Chapter Text
"Elina!" The young woman turned, shading her eyes with her hand. The afternoon sun was high in the sky and it was sweltering out.
She walked a little closer, trying to see who was calling out her name.
"Elina!" It was Mage, her friend. Mage was always in a rush, always impatient, always moving. Mage reached Elina, sweaty and slightly breathless.
"What's so important?" Elina asked, smiling a little. Elina was not tall, although with a slight frame. She had long black hair and blue eyes. She smiled easily, unless someone has gotten on her bad side.
"You'll never guess who I saw riding into the settlement," Mage said, flapping her hands.
"Some tall, handsome stranger that you're already smitten with?" Elina smirked. Mage was always watching for the perfect mate. So far, she hasn't been very lucky.
Neither has Elina for that matter. Her family was all dead, lost to a infectious disease that spread through their small settlement. Elina never understood why she'd been spared.
Perhaps she didn't truly mean it, but sometimes she wished she had died as well. What was there left for her now?
The only man she ever loved was gone. It was possible he was dead as well. He'd been gone for months now, off in some outlandish hunt for who knows what?
He hadn't told her much before he left. He wasn't much for talking anyways. He was better at fighting. He wielded a sword quite nicely. She rather admired how he was trained so well with such a weapon.
He'd tried to teach her, but she wasn't much for learning such a skill. She preferred to use her fists in a fight.
Often, she wondered what she saw in him. He wasn't exactly some kind soul. He was too rough and surly.
But she chose to look beneath his hard outer shell and look deep into his good heart. He had his good qualities, too. He could be trustworthy and was strong and not afraid of much.
Elina realized that she had been daydreaming while Mage was still speaking.
"Elina! Are you listening?"
"No, I'm sorry. What were you saying?"
"I said that Tovar came riding into the settlement!" Elina felt her stomach flip flop. No. It couldn't be true. Tovar was dead. He had to be.
"Elina, you look pale. Here. Sit down and I'll fetch you some water." Mage helped her sit and then hustled off to fetch her some water from the well.
Elina's mind was a jumble. Could it really be her beloved Tovar has returned to her? Elina felt something pushed into her hands and Mage was telling her to drink.
She raised the cup to her lips, taking a small sip. Pero, my love. Why didn't you come straight to me? She wonders.
She suddenly ached to see him with her own eyes. She had to know if it was truly him. Elina stood abruptly, the cup tumbling from her hands. She turned to Mage.
"Take me to where he is, please, Mage. I have to see him."