NOVEL NEXT 3.10 Apologies and Anger
Elysi cradled Isran’s cradled head in her lap, tears still fell from her eyes nearly three hours after she had first held her girlfriend’s limp body in her arms.
When she had collapsed the adventuring group had tried to kill her, Elysi, still bound, raced down the hill to her girlfriend’s body Red did its best to keep the orcs away from Isran, but there wasn’t much a cape scrap could do, maybe as a full cape maybe, but not in Red’s current state.
Elysi could barely let out any words. Isran was as pale as her, and her chest was not moving.
“You fucking self-righteous idiots!” She had screamed with all the vitriol she could master. She had said nothing else, ripping Isran’s chest plate off and trying to perform standard recovering on her girlfriend.
In her panicked haze, she had forgotten about Phaedra, the healer they had with them, but there was no use with Phaedra any way, she was tied up, up on the hill.
Elysi didn’t know how long she spent trying to bring air back into Isran’s lungs, her lover’s body grew colder and colder, her skin getting even paler. Phaedra had run after her, much more slowly and with more caution considering they were running down a hill.
The gnome had tried to hold her back, but they all paused at the way Elysi had reacted to the tall woman’s fall and hesitantly let Phaedra go.
Three hours after the healer had helped, Isran was still not awake, her chest was moving at least.
Phaedra sat beside her, a small bowl filled with water that she used to wipe Isran’s head sat on her lap.
“We… uh—”
“Please—” Phaedra whispered, continuing to wipe Isran’s head. “Give us space please.”
Elysi was happy Phaedra had spoken, she would’ve had more words for whichever one of the idiots that had attacked her girlfriend had tried to come speak to her. Maybe even tried to attack them if Isran wasn’t laying on her legs.
Red had been restless at first, but as the first hour trickled into the second the cape settled on Isran’s slow-moving chest.
“Why—" Elysi hated how her voice cracked “Why isn’t she awake?”
“She might just be asleep,” Phaedra whispered. “I healed her fully so she’s just resting, she’s probably still sore.”
Elysi nodded and blinked her tears away.
Two hours later, Phaedra had dozed off, her head resting on Elysi’s shoulder. The gnome walked towards them and sat on a piece of the ruins around them. Elysi ignored his presence and he was quiet for a while.
“I want to offer my sincerest apology. We are soldiers in training and it is our duty to prote—”
“Did you think for once that your assumption was false? As I begged you to stop did you think for once that what you said was wrong?”
“I—it’s common for victims of smugglers and slavers to be compul—”
“And have you ever seen anyone under compulsion magic?”
“What?”
Elysi looked up at the gnome, the sight of him filled her with anger she had never felt so viscerally. “You are soldiers in training with low levels, have you ever seen someone under compulsion magic?”
“Well no—”
“And you decided we were? Compulsion magic is not the all-powerful thing you and your idiot friends have deluded yourselves into thinking it is. There is a reason why smugglers are caught in groups, people under compulsion are easy to spot. I spoke on my own accord, articulated clearly, showed that we were not a threat and you still assumed, why? Is it because I’m a whore?”
The gnome blushed. He seemed sure of himself when he had sat down but the more, she spoke the more embarrassed he looked. Elysi caught a glimpse of his companions listening from not far away.
“Is that all whores are to you? Soldier in training. Easily compulsed stupid little sluts?”
“I didn—we never mea—”
“And what made her look like a smuggler in any way? Her tempered steel armor? Are you not to never discriminate based on social standing? Or was it because I am sheepfolk? Do you think animal folk are so easily smuggled? So easy to use that we just let ourselves be taken?”
At that point it wasn’t just about the idiotic trainees before her, smuggling was truly a problem in Thalbrin but it was not the first time she had been either assumed to be some gullible girl that could easily be deceived into a compulsion spell or harassed along with her companions because someone wanted to be a fucking hero.
“I do not want to hear another word of your apologies and explanations. Whenever you want to leave get up and leave.”
The gnome sat silent for a while before hesitantly rising to his feet. Elysi watched his mouth move uncertainly a few times before he gave up and walked away.
Isran stirred slightly, and Elysi’s heart leapt. “Isran?”
Her girlfriend’s eyes opened slowly, the constant dim light of the ruins barely irritating her eyes.
“You’re okay,” Isran whispered, smiling slightly. “You’re okay.”
Elysi nodded, tears leaking once more. “I’m okay Isran. I’m okay.”
Isran nodded back slowly, “Yeah… you’re okay…..” and mumbling the same phrase she went back to sleep.