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

Belle clasped a hand over her mouth, tears welling up in her eyes. Her mother! She just knew it was her, after so long!

"She was with that human." Saelhil moved towards Raeliel, and gestured towards the young girl in their midst. "She says that she's Belle, Rae." He studied the girl. "She does look like her, doesn't she? But I don't know why anyone would try to pull something like this. In any event, she was likely that human's slave, so we'll have her stay here for a bit until she can get back on her feet. Meanwhile, she should definitely send a message to those humans that our land isn't a place they can come to on a whim."

"P-Please, Father, no!" Belle exclaimed, moving to come kneel at his feet—a very human show of respect and humility. "Please, don't hurt him. He's done nothing to hurt me; he brought me here, to you. He's the kindest human I've ever met; you cannot hurt him!"

Raeliel stared at her. "...Belle? That...that's not possible. I don't know how you learned of our past or what you think you might get out of this guise, but we will not tolerate it!" She looked more hurt than angry, and she took hold of Saelhil's arm. When Belle begged like that for the life of a human, Rae's face twisted slightly in a look of pain and disgust. She turned away. "It's horrid what they do to them now. Taking away all of their free will..." She let go of her husband and crouched down, taking Belle's hands. "Sister, please. It's okay. I know he might have seemed nice, but these humans have done awful things. He deserves every bit of what he's going to get, I promise. You don't ever have to worry about a human owning you again. It's okay." The noise outside increased, and Rae looked up. "What in the world is happening out there? It's not normally this noisy..."

whoops

Belle looked nearly in tears. "N-No, if something is happening to him—" She broke away from Raeliel to run outside. Please, let it not be Arthur—

"Hey, come back!" Saelhil blinked, and looked at Raeliel, before hurrying out after Belle. What was that girl doing!?

Raeliel was surprised, too! She followed after the girl as well, confused. Arthur was shirtless, hands bound behind his back. He'd already incurred cuts and bruises. The woman from earlier held a whip. The crowd of elves were shouting, things like 'revenge' and 'penance' and 'how do YOU like it'. But there were no whip marks on him yet, except for a couple on his arms and the bleeding wound from the arrow. Every time the woman cracked the whip he spun around, narrowly avoiding the stinging ends. Each avoidance made the crowd shout angrily and try to surge in to grab hold of him. They had finally managed to grab him, and the woman was just raising up the whip when Belle came running out.

"No!" Belle practically screamed, shoving through the crowd to throw herself between Arthur and the woman. "DON'T TOUCH HIM!" she nearly snarled, her sweet countenance replaced with one of anger. She glared defiantly at the woman holding the whip. "How DARE you hurt him! You think it revenge by doing just as his people has done?! Then you are foolish!" She now looked at the crowd as well. "You all are no better than humans, yourselves!"

Saelhil stopped at the edge of the crowd, and frowned. What on earth... This girl was actually protecting the human! He parted through the crowd to get to her and grabbed her wrist rather roughly. "This is not your business anymore," he hissed in her ear. "You haven't experienced what humans have done to us, have you, girl? Or have they brainwashed you so much to make you take sides with that filth?" His eyes flickered to the human man, then back to Belle. "He deserves every once of blood he loses, every disgusting cry of pain." He looked to the woman with the whip. "Feel free to ontinue. We'll send him back to his town. If those humans want barbaric, we'll give it to them." And he started pulling Belle away.

Belle suddenly began struggling more than she had struggled in a long time. "No, Arthur!" she cried out, tears streaming down her cheeks as Saelhil dragged her away from the human. "Don't hurt him, please! Stop!"

Arthur stared as she came over. "Belle?!" And then there was suddenly a man pulling her away. "Belle!!" He jumped, pulling his arms up under his feet so they were in front of him and he shoved against his captors. The whip cracked and pain flashed through him but he shoved his way through the crowd, and swung his fists at the man's face "Let go of her!!" He slammed his side into the man. "Belle, go! Run!!" The elves were on him in an instant for attacking the chieftain and he was subdued in moments like a wild animal, ropes wrapped around his arms, neck and legs, leaving him on the ground. Raeliel was just watching. "...Saelhil." she said softly to her husband. "...he's protecting her." And he was calling her 'Belle'.

Saelhil stumbled slightly as the human attempted to attack him. He took a breath and rubbed his jaw where the man had hit him, and watched as the man was quickly restrained. Yes, he had noticed he was protecting her. Saelhil glanced over as the elf girl stared at Arthur, before suddenly turning and running off into the forest. He sighed slightly and looked to two of his scouts. "Retrieve her, please," he said with a nod towards the woods, and he took a breath. The chieftain glanced at Raeliel. "...very strange indeed." He cleared his throat and looked to the men restraining the human. "Bring him to my home. I wish to speak with this... Arthur." The human name sounded like venom on Saelhil's lips, but he turned to go back to his home, offering a gesture for Raeliel to come along as well if she wished.

Meanwhile, Belle ran. She kept running, out of sight of the village, tears blurring her vision and lungs tightening up. She went as far as she could before hiding behind a tree, gasping and panting to try and catch her breath. Hot tears streaming down her face as she choked back sobs, made worse by her breathing problems. "No, no... It's all my fault..." She slid down the tree to sit, pulling her legs to her chest so she could hide her face in her knees and cry.

Arthur was taken off to Saelhil's house, and Raeliel followed. Arthur glared at Saelhil. "What do you want with her? Let her go! I'm the reason we're even out here." Meanwhile, it was easy for them to find Belle. She wasn't exactly being quiet. It was a group, so they lifted her up bodily and carried her back to the village, giving her no chance to escape or resist. They kept her in one of the other houses to get her calmed down until Saelhil sent for her.
Arthur was not a happy camper. He was injured, bleeding and angry. "Is this how you welcome anyone who's just passing through? Is this how you treat travelers? No wonder humans consider you such savages! You don't even let people pass through!"

Saelhil scowled at the human. "I offered peace!" he snapped angrily. "I was the first to offer peace after years of war, and you humans repay us by starting another war? You burned down my village, killed half of my people and stole half of those left alive!" It took all he had not to take a fist to the human's face. He sighed heavily and shook his head. "I thought humans had changed. And yet here you are..." He laughed bitterly. "You come so blatantly into our land toting along an elf slave. You truly thought we would let you pass through with one of our own under your ownership like an animal?" He huffed. "So why exactly are you 'passing through', human?"

Arthur frowned and looked away, only looking back at Saelhil when he was questioned. "I'm doing penance. My father used to attack these villages and destroy those in them. I was sickened by it. But I was just a boy, I couldn't do a thing to stop him. He ruined a lot of lives. I think he might have attacked her village. We're looking for her family. She called them...Selhil, and Raylee? Something along those lines. Her parents are a natural elf and a proper elf. I knew they might have been in one of the villages my father attacked. So I'm trying to help her find her family so that she can have back at least some of the life that my father stole from her." He sighed slightly. "You have to leave her alone. Don't attack her, don't threaten her. She has breathing problems, they're agitated during times of emotional stress. Just let her go."
Raeliel stared in absolute shock, then she looked over to her husband. "...could it...be true?"

(I gotta go to bed, very reluctantly I'll post more responses tomorrow!)

{Auggghhhh, it's getting so good! xD Sleep well!}

Saelhil was silent for a few long moments. He glanced at Raeliel. "...we'll have Valenthion visit her. He'll know." He cleared his throat and turned his attention back to the human. "Very well, human. The girl will be safe, but under our care. But what do you suggest we do with you? Care to do penance for the rest of your kind, human? Or would you rather be left just barely alive so you can warn your brethren about us, mm?"

(I knoooow xD I had to be up super duper early this morning and after this I won't be able to post for a few hours, but once my morning's done I'll be able to post a lot again lol)

Raeliel nodded, now entirely distracted by the fact that this MIGHT be her baby! That girl might be her child, the one she held and cradled and fretted over her health night and day. Arthur sighed slightly at the question of himself. "Well, ideally I'd be left alive so that I can continue to take care of the others in my house. And..." He sighed slightly again and looked down at the floor. "I don't think Belle would ever forgive herself if I died because we came here."

{okie doke!}

"Belle needn't know anything," Saelhil said flippantly, waving his hand dismissively. "But the people need someone to take out their frustrations on... Lest we savages end up capturing other travelers, or heaven forbid us going into cities!" He glared slightly at Arthur, but noticed his wife's distracted look. "...Rae, go see her, if you wish." And in an odd break from his scowling and glaring at the human, he leaned over to softly kiss Raeliel's temple, before looking sternly back at the human. "Now, unless you give me a good reason not to, I'm sending you back out there to my village. I'm offering you a chance to talk your way out of unbearable pain and near death experiences, but I'm not a patient man." He crossed his arms over his chest, quirking a blonde brow at the human.

(posting because I'm skipping class in favor of noms and sleep )

Arthur felt the pain throbbing through his body, and the blood trickling down his back. He took in a deep breath and looked at Saelhil calmly. "I'll give you the reason. Belle is right. You shouldn't treat one person based on others. You don't know anything about me. You don't know what I have or haven't done. Killing me because of what my species did is like killing a foal because one of the stallions knocked a rider off." He kept his gaze on Saelhil. "I came here in peace to find Belle's family. I bought her from the market to save her from the lechers that were interested in her. I gave her a safe place, food, clothes, and friends. And I'll be damned if I'll let you put her in any kind of harm's way. I've seen how your people look at her. How YOU treat her! To you all she's nothing but a disgusting little puppy, she's not even treated as an elf by you anymore. She's some 'mind-numbed' ignorant child! I will not let her stay in a community that treats her like an outcast, like she's stupid. So do what you want with me, but I'll make sure that she's free, and what happens to me will be on your conscience. And you elves live a long time. You'll have to deal with it much longer than I will."

{You rebel!}

Saelhil's eyes narrowed at the human, but he didn't move to harm him, not yet. He exhaled softly. "Her family. Describe them to me, as I suppose she did to you. Belle will stay with her family, that's for sure. She doesn't need your care any longer." If this man was telling the truth, then Saelhil would have to thank him...but he would never do that. If this woman was his sweet little Belle and this human had 'saved' her, as he put it, then Saelhil truly owed him. But the chieftain was almost hoping that he was lying, just so he wouldn't have to give his trust to another human.

Arthur thought carefully. "She had a brother...he was blind, she said. Half-human. Her mother found him during a war and they decided to adopt him. This was before she was born. Her father was a natural elf, and her mother was a proper one. They were married as a treaty between the two groups. She mentioned an aunt, too. She said her family used to go down to the beach a lot because of her breathing problems." He glanced at Saelhil. "If you know of this couple, you have to take her to them. The last village we were at sent us North, but then your people captured us."

(Gotta go for a bit but I'll be posting lots in two hours when I get out of work!)

{Kidoke!}

Saelhil's scowl faltered. How did he know all of this? Had he gone through the trouble of looking up their past, or... "It really is Belle..." He straightened slightly, and took a breath. How had he not recognized his own daughter?! He opened his mouth to say something else, before a young man stepped in. He didn't look much older than Arthur.

"Father, did you see her? Did you see—" The young man froze. "Who is this?" He wasn't even looking at Arthur. "A human?" He turned his head just slightly in the direction of Arthur.

"Yes. He's the one that—"

"You brougt Belle home?" the young man asked in disbelief. "That's incredible! But why? Who are—"

"Valenthion!" Saelhil said sternly. "Be still."

Valen flinched, before sighing. "Yes, Father." He took a breath. "So it's true, then? Belle's home?"

"...I believe so."