Thread: ᴏɴᴇ ʜᴏᴍᴇ ʟᴏsᴛ, ᴀɴᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴡᴏʀᴛʜ ғɪɢʜᴛɪɴɢ ғᴏʀ [ ɢᴇᴍ x ᴡᴏʟᴢᴇʀᴇx ]

Even after years of separation, she still found herself able to read him like a book. To anyone else, he would appear to be handling her sharp words like any orc would -- Completely unphased by her lashing out, spewing venom with every condemnation. But, it was impossible for her to miss the pain in his striking eyes, his usual stone demeanor coming undone with every unrelenting curse. Elenial could not deny that it was difficult to watch. If not extremely painful. She had always treasured those instances in which she could witness him display his emotions without any inhibitions, away from all of those who told him otherwise. Seeing all of his emotions in their rawest forms brought her immense joy and warmth. Many times, she had found herself being selfish, taking pride in being the one he shared those feelings with. She had loved them all -- His happiness, his pride, his determination, even his sadness and anger. -- Never had she wanted to be the one to bring him such painful emotions. Now, she was becoming just that. Beneath her current pain and grief that ravaged her body and mind was a throbbing pain that grew the more he appeared to silently break. Being the youngest of three in a family filled with the highest of expectations wasn't easy. Most of the pressure sat on her eldest sister's shoulders as the crown princess of Eternias. Meanwhile, her brother was the head of their nation's guard by the time he was her age presently. Watching them both strive and achieve greatness filled her with immense pride, but left her with an overarching sense of incompleteness. What was expected of her when there was no important roles left for her to fill? Like her siblings, she was subjected to lessons in etiquette, political strategy, the arts, self-defense, and her favorite, magic. The ancient magic at the core of their bloodline made the royal family a true force to be reckoned with. Her ability to cast was the one thing that separated her from them, something she could call hers despite not having a role of her own. However, it had not always been like that. For as long as she could remember, she couldn't seem to do anything right. Or, at least to the caliber her siblings could. With each passing day the sense of inadequacy and frustration within herself grew. Her family could see her unraveling, attempting to reach out countless times to no avail as she pushed farther them away. None of them would ever understand. None of them had ever been in her place. The build up continued to grow as she went throughout her days by keeping to herself. However, the young princess could only hide her feelings so long before complete eruption. One night during dinner, she finally did. Her family's gentle inquiries and wishes for her to open up were met with melted silverware and a burning tablecloth. No one had been hurt, but Elenial had been too appalled with herself to stay and find out. Before they could get a word in, she was gone. That was the fateful day that started it all. She ran as far as her feet could take her, maids and guards dodging her at the sight of the flames dancing wildly in her hands. She remembered it was Fall, the air cool against her searing skin. It had been ages since she had left the palace walls. Before she knew it, she found herself lost in glades of endless trees. What was more frightening was the prospect of her setting the entire forest ablaze if she couldn't gather herself properly. Finally, she came upon a clearing in which she felt it safe to collapse. Except, she was not alone, greeted by the sight of a stone-colored young man who completely towered over her tiny form. With fear now added to the mountain of emotions weighing down on her, she finally found herself sobbing before her enemy of all beings. Of all the actions he could have took upon meeting her -- Simply standing their, albeit clearly uncomfortable with her tears, if not emotions in general, without a word was not expected. Very few words were exchanged between the two of them that night. But, she very clearly remembered gently thanking him for leading her out of the forest and dangerously close to her side of the border. From then on, she visited the strange half-ling from the forest whenever she could find time at night to sneak away. It was because of him that her magic had grown to the power it was today. Korm allowed her the ability to free, to forget about the need to prove herself or find her place. She found a place with him every night under the stars. He gifted her with new, beautiful emotions that she had yet to truly understand. Emotions which brought her magic to heights she could never imagined. Elenial believed with her entire being that Korm had saved her as much as she had him in more ways than one. She felt the searing in her hands soften at the sound of his voice. There was a sincerity in each and every word one of his words that caused her to falter, the fire behind her eyes fading if only for a heartbeat. Every fiber of her soul and being wanted to believe him. Her conscience pleaded with her, begging her not to push away the only piece of home and familiarity left in existence. She had already lost so much. Don't lose him, too. But, hearing the beginnings of an apologize snapped her back to reality. It seemed he already understood his apology spoke little to her grief. I do not want your apology. Apologies will not bring them back. She breathed lowly, hands shaking as she fought for control of herself. Any other orc would have been sporting third degree burns. Then again, any other orc would not even think to apologize for their actions or those of others. Just another reason it so pained her to do this. What I want...is for you to keep my name from your fillthy mouth. Princess Elenial Summath Naur of Eternias is dead! She perished as surely as her family did during the Fall of Dark Elves. You, of all beings, have absolutely no business using the dead's name in vain. Her own name felt heavy on her tongue, her stomach sick with every word. Slowly, she stepped away from him, reaching up and taking a hold of the star around her neck. She could feel the metal begin to soften as heat continued pooling in her hands, her stomach sinking. Refusing to prolong the process, she gave one strong pull of the chain, breaking its hold around her neck. The girl you knew...she's gone. Looking down at the piece of jewelry in her hand, she regarded it silently before taking a shaky breath and holding it out to him. You and the rest of you monsters already stole one home from me. You will not take another. Leave my family and myself in peace. Her voice, at first spiteful and commanding, softened as she dropped the memento in his calloused hands. With that, she began moving past him. But, not before sending one final warning over her shoulder. ...Do not follow me. -- To say she felt bare without the trinket was an understatement. After finding the rest of her troupe at their new cliff-side home, the first thing they inquired of her was the whereabouts of the chain. Given the state she was in, and the intense glowing of her hands, they knew from past experience to leave her be. The rest of her day was spent atop the cliff, completely enraptured with the sun and the sea. Agnor found her first, sitting down as he usually did beside and making talk of everything but the thing weighing most heavily on her heart. It was his usual strategy and worked beautifully as she told him the truth. The person in whom she had spoken to about her childhood love the most had been Frida, but Agnor needed no explanation as to her obvious, but deep-seated feelings towards the resident half-ling. He had plenty of things to say to her sentiments to his involvement in her past tragedies. However, given her state of passion, it was better to tell her his two cents later. The following day, the group of misfits had begun running errands and exploring their new surroundings. It took a lot of convincing and several bouts of begging before Elenial agreed to coming along. The wound reopened by her meeting with Korm was still fresh, and the lack of the metal star around her neck only made her more uneasy. Still, she could only watch fondly as Frida and Agnor reminisced with the many people they came into contact with while navigating the streets. Milo and Kai couldn't get enough of the different odds and ends being sold at various booths in the marketplace or on street corners. The two brothers became immediately interested at a single mention of the word 'treasure.' Elenial didn't have the heart to tell them that several of these 'treasures' were surely nothing more than reworked pieces of junk. But, if hearing a legend about an antique mirror or dusty lamp gave them ideas and material for their stories, than who was she to ruin their imaginations? Elenial, hyper-aware of her surroundings, found herself searching for...someone. For the nth time that morning, her hand reached up only to grasp at nothing. With a sigh, the dark elf took a moment to locate everyone. Milo, Frida and Kai were all stuffing their faces with some type of fatty meat on a stick, Agnor happily chatting up the butcher. Seeing as they were all safely together, she decided to do a bit of browsing herself. It did not take her long time find a stand with various books. Her finger absently ran over the spines of each, taking titles written in scripture she had yet to see. The vendor, an spry elderly man, went on to tell her of his travels as she went about opening and closing books. He did not seem to mind her wordless dialogue, taking her gentle smiles and nodding as signal to continue. This exchange went on for several minutes before she found a book on stars and astral bodies and their legends across different lands that left her feeling bittersweet. Nonetheless, she found the prospect of learning new stories to outweigh her sadness. Handing him several gold coins, she thanked him and hurried back over to the troupe...Only to find Frida scowling at several men from behind Agnor's back as he stood to put space between everyone. Her pace quickened as she joined Agnor at his side, the large man moving to urge her back before she spoke up in an icy voice, Is there a problem, gentlemen? Last edited Jan 20, 2019