Bound by Honor

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Her reaction instantly set him at ease and Anrar ducked his head a bit shyly at the praise, but his dark green eyes sparkled with happiness at hearing it. He couched down then without a word and stirred the fire further before looking up again. A frown made his brows furrow as he caught Evel biting her lip again. She only did such things when scared, worried or thinking about something that was making her uneasy or off-balance. There was nothing here to be scared of, he didn't think she was worried about anything so it had to be the last option.

The elemental stood and he reached out without really thinking about it, palming her cheek gently and tilting her face to look up at him as the blond gave her a questioning look. "What's wrong? Did I hurt you?"

Crap, maybe he shouldn't have done that technique without knowing what it could do first. He'd not even really thought about it, didn't even know how he'd done it. It had just been instinctive, but what if he'd harmed her somehow?
 
Evel blushed when he asked and shook her head. "No, I'm fine, just.... just thinking." She moved away from her friend's hand to curl up a bit more. "I should probably get to sleep if I want to stay awake during second watch..." She flipped around, not wanting Anrar to notice her blush more than he already did.

She quickly fell asleep after lying there for a few minutes, mind off in dreamland. She smiled a bit in her sleep, her dreams taking her back to those imaginary parents, only this time including Anrar who was holding her, keeping her warm. She curled up in his arms, enjoying the fire elemental's hold. Her imaginary parents smiled knowingly and simply congratulated them, knowing the man would take care of her daughter. The dream made Evel feel warm inside, made her almost wish she would never wake up to the hard realities of life. So she simply enjoyed the dream while it lasted.

Owls hooted as the night wore on. It slowly got closer and closer to Evel's turn to take watch, a pack of wolves howling at the large moon. The stars seemed to be shining just a bit brighter that night.
 
Anrar was struggling with wondering if he should feel hurt by her abrupt dismissal and turn away from him, and he moved back, unsure if he'd done something wrong or not. It bothered him when she did that, when she pulled back or hesitated to touch him or became scared of what he might do. She thought he didn't notice such things, that she was hiding it well, but Anrar knew better. Did she really think he could hurt her, that he would? He'd rather die first. They'd known each other for years and he might jump or flinch if she laid a hand on him without his knowledge but he'd never lashed out at her.

And he always listened to her, without judgement, with sound advice and with care. Why wouldn't she talk to him now?

Such thoughts troubled him throughout his watch and Anrar didn't bother waking Evel when it came her turn to do so. He wouldn't sleep well tonight anyway and the last thing he needed was a half-attempt at sleep that would be plagued with nightmares from hell, probably with most of them involving Evel drowning or turning a cold shoulder to him. Most likely both and he didn't want to have to deal with either of them. No, the closest he got to a bedroll was when he approached Evel again sometime in the night and once more covered her in a haze of heat, making sure she slept soundly.

It was only when the dawn was starting to touch the sky, turning it a lovely shade of pink before the bright yellow sun would show its face, that the elemental moved to his friend and shook her shoulder lightly. He'd already fed, saddled and bridled both horses, and put away his own bedroll. He was fully prepared for a lecture, too.

"Evel. Time to wake, little bird."
 
Evel scrunched her nose before sitting up. "Is it time for my watch?" She asked before noticing that it was light out. She blinked before standing up and taking her bedroll, rolling it up to put it away. "You took both watches, didn't you Anrar? I don't care if I needed the sleep, I can deal with not having a full night's rest. It's not healthy for you to stay up all night then travel all day. You'll probably fall asleep on your horse and then fall off, getting yourself hurt in the process!" She put the roll away before sighing and turning back to the tall knight. "Look, I appreciate you getting the horses set up, so thank you for that. And... I'm sorry if I did something last night that made you feel like you had to stay up or did something that made you think too much. I just want you to stay healthy, alright?"

After the whole rant, Evel untied her horse and mounted it, taking the reins in her hand. She smiled as the horse shook his head, snorting as he was ready to go. "I know Epona, we'll get moving soon." She whispered, stroking the stallion's mane. She looked back to Anrar, waiting for him to get going. She wasn't sure where they were heading from here so she trusted Anrar to take the lead.

Though the birds chirped in the air, Evel dreaded meeting these faeries. She had heard they were mischievous creatures, taking what they wanted and doing what they pleased. What if they decided that killing herself and Anrar was what they wanted to do? Or maybe they would turn out somewhat crazy like those mermaids they met. Whatever was going to happen, she was not looking forward to it.
 
Anrar had been expecting her words, so for the most part he ignored the rant, merely nodding to his friend as she went on, knowing that he'd do it again in a heartbeat despite her displeasure. He gave her a side glance when she mentioned falling off his horse and shook his head, amused. Right. He'd never fallen off his horse in his life....well, except that ONE time with the arrow in his shoulder...for three days and the fever....but that was entirely different than sleep deprivation! If she thought one night of no sleep could break him so easily....well, Anrar was rather glad she didn't know about the two times he'd been tortured on while on two separate missions. The evidence was on his body, of course, but Evel hadn't seen him shirtless since they were younger.

Still, point was he could endure a lot more and still function. Staying on a horse was rather easy.

Her next words made him look away. She knew him too well sometimes and he both loved and hated it in turns. Right now it was neither, just resignation that took him as he merely gave her a nod, unusually quiet this morning even by his standards and especially while alone with Evel. If there was a time he'd talk, it was when no one else was around, but today he was closed-mouthed as he swung up on Firekicker and they started out. Their destination was the towering rock in the distance, about a half hour ride away and Anrar sent his horse trotting for it.

As they grew closer, his dark green eyes looked back to his friend, finally speaking. "You can stop worrying so much. They aren't going to harm us." He spoke the words without really knowing how he knew and winced slightly, pain taking up residence at his temples again. This place was making his head ache constantly and he very much disliked it even if it did mean his memories were coming back.
 
"You never really know for certain... Are you sure you're alright, Anrar? You've been quieter than usual..." Evel rode up to be next to him, giving him a worried glance. She hoped that she hadn't done anything to make him this quiet. Maybe it was just the headaches that he kept getting from being around here. If she could give him something to relieve the pain, she would.

When the two arrived at the rock, Evel steadied her horse, looking around it. This was where the faeries were? How exactly were they suppose to get them to show their faces? Call for them? Tell them that they needed the water and would not hurt them if they gave it to them?

Those all sounded like horrible ideas. Evel looked over to Anrar. It looked like that throughout this whole thing, the only productive thing she had done was take down the bridge and do a little hunting. Everything else was all Anrar's doing. He was the one who convinced the centaurs not to kill them on the spot. He was the one who made the mermaids not kill them simply by being who he was. He was the one who saved her sorry ass from drowning. What had she done? Shot a couple arrows and kill a few animals. Why was she on this mission again? Anrar could have easily done all of this by himself without her slowing him down.
 
No, he didn't know for certain, but he believed it without really knowing why and Anrar didn't answer, not until the next words came from Evel. Then his dark green eyes looked to her and he merely shook his head. "I do not know." he admitted, looking away again, expression hidden behind his gold hair. "It is complicated in my head....I do not think we can discuss it now." But that didn't mean he'd not discuss it at all. He hadn't said no. Still, he was also right as they'd reached their destination. Such was not the time for a heart-to-heart discussion.

He looked upon the cliff-side with a tilted head, debating and finally Anrar looked back to Evel with that slight smile and a shrug. "Might as well trying telling them we're here." He couldn't much think of what else to do and looked back up at the rocks, opening his mouth to say...something, but he never got the chance as two or was it, yes, it was three small shapes flew out from the rocks high above.

Anrar blinked, watching them with some caution as he dismounted and gestured for Evel to do the same. The small shapes, giving way to detailed wings, clothes and forms, came into view and the elemental once again opened his mouth to speak and was once again quieted before he could do so, a blue faerie giving a soft laugh of what appeared to be genuine delight as she looked over the male. "Oh, you have grown so much!" she exclaimed and the blond blinked, not understanding.

"I-"

"Oh, and he has a mate now!" a green faerie bubbled with happiness, coming to get a closer look at Evel with a bright smile on her tiny face. "Oh, aren't you a pretty one! Anrar, you should keep her!"

To say the elemental was confused would be an understatement.
 
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Evel blushed and moved away from the fairy a tiny bit as she got off of her horse. "W-we're not mates!" No matter how much she subconsciously wished they were. "How did you know I'm a girl? And you know him? Anrar, they know you!" She was confused by the faeries, but they seemed to know Anrar so that was a good sign, she guessed. They weren't trying to kill them or drowning her so that was a good thing.

Evel took some time to analyze the faeries, noting that they each had their own color. They all seemed to be generally happy things as she looked over their wings in fascination. Wings like the ones she sometimes wished she had as a young girl, coining the nickname 'bird brain' from her fellow elves. As she waited for her answers, she made sure to keep her eyes on their wings, watching how they kept the small faeries in the air.

This was definitely a step forward. The faeries knew him! Now Anrar had at least someone who could tell him a bit more about his past. He could find out who he was before he came to the elf kingdom, how he used to act before he became Evel's best friend and partner in knight training. Maybe that would bring a bit more peace to Anrar's troubled mind.
 
"Oh, you're not? Are you sure? Very sure?" the green faerie teased and the red cleared her throat, making the other blush a bit and giggle as she flew away a bit and the red came to take her place, a bit more composed. "Do forgive Evergreen. She is a bit of a romantic."

"Only when it's there!" Evergreen protested and the red faerie went on as if she'd not heard. "We knew you were a girl because you are, dear. Such things are not hidden from us. As for Anrar," A smile touched her lips as she looked to the elemental in question. "We kept him and Annara in our care for a great many years."

"Annara?" It was all Anrar could think to ask at the moment and the blue faerie gave him a slightly worried look. "Is your sister not with you?"

The blond's eyes widened, feeling like someone had just hit him in the stomach, robbing him of air and he saw the image of the red-haired girl flash through his mind, eliciting a whimper from his throat as he brought his hands to his head, the pain having build instantly to a new level. "Oh dear, oh dear!" the blue faerie hummed, immediately darting to him and placing the tiniest kiss on his forehead. The pain eased almost instantly and Anrar gave a choked gasp of relief, looking up with lost dark green eyes. "Sister?"

The red faerie, Cherrytree, came closer to him then, looking very concerned. "Anrar, storm child, do you remember us at all?" she asked gently and the elemental shook his head, looking to Evel, feeling like his world was falling out from under him.
 
Evel quickly moved to Anrar's side and held his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "So you three took care of Anrar and his sister? That's definitely some good news to hear... When my town found Anrar, he didn't remember anything about his past, just his name mostly." The small knight explained, knowing that the man couldn't talk right now, shock and pain leaving him speechless. So she would explain for him. "Sometimes he'd know things but if he tried to remember why he knew these things, it would hurt his head. It's only very recently that he started actually remembering things. He remembered playing in the sea with a red haired girl."

Evel bit her lip after saying all this, hoping Anrar didn't get mad at her for explaining all of this. She stood tall though, knowing this would ultimately help her friend who right now needed someone to help him. She realized that her bottom lip was starting to taste like iron from all of the times she'd made the poor thing bleed. It was a strange thought, as she waited.

The wind blew past them as the sea moved in and out, the tides calm. It would be calming to Evel if not for the fact that the she-demons were probably under there, admiring the tall knight or luring their next meal to their grasp. She turned her focus back to the faeries, awaiting their assessment.
 
He was grateful she'd taken charge over the talking because his tongue felt like lead and his head foggy. He...had a sister? He'd lived here? What..what had happened to her? Why couldn't he remember? Why had he left? Why hadn't anyone searched for him? Always that question, that one burning, begging question; why hadn't anyone cared enough to find him? The elemental looked to the faeries, wordlessly wanting an answer.

Cherrytree, Evergreen and Bluebell all looked at each other in what could only be described as worry, a dark worry that said they knew more than they were saying yet and it was the red one that turned back to the two, all three rather serious now. "The girl with the red hair is Annara, Anrar's twin sister and we did take care of both of them when they were much younger, for perhaps fifteen years if I remember correctly. You were just children and you were still children when the-"

"Sister, perhaps starting at the beginning might be better if he remembers none of it." Bluebell advised and Cherrytree sighed and nodded. "She is right. Come, Anrar, come pretty one, we shall take you to faerie hollow." She flew over them, blowing what looked like red dust over them and Anrar suddenly felt himself shrinking rapidly with Evel doing the same. The faeries joined them on the ground then, smiling. "Do not be alarmed. You simply can not fit as the size you were. Now, come." she started to fly and the two followed, being dragged up by the faerie dust as they zipped up the cliffside and into the crevice in the rock.

When they were put down it was before a bustling little city, faerie flitting about all over the place and Evergreen giggled, beckoning the two ground-bound ones to follow her toward her house, the biggest for all of them to fit. "Come, we will tell you the story, come, come!"
 
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Now this was getting strange. Evel blinked as she looked around before turning to Anrar and smiled reassuringly. "Let's go." She gave him a soft look to tell him that she knew that they still cared about him. Even if they didn't look for him, they probably had their reasons. She walked with Anrar, still holding his hand in her own gloved one. She wasn't planning on letting go any time soon.

Though one thought bothered her. The faeries seemed to have gotten into the habit of calling her 'pretty one'. Sure, she should probably give them her name to go by, but they had seen the mermaids, right? They lived near the ocean, they had to have seen them! How could they call her pretty when they had the she-demons who were much prettier than her to compare to! She was thinking way too much into it. She should have just accepted the compliment and not thought about it, as embarrassing to her as it was.

Evel took the time to look over the city as they walked toward Evergreen's home. It was amazing seeing all of these different faeries living life like their home was the center of the world. It simply amazed Evel to see all of these tiny winged creatures flitting around here and there from one place to the next. It was astounding and if they were not currently on a mission, Evel would have loved to stay for more than just a little while.
 
Anrar had no desire to take his hand from hers either and he kept it there firmly, needing her far more than she knew. He'd tried to tell her more than once, but she never listened, always grew embarrassed, dismissive and Anrar had stopped trying for a while. He wondered if it was time to start up again, though. He didn't think long on that though right now, however, as they reached Evergreen's house made out of a log - he wasn't going to ask how it had gotten up here - and were ushered in. It was strange to think that that they were only about four inches tall, if that, and inside an old tree, but that was the fact of the matter.

They were encouraged to sit on the couch made of twigs, and woven grass and Anrar did so gingerly with Evel in tow, looking around at the faerie who bustled around, Evergreen bringing some water for them before she fluttered he way up on to a chess piece, perching there as Cherrytree sat properly in another chair and Bluebell stood leaning against the wooden wall. It was the red faerie that spoke.

"All right, first, your full name is Anrar StormSky Noldoron. You are one hundred and forty-six years old. Your twin sister is Annara BloodRise Noldoron. You were the children of the great elementals, Elara RainWind Clefspear and Avrano RedFist Noldoron, Queen and King of the Elementals, but they were assassinated before you and your sister came to us."

Anrar had been keeping up so far, but this...this made his eyes widen to saucers, shock in them. "Wh..what?"
 
Evel was shocked that her friend was 146 years old, but said, "Well that's definitely... a thing. At least you got promoted from knight to prince." She laughed awkwardly, unsure of what else to say. She felt like she wasn't suppose to be there, that Anrar should be hearing this by himself. Yet he was holding onto her hand so tightly, she couldn't really leave...

A prince. Wasn't that every girl's dream? To fall in love with the prince and live happily ever after? However, she happened to fall in love with the amnesiac prince who before this was a simple knight and her best friend. This was just huge, almost laughable as she waited for the faeries to continue. There couldn't be too many more surprises, right? That was the big whammy.

She wondered how Anrar came to be in the faeries care, what happened after his parents were assassinated. How did her friend end up without his sister in the Elven kingdom only to meet up with her. She looked over at Anrar, hoping he knew that she was there for him, even if she felt like she was intruding.
 
Anrar glanced to his friend at her words, uncertainty in his own eyes, afraid of what she might be thinking. He might be a prince in name - a PRINCE?! - but he was just him. Nothing had changed for Anrar...even as it had, but he didn't want Evel to see him different because of it. He didn't want to lose her because she thought he was above her. He wasn't, not to him, but he knew she was insecure enough to think about it at some point. She hadn't left, though, or asked to and the elemental slowly moved his hand around hers, linking their fingers slowly as he gave her a shaky, faint smile.

He was glad she was here. He didn't want to face his past alone and there was no one he trusted more to share and figure it out with. He wouldn't have wanted anyone else beside him at this moment and he certainly wouldn't have wanted to be alone. Anrar actually hated being alone. For all his aversions to people, his greatest fear was to be rejected, alone and if Evel had come on this mission for no other reason than to give him company, he would have wanted her here.

He needed her.

And he needed to know what had happened, his eyes turning back to the faerie who were waiting patiently - Evergreen beaming in a knowing way as she looked between them - and Bluebell started up where Cherrytree had left off. "The pretty one is right, you are a Prince, Anrar. The Prince of Senecra, home of the Elementals, but your sister, being the elder twin, is heir to the throne. Your parents sent you both away before they were killed as they knew you and your twin were in danger, and you were so very young. A religious cult rose up against them and they chose to save both of you rather than themselves. You were both brought here and for fifteen years or so we looked after you."

"You used to stay with Cherrytree, but often came here to sleep over." Evergreen provided with a fond smile and Anrar looked around, finding that none of this sparked a memory. It felt like he was hearing someone else's story, not his own. But he still wanted to know and so nodded slowly, but spoke quietly. "How did I lose my memory?"

The faerie looked at each other and then back to Anrar and Evergreen bit her lip as Cherrytree answered, looking concerned. "We actually do not know that answer, storm child. See, after the many years had gone by, your own people, those loyal to your mother and father, came back for you and your sister. The last we knew, you were going home. The civil war had come to rest and your sister was to inherit the throne with your uncle helping you both until you came of age." He was given a studying look by Bluebell.

"You truly remember nothing of how you got to the elves? What kind of state where you in? How would do would you say you were, how mature?"

The blond faltered, those memories there but fuzzy and he looked to Evel as if she might have the answer, but she'd met him at least three months after he'd come to Chalice and then as a squire. She would not know. So he told the faeries what he'd always told her about how he'd come to the elven city. "I...I was dirty, scratched up...I think I had dried blood on me. I was hungry and..scared. I think I was...perhaps eleven by human aging... I felt like...like I'd been running from something..." He still did often enough.
 
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After the faerie called her 'pretty one' once more, Evel interrupted to say, "Evel is just fine. You don't have to keep calling me 'pretty one'." She then listened to the rest of their story, keeping a soft grip on his hand. She sighed as she looked over at Anrar, remembering when he told her about it. It always made her feel angry at whoever did that to him.

Evel sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. "He was always skittish around people after he came to the town. It took a few years for him to warm up to me, and even then he still flinches sometimes." She hoped that maybe this would help them piece together what might have happened and help Anrar figure out who he was.

A prince! She couldn't let go of that thought. She was best friends with a prince of the elementals. Sure he was the younger sibling, but he was a prince non the less. She felt a bit intimidated. What if he decided that she wasn't worth it? What if he decided to leave her and the elves for finding his race? So many what if's crossed her mind, but never made it to her expression nor her speech.
 
Bluebell hmmed at what they'd been told by both Anrar and Evel and she looked to her fellow faerie, wondering at their thoughts. Evergreen simply looked saddened. She was a rather young faerie and still bright and bubbly and so very caring. She would have loved nothing more than to hug Anrar tight like she'd done when he was younger and to tell both him and Evel that they belonged together and to just make everything better! She was smart enough not to, though, and Bluebell looked to Cherrytree, the oldest of the three to see her looking very thoughtful and worried as she looked to the two other faeries.

"It has been some time since we have heard anything from the Elementals. Since anyone has."

"They've always been a race that kept to themselves, Cherrytree. It might not mean anything."

"And it might mean everything." the red faerie replied back quietly and Evergreen frowned, her wings fluttering behind her in some agitated thought. "There have been the rumors... Might we be missing something?"

Anrar looked between all three of them, confused and growing slightly annoyed as his dark green eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?" The three faerie looked back to him, all of them appearing slightly apologetic as they realized they'd been ignoring their guests. Bluebell smiled a bit. "Sorry, young one, we are merely trying to figure out if the lack of news about your people is a sign that we should have been more wary about sooner. From what you have told us, it seems likely your procession might have been attacked or perhaps your home was under threat again. Judging by how close Chalice is to our own home, it is likely you either ran from the procession to Chalice or you were trying to get back to us and went the wrong way."

Evergreen nodded. "Though, we do not know how the amnesia might have come about unless perhaps you hit your head or witnessed something so traumatizing that you mind chose to forget. The fact that there has been no word from your people, from your sister or uncle, no questions about your whereabouts...well, it suggests that....there might not be anyone alive to think to ask after you."

Cherrytree was quick to interject, seeing the stricken expression in Anrar's eyes. "Or it could be that your family thinks you dead and they will be enormously relieved to see you again. The Elementals have always been a private race. Not hearing from them might mean nothing at all."
 
Evel blinked as she listened, confused as the faeries tried to explain what they thought might have happened. "Well... at least we learned a bit more about your past, Anrar! Oh, wait, I just remembered, do you three by any chance have a bottle of this water called Agua del Mistico? We sort of need to find it for a mission." She felt horrible for asking about it, but they really did need the water. The king and queen were getting weaker by the minute and the princess was probably losing all hope.

She glanced over at Anrar, hoping she didn't ruin the whole thing for him. They could come back another time, but the king and queen needed them. Afterwards they could try and figure out more of Anrar's past and why he was an amnesiac. She shifted a bit, nervously.

If the faeries did have the water then maybe they could go save the king, queen, and princess. She knew that Anrar would want to come back to hopefully find out more some time, but they had a job to do. She felt like a bit of a villain.
 
Anrar started a bit at Evel's voice suddenly in his ear and at her words, he was reminded of why they were here. His eyes closed for a moment, trying to make enough sense of everything to push it away for now. He knew he had a sister, but he didn't know if she was alive. He had an uncle, also unknown if he was alive. He was a prince...and he didn't want to think about that. Somehow he'd been separated from his people, something he'd already known, so nothing new there. No one knew why they'd not searched for him or even if they were all right as no one had heard from them. He'd spent time with the faeries and that was where the memory of the girl and the ocean had come from.

Other than that...what more did he actually know?

Nothing.

Not enough to dwell on it and so Anrar did what he did with anything that he couldn't figure out; he pushed it away for a later time. Evel was right. They'd come here for a reason and that was the priority. He opened his eyes to see Cherrytree looking to him with concern, but Bluebell was already answering. "Oh, yes! We have that. Are you in need of it?"

"We are. The Kind and Queen of Chalice have been poisoned and their daughter stolen away. It is imperative that we get this cure."

Evergreen nodded, fluttering up from her perch. "Then we will get it for you. It is the elementals' by right." She looked at Cherrytree who gave a nod and then Evergreen flew out the window, on a mission of her own now for the water.
 
Evel sighed as she rana hand through her hair. This was just all confusing. She looked over at Anrar. "Are you okay?" She asked quietly. She was concerned for the man. This was a whole lot to think about. She knew he would probably just push it away for now. After the mission she would talk to him about that.

Evel looked over at the faeries, still surprised that they took care of her best friend. She looked around at the house as she waited for the faerie, pulling an arrow out of her quiver and playing with it. At least her weapon shrunk with her so if something happened, she could react.

Evel put the arrow away and tapped her leg. She was more than just a bit nervous as she waited for the faerie to come back. This had just been a weird day for the both of them.
 
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