Moonlit Deal
By Alina Blaine
The young elf's eyes glanced around the underground cavern, her gaze admiring all of the spiraling stone buildings around her that reached up towards the stone roof overhead. Beautiful glowing vines hung above her as well as around the buildings, providing green and blue lights on this dark night.
Her eyes traveled to the gap in the cavern where once in a while their soldiers would patrol. The moon elves traveled above ground only for two reasons. In order to trade with other races, as well as to make sure their territory was still safe. It was an uneasy alliance at the best of times, but the other races had shared technology that the moon elves had never heard of, and in turn the moon elves shared food that could only be grown beneath the ground under the moonlight, as well as sharing the magic that had been passed down for generations. The closest of towns and cities nearby their home had been mainly human territories though a few other races had found a place within those cities.
The patrol was even more important on nights like tonight. The moon was mostly hidden, and it was beginning anew. It was a night she had been looking forward to longer than she could remember. She had finally reached 100 years and today she would no longer have to deal with "little elf" or "youngling". Today she got to choose her new name that would be blessed by their goddess
The little elf made her way towards the life giving tree in the middle of her colony. Her hands clenching slightly with excitement. All of the elder elves were already there, some already with younger elves like herself, but the ritual had yet to start, they always waited for each elf to take her or his place beneath the tree and moon. Her father's golden eyes looked at her with excitement and pride. She had been his oldest child and he had always looked at her with such delight. Though she was unsure if she had been deserving of his praise, she always tried to live up to someone who would be.
"Hello little elf" Vakran said teasingly as he reached his hand towards her, helping her up onto the platform.
"Enjoy that while you can, old man." She teased back as she embraced her father. "Is mother close by?" Her blue eyes scanned the crowd but she had yet to see her mother.
"You know your mother, a warrior always. She's with the patrol but don't worry she wouldn't miss this for the world." He offered with a reassuring smile. As if on cue the young elf spotted her mother sitting on the edge of the cavern. Her silver hair braided back perfectly and her silver bow lightly resting on her back, she flashed her daughter a smile and made a heart shape with her hands, her lips mouthing from afar "I love you."
The elf smiled back at her mother, returning her heart before she allowed Vakran to lead her towards the others who had gathered beneath the tree.
The elf priestess looked at her with warmth as she offered a spot by the others for the elf to join. "Do you have a name chosen?"
The young elf looked at her, nodding her head excitedly before joining hands with the other elves. She looked back to her father who gave her a reassuring grin.
"I'm going to join your little sister, she can't wait to celebrate with you soon." Both of their eyes traveled over to a younger elf who still looked like a child compared to those who stood by her. Her double braids bounced excitedly as she reached towards her big sister. "See you soon kiddo." He said as he walked to the small elf who he hoisted up on his shoulders to get a better look at the ceremony. The priestess stood before the young elves.
"Our goddess Selune, we ask that your moonlight bless the young elves before you tonight. As the moon has its phases, so do these young elves who are leaving behind their years of learning to become more. Each one being honored by a name of their choosing. We trust in your radiance to show them the right paths and to keep them safe and hear these names tonight and bless them on this night of rebirth."
The priestess turned towards the young she-elf. "What name have you chosen to honor the moon goddess young one?"
The elf looked up towards the new moon, her hands shaking with nerves. "I have chosen the name Ember, so that I may forever bring a light in the darkness even in the hard times."
As Ember's eyes went from the moon back towards the priestess, her heart stopped. Within that split second she had seen a shadow behind her mother, a shadow that should not have been there. Ember's mouth moved to shout a warning but the screams of those around her drowned out her voice as she saw her mother's body fall into the cavern. Her blue eyes still wide with shock as she looked down at the glowing arrow that was embedded in her abdomen.
"Arika!" Her father's voice somehow sounded above the other's as he ran over towards her mother's body. Not realizing in his moment of heartbreak that he had left Ember's little sister crying on the ground, her shaking hands covering her ears.
Ember ran through the frightened crowd as blasts of fire and light surrounded her. Her feet jumped over the dead bodies around her, some of them friends she had known her entire life, all she could think about was her little sister. Ember's body flung into the small elf, her arms wrapping around her as she pulled one of the crossbows from a body nearby.
"Shhh i'm here. It's okay. It's okay." Ember stood in front of her little sister, her eyes scanning the crowd as she realized more humans now stood in that cavern alive than elves.
"Stay behind me." her hands shook as she pulled the bow back, the light starting to whir through the metal as the magically crafted light formed into an arrow was ready to fire. At first the humans had been too busy with the older warriors to even glance at Ember and the little elf that hid behind her. It was not until even her father had fallen. His golden eyes staring at Ember in terror as tears slid down his eyes that they followed his gaze to her. The men looked towards Ember, wide smiles spreading across their faces. "We should take a few prisoners don't you think?" One of them asked.
Ember released the golden light from the bow, the sphere landing exactly where she had wished, in the middle of that man's eyes. The bow quickly reloaded, her hands sending another sharp light flying towards the group until she felt her body get tackled from the side, her body crashing against the stone ground.
"Ember!" Her little sister's tiny hands reached out for her, tears flowing down her eyes. "Ember get up!"
Ember fought to get the man to release her, yet he looked down at her as if she had barely moved. His hands holding her wrists down. "Ember please!" Her little sister begged as the men started to circle her as well.
"Leave her alone!" Ember yelled as she fought with all of her might. She wouldn't let them hurt her little sister, she couldn't. Golden blades of moonlight shot from Ember's hands, slicing the skin of the man above her, but he simply tensed at the pain.
Ember watched as one of the men grabbed her little sister's silver hair, lifting her off the ground as if she was a toy. "NO!"
Ember gasped for breath as the scene froze before her, the men still held her little sister in the air but Ember was no longer on the ground, somehow she was suddenly standing. She moved towards her sister but was quickly swallowed by darkness.
"Tiny!" She yelled in the darkness. It had been a nickname that she picked for her little sister until her sister was able to pick her own name like Ember was just allowed. "Sister please!" She begged but no one responded.
"Please!" Ember could feel a lump in her throat as she fell to her knees. She had to save her sister, she couldn't lose her. "Selune?" She called to her goddess but got no reply, the darkness only making her feel more desperate. "Someone!" She begged.
The darkness shattered around her as she found herself in the middle of a human colony. Her body fell back as she watched them walk through her as if she was a ghost, each human was also celebrating something tonight, their shouts of triumph sounding through the air.
"Hello little elf." A velvety voice sounded in her ears. "You seem quite distressed." The air around her seemed to swirl as a man in a blood red suit appeared before her.
A white glove as bright as the moon itself reached out towards her, offering her help off the ground. Ember quickly slapped it away. He resembled the humans, and she would never trust them again. Not after tonight.
His green eyes glowed with amused understanding. "Do not worry little elf, I am anything but human." Black overtook his eyes as a wide white smile stretched across his face. "Consider me a friend."
Ember's eyes watched him cautiously. "Where is my sister?" She tried to reach for a bow but found nothing beside her but the dark earth of the human city.
The man sighed, falling to the ground beside her, the smile never leaving his face. "I believe in about a moment or two she will be as dead as dear old mom and dad."
Ember glared at him, her nails digging into her skin. "I won't let them." Venom dripped from her words as she thought of the men who had taken everything from her within just a few minutes. "I'll kill them for laying a hand on her."
The man tipped his head back laughing. "That's the spirit!" He patted her on the back, his red top hat barely moving as he tilted his head curiously towards her. "Seems that bow didn't work too well though." He offered her a slight pout as the scene around them changed back to the underground, her sister reaching desperately towards them.
Ember jumped from the ground,her feet scrambling and her arms reaching for her little sister to only see her hands phase through them as if she wasn't there.
"Why are you doing this?" Ember asked, her eyes shaking with fear at what was about to happen to her sister.
The man placed a hand on his chest as if surprised by her words. "You have me all wrong little Ember. I am not here to cause you suffering, I am here to offer you the chance of a lifetime. A chance to destroy those pesky humans that dared to kill those you loved. " He stepped between Ember and the apparition of her little sister.
"What do you want?" her voice had lost her venom and now only had the sound of desperation.
"I wish for the simple things, to be entertained my dear child." His gloved hand traced Ember's face delicately, his green eyes locking on to Embers. "And I think you could be very, very entertaining." His white gloves became overcome by a black mist that swirled all around them"Given the right power that is."
The man could still remember the deal he had made with the humans who had brought Ember all this pain. They had seemed a fun opportunity at first, but now they had gotten cocky. They believed they had the power, not him. Tonight he would let them relish in their victory before his new deal was struck and those idiots would be no more thanks to this little elf. Ember watched the black mist dance around them, the power almost feeling like a roaring flame against her skin. "And in return of that power?" Ember desperately tried to look through the mist to find her sister, but it was too thick, all she could see was the grinning man in front of her.
"I like you Ember, straight to the point." The man stretched open his other hand as a scroll slowly formed in the air. "I only ask for the souls of those you kill, and trust me they will suffer even after you kill them." He smiled at her knowingly.
Golden words appeared on the paper before her as he spoke, each one wroten in perfect cursive. "And of course I also require your soul, only after a long life of course. It simply makes sure you do not back out of the deal after you get all the revenge you wish."
Ember gazed between the devil before her and the golden scroll. Her heart felt as if it would break free from her chest at any moment. "And my sister? Will she be safe?"
The man before her put a hand gently on Ember's eyes looking at her with a gentle understanding. "With this power dear Ember. No one will ever touch you or your sister ever again."
The dark mist before them began to fade revealing her sister to them again. Ember could see up close the fear and heartbreak in her sister's eyes.
Ember felt a tear slide down her cheeks as her fear began to fade and rage started to overtake her. Ember's hand shook as she reached it out towards the devil in front of her. "It's a deal."
The scroll before them burned into dark ashes as the man grabbed her hand firmly. "I look forward to seeing the show Ember." His eyes grew black once again as the mist left his gloved hands and flowed towards Ember. Fear crept back in as Ember could feel the dark power flow through her. A scream escaped her lips as the pain spread throughout her body but no matter how she screamed his hand held onto hers tightly. "Let the contract begin."
Ember's screams echoed around the cavern causing the men to pause. They knew those screams. They were different from the terrified screams they had heard after each conquest. These screams they recognized as well as their own. They once had all screamed like that when they had struck the deal of a lifetime with something inhuman.
"The Silent King..." The man holding her down whispered before a beam of dark energy shot up from Ember. The man screamed for a moment before his skin was ripped away, leaving only his skeletal figure still screaming in pain above her.
Ember quickly threw the skeleton off as her black eyes spotted her sister. "Don't be afraid." She whispered to her little sister as the bodies of the slain elves around them began to rise, each of them looking at the group of men with rage.
The men dropped the small elf quickly as they pulled their weapons out once again, each of them eyeing the dead around them. "Why!?" One of the men screamed out. "Why would you betray us? You said...'' the man's words were cut short as an arrow of bright light shot through his throat. The man scraped desperately at his throat until his body became pierced by more arrows.
His friend looked at him and shook with terror as he looked to Ember.
Ember could hear the velvet voice from behind her once again. "Make them suffer."
Ember smiled as she raised her hands, her sister ran to her, her tiny hands wrapping around her legs as she hid her face in her sister's dress. "Gladly." she replied back. This man would suffer, all of them would , and she wouldn't stop until they paid.
...
For visuals beyond these short stories, please visit Alina Blaine's TikTok at: littlevixenlife
