The Stains of the Crown

Chapter Seventeen

Trigger Warnings: talks of abuse, aftermath of abuse, talks of trauma, fighting.

"Shift," a deep voice commands. I do as the man says, holding my hands above my head despite the urge to cover my body. "Who are you, and what are you doing sneaking around in the middle of the night?"

"I'm Echodis. I'm just here to visit my brother."

"That still doesn't answer why you're here in the middle of the night, especially without any clothes."

"Something happened with my mate, so I left. And the no clothes thing is a bit of a long story," I say, not wanting to tell the full truth. Still, this man clearly didn't trust me.

"You have a gun to your head. I suggest you get to talking." I bite my lip, deciding to lie my way through this with the truth.

"My mate and I were out partying, and her ex started getting a little too close. My mate, from what I saw, didn't do anything to stop it, so I just left. I didn't think about clothes, I just needed to leave. We were supposed to come here soon anyways, so tonight seemed as good a time as any." He pulls his gun away, keeping it aimed at me as he walks around me.

"What are you?"

"I'm kypture. My parents disappeared when I was young, so I never knew. And these ears make me think elf, but I don't know for sure." He squints his eyes at me for a moment.

"You were with the Hunter's, weren't you?" I frown for a moment.

"How did you know that?" He holsters his gun.

"Your eyes. I saw you with the Hunter's when they were here. They saved my daughter from a minotaur years ago. Now, let's get you some clothes and some food. You look like you haven't eaten in a while." I follow him to a small white house on a decent sized plot of land just on the outskirts of the small village. The house could've only been two bedrooms at the most.

"Ciel, who's this?" An aging woman asks, setting her book on a small table near her chair.

"This is Echodis. She used to be a Hunter." The woman stands.

"Let me get you some clothes, dear. Ciel, will you heat up some stew?" The man nods, walking to the fireplace. He lights it before sitting down at the kitchen table.

"Dalla's a good woman. I'm assuming that when your parents disappeared, she took you?" I nod, shifting my weight. "What was your ranking?"

"When we saved your daughter, I was just above what Dalla would jokingly call 'Runt.' That's the lowest position, though the actual term is Haru, I believe. I had been Dalla's Second for about five years before I found my mate." Before he can respond, the woman comes back, setting some clothes down on the table.

"You can keep these. My daughter won't miss them." I pull the shirt on quickly. As I pull the pants on, the woman looks up at me with a cautious look.

"You have a lot of scars. Are they all from hunting?" Ciel stands, pouring some of the stew into a bowl. He hands it to me, and I thank him before looking at the woman again.

"Not all of them. Some are from being hunted. I have a few from normal things, like horse bites, falling out of trees, things like that. Most are from hunting, though."

"You poor dear." I shrug, chewing my stew.

"I've never known anything different. And I'm safer now, for the most part." She hums.

"That's good. Is it because of your mate?" I clear my throat softly, deciding that I trust these two.

"In part. My first mate is a princess."