Chapter 3: Darkness for far too Long

Elek was silent. Her blue eyes peered up in quiet begging as they searched each inch of darkness to find a face in the shadows. Yet, she could not identify anything until the figure leaned in closer. "Come now, knife ears," The voice creepily cooed through his forked tongue. But her eyes had already found their mark. He was thin, an elf, and only two fingers were on the hand that covered her lips. It was Roy. While the situation was unusual and surprising, curiosity once again gripped Elek. She would have said something had she felt the need but speaking out could mean the end of this adventure. Next would be a threat or alerting someone to the situation which would dwindle her likelihood to understand why this was now happening. Instead she just stared.

"Get up." He commanded quietly. Elek obliged as quietly as possible. Krem and his company were still chatting behind the door. A few words were caught about a fisherman and an aristocrat but the story was lost between the elf's heartbeats and small creaks of the bed. When on her feet, Roy told her to leave out the window. It was terribly exciting. On her tip-toes, Elek slowly bounded towards the open wooden frame. Her thin hands secured themselves onto its ledge before her feet began to move. It was around this time the woman remembered her toes still hurt. The adrenaline from the recent awakening had dulled her senses but as she wiggled her slender frame through the wooden hole, she was reminded once more of their plight. With a slight grin, she wore it well. Roy caught a look of her surprising joy and it lit a darker flame in him. He then moved to shove her out of the window so that she stumbled onto the slanted roof with arms swinging. It was slightly alarming but nothing that could not be managed.

The woman regained her balance and watched Roy creep through the open window after her. His hands steadied themselves against the wood as something glimmered in their clutches. It was a knife. The blade was silver, clean, and as long as the length of his hand. It allowed Elek to realize she should probably run. Her defeat was imminent; however, perhaps that was exactly what the elf wanted – at least momentarily. Her features were ruined, career shattered and future questionable. This, at the very least, offered excitement. So, with another grin, she stood idly on the roof. The man took his time to greet her with a push and a sharp command, "Go."

Her feet would take her forward, over the shuffled roof planks and moss that clung between the crooks. Each step a cautious yet calculated motion as she glided through the dark of night. Roy followed behind closely, his own feet clumsy on the shingles as he almost fell twice and swore trice. Elek wondered if he was curious about her obedience. He had to be insane to consider her obvious submission anything but willing. The window escape purely replied on her cooperation, as well as the current little prance over the tavern. The woman knew she could run or jump at any moment. His own flimsy feet would ultimately enable her freedom and make his attempt useless. Perhaps that was why his hands were shaking.

After being forced to jump from the roof, roll into hay and sneak out of the town, it became more obvious to Elek that it wasn't worry that troubled the young man. It was unquenchable rage. As they hustled through the empty streets, his voice shook between severely harsh syllables. "You told them, didn't you?"

Elek frowned. "Told what?"

"Don't play stupid." Roy spat as he pushed the woman forward.

Elek stumbled briefly. Her feet managed to collect themselves as she murmured, "Wish I could play stupid but I don't know what you're talking about." She tried to peer over her shoulder at the man but she was pushed again.

The cobble street of the small town turned to dirt as they left civilization and entered into the wilderness. The only thing left was a dirt path left for the rare traveller. The warm lanterns were far behind them now and what remained was the cold moon. Tonight it was half full and bright in a cloudless sky. But Elek did not focus on the emptiness of the night, instead her mind raced. Her words tried to lace the pieces together, "I mean, you heard what I told them. It shouldn't be a question if you knew. Maybe you had a little too much to drink." She tried for a smile as her voice became weak.

"Shut up." Roy barked, "Take a turn into the forest a few feet ahead." Elek did as she was told although her mind would not silence itself. She could take him, she felt - if she needed to. He was thin, fragile. While she was not much better, she at least had a full set of digits. His grip on the handle would be weak. The ideas paraded through her mind as her feet turned from the dirt path. The forest lay ahead and her feet were tedious in their steps through the brush. The white light from the moon was shaded by the leaves above so with every step, Elek marched further into the dark. But the silence wouldn't last.

"You shouldn't have made a sound." Roy muttered. His voice was still shaking with anger. "If you had stayed quiet in the basement, we both could have gotten away just fine but you had to wake up. You had to panic." At the end, his voice faltered. During his monologue he had tried stepped over a fallen tree and missed. His foot caught on its edge as he came tumbling forward. Elek turned to see him scramble as he fell. The shine of the knife dropped too. As he hit the ground, he cried out in pain. His two digits failed to grip the knife tight enough and turned to pierce his hand. Another finger was sliced off and rolled into the dirt. His voice muttered curses and rage.

Immediately Elek responded. Her quick hands darted down to secure the weapon. "Aha," She cried with a grin. She took a step back and pointed the blade at the man who still laid on the ground. With an air of confidence, the elf began, "So, don't move. I have a few questions." Her blue eyes dared not move from his form that withered slightly to peer hatefully upwards.

"Fuck you." He started. His thin lips managed to spit at the woman as a glob of clear liquid landed on the hem of her pants. "Fuck you, you knife ears. I should have cut your neck instead of your face. All for blood, blood, blood, fucking blood." He coughed through snares of hate. Unexpectedly the man lunged forward. He managed to grab her ankle with one hand and yank backwards. Elek's foot was taken from under her and she fell. Her hands were able to hold the knife as she fell onto her ass with a thud. Without another thought the woman wiggled backwards and took to swing the knife at the man's hand. It made contact as Roy squeal and reeled. Elek managed to get back onto her feet and hold the weapon out between them.

"Stay down or I'll cut you!" The woman cried, her face now filled with rage. "Tell me why! Why me! Why this!"

The man briefly winced forward again as if to challenge her. Elek stood her ground and inched briefly forward to show her lack of resistant. The woman knew she would kill him if he tried again. The last attempt had been too close that it made her finally realize how fragile her current safety was. Finding the man calmed down she spoke again, "Tell me why you hate me so much."

Silence fell over the pair. The moon light barely reached through the thicket but they could see each other clearly. What peace remained in the darkness of night was lost between them. But slowly Roy spoke. His words were unsettling as he confessed, "It was me on the road. I thought you remembered. I remembered your eyes and how they looked as they knocked out. I'd seen it many times but your eyes were so," He paused as a chill crawled up Elek's back, "willing."

"Willing for what?" Elek muttered back. She dared not give the man a single inch and watched him every second.

"Anything." Roy answered. "Everything. I don't know." His good hand had tried to cover the bleeding of his finger.

"You blood mages are sick." The woman stated.

"Not a fucking blood mage. Don't you fucking say that. Think I would be fingerless if I could do magic?" The man scoffed with a scowl, "No. Unfortunate captive made accomplice. You were next, you know. They were gonna set you up on the road too. The pretty ones go on the road to beckon in the next victims. I saved you from that hell but then you had to go tell them about me. I knew you did. That's why you left upstairs. Ever since we left the shack, I knew you'd tell."

Elek paused. Her face lost for a single emotion as each word that poured from her red lips was laced in devastation, "That's why you cut up my face? I did nothing to you. I didn't even remember. I couldn't remember. But you're just as insane as any of those mages. What do you think would happen if I wasn't on the road, eh? Didn't think they wouldn't bleed me through?"

"It was better than on the road with the guilt." Roy stated. His eyes turned to his hands as he dared not look up at her now.

Elek was beside herself. Her heart pumping in her ears out of rage. It didn't take long for her to sarcastically remark, "You're right. How could I not beg for physical torture then?" Her hand started to shake with her fury as she held back her intentions to take her revenge. "You, oh righteous slave, decide how I should live my life. Decide how my face should look." All cheerful piece of her soul were lost. Anger, frustration, and shame riddled every inch of her body. It wasn't her scarred face that bit at her so badly. It was the man's apparent godhood. He was no better than those that picked the blood from the veins of all those people she saw dead. She wanted to spear him through but then she heard a voice.

"Hey, slow down." It called through the darkness. Heavy footsteps followed through the brush. The heartbeats must have muttered out the footsteps on the streets previously, as to figures appeared behind Roy. One of them was Iron Bull. "What are you two doing out here?" The large man asked as he took a step forward. His eye caught on her blade.

Roy was the first to speak, "She was going to kill me! She's crazy!" Heavy breaths panted through his lips as he withered back towards the Chargers. His hand was held up to show the new missing finger and blood that streamed from the wound. "See! See!" He seethed. The man dropped his hand to grab onto the leg of Iron Bull. "You have to save me from her." Iron Bull watched the man for a moment as he pushed him off to make some distance between them. He wasn't so foolish as to let just anyone grope him in the middle of the night. Although his blank face left much to the imagination.

Elek watched for a brief moment in disbelief to finally utter under her breath, "You coward." Her hands finally steadied as she dropped them to her sides. Her breath slowed too as she realized now her company as at least relatively sane. Instead she decided to speak. "Roy took me out here. He was one of the people in the broken cart so he wanted to tie away a loose end."

"But why am I the one who is wounded then, hm?" Roy muttered back, once again showing his wounded hand. "You're a liar, dirty wench."

Iron Bull was quiet for a time. It took his other companion to end the silence. "We'll get this sorted back at the inn. Give me the knife and we'll work it out." They sighed with an arm held out. Elek was about to move forward but stopped herself. Her blue eyes caught onto Roy who stared at her unnervingly.

"Can you move him out of the way first? I don't feel comfortable going near him." She confessed.

The Charger nodded and moved past the man to grab the knife from Elek's possession. She gave it up willingly with a nod. "Ready to go, boss?" The person asked while taking a stance behind Elek. The moments before his answered seemed long but soon, the large Qunari would answer.