Border Crossing

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"You're late." Baralai Fairchild despised the rain, almost as much as he despised mages. He was waiting at one of the bridges that crossed the river that in turn divided the two largest kingdoms in their land. It was the same bridge where he had waited countless times. Templar or no, gold was gold, and this gold also got rid of troublesome mages.
"You want the gold or not?" A black clad man snarled as he jumped down gracefully from his equally black steed.
Baralai muttered something rather unbecoming of a Templar, then held a gloved hand out. "Gold first, then the cargo. Try anything..." He words were cut off as the mage he was transporting broke free of his restraints. It all happened so quickly that he didn't see the flash of lightning and the proud Templar was crashing into the raging river below.
Six months. It had been six months and the fallen Templar still woke in a cold sweat after dreaming of that night. The mage had rendered him immobile, though wide awake when he had plunged into the river, his heavy armour weighing him down until a pig farmer had dragged him from the river several miles away. It had taken months to get back to health and pay back the farmer for his kindness. In that time word had gotten out that Fairchild the Templar was a deserter.

Alice Gormanghast was scowling into the mirror. She hated this world she had been born into, even now as her maid pulled tightly on the laces of her dress she thought of nothing but a way to escape. Her brother's were all war heroes, famous to everyone in the kingdom for their brave deeds and triumph in defeating several of the dragons. But Alice... All she was known for was to be the prize her father handed over to the man he deemed brave enough to end the war altogether. She was the proverbial Princess in the tower, useful only for luring in prospective suitors. The young brunette didn't even realise her rose coloured lips were quirked into a slight smile 'if only they knew'. Indeed, her father would have a literal heart attack if he knew his prized daughter had secretly been learning how to shoot a bow and handle a sword. She lost herself for hours at an end in books that told of the thieves guild, and their mysterious leader who was sometimes known to have a higher moral code than the knights of their kingdom.

Baralai watched Selene run, not chasing right away. He smiled darkly, enjoying the sight of the usually proud and brave knight commander fleeing like a frightened child.

"War is a male pastime." Alice replied wearily. "They think it is the solution to every problem."

Selene would find herself in the center of Anaris' camp. The thief king would not be happy to see her. As she had pointed out to Baralai, he didn't much care for Templars. They were they main reason so many of the mages were being sold into captivity and fed to a dragon that didn't even know what it was. Soon she would find herself on her knees and staring down several blades.

Yena sighed. "What is he fighting for? Did he even tell you?" She was again thinking of her own Templar. She found herself wondering if he were going to fight in this war with his wife.

"This really is the wrong place for you, Templar." One of the men told Selene coolly, his blade touching under her chin and tilting her face up. "Where are the rest of your worms? Stealing more mages from their beds as they sleep?"

"He wants to free all mages and save the dragon, but..." Alice closed her eyes and sighed, thinking of her father, of the lengths her eldest brother would go to claim her back as his own, and to take revenge for the humiliation Anaris had caused him. "The king wont give his slaves up so easily, and I worry that the cost of freedom is a price I'm not strong enough to pay."

"Get your sword away from me, thief. You disgust me." Selene snapped, reaching for a sword that was no longer there.

"You looked pretty strong to me." Yena said with a soft laugh.

The man saw her actions and threw back his head to laugh. "Even if it was still there, you really think you could take on the entire thieves guild alone?" He scoffed.

"I am a pawn just like anyone else." Alice assured Yena quietly. "If I want my own freedom, I must first free the mages. If I free the mages, it will cost many lives in the war that will follow."

"I could take out your kinsg even without a sword. Even you of I needed. I'm not afraid little...elf...god I hate your kind." Selene said proudly.

"Then why do it? Why allow someone to hurt innocents?" Yena asked her warily.

The thief smiled, using the tip of his sword to slice at Selene's cheek. "We aren't fond of yours either, despite what the king may say."

"There's no such creature." Alice replied rather darkly. Her limited experience of life had left her rather jaded already. She had no hope for any kind of a future.

Selene looked completely uninterested. "I'm not talking to your king. Any abuse you heap on me will only look bad on you. There are others looking for me. They know you're trying to start a war, elf. I refuse to help you do it." 

"You're more hopeless than I am and not nearly as skinny." Yena said with a soft laugh. "What the heck do they feed you where you come from? I think I'm going to be grateful for stealing pig slop from now on."

"Start a war?" The elf sneered. "You people started it the moment you decided mages were worth less than anyone else!"

Alice hesitated, not sure if she could trust this elf woman yet with the truth of who she was. "Why would you steal pig slop?" she asked finally.

"You are an elf and a mage. Which makes you worth even less." Selene spat, adding insult to injury. "Your kind makes my skin crawl. You are worse than the Quanari." 

"I had no other food." Yena shrugged. "It was better than eating dirt to fill my belly." Her cheeks turned a bright pink and suddenly she found herself unable to so much as look at the other woman.

"And yet here you are, lost and alone." The male sneered. "I don't care what you want, you will kneel before the king and hope he has snapped out of his foul mood!"

"Why wouldn't you have food?" Alice asked, proving to be still somewhat naive.

"I refuse to accept that he is any kind of king. I will kneel before noone except the Maker and my own king." Selene snorted.
"Those words will not help you in my forest. Kill her. She is on their side." Anaris said from somewhere in the darkness.

"I am a terrible hunter and my village cast me out." Yena admitted. "There were too many mages and no one wanted me any way. It was the best choice."

"Your majesty... She may be of use to us." The elf insisted. "Look at that armour..."

"Hunting is easy, I can show you." Alice suggested, not sure why she felt the odd need to help this woman.

"I have had enough with the Templars. Burn her." Anaris' voice was cold and hateful. He was rarely like that and never about another person. "We are done here."

"You would?" Yena didn't know what to think of this. No one had ever thought to teach her anything. She'd taught herself how to cook, despite what she'd told Baralai.

The elf didn't protest any further, only nodded his head. They had all noticed the change in their king, and it was troubling everyone greatly. The elf dragged Selene to her feet, instructing the other men to gather wood and kindling for the fire.

"Why wouldn't I?" Alice asked. "If I can teach myself, I'm sure I can teach you."

"You are going to listen to him? Such an elf thing to do. The lot of you never could think for yourselves. Always followers. Never leaders." Selene snorted, watching the bonfire building with no expression on her face. 

"You taught yourself? You must be extremely intelligent." Yena said, now looking over the other woman with greater interest. "What do you use? A bow? Or a sword?"

The elf tied Selene to a nearby tree until the bonfire was built. "You don't know the king." He replied simply. "He does what he needs to."

Alice shrugged her shoulders. "Whichever is best for the situation." She replied. "I'm not that intelligent, I just watched my brothers doing it. No one taught me, apparently it isn't proper for a prin... Lady, to know these things."

"That's what you all say." Selene snorted. "A convenient word when you need to keep from choking on the bile in your throat." 
"Shut her up." Anaris hissed, still not removing himself from the shadows. "And get on with it! The smoke will bring more of them. That's the idea." 

"Really?" Yena asked, making a face. "Our people did it all the time. Some of our women were chosen as hunters. Just what sort of land do you come from?" She was going to ask more had a snapping branch not taken her attention. Someone was nearby.

"Sire, is this wise? The Queen is still out there somewhere, what if they find her first?" The elf insisted, even if he didn't like their queen, he knew her absence was the reason the king was so miserable.

"One with no magic." Alice whispered, her own human ears able to hear the snapping twig also.

"That's the idea." A man leaned forward from the shadows, his eyes glittering. They were not the familiar green of their king's but an icy blue. "Do what I have commanded slaves, or this camp and everyone in it...dies. Are we clear?" The very human man spoke in tones that would leave ice clinging to the blood. "Your people are surrounded. There's no way out of this." 

"Bear?" Yena's pointed ears perked up and she began looking around them. She didn't mean the animal and it was obvious. Her heart was pounding, even though it no longer remained inside of her own chest.

The elf was quick to draw his sword again. "Who are you? Where is the king?!" He demanded, fully prepared to lay down his life defending their camp.

Alice had her bow ready, but not yet drawn. There was an arrow resting in place, should she need to act fast. "A bear? Here?!" She hissed at Yena.
"You can only wish, girl." A gruff voice call through the trees.

"I am your king now and don't worry about where that elf bastard is. He's getting what he deserves." The young man leaned back in his chair and crossed one leg over the other. "Get started. I want a bonfire. It's been a while since I've seen one." 

Yena tore away from the spot she'd been standing, pausing moments before she reached him. The enormous grin she'd been wearing faded almost instantly. "I'm glad you're alive. Where is...your wife?" She asked softly, beginning to back away.

The elf seemed to lose his fight when those ice coloured eyes bore into him. "B-but... The dragon will see the smoke too... Your majesty." He stammered, though was already backing up to unchain Selene and take her to the bonfire.

"If you mean Selene, don't call her that." Baralai replied gruffly. "I need something from you... Yena." He breathed, his voice softening considerably, rough fingers even reaching out to tuck some of her hair behind a pointed ear. "The truth."

"Dragons don't exist. Have you ever seen one? They are stories made up by your elders to scare you." Kane said, waving the elf off in dismissal. "Get out of my sight." 
"Wow. You really proved yourself there, warrior." Selene snorted. "I feel better. And your king? He's so wonderful. Doing a great job of keeping your people safe isn't he? And did I hear something about a queen?" 

"I told you the truth." Yena said, though she spent a great deal more time looking at the ground than she did at his face. Her stomach churned as she felt his fingers touch her face. She tried to tell herself it was simply because she was hungry.

"The queen is a replaceable bubble head, worth far less than the king." The elf hissed at Selene.

"Then why are my memories false?" Baralai asked, leaning closer to Yena until his lips were by her ear. "Or how about why you gave me your heart in a locket?" He added, either not caring tht Alice was there, or simply ignoring her entirely.

Selene actually laughed at this. "There you go. For once becoming a man. A pity you and I will be dead before you bloom into anything of real worth." 

"I don't...I didn't..." Yena was stammering now, his warm breath a distraction as it had always been. The night he'd broken his fever and realized it was her who had saved him...his warm breath had been all over her. She'd begged him to let her finish bathing him. He'd murmured something about returning the favor. She couldn't resist him. But it was a memory she couldn't let him remember either. For his sake and...his wife's.

"My king will destroy your kind, whether I am alive or not." The elf swore. "You ll fear what you cannot control."

Bear's rough fingers took hold of Yena's chin and turned her face toward his own. "You're a terrible liar." He breathed before stealing a hungry kiss.
Alice was shouldering her bow and turning away. Yena clearly didn't need help after all.

Selene laughed at this. "Your new king is right. There's no such thing as dragons. Only...scared little girls." She whispered, fingering the necklace she'd stolen from Baralai.

"Bear, don't." Yena pleaded, only after the kiss was over. Her chest was rising and falling even more wildly than before. "What about your wife...she...she loves you. She cried for you...you have no idea..." A single tear slipped down her dirty cheek. "It was so hard to let you go but...it was the right thing to do. You taught me that."

"What do you know?" The elf suddenly demanded, giving Selene a violet shake.

"Selene loves power, and control. Nothing else." Baralai assured Yena quietly.

"Nothing I'm going to tell you. Apparently I'm taking my secrets and everything else to the grave." Selene hissed, glaring at the elf mage with hate filled eyes. "You will die too. I don't know what you're worried about." 

Yena touched her fingers to Baralai's forehead and closed her eyes. The month of memories he was missing returned to him. Including the one where he held the necklace in his hands, staring at it while the slender elf made him promise never to lose it. It was the greatest gift she had to offer him and without it near his own heart, she would soon die. "I can see why you hate mages." She whispered. "We seem to be a very selfish bunch. Even though you hate me...I truly did want to keep you for myself. I'm sorry, Bear. You deserve better. I never should have..."