A little tangent here away from what you guys most likely wanted… in other words, no romance here, exactly.

Nea's back!!! Sort of. If you know her stuff, you'll definitely see her hand in this chapter. Thanks so much, Nea!

To teeheehee: Interesting name… to quote Nea… (clears throat and looks down spectacles at teeheehee) "Plot points will not be revealed"… LOL. So keep reading!



Chapter 12

It had been a bright and beautiful day in the small border village on the edge of the former Greenwood. Laughter had been cheerfully present throughout the day. No one had any true cares, not in that day. Spring was practically there already, the small flowers blooming in the grasses on the eastern side of the village.

As the shadows began to lengthen, a great fire was created in the middle of the village to celebrate the coming season, and to help it seem to come more quickly. It was the annual farewell to winter, and a precursor to the true spring celebration that was held near the palace, and sometimes within it, depending on the year and the King's mood. Elven lights filled the air, scorching the night sky as the feast gaily continued. Friends and family, they were all around, all smiling, laughing, offering jesting advice for the next steps in her young life.

Shrieks filled the air from here and there, making her blush when the older she-elves laughed about who had been taken to the forest that night. No young elves had approached her, but she was sitting with her mother for a reason. She didn't wish to be picked so soon. Especially since her mother would be having a little one soon. She wanted to be there to assist in the birth, to truly know her little sibling before she even considered having children of her own.

Another laughing screech touched the air from the open side of the village, followed by a scream from the side of the woods. It had an odd pitch to it, one that made the hairs stand on the back of her neck. She had never heard such a sound, one so full of fear and terror, pain and anguish.

She heard many more such screams within seconds. They melted together to form a horrifying background as the lights flickered, slowly going out as elves ran around the village, general chaos the most apparent thing as hunters and warriors scrambled for their weapons as the call spread through the group. Spiders. Some she-elves lent a hand, knowing the art of war well enough they felt they could help beat back a few spiders.

They could have, if a few was all that dared venture forth. But no small number came. Hundreds upon hundreds, until the entire woods seemed to be all black bulbous bodies and big glowing yellow eyes, came forth and dared the elven arrows that were shot quickly and with incredible accuracy, despite the haste the archers were in. The black flood continued, pressed on, crawling over their slain kin, grabbing elves in the front rows, sinking long fangs into the pale flesh even as the elves they held hacked at them, hoping to lower the numbers of spiders sweeping forth even if their own lives were forfeit for the amounts of poison rushing into their veins.

Someone said they would leave now—the amount of elves killed would satisfy their appetite. But they kept coming, kept driving forward. Now those elves who were not warriors, nor even skilled in the art, grabbed at anything at all—sticks, spears, discarded bows and swords, even buckets and fire brands were wielded against the beasts that threatened their existence.

More and more were cast aside, dead or dying, but on both sides. The elves won, eventually, at a very heavy cost. She lowered her commandeered spear with a sigh, nearly letting it drop as she ripped a small piece of cloth from her tattered gown to dip in some of the water standing in a barrel not far away, cleaning her face and arms, checking to see how much of the blood on her was her own. Seeing she was well enough, she looked around, and felt the small feeling of victory she had felt as they drove the last of the spiders back into the forest leave her entirely.

Destruction was everywhere. There wasn't a house in the village that was untouched, with all walls standing and without the kiss of flames dancing on the roof. Bodies, bloodied black and crimson, lay on the ground wherever she looked.

There—the she-elf she had known since they were but toddlers, and beside her, the elf who had made an arrangement earlier to chase her around the spring festival. They had planned to wed by the following one. He had been pursuing her for decades, but she had waited until her friend was old enough to sit on her own to be caught.

She sighed and closed their eyes, straightening them slightly so they lay together instead of heaped near one another. The previous screams, which had given over to grim silence on the part of the elves and the hissing anger of the spiders, was now replaced with the unfriendly roar of a fire she had once welcomed, the screams turned to sobs, moans and tears.

Limping slightly, she made her way to her father's home, expecting to find her mother there, tending to the wounded soldiers who yet lived. The house was empty, so she went instead to her mother's best friend's house. The she-elf was sobbing quietly over the inert form of her husband. The pair had been together far longer than she had been alive. When the elf looked up at her, despair, grief and death greeted her, making her back quickly from the sight.

Traveling on, she stopped at every house her mother might have gone to for one reason or another, but couldn't find her. Finally she stopped an elf who was trying not to pass out from the pain of his obvious injuries as he helped take care of the mortally wounded. He frowned at her for a moment, and then through the blood and grime they recognized each other. His lips parted, his eyes softening slightly. He looked down, then lifted his gaze to her eyes and lightly touched her cheek with a bloodied hand. He leaned down slightly and kissed her other cheek before moving on.

She stood there dumbly for a long moment, her hand clenching over the spear she had absently carried with her, using it for support from time to time as she was confronted with the horror around her. Then, forgetting her own physical pain, she ran forward, the spear falling from senseless fingers as she found and knelt beside her parents, the horrible thing she had feared with the elf's silent sympathy suddenly a horrifying reality.

After that, after seeing their glassy stares that had nothing to do with living rest, everything went numb. Nothing registered. No one trying to move her, not the sobs and tears that were being shed by those around her, the tears and sweat mingling with the two-tone blood on the ground until the spiders were all dragged into the forest and burned. The ash stung her at her eyes and made her nose and throat burn, but she still didn't cry, and she didn't move.

The look in the eyes of so many elves loomed up before her eyes, the grief that could mean death for those who had managed to survive the night glowing hollowly, and growing within her. She was on the brink of giving in when the dawn loomed up around her.

Someone covered her parents, not daring to move them to the graves being dug as long as she knelt there, trying to understand, to cope. A heavy hand fell onto her shoulder a moment later, startling her though she didn't jump. She hand neither the will nor the energy to jump. The elf said something, and then she was pulled to her feet, and passed off to another whom she didn't really see. He lifted her onto a horse and then walked off, leaving her staring glassily at the world around them.

When he returned, he mounted behind her, sliding his arms around her gently. His voice was a bit rough with emotion, but soothing as he tightened his hold on her. He promised they would take care of her, take her away from the spiders. Away from this place, the blood, the memories… the carnage.

Oleydya shuddered awake, biting back a sob. She shuddered and drew her knees to her chest and lowered her head, trying to regain her composure while taking sharp, shuddering breaths.

Suddenly strong arms fastened around her, holding her tightly, offering warmth and comfort that she desperately needed. "Shh," he murmured faintly. "What is it?"

"I just… just remembered the attack."

He sighed and held her more tightly, kissing her temple as he thanked whatever had awakened him as she sobbed out the loss. They had spoken about the attack before, and he recalled the confusion on her face when she confided she had never cried over the death of her mother, father, and unborn sibling. "It's alright, Leyda. We're far away now. Let it all out." He kissed her crown as she proceeded to do just that.

A faint shadow shifted, and he looked up to suddenly understand. He smiled faintly and bowed his head to the being who had made sure he woke as Oleydya had needed someone to comfort her. The shadow returned the gesture and slipped into the night, unseen.



A/N: Well, now that I've depressed myself, how many of you did I confuse for a while?