Chapter 18: Spilled secret

The evening had started quite calm in a typical routine. The small fires were lit outside the houses, attracting a variety of insects. Their bioluminescence and the glow that came from the glowing fungi that grew on the wooden ropes of the bridges and ladders gave it a mysterious aura. The large silvery white scale that hung in the middle was set on fire and strung back up, a roughly 30 feet of the ground. Life started to wake...

But peace never lasted long.

The peaceful nature was suddenly broken and the entire Tribe started to look like a beehive. Men and women ventured out of their huts at the sound of some chirps and shouts. Children ran over the bridges, only to be called back by their mothers.

From the side of the Tribe, a pack of warriors walked in, dragging a person with them, it’s hands bound on it’s back. And with the haste they had, they weren’t very gentle with their captive. With a push, they dropped the man before the Akthan, who had been waiting for the group to arrive after they had sent out their warning. The male leader could only frown at the sight of the creature in front of his feet.

“Found at the edge of the Tribe. He could be a scout.” The Tsaluthan, head warrior of the Tribe explained. 

The Akthan looked concerned towards the ‘prey’ before his feet. A dark skinned male, hair white as the moon and his eyes flickering red in the shadows. Every elf on the surface knew the looks and cruelty of his kind. 

“If there is one, there will be more. Take the rest of the warriors and scout the area.” 

The Tsaluthan barked his command. Most of the warriors left, shouting and chirping to the rest to follow. Except for a few, who had their spears lowered, their points pressed into the neck of the dark skinned elf. A silent reminder of what he was facing if he dared to step up.

“Where are the rest of your men?” The Akthan said with a growl as undertone. He looked at the dark skinned elf, his eyes narrowed, while he also lowered the tip of his spear toward the prisoner. 

“I am alone.” The male said.

“A lone Drow is a dead Drow.” The Akthan spat on the ground. 

“I speak the truth.” The Drow whispered.

“Liar!” and the bottom of the spear flew through the air, hitting hard on the male’s jaw, smacking him towards the ground.

“Fa’hadir!” 

The voice made all males look up and turn their head to the source. On the top of the hill, a slender female slowly walked down with a certain grace. While the warriors respectfully bowed their heads, the Drow male gathered himself, letting his eyes drift to the new elf that had come to the scene. And when his eyes were laid on her body, he could almost feel his heart stop.

Her long silvery white hair, carefully draped around her shoulders and back, accentuating her dark ash grey skin. He barely dared to let his eyes go up, to cross her silver colored eyes that seemed to glow in the fading sun, afraid that she would vanish when he blinked. Afraid that his own mind was playing tricks on him, only to torture him more.

“Imha’Akthan, this is a Drow caught at …” One of the warriors started, but he was quickly silenced by a simple flick of her hand. Yet when she did that, her eyes didn’t move from her target. Each time she took a step closer, she thought her heart would rip itself out of her chest. With each step, she expected her vision to change, to show a different person sitting there in the ground. She barely dared to blink her eyes, afraid to wake up from a dream and to realize that there was nobody there.

“Since when do we treat our hostages with such violence?” Her voice was trembling while she had to force herself to break her staring glance towards the Drow male, who with all his might, was not able to break the stare either.

“Ly’Kalyn, it’s a Drow!” The Akthan growled.

“It’s a prisoner like any other. And we will deal with them like we always do.” 

Her voice was firm, demanding. It made the other warriors shift uncomfortable, seeing how their leaders were bickering at each other. But the Akthan hadn’t moved and kept his stance. Like his eyes were searching for something. When his silver eyes shifted to the Drow, who had not even made an attempt to break free, he gave a flick with his head. 

The Tsaluthan started to bark some commands and the dark skinned male was picked up from the ground and dragged to one of the trees, to be hoisted up to the prison.

“I hope you know what you are doing, Ly. Drow are like rats. They never come alone.”

“Killing this rat now will only be in our disadvantage. If they are coming, then I can at least try to pull something out of him.”

Fa’Hadir hummed shortly. Partially in agreement, even as he knew that trained Drow would never reveal any information. They were too proud for that. Which made him wonder why this one was here alone.

“Be careful.” He said with a deep sigh, knowing that arguing with his wife was futile. Ly’Kalyn gave him a faint smile before she walked up to the hut they had bound their prisoner.

“You can leave.” She said firmly when she had climbed up the tree. The two guards looked surprised to each other by this unusual request.

“My Lady, it’s a Drow, we can not …”

“If you have done your job well, I shouldn't be afraid that he will escape! Go guard on the ground. That is close enough. You do not want to be around when I cast my magic on him.”

The two men looked at each other again, giving a silent agreement to each other before they bowed before the Imha’Akthan and descended down to take their post on the ground.

Ly took a deep breath before she pushed away the curtain that blocked her view. There, in the shadows of the hut was the male Drow, wearing nothing more than a dirty pants and a ripped shirt was bound with his hands above his head, his feet bound together so that he would be unable to run away. Yet Ly was certain he wouldn’t. Even if he could free himself, she knew he would stay where he was.

“Elendar?” She whispered his name, almost afraid to admit that he was right there before her eyes. She was still afraid that this was nothing more than a dream, a vision from which she still had to wake up. But she knew it was real when the man raised his head, revealing his shimmering red eyes in the dark. Ly could see the relief in his eyes, the small smile that formed on his lips. Seeing him react to her voice, seeing how his body shifted when he caught her with his eyes, it made her feel weak in her legs. She reached out to him before she dropped on her knees before him, grabbing him in her embrace before a tear rolled down her cheek.

“I thought you were dead.” She whispered. She was not allowed to speak too loudly, to not reveal anything to the guards standing below. She did not want this moment to vanish now that she held him in her arms. She took in his scent, that reminded her of burned soil. She could feel his heart beat against her own chest, faster than expected. 

“I would be better of dead …” Elendar replied softly, the sound of his voice betraying how tired he actually was. He had ran for days, weeks, … he could barely remember how many days or tendays he had actually ran to flee from his prison. An escape that had gone to smoothly.

When Ly finally dared to let him go, still afraid that he would be gone if she did, she looked at him, only to see the tiredness in his eyes. She could see the suffering he had to endure. He was no longer the young man she had found at the riverside. He looked withered, bad on health.

She let her hand softly caress his white hair, that looked tangled and matted. Even without asking, she could see that he had suffered. Weeks, months, years, … the idea alone already brought guilt over her frame. Was this her doing?

No longer able to hold herself, she placed her lips on his, tasting the salt of his sweat. He gladly accepted her kiss, kissing her back with a certain hunger, like he was afraid that she would be ripped away any second.

“I missed you.” She whispered, placing her forehead against his, still caressing his long hair.

“Ly, they are coming …” He softly whispered, like he was afraid to say the words and break the spell. When she took part, he thought he would see worry in her eyes, but instead, she was softly smiling. Yet even while her lips were curled in a smile, her eyes were sad.

“I know …”

Elendar looked confused at her. He didn’t understand.

“How … How do you know?”

Ly lowered her eyes, her hands fell back in her lap. Her body gave a feeling like she was surrendering herself. Like she could start to cry any second, but she kept herself strong.

“I … I received a vision. I know that your kin is coming.”

Elendar wanted to grab her, but his hands were still bound by ropes. He leaned forward, trying to close the small gap between them.

“Then why didn’t you run? Why didn’t you warn your Tribe? You can still run away!”

Ly closed her eyes, fighting against the tears again. She took a deep breath before she opened them again, seeing the worry and confusion in his red eyes. 

“The red line of fate is set, Elendar. The Lady of the Moon warned me and gave me a choice. Saving my own life … or that of Fae, my … of our daughter.”

“Our daughter?” 

His heart made a skip when he heard those words. Our daughter? His mind drifted back to sixteen years ago, to those nights at the riverbank. There had been one night, one night he had treasured the most. One of those memories that had kept him going, that had kept his mind sane. It was hard to believe that that night had resulted in something more.

His head was filled with questions, things he wanted to know. But before he could even spill out the questions that filled his head, a shadow loomed over him and Ly. When he raised his eyes, he looked right at the angered face of Fa’Hadir.

“I knew it!” He barked in the language of the Night Elves. Ly jumped up, partly in surprise, but also in defense and placed herself between her husband and Elendar. She had feared this day, the day when her secret would come to the surface. And while she knew she deserved punishment for that act, what she feared the most was the disappointment in her mate’s eyes. And when her eyes crossed his, she not only saw his disappointment, but also the sadness, the betrayal, if not even the fear of what was going on.

“Fa’Hadir, I …”

“Now I know where you have been those nights.”

Ly expected for his voice to sound angry, but instead it was filled with sadness.

“I knew something was off, but I trusted you. And when Fae was born … I knew she was unusual. I knew something was wrong when Fa’ni’en was born, but I would have never imagined that you would betray me with … with that!” And he pointed straight towards Elendar, who was too stunned to even say anything, seeing how those silver eyes were suddenly filled with anger and hate.

But that anger left quickly when he looked back to his wife, she could only look at him with a look full of guilt in her eyes.

“Have you ever loved me?” Fa’Hadir barely dared to ask the question, afraid of the answer. But for his own mind, he had to know. 

Ly took a deep breath, collecting herself before she dared to face him straight on. 

“Yes, I do, Fa’Hadir. But I … I could never love you as my mate. You were my biggest friend when we were young. I saw you as my brother … the one I trusted the most. When our parents guided us together, I let them be. If I had to be with someone, then why not with the person I know best? I thought what I felt right then was love. But I was wrong. I cared for you, but I never loved you like I should have. I learned what love was when I met Elendar.”

“With a Drow!!” Fa’Hadir spit back, again that flicker of hate. 

“Out of all the creatures in the world, you fell in love with the scum of the surface below. I always knew you never loved me like it should, but I never thought you would lower yourself to the level of the Underdarkl!”

And then a shout filled the air.

“DROW!!”