“And what, exactly… are you doing about it then.”
The young boy hesitated, a pack of rations still held in his hand. He slowly dropped it into the knapsack before giving a glance behind him. Arid crouched on the bed across from his, staring at him with eyes full of accusations. The two children, barely past the age of ten, had heavy thoughts racing through their heads since the arrival of the demon.
“Don’t get involved,” Preston said, hefting the knapsack over to the other drawers. “I don’t want you involved in this in any way.”
“The Druids of Dvalinn saved your life.” Arid hissed. “You can’t just leave! You’re too young anyways!”
“What part of this don’t you understand?!” Preston hissed back, slamming the drawer shut. He spun around to face her, eyes gleaming with fury. “I’m not a druid! I’m not an elf! I don’t belong here, and these practices are horrific!”
Arid held still for a moment, still crouched on the bed. Preston’s mockery radiated ill thoughts through her head, and they both held each other’s gaze, daring the other to bend or break.
“You’re a druid, same as I.” Arid assured. “And I never want to hear you say you don’t belong with us because of what some outsider says. You’re my friend, and a divine deer of Dvalinn. He has blessed you with a perfect body, one which any elf here would kill for.”
“Yeah, that’s why I’m going to leave quietly, you prick.” Preston sneered, turning back around to continue packing. “Because something tells me if I let chief know I’m hitting the road, I’m going to be the next one who’s skull gets cracked over that table.”
Arid’s eyes narrowed to slits. “If you leave, you can always come back. This is your home, my chief is your chief. I hope you know that I’ll make sure they save you a seat at the feast. Every night.”
Preston hesitated again while rifling through his things. “Don’t. I won’t be back. Either this is going to kill me, or- no this is definitely going to kill me.”
As the child continued to pack his things, his companion sidled up next to him. Arid gave him a stern look, but began pulling out supplies from her own trunk as well. She shuffled her things around, grabbing food and clothing and stuffing them into Preston’s bag as he finished his preparations. Preston watched her work, acknowledging her help but offering no grateful words. They planned his escape quickly, like it had always been meant to be this way.
Finally, when the crest of dawn was just beginning to peek over the shadows, Arid and Preston made their way over to where the prisoner was being kept. The bodies of the demons slain the night before still adorned the runic table, and Preston rushed quickly past the sacrificial grounds. The last remaining demon was asleep in his cage, but it almost looked like he was waiting.
Arid flashed Preston a quick look. “May the deer take mercy upon you. Come back soon.”
Preston muttered noncomittally under his breath, and Arid grabbed him by the vest.
“Promise me! Come back alive. Come back and let me know you haven’t forgotten me.”
The boy was pried Arid’s fingers off of his vest. With a huff, he pushed her aside.
“It’d be tough to forget someone like you. I owe you my life, Arid Dvalinndottir. If, by some miracle, I live… I’ll return and take you into the world with me.”
“And I’ll fight by your side?”
“You’ll be my helm and horns.”
Arid stared for a moment, but the conviction in Preston’s voice was sound. With a tempered flick of her blade, she broke the prison cell, and Preston dashed off with the demon in tow.
///////////
Preston heard her coming long before she stepped around the tent’s corner. He barely looked up, still paging through the army’s ledger.
“It’s true. It’s really you.”
“Mm.”
Arid hadn’t grown much since he’d left, but she looked twice as feral as he had remembered her. Her cheeks were cut sharp with age, and her eyes burned a deep amber. She didn’t so much walk as stumble forward, legs barely finding their perch on the soft green forest floor as she slunk over.
“Are you… well?” she tried.
“Well enough.” Preston sighed, losing his apathetic persona. “It’s… not easy being back here.”
“I can imagine,” Arid sympathized. “You should know you aren’t in very good standing with the chief anymore. The night you escaped… I don’t think we’ve taken more casualties against anyone, not even the hunters.”
Preston’s face fell. “I suppose it was nearly ten years ago. I was a kid back then. I hoped that no one would follow me, or that they’d see the traps in time. I know better now.”
“Do you now,” Arid said. She leaned against the tent beside him, peering over at the ledger. Despite Preston’s typically cold demeanor, he seemed at ease with her, even this close. “I do wonder what you’ve seen of this world, then. Tell me, do they treat you better than we did?”
“They kill my kind. The rich hunt us for sport, the poor kill us to make their crops grow.”
Her face twisted in disgust, “So you seek vengeance. Then it is only fitting you return to us.”
Preston closed the ledger with a definitive snap. “No.”
He began to walk away, towards the chief’s tent once more, but Arid quickly pulled him back. “What do you mean no? What did you come back for?”
“The druids of Dvalinn have been sentenced by the Red Monks to death. Turns out that killing lost villagers gets you in bad standing if you do it for a long enough time. The Scholars of the Northern Lights sent a diplomatic party to rendezvous before things got too ugly. Consider us your last chance to negotiate before the monks charge in.”
“You mean to say you’re…following these people?”
“Correct.” Preston said, pulling his arm away from Arid. “I owe the Lord to the north a debt, and this is part of the deal.”
“I will clear your debt.” Arid assurred. “I will sever the head from the man who believes he can lease one such as yourself.”
Preston, however, looked rather unmoved by the gesture. Instead, he flicked up his spectacles and looked Arid in the eye.
“Fine. How about this argument then? I like it there. I like being a hero, and not having to be in mortal peril all the time. If more people were like the Scholars of the Northern Lights, maybe this world wouldn’t be so bad.”
“You say that,” Arid hissed. “and yet our chief is being threatened by a girl no older than our youngest.”
Preston raised an eyebrow, but flicked his glasses back down so he could see once more. He leaned back against the tent, opening the ledger once again.
“Amazing how after all this time, you still haven’t learned a thing.”
“Teach me, then.” Arid challenged. “Prove to me I should follow you out of here.”
“How would I do that?” Preston asked. “You’ll know when the time comes.” Arid replied. With a huff, she sat on the ground beside him, staring forwards. Preston gave her a side glance, but continued standing, looking over the numbers in the ledger.
//////////
A crazed druid stood across from Lady Parhelion, the creature’s eyes blazing with amber fire. She was uninjured, despite the fire and chaos around her. A madman’s smile adorned her lips, and she moved with jerky motions towards them. Lady Parhelion brought up her sword warily, but tears still ran down her cheeks.
“Please stop!” Parhelion begged. “It’s over! Your leader’s dead, your fighters are gone, just lay down your arms so we can settle this without further bloodshed!”
Arid laughed, her face splitting as she transformed into a skeletal deer. In the sockets of the skull, amber light still flickered relentlessly.
“Humans that defy the will of nature, the will of our god!” she cackled, “are you afraid to claim another life? Are you afraid that your path is untrue, that you are killing the very bearers of Odin’s favor? Weep, child, for sacred blood stains your hands.”
Lady Parhelion’s eyes hardened for a moment and she raised her arms into a forward stance, but someone pulled her aside. Preston, stepping out from the smoke, kept his gaze trained on Arid as she completed her transformation.
“The Druids of Dvalinn have spilled far too much blood for far too little reason, Arid,” Preston argued. “Change back. We will settle this-“
“Kill her!” Arid screeched through her skeletal form. “Little deer boy! A bolt in her neck! Lady Parhelion killed your king! She burnt our sacred forest!”
“I didn’t!” Lady Parhelion pleaded, anger seeping into her voice. “It wasn’t me, I swear! Both of you, please, I-“
“You plead with the divine?” Arid laughed. “Do you even know who he is? Before he was your dear messenger boy, he was our perfect heir! His feet, graced with the blessings of nature. His head, crowned with the sacred antlers!”
Lady Parhelion looked up at Preston, searching for some sort of reaction. Preston continued watching Arid, his face falling.
“I found him! Alone and afraid, guided by Dvalinn to our sacred lands! He was my brother, my friend, my love, my king! He ate at my side, laughed with me, slept beside me… Preston! I asked you to prove yourself to me! I’ll leave with you now if you kill her! Please!”
Preston remained unconcerned, however. His crossbow remained at his side, despite the confused looks from both women. The amber light in Arid’s eyes began to fade, and she began to stalk towards Lady Parhelion.
“You stole him from me,” she cackled. “You took our little deer boy. You took away my world, my greatest friend. And now, you put him in chains. You kill his kind and scatter their bones across your land. You make him your dog, running errands and barking on command. How could you-?”
Lady Parhelion’s face contorted with rage. “He is-“
“HE IS NOT YOURS!” Arid shouted, amber sap dripping down from the sockets of her skeletal eyes. “He is free! He can return home now! He can belong to a family, and-“
With a short whistle, a large crossbow bolt flew past Lady Parhelion and through the skeletal body of Arid. It scraped along her ribs and collided precisely with a glowing gem hidden on the interior of the ribcage. The skeleton deer fell apart into pieces, lifeless and decayed.
Lady Parhelion swung around to see Preston lowering his crossbow. His eyes fell on Arid’s body for a moment, before he turned back to her.
“Is my allegiance clear?”
A bit of triumph crossed Preston’s face before Lady Parhelion burst into tears, falling to the ground. He sheepishly dashed forward, pulling her back up. “Hey now, it’s fine! Everything’s fine!”
“You killed her…” Lady Parhelion cried. “I made you kill her, and she was your-“
“You didn’t make me do anything,” Preston assured, awkwardly trying to help the girl back up. “She, ah…”
With a sad glance, he looked down at Arid’s scattered bones. With Lady Parhelion still held in his arms, he let out a long sigh.
“She just never knew a life outside all this, that’s all. She had plenty of chances to stop our rituals, but she never would have. She’s better off dead.”
Tears still slipped down Lady Parhelion’s face, however, and she dropped her blade to the ground. “She was wrong, I didn’t do this, did I? I never meant to-“
“Don’t listen to Arid,” Preston said, shaking Lady Parhelion slightly. “She’s just as much of an asshole as I am, except she was a lot more clever. She was just trying to rattle you, and get me to switch.”
The two stood for a few minutes, collecting themselves. In time, Lady Parhelion pushed her way forward, standing above the remains of Arid. Behind the thick haze of fog and smoke around them, the remains of the other druids lay scattered, knives and twisted metal strewn about through the dry bones. The demon Kida walked up from behind them both, placing a hand on Lady Parhelion’s shoulder. One-by-one, the others made their way over, until all watched a distraught Lady Parhelion standing above the battlefield.
“We… are not people meant to be bound by rules,” Kida said, with an awkward cough. “But I propose that today, we consider setting one in place. This battle got too far out of hand for such a misunderstanding. I think, for the sake of our dearest Lady Parhelion, we should not be permitted to take the lives of innocents.”
“Proposterous,” Yez replied. “Either I keep us alive, or I keep our enemies alive.”
The Daughters of Flowers also swayed on their stance.
“We must agree.” “None are innocent.” “It’s noble, but far too broad.” “If the innocent must die-“
“Seems fair.” Preston cut in. The Daughters of Flowers turned towards him, unhappy to have been interrupted.
“From this day forward, we don’t spill innocent blood,” he promised, striding forwards. The others murmured their complaints, but eventually dispersed. Kida escorted Lady Parhelion off the battlefield at last, shooting his brother a concerned look as he passed.
Preston waited until the others had left, then picked up Arid’s deer skull from off the ground. He inspected it for a second before holding it up to his face. With a puff of air, he blew a string of magic into the skull. The dry, stained bone transformed itself before his eyes, forming itself into a pristine white porcelain piece. With a hesitant strike, he broke the jaw off the skull with the butt of his crossbow. Giving a final look over his work, he gave a nod and put the deer skull mask underneath his arm as he walked to rejoin the others.
“My horn and helm.” He muttered, walking away. “Bet you didn’t see that one coming, did ya Arid. Should’ve… should’ve known me better.”