Shot Through the Heart

~3~

I asked June where she came from and how elves behaved. She indulged my curiosity, but the more she spoke the more infatuated I became. The envelope with my arranged marriage was sitting just feet away on the table. I am not one to defy or question tradition, but in the presence of June, I don't mind the idea.

I was already fascinated by her. Not just her, but her beauty and elegance. I offered her to stay at my cabin. I didn't mind it, and it also gave me company so I wouldn't go insane just patrolling these woods. The stress of the expectations and work load was more than enough and I didn't need anything more stressful nor isolating.

"The only thing I ask of you to be able to stay here is you need to stay hidden. When I am not here you will stay within this cabin. I'll protect you."

"Yes, I will stay hidden."

"Good. It's gonna be a long six moons. Maybe you can help this dismal job seem a bit less dreary."

I could still see her confusion. I couldn't blame her. I am just as confused as she is. I know I should kill her. It's my job, but I just can't bring myself to kill her. I'd never met an elf, and she hadn't done any harm to me.

Over the next six moons, the two of us would do basic tasks together. We ended up becoming quite the team when it came to completing my patrols. She was very skilled in traveling in the trees undetected and I was very skilled at covering the ground. Her company became a big help in investigating things that seemed amiss to the village or helping people who ended up lost.

Throughout my six-moon assignment, I became increasingly plagued with nightmares. Every mission gave me deja vu and I couldn't ignore the feeling of doom. My gear began to give me an extreme sense of dread whenever I laid eyes on it. By the end of the six moons, even with her company, I thought I was going insane. I was increasingly paranoid about every little thing. I was trying to escape the sense of doom that I didn't even know where it was coming from.

"Hey, remember what I said. Do not leave this cabin."

With those words I left her in the cabin. Before I left, June stopped me and handed me my envelope. I almost forgot about it. After all, it seemed to be significant, right?

I made my way back home and wasn't surprised when I saw my sister and Aria sitting outside on the steps. Annoyance was visible on my face. Aria had been there constantly lately. She always knew where I was. It was strange, to say the least, but it was an annoyance to me. Not to mention a little bit creepy. I was never alone.

Something wasn't right though. When I got closer, Aria looked different, even just slightly. Maybe she didn't look different though, maybe my eyes were just playing games again. Six moons in the woods will probably mess with you a little bit. With a sigh, he addressed them.

"Waiting on me?"

"Well, why wouldn't we be?" Rose answered.

"Couldn't you two have just waited inside?" I replied in annoyance while I pushed passed them to enter the house.

"I wouldn't go in if I were you, unless you've opened your envelope," Rose started, "I know how you are, you probably haven't yet but you need to."

I was confused. Rose is rarely serious, but with her tone, it sounded urgent. More like a command to me. Then it dawned on me. It was tradition for the family to prepare for their children's marriages, but I haven't opened my envelope. I don't know who I was arranged to marry. Most marriages are arranged based on power in the village. My mom was the daughter of the general, and my dad was the son of the best hunter in the village at the time.

"I don't want to get married, not yet. This job is stressful," I complained.

"James, you're the only one out of me, you, and Jackson who are getting married. Jackson refused and just left."

"That doesn't surprise me about him, but can't they just... not?"

Rose responded with a shrug. Aria said her goodbyes to the two due to it getting dark. With Aria gone and my sister staring a hole through me, I finally cracked and opened the envelope. I saw the name and immediately turned my attention to Rose.

"How long did you know?"

"Since her birthday. You forget she always prefered me over you and Jackson," She teased.

"Yeah, sure, let's go with that."

I went inside with Rose close on my heels. Looking around, every part of the house had been decorated. As much as I didn't want to, it was tradition. Things could not be any worse. I avoided my family and decided to just go to my room and take a nap. The bed was better than the one at the cabin. It was much softer and felt like home. I missed my home. I missed my bed. Soon it was dark.

I was in the dark with only a faint light in the distance. Where am I? Who am I? I don't know. Did I ever know in the first place? I took another look around. I wasn't in the dark. I was the dark. The dark seemed to be emitting from my very body. I looked at my body. It was small. It was new. I looked back up and saw the light again. I wanted to find it. I wanted the light. I began moving toward the light and even with the darkness coming from his very being, the light grew closer. It lit up my darkness. The feeling of warmth overtook me. It was a strange, but comforting feeling. The light seemed to notice and almost appeared to move itself. It did. It was a young girl. She looked at me. She was the origin of the light. She was the same as me, just a child.

There were no words to be said. There was just a presence to be felt. A silent understanding was achieved. She was fragile. She was precious.