The Reynard

Defiance

I don't look at Tim. I don't look at Ensign and my father when they rush inside the house. I don't look at the wall or my mother when she touches my shoulder. All I do is go straight to my room and lock the door.

My brother is dead.

I searched forever, hoping that by chance he is-was-still alive. Whatever got him, must have killed him to keep his tracks covered. No, not just someone.

An elf.

An elf did this. 

I clutch the journal close to my chest before opening it up to the first entry.

Entry 1,

Okay, so I had some issues with...stuff. I was put on meds, and not used to..you know, this. Today was Xavier's 3rd birthday. He looked so happy and small. I showed him the fish in the pond and he giggled. Giggled. I didn't know he did that. Guess I now have another person to protect. And I won't let anything happen to the little guy. Ever.

Tears well up in my eyes and I blink them away. I knew he started his journal when I was young and only wrote in it every now and then. But I guess this is one of the few that he has-had. I shut the journal a little more forcefully than I intended and wince. Not because the sound hurt my ears, but because this is now a relic of the past. Of my brother.

Someone knocks on the door and I roll over in my bed, willing these emotions to go away, just like the person at my door. Instead they walk in when I don't answer and just stop. I hear a sigh and then my body is being pulled down as the person sits on the bed. Then the smell hits me. Ensign, the human. 

I jerk away from her but she doesn't move. Why won't she move? She's like a statue in the human book. Immobile and completely frozen. 

After a little bit, she finally speaks; soft kind words fill the room, the silence that fills it around me. "I was told of your brother. I guess he book was his? But hey, I can help you find him-"

"No." my voice is barely audible.

"What?"

This time i raise my voice at a level only my brother used when he was really angry. When he didn't take his pills. "I said no!"

"But-"

"GO AWAY!" this time she jumps, frightened like a rabbit. She seems just as small too. I seethe at her and she backs up to the door. Her hair looks like water around her face and I realize I'm crying again.

"Dammit.." I wipe my eyes furiously and feel warm arms wrap around me. Part of me wants to push her away, but part of me wants to hold onto her tight, never let her leave my sight. Conflicted, I sit there on the edge of the bed and let her hold me. She starts to get up and I grab her hand. 

I guess one side one. "Don't..don't go. Not yet." 

Ensign nods and she sits on the bed. I lay my head in her lap and the last thing I remember is her stroking my hair and humming softly. The tune is vaguely familiar and I close my eyes and let is wash over me and pull me away.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 

I wake with a start and look around. It's light outside and I still have the journal pinned to my chest. Only now do I smell human and look over to see Ensign laying with her head at the foot of the bed and I blush. Actually blush. She looks so cute with her hair splayed around her face like that. She looks so serene and peaceful, almost like my brother when he was sleeping. 

I shake my head and look away from her, easing myself off the bed as slowly as I can. She stays asleep. Good. I walk over to my closet and pull out an outfit then glance at her before going to the bathroom and changing. When I come out I look at the bed and it's empty.

I don't know what's worse. The bed being empty or the fact that when I turned my head she was right there. I mean, right there, just...watching me. I yelp and back up, having dropped my boxers in the process. I turn deep red and scoop them up, hoping she didn't see, but of course, she did and blinks as if to clear her head. I clear my throat and glance around.

"So, uh, about last night..."

"Nothing happened.You fell asleep late and I stayed like you said."

I rub the back of my neck and pull on the collar of my clean shirt, "Um, so why were you, uh, next to the door?"

"I was checking to make sure you were fine."

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Can you, uh, get out of my room?" I don't think she noticed that she was even in my room. Ensign looks around and looks down before nodding. As she passes by me I take a quick breath of the air trailing her and close me eyes. The door shuts softly.

"Man...I need to quit that right now.." I tell myself, but only I hear it. I hope. I pick up the journal and look at it before climbing out my window, heading straight for my brother's pond. 

I will figure out what happened to my brother, who killed him, and exactly why. And maybe while I'm at it, I can get some revenge in the process. I set out at a quick pace, knowing what the game plan is.

If it means I have to start another war with the elves, so be it.