"Lazuli? Why is there an Elf in my room?"
I wipe my head with my hand.
"Well… There were this people… and when I was going to get stuff for myself with the coin that Steel gave me…"
My voice is shaky and my body is nervous:
"But then I heard this muffled screaming and then saw these two guys… they looked dangerous and if I hadn't of stopped them she may have ended up really hurt. But once I did save her, I couldn't figure out my next course of actions."
She huffs.
"I can tell."
She looks over at the elven girl.
"What's your name and how old are you?"
The elven girl doesn't speak for a quick moment, as she sits there looking down at the ground as if she were punished.
"My name is Celastrus, I'm soon to be seventeen."
She speaks with her head in the ground.
'Holy shit, I saved an adult?!'
"How did you get free?"
Splay asks her again.
"The chains that kept me in place rusted away and once it was weak enough, I yanked with all my strength and ran away. But once I got away from the fields. The guys found me. I couldn't run after that. So I ended up almost getting.."
"That's enough."
Sply stops her sentence.
"What do you plan to do?"
Sply says, as she looks at the elf.
"I'm not sure, anything that you want me to do."
Sply's small stature goes over to Celastrus and stands over her.
"Why do you think that I want anything to do with you?"
"Sply?"
I say to her anxious of her decision.
"Lazuli… what do you want us to do? An elf slave isn't just something that people will ignore."
Her tone is calm, but her words sound condescending.
"But we can't just leave her. What if something bad happens to her?"
My voice trying to reason with Sply.
"Then so be it."
"Sply? Please. Because if she ends up hurt… she'd die. Look at her. Her injuries, bruises marks, cuts, everything. If she were to endure anything more she'd die."
Sply looks at Celestrus. Her eyes roaming over the messy figure of the girl on the ground.
"Okay then Lazuli. What do you think we should do with her?"
"We should help her."
"And how?"
"We… we..? I don't know."
"Lazuli. She doesn't have any combat experience for the Soul Cave, she can't…"
"I have…"
She speaks up.
"I have combat experience along with knowledge of the Soul Cave."
"What?"
Celestrus turns her head up to look at Sply, the small child looking woman in front of her.
"You were a combatant?"
"No?"
Celestrus shakes her head.
"But during times of a master going into the Soul Cave… he would often bring me in to… please him during the times he's there."
My heart breaks a bit hearing those words.
"And how do you have any combat experience?"
"Sply..?"
I say.
"Be quiet Lazuli. I'm trying to understand what she can do..."
She pauses for a second to look at me, with what looks like anger in her eyes.
I don't know where the anger for her eyes is toward, so instead of asking or stopping Sply, I close my mouth.
For a second, I feel a sense of rage, but I take a breathe. Not trying to get angry, afraid her answer would be something that would be bad.
"I understand the surroundings of the place, and… the other elves can't do it, but if I infuse my tongue with Soul energy and click my tongue, I can feel everything."
Sply looks at her with surprise.
"You're a clique?"
"Sorry?"
Celestrus asks again, asking to hear if she mistakened what she was called.
"I think you'll be able to follow us…"
Sply says.
My rage disappears as she says that.
"But you have to cut your ears."
"What?"
I walk in front of Sply. Now seeing the small height difference between the two of us.
"She's not going to, she is. And if she doesn't I'll call the master on her."
"Why? She doesn't need to have to cut her ears if she doesn't want to."
My voice nearly raises before I hold myself back from doing so.
"Lazuli. Do you think you telling me she doesn't need to, will deter my decision?"
Her calm voice is annoying me.
"She doesn't need to Sply…"
My voice drops, to persuade her.
"…please."
A hand grabs my shoulder from behind me and I feel the slight weight of Celestrus pulling up as she stands she looks down at me with a slight smile.
"I'll do it."
Celestrus says.
"You don't need to stop it La.. zoo… Lee."
She says my name slow as if trying to sound it out.
"I understand what you want me to do."
Celestrus says that and holds out her hand.
"What?"
Sply says.
"A blade, to cut the edges of my ears."
Sply nods, reaching down to her ankle, a blade put between her ankle and boot.
She gives the blade to Celestrus.
"Celestrus. You don't need to do that."
I look to Sply, mentally begging her to stop Celestrus.
Celestrus takes a breath.
And brings the knife to her ear, completely ignoring what I've told her.
She holds onto her ear, stretching it outward so it's an easier cut.
She places the knife on the top, and right as she touches the top of her ear.
I feel my body tense.
"Don't!"
Sply says before I manage to switch beside Celestrus and stop her.
"You proved that you'll be willing, I never planned for you to cut your ears."
Sply stops for a moment.
"But your hair, cut that."
Sply gets close to Celestrus and grabs the strands of hair by her neck.
"Cut up to here, not any further, it'll make it easy for people to see your ears if they end up any shorter than this."
The sun rays from the window, strike the lower part of my leg, giving me warmth, and I take a deep breath, happy that Celestrus won't have to cut herself to follow us.
"But, why does she have to cut her hair shorter?"
"Someone saw her."
"How do you know that?"
Sply looks at me like I'm stupid.
"Lazuli. There's no way you would have been able to run here from anywhere in this town without someone seeing you with her."
"Oh…"
Spot turns to Celestrus.
"Cut your hair with that blade."
Sply says then turns her head to me.
"Follow me."
Sply goes out the door, I follow close behind her.
She waits for me and stands at the door for me, I walk past her as I her the small strain of Celestrus slowly cutting at her hair.
Sply closes the door.
"Why, bring an elf?"
"She was going to get hurt… would you have preferred I left her?"
"No, I'd have preferred you not get involved… doesn't matter now, she already is."
We head to the stairs.
Walking to the stairs, we head down and the same lady that waved at me as I entered was there.
"Could we get a food for our room?"
Sply asks with her tone nonchalant.
The waitress nods.
"Okay, three coins."
Soly reaches into her pockets grabs a few and puts them down softly.
"What'll it be?"
"Same as before."
The waitress nods, then heads on to the back.
As she does so, the front entrance to the building is forced open with a loud BANG.
Both Sply and I look back, there is two people the teen from before, with bandagings on his hand, and the same balding guy that was on the donkey.
My heart drops for a second.
"Sply… that's the guy that was going to hurt Celestrus."
Sply rolls her eyes at that information.
The teen doesn't see me yet.
Neither does the old guy.
"Go upstairs, get the elf, and leave out the window."
"And you?"
"Listen to me. Follow the sign on the pathways to get to the Soul Cave. You'll be able to be free of them there."
Sply says with a voice that doesn't allow for me to interject with my opinion.
Following her instructions, I run upstairs, head held down.
"Did you see a girl about this high, followed by a boy shorter, with something weird thing over his eye…"
I can hear the old man's voice as I get further.
'He's trying to describe us to the people.'
Taking the turn to my room, I enter, to see the tall girl, hair shorter and her ears now hidden behind her ears, as she holds the blade in hand.
Her wounds and cuts and bruises still lingering like a eye sore throughout her whole body.
Wiping my face, I feel the fabric of the eye patch, from the top of my left eye to the bottom of my right eye.
Rushing right to my bed, I grab my bag and open it.
"Sorry, I should have given this to you before, but I was panicked."
I reach in and grab an overcoat, one with a small insignia on the bottom, the one that Flock owns.
The first of small insignia's on the bottom corner of clothes came around my second year of training and it was way better than the big insignias he had on the clothes.
"Put this on, it'll hide your wounds."
She hesitantly walked to me and grabs the overcoat.
"Okay…"
I stand up, grabbing the bag and throwing it over my arms to my back, then strapping it tightly to myself.
Soon, I also put my bow over my shoulder, and hold it tightly.
Running to the window, I open it and look down, it's to the back of the place, with mostly only bins and darkness of an alley behind the place, as another building gives it a shadow for us to hide in.
I look down and below us is a trashcan, but just above that, just above that and right our window, a tad to the left is what looks to be stable footing of a outstretched part of a roof, that I could have Celestrus use to get down.
"Okay Celestrus. I want you to just to that roof and then the trash bin."
Leaning out the window, I put one foot through then, slowly I put the next out.
Celetrus looks at me as I leave.
"Is something the matter?"
I look to her and nod as I try to reach it.
Seeing the overcoat covering her entire body, form shoulder to feet.
'Knew that coat was too big for me.'
"Yeah, people looking for us, the same ones that were going to hurt you."
She gasps and looks out the window as I hop away and onto the roof below us.
"Okay, please hurry."
I feel my body tense.
I appear next to the trash bin in fron of it, in slight view of Celestrus.
"Okay. Hurry!"
I give whispered yell.
Celestrus puts one foot out, then she puts another through.
She hops out, he foot landing weirdly making her fall over on the roof.
She winces, then gets back up quickly.
She sits on the edge then hops of the edge falling to hit the bin, then sliding off the bin using the overcoat as the one to negate the body contact.
She stands up as she makes it to the ground and begins to walk after me in a wobbled hop.
Not noticing, I rush to the corner of the alley and see a sign, pretty close by on our left, understanding so, because we were close to an inn.
It reads that the Soul Cave is on the right side of us, in the opposite direction of the sign.
I wave for Celestrus to follow me and begin to walk quickly in the direction of the Soul Cave.
We both continue walking.
Celestrus not making a sound at the pain that her foot is making her feel.
People ignore us as we both continue to walk, following the pathway.
Then we come across another sign.
I have to stand in my opposite direction to look at the way it's facing, making me take a left, into what looks like it leads to an exit to the town.
The path slowly leads into what is a tree heavy area.
Looking around, people ignoring us and going about their own day makes me feel a slight shiver.
I continue to follow the sign.
Celestrus behind me, but at a slower speed.
As we walk, and the sounds of other people footsteps begin to die out, I hear mine and the slightly out of step footsteps of Celestrus, I turn around to look at Celestrus.
Her foot bent slightly at an angle.
"Oh, my god Celestrus."
I slow down.
Trying to continue until we get to shadows, before we stop completely to going to help her.
"No need to worry, I'll be fine. I can be continue to be useful."
She says, hobbling to be faster to catch up to me.
"Celestrus. Why wouldn't you tell me?"
Trees slowly begin to shade us.
"Sir. There's no need to worry about me, I'm not hurt as much as you think I am."
She says as if pleading to not be hurt or abandoned.
As that happens.
I turn my body around and go to the side of her body, shifting my bow to my other arm.
"Will you be okay to continue going?"
Celestrus looks at me, withholding tears in her eyes.
"Yes."
I nod to her.
"Okay."
Turning back, no one is following us.
Shadows begin to get darker and obscure us more.
The trees get thicker, making a good spot for us to stay there and wait for Sply.
Pointing into the treeline.
"Go in there, we're going to wait for Sply, and I'm going to try and help you."
Celestrus wobbles into the trees.
I follow behind her, as I put up some shrubs to block the us from being seen from anyone around us.
"Okay."
Celestrus stands up in front of me.
Not moving to far ahead, but she would be fine the trees and shrubs block anyone from catching us.
"What are you doing?"
I ask Celestrus.
"Sir. I'm waiting for you to tell me what…"
She winces not able to fully finish her sentence, as she tries to stand up straight and not look pained.
"Lay down. You're going to make your foot worse."
She shakes her head.
"This doesn't hurt sir."
Celestrus tells me, wanting to be seen as if she's not in pain, but very bad at hiding it.
"You have to lay down, your foot is going to end up completely destroyed if you don't relax a bit."
"No, please we can keep going."
She says trying to push herself, unsuccessful as she takes a step to try and pass me and ends up falling forward.
I manage to grab her, but with her taller height going over me, I end up falling as well, being the cushion of the fall for her.
Wincing, I grab at my head.
"Owwww."
I say.
Celestrus as quickly as she could, pulls herself off of me.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry!"
She says three times fast, crawling back even more and bowing her head into the ground, like an ostrich to look weaker.
"It's okay... But you need to get out of that pose too."
I sit up, looking at the way she positioned, making her foot also look in an angle.
"No, I'm sorry Sir, I deserve to be punished for what I've done, but please don't be too harsh on me."
"What?"
I say, now really confused.
She lifts her head up, her hair flying behind her ears.
"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be objective to your punishment. I won't question it anymore."
"What are you saying?"
"No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't care about what your punishment will be onto me. I'll take it no matter what. I won't squeal or cry."
"I'm not going to hurt you."
"But, I landed on top of you?"
She says confused by what was said to her.
"That's okay, it was a mistake. Please. I need to check your leg."
I say.
She hesitantly, and ver slowly fixed herself to be in a position, in which her foot, was facing me.
The sole of her foot the color of the brown dirt that we were stepping on when we were running.
Her foot, positioned a slight bit to the left of the rest of her ankle.
"God, this is bad."
I tell Celestrus.
She looks at me in sadness.
"I'm sorry that, I'm useless to you Sir."
I shake my head.
"You're not useless, but your foot is out of place. It might be dislocated."
I pause as I take a breath, feeling all around the foot.
Every tiny tap to check her foot is filled with a wince behind it, her eyes grow red and hold back tears.
"I'm sorry, but I have to check it."
Softly I grab at the base of her ankle, and she lets out a pained moan.
"Sorry."
Letting go, I look at her.
"Okay, we'll rest here, then when Sply comes around, she'll probably know a way for us to fix you up."
I stand up and look over the shrubs, taking a few steps to see if anyone is coming.
"Thank you. Sir."
She pulls herself.
'No one coming.'
Walking back to here, making sure that the Shrubs is still there, I go to her.
"My name is Lazuli."
"Sorry?"
"Lazuli. That's my name, that's what you should call me instead of sir, feels weird since your very obviously older than me."
"Yes, Su... I mean. Yes, Lazuli."
I smile at her.
"Okay. Let's prop you up at a tree away from view of the pathway."
With a weak pull back, she tries and fails to pull far enough.
"Here, let me help."
"No, it's okay. You've done enough, Sir... Lazuli."
She says my name correcting herself.
"It's okay. I'll help you."
Steping into a jog, I get behind her and quickly pull her to a tree for her to prop herself up, as she let's her leg stretch out, and wince with her back stopping onto the tree.
Making me move from her and letting her relax a bit more.
I go beside her sitting on the tree as well.
Putting my bag and bow down, beside me, before I sit and fully relax.
"Grass is soft... isn't it?"
I say, starting up small talk.
Her hand stretches in the same direction as mine, back and forth her hand goes, just like mine.
"Yes. It is Sir. Lazuli. I mean."
"You can call me Lazi. If Lazuli is too difficult to say."
"No, I shouldn't be using nicknames that makes it seem like we are of the same species."
She turns her head to look at me and looks at me with fear.
"I really don't mind."
"I would never be inconsiderate of the human in front of me."
She says to me, with fear in her voice.
"It's fine, I mean my sister is an elf, she's the one that gave me the nickname."
Celestrus looks at me with a very, very confused look.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, obviously not biological sister."
I say pointing to my ear.
"But yeah, she's the one that gave me the nickname and she's even the reason i'm on this trip. Since, I want to grow stronger so that I can end up protecting her, from the dangers of all the things, that want her to die, in the world. Didn't know I would end up already having to deal with one of the..."
I go quiet at the sound of footsteps at the pathway.
Grabbing my bow, I feel my body tense. Standing now, I'm at the pathway a bit, looking out to see a group of people that are covered in head to toe, in dangerous looking scars and aromor, the only two without armor, as scary as the rest is one with a bow and another with a dagger.
I feel my body tense.
Putting my hand over Celestrus, and my finger to my mouth.
"Be quiet."
I say softly.
She nods her head.
They get closer and closer and closer.
"Did you hear about the kid that helped that slave?"
One of them say.
They all say yeah, in their own ways, some not even saying yeah, but making a sound acknowledging what the guy had said.
"It's nice money that'll be made by whoever finds that slave."
"Yeah..."
Someone else jumps in.
"Should we also look for her?"
The same person that said Yeah, asks.
"Nah, If we manage to get through the Cave, we should have just over enough to cover the rest of our expenses."
Someone in the group puffs out air as they continue walking.
They pass us, oblivious of us two standing just a few yards away from them.
Soon, their talking disappears and they end up gone. Away from our location.
"Okay they're gone."
"Who?"
I jump away, immediately pulling an arrow onto the arrow hold and almost releasing it toward the voice, before seeing Sply there, pushing past some trees.
"SPLY?"
For a second, I sound angry at her, then:
"Sply. Celestrus needs help. Her ankle is fu... messed up. She needs to get..."
"I'll pop it in place."
Sply gave the injury a quick glance and immediately knew what to do.
"You can just do that?"
"Lazuli. Me and your father both fought in a war. It was years ago. But knowledge to survive in those type of environments, don't disappear easily."
She tells me in her usual tone, giving me an answer to what I've just asked.
"Okay."
Sply pushes me away, not hard, but just enough for me to end up knowing, that I need to move away.
She kneels just in front of Celestrus' foot and feeling the foot.
Celestrus winces and moans, the pain making her face grow red.
"Your hurting her."
I calmly tell Sply.
"I know. But she'll have to deal with it our I'm leaving her."
"Sir... I mean Lazi. I'll be fine. Please, let her do whatever it is she wants to do."
Celestrus says, before her face goes back to looking to Sply.
"Ready?"
Sply asks Celestrus.
"Yes."
"Okay, on three."
"Three, Two..."
Sply pulls hard, and fast as she hears a pop. Putting the foot back in place, giving the foot, it's regular look back.
Celestrus, holds back a scream as tears fall and fall, before she wipes them away.
"Okay?"
I ask Celestrus.
She nods at me and wipes away more tears.
"Great, then let us hurry to the Cave."
Sply gets up and begins to walk toward the pathway, moving shrubs.
I shake my head at her, as she blocks out Celestrus unless I ask her to.
"Come Celestrus. I'll help you."
Putting down my bow, I hold out my hand for Celestrus to grab out and help her get up.
She's easy to pull up, since her body doesn't have much weight on her.
With my hands on her finger now, I can really feel the emptiness of muscle and any type of meat on her.
It makes me pity her and her unfortunate circumstances, all because she was born an elf.
"Thank you... Lazuli."
She says.
Making me realize how long I've been holding her hand.
"You're welcome."
"Hurry up you two."
Sply says from the pathway.
"You go first."
Celestrus nods at me, feeling her foot on the ground, she slowly walks to Sply.
Grabbing my bow, I sling it over my shoulder, then going to my bag, I grab the back, but for some reason I hear a small whistling sound.
Coming froma bit further away from me.
Taking a few steps I see a very slight light coming from a very small hole in front of me, the hole being about the size of a baseball.
Getting closer to it. The hole under me, opens completely. Making me feel the weight of gravity pulling me down through the now massive opening.