The Last Elves of the Great Forest

Rough Beginnings

The gentle sound of rain on the roof did nothing to still Ruby's rapid heart beat and her frantic breathing as she sat in her bed, searching for a danger she thought was there in the deep shadows. She could still feel the warm blood on her brown skin, feel the cold metal of the blade splitting her flesh. She ran her hands through her thick, brown hair as she tried to block the horrible memories of her years of imprisonment. She shuddered at the thought of the isolation room, the crowded cage, the simulations. The memories surrounded her, suffocated her, to the point where she screamed. She clawed at her blankets as she squeezed her brown eyes shut, trying to push them away and bury them where they had emerged.

Her door then swung open with a loud bang and someone rushed to her side. Gentle, calloused hands grabbed her arms and one moved to cup her cheek. "Ruby, Ruby, look at me," a voice said softly that made her reach out and grab hold of the person's shirt. She opened her eyes to see Drako looking at her with those bright blue eyes that calmed her. His hazel hair was frazzled as it sat on his shoulders, forcing him to push it out of the way of his wide eyes. His tan face was pale with what she could guess was fear.

"Did you have another nightmare?" he asked, his shaking hands warming her cold skin. She nodded as a response, taking comfort in the contact. She looked up and noticed his pointed ears were trembling slightly, ones that matched her own.

"I'm sorry...I hurt you again..." Ruby mumbled, her own hand moving to gently rub them, their quivering diminishing at her touch.

"Don't worry, I've heard louder...as you already know," he responded, his own eyes flickering to her ears. Ruby swallowed as the distant memory of the experiment that had left their ears bleeding threatened to resurface. She swallowed and pulled him closer, burying her face into his chest.

"Please, no more..." she whimpered softly. More footsteps came into her room and she looked up to see Sheela and Artemis leaning into the room.

"Oh my gosh Ruby, you gave me a heart attack," Sheela snarled, her wolf ears that poked out of her wild, grey hair were folded back in the fear she was hiding behind her gleaming canines, "I thought you were dying." Her hazel eyes bore into her until the angry facade melted, replaced by her concern. She took a shaking breath, her tail between her shaking legs, "It always scares me when you get them...and you scream like that..." Ruby felt her insides curl at the sight of her tears in the gentle moonlight streaming through her curtains. It had only been two weeks since their rescue from that horrible place and they had all bonded so well. She hated making Sheela cry like this.

"Back to bed with you all..." Artemis said softly, his glasses making his green eyes look bigger, "12 year old kids are not supposed to be up at two in the morning." He placed a pale hand on Sheela's shoulder, comforting his little sister quietly. Ruby began to shake at the thought of having to again, with her nightmares still threatening to consume her again. Her grip on Drako's shirt tightened, his warmth comforting her. His hands were strangely cold when they held her.

"I'd like to point out that I'm 13," Drako growled, suspicion written all over his tight face.

Artemis sighed softly at the sight, "Look you two...Izac is long gone. His lab is burned down and his experiments are in the past." He scratched the back of his head, making his black hair stand up even more, looking like he was at a loss for words.

Drako scowled at him, his previously cold hands suddenly growing hot, "You don't understand what we went through...what that monster made us do," he bared his pointed teeth as his growing anger made the air hotter by the second. His skin was hardening and Ruby suddenly understood what was going on.

"Drako you need to calm down. Remember your training. Anger will only make the transformation worse," Ruby warned, grabbed his arms and turned him to look at her. He couldn't transform here, not now where he could destroy everything. A dragon did not belong in a small room like this. His eyes that seemed to glow in the semi-darkness slowly dimmed and he shuddered as his skin and teeth softened. The air cooled and Ruby relaxed. Artemis's eyes shone with curiosity at his ability and Ruby frowned. That same look had resulted in a lot of her horrible experiences and she detested it. Artemis caught her frown and he quickly wiped it from his face.