"Head Scout are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine. Help me to my feet," the Head Scout said. Zepta looked confused but walked over and pulled the elf up. "Good, now I want you to help Zaphel back to his mother's shop-"
"What?" both Zapta and I said.
"And then I need you to com back to the clearing as soon as possible," the Scout said, not being phased by our outburst. He then turned and limped further into the forest towards the clearing.
Zapta looked down at me and offered a hand towards me. I reached up and took it. He pulled me up and walked me over towards a tree and threw me against it. My face smacked against the bark, and I topple towards the ground. I roll onto my back and grab my face. I felt Zapta grab my armor and pull me up.
I removed my hands from my face and saw a look in his eyes that I hadn't seen before. His brown eyes were replaced by emerald green eyes. He pulled back a hand and formed it into a fist and punched me to the ground.
My eyes felt heavy. I wanted to sleep so badly, to just lay there and rest. But I knew that if I closed my eyes now, I wouldn't wake up for a while. I looked back up at Zepta and he went for his sword. I rolled to the side, dodging the downward strike. I kicked the sword out of his hand, and then kicked him in the head. He fell backwards and I quickly rolled behind a tree. I heard him jump back to his feet. Peeking around the tree, I saw him pick his sword up and turned back towards the way the Head Scout went.
I sighed in relief and started to crawl my way back toward the village. After what seemed like forever, I reached the tree that my house was in. I pulled myself up to the steps and leaned my tired body against the tree, deciding to just stay put and rest a bit. My eyes closed and before I knew it, I was sound asleep.
I awoke to find myself in my own room, lying in my own bed. I looked at my the table beside my bed, to see that a long box was leaning against it. I tried to sit up but was stopped by some straps. I tried to reach for the buckle, but it was out of my reach. I laid my head back down and close my eyes again, slipping quickly into a dream.
I was walking on the edge of the river bank, looking for some iron bark, when I heard a cry for help from across the river. I turned to see that an elfe was being chased by two elves. She had short chestnut hair, ember colored eyes, and was wearing rare dragonelf armor. She was holding something close to her chest and her eyes were full of fear. I run across the river and meet up with the elfe, who jumped behind me.
The two elves that were chasing her were wearing armor that I hadn't seen before. It was the color of granite. The gauntlets and boots were the same color. They didn't have a cape, nor did they have bows strapped to their backs.
"What might be the problem here?" I asked the elves.
"This has nothing you need to be concerned with," said one of the elves in a feel voice.
"Well, seeing as you were chasing this elfe and you don't have any good reason to, I have all right to be concerned about an elfe in need," I said, drawing a staff that was strapped to my back. I hadn't seen the staff before. I was about to strike when I head a tap tap tap echoing through the air.
I awoke from the dream to see my mother entering into the room. She had a worried look on her face. I tried to sit up, but then my body started to hurt. I winched and laid back down. She walked over with a bowl and some fresh cloths.
"I see you're finally up," she said, putting the bowl on the side table. She pulled back my covers, revealing some bloody bandages.
"How'd I get up here?" I asked, lifting my arm up.
"Well, I found you sleeping against the trunk of the tree on my way home two nights ago. I had to carry you up the latter and bandage your wounds. It seemed that nobody saw you or just ignored you," she said, removing the bandages slowly. The giant gashes had freshly dried blood and what looked like the fourth set of stitches had ripped open.
"I have no idea how we're going to keep this gash closed if you keep ripping it," she mumbled.
"Why does everyone hate us?" I asked.
"I don't know."
"Yes you do. It had to do with that mysterious figure didn't?"
My mother started to stitch up the gash and dab the orange blood away, with a wet rag, as it dripped down my side.
"Mother," I said.
She continued to ignore me. I knew that I wasn't going to get anything out of her when she gets in this mood. I sighed and waited for her to finish. When she was done with the thread, she dabbed around the wound and on it, collecting leftover blood. She the wrapped my side up with some more bandage. She then examined the rest of my chest. None of the other cuts had opened, and they seemed to be healing nicely.
"Could you at least tell me who that staff belongs to?" I said.
"It belonged to your father. I made it for him along with his armor," she said quietly.
"What?"
"They were my best work and nothing I make will surpass his equipment," she said, putting the rag in the bowl.
"Wait, you mean to tell me that I saw my father that morning?" I asked.
My mother shook her head. "I didn't think he was still alive. After he was banished, the Head Scout of the time and a group went to kill him. Only the One scout came back badly injured. He told about how he killed your father and everyone believed him, except me. I knew he was still alive, but after all these years I started to loose hope," tears started to roll down her face.
"Why was he banded?"
"He was the son of the Giant King, a ruthless creature, who tried to get his own son drink blood. You father refused for several years, but it all changed on our wedding night," the tears flowed down her face. "Your grandfather kidnapped me and forced your father to fight him at the base of Creation Mountain. Y-your father refused to drink blood and was loosing. I pulled him from some rubble and offered my blood but he refused yet again. I forced him to drink my blood."
My mother started to cry. I slowly sit up, ignoring the pain and wrap her in a hug.
"What happened after that?" I asked quietly.
After a moment she said, "I don't know if your father defeated your grandfather, but I had died that night. I awoke to find myself in my own bed at home, my skin orange along with my eyes. I found out that he was banished from the village, but was allowed one final night with me. The next day I saw him off, and that was the last time I saw him."
I stayed silent, thinking about what might have happened. I figured after mother had heared the news about the assassination attempt, she couldn't stay in the village anymore. So she left the village and came to this one. Elves from different villages don't fit in well, and hardly get the chance to stay in a new one, but she most have pleaded a lot to be able to stay.
After a few moments my mother stopped crying and whipped her tears with her hands. She then grabbed the bowl and started for the door.
"Get some more sleep, when your healed, you are to do your right of passage," she said.
A moment later she was gone. I laid back down and stared at the ceiling. I thought about the figure who had came to me that morning. I had wondered if he was the one who started the rain for me, but the thought changed to the rain being luck. I closed my eyes and drifted into a dreamless sleep.
