Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Elves of All Kinds (1x1)

Saelhil blinked. What a peculiar answer to such a simple question... He knew that she was probably hesitant, seeing as he was going to be her husband, and not that... that man. Her escort, was it? "You would want children if you were marrying your escort though, would you not?" Saelhil watched her for a moment.

Raeliel was caught quite off-guard by this question. She paused and stared at him, but then finally gathered herself and lifted her head high, putting her shoulders back like a proper woman. "Tch, don't be ridiculous. I told you, I've never been in love with anyone. I knew my fate, so I made sure I didn't have the...problems, that you do." She just kept walking, a little bit ahead of him however, so he couldn't see the hurt in her eyes. She missed him already. Her escort, her family, her home. She might not ever see any of them again.

"You haven't answered my question, though. Had you been marrying him, you would want children, wouldn't you?" Saelhil didn't speed up, but watched her nonetheless.

Raeliel stopped, and turned to face him. An unusual burst of emotion spit forth from her like fire. "You're a mean fool! There's no point in any of this 'what if'! You would rather be with Mirwen and I rather be with Mirathin, but we are stuck with each other, no matter how much we dislike it! So stop trying to make things worse than they already are! If you're so desperate for happiness, just take on your precious Mirwen as a concubine! We'll have a grand ol' scheme where she's your secret lover and she'll have a child and we can claim it as ours so that your people will be satisfied that our 'royal duties' have been fulfilled! Congratulations, we now have plotted out how you can live your happy life while married to a snobby little wretch who will never see her family or friends again!!" She turned and took off running. Where she was going, she had no clue. He'd find her back at the house. So she just ran into the woods. It would take a while for him to find her there, at least she hoped so.

Saelhil stopped, watching her run off. He stared after her, shaking his head. Raeliel wouldn't want him to follow her, at least not yet. And so the elf just climbed up into a tree and went in her general direction, though he stayed quite a bit behind.

Raeliel ran until she couldn't run any farther. Then, she just fell to her knees and hid her face. "A lady cries only for her people," she whispered, "A lady cries only for her people." She took in shaky breaths, trying to compose herself. "Only for her people, only for her people..." She repeated it quietly to herself, trying to reign in the swelling emotions. Finally, she just sat there, quiet. She had to go back. But was she composed enough to do so, or would she crack when she saw him again. "...that was so unladylike..." She sighed to herself and ran a hand through her hair. She couldn't believe she'd gone off on him like that. SHe was a lady, she had to act like one!

Saelhil followed her along with ease, coming to a stop once Raeliel dropped. He sighed and sat in the tree, letting her stay by herself for a while. (The reason he was following her was just in case she hurt herself, or got lost.)

Raeliel sat there for a while, composing herself and trying to get back into her 'ladylike' mindset. When the sun started to set, she got back up and started walking. But then there was a problem. She...had no clue where she was. She looked around, and tried to listen for a noise that would tell here where the village was. But...nothing. She started walking again, carefully, hoping she was going the right direction!

Saelhil stirred when he noticed Raeliel moving. He watched her, trying to decide what to do. Tell her a story?...no, never. He may have been a bit scatter-brained at times, and he could be snarky, but he was not a liar, and he never intended to become one. Honesty was his best virtue, he supposed. And so Saelhil got closer to Raeliel (she was heading north of the village), remaining in the trees.

"Raeliel," he called gently from the trees, trying not to frighten her. "Are you leaving so soon?"

Raeliel jumped slightly and spun around, a small dagger suddenly in her hand. It took her a moment to register the voice, and once she recognized it was Saelhil, she carefully tucked the dagger away in her dress again. She was always ready with self-defense. "Saelhil. What are you doing here?" She looked around, trying to find out where he was. But then she remembered; trees.

She frowned slightly. "I'm not leaving. I'm going back to the village. Were you spying on me?" She didn't like the thought that he might have seen her little breakdown.

Saelhil quietly jumped down to the ground, landing softly. He watched her for a moment. "I came to make sure you didn't hurt yourself." He took a breath. "The way you're headed, you're returning to your own village."

Raeliel watched him as he came down to the ground, then looked in the direction she'd been walking. She didn't want to admit that she was lost. "...it would take a long time for me to walk home, Saelhil." She turned her back to the north, though it ached her heart to do so. "I'm going back to your village. I have a duty to fulfill, and I won't let anyone deter me from it. Not you, not anyone. So let's just get back to the village. We have a big day tomorrow."

Saelhil watched her, sighing softly. "...of course." He fell into step behind her, not speaking for a while. What was he to do now? She quite obviously hated him even more, judging from her outburst. How could he explain to her that he wanted to make this work? Despite what she thought of him, he genuinely wanted to get to know her, and eventually, he wanted to love her. But nothing on earth would change her mind about him, at least not yet. She had her heart set on seeing their marriage as simply a duty to her people... Raeliel didn't have the intention of becoming his friend, much less trying to learn to love him. It sounded strange, Saelhil decided, to try to learn to love someone, but there was so much prejudice between the natural elves and Raeliel's people that Saelhil had decided (even before Raeliel arrived) that he would try to accept Raeliel as his wife, truly, and not just a woman he was forced to marry.

Raeliel just walked along, hoping she was going in the right direction now. She wouldn't believe it if he ever told her he wanted to see her as his wife. No, in her mind, she was quite positive that he wanted Mirwen as his wife. Raeliel walked along quietly, keeping to herself and her thoughts. Her spirits were quite low, but she was trying to keep on her best front because she was a lady, and she had a duty.

There was a great difference between Saelhil and Raeliel. Their upbringing was quite different. Raeliel learned that she had to be the very best and appear perfect for her people, so that they would never know she had any weakness. She had to do everything for her people, and nothing for herself. She was not allowed to cry, she was not allowed to whine, or get upset, or get angry. She had to be perfect. But Saelhil's people seemed much more willing of accepting a person for who they really were.

As they neared the village, Saelhil cleared his throat. "I ask for your forgiveness," he said quietly. "I didn't realize I was speaking out of line. My sincerest apologies, Lady Raeliel." (Saelhil didn't quite know why he kept calling her by her title; she was going to marry him the next day, after all!) He glanced hesitantly at her. Was she to hate him forever? He sincerely hoped not. Should she not like him, he wished at least that they could become friends. And what had she mentioned before? Him taking Mirwen as his concubine? He would never belittle Mirwen like that, nor would he disrespect Raeliel, his future wife. To betray one's wife was such a shameful act that elves of any sort should never commit. It was disgraceful to both the man's wife, and to the woman he was having an affair with. But he wouldn't bring up the matter, lest he feel the urge to tell her such things and potentially anger her once more.

(Went to nap Back now!)

Raeliel was rather surprised when he spoke, and even apologized. She closed her eyes for a few moments, but then looked down at the ground. "...of course you have my forgiveness." she said quietly. "...it must be realized that this is a difficult time for me. Your friends and family are all readily available to you here. I will never see mine again."

"What are you talking about, never seeing them again?" Saelhil tugged slightly on the bottom of his tunic. "Is it forbidden for you to visit them? Or them you?" he asked earnestly, as if it were a ridiculous notion. "Just because you are marrying into my people doesn't mean you must be cut off from yours. If that is what your father or your people believes, then I say with all due respect that he or they are extremely idiotic."

Raeliel went a bit cold at his mention of her father and people being idiotic. Not just idiotic, EXTREMELY idiotic. "It's interesting," she said with a cold tone to her voice, "How you can apologize so 'sincerely' and then call my father and people such a terrible insult barely a breath after." She turned her head away, lifting it a bit high like she did sometimes when she was trying to be the most ladylike. "While we are connecting the two peoples, it is held in belief that I should not be tied down to my home, and instead I must adapt to my husband's people and serve them as my own. In short, my old life is left behind, and I shall have no connection with it any longer. My life here is the most important now."

Saelhil sighed heavily. "But you hate it here. You think this village crude, you think my people are barbaric, and most importantly you hate me. Does your family care nothing for your happiness?...no, I suppose business and duties are more important than having a happy life. I gladly accept you into my village, but I am afraid that, no matter how much you tell yourself that duties are more important than happiness, you will never rest easily knowing that you are the wife of a Chieftain, not a Lord. Is there none else in your own village who is of enough importance to take your place?"

Raeliel stared at him as he spoke, and she set her mouth in a firm line. "You wouldn't understand. My duty is to my people. I am the only one that they can depend on. If I fail them, then I fail myself and I should never have been given life in the first place. My life is to serve my people, and I will do that, no matter what is requested of me. If jumping from a cliff would save my people, then I would do it." She looked at him coldly. "Don't ever call my father or my people idiotic. A lady stays her hand, but I don't need to slap you to teach you a lesson." She walked past him and went to the house. She'd had enough of him for today. It was just not a good day for these two.