Chapter 4: Loner

P͟o͟v͟: Lérin

I slowly open my eyes, squinting to the bright sunlight tickling my face and groaning as I feel every fiber in my body ache. Damn bullies... I let my forearm fall over my eyes, welcoming the darkness as the bright sunlight only made my whining headache worse. My head feels heavy and warm and I can hear the pounding of blood through my veins. I sigh, knowing that even though my body is this tired, I won't be able to get myself back to sleep. So I slowly get myself to sit up straight and look around the room. It is pretty simplistic, with the bed I am sitting on right beside a window and a door in front of me. There is also a little wooden desk to my left, scattered with all sorts of things. A small white ball, big enough to fit in my hand, a feather pen along with an ink pot, a couple pages that seemed to be ripped from a book... Still cought inbetween my own thoughts I manage to fully get up. I'm a bit unsteady on my feet, probably just from lying down for so long. But as I stand up I notice I'm wearing a long white nightgown. I frown as I look down at the unfamiliar cloth. Now I look more closely I also see someone has bandaged and put ointment on my cuts and bruises. My frown deepens. Who would even go through that much trouble... For me? Now I am even more determined to meet the person this room belongs to. With irregular steps I get to the other side of the room and slowly open the wooden door a little. Still wary I peek into an apparently empty hallway. Opening the door all the way now, I find myself just standing there for a few seconds before deciding what to do next. Before I can make up my mind though I hear soft footsteps behind me. I turn around, but as I am still a little unsteady I stumble to find my balance again. The person that was standing behind me now rushes to my aid.

"You should be carefull, young man! You are still recovering!" A voice speaks in a worried tone.

Disoriented I try to look the origin of that voice in the face.

"Who... Who are you?" I say as I manage to take a step back.

The person before me is easily two and a half heads bigger then me, but so slim and agile-looking, I bet he has the skill to dissappear anywhere. He's clearly a man, I can't tell his age, but I can see wisdom in his eyes. And his face is gentle, yet telling me of many lingering memories. I furrow my brow slightly, noticing all of this man's curiosities. His long, sleek, raven black hair. His evenly dark colored eyes. Still, his face is the palest skintone I have ever seen...

"My name is, Valadiel"

My frown deepens as I clearly recognise his name to be an Elven one.

"Why am I here..? And where is 'here' even?" I ask, letting my eyes scout every inch of the hallway.

It wasn't anything special really... Just a wooden cabin it seemed.

"I took care of you after... Those boys beat you up. I thought it best to take you to my home and let you rest. We aren't that far from your village, just a little into the nearby woods."

Relieved I nod at him. Now my most pressing questions are answered I can relax a bit.

"Thank you... For taking care of me..." I mumble softly.

"My pleasure." Valadiel answers with a polite little bow.

A tad awkward, I smile back at him.

"I really think I should go now... I've been enough of a burden to you already." I say.

But as I want to step further towards the end of the corridor, where I saw a door leading outside, a slender hand grabs me by the shoulder.

"Where do you think you're going?" Valadiel speaks with an amused undertone in his voice.

"Uhh..." I stutter as I realise what he's trying to point out.

"You want to go out dressed like that?" He snickers again.

"No..."

"Come on then! Let's have some breakfast first, then I'll give you your clothes back and you can go back. Deal?"

A sly little smile forms around his perfectly sculpted lips and little crows feet form around his smiling blue eyes. A little stunned by his radiant appearance I just nod in agreement.

"Follow me then, little one!"

Little one? He didn't seem that old himself... Maybe about 20 in human years? Oh well... I follow him to a small kitchen, bathing in the morning sun. Everything is made of wood... There are no tapestries, no iron doorknobs, no glass windows even.

"So! Today's menu is goldenberries, dildion flowers and seerfruit!"

I frown as I have never heard of those before. Of course Valadiel notices my questioning expression and winks at me.

"I bet you'll love it."

He walks me over to the table and tells me to sit down on one of the little wooden stools as he prepares breakfast. I see him swing the pouch that he'd been carrying all this time over his shoulder onto the counter. He starts carefully getting everything he needs out of it and laying it out. I try to sneek a peek, but I can only see a couple of ordinary green leaves as he is standing in front of the rest of the items. I sigh softly and lay my head in my hands. I sit there, patiently waiting for Valadiel to finish when he suddenly starts humming a soft tune. He starts off very quietly, allmost inaudible, but he soon begins to sing the words to the song he was humming. Of course I can't understand a thing of what he's saying though, as the lyrics are in Elvish, but I can clearly feel the weight of his song. A deep and melancholic feel filled Valadiels voice and I find myself listening to him with my eyes closed, fully enjoying it. I've heard the stories before, of how the singing of an Elf was the most devine sound of them all, but this is even better than I could have ever dreamt it. Valadiels song seems to dance around in the air, filling the room with emotion and a vibrating elegance. And I sigh, feeling myself drift away to the sound of this enchanting melody. But after a while he suddenly stops and I unwillingly open my eyes again, wishing he'd keep singing just a little longer...

"Done!" He smiles, putting two wooden bowls on the table, filled with the most colorful fruits and flowers I've ever seen.

"Thank you for the meal." I answer back to him, nodding politely.

"Not a problem, young man! Go ahead and eat! You can use your hands." He smiles again.

I decide I want to have a quick look at these strange fruits fist though... First are, what I assume to be, the goldenberries. They deffinitly live up to their name as they flicker like little golden pearls in the rays of sunlight. They're scattered throughout the dish, like some sort of garnish. Secondly I notice some fiery red flowers with little yellow specks on their petals. They are about as big as half of the palm of my hand. And last but not least is the seerfruit, the main element of the dish. It has a blue-purple-ish color and the texture of a regular melon. This one is about as big as my hand. I look over to Valadiel with a questioning look, as if to ask him wether all this is actually edible. I see him happily muching down on a blue piece of fruit, clearly amused with my reaction.

"Go on!" He says,"Try it!"

When he sees me, still a bit hesitant, he ads with a chuckle:

"Why would I tend to your wounds, only to poison you after."

Well... He does have a point there... So I slowly reach out to break off a small chunk of the blue fruit. I'm careful not to squeeze too hard as I can already feel the slightly blue colored juice dripping down my hand. Warily I take a small bite and immediately my eyes widen. This is amazing! An overwheming sweetness fills my mouth. It tastes like the sweetest berries and a hint of sour, a little like a blueberries.

"Hmm!!" I exclaim as I greedily chew down on the fruit.

"This is delicious!"

Valadiel scoffs and continues to eat his meal, glad I like it. Every bite I take seems to be even better than the last, if that was even possible... When we are both finished he gets up silently and puts away the empty bowls.

"Would you like a drink before you go too?" He asks calmly, with a slight smile.

"That would be nice yes..." I aswer, suddenly realising how thirsty I am.

"Excuse me for a moment then."

Valadiel goes outside through the door on the opposite side of the room and I stay behind, patiently waiting at the table. But I don't have to wait long. Soon enough the wooden door swings open again with a hesitant creak and Valadiel comes walking in with a smooth wooden jar filled with water. He sits back down opposite to me and slides the it over to me.

"Go ahead and drink, you must be very thirsty after resting for so long..."

I nod to him and greedily start gulping down the water. Again, this must be the best tasting water I have ever tasted in my life. How does he do it... When my thirst is finally quenched I'd emptied almost half of the jar.

"I don't know how to thank you, honestly." I say to Valadiel.

And it's true. He cared for me like nobody ever has. I want to do something in return.

But Valadiel simply chuckles, looking right into my eyes.

"You are very welcome, young one. Anyone would have done the same..."

"They wouldn't have, actually..." I mutter.

"Is that... For the same reason those boys...?"

"Yes... Everyone in the village despises me."

"I see... But I don't get it. Why would they hate you like that? You seem like a fine young lad to me."

"I'm not like the rest of them..." I say softly and bring my hand up to my ear, wiping my shoulder-long hair to the side.

I turn my head a little, showing him my ear, which was pointed at the end, but not as defined as the Elves' ears. I see Valadiel frowning and avert my gaze.

"So..." He says.

"You're a half-elf then?"