Chapter 7.
When the redhead turned his gaze to his back, he was horrified by the image of a stinger piercing Amber's belly to the other end. Tyrian had originally intended to get rid of the elf once and for all, killing the maiden prematurely was not in his deity's plans. But before Nelyo could move a muscle, a huge piece of metal embedded itself in the ground in front of him and his companion. It was a familiar weapon that he had planned to study while its wielder was unconscious, but now it was halfway buried in the ground with purple blood stains on its blade.
The Scorpion Faunus screamed in pain from his mutilated appendage, but his cries were interrupted by a black boot straight into his face as the mysterious savior finally made an appearance. It was none other than the town drunk, who at impressive speed took advantage of the shock of those present to lift the weapon and, using the gear mechanism, revealed the hidden barrel. He aimed directly at the black-haired woman and shot, forcing her to move to the side to avoid the bullets.
Amber was freed and almost collapsed to the ground, but the elf took her into his incomplete arms. She was bleeding from her lips and was shivering from the cold as she sweated, she was still alive, her eyes still showed a flash of fire but it wouldn't last long.
"We have to get out of here." Without stopping to think or contemplate the battle between the crow against his enemies, he placed the sword in his belt, picked up the Maiden and ran towards the forest. He could lose them among the trees, he had spent the last few years in Beleriand among the green elves, a wild existence that I regret but was useful when it came to using stealth.
He hoped that among the abilities of these enemies, smell was not one of them. Amber was sweating, bleeding, and the stench of poison plagued her body. The shiver was made worse by the way she snuggled into his chest, but he continued running.
The forests offered them protection as he ran over the roots of the trees, not looking back but still aware of the conflict raging just out of sight. Finally he reached a hill where a huge old willow tree rested, there he laid the woman against the trunk. the elf removed the vest and shirt from her torso to better appreciate the wound, leaving her only in her yellow bra. It was clear that the stinger pierced her from side to side. She wouldn't live without immediate high-level medicine and he couldn't give her that.
He took a deep breath, brought his lips right to the wound, sucked and then spit away. The poison had an extremely bitter taste but other than that he experienced no other discomfort. Once that was done, he used the woman's clothing as improvised bandages on her abdomen, which would prevent immediate bleeding.
Rising after examining his companion, the prince contemplated his options. The farm was out of the question, assuming it was still standing and the family didn't have the misfortune of knowing the enemies before them, it only meant putting them in danger. The town was the best option, the guards and the militia would be enough for them not to try anything. They could also provide medical treatment and appropriate equipment to…
"Just leave the woman, you have no obligation to her." His father whispered in his ear.
"Do you want me to let her die?"
"She will die either way, that is the gift of the Second Sons after all." It didn't seem like a gift, from the way her chest was clenching and she was moaning for air with tears coming from the corners of her eyes, she was clearly in pain, she was scared.
"You can grant mercy to her." Yes, he could do it. His hand slowly traveled to the hilt of his sword, his fingers feeling around the pommel. Feanaro placed his hands on his son's shoulders as they both knelt towards the dying woman.
"She will die. Whether due to age, illness, battle or just coincidence. You waste time trying to postpone the inevitable." The blade of the sword slowly began to emerge from the sheath.
"Now or in fifty years, what is the difference my son?" The blade lightly touched the unconscious Maiden's neck. For the first time in centuries the sword in his hand felt terribly heavy.
"Here, let me help you." Feanaro's hands intertwined with those of his firstborn on the hilt. The cold of the metal touched the maiden's throat, causing her to shiver. Just one quick move, and it would all be over– Nelyo watched with wide eyes as Amber's palm rested where his right hand had previously been. She whimpered quietly, confused, searching for something to hold on to, to no avail. There was nothing there, there was nothing there for centuries.
"End this, take your sword, just finish it." He thought it was his father's voice, but in reality he had been deceived. It was his voice, it was the same frightened and dying voice that desperately begged Findekano for a quick death. He remembered then, when he was more helpless than he had ever been. He remembered those decades of torment hanging over the precipice. The fear, the pain, the anguish...
He dropped the sword out of instinct. His left hand, covered in scars, a sign of his corrupt nature, intertwines his fingers with Amber's in a clumsy and crude attempt to provide comfort.
After the heavy rain, in that cave between the roots of an old tree, the warmth of both was shared, mitigating the pain. It was not about body heat that was a product of biological functions and needs, but rather a more personal and immaterial sensation whose source came from the spirit itself. The fire that had once shone in his eyes now nourished the weak maiden. The whisper of an ancient song was carried by the prince's red lips as their souls embraced each other.
He wasn't a healer, but he knew enough about his own soul. Amber was now not shaking, spasming, or sweating cold drops. She was just sleeping, warm against his bare chest, dressed in his clothes to give her some modesty.
Nelyafinwe just stared at the entrance of the cave, waiting for someone to arrive, his sword still in hand crossing over the unconscious Maiden in a projecting manner. They were cornered, he knew it. But he would still fight one last time if necessary. He had a debt to pay.
They couldn't flee, not with her at the risk of death while being pursued by an unknown number of enemies. The rain wouldn't be a problem for him, but it would worsen Amber's delicate condition. He also wasn't entirely sure where he was supposed to go, the town was too far away and he doubted it would be safe from those who attacked them.
The prince sighed, releasing some steam into the air. Their only hope now was that the scorpion and the archer had given up on their quest, or that the Crow had killed them in battle. Raindrops hid the sound of battle in the distance, thunder didn't help either.
The forest was too quiet with him.
"Would you believe me if I said that trees talk? Or would you call me crazy?" He asked knowing she wasn't listening.
"You were always a curious people, some of you threw yourself into superstition as gullible and others refusing to see what was in front of them." He watched as the water began to seep through the roots.
"But maybe I'm being a hypocrite here." His silver eyes never left the entrance to the cave, attentive to any change, any blizzard or shadow.
"I'm not going to take an oath, not again. But I will try with all my might to get you to safety, one last act of generosity, and then our paths will part." He gripped the handle of the sword so tightly that the bones of his knuckles were visible beneath the white skin.
A squawk stopped the elf's thoughts. A tiny shadow passed over the hollows of the roots and the familiar smell of alcohol entered his nose.
"I've used this phrase before, and I don't plan to use it a third time. Make your intentions known right now or I will take your tongue."
A tense silence came but he received a response shortly.
"Look, I screwed up big time. I don't know who you are or what your relationship is with her. But what happened today was my fault." He recognized that hoarse voice from the town.
"That only gives me reason to forgive your tongue, instead I will cut your throat."
"You can do it, believe me, I deserve it. But first I have to try to repair the situation that I screwed up myself." He was as vulgar as a dwarf, and that was saying something.
"Do you think I would trust this girl's life to you? How drunk were you that not even the roar of battle could wake you up? Who says you won't return to your drinks when I look back?".
"Well?, answers old crow!" Now his sword was pointing directly at the entrance.
...
...
"What other option do we have, boy?" He seemed exhausted, unable to give a real answer. But he was no better, because it was the truth. There was no other option but to trust each other.
"Place her in there, carefully." Amber would rest on the truck wrapped in the old crow's cloak, with the elf at her side guarding like a bloodhound. Qrow, the shapeshifter's convenient name, will drive the still-functional vehicle.
"Going to the forest was a good idea." The black-haired man tried to break the silence as they crossed the road towards the town.
"I took the opportunity, I couldn't beat them with her defenseless." He had to raise his voice a little to be heard over the infernal noises of the engine. The storm had already passed and although the clouds were still visible, they did not warn of the presence of rain.
"You didn't have to do it, they didn't seem to want to keep fighting." The drunk's eyes struggled to stay on the road, the battle had left the road in pretty bad shape.
"They fled? For what reason?" the prince questioned.
"They weren't expecting a prolonged fight, it seems that you ruined their plans without knowing it, they wanted her alone and defenseless with you nearby was a risk. You proved to be tougher than expected and with me around–." But Nelyo interrupted him.
"Enough!. I don't need you to praise my strength. Why were those ruffians targeting her? Who were they?".
"I have no idea about the woman, but the man is Tyrian Callows, a serial killer who escaped his sentence a few years ago… As for what they were looking for with her, well, I can't give all the information." Why the head of such a dangerous man was not resting on a pike was a mystery for another time.
"You make the idea of cutting your neck very easy." The prince murmured threateningly.
"Calm down child! Listen, I don't know much about you either, okay? I'm also taking a risk with you."
Only the sound of the vehicle prevented the atmosphere from being consumed by the silence of the journey. They would reach the town in a matter of minutes if the van didn't break down halfway, even then, Nelyo would carry Amber on his shoulders if necessary.
"You said they ran away after your interruption… so why did it take you so long to find us? I hadn't gone that far into the forest."
"I don't know how much freedom your parents gave you, but you two were in the heart of that damn forest. Finding them was a pain in the ass, it was like a damn maze."
"What are you saying? I couldn't go that deep, she wasn't in condition for that."
"Maybe it's the effect of alcohol, I almost thought the trees were moving there, I found you by sheer luck and that's the most terrifying thing."
The elf, without saying a word, looked towards one side of the road where thousands of trees rose to the horizon in an intricate ocean of autumn leaves, which would soon be bathed in the brilliance of the stars.
"What are you trying to do, Yavanna?".
Oscar sighed tiredly as he waited, sitting on the stairs at the entrance to his house. The sun was already setting over the horizon and he still hadn't received a message from his sister, not in hours. It was a custom from several years ago, when Amber had started her training at Signal. He would stay leaning on the stairs, staring at the dirt road, waiting for his sister's brown hair to appear in the distance so he could receive her with a hug.
In those days he was too young to work on the farm, and she was too old to only think about shearing sheep, milking cows and driving a tractor. She wanted to see the world, and he understood it. Amber was like the wind, she would never be still in one place, she needed to move to every possible corner. But it didn't bother him, because like the autumn wind, she would always return to them.
"Thank you". He murmured with a smile as his aunt placed a cup of hot chocolate next to him.
"Don't stay too late, you'll get sick." Dorothy said as she wrapped her nephew in a blanket with patches shaped like orange leaves.
"Just a little longer, she might be back soon."
"Your sister will always come back." the older woman stated with complete confidence. She took a pipe out of one of the pockets in her coat and lit the grass with a match.
"Family always comes back." the older woman stated with complete confidence. She took a pipe out of one of the pockets in her coat and lit the grass with a match. A silence filled the farm when those words were spoken again after almost seven years. Oscar held on to his knees tightly, clenching his fingers and trembling as he looked with despair and tears at the road in front of the farm.
Mae Govannen Eruhini~✨
Salutations!~✨
This chapter was actually supposed to be the second half of the previous one, but upon reviewing the retelling I realized that it would be too long and the theme was very different. This is an attempt to get more emotional about the writing, I'm going to need your opinions. The only thing that really keeps me up at night is my interpretation of Qrow.
Any criticism or review is welcome.
Namárië!~✨