistence on the matter. Her knees held up tight to her chest, trying to heat up as much as possible.

“Would you really have killed those guards at the town?” she said in a lowered voice.

He replied without a moment’s hesitation. “Yes.”

“Why?”

“I don’t suffer insults lightly, or fools.”

She looked at him coldly, killing people for a comment is a bit dark for anyone. Sure, people had started fistfights over it or insulted people back but to kill a retinue of guards over a word, it was wrong. “It was a single word. You should be better than that.”

“Better than that? The human plague doesn’t deserve my pity.”

“Why are you always so fucking cruel?” she began to storm off. Where would she go anyway? They were in the middle of the countryside, she needed him.

“Do you want to know why? Do you really want to know?” He said, raising his voice. A flash of anger crossing his face.

She halted, not turning to face him. “Yes. I want to know what’s turned you into such a cold-hearted merciless bitch.”

She was brave. He would give her that. He almost admired her for it to tell the truth. Not many would have the courage to speak to a him in such a tone, but his rage began to bubble. A wave of anger he hadn’t felt in a long time, one he had done his best to hide in the dark crevices of his mind.

“I have been to these lands before, almost a thousand years ago.” Her look of surprise said it all. She didn’t believe he could be that old.

He spoke, his voice gaining volume as he went on. “We helped you humans defeat a foe, a great terrible endless foe and do you know how you repaid us after everything we did to save you? After our own numbers were severely diminished. After we had sacrificed over half of our entire race. Half, let that number sink in. Do you know what your human kings did then?”

He stopped speaking, making her ask the one word he wanted to continue his tale, make her get involved in it. “What?” she gulped. The fire crackled between them as it lit up their faces, small sparks dancing around the flames.

“They ordered the slaughter of my people. Not just the men that fought alongside you, our women and children too. We live long lives you see, and we do not forget or forgive. Our people do not conceive easily, and children are a rarity with no more than a hundred babies born per year, so we treasure them beyond anything you can imagine. My nephew was over in your lands at the time as most of our island was deserted. We had all travelled here to fight. I returned to the homes so graciously offered to us by the leaders of you humans to find him nailed to the front door.” Emirial’s voice broke. “He was seven. Seven.”

She could feel her heart stop. Such a young child killed and portrayed in such a way, she couldn’t imagine the grief she would face if it was her own.

“You ask why I’m cold-hearted. It wasn’t because of that moment. I hadn’t felt my heart as much as it did at that moment. I wanted to tear it out of my chest with my bare hands. It was because of what I did after that which blackened it. The grief I felt turned into anger, and the anger into revenge as my rage enveloped me, consumed every living thought. I slaughtered an entire human settlement, over seven hundred of you, but it wasn’t enough.”

Evangeline looked on horrified, but also with what was understanding. The loss to the elves felt more powerful to her than the loss of the humans. This was thirty or forty generations back for her people, but for Emirial, this was his life.

“For every dead elf I found after that I killed one hundred humans in my rage. I found Six hundred and thirty-two elven bodies that were butchered.” He paused. Fear shone in her eyes as she calculated the sheer sum of people he killed. “I had to be dragged from your lands by my general at the time before I managed to reach my count. We retreated back across the ocean to our lands and closed our borders and wiped our race from your history books, from your minds.”

“You asked me why I’m cold-hearted, and I have a dislike of humans, well now you know.”

“I’m sorry,” she told the bloodthirsty monster before her, but she wasn’t scared of him. If anything she understood his pain. He looked so defeated sitting there in front of the crackling fire. “After I lost my husband, I too went into a rage and wanted to sail to the pirate lands and kill them all. I trained with a sword for months and ended up becoming somewhat proficient in it. Probably not to your standards.” She smiled, sadly, shuffling closer to him.

“It took me a while to accept it, that he’s gone. But that’s why I play my harp, so that he can live on through my music. It probably sounds stupid, but it lets me be close to him for a short time, while the world is closed off and it’s just me and the song. Had I your power, or had I saved the person who killed my husband, I wouldn’t have been able to control myself either. I understand.” she finished, placing a delicate hand on his cold metal shoulder.

For a moment, it was just the two of them as they stared at each other like they had known the other for a lifetime, the two immortal warriors.