Knowing The End (SAA Book 2) ✔

7: A Gut Feeling

Xenia, hmm? A play on words? Nothing disgusts me more.

A human, of all creatures? You've managed to surprise and appall me at once.

Do you think he really loves you?

The voice kept taunting him; sharp and chided words echoing from a voice other than his own. Only Oren heard the womanly voice, and his human lover always looked worried whenever he flinched or gasped at the sound.

The wood elf, a sophisticated creature, quite. They thrive in the roofed jungles, sticking close to beloved kin.

Wood elves practice archery regularly and climb trees. They flourish in little camps scattered across the forest floor... It used to be my paradise; to create a little world of excitement.

You were my last wood elf. Your family, in particular, were the ones who grew a conscience; a mentality. Simply displeasing.

Oren didn't know who this woman was, but something familiar ebbed in his heart whenever she spoke. She seemed to be of higher power than the elf, and her voice was like silk; low and smooth like a harp's plucked strings.

For the first few days, the voice was distant. It echoed and faded out whenever the woman stopped talking. Then, it hardened into something more stable. Her voice grew sharp and defined on the fourth day, no longer echoing and weak. Her presence was more prominent inside Oren's head, and frankly, the elf was growing impatient. Why now?

Right when his life seemed normal, something just had to happen and throw his mind into a whirlwind of frantic questions and desperation. She became more persistent.

You were not meant to be.

The voice kept chipping at his brain, as a drill would with feeble paint. He now sat comforted in his lover's lap, Xenia curled up next to Clayton's thigh. Chip was at the foot of the bed, shaking about his stuffed monkey as Hunter slept peacefully in the neighboring bedroom.

Oren tried his best to ignore the ringing voice, though something inside him urged otherwise.

"Love, do you think I was a mistake?" Oren asked, cutting through the silence. The human chastely kissed the back of his neck.

"No. Not at all." he replied instantaneously.

"Then why does the voice insist I am?"

"Because the voice doesn't know you like I do." Clayton simpered against Oren's neck, breath warmly ghosting over freckled skin.

I would not say that, if I were him.

Oren gulped down a rush of anxiety that clawed at his throat. Clayton looked up through dark lashes, eyeing the elf noticeably.

He does not have any power. No significance. Humans break down oh so easily.

"No they don't." Oren argued to what seemed like silence. His voice was laced with venom as he lashed out, startling the little black dragon nearby. Xenia stood from her warm spot beside Clayton's thigh and stretched, wings shuddering.

Clayton rubbed Oren's shoulders, causing the elf to go limp and sigh peacefully. He slackened in the human's graceful hold.

What do you know? You're mortal as well. A pitiful elf such as you, knows nothing of living for millennia. You cannot even fathom the despair and pain it brings, wallowing in such loneliness, withstanding a burning urge to break free of your confines.

You are weak.

Oren stiffened, eyes widening. He's not dealing with a fool here... No. He heard the  dread and agony embedded within her thick voice. She sought out for what seemed to be out of reach. Freedom.

I never once thought that my own flesh and blood would be so insufferable.

Poor choices, dirty way of living, you're nothing but a mere scoundrel, skittering around in circles, bound to be caught and caged.

"Oren?" Clayton's soft voice brought the elf back to reality. They were gently rocking back and forth, the human's hands wrapped around Oren's waist like rough, patchy Christmas wrapping around a sweet present.

"Yes, love?"

"I have a gut feeling that something's wrong. There's something bad in the air." he said unsteadily. His eyes shifted, hands tightened around his lover. He bit the inside of his lip.

"How so?" Oren prodded.

Before Clayton could respond, a sharp wail came from the neighboring bedroom. The small, yet powerful cry belonged to none other than their very child. Oren scrambled out of Clayton's hold, apologizing briefly before dashing out to check on his son.

The human followed closely but tripped behind when Xenia slipped between his legs to get past. Hunter was already in Oren's arms, the elf swaying him from side to side gently. The child stopped wailing immediately, staring up with wide eyes at his elven father.

Oren looked over to his fiance, flinching when the voice spoke again.

'A gut feeling,' he says... quite the observant one.

The woman chuckled, her tone mocking. Oren scowled at nothing, making the child mutter something incomprehensible. The elf gently swayed Hunter from side to side, looking down to the all familiar cyan eyes of which belonged to his fiance. His little, precious ears were slightly pointed, and the detail made Oren beam.

"Ah," Hunter uttered, lips opening to form and 'o.' His small chubby arms reached up towards Oren's face.

Your child is in danger.

Oren tightened his hold on his son, eyebrows drawing in protectively.

"You will not hurt him." he retorted quickly.

Did I offend you? Apologies. I only speak the truth.

"I frankly don't care what you believe. You've berated me enough... Do you think it'll have an effect on me?" he asked to nobody in particular.

Your sanity with wither eventually. Over the gradual progression of time, you will become hopeless. It might be the only possible way for you to return to my control.

"Who even are you? What's your relation to me?" Oren's query received no answer. Hunter made a noise and suddenly his attention was back on his son. As Clayton approached the pair, he pressed a kiss to the boy's forehead, making the child giggle sloppily. Oren tittered at noise, reveling in the sweet chime that carries within Hunter's childish voice.

"Are you fighting with the voice again?" Clayton asked after a while of silence. Oren nodded quietly, eyes trained on the boy's wonderfully wide eyes.

"I wonder who it is." Clayton looked down to their son, and together, they pondered.

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