Serenity | Halsin

Three

She didn't know where exactly she was going, but she knew who she was looking for. She wished she had asked where the Goblin Camp was.

But there she was, traveling away from the grove in the dark night, holding her staff firmly as she walked. She loathed Halsin's bravery. She walked in fear that something or someone was following her.

She tried to push the fear from her mind as she pushed forward. She was too worried about Halsin; and even angrier at the grove for not sharing the same worry.

Roralei had known Halsin since she was a teenager. Which is weird, thinking about her attraction to the man, but he had began training her only a few years ago. She was now twenty-four. 

She often wondered if Halsin shared the same feelings for her, but she'd always deny it or assume that there was no possible way. The man had been alive for longer than two hundred years. There had to be someone he couldn't move on from.

Roralei didn't stop walking until her calfs cramped and she was forced to stop for a rest. Sitting down on a fallen tree trunk, she pulled her bottle from Halsin's bag and took a long drink of the water.

"Do you think I'll ever be able to shift, like everyone else?"

Roralei and Halsin stood inside of the grove, watching the dying fire as its flames slowly dimmed.

"I do," he answered. "But you don't have to rush it. Shifting comes naturally, but when it finally happens to you, you'll be afraid. I'd be shocked if you weren't the first time or few times. It's something you must grow used to."

She saw how easy it was for other druids to shift, but for some reason, she had never shifted before.

Roralei grabbed her mug and took a sip of her drink. "Wonder if something's wrong with me."

Halsin chuckled. "'Cause you can't shift? Nonsense."
He grabbed his own mug. "There is something wrong with you, though."

Roralei glared at him as he sipped his drink.

"What?" She asked.
"Hmm. Your ears. They're pretty pointy for a half-elf. Are you sure of what you are?"

The woman threw a loaf of bread at the man, whom caught it nonchalantly. He watched her as he bit into the dough, staring back at the fire.

"Your problem is confidence. You lack it tremendously. You don't believe in yourself— you don't believe you can do these things, but you can. . . I know you can."

Roralei's eyes began to burn at his words. To be one if the firmer men in the grove, he most definitely had the bigger heart. He was sincere and soft to anyone.

Halsin looked over at her. "I say that with the best intentions, of course— Oak fathers, are you crying?"

Halsin began walking towards Roralei, who quickly turned away. "Gods, please don't make this any harder than it already is."

The man smirked as he stared down at her.

"What do you truly want, Lei?"

You.

"To be a friend to nature." She said, which was also true.

Halsin crossed his arms over his chest. "You've already accomplished that."

Roralei looked up at him. "Only because of you, I've become who I am. . . I can't thank you enough."

There was a distinct look in his eye that night, that Roralei never looked back on. She never even registered that moment.

"You are who you choose to be."

Roralei opened her eyes as the memory brought her back to reality. She had fallen asleep at someone point, curled up on the ground with her knees tucked against her chest. Sitting up slowly, she looked around for a sign of anything different.

No tracks, scents, nothing. She grabbed Halsin's pack and stood to her feet before beginning her hike elsewhere.

The memories she shared with Halsin were swirling through her mind. At that moment, she felt emotional. She was emotional over the fight they had, and she was emotional that if something were truly wrong, she would never see Halsin again.

Hours had passed by the time Roralei had reached an unfamiliar place. The air was hot and sticky, with marsh lands in the distance. The thick, lingering fog sent an eerie chill down her spine as she approached the path. There was something most definitely wrong here.

The air was silent, apart from the echoes of frogs in the swamp. Roralei tightened her grasp on her staff as she walked down the stone path.

But she didn't walk for long. On the path were two men, surrounding an old woman. She watched as they drew their weapons, and the old lady looked over her shoulder.

"Oh, you! Yes, would you help me? These foolish boys won't leave me alone!"

Roralei clenched her jaw as the men kept their eyes on the old woman. "I'm sorry, but I'm trying to find someone. I can't stop."

Especially for these three. Whoever was in the wrong, she didn't want to find out.

"I'll help you find who you're lookin' for, just get them—"

"Shut it, grandma! Tell us where Mariyana is, now!" The first demanded. "And don't lie, we know you've got 'er."

"Just tell us where she is, please. We don't want to do this."

Roralei could hear the desperation in their voices as they waited for the woman's response.

"I haven't an idea on what yer talkin' about, not at all." She stated. And as she glanced over their shoulders at Roralei, the elf rose a brow.

"So much for that."

Snapping her fingers, the men screamed out and began falling to their knees, holding their faces as steam lingered from their skin; she had burned them alive.

"What in the hells have you done?" She said, her eyes wide.

"Well, you weren't going to help me. Would've let me die, but that can't happen. I'll remember your face, if I ever see you again."

She sent Roralei a mean stare, and then she disappeared into thin air.

Shaking her head, she began walking again.

The waters were deep and murky as she attempted to stomp through the risen waters. It was all the way up to her knees, staining her trousers.

The familiar tingling occurred and her senses told her to turn. As she did so, something closed around her feet, trapping them in place. Suddenly, a large net rose from the ground, enclosing the druid into a hunter's trap as she dangled inside in the air.

The woman screamed as she hung, trying to steady herself. She gripped the netting and tried to stand, only to fall down again.

"Gods!" She screamed, attempting to grab Halsin's dagger. She grabbed the hilt and tugged, trying her best not to drop it.

And of course, she dropped it.

"No, no, no!"

But as it fell, it wasn't followed by the sound of splashing water. It was silent, causing her to turn her head.

Beneath the trap, a pale elf with crimson red eyes, a young half-elf with a slick black braid down her back and a pale red tiefling stood, staring up at the woman.

The man smirked. "Oh, this is going to be fun."