"Come on! If we don't run faster, we won't catch him!"
"Remind me again, why are we doing this?" Quinn asked, trying her best to keep up with Santana's fast pace.
"To have a little fun, babe," Puck answered, eyeing Quinn with a big grin on his face.
"It's more than that, Puckerman. We have to show them who truly run this land." Santana's tone was serious, and in her eyes a cold determination could be seen. "Now hurry up, you lazy morons."
The trio kept going as fast as they could, jumping over logs and dodging lower branches. The sound of strong footsteps smashing leaves and the cold wind that invaded her lungs with each unsteady breath made Santana's excitment grow every minute. The only thought on her mind was scaring the hell out of their prey. She hated him and his race with her entire being, and she would take every opportunity to get a small revenge for what they had done to her father. She knew the war would come soon enough, and with it, full revenge. Until then, she thought, there was no harm in having a little fun.
"Seems like you've been caught, pointy ears," Puck's voice brought Santana back to reality, and her eyes fell on the scared creature in front of them.
His eyes were blue, or green, it didn't matter. His hair was brown, and his face was kind of pointy. So were his ears. Such a freak, Santana thought.
"What do you want? I've done nothing wrong," the elf said, an expression of fear on his face.
"But you did," Santana replied, her eyes shining with a mixture of anger and mischievous. "You were totally off-limits, elf. You trespassed. We caught you wandering in our land, near our castle."
"I was barely out of the woods! And the castle is pretty near the forest, you know that. Anyway, I was in your lands because a hurt sheep was there. It was bleeding and everything. I could not let a poor animal suffer," he explained, rambling a little and looking terrified. Santana liked seeing the fear in his eyes.
"Oh, man up, loser. You're almost crying because a sheep had a little cut?" Puck shook his head, a mocking grin spread on his face.
"I think he's almost crying because we caught him. I mean," and Quinn directed her look to the elf, giving him a sweet smile, "you know you're in trouble, right, dear?" The venom she put in that last word and the malice in her eyes made the elf shiver.
"Y-you can't be serious. I did nothing wrong!" His voice came out in whimper, and Santana noticed how his eyes were darting in every direction, looking for a escape. She smiled, because she hadn't hunt her prey deep in this damp, dark forest to let it run away so easily.
"You know, ugly face, we like to teach little thieves a lesson where I live," Santana said slowly, pulling a silver dagger out of the sheath on her waist. "We leave a mark on their faces," she continued, looking at the dagger with affection, "so everybody will always know what a scamp they are." Her eyes finally met the elf's, and he just had to gulp.
"I-I'm not a thief! I didn't steal anything," he declared desesperately, looking more like he'd burst into tears than ever.
"Maybe not a thief, but still an out-law for trespassing." Puck shook his head as if he were disappointed.
"You know what? I did nothing wrong," the elf began, but was interrupted by Quinn, "Can you say another sentence, please?" She asked in an extremely bored tone.
"Oh, I wouldn't expect that much from a freak's brain, Q," Santana laughed.
"I did nothing wrong, because we elves are free to go anywhere we want in this kingdom. We don't have to follow your rules, and if we do, it's just to avoid conflict. We're peaceful and we respect you. You're not reciprocating that right now." He looked at the three humans in front of him as if he resented them for being ungrateful.
"Decided to man up then, pointy ea— WHAT THE HELL!" Puck screamed as he saw three big wolves coming out of the woods and looking not very friendly at them. When they started patting the ground, Puck murmured to Santana, "We'd better get out of here. I'm ready to deal with fairies and elves, but definitely not ready to deal with big teeths and claws."
Santana looked hesitant. Damn, she was scared too, but she didn't want to leave as a coward. She took a look at the elf and said to Puck and Quinn, "He is not afraid. Why should we be?"
"Because they're my friends, not yours," the elf answered, smiling for the first time during their encounter.
Santana wouldn't move, and the decision had to be made for her as the largest wolf jumped in her direction.
"Watch out!" Puck screamed, and showing amazing reflex, managed to push his friend to the ground with him just in time to avoid the wolf's attack. One closer look at the animal's fang was all it took to make the girl change her mind.
"This isn't over," she stated in a tone full of anger to the elf and left in a hurry, followed closely by her friends.
"Rory, you can't just go out of the woods like that. You know how humans hate spotting us near their villages and castle," Will said in a tired tone. Just hearing about the episode made him feel exhausted.
"I had to help the sheep, Mr. Schue! It would be wrong to ignore it."
"I'm glad Blaine was nearby and able to send the wolves to rescue," Will just sighed because he couldn't disagree with Rory's argument. The elves were raised respecting, loving and protecting the animals and the nature.
"Why didn't you just come out of the bushes and helped me? I was scared, you know..." Rory had a bit of resent on his tone.
"I'm sorry for that, Rory. It's just that it wouldn't have been wise. You know the humans wouldn't have been scared of just one more elf— ,"
"Especially such a good looking one," Kurt interrupted.
"But I knew angry-looking wolves would freak them out," Blaine continued, and the poorly hidden smile on his face was an indication that he had heard his sweethearts' remark. "Besides, I assumed that the presence of more elves would only infuriate them. The dark-haired girl seemed to not like our species one bit."
"That is true. When she pulled out her dagger I thought— ,"
"Wait, what? She pulled out a dagger and pointed it at you?" Now it was Will's turn to interrupt, and he seemed very alarmed.
"I never said she pointed it at me..." Rory murmured, trying to ease their leader's worries.
"Do you think she would've used it to attack you?" Kurt asked, bitting his lower lip in a nervous habit. Rory shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know. I mean, first I thought they were just playing around and trying to mess with me. I thought all they wanted was to get me scared- what they certainly accomplished. But when she pulled out that dagger I just freaked out. I don't know if the talk about leaving a mark on my face was just a threat or if she was actually considering going for it. Either way, I'm just glad I didn't have to find out their real intentions."
Kurt noticed that Rory was talking a lot, and when the shy elf suddenly start speaking non-stop it usually meant that he was nervous.
"Rory, I think you should rest now. You sure had a difficult afternoon, and you need to calm down and sleep." Kurt patted his friend's shoulder and started conducting him ouf of the tent.
"I need a bath first. I had to run like crazy."
"No problem. We'll ask Rachel and Finn to fix a bath for you." Kurt glanced one last time into the tent. "I'll catch up with you later, Blaine."
"Sure, Kurt. I'll meet you outside in a minute."
When Blaine and Will were left alone, the younger elf looked seriously at their leader.
"What does all this mean?"
"It means," Will sighed again. Blaine noticed that the situation was making Mr. Schuester look years older. "That we have to stay alert. If the young humans are being this aggressive, the war we all fear may be just around the corner."
Brittany was lying on the grass near the lake. She had her feet and part of her legs immersed in the water and was looking at the sky. It was bright and the sun was shining, so she had to use her hand to shield her eyes from the intense luminosity. The blonde thought all that clarity was the sun's way of saying goodbye, since it would be soon replaced by the moon and the stars. Now that she considered it, she didn't know if she preferred looking at the sky at day or night. Both views were just so beautiful. She heard light footsteps aproaching, but didn't make any moves to show she acknowledged someone's presence.
"He's sleeping now," Rachel informed as she sat by Brittany's side, hugging her knees. "He finally managed to relax when Finn started telling him all sorts of crazy stories and jokes."
"Yeah, Finn is good at dealing with people." Brittany still didn't move from her position.
"So are you. I was actually surprised that you didn't run right into Rory's tent to make sure he was okay and take care of him."
"I feared that I would make him feel worse," Brittany confessed in a small voice.
"What! Why?"
"I was crying, Rach. I don't understand why we have to fight with each other. I don't understand why they have to hate us so much. I don't understand why we can't try to befriend them."
"I think we all just got used to the way things are, sweetie."
"But it's wrong! We should all be running with the unicorns together!" The blonde elf punched the ground in frustration.
"Britt, you're the only one who questions this abusive relationship between the elves and the humans because you're the only one who is pure enough to trust in anyone," Rachel said with a little laugh. "And it's wonderful. If we were all like you, we'd live in peace."
"And we'd all be super beautiful too."
"And that," Rachel laughed more easily this time. "But you know, I have a piece of information that will let you shocked."
"What is it?" Brittany asked, curiosity showing in her blue eyes.
"Humans don't believe in unicorns," Rachel whispered as if it were a huge secret.
"What! How is that even possible? They are like, the most magical creatures ever! How can you ignore something so awesome?"
"It's because humans became so mean, Britt, that they lost their connection with the nature. They can't hear nor see much because they lost most of their innocence. And the adult elves think we cannot and should not trust beings that are so disconnected to nature. That's why we stay away from them."
"I'll show a human an unicorn," Brittany declared with resolution. "And then we'll all be able to live happy and together."
The blonde stood up and shook the dust off her skirt.
"Where are you going?" Rachel asked, looking at her friend.
"I'm going to take a walk. I need inspiration to work on my plan. See you later, Rach." And she left the clearing going in the direction of the woods.
"And I hope your plan works, Britt. I definitely hope so, or we all might just be in trouble deep," Rachel whispered to the wind, closing her eyes and sighing.
"Come on, Puckerman, let's go back," Santana begged, looking intensely at her friend.
"No way, Santana. This afternoon was bad enough. I'm not going back there," he shaked his head, looking resolved.
"But I lost my dagger when we got the hell out of those damn woods. I need it back."
"Why do you need it? Surely your stepmother can buy you a dozen others."
"It was my father's, moron. You know it."
"Oh, right. I forgot it." He then fell silent. He knew his best friend; she wouldn't let go of an object that had belonged to her beloved father.
"I'll tell you what: tomorrow I'll go back there with you and we'll look together for it, ok?" Quinn proposed, hoping she could get the brunette to calm down a little.
Santana stayed silent. She wasn't all pleased with the idea of waiting for the next day to recover her weapon, but it seemed like it was the best deal she would get from her friends. She sighed and started heading to the castle.
"Santana," Quinn called. Santana didn't turn around, but stopped walking to show that she was listening. "Don't forget to clean your cuts. Some of them are still bleeding a little."
Santana cringed. The chase had been such a disaster. Not only had they failed to have a decent amount of fun with the elf, but were also granted with cuts and scratches left by the branches they had hit during their runaway. She felt defeated, but also decided to get the elf back for it. She nodded her head to let Quinn know she would take cure of her wounds and continued her path.
"Miss Lopez," the sentinels welcomed her as she aproached the castle. Santana nodded her head, entering the huge building and walking through the corridors and straight to her bedroom. Once in, the girl looked in the mirror and saw that she had indeed some blood straining her left cheek. Santana then proceeded to fill a basin with water. She took some cotton, imbued it in the water and pressed it against her wounds. The brunette flinched a little at the contact, but the slight pain made her feel somewhat relieved. In a way, it seemed like a punishment for her failure, and she kind of thought she deserved it. When Santana finished cleaning up the cuts and scratches, she went for a long, relaxing bath in the tub she'd had her maid fill with hot water.
Dad. I wonder what you would say if you saw me running like a coward in the woods today... would you be ashamed? Santana closed her eyes, and felt a lone tear roll down her cheek. Well, thanks to those bastard elves, I'll never know, will I? Angrily, she got out of the tub, dried herself off and decided to call it a day, heading to her large bed.
Later that night, Santana was tossing and turning in her bed, unable to sleep. Her mind kept going to the dagger lost in the forest, and soon enough her bitter thoughts convinced her that those damn elves would steal it if she didn't act quickly.
"Maybe they've already taken it," she murmured to herself, sitting up and throwing the blankets off her legs. She felt restless, and it only took her one more fraction of a second to make her decision.
"Sorry, Quinn. I guess I won't be waiting for you," she said to the cold air, and got out of bed in order to get helserf ready for a late tour in the woods.
The moon, the stars and the oil lamp in her hand provided the luminosity the brunette needed to walk cautiously along the forest. At night, the place seemed extremely creepy, and the sound of kindlings cracking under her boots was enough to put Santana on the edge. Trying to pay attention to everything in her surroundings, she kept going until she reached the place where they had trapped the scared elf. Her eyes darted everywhere, uneasily, because Santana had a strong feeling that she was being watched. Pushing the thought to the back of her mind, she crouched and directed the oil lamp to the ground, looking carefully for her precious silver dagger.
After a few minutes (that felt incredibly long in the dark, cold night), she spotted her dagger near a tree, next to a small ravine. She took firm steps in its direction, picking it up and letting out a relieved sigh.
"That's a beautiful weapon you got there. But I don't really like weapons." Santana was startled by the sudden voice, and as she rushed to turn and see who her company was, she took a little too big step and tripped close to the edge of the ravine.
"Watch out," the voice warned, but it was too late. Santana lost her balance and fell in the ravine, rolling and hitting hard on logs, branches and clay on her way down. When her body finally touched the ground, Santana felt horribly dizzy and very sure that she had hit her hair on something.
"OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD!" Santana thought she heard someone aproaching and tried to focus her eyes on the owner of the voice. Soon a face was just above her own, an expression of great concern on the stranger's features.
"Don't worry. I promise you'll be okay." And when Santana' eyes met the girl's beautiful blue ones, she had a strange thought that she just had to verbalize.
"I now know I will," the brunette declared, and finally fell uncounscious.
A/N: Okay, so this is my first attempt at writing a fanfiction. I'd like to know what you guys think, so feel free to leave me a review and tell me what I should work on to make this better.
Also, feel free to correct any mistakes I've made in my writing. I suppose there are some, since English is not my first language. I apologize for them.
Thanks for reading and until next time!
