I finally updated gasp Sorry that it took so long. First I went to a summer camp, then school started and I wasn't prepared for the amount of work that I'd have to do. Hopefully I'll be able to update more often. I've added a response to reviews at the bottom!!

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Two beds, a fireplace, and a small table accompanied by a rickety chair were all the room consisted of. Carya walked over to the bed and sat down slowly; as if unsure it was stable enough to support her. When she was positive that it was not going to collapse under her, she looked up at Agraelith.

"We got lucky, one of the last rooms left," he said with a small smile. It was not hard to tell that he was trying to avoid something. Carya continued to look at him with her large eyes and he sighed and sat down next to her. "I should have warned you that you might encounter a high-born, especially after the brief history lessons you've given me. For some reason it just didn't even cross my mind." He rubbed the blonde stubble on his chin, "I shouldn't have left you alone."

"I am not a child, nor am I your pet that you must watch after," she snapped. It was the first time that she had ever been remotely angry at him and it took both of them aback.

"I didn't mean it like that," he began.

"Please, do not apologize. I know that you do not think of me that way."

"Just the same…I'm sorry if I ever made you feel that way." He stood up, "Listen, I know that we just got here but I'm going to go down and see if I can find anyone I know. The owner said that he'd have some hot baths brought up, you can take yours first and then come down and get me when your done."

Carya looked at him uncertainly, he seemed rather anxious to get out of the room. "All right."

"Don't worry, things will be great here, you'll see," he sounded like he was trying to convince himself as well as her.

He closed the door behind him and leaned up against it. This was turning out to even more difficult then he thought. The more time he spent with her, the more he looked at her, the more he was attracted to her. Being in the same room with her made him feel uncomfortable, she was just so, so…he could not begin to explain it.

The first floor of the inn consisted of a dimly lit pub filled with people of all kinds. Some were soldiers, some were peasants, and some had the shifty look of thieves. Agraelith made his way through the room, looking for a familiar face. His eyes widened in surprise as he spotted a ragged looking soldier with a nasty looking burn on one side of his face.

"Kaiden?" he wanted to be sure it was really him and not just the darkness of the room playing tricks with his eyes.

"Agraelith? My word man, we all thought you dead!" Kaiden's voice came out slightly raspy, different from the booming pleasant voice that Agraelith was used to. "Well, sit down. Tell me what became of you."

The story came out, everything from the time he fell into the river to when he met Carya, he left out the fact that she had taken him to her village. "She decided to come with me. Wanted to venture out and see what the rest of the world holds." He grinned suddenly, "I'm glad to have found you; I thought I was the only one left."

"One of the few lad, one of the few. We fought hard we did, but there were too many. The whole town was burned to the ground, nothing left at all. Women, children, everyone slaughtered except for the few that managed to escape across the river. Most of them came here." Kaiden had a fixed frown on his face and a harsh glint in his eyes, "The time will come when we fight again, and this time we won't be the one's who lose," he growled.

Agraelith nodded and they were silent for a moment. "Did Hylaen make it?" he asked suddenly. Kaiden shook his head, "No, he fell soon after they penetrated the front gates."

"What of Calythene?"

"I'm sorry Agraelith," Kaiden shook his head sadly; "She didn't make it out."

Agraelith swore softly, "How could they?" he hissed, "She was a child!"

"It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have done anything about it."

"I could have found her, I could have protected her!" he was crying silently now, Kaiden was as well.

"I saw my wife killed Agraelith, I couldn't reach her, couldn't get to her in time, couldn't protect her…" Kaiden wiped his face.

They talked a while longer, choking back their sobs until it became too painful to remember. Kaiden finally went to the bar and came back with two glasses overflowing with sweet ale.

"Time to drown in sorrow," he said grimly, handing Agraelith a glass. They both drank deeply, each mulling over their private losses.

"Agraelith?" A tall, lean man with dark hair pulled back in a pony tail was pushing his way towards them. "It really is you, didn't think that I'd ever see you again."

"Illyath? Wha-what are you doing here?" Agraelith set down the glass he was holding, a grin was beginning to spread across his face.

"Well, I do happen to live here. Good to see you again," his expression became serious, "I heard about the attack, I'm sorry, I truly am."

Kaiden looked from Agraelith to Illyath and stood up, "I'm goin' to go talk to some of the others…let them know you're alive."

"I'll be sure to find you later," Agraelith said.

"No need to leave," Illyath put in quickly but Kaiden shook his head. With a shrug, Illyath sat down in the recently vacated seat. He leaned back and studied Agraelith.

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Sensitive ears picked up the sounds of footsteps before the knock came. Carya automatically found herself reaching for a dagger but she let her hand relax. She opened the door only a crack and the pleasant face of a young maid greeted her.

"Hello miss," she paused a moment as Carya opened the door all the way; "You must be the night elf people are talking about." She seemed to realize exactly what she had just said and blushed, "Pardon me miss. If you'll follow me I'll take you to the baths now." She began to walk down the hall and Carya followed her.

"In here miss," the maid allowed her to enter the room then closed the door. Four copper tubs sat on a tiled floor, one of them filled with hot steaming water. Carya noticed the maid still standing there and she waited, when she did not make a move to leave Carya hurriedly slipped off her clothes and slid into the tub.

She could feel tightness in her muscles begin to relax and sighed contentedly. The maid handed her a cheaply made bar of soap and she scrubbed herself until her skin began to feel raw. It was the first time that she had felt properly clean since the night she had come upon the human and it felt wonderful to be free of the grime. The water was beginning to cool and the maid brought another bucket of hot water.

"Pardon me for asking miss, but who was that man you came with?" the maid's light blue eyes were friendly and Carya decided it was safe to give her at least that much information.

"His name is Agraelith, he is a knight."

"I thought as much, he's right handsome he is," she said with a pleasant smile and a wink.

Carya thought quickly, "He is my guard." Though she did not know anything about the ways of people, she had a feeling that this woman, innocent as she may be, would repeat anything that she thought was slightly interesting. Saying that Agraelith was her guard would instantly stamp out whatever idea this woman was starting to get. At least she hoped it would.

"Oh…I should've seen that in the first place." She picked up a towel and tossed it to Carya.

Slightly reluctant to be done with her bath, Carya dried off and wrapped the towel tightly around her. She picked up her clothes and was preparing to put them on when the maid suddenly started making clucking noises. Carya was concerned for a moment but then the maid said, "I'll get you something of mine to wear, you can't run around wearing those…erm…it just isn't proper you see. I'll be right back."

There seemed to be nothing wrong with her old clothes but the maid insisted. "You're a bit taller than me and slimmer, but they should do for now." The maid handed her a plain dress which Carya thanked her as she put them on. The cloth felt much different from what she was used to, it was coarser fur but not uncomfortable.

"I can get rid of those for you if you'd like," the maid pointed to her old clothes.

"No thank you, I would rather keep them." Getting rid of her clothes would be removing herself one step further from her home.

"All right, suit yourself. I'll take you back to your room now."

Once back in her room, Carya lay down on the bed. Star crawled up next to her and laid her silky head on her arm. Her eyes began to sting and she let the tears flow freely now that Agraelith was not near. "Warriors are supposed to be strong, tears are a sign of weakness," at least that was what her elders would say. The fact that she would never again see neither her home nor her friends had finally come crashing into her. She had known it of course, but being in the open country had been an adventure. Now she was stuck in a small dingy room far away from anything that she had ever known.

As the tears subsided she realized that it was time to find Agraelith. Standing up she glanced out the window and found that it was dark. She threw on her cloak and allowed herself to melt into the shadows. She wanted to see what things were like first before she exposed herself to them.

The rowdiness of the pub surprised her and she stood for a moment on the bottom of the steps. She was forced to go into the room when a group of people made their way towards the steps. It was hard to weave through everyone without touching someone and revealing her presence.

She spotted Agraelith at a table and made her way over to him. A man was sitting across from him and they seemed to be in deep conversation. Knowing that it was improper to listen to what they were saying, especially without Agraelith's knowledge, she was about to turn around when she heard exactly what it was they were talking about.

"I saw you come in with a night elf. Don't try to deny it, I know what she is."

"What of it?" Agraelith had a defensive look on his face.

"What exactly do you think you're playing at? I know you Agraelith, I know that you don't do anything unless you're either getting paid for it or you have a reason of your own."

"She saved me, now I'm helping her," he leaned his elbows onto the table and the Illyath did the same.

"Don't give me some cock and bull story about your doing it out of the goodness of your heart," he hissed. "Men you never change. How long have I known you? Since we were children, and you've never once acted for the good of others."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Oh come on, you know exactly what I'm talking about. We're exactly the same you and I and neither of us will ever change."

"You're wrong, I have changed," Agraelith pushed his chair back and Carya jumped out of the way.

"What's the real reason you're still with her? You could have left her as soon as you were healed."

"I told you, she saved my life now I'm going to help her."

Illyath was observing him with a skeptical look on his cat like face. "Whatever you say Agraelith, the truth will come out soon enough."

Carya decided that she had heard more than she had wanted to and quickly made her way back to the room. She stood by the fire and thought about what she had just heard. Agraelith was a good man, she knew it. Or did she just think she knew it?

The door opened and she jumped back and stared at Agraelith like a child caught doing something wrong.

"Sorry I took so long," Agraelith said.

"It is alright," she replied quickly.

"You could've come down and found me…or did you want to keep the luxury of a bath to yourself?" he asked with a smile.

"I…" no, she could not tell him that she had been down there, that she had heard.

"I was only joking, though I really could use one," he turned to leave again, "I'll be back as soon as I'm done." He walked out of the room once more and she sighed in relief.

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The water was hot and relaxing and he allowed himself to sink down into it. The conversation with Illyath replayed in his mind. He had known Illyath since he had been a young boy; in fact they had been so close that many thought they were brothers. It had been Illyath, who had inspired him to join the King's guard, or at least train to, and it had been Illyath who had deserted first causing Agraelith to follow soon after. They had probably been called either rogue or ruffian by everyone in the kingdom. He was forced to grin at the memories of the different scrapes they had found themselves in…most of them Illyath had led them into and Agraelith had gotten them out of.

Agraelith had changed, Illyath was wrong. After they had left the kingdom, each had gone their own way, Illyath to Thal-Morian to become a merchant, and Agraelith to the small town of Galeynth. Having been trained to become part of the king's guard he had no problems in training to become a knight. He had not changed much since he had parted ways with Illyath and had nearly become a mercenary, had it not been for Calythene.

He knew he had changed, but apparently Illyath did not see it, not yet anyways. He was helping Carya because he wanted to, or was it really because she was the daughter of a Priestess and he had sworn to protect her? If he had not promised her mother, would he still be with her now? He assured himself that he would have but doubt began to creep in.

The man on duty handed him a towel and he dressed quickly. He went back to the room and hesitated a moment before going in. He found Carya half asleep on one bed with Star curled up on the pillow next to her. Her dark skin contrasted sharply with the white sheets. He sat down on the other bed and watched her for a moment. He knew then that he would have helped her no matter what the case.

When she sat up slightly groggy he apologized, "Sorry for waking you up."

"I was not asleep yet."

"Tired?" he asked.

"Tired and clean," she said smiling.

He grinned, "Being clean for once is nice, isn't it?"

She nodded, "You look much better clean." As soon as the words were out of her mouth she blushed and bit her lip.

"Well, you look good either way."

Carya shifted uncomfortably, if her elders had heard… "Please, don't," she said.

"You're right, I shouldn't have said that." They both became aware that they were sharing a rather small space together. "We should get some sleep; I'll show you around tomorrow, maybe buy some new clothes."

She nodded, "Goodnight."

" 'Night," he pulled the covers around him and soon both were asleep.

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Yeth- aww…your review made me happy, I was kind of starting to doubt whether or not my story was any good…I'm glad that you like it

Blackvial2000- yeah the first one was pretty bad, I'm glad that you thought that the rewritten one was better, thanks for reviewing!!

Please please please review!!!