Freedom's Haven

Freedom's Haven (chapter 1 part 4 end chap)

            I too looked around for the first time, seeing all five men lying around me in various forms of death. I turned to stare sullenly at the man that I had killed last, the deformed man who had asked for my forgiveness before he died. I had seen it in his eyes, that he regretted what he had tried to do and not just because I had killed him.

              Slowly, shaking uncontrollably, I walked over where he lay dead and knelt down beside him. The strange, silent elf following.

              I laid my hand very gently on the dead man's back and closed my eyes. We remained quiet for a time before Lyndon broke into my self-imposed misery.

              "You know, it does not matter how hard you concentrate, you will never be able to will him back to life." He looked down in disgust and regal disdain at the dead human. I knew it was disgust, and thought it was not only because he was a mercenary, an assassin, but because he was human that it colored his tone. "Though, why you would want to is beyond me. He was useless riffraff and he needed to be exterminated. They all do."

              His tone implied wishful thoughts, not the murderous intent that his words embodied. His expression was one of detached sadness, as if something that he had once thought of as being good, such as a pet fish, had sadly become a nuisance, a bad stench in his noble pond.

              Rage shot through me, perhaps misplaced as I felt empathy and compassion for the dead man who had tried to murder me, and anger and sudden rapid hate for the Elf Noble beside me. I did not care; I was human, could he not see that or did he simply not care.

              Before he could guess my intent, though I did not even guess it before I had put the thought into action, I slapped him sharply across the face and shouted my rage into his disbelieving face.

              "How dare you! You arrogant, superior, noble, son of a bitch! You think all human are scum, that we deserve to be exterminated like insects, that we are not equal to you elves. How dare you!" I screamed.

              He caught my hand before I could slap him once more. The anger glittering dangerously in his eyes and his steady, strong grip on my wrist caused a sharp needle of fear to shoot through me, but I had been raised to face down opponents who were stronger and bigger than I, and so I was able to suppress the fear rather entirely.

              "That, is not what I said." His voice at first had been slightly raised but by the last word he was almost back in control, barely a quiver still laced his words. "I was referring to those who chose murder as their profession and I did not mean humans to the exclusion of all other races. I do not think you are nothing more than an insect to be squashed beneath my heel as you apparently believe, otherwise why would I have saved your life?" He asked harshly.

                I surprised him by asking, "Why did you?" I did not mean because I was not worth saving, personally, even at almost fifteen, I liked myself, thought pretty highly of myself and knew that I was important, just as everyone else was. That was why I had been able to forgive the disfigured assassin and why I had prayed to the Goddess Awnyi for him to finally find his peace in death.                                                                               .             I asked because I sensed intuitively that he did not have many dealings with strangers or acquaintances if he could help it, either human or elf. I asked because I knew that I had seen real caring and concern in his expression when he held me, that I had seen unmistakable admiration in his expression at the number of bodies, that he had been impressed by my ability to fight, to survive.