Indigo Elf

Ch. 41

Ch. 41

Arlen

I slowly ate my food, staring at the lizardman in front of me warily. To think that one of Griffin's trusted guards would be Yami and I's savior. Yami openly glared at him, her red eyes practically burning holes into the poor man. After our grand escape from Lord Griffin's house of horrors, Yami, Shiro and I found ourselves in a small patch of woods. My cloaking spell gave out as soon as we landed. There, we spent maybe half an hour regrouping and trying to think of a plan when Xander, one of Lord Griffin's many guards, stumbled upon us. Yami and I had been ready to blast him to pieces until he made his true intentions known.

To say that I was thankful was an understatement, but I was still highly suspicious of him. No one could blame me, the man he worked for did poison us, lock us in cages and was preparing to sell us.

He sat at the head of the table, slowly eating his food and keeping a careful eye on us. To his right was his wife and beside her sat his two children, a boy who couldn't have been older than three and a girl who looked to be an adult. Her eyes were trained on me and Yami, just like her father.

An awkward silence surrounded the table. No one knew what to say and all of us were on edge. The tension was so thick it was almost tangible. The only person who didn't seem to notice was the small child who was eating his meal without a care in the world. Shiro was the same. I watched, amused as she stole yet another slice of meat from my plate. I didn't mind, I was too nervous to eat and my mana had all but restored itself, Yami and I were waiting until nighttime when we would have the cover of darkness to shield us.

"Why are you helping us?" Yami finally asked unable to take the silence anymore. I released an internal sigh of relief. She'd asked the question that had been weighing heavily on me since we entered this man's home. Very slowly, Xander sat down his fork and grabbed his napkin, wiping his mouth gently. He stared down at his plate of unfinished food with a hard expression. I gulped nervously.

"I helped you because I want Lord Griffin's rein to end," Xander answered, "I used to have a brother. Xavier was his name. We were identical twins and were very, very close. In this city, being a guard for Lord Griffin meant that you got very good pay and respect from the people here. Just like every other commoner in the city, my brother and I wanted the job, and finally, we were able to achieve our dream of becoming guards. By that time, my bro and I had already settled down and had children. Back then, Lord Griffin was a much kinder man, but that changed after his wife took their kids and left him. To this day, he has no idea where they are. I suspect that he wasn't such a kind man behind closed doors."

I tensed slightly. I had a feeling I knew where this story was going. I turned to look at Yami. Her face was like stone. But her eyes told a different story. She knew where this was going as well. Xander's wife reached over and grabbed his hand. He quickly gripped her hand and held it tightly. Taking a deep breath, he continued.

"Five years in, my brother and I were tasked with kidnapping a woman Lord Griffin had taken an interest in. My brother and I knew that it was wrong, and decided not to go through with it. Instead, we warned the woman and she immediately left the country. At the most, my brother and I thought we would lose our jobs, but no. When Lord Griffin found out about what we did. He had us publically whipped and decided to kill one of us to teach the other a lesson. I originally was supposed to die, but my brother saved me. He took the arrow that was meant for me. That wasn't all. Afterward, he had my brother's family kidnapped and killed them. He had them all hanged and left them up there to rot for a week!"

Xander's eyes blazed with fury and pain like I've never seen before. He was yelling now, unable to keep control over his emotions. Shiro whimpered sadly in my lap. I rubbed her back soothingly and wiped away a stray tear that had made its way down my cheek. Despite Xander being a complete stranger, I could still feel his pain. My heart hurt for what he'd gone through. Standing up, Emily, Xander's wife, grabbed her husband's head and pulled him into her chest. She rubbed his back softly while humming softly. I was awed at the display.

"Oh, father," Xander's daughter whispered softly as she wiped at her eyes.

Pulling away from his wife he raised his fist and slammed it against the table. We all flinched as plates of food crashed to the floor. The poor table instantly broke in two and collapsed onto the floor.

"Since that day, I vowed to one day kill him in the same way he killed my brother. Then, I'd hang his wretched corpse in the city square for everyone to see, just as he did to Kaitlyn, Vincent and Julia!"

"Xander, my love, please calm yourself. You must not act this way in front of our guests!" Emily gasped as she scurried to pick up the broken dishes and scattered food from the floor. Standing up, I sat Shiro down in the chair I was sitting in and moved to help her. Yami and Sarah, Xander's daughter also helped us clean up the mess. Standing up from his chair, Xander stalked off. I flinched as I heard a door slam. He was one scary man when he was angry.

Emily immediately started to apologize, "I am so very sorry for my husband. Please forgive him. He still has a lot of bottled up anger and pain when it comes to his brother."

"Go wait in the living room," Sarah told her little brother softly. The small child immediately ran out of the kitchen.

Yami was the first of us to speak, "Don't worry. I understand his feelings. You don't have to apologize."

Shiro watched us with curious eyes as we picked up the mess. Minutes later, the kitchen was clean and the poor table pieces had been propped up against the wall. When all was calm, very embarrassed Xander sheepishly made his way into the kitchen. He flinched as he was immediately met with the angry glares from his wife and daughter.

Soon after, we all filed into the living room. Shiro rode on my shoulder, glaring warily at Xander.

"I'm very sorry about that. Things got a bit out of control in there," he whispered. He then turned towards Yami and me, determination and a promise for revenge shining brightly in his dark green eyes.

"I know its wrong of me to use you for my personal revenge, but I beg of you to please help me. I know you both are only worried about saving your guild members, but please save the people of Slade, and please give me the chance to kill Lord Griffin, so my brother and his family can rest in peace."

_Gieo_

Helloooo meh readers! I really hope you enjoyed the chapter. Sorry for the delay. My family and I just moved into a new house and I must say, the process was very, very tiring.

One never realizes just how much stuff they have until they're pulling it all down a flight of stairs and lifting it onto the back of a truck. DX

Anywayssss, please stay tuned for the next chapter!