Panicked gripped Emilio as he woke, drenched and gasping for air. As his vision cleared he could see the brilliant blue of the sky reflected in a pair of concerned eyes staring down at him. He reached up and touched the bare shoulder of the elf woman that leaned over him, dangerously close to his lips. Water dripped down long strands of golden hair and struck his face.
"You finally woke up. I was afraid the lyndwyrm would make me a liar, Sir Arand," Leanhaun sighed with relief. Her wet clothes clung against her small frame. He could clearly see that his taunt about her stuffing her bodice had been incorrect. She was petite and buxom. So close, had it not been for the blade shaped ears, he would have thought he had woken in Heaven to an angel.
He shivered as the ache of his body pulled him from his stupor. Emilio tried to understand what had happened. His hand touched his own wet hair as he looked beyond the elf to the dark shadow in the sky for all the world, a floating island. His eyes moved down to his left and the sound of lapping waves - the lake.
It was all too bizarre. He couldn't remember a book or scroll that mentioned such things were possible. Were these the types of things that Markos was so used to? The wonderous things that changed his friend from the jovial young man into a road weary warrior of the Order.
"What did you do to me?" He coughed and wondered if he at least looked cooler than he felt. The weight of his breastplate was absent and his right hand found the hilt of his sword. He wondered if Leanhaun had actually summoned that… creature. The thought made his blood boil.
"You sank into the lake and drowned. I was able to pull you out of the water before the undine got you," she explained. Her body radiated heat as she lingered over him. She offered a soft smile that was friendly. He felt conflicted. There were too many questions but if he had drowned that meant…
Emilio recalled the name "undine". He recognized it from one of his many lessons. What had he learned about the creature in his training? Undine were one of the four elemental sprites and their realm was water. They were famous for dragging people into the watery depths to drown them and eat them. It was pretty much all of the magical world they were taught, everything they encountered would attempt to murder and eat them.
"How did you bring me back to life?" His grip tightened against her shoulder. His jaw shifted as he stared at her. If she was bothered by the pressure under his hand, she did not show any discomfort. She didn't seem perplexed by any of it.
"I breathed life back into you and forced the water out of you," her voice was calm and her gaze did not move from his face as she explained.
"Breathed? You… brought me back with a kiss?" His face reddened as his fingers wrapped around the grip of his sword. He'd never in all of his years kissed a woman that he wasn't related to. Imelda teased him mercilessly about his prudence.
"Not quite but that is close enough. You should go before it gets dark, the spirits here get restless at night," she softly offered. She smoothed a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she glanced upwards for a moment.
As the sunlight caressed her, he was dazzled by her brilliance once more. She was gorgeous. Her features were fine, and the lips were kissable. He had been raised to be a proper gentleman. Courting and affection were things only to be shared with your beloved. To have his first kiss stolen by this heathen wench under the guise of saving his life was just too much.
'How dare she!' He silently seethed, forcing his expression to stay calm. "Before I… what is your real name?"
She smiled at the question with a thoughtful expression on her face. She considered his face as she tried to pull away from him. "Sintija."
He caught her, almost cradled her in his embrace as he tightened grip around her and thrust the Maraium blade into her chest. The light in her eyes darkened as she let out a soft gasp of surprise.
Emilio felt a shift in the air that reminded him of the onset of a summer storm. He threw her away from him, withdrawing his sword. He sprung up to his feet, raising his sword to finish the elf woman off. Sintija curled on the ground before him, crimson blossomed across the cream of her blouse.
"Markos," she whispered into the dirt barely audible as blood erupted from her lips.
He hesitated, his sword lowered for a moment as he stared at her in puzzlement. "How do you know that name?" More questions sprang into this mind. Had she pulled his friend's name from his memories? Was she a mind reader? If she was, why had he been able to stab her? But what would she have to gain by mentioning that name so softly just now?
"Answer me, Sintija."
Blood gushed onto the ground, making a thick paste of copper stained mud. The air stank of copper and fear. Her hands clawed at the earth beneath her and glowed sickly blue. Her face was darkened by dirty strands of hair. She murmured low and he leaned in to hear her.
Dirt erupted around him with a thundering roar as he heard Sintija hiss her spell, "Hesperus answer my call and claim what was stolen from Mara!" Her eyes flashed blazing blue as she trembled. She stood shakily, clutching a patch of mud over the front of her wound. She was shorter than him but he felt her presence tower and crash over him.
He resolved too late that he had made a grave mistake in not finishing her off. His eyes widened as his attempt to swing his sword was met with the hard press of solid soil. His feet sank as was dragged downward. In a panic, he looked up at Sintija. For a moment, their eyes met. Hurt and betrayal cloud those beautiful blue eyes beneath a storm of tears. He shamefully looked away as the world vanished behind a veil of earth and rock.
"Return to the mud where you belong, lower than the worms for breaking your word." Her words were pained, charged with thunder. "Oathbreaker," rang in his ears as the rushing sound of dirt filled in around him. He clawed at the earth above him in a panic. Nothing was there to save him this time. Only darkness and condemnation of the elf were left for him now.