From The Ashes [#NaNoWriMo16]

Chapter Three - Arlo Ashryn

Arlo Ashryn was having a rough day. No, scrap that; he was having a rough year. Since his parents 'banished' him from Ioven Island, he had come to Voleai seeking a fantastic life where he could continue his rich life. Unfortunately, he had a lot to learn.

A few months earlier, Arlo had been living on the snowy Ioven Island – home to the Elandili, or the half-elves – where his parents served as head of the Ioven Court. This meant he was rich, and was used to getting everything he wanted. He had servants to dress and wash him, and had never done a single bit of cleaning in his entire life. He lived in a huge mansion – which he basically had all to himself, because his parents were always at the palace – located in the middle of the city of Heath. No matter how much he loved being outdoors, however, it always snowed, so he avoided it if he could. The entire island was just a snowy kingdom; when he said it always snowed, he meant it always snowed. But that didn't stop him and his friends from making fun of it whenever they could.

No matter what the weather was like, Arlo was always getting into trouble. And because his parents were in the Ioven Court, this meant that only he got punished; his friends always got away with it. It annoyed him, honestly, but he learned to brush it off. His parents weren't biased, and that was something he had to live with.

However, one day, it got too much for his parents. He didn't even do anything that bad; all he did was trashed the local bard's house with his friends. The guy was a pain in the arse; what else was he supposed to do? But he was caught out, and his parents didn't ground him. No, they banished him from Ioven Island and cut him off from the household. They gave him about ten gold pieces and sent him on his way without a second thought. Arlo had spent the next few months living in a friend's basement in Vadox; the main city of Voleai. And, as if his life couldn't get any worse, he was about to do something that could possibly end his life for good.

He knocked on the door with a shaking fist, looking around nervously. What if no one answered? He could just turn around and run back to his friend's basement and pretend he saw nothing. But he could hear someone inside; there was no turning back now. He was stuck.

He raked his short, brown hair back with his hand, biting his lip as he heard someone slowly approaching the door. There was also a loud clunk that followed with the footsteps; a walking stick, maybe? It took a few moments, but the door finally opened, and a tall, old-looking man appeared in the doorway, leaning on a wooden stick. His light coloured hair didn't seem to be affected by his age, but his body certainly did. He looked really sick.

"Hello," Arlo said awkwardly. "Uh, saesa omentien lle. I have your herbs?"

The man frowned. "My herbs?" he asked, clearly confused as his eyes trailed down to the small crate in Arlo's arms. "Do you work at the local infirmary? Did Kay send you?"

"Kay?" Arlo asked, raising an eyebrow. "Is that your daughter's name?"

The man nodded slowly, sighing. "If Issey sent you," he murmured, moving back slightly to allow room in the doorway, "then something has happened. Tula, mellonamin. Come inside."

Arlo had no choice but to go inside. He didn't really know why he was doing this, to be honest. He saw the blonde elf get attacked by the two men at the docks, then he saw the guards dragging her towards the palace. All he knew was what he heard; that girl's father was sick, and needed the herbs she'd dropped. He was just delivering them. But, then again, he needed all the friends he could get now that he didn't have his ties to Ioven Island, so he walked through the doorway and into the house of the old man and the feisty she-elf. He figured that the only reason this man was letting Arlo into his home was because Arlo was a half-elf. Usually, elves automatically trusted strangers if they had at least a little elvish nature in them, which was why this man was already associating him with the term 'mellonamin'.