This will be the last update during school! School is out in a week and things are looking up fantastically!... not much can be said for Elen hm?
Ah oh well, what else would you expect with a story about death eh? So enjoy this!
Elen stomped in the forest, tears streaming down her white face. Her vision was blurry with the tears, causing her to stumble and her bare skin touch the trees and plants that wilted and shivered away to nothing. She continued to walk and cry throughout the night, her hands finding multiple live things and leaving a trail of death. Her tears dried when the sun lifted over the horizon, beginning to light the sick forest. There was no more water left in her, yet she lived on. She didn't stop walking, kept pushing onward, body never tiring. As she walked, her mind raced, the events from the previous night flashing in her mind; blood and decay all around her. She couldn't keep herself standing as she panicked, growing dizzy.
A neigh broke through her mind and stabled her. She turned, seeing the black horse standing ten feet back, eyes the starless night: calm and holding mysteries. Elen stared at the black horse, curious as to why the horse was there.
"Leave me," Elen commanded in a cold, metallic voice. The horse gave a snort, and clopped forward. Elen moved back quickly, hands by her sides as she commanded again. "Leave! Go back to your masters or whatever, but do not come near me!" Her voice now grew desperate, a please as she whispered. "I-I don't want to hurt you." The horse stopped, body perfectly still, but it didn't last. When Elen turned, going on her way, the horse trotted softly behind her. His hooves made close to no sound, and it was not until his hot breath hit her back did she spin, releasing a scream.
She backed away, but the horse was close on her tail; she cried out. "I am not your master! You don't want me as a master! Go back to people who... who can touch you." She choked, body lurching for tiers, but none came. The horse knelt his head to meet hers, giving a gently nudge on her cheek. Elen gasped, lifting her head out of instinct, expecting to see the horse dead and leave nothing but bones on the stone.
The sickness covered his body, making him invisible to Elen's eyes. When the smoke cleared, Elen's eyes widened and mouth gaped open: the front of the horse's snout was gone, leaving only bone, parts of his legs, and his tail was too only bone. Other parts of his body has rotted away, flesh rotted away and gnawed at by the disease. The horse still stood, however, and he approached her again, nuzzling her and comforting her. Elen extended her hand, feeling the hard bone, but the disease never taking him.
Elen smiled, sighing in relief and praising. "You are mighty brave to play that trick, but it does seem to pay off. It seems that you were destined to be mine, the steed of Death, so your name shall be, Dindel, silent horror." He nodded, the black dead hair flying. She brushed her hand up his face, brushing the hair back and caressing his back. She rested her hand on his back, and in a swift movement she lunged up and into his bare back. He was calm, never flinching as she rested her weight. She took a heavy breath, slowly gripping his hair between her bone fingers. With a swift kick Dindel galloped off, beyond the forest and into the world.
Dindel easily leaped over the black river, landing swiftly and off again. They escaped the forest, the sunlight glancing off her white skin, and his black fur absorbing all light touching him. Elen took a breath of the open air, feeling free from the closed air back in the forest. The two kept on moving, going throughout the night, traveling through the lands and the water beyond. After many day of galloping and trotting through many different fields, they came upon a small village. Night descending and giving the village a faint silhouette. The two slowed to a walk, slowly down as they entered the wooden village. Elen quickly found the inn, dismounting Dindel and entering the bright and crowded inn. Onlookers stared in horror at Dindel's body. Elen took in her surroundings, men and women alike laughed, drank, and ate throughout the inn.
"Oh, goodeven' m'lady, is there somethin' I can get you?" The innkeeper questioned sweetly, his red beard bristling.
Elen glared at the man, stuttering for an answer. "J-just a room for the night... p-please." The man nodded, turning and getting a room key ready as Elen dug into her gold purse.
"Is this for just one night? or two?" The man called out, quill in hand and gently eyes at Elen.
Elen replied quickly. "Just one night... thank you." The man wrote down the details, getting a key ready and holding it out.
"Ten gold then ma'am." He told, other hand extended for her gold. Elen lifted her hand for the gold, but gasped when she realized that she didn't have her gloves on her. She panicked, hand shaking and making the gold jingle. Eventually she just placed it down on the counter, hands going quickly back down her side. The man laughed and placed the key on the counter, scooping up the gold and laughed. "Ran away from home huh?"
Elen blinked, staring at the man with cautious eyes. "Yes actually... how did you...?"
He answered easily. "Oh I get those young ones once in a while, runnin' away from home 'cause of who kno's what." Elen sighed, knowing she could never talk about her past, her powers, she knows that no one would ever understand. She left the innkeeper, her attention on the many people crowding her way to her room. As she watched everyone, her vision flashed to deaths. Men getting stabbed by another, getting slashed by the neck, all in the inn. There were some where it was death of old age and sickness. She ever so slowly made her way past the people, slipping by and avoiding all.
Though as she did, people saw her all the same, and a man called out. "'Ey there! You didn't come all this way just to go up and sleep the night away! Come have a drink!"
Elen froze, taking a breath before replying. "I'm tired from the long trip, I need my rest."
The man snorted, but left it there, going back to drinking. Elen was about to ascend the stairs, but she stopped, lifting her hand and giving three knocks on the wood walls. Though when her hands made contact on the wood, it rotted, diseasing throughout the entire wood. Everyone went silent, staring bewildered at the entire wall disintegrating into nothing. The men all stood, drawing swords and pointing them at Elen whose legs shook.
"What the hell did you do," one man spat. "Some kind of dark magic?!"
Elen spun around, stuttering. "N-no! I… I just-" there was a wail of a horse, and the agonizing scream of a man. The men's attention turned to the source of the scream. Men crashed open the door, a rope in his hand as he dragged Dindel into the inn.
He pointed his blade at Elen, screaming. "This whore! She rides in here on a cursed horse, destroyed all living things she touches! This damn horse killed my friend, they both need to die!" The men charged for Elen, swords raised and eyes blazing.
Elen ducked at the first attack, the sword landing in the neck of a man behind her. Another took his place, thrusting his sword through her stomach, going to far that it stabbed the man in front of her. He fell dead, but she was alive and well as the man drug his sword out from her. She continued to bob and weave around the sharp metal, the men striking each other. She looked for Dindel, finding him surrounded by men, many slashes on his body, but he still easily fought them off. Her mind ripped away by a battle cry, a man rushing towards her. She threw up her hands in defense, but something unexpected happened. Out from her hand came the black disease, the black liquid splashing on his face and the disease overtook his body. The bones and leather fell to the ground with a clash, and the rest of the men took a step back. There was silence, not even the breathing men was enough to break the silence that was in the air.
After a long while the innkeeper said shakily. "Y-you are from the ancient stories! A-a person who had the power of death in their hands! You are death, the prophecy has come true!" All gasped in horror, murmurs running like the crows in the sky.
Another now spoke up from the back, his voice old. "And when a child is born around the bodies of the dead love, a dead before known to love, a dead as they come into the land of love, and a dead as they learn to love. The child shall take the dead as love and accept it as their own, and they shall become death itself." There was a long pause as the prophecy has told, but the man spoke again. "This she-elf is Nuru, death." Everyone stepped back, making a visible bubble around Elen and Dindel.
"Please," the innkeeper begged. "T-take anything you want, all free!" Elen shook her head, she wanted to explain that she didn't want to hurt anyone, but as she opened her mouth and lifted her hand to explain. The innkeeper shrieked and hid under his table again. Elen sighed heavily, dropping her hand in defeat. She looked around the inn, wondering what things she could possibly need. She saw an assortment of weapons lying around the inn, swords and axes and daggers and bows all strewn around. She then saw a sword, unique in shape and lying in the corner. She tip toed to the black bladed sword, others leaving a clear path for her as she came to the corner, not needing to bend down and grab the black grip. She lifted the surprisingly light blade, bringing it into the light to get a better look at it. The top of the blade was pure black that showed on Dindel's coat, the bottom edge was a red that showed on a cut. The blade was curved, but long and skinny, her arm the width of the blade, and when she held the grip with a relaxed arm; the sword would easily stick into the ground about five inches. She drug it out of the ground, twirling it and giving it a few swings despite never handling a blade in her life, but the sword seemed to guide her hand through the movements. The men trembled at her swings, lifting their swords weakly in defense. Elen found the sheath, strapping it to her side and sheathing the black sword. She made her way past the men and women who cowered in fear despite Elen's relaxed body posture.
She stroked Dindel, getting ready to mount when she heard the man who held the rope hiss. "I still say we kill her! Chop her head off and give it to the damn elves who let her live this far anyway! Maybe we could get away with killing some of them as well." Elen's black eyes went cold, striding to the man who squared up to her.
"What did you say?" She questioned, tilting her head and narrowing her eyes, burning into his soul.
He didn't care though, he inched closer to her, spitting the words like venom. "I said, we should cut your whore head off and throw it at the feet of the filthy pointed ears who let you live this long!" Elen gave a small smirk, her body perfectly still as he spit in her face. With reflexes of a cat she clasped her hand on his cheek, her power able to slow down the growing disease.
She came close to his face, her smoky voice abnormally calm. "You wanna cut my head off? Give it to those horrible elves? Go ahead! I would gladly help you end my misery of seeing every person's death! And that horrible elf? Well that is King Thranduil of the Woodland Realm and his son Prince Legolas. I'm sure they would jump with joy to see the head of the little girl they tried oh so desperately to save from this prophecy!" The last expression of the man's face was utter regret, but the sickness ripped away his skin and eyes, leaving the dried, brown bones. Elen breathed heavily, feeling the soft warmth fill her body, disappearing, and her body begging for more. She went back to Dindel, mounting and turning, exiting the tension filled inn and into the black night.
That night she excited the town as Death, Nuru.
Progress, character development, semi good grammar?! Man it's like writing more makes you a better writer?!
Don't forget to leave a review if you enjoyed it, I shall be back may be soon now that I won't be away for hours a day!
