Chapter 4.
Amber gritted her teeth as she blocked the Ursa's claws with her staff. She kicked the beast in the stomach and with a swing of her weapon a slash of fire engulfed the creature of darkness. Beowulf's pack then stopped trying to attack the animals and focused its attention on her. That was perfect, because when the herd ran towards the maiden with the intention of tearing her to pieces, Amber hit the tip of her staff against the ground and a tornado of fire emerged, incinerating the entire group of nearby monsters.
Watching the corpses slowly evaporate, she allowed himself to sigh and wipe the sweat from her forehead. That shouldn't have been too difficult for her, but for some reason she had felt more weight in her attacks than she would have used against these Grimms.
In her distraction, Amber could not notice the Boarstuck that approached at a stealthy pace from behind and while she was blind to it the boar began to mark, against her, turning on its body as if it were a fence. Amber turned around and seeing how the beast was approaching at high speeds, she prepared a response by raising her staff to summon another stream of fire.
It wasn't necessary.
Before the monstrous boar could collide with the maiden a projectile crashed into its side and impaled it from the ribs against a tree. The grimm let out a scream of pain before succumbing and beginning to fall apart.
Someone had thrown one of the pitchforks at it.
That someone was Nelyafinwe, standing on the front steps with a firm stance. Anyone could tell he had combat experience and there was no hint of fear or doubt in his silver eyes, only conviction. He walked down the steps to a pile of firewood and picked up the ax that had been stuck in a log. He seemed to be familiar with the weapon, turning carefully and making simple movements.
"There is more," said the redhead. "I hear them".
From within the forest the sickening sounds of the creatures of darkness confirmed his statement. Amber took a position, raising her staff and activating the effect of the Fire Dust on it, illuminating the now-arrived night and revealing the beasts hidden among the trees. They were mostly Beowulfs, dozens of them, although she also spotted a couple of Ursas, nothing she couldn't handle, but it seemed like the man needed to get something off his chest.
That was obvious when I heard him shout at the top of his lungs "Aurë entuluva!" And he ran straight toward the black horde, which responded with equal ferocity.
"Hey, wait!" But Nelyafinwe had already leapt into the air, several meters above the ground, and slammed his ax into a Beowulf, breaking it cleanly in half with a sickening sound. However, he had been reckless and half a dozen black wolves descended on him, but Amber was quick, summoning a wall of fire that knocked down the beasts, allowing a distance to form between the stranger and the creatures.
If Nelyafinwe appreciated the gesture, his way of showing gratitude was very irritating. Without thinking about his own safety, he entered beyond the flames, being enveloped by these, and facing the creatures again, shouting the same phrase.
"Aurë entuluva!".
"Oh for the love of…" Amber was unlucky enough to have a suicidal lunatic as a partner.
The maiden had spent most of the fight trying to keep Nelyafinwe alive, not against the Grimms, but against himself. The guy didn't seem to have any appreciation for his life and would charge straight at any beast without thinking, even when his ax broke he continued to fight with his only hand, punching, knocking down, tearing and even biting. She had seen many brutal ways to end a grimm's life, many of them done by herself but this was on another level.
By the time the night was at its peak and the broken moon illuminated the darkness with its pale light, only a black cloud of smoke remained from what had once been a pack of Abominations.
Amber pulled the tip of her staff out of a charred Ursa's stomach as she surveyed the area, but it seemed like the threat had literally vanished. She checked the state of the farm, and saw how her family began to leave the house to contemplate the damage, they had not been injured in any way.
"Nelyafinwe?" She asked, looking for the stranger in the field until she saw him standing on a hill, looking into the distance. He was as still as a statue and his shirts had been destroyed, either by the Grimms or just from moving around a lot. Amber approached him carefully and stood next to him, she searched with her eyes for what he was seeing and there, further in the distance, were the lights of the City. Lights that were still visible even from miles away, like a second sunset on the horizon.
She just smiled as she appreciated the view in this comfortable silence.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" She asked as she looked up at the redhead, and was surprised to find moisture coming from his beautiful eyes.
"Where am I?". He didn't look away.
"You are in Vale." The maiden answered.
"This is not my home," he said with a single tear coming from his eyes.
After that event, Amber accompanied Nelyafinwe to his room. It was obvious that he was exhausted, not in a physical sense but in an emotional sense. The man did not protest, he did not even make a response, he seemed almost like the living dead. And there he stood in front of the window, watching the multicolored lights coming from the distant city. Even when daylight came and the birds welcomed the sun he continued there without moving.
"He's still in exactly the same position! Do you think he went to the bathroom there?" Amber didn't know if her aunt was joking or if it was genuine concern.
"Just get out of there! He'll be mad if he notices you spying!" She whispered as she pulled the older woman away from the door.
"Excuse me!?, this is my house!" And if that bum is going to stay stinking for free, he should at least contribute something!" Dorothy exclaimed in frustration as she pointed to another window that showed the field still destroyed by the fight and Oscar trying unsuccessfully to repair the damage.
"You can be a little more empathic!…" Amber cut herself off mid-sentence, the door opened slowly after both of them and Nelyafinwe appeared. An awkward silence then enveloped the hallway, and the maid began to scratch the back of her neck while thinking of thousands of excuses to avoid giving a bad image.
"I must go." The phrase was heard in a solemn voice.
"That?" It took Amber a few seconds to process the information, seconds in which the redhead was able to reach the stairs and in a hurry the maiden stood in front of him although almost falling on the steps. She had to move her arms to balance and stabilize herself.
"Wait! Wait a second!" He stopped looking down.
"How are you going to leave!? You can't leave like that! Look at you!" It looked like a mess, well, not really. He was still ridiculously handsome, but his clothes were doing him no favors. It seemed then that Nelyafinwe understood her words because he took a brief look at his shoulders.
"Yes, it's also my clothes!" Dorothy said from behind.
"You are not helping!" Amber reproached her. Then something happened that neither of them would have imagined, the redhead began to undress.
"W-what?…" She had no words. He was undressing in front of them, without any shame revealing his very well defined abs... No! Amber was not that kind of woman. Using her super human speed, she took off her cape and covered her guest's body with it, not as a robe, but as a restraining shirt preventing him from continuing to exhibit his figure.
"STOP LOOKING, YOU DIRTY OLD WOMAN!" She demanded to her aunt who whistled pleased at the sight. The maid really would have liked Dorothy to have some decency, and speaking of decency...
"And YOU, no matter what you're thinking, you're not going to sedu!-exhibit yourself in this house!" To make her point clear, she crossed her arms in an X shape. That man only seemed more dismayed by the good fabric on his body than by what she was saying.
"Listen," she began again, this time using a softer, slower tone hoping he could understand her. "If you want to leave, that's fine, but let me help you first." She felt her chest, and then him.
"I just want to help you." The amber of her eyes met the silver of his, and he just looked at her for a few seconds before nodding. She sighed in relief as she gave him a comforting smile.
"You know he doesn't have the money to pay, right" her aunt had to kill the spirits. Amber was about to respond when Nelyafinwe beat her to it.
"Shovel, axe, hammer, needle or paintbrush." He began to list numerous tools, clearly understanding their situation. Dorothy smiled a little mischievously as she rubbed her palms together in a non-creepy manner.
"Well, Oscar could use a little help." The roar from outside, definitely not the tractor, only confirmed that.
As prince and heir of the royal house Nelyo had known many of the wonders created by his father's hands. The Light of the Silmarils was still resplendent in his spirit, and although the late king's masterpiece could never be surpassed by any of the other sons of Eru, ever and ever, he would admit that the vision before him was…
"Fascinating". The new word escaped in a whisper from his lips while the fingers of his hand ran over the metal surface of the contraption. Its shape was vaguely reminiscent of a chariot, but the similarities end once you focus on something other than the two pairs of wheels.
At least almost the entire vehicle was made of metal, with some parts of a leather-like but more elastic material. Everything was perfectly put together like clockwork, with every nut, bolt and piece serving a purpose. The mere sight of the heart of the iron beast made his Noldor blood boil with the desire to dismantle it and get lost rambling about the functionality of that technological masterpiece.
"Can you lift it up a little?" His mind returned to reality when his savior arrived carrying on her shoulder a black wheel taller than her. He assumed that the blood of the Edains was strong in her to be able to perform such a feat, in a way, it reminded him of her cousins.
The prince obeyed and with one hand raised the back of the "tractor" above his head, allowing the maiden to place the spare part without much inconvenience. Then the boy approached and tightened the nuts with his tools, he raised his thumb and Nelyo gently lowered the vehicle.
"This should work for now, can you take it to the barn?" He asked.
"Can't you drive it?" Amber for a moment thought her brother was getting lazy.
"Do you know how much the price of Dust has risen?"
"Admit it, you drive terrible..." Whatever the point of the discussion was, it went unnoticed by the Elf. Placing himself sideways to the contraption, he passed his arm under it to the other end. He could carry it on his shoulders, but it was very likely that it would collapse since the structure of the machine did not seem designed to be carried like that. So he opted to simply drag it to the warehouse.
Finished with the work, he looked around inside the building and his silver eyes met a gray-furred steed. The noble beast in its pen stuck its snout out looking for some contact, which the elf was willing to give. Gently, he rested his hand on the horse's head, stroking the grayish fur.
"Some things don't change," he whispered. The steed relaxed under his touch, playfully bumping its head against his chest making the elf raise a subtle smile.
"He generally doesn't like strangers." Oscar had entered the barn to verify that the Noldor did not seriously damage the tractor.
"I have experience with them." Nelyo continued to focus on the horse.
"Do you come from a farm?".
The mere image of his entire family living in a remote house outside the city, surrounded by animals and plants came to his mind as quickly as it left. It was pleasant, but it also filled his heart with nostalgia and melancholy. Then the memories of a blood-stained square passed through his head, and his father's cries of pain echoed that fateful night.
"No". Those had been happy times, until they weren't.
"Oh, well. I..." Oscar didn't know how he should respond to such a denial, he looked at the ground while scratching the back of his neck, fortunately his amazing older sister arrived to save the day.
"I have good news!" she exclaimed excitedly while waving some keys.
"She let you use the truck?" Oscar was amazed, it was extremely rare that his aunt would let someone else handle her baby.
"Yep!, I'm going to go to town to buy some things." Then she looked at the redhead from head to toe. "You might want to come with me, it will be easier to buy clothes like that." She said while with a gesture of her hand she pointed out all the new tight outfit.
Nelyo just nodded, he was starting to get uncomfortable due to the lack of flexibility. He followed Amber out of the barn, it was there that a squawk caught his attention.
On the wooden ceiling a crow rested, His silver eyes colliding with those red orbs that stared at it before the dark bird took flight, leaving behind a feather that fell on the redhead's forehead.
Nelyo took it in his hands and…
"Why does it smell like beer?"
Mae Govannen Eruhini~✨
Salutations!~✨
Well, I wish I could say what life or death things kept me from updating this, but that would be a lie. The truth is that I was simply focused on other things, studies and personal life. Either way, I still don't make any promises.
Any criticism or review is welcome.
Namárië!~✨