The summer sun shone brightly that morning, its rays penetrating the forest canopy and illuminating the ground below, bathing it in light. Aylo had been living in this forest for many years and she knew from experience that it would be a great day to go gather some roots and herbs that she desperately needed. She wanted to make her favorite dish tonight but was lacking a few ingredients. Woven basket in hand, she opened the door of her home and stepped outside. She paused momentarily, fingers on her temples and eyes closed, running through her mental checklist to make sure that she didn't forget anything.
Satisfied that she hadn't, she closed and locked the door in one fluid, practiced motion. Walking to the edge of her small, wooden patio – she had built it herself, along with the rest of the house – she inhaled the fresh morning air, held it, and let out a long, satisfying sigh. A contented smile on her face, she quickly stepped down onto the dirt path leading from her house and was on her way. Her cottage was situated in a small clearing amidst the vast woodlands, so it wasn't long until she was deep within the forest.
Aylo admired the display of nature around her as she plodded along at an easy pace: birds chirping and darting between the trees, bees hovering around the splendidly colored flowers, and the occasional deer or moose drinking from one of the many creeks in the area. Summer was her favorite time of the year, especially since this one had been fairly mild.
Aylo loved spending her time outside; she had discovered that it helped to keep her dark memories from the fore of her thoughts, at least for a little while. She continued along the path until she came to a part of the woods she recognized and knew well. She abruptly turned to her right, leaving the trail, and began to work her way through the thick foliage and brush. The limbs and branches of the bushes pulled and scratched at her clothes. She did not enjoy this part but she knew that this was a small price to pay for what lay ahead. Eventually she could see a break in the trees not too far away – that was her destination.
Passing the massive trunks, she stepped out into a small meadow that was abundant with wild flowers of varying sizes and exotic hues. The warm sun was directly overhead, making the small, cold stream that bisected the clearing sparkle brilliantly. Aylo paused a moment to take in the beautiful scenery, her smile growing by the second – this was her paradise. She stopped for a second to pick off the many twigs and leaves that clung to her from her little adventure through the brush. This time there were even some thorns embedded in her skin – she plucked them out, wincing at the sting. Glad that she was done with that part, she walked to the middle of the meadow, admiring the variety of flora, and took a seat. She decided to just sit for a moment; she had been walking for nearly an hour and her legs needed a quick rest.
'Could this day be any more perfect?', she mused to herself as she leaned back on her hands. She tossed her head back and closed her eyes, letting the sunlight warm her face, 'Probably not', she grinned.
Aylo felt at peace as she sat there; she always did when she came here. Although nature relaxed her, this was the only place where she truly felt at ease. There was something in the air of this place that made her feel like a new person, completely removed from the reality of her violent past. She felt that here, the flowers and the animals didn't care that her hands were stained with the blood of hundreds of innocents; they did not care about the person she used to be or what she had done; they only cared about who she was now. Here, in the tranquility of the meadow, was her only source of solace.
Aylo kept her eyes closed and used her other sense to observe her surroundings. She could feel the soft grass cushioning her, almost like a blanket, and the gentle breeze blowing through her hair. She heard the buzz of insects as they hovered from flower to flower going about their work, the rustling of leaves in the trees, and the bubbling of water running over rocks in the nearby stream. Aylo sighed happily and sat back up, opening her eyes. She gathered her long, snow-colored hair and ran her slender fingers through it, feeling how soft it was. She continued moving up but then stopped abruptly when her hand touched her left horn – her face turning suddenly downcast. She continued to examine her horn, or what was left of it, moving her hand around the sharp, jagged edge where it was broken.
Many years ago, her elegant horns had been the envy of her peers. Although she had liked her horns, Aylo had never thought of them as particularly special; but many people had told her that they were beautiful. Now, her left horn was broken, but she still had about half of it left. It wasn't the aesthetics of the broken horn that upset her however; what it did was to serve as a constant reminder of her past. Aylo's face grew more despondent as she recalled the events that led its breaking.
The stench of rotting corpses was thick in her nostrils as she made her way through what was left of the village. The sun was setting, the atmosphere tinting the light to make the sky, which was nearly occluded from the smoke of numerous fires, appear a dark, deep red; identical in color to the blood that was splattered on her armor. As she walked she could hear the sounds of other soldiers going through one last sweep, looking for any survivors; now and then she heard the screams of another that they found. The battle had not lasted long, if you could even call it a battle. The place had been nearly defenseless; after all it was only a remote fishing village. Regardless, their orders were to raze the town, and she always followed her orders to the minute detail. Trudging through the layer of bodies that covered the ground, she heard a voice, or rather, someone crying in the house next to her –
Aylo quickly cut her train of thought, desperate to put that memory back deep into her mind where it belonged, not wishing to relive that moment. She let out her breath, not realizing she had been holding it during her sudden flashback. She then became aware that her hands hurt; she looked down at them and saw that they were clenched, her knuckles white, fingers digging into her palms. She opened her hands and extended her fingers, stretching out the pain. She let out a deep, weary sigh. She was upset with herself. She was usually careful about keeping her thoughts in check and she struggled to remember how her mind had wandered back to those terrible days.
'Oh yeah…' She thought sullenly, '… my stupid horn.'
Suddenly, she didn't really feel like gathering flowers and herbs anymore, the resurgence of her memories had killed her mood. She drearily thought about the journey back home to her comfortable, albeit lonely, house. She had been living alone for years now. After what happened in the military, she had abandoned everything from her old life, cutting all ties.
Talyiah was the name her parents had given her but she had thrown it away, not wanting to be that person anymore; instead, so chose to her call herself Aylo. After creating a new identity, she had set off into the wilderness on her own, wandering aimlessly for months. Eventually she came to this area and decided that she liked it – no people and plenty of solitude. Every now and then though, she did feel a little lonesome, but she repressed those feeling as she reminded herself that it was better for everyone this way. Her smile now completely gone from her face, she stood up and was about to begin her walk back when she sensed a commotion at the edge of the clearing, just beyond the tree line. Reacting out of instinct, she threw her body to the ground and lay there quietly, looking between the stalks of grass in the direction that she suspected the disturbance originated from. She didn't have to wait long before a figure stumbled into view.
It looked like it was attempting to run, but it kept stumbling and falling over itself. She could tell that it was humanoid in shape, and it was obviously injured in some way, explaining the uncoordinated movements. The stranger made it about thirty more yards and fell down, but this time he, or she, didn't get up. Aylo lay where she was, motionless, analyzing the situation. She could not see the person anymore; the plants were too high to see anyone laying down in them. She was curious as to who this person was because she had not seen anyone in nearly two years. While her interest was piqued, she was very cautious. Whoever it was could be dangerous, not that she couldn't handle herself, but she did not take unnecessary risks. She also considered the fact that this person was running from something, or someone, and was injured, so there was a likely chance that the pursuers were not far behind – which meant she had better leave, and fast. She began to crawl on her stomach to the other edge of the meadow but then halted. She stopped, conflicted over whether to leave him, or to go and help. She thought for just a moment, but knew it was pointless. She let out an angry grunt, sprung up, and ran over the where she thought he had fallen.
'I am way too nice for my own good,' she thought angrily to herself, 'If this turns out t – '
She did not have time to complete that thought as the ground rushed up to meet her face. Unable to put her hands out fast enough to catch herself, Aylo turned a little to her left, landing on her shoulder. Pain jolted through her arm, spreading from the point of impact.
She sat up, face contorted in pain, rubbing and rolling her sore shoulder, "At least its better than a broken nose." She groaned aloud.
Remembering the situation, she made to stand but then stopped when she saw what she had tripped over. A blood elf was lying face down in front of her; she could tell it was an elf from the way the ears were shaped.
'What the hell is a blood elf doing here?!' She mentally shouted. The fact that one was laying in the grass in front her shocked her. She had not seen one of their kind in years, not since...
She shook her head to rid herself of that thought as her mind began to drift back towards that awful day.
Carefully, Aylo crawled closer towards the elf, who was making no apparent effort to move. When she got close enough, she reached out her hand and grabbed his shoulder. In one swift motion, she pulled him over onto his back and drew her knife to his throat. She halted when she saw that he was actually a she. Aylo had been correct about it being a blood elf, but was surprised that it was a girl, a very young one at that. She looked at the elf's face – the girl was undoubtedly unconscious. To make sure she wasn't actually dead, Aylo put her fingers to the elf's neck, feeling for a pulse; she found one, faint, but still there. Satisfied, her gaze returned to the stranger's face; the first thought came unbidden, but it resounded clearly in Aylo's head…. 'Beautiful.' The blood elf's blonde, shoulder length hair framed her delicate features. She had a small, but nevertheless cute, nose and defined cheekbones. She had a rather sharp chin and the softest looking lips Aylo had ever seen. Without knowing why, she reached out and brushed the unconscious elf's cheek with the tips of her fingers, feeling how smooth and silky her skin was. Aylo felt saddened that she could not see the girl's eyes; but she could well imagine that they were gorgeous. Aylo continued to stare at the elf's face, enthralled by its flawlessness.
Well, flawless if you didn't count the many scrapes and scratches, along with the blood and dirt mixture that had caked onto her skin. Aylo snapped out of her trance, finally noticing the elf's injuries. She realized that she had been staring at the girls face for many minutes, and besides herself she felt a slight blush coming on. Dismissing it with a shake of her head, she put her arms under the elf and stood up, surprised – and relieved – at how light she was. She quickly turned and started in the direction of her home, moving as fast as she could while carrying the deadweight in her arms.
'What have I gotten myself into?' was all Aylo could think as she trekked back through the forest.
Authors Note: Hey, thanks for reading! Please continue on if you enjoyed. Have you good day.