The Marked

Annabelle leans into a conspiratorial distance with Elisayra, the two heavily intoxicated women having resisted Laihal's attempt to send them to bed adequately enough for her to give up the attempt and return to her own room for the evening. 

The marked girl had tried her best to keep up with Annabelle and Elisayra, which, given her size, had her fully unconscious and asleep in the bed the moment her head touched the soft down pillow. 

Warmed by the fire, and the booze still making its rounds through their bodies. Annabelle lowered her voice. "So… do you want to hear about the marked now? Alcohol give you enough courage to not have nightmares?" She asks. 

Elisayra nods, her body shaking slightly despite the warmth of the fire. 

Annabelle works her jaw for a moment, and takes a large drink of the water near the couches to try and sober herself up.

"You're pretty young, and I'm not much older but the crew I worked with as a bandit was, and this is what they told me about it." Annabelle starts. "Every 20 years, something called the dark star appears over the sky for three days and three nights. During that time, all magic fails and refuses to work." 

"Even slave collars?" Elisayra asks 

"Even slave collars." Annabelle confirms with a solemn nod. "They say, children who are born during those three days get all of the magic that was in the world at that time. They are marked when they are born under the star." 

"But getting all that power doesn't just make someone evil does it?" 

"Not necessarily. But it does warp their minds. That much magic in a single person? It's bound to corrupt. But even besides all the magic, the star itself is… it's a force of nature. The marked people are compelled to do what the star wants, which is remove all the magic from the world. The marked are its little minions. My old captain told me they would go berserk, kill anything and everyone in sight at the minimum." 

Elisayra's eyes go over to the nameless girl, asleep in her bed, her blood turning cold. 

Annabelle just nods, matching the half elves gaze. "The oldest man in our crew, he was a mountain dwarf who was 80 years old, he had seen the star four times total, since before the last legion was around to purge them before they grew into their power. He told us stories about what the marked used to do." 

"Like what?" 

"He said, some of them could see the future, they could know what you were going to do before you even did it. They were basically invulnerable in combat. A single marked person could stand toe to toe with high celestials, even some demigods or rulers of the hells. He told me a story once, about how the dwarves nearly went extinct. His father, who died at the age of 260 years old if you can believe, said he saw with his own two eyes, a single marked person turned the entire mountain pass to dust, the one that used to exist between the border of the kingdom and the wilds to the south. He said that nearly %70 of the entire dwarven population had lived in those couple thousand miles of mountain range, all of it gone in a single afternoon. You can't even tell there used to be mountains there any more." 

"Holy hells… how did someone that strong get stopped? If a single marked person could do that, why is anyone alive?" 

"He said that's what the hunters were for." Annabelle explains. "Apparently, again all according to this man. Some ancient mage from centuries past found a way to channel the power of the dark star and turn it into monsters, monsters that would seek out and hunt the marked people. It drains their power, makes them weak. He said that the hunters won't even attack someone who isn't marked, but I know at least that part is a lie." 

"How do you know that?" Elisayra's pointed ears perk up a bit as she leans in closer. 

"Well for one, Me and my newer crew were attacked pretty far outside of the city. Not a soul around aside from travelers, and we got attacked there." She notes, recalling the harrowing experience with a bit of a shake. 

"So maybe the other things he said were also lies?" Elisayra tries, anxious to dismiss the notions. 

"I don't think so. Maybe he was wrong about that but I trusted this man with my life. The way he spoke, the way he explained the look in his fathers eye as he shared that story. That's the kind of a fear a hardened fighter would never admit to showing, not unless the things he saw haunted him deeply." 

Elisayra's eyes flicked back to the nameless girl a few more times. 

"And that's just the start. Back in the old days, before anyone could really stop the marked, they would decimate kingdoms, entire nations even. If you ever wondered why so many kingdoms and surrounding nations are all so young, is because it was only recently with the last legions being around that we were able to do anything to stop this terror early enough. I'm not that well traveled, but my captain was. He had been to so many different places before he recruited me, and his stories line up. Nearly every bit of history for every kingdom is around 100 years old. You have huge gaps in writings on a 20 year basis, because these marked people would just destroy everything in their path. So much history lost. Apparently, my captain's old captain had even said that we would be so much more advanced if the marked didn't exist. If the dark star didn't exist." 

"You're right… the mages can't make too many things rely on magic because it will all stop working in 20 years." Elisayra notes, the gears slowly clicking into place under the weight of alcohol. 

"Exactly. Magic could be more prevalent as a whole, but the marked will specifically target mages, they are drawn to magic to seek it out and kill it. But even besides magic. We could have so many new inventions, if the marked weren't out destroying it all for generations. You have to think, it wasn't just the people they killed or the creations they would destroy either. They could turn mountain ranges to dust. Cities didn't stand a chance. Books, stone tablets even, anything and everything to help the next generation advance, gone. All of it." she snaps. "Just like that." 

"You know, you were right. Maybe I didn't want to know about all this." Elisayra admits, her body shivering as the nightmarish thoughts work through her mind. 

"Now you understand why I wanted to try and kill her…" Annabelle reasons. "But, Casper says we can't so I won't. But still. Her people, her affliction, that Mark is responsible of gods know how many deaths. They are monsters, they can't be trusted. It's only a matter of time before something happens I think and I intend to be ready for it. Casper is pretty damn strong, but I doubt he would stand a second against a marked person. Hell, look at how we all stood up to the man in black. It was like he was playing with us. All that power, and this no name girl defeated him. If she ever turned on us…" 

"Maybe we can stop talking about this now?" Elisayra asks, her hands working the hem of her shirt, as much as they could at least in their mangled state. 

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you that badly." Annabelle sighs. "But I need at least one other person to know just how dangerous these creatures are." 

Elisayra nods at that. "So what can we do?" 

"Well, Rathiel dispatched that hunter outside of the city the other night. If he wasn't around it is possible we could… convince Casper to let it defeat the nameless girl. It takes her power so it shouldn't be too hard to let it do its thing." 

"So we wait until the next hunter attacks?" 

"Probably, but we would have to convince Casper to let it kill her, for all of our safety." 

Elisayra nods again, her mind working. "I'm sure he would listen to you if you talked to him seriously about it." 

"I doubt it, I tried to mention it but he instead tried to turn it on me, tell me that perhaps the kingdom had sewn those stories as lies. But I'm not too sure. I trust Casper, truly I do. But he is from a small town and frankly is very ignorant to alot of the ways of the world. The stories I heard are from well seasoned, well traveled trained fighters who have a vested interest in staying alive. They wouldn't lie about something like that. They are too prideful to admit they are outmatched if it wasn't true, or wasn't meant to be a genuine warning." 

"Maybe we can convince him together then? Casper can be a little dense at times, dare I say too focused." Elisayra offers, prompting a nod of agreement from Annabelle. 

"Maybe…" she echoes. 

Elisayra scoots a little closer to Annabelle then, trying to steal the larger woman's warmth. 

"Annabelle?" 

"Yes?" 

"Do you think it would be too much trouble to sleep next to you tonight?" Elisayra asks, her eyes once more flicking to the nameless girl. "I… am a little scared now." 

Annabelle chuckles and shakes her head. "Are you sure about that? I don't want to crush you in your sleep." 

"I think I'd like to take that risk, given the alternative." Elisayra shivers. 

"Then sure, you can sleep next to me, I'll keep you safe." Annabelle teases slightly, flexing a bicep to strengthen the point. 

The two women add a few more logs to the fireplace to keep the room warm before returning to Annabelle's bed. 

Elisayra makes quick work of putting herself between Annabelle and the far wall, squished between the metaphorical rock and a hard place, though which was which in the analogy was hard to tell. 

Annabelle threw the blankets over herself and the half elf, only to nearly instantly find herself regretting the decision when Elisayra turned to hug on to her middle section. 

The warmth of the room, and the warmth of their bodies under the blanket began to reignite the strange thoughts that she had tried her best to put to bed in her mind. 

This time at least, she had the excuse of being drunk to dismiss the notions that slowly rose and fell nearly in time with each of Elisayra's breaths.

Annabelle had heard rumors and stories of people getting close out of prolonged periods of time in proximity, and she did find herself developing a friendship with this little half elf given just how much they had all spent together. 

Even if not all of that time was bonding or conversation, there was something very primal about the bond formed through the mere act of sharing meals around a fire, sleeping close to one another, relying on one another, fighting alongside one another. It wasn't until relatively recently she and Elisayra began actively talking and interacting more outside of meals and essential dialogue but the bond was fast forming regardless. 

Annabelle never thought she would be close to a half anything in general. Not that she was much higher up in the social hierarchy. But she was a little higher, and that status over half races, was worth its weight in gold for a lone unmarried woman. 

Maybe it was Elisayra's attitude towards things, that way she constantly strived to be an asset. That level of raw hard work and dedication Annabelle found appealing. Or Maybe it was Elisayra's constant positive attitude towards nearly everything, despite how many times the world around her tried to keep her down in the mud.

If Annabelle had to pin it down, she would be hard pressed to come to any one single conclusion about why she found herself fast friends with Elisayra. However, in trying her best to dissect the reasoning she ended up landing on one that, to her, made the most sense. 

At the end of the day, at the end of everything really, Elisayra was the exact opposite of Annabelle. And in that opposite she possessed the kind of traits Annabelle needed to be around. 

Annabelle's own suffering and experience made her callous, jaded, and angry at the world. And now, in her inebriated state she had the ability to self-reflect enough to understand that one person can only harbor that kind of shit for so long before it started to rot a person. In fact, if Annabelle was being honest with herself, she knew she was turning rotten, but didn't know how to cleanse that. 

Elisayra was, and had, everything Annabelle needed. Despite the shit and suffering and very likely horrible life Elisayra had, she still managed to smile nearly every day. She worked hard, she strived for more. She made something of herself. She holds out hope even if that hope gets her kicked in the stomach nearly every time. 

Call it naivety, call it hopeless idealism, whatever it was, it was a beacon of light for Annabelle who had been so lost in the dark for so long she forgot what that kind of simple positivity could do. 

Maybe she thought simply being close enough to that kind of personality would help clear out the garbage she held onto. Or maybe it was just nice to be around someone who wasn't an asshole after years of surrounding herself with exactly that. 

Maybe that desire had managed to warp itself into something else in her mind, and that was the reason she found herself looking at Elisayra's face as she slept, secretly hoping for something a little more than just the closeness of friendship. 

Annabelle shook her head, only to regret the act as the headache came on shortly after. 

She needed to squash these thoughts before they festered into something illegal…

Easier said than done though. 

Annabelle turned away from Elisayra, putting her back to the half elf, trying to keep the scent of her out of her nose, and mind. 

Just how long had it been since she had been with someone? Anyone? No wonder she was thinking these things. 

For as much of a seasoned fighter as she was, she sure as shit felt a coward for being too scared to pursue Casper. 

If only she could channel her confidence at fighting into confidence with flirting enough to convince Casper to relieve some of this tension she had felt for the better part of a few weeks now. 

Though, would Casper even consider reciprocating in the way she wanted? Sure, getting a release would be one thing but she wasn't a one night stand kind of lady and she certainly wasn't a friends with benefits one either. 

She had caught Casper looking at her a number of times, but would he ever consider something serious? 

Could he? 

She was far from a traditionally beautiful woman, or an ideal one at that. Surely Casper, a man born in a small village would want a more traditional partner. Someone soft and docile and agreeable to be with. A woman to cook and clean. Annabelle wouldn't be caught dead cleaning, and she sure as hell didn't know how to cook. She wasn't small, docile, or agreeable. 

She wasn't just far from a traditional wife, she was functionally the polar opposite. Hell if Elisayra wasn't a half elf she was sure the girl would make the picture perfect wife to a man like Casper. 

Maybe that was the mental block for her. The fear of being rejected for who she was… the fear of trying to put herself out there, only for Casper to laugh in her face for ever thinking he would be with a woman like her. 

Annabelle huffed slightly. 

Gods she was a fucking coward. Wasn't it better to try and fail than to not try at all? 

How long had she been feeling these things and simply refusing to do anything productive with them. 

She owed Casper a life debt. The worst case scenario for her would be rejection at the end of the day. She would still get to be with him as a protector and hopefully as an acquaintance or friend. 

Wouldn't it be worse to drag this out, and live in the unknown as opposed to just getting an answer and getting over it? 

Then again, if she tried to press this too early it would surely fail. 

In that case, she needed to make sure Casper held the same kind of feelings. She couldn't simply put herself out there and expect the man she respected to reciprocate given the fact that they had only ever had a number of conversations equal to fingers on both hands. 

She needed to play her role here. Casper as it is now, is not short on options for women. It was then her responsibility to initiate, to try and show him that it was her who was worth picking out of the options. 

Besides, Casper is a man of principle, one of the main reasons she finds him so appealing. He would never engage or try and initiate a relationship with someone indebted to him. She would need to show him directly that it was her want and desire. 

She could do that. Little steps, one piece at a time she could do that. 

Annabelle closed her eyes, and ran through the imaginary conversations she could have with him. The positions she could put herself into, put him into, in order to make her intent clear. 

It would be hard work, and perhaps the alcohol gave her the confidence she needed to make this decision, but dammit if she wasn't going to try her best to go through with it. 

Besides, maybe her pursuit of Casper would help get her mind off her still wandering thoughts of Elisayra…

For now though, as the thoughts of Casper and Elisayra both lingered in her mind, she couldn't help but also think of the nameless girl, asleep in the large bed. 

If she could get close to Casper, she could try harder to warn him about her. She could possibly persuade him to make the right decision. 

As selfish as the thought was, it was in her nature. In this world there are predators and prey. To a marked person, everyone is prey. She cared about Casper, about Elisayra, about Alex and Nephinae. Maybe not so much about Laihal, but still. 

She wanted to keep them safe, keep the people she cared about out of harm's way. And that meant keeping this marked girl away from them. 

Perhaps that was another factor to drive her to decide this was something she needed to seriously pursue. 

Right, to keep them all safe, she needed to be closer. Of course. Playing into her nature to help give her the courage. It wasn't about what she wanted, though she did want it, it was about keeping them all safe. 

That was it then. Her way forward. Her courage after the alcohol leaves her in the morning. 

She would do everything she could to keep Casper safe, safe from this marked girl. And that just so happened to mean trying to court him. 

How very convenient for her.