The Broken Song

Chapter Twenty-Six

—Border of Lower Town, Kiverryn—

He was whimpering like a whiny little bitch. His pathetic sniffles and cracked voice were taxing her will to let this farce continue. Though, she honestly couldn't say what was more annoying, the baby of a Light Warden next to her or being shouted at by said Warden's overly zealous and pompous superior that had taken her actions as a personal affront to his manly pride. It was probably a tie. This was beyond ridiculous, and frankly, her patience had worn out. With the deadest stare she could manage, Lulu raised her gaze to finally look the superior in the eye. She didn't utter a word. She didn't even blink. He took another threatening step toward her.

And she punched him in the throat.

The commander of the Light Wardens, a position meant to be held by the best and fiercest warriors, went down in a heap of dead weight. The Warden next to her stopped his whimpering as he scurried away from her. If she had been in the mood she would have laughed. Not a single Warden came to their superior's aid. As she turned away, she saw she had drawn the attention of The Voice, who stood on the steps to the Sanctuary, her father at his side. Lulu pointed down at the unconscious man.

"I think he's dead."

*************

Idelle knelt at the corner of one of the burned down houses, its blackened remains creaking eerily in the morning air. She had been attending to the injured and running odd errands for those that needed it when she spotted something scurrying along the base of the nearby building. A flash of pink, and then, it was gone into this abandoned house. Curious, she had knelt on the stone. The creature hadn't reemerged, but she could hear it in there, scurrying frantically about.

It was afraid, she realized.

Careful so as not to make a ruckus, Idelle reached into the small pouch she kept hooked to her leather belt and grabbed wedge of cheese she had saved from her breakfast. Setting it near the hole she had seen the creature enter, she waited patiently, listening as the scurrying suddenly stopped. With a single finger, Idelle pushed the cheese closer, but still, the creature remained hidden.

"Shira'ven?" the sudden voice made her jump.

D'rundri watched her in idle curiosity. She held up a single finger as she turned back to the hole, but the cheese was gone and there remained no creature. Disappointed, she huffed in discontent and stood.

"Do you have any cheese?"

Her question should have provoked another question, or at the very least, a quizzical brow, but instead, D'rundri only reached into his own large leather pouch hanging over his left hip and produced a larger wedge of cheese.

"Thanks!" she smiled as she took it and knelt back down, setting the cheese where she had done so before. This time, however, she spoke softly. "My name is Idelle Ralia. I'm not going to hurt you. This place isn't safe. The structure is going to fall. I don't want you to get hurt."

After a moment of silence, D'rundri took a step closer. "I do not think it understand, shira'ven. Nothing you can do."

With a sigh, she acknowledged he was right. She stood once more and smiled gently, a rose tinge coloring her cheeks. "Why didn't you ask about the cheese? Lulu would've had a thousand questions and..."

"You never do anything without reason, shira'ven. If you asked, you needed it. No need to question."

"Oh, that's...that's actually really sweet. Thank you, D'rundri."