Old Grudges

"We will save her, sire!" Rothain shouted, fighting to make a path to the doorway for his king. It was proving harder than he thought. More people were coming in than going out. It was looking like it would be better to head toward the window and try for a jump. "Dahlia is alive. I must believe that." He whispered to himself. 

Marid shook his head, "Go haunt something, woman. I must work..." He disappeared back into the cave, now scowling down at the mirror image of his wife. "Your father is in the middle of a war between humans and dwarves. Shall we go and save him?" He asked Dahlia.

Abalas wasn't so optimistic. The king had accepted his daughter's death, just as he carried the burden of being the one who killed her. 

Dahlia shot to her feet and scowled up at Marid. "And what started it?" She asked thinly, clearly already blaming the djinni.

Rothain chose not to think. Instead he fought across the room to the king. When he reached him he backed the other man toward the window. "We're going to jump." He said through his teeth. "it's our only hope."

"I don't think I'll tell you if you're going to act that way." Marid snorted. "not if you're going to take that tone with me."

"Jump onto what?!" Abalas hissed as he kicked away and advancing dwarf. The king glanced behind them, noting that in the dark he couldn't even see the ground.

"Now why would I take a tone with someone who first saved my life, then threatened to kill me?" Dahlia snorted.

"Water." Rothain said, grabbing the king's cloak and tossing him out the window. Abalas would be able to hear the wood elf's shouted magick moments before he hit an icy cold pond that hadn't been there a few minutes ago. 

"No one has fun killing a wounded animal." Marid said darkly, shaking his head. "You know that. It is better to wait until it is healed and then kill it. You are well enough to join the fight, girl. What do you say? Is that what we should do?"

Abalas didn't even have time to realise what had happened. The odd part, was the shock of him hitting the water cause it to suddenly freeze over with he was beneath the surface.

"It is what I should do, not we, creature." Dahlia replied icily.

Too late Rothain realized what had happened. His back slammed into the ice and he could do little more than gasp in utter agony before his entire world went black. 

"Sorry but when you made the wish, you tethered me to you. Where you go, I must go until you either die or make your final wish. I have yet to have a master make all their wishes, my dear." Marid purred. His attention was drawn away from her and to the statue that was now lying on the ground, twisted in an odd way. He hadn't seen it do that before.

"You have never had a strong enough master then." Dahlia replied confidently. "I don't plan on wishing anytime soon, so that pretty much makes you my little pet. Forever. 

"We shall see." Marid purred, picking up the statue and handing it to her. The agony was radiating from it like a tangible thing. "If you do not need me..." He turned away, heading back toward his pile of treasures. He sat down on an ornate chair and began to count coins, humming to himself.

"I don't." Dahlia replied, though she was staring down at the twisted statue. "But you will tell me where you brought me, seeing at I was taken here against my will!"

"I thought I just did." Marid said, glancing up from his coins to fix her with his cruel crimson gaze. "I don't like killing weak things. That bores me. I brought you here to heal you so that when you were well enough, I would let you go and hunt you like an animal. Remember that night in the lake? I was hunting you then. I was going to kill you."

Dahlia's violet eyes blazed at this. "But you didn't, because you're weak, and a poor hunter." She informed the djinni.

"I didn't because she asked me not to." Marid said, picking up handfuls of coins and letting them drop back onto the pile. "Never let it be said that I did not try to please my wife. Even after her death." He kept dropping coins, his smile widening. "Your father is dying. Along with his manservant. I love the delicious way the younger of the two is gasping in pain. That's my favorite part of death..."

"You could never have a wife." Dahlia breathed. "No one could love a soul so ugly." She added before turning to walk into the trees that surrounded the cave.

Marid nodded, glad someone finally saw things his way. When she'd walked far enough he snapped his fingers. She would find herself now standing in the middle of the icy pond, not far from where Rothain lay. 
She would be in a race to reach him before a group of humans and dwarves did however.

Dahlia didn't hesitate the moment she saw Rothain. The young woman was sliding across the ice, blades drawn without time to wonder when Marid had given them back to her or how she had even gotten there. She crashed into the first human, slicing a dwarves leg as she slid by him too.

"Dahlia..." Rothain gasped out when he saw her. "Now I know I'm dead...Are you here to take me with you to the spirits? I...I can't leave yet...your father...he needs me...just a few more minutes..." He was smiling ever so slightly as she got close, his fingers shaking as he reached for her. "You're so beautiful..."

Dahlia had reached Rothain and was sat on the ice with his head in her lap. "Don't talk like that." She breathed, stroking his hair gently. "I missed you." The dark haired girl whispered, everything around her feeling like it was moving in slow motion.

Not far away the dinning was watching the whole thing. The djinni made a face at it and snapped his fingers. The pond suddenly disappeared, leaving Dahlia, Rothain, and the king to tumble to the ground several feet below.

Dahlia didn't really need to guess what had just happened. She checked that Rothain was still okay, then crawled closer to her father. "Come on you old man..." She muttered, giving the king's chestt a thump until she heard the sudden breath he drew.

"I didn't hurt him." Marid said from his perch on the tree. "Don't go accusing me of things, girl." He added, watching Rothain as he rolled over and began crawling toward the king. 
"Sire..." The wood elf breathed. "Are you all right..." He still hadn't caught on to the fact that Dahlia was really there.

"I never. You must have a guilty conscience!" Dahlia hissed, though she didn't look up at Marid. The young Fae was now trying to keep Rothain from moving any further until she had determined how badly he was injured.

"There's the king!" A group of dwarves shouted. They were scrambling over now dry land to try and get to the elven king. "Kill him! Kill the elves!" The shouts were picked up by other soldiers who began turning in their direction, their swords raised. 
"Oh dear..." Marid purred. "This is quite a predicament, girl. Whatever do you plan to do?" He chuckled.

"The only thing I'm good at." Dahlia muttered as she stood up, ready take on anyone who tried to hurt those she cared about. "Ro, you get my father out of here!"

Ro gave a soft moan and pushed to his feet, yanking out his own blade. "I won't leave you alone, even if you are just a spirit." He muttered, sure he was about to die here. "My king would never forgive me...I would never forgive myself..." 
Marid made a loud gagging noise, waving a hand and turning the ground beneath the dwarves into mud. The humans raced past them, shouting loudly. "Ooops. Missed those guys." He chuckled.

Dahlia did finally scowl in Marid's direction, though her blade soon clashed with that of one of the humans. "You idiot!" She hissed at Rothain. "Get out of here! I can handle them, you need to protect your king!"

"I cannot carry him..." Rothain grunted, struggling with a human of his own. "He's not on his right mind..."
"The bastard never was!" Mario laughed, clapping his hands. "He's a winter elf after all!"

"Then what do you propose? We all stay here and die?" Dahlia growled. "Drag him if you have to! I can't keep arguing with you about this, you stubborn fool!"

Marid was having far too much fun with this. The elf king lifted off the ground, floating past the arguing couple. "Keep up, children!" The king barked in a squeaking voice.

Dahlia was silently vowing she would have Marid's head mounted on the wall by the time the day was through. "Come on..." She muttered, taking Rothain's hand and skirting in and out of the advancing humans. She struck down a few of them, wanting to send a clear message to Saul; he had broken their deal and she was going to make him pay for this.