-dain pov-
I was weightless
My heartbeat was the only sound I could hear over the screaming wind as I fell, like a wounded raven about to slam into the midnight earth. I closed my eyes against the air, praying for the pain not to be too bad when suddenly, something whizzed towards me. The arrow pierced my cloak's hood, and sent me falling in another direction. Roughly, I hit into a tree, the arrow pinning me to it. I swung in a daze 50 ft from the ground, glancing around at who could have fired it. A short figure leapt down from one of the elevated castle courtyards, bow in hand. Striding up to me with her hands on her hips, Glathon the dread gnome yelled up to me, "What do you think you're doing Master Dain?"
A tear had formed in my cloak as my weight caused me to slide down from the arrow. As my cloak ripped free and I fell another 30 ft, Glathon sighed and shot two more arrows, this time pinning me to the tree by my boots. I hung upside and shouted back, "Trying to die so leave me alone to do it!" The gnome woman laughed and rose an eyebrow, "You drama queen. Let me guess- Leif doesn't feel the same way about you?"
Boiling anger rose up inside me as I struggled to free myself from the arrows and stupid tree. Lashing around and clunking my head on the trunk, Glathon laughed some more and I spat, "No. You wouldn't understand. You wouldn't understand what its like to be me." She continued staring at me like I was some whiny child as she replied, "What? you mean to be out of your comfort zone? to be thrown into a world you have no roots with and be expected to serve when you can't even find out how to be happy or have people trust you?" she smiled slyly at me, and even though her situation was different, I knew she was right. She must feel so out of place here, not at her mountain, and a gnome among humans who have only heard darkness about the wicked dread gnomes. I guess we are pretty similar.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry. You have it rough too."
"Mmhmm, I guess. But I've adjusted and I'm not throwing myself off of the castle."
She lithely scrambled up the tree and cut me down. I slid down the trunk, my white gloves scraping the bark. I collapsed at the tree's base beside her and met her big amber eyes, "I...I just don't know what to do. You're role here is to defend the castle. Mine isn't to be Leif's right hand man." She shrugged, "Then why did you set yourself up as that person?"
Sheepishly, my cheeks got hot and I gazed up at the moon, "The truth? I want Jasmine to trust me again. And maybe even like me." I started ripping at the grass, "I"m not that ol anymore. I do care about her and her feelings and about Deltora. I'm not just the Shadow Lord's secret weapon. I don't want to destroy anyone." Glathon nodded slowly, a sad looking smile on her thin lips, "Jasmine. She's a hard nut to crack, but try telling her this. Don't let her stop you form creating who you want to be now that you aren't just an ol. You have a chance to create yourself, Dain, and you're already doing pretty swell.
She elbowed me in the ribs and i turned to smile at her. In the moonlight Glathon was pretty beautiful, her short cropped hair blowing away from her face in the night wind. "You trust me." I said smoothly, nearly flirting with my eyes. She snorted and whacked me hard on the arm, "Don't try any of that on me, Master Dain. Jasmine will probably try to avoid you, but give her a little space and then make her stay and listen, just listen and do anything you can to show her you aren't an ol or at least not with the Shadow Lord anymore." She stood up and brushed off her leather pants and tunic, reaching out a hand. I took it and got to my feet, towering over her in height.
"No more suicide attempts?" she asked sternly.
"No more...I'll keep trying." I sighed, looking up at Jasmine's bedroom window and entering the palace.
