The gate split into two, revealing a small gap of light before it stretched open.
There was… people. Buildings. Many of them.
Little huddles where people took fruits, food, and also what looks like meat.
A stone floor.
I'm lost in the trance of it all — a civilization, a whole city.
More than I ever expected things to be.
But… something still feels off to me.
"You may go in," one of them said — the one on my left.
Aveline paced in, and I followed right behind her.
Something is off.
She's quiet.
It's too quiet.
My eyes turn left — apples on a stand, red and yellow.
Then a man lifts a small child into the air.
"Daddy!" the kid cries out.
I turn to my right — older people.
A man with no hair on his head, wrinkled lines deep on his face, a light sharp gray thing above his lip.
He only stares — a stare I can't explain.
Almost like I'm being… watched.
Like he knows something about me I don't know.
Then I look ahead.
Aveline's black cloak dragging on the stone floor.
Tall wooden things with fire inside them, even though it's not dark yet.
The smell here reeks of dirt, wet grass, and pond water coming off me, with the occasional spice if I turn my head a certain way.
Shops everywhere — shiny stones, good things, and things that look dangerous.
I don't want to get involved with any of it.
We keep walking.
I don't speak.
Aveline hasn't looked at me for… ten minutes maybe.
We seem to be closing into a wide area.
Horses… and the sound of wood on wheels.
A smell — horrid, could be from the horses.
Strange. I can't put my mind on the place.
I'm greeted with nothing but stares that stab me.
Not the kind that say hello.
Something else.
Something heavier.
"Aveline… where are we going?" I whisper.
Nothing.
That's strange.
I hope she heard me.
What if she didn't?
"Aveline…?" I repeat, quieter.
She turns.
Her face unreadable.
Then — she grabs my collar.
Suddenly I am pulled and thrown between two buildings where no sun or light can reach.
Stone hits my bare back.
Pain explodes through me — knocks the breath out of my chest.
My legs fall weak, knees hitting the ground.
A pulsing pain keeps stabbing and stabbing.
I kneel, fighting for air.
Aveline puts her foot in front of my face — a heavy stomp, like she could crush me if she wanted.
"Listen… don't go running your mouth," she says, firm.
I can tell she's mad at me again.
I don't look up.
But I know that expression — frustrated, tight, dangerous.
It… scares me.
She takes a deep breath, then leans close to my ear, kneeling beside me.
I feel her breath.
And under it… panic.
Is she afraid of something?
"Elves are not welcomed here…" she says, quiet, then moves away from my face.
She stands, facing away from me, arms crossed.
I wait.
"You're weird. I don't know if you know this…"
She stops.
"Elves in this nation are slaves… meant to be used as weapons."
What is she talking about?
Elves… slaves? Weapons?
"They're either harvested or… used as companions."
Her foot hits the ground hard.
"What the hell was I thinking… bringing you here…"
Her voice shakes.
She stops, breathes, then turns to me.
I look into her eyes.
I know this feeling…
I've felt it before.
At the pond.
My footsteps. My breath.
That tight… sinking thing in my chest.
Pity. I see it on Aveline's face. Soft, but also… sad.
I stand, forcing my legs to wake up, my hands pushing off my knees.
"Aveline…" I say.
"I don't understand…" I follow after, voice small.
She sighs.
"Tch… you really are a bonehead." Her arms cross again. That frustrated look returns.
…
"Look what we got here, fellas."
My body pinches itself tight.
Laughter hits the air — loud, sick, smeared in a smell that burns my nose.
I turn toward the voice.
Men.
Four of them.
Tall.
The one in the middle…
My chest tightens. Something squeezes the air back into me like it doesn't want me to breathe.
He's big.
Bigger than me — wide and thick like his body is made of stone.
A long shiny metal thing rests on his back.
The others stand beside him — smaller but still large, round stomachs pushing through their clothes, each holding their own shining metal pieces.
"Aaaah… a slave-elf, I see. And his cute owner."
The middle man's tongue slides out — slimy, disgusting — his cracked lips peeling, a scar over his eye that makes my spine shake.
"And a cute girl too. Wow, boss, we'll definitely have fun," the one on the left says.
My hands tremble. Hard.
Is this good?
Is this bad?
I don't know — I don't know what to do.
My body sweats, heavy, sticky heat crawling down me.
I look at Aveline.
Her face carries the same fear as mine — I can see her shaking, clutching that stick she carries like it's the only thing keeping her standing.
Footsteps.
They come closer.
Closer.
Closer.
Before I know it, they are right in front of us.
Please…
Don't hurt us.
I look at Aveline again.
For the first time, I see her truly… afraid.
So scared.
Like she knows exactly what will happen next.
I see small water gathering in her green eyes, glassy and shaking.
I don't want this.
I don't want to be here.
I don't want this to happen.
I'm not going to let this happen.
I move — without thinking — pushing Aveline behind me.
"RUN!" I yell, voice breaking.
She gasps — desperate.
I don't look back.
I don't need to see her face — I hear it.
A pause… then footsteps, distant, farther with every second.
Please don't leave me.
Please don't leave me alone.
I look at the men.
All four smiling.
Looking down at me like they already know how this ends.