-ON THE BACKS OF DRAGONS-
-A Foreign Friend-
Cold, dark, stuffy, and damp. Those four words described what Nerin's world had become ever since being captured by these dirty men. While on one hand her situation was not as worse as it could be since she still had her life but at this point she wished she didn't.
She already lost count of days she was trapped here, but it already felt like a lifetime ago when she last saw the open sky. It was the same thing every day now, get up, cook for the bandits, clean for the bandits, constantly tell them how thankful she was to them and then spend her night locked up and abandoned with only some old hay and the company of an occasional rat for comfort. If she did everything enough to please her captors they'd let her eat in her cell, if not or just to remind her who's in charge they would withhold her food.
It was a lowly and shameful existence, and she was now stuck with it as punishment for being brave and telling the truth. She should have known better then to hope that someone would believe her; after all, she was an elf.
"You done yet pale skin?" One of the bandits sneered, snapping her back to reality as she scrubbed vigorously on the stain on the floor but to no effect.
"I'm trying sir, but I need some soap or something to remove the stain better." Nerin replied immediately, knowing full well that is was pointless to tell the truth.
"No you're not," A different bandit slurred as he drank another tankard of mead. He was short and chubby when compared to the other men only coming up to their shoulders but his iron armor and hammer made him just as dangerous if he was sober.
"What's our servant doing up at this hour?" The head bandit yelled as he walked in making Nerin all the more nervous. He was dressed in fancy clothes he no doubt looted off the bodies of an unfortunate noble and had an evil yet civil personality. She was scared of him more then the other bandits because he used her to "practice his ways for ransoming damsels" better known as tying her up and watching her try to escape.
"Ah, Dung for brains here spilled his drink so I got the elf out to clean it up." The first bandit explained referring to the short one.
"Alright," the head bandit approved as he grabbed Nerin by her arm and pulled her up and into him. She shuddered uncomfortable with the closeness. "But Harriet and his boys haven't come back yet, starting to wonder if someone or something didn't get 'em so were gonna be on the defensive tonight."
Nerin couldn't help shed a silent tear as she felt her hands pulled behind her and the tightening of rope that followed as the men continued their conversation. The shorter bandit finished his tankard and dropped the empty cup and grabbed the rest of the bottle instead leaning back to take a big drink when an arrow from down the hall shattered the glass bottle and she screamed. The arrow continued and impaled itself deeply into the first bandit's chest dropping him instantly.
A hooded figure jumped out of the dark hallway and tackled the shorter bandit before doing something to the drunken man's leg, leaving him unable to stand. Nerin tried to run to the stranger but was pulled back by the last man and froze when she felt the cold steel of his knife against her neck.
"Stay back or I'll do it!" The lead bandit threatened and to her surprise, the intruder obeyed showing concern for her life unlike anything she'd ever seen before.
Slowly they began to circle around the room waiting for an opportunity or advantage until more bandits came running in with weapons drawn. The intruder stopped in front of a window and allowed himself to be surrounded before dropping to the ground as a bolt of fire streaked through the window and impacted the tightly crowded brigands. The intruder disappeared during the brief moment of panic and hid in the rafters above everyone's heads. Dropping down behind the leader and his hostage but waited for just the right moment to take him down.
One moment Nerin feels the knife leave her throat as the bandit raised it as he yelled at his men, the next she's jerked back and falls to the floor turning around just in time to see the intruder push the lead bandit out of the closest window, yelling as he fell.
"Let's get you out of here." The intruder commented as he helped her to her feet, and the immediate change in touch did not go unnoticed: Hasty but not cruel or uncaring. Next her rescuer threw something into the room that exploded into lots of smoke covering their escape through the door.
Nerin fought to stay awake as they ran, but the stresses took their toll on her and she fell, her mind and vision blurred from exhaustion. Everything was numb and unresponsive but she was able to still hold on, as one thought crossed her mind: She was being moved by someone else.
And then the last of her strength gave out and she fainted, her fate uncertain. . .
-On the Backs of Dragons-
Slowly Nerin stirred from her sleep and immediately two details alerted her to change: She was warm, and she was comfortable. Each an experience she lived without as the servant, and never had both on the farm at the same time. The elf laid there pretending to stay asleep while trying to listen and get an idea of her new situation.
She could here bird songs and running water in the distance as the smell of trees and fresh air flooded her sense of smell only adding to her curiosity. Unsatisfied with such little detail, Nerin finally opened her eyes and pushed herself up to a sitting position. The blanket of deer fur that had kept her warm overnight fell onto her lap as sunlight temporary blinded her, pure unobstructed sunlight.
As her eyes adjusted, she looked around the small campsite noticing the used campfire under a split of meat and the lean to she had slept under and was surrounded by trees and grass. Try as she might she couldn't remember exactly what happened the night before at the moment, but once she's fully woken up that shouldn't be a problem.
And then she saw him sleeping in a nearby tree, Leather armor, dark green cloak and hood, quiver and bow, everything. It was familiar but why?
His armor was mostly brown and a snug fit, with numerous pouches and what she could only describe as some sort of padding was visible all over and appeared to be so well crafted it had no seams. Only people with a lot of money could purchase such fine clothing so he must be rich.
On the other hand however, his build and unshaven face were contradictory to what someone with that kind of money would look like, not to mention he must have found sleeping in a tree comfortable as he didn't seem to be bothered at all by the hard wood.
"Hey," He spoke as he revealed he was faking sleep as well, Nerin gasped as she looked down at her feet in shame. It was rude for a human to stare; it was a crime for an elf. She expected to be hit or some other form of punishment when he dropped down and walked over to her.
"I'm not going to hurt you, you're safe." The man spoke softly, as he slowly pulled her into a firm comfort giving hug. That's when she broke into tears, all her hardships all her pains, all her lost hope drained out as she wept in the stranger's arms because he had shown her something no one else had at all.
Care, someone cared for her. . .
But little did she know, she had only seen a mere sample of what the young man holding her planned to show her and teach her. . .