Duty Bound II - Taster
After only four hours walk they came to Mirkwood's gate.
"Evelyn," Boran called her as she began to stride on ahead, as if to leave the group.
"You can debrief without me, 'twas an uneventful patrol and I have other things to attend to."
Before Boran could speak, a voice calling her name across the courtyard interrupted. Both turned to the sound, but the Princess excused herself when she saw the ellon and all but ran into the palace.
"Lady Evelyn, Princess wait!" the elf reached the Captain's position at the foot of the steps. "Mayhap she did not hear me," he said to Boran with a disappointed smile, "She is a very busy elleth."
The Captain merely nodded, having no idea who he was or how he knew Evie, but what he didknow was that she did not want to see him. This justified his instant dislike of the man. So, he walked away, watching over his shoulder as the elf climbed the stairs two at a time in an attempt to catch her up.
~oOo~
"Hey, Eve!" her sister trilled as she passed her.
"Anna," she greeted succinctly.
"Not stopping? I have a gift for you."
"Not right now, Anna," Evie didn't slow her pace even as her younger sister tried to keep up.
"Princess?" the elf's voice was getting closer.
"Are we running from him?"
"Yes, definitely," Evie confirmed.
"He's gorgeous," Anna smiled, delighted at the thought of her big sister getting entangled with such a fine specimen of an elf. "What's his name?"
"Pheran," Evie spoke in a monotonous voice as she allowed her sister to step inside her room, then proceeded to slam the door in Pheran's face.
"Ouch, I employ the 'treat em mean' policy but Evie that was cold."
"I'm not trying to keep him keen; I assure you," she deadpanned, throwing her pack upon the immaculate floor.
"Really?" Anna looked shocked, and then thoughtful.
"No, you can't have him, because he's a total pig. You deserve better than him."
"You mean you have actually had a functioning relationship? How did I not know about this?"
"Well, not exactly Anna," she reluctantly corrected as she started to unpack.
"You mean it was just sex? Wow, that's not very Evie-ish of you."
"Yep, don't remind me, total mistake. I thought I could take my mind off of, well, stuff generally really," she didn't want to read too much into it herself, plus she would never disclose all to Anna anyway. "He just basically got off on the fact that I am who I am; he called me 'Princess' throughout. Urgh, sick bastard."
Anna kept quiet for once, she actually found it better that way, to remind her lovers of who they were blessed to be with at that moment. "Was it good?"
She paused in her unpacking as she reluctantly said. "Yes, well, at the time. But I don't want to revisit that."
Evelyn started to recount the offending incident, to Anna's great enjoyment, but her own humiliation. Just when she couldn't feel any worse a knock on the door caught her attention. Anna strode to the door and shouted through it. "Look, I'm sure you're a really nice guy, and my sister thanks you for the great sex-," Evie waved her arms furiously at this in an attempt to tell her to shut up, "-but she's not willing to pursue a relationship."
The elleth waited and there was no reply.
"Maybe he's gone," the younger said.
Evie shrugged. "You've made that break up speech many times haven't you?" she then asked rhetorically. They opened the door and there stood their brother. Anna winced at his unamused expression.
"Sorry, Eve," she pulled an apologetic face and sloped past Leowen into the corridor. "Maybe I'll drop your gift by later."
~oOo~
He had left everything. He ran and ran without looking back. He had hated it, retreating so, but he'd had no choice. He ran until his lungs burned, but then realised he was leaving a blood trail. His forearm and wrist were still bleeding, depositing evidence of his route as he ran on leaves and other vegetation he came into contact with.
Cursing himself, and still hearing snarling behind him, he tore the sleeve from his outer coat with difficulty, then used it to wrap as much as he could of the wound, to prevent the blood leading the creatures right to him. So long as he bled, they would follow. They were animals and would never give up the hunt so long as they had a trail. Wiping the blood from his good hand on his clothing he continued on.
After a few leagues, he could hear them falling behind. He had wandered the area for a while, keeping ahead of his pursuers until he got his bearings again. He knew not where he was, but eventually he found his elven sight picking up something high up in the trees. An outpost. Judging by the design, he observed as he had stood at the foot of the tree, it was one of those that were manned in his youth, but it was empty now. It certainly was not as old as the ancient one he had taken refuge in with Evelyn. It would most likely have been abandoned when the elven forces forfeited these territories, moving north to avoid all out conflict.
Hundreds of outposts, old and new, used and abandoned littered his mind as he tried to pinpoint where he could be. He had looked at them so many times on parchment, Gelmir had taught him to take notice of the old, as well as the new.
"You never know, Lieutenant, when an old outpost may seem like a palace." His mentor's voice resonated in his pounding head, and for the first time in many years, he had wished Gelmir had been there to guide him.
He smiled despite the situation as his keen eyes caught sight of the platform high up in the boughs. With great care, he had climbed, being sure to not spread his blood on the trunk but it was no use. Dropping back to the ground he panicked, his scent would lead the creatures right up the tree. He listened; they were getting closer. He still had some time.
Glancing around the trees a potential solution had struck him. He had no idea if it would work, but he had to do something. Boran ran from tree to tree, touching every trunk with his bloody palm. He went as far as he could from the platform within his timescale, leading them onward, past the place he would be, then doubled back. He tore the other sleeve, cringing in pain as he was forced to use his injured arm. He re-bound the wound, containing as much blood as possible before turning his head suddenly.
They were close. So close he could smell their foul stench. He leapt up the tree as silently as he could muster, his heart pounding hard in his chest and deafening him. Reaching the high platform he rolled onto it and kept utterly still as the beasts ran under him, following the false trail he had made for them.
It was probably out of their range of sight, but he could not take the chance and lay stock still.
DUTY BOUND II WILL BE PUBLISHED ON MY WEBSITE:
fictionbyjuliette dot weebly dot com
