The crackling of the fire and the setting sun made a peaceful mood for the two figures who sat on large stones having a not so peaceful conversation as night time came upon the two of them who were waiting for the other three to return
"you see in the elven villages…" Alice started, her eyes going to the fire "elves are usually born with yellow hair and sometimes green hair but the color black was always thought of as a curse," she said her lips quirking down
Willem frowned
"it was an old superstition regarding an incident that was caused by a dark elf many years ago" she continued "it was said that those born of a dark elf and a normal elf would cause nothing but death and suffering to those around them," she said her voice dropping to a whisper
Willem's eyes widened in realization.
She was the half-dark elf who Siris spoke about.
"When I was born they had my father executed and tried to kill me." she said barely raising her voice, "the old text says that infants of the joined pair were to be killed on sight cause they cause nothing but devastation and pain"
Willem's frown deepened
"my mother refused to let me be killed and left the village with me in tow," she said a ghost of a smile forming on her face "and for a few decades we lived there in a small hut in the middle of the woods next to a beautiful river"
Willem knew where this was heading.
He just wished he didn't
"We had a simple life. Just her and me…" suddenly her tone dropped with her eyes falling downcast "but then one day when I was gathering firewood I heard her scream"
And there it was.
"When I got there I was panting from the exhaustion but all saw was our burnt house and claw prints on the ground," she said her eyes going watery at its edges "I was alone for a few days before an elder decided to take me into an orphanage in the village"
Willem's frown deepen as dark thoughts overcame him
"being a child and an orphan I had no choice but to come with him" she continued obviously fighting the tears at bay "everyone at the orphanage who got closed to me got into danger,"
Willem paused.
Something didn't seem right about this story.
It was like he was missing a few keen details.
"so please don't talk to me anymore!" she stared at Willem directly her eyes blazing with determination "I'm a monster! I don't want you hurt too."
"you are not a monster" Willem argued firmly
"But I am! If it wasn't for you the three of us here would've died because of me!" she argued back more fiercely
Wille sighed again.
This was too familiar territory
Someone with who's been called a monster for so many years they actually start believing it
So imitating an act that William's father did to him and his father before him if they ever believed the word of they're peers
"oww!"
He flicked her forehead. hard.
"don't be an idiot" he repeated his father's words wrapping his arm comfortingly around her back and ruffled her hair roughly
"huh?" Alice asked in confusion red tinging her cheeks from the contact "but the elders said-"
"bah! to hell with your people's tradition and superstitions" he cut her off like a stubborn old man that he was "you know something? People's opinions shouldn't matter to you. Let me tell you a story"
"a story?"
"there was once a boy who was different from the rest of the children…" he started looking to the moon in reminiscence "he didn't act like the other children his age hence why he was avoided by the others"
"What does this have to do with- oww!" she tried to interject only to get her forehead flicked again this time harder
"don't interrupt me, brat" he scolded as the dark-haired elf rubbed at her forehead "as I was saying the boy didn't act like his age. The other children often referred to him as an emotionless kid who doesn't know what fun was" willed snorted
"what do you mean?"
"I mean the kid knew nothing but doing work on a small farm him and his father owned" he clarified "and for a while, he believed them. Spending a year or so thinking they were right he went on with his days with no fun or purpose he simply worked"
"That sounds sad"
"well, it was. That was until his father saw him"
"did he cheer up his son?" Alice asked hopefully
"nope, he flicked him on the forehead so hard he felt it till the next and following days and put his arms around his shoulders" Alice sweatdropped
then her eyes went wide
Wasn't he doing the exact same thing?
"And you know what he said to me?" he asked rhetorically, "he said son, did I raise you to be an idiot?" Willem barked in laughter
Alice tilted her head to the side in confusion
"I denied him and he flicked me again twice as hard" he continued " then he asked me then why in hells ass did you believe those little shits?"
Alice winced a bit at the creative language
"then he flicked my forehead a third time and said to me" Willem chuckled making his voice old and raspy "people judge anything that moves. and to accept their judgment means to accept defeat. You are what you deem yourself to be." the words were spoken directly at Alice before snapping back to himself
"Now get your ass back to watering the fields!" he exclaimed catching her off guard "sorry about that it was just a natural reaction to add that to anything my dad says" Willem scratched his head sheepishly
Alice laughed.
"my point is, don't let other's words get to ya" Willem patted her back before going back to skinning the deer "and the only opinion you need to obey is your own. and to hell with anyone who says otherwise" the dark elf said facing away from her
A comfortable silence settled over the two as they went back to what they were doing beforehand
Willem knew not to give out hope that she would just instantly stop hating her heritage and stop believing she was a monster not meant to exist. but he thought he gave her a pretty good start
It was all up to her now.
whether she wanted to believe and live by her set of rules and opinions it or not and continue to let others depict what she is.
Willem felt a small tap on his shoulder
"hm?" he looked back to the dark-haired elf
"thank you…" she mumbled quickly before turning red under his gaze and turning back just as fast going back to tending the fireplace
"man, elves are weird" Willem mumbled
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Willem found himself perched on a tree once more after a training session with siris which was mainly him beating him while he scrambled to try and mount a defense while Willem told him what he was doing wrong
The three of them were aparently scouting around the erea and found that the monsters were sent to attack Lunaria city the whole time and they just happened to be in the way
his hand clenched
Willem calmed himself
"They will be fine." He told himself knowing Sebas and Lilian were well inside the protective gates of the city by now
He instead found himself mulling over this new group he decided to help
The girl Annie watched with great interest as Siris failed to block swing after swing of the sticks in the hand of Willem
She was about the height 4'3 with long locks of hair leading to her hips and wore a strange variation of Alice's clothes which was probably a uniform of some sort
Allesandra or Alice as she liked to be called was about exactly his height with the black shoulder-length hair the elves thought of as a curse
While the one named Lucius was about the same height as Siris but instead of forgoing his shirt he had a cloth tunic paired with red pants and unlike Siris who's hair was kept short Lucius kept his at just about shoulder length
"Hua!!!" and speaking of said blonde elf Willem could hear him in just outside their little campsite
Willem craned his head.
From across the trees, he saw the boy swinging a dagger, his stance was much like Siris's wich looked European in style
"his legs are too close to each other…" he mumbled
Try as he might, Willem had always had a knack for teaching others the way of battle. His time in the army was well spent on ensuring rookies return to their families alive after all
So before he knew it Willem was already behind the boy
"your stance is too wide, your balance is off, and your form could use a bit of work" he had said immediately upon reaching him
Lucius jumped in surprise when he heard Willem's voice but scowled when he turned around
"and who are you to tell me what I'm doing wrong!?" he asked angrily
So he was one of those…
Willem had dealt with a number of trainees over the course of his life and always, without fail there were the ones who thought they didn't need help or preferred to figure stuff out on their own
They were also the easiest ones to manipulate
"I'm the person who saved your asses when you were off hiding in the corner, " Willem said making it a point to sound more arrogant than he was
"I didn't need your help!" Lucius shouted throwing himself at Willem, dagger in hand.
He was on his back in three seconds flat.
Whilst he did admit that his sword training was average and basic at best what he did have was immense training in the Kali dagger forms and CQC
This fight even if they used real daggers wouldn't even meet flesh
"your too slow, keep your center of gravity in the middle of your stance and not leaning to the side" he taunted causing Lucius to throw himself at him again
Willem sidestepped the blow and took Lucius's feet from under him in one swift move that required no more than a shift in weight
Perhaps if Lucius used a sword he would have had to use his machete for blocking or used a more advanced catching technique
But alas Lucius's main weapon happened to be Willem's as well
And even when using a blade meant for work instead of combat Willem's prowess with the tool was better than the younger elf's
"what's wrong? Too scared to follow a dark elf's advice thinking its too much for you?" Willem baited and smirked when he saw Lucius begin to take his advice
"I'm not scared of anything! Not you or anyone!" he charged again this time following his advice
Willem chuckled inwardly
'he's gonna be so pisssed once he figures out I tricked him'