Once Upon a Time...

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When Aurea was asleep, Linnor simply sat there, holding her close and keeping watch for anything that could be someone who would want to hurt her. He didn't care about himself, only Aurea and her brothers, and if the City Guard came for him, he would go without a fight, as long as Aurea could go free.

Though it was difficult, and many times he nearly fell asleep, Linnor made it to the morning, and was softly shaking Aurea awake. "Love," he murmured against her ear, "you need to wake up....It's morning now..." Running his fingers through her hair, he sat up, feeling his bones popping from the stiff position he had kept himself in so as not to disturb her.
 
Aurea felt hands on her, shaking her lightly. She sat up and yawned, stretching her arms out. She was wondering why she was on the floor when she remembered everything that had happened the day before. She leaned back against the wall, looking over at Linnor before she leaned over and softly kissed him. "Morning," she said with a light smile. She didn't want to make leaving harder for him, but she wanted to think they could be together and act like so up until the very last second.

She heard noises come from the other side of the room, and she saw Talik and Naltan standing before they came over to her. "Aury? Do we get to go home today?" Naltan asked before a yawn escaped him.

"I... I don't know," she said, looking over to Linnor. "We'll have to check before we can do anything."
 
As Aurea's brothers woke up, Linnor slowly stood, careful to be gentle on his injured leg. It wasn't hurting as bad as it had been, but every time he stepped on it, pain lanced up his leg. Walking to the front door, he unlatched it before cracking it just slightly. Once he had made sure no one was outside the shop, he opened it wider, checking up and down the street.

Outside, it was like a ghost town. Neither city or wild elf were to be seen. At least, not alive. Towards the square, Linnor could see the bodies of two wealthy merchants, their throats cut. Grimacing, he said, "It's fine...Just, we should take the long way to your home, if you want to go there..."
 
Aurea nodded, watching as her brothers pressed their faces into her dress. They wanted to go home, but they had an idea of what was outside. She lifted Talik up onto her back before Naltan latched himself onto her leg, opting to walk and keep his eyes pointed into the material of her clothes. Once they were both settled, she left the shop. The sights were enough to make her flee inside, but she forced herself to walk. She made sure she didn't stray from Linnor, not wanting to become lost in the sea of silence and death.

So much had been done that she almost couldn't believe it. That time of day would have been busy for Market Square, a place where city elves and wild elves didn't mind as much the differences between them. Now, none of it mattered because the bodies littered the streets, blood lining the cracks of the stones.

The closer they got to the Lord Regent's home, the worse it got. Parts of the City Guard's armor accompanied some of the dead elves, even though she and Linnor were taking a longer route to her house. She could only imagine what the main streets looked like.

Her home was eerily silent when they finally reached the door. Talik and Naltan started to go inside, but she held them back. Pushing open the door, she found the first floor of her house covered in char marks. Their table and other various decorations were burned, though some were salvageable.

"Aury, can we go upstairs?" Naltan asked, and with a reluctant nod, she allowed them to scramble up the stairs. Once they were gone, Aurea's hand came over her mouth, stifling the soft cry escaping her lips as her emotions spilled out too fast for her to stop them. She didn't know where her parents were, and her home had been partially destroyed. She didn't know what to do with it all.
 
Seeing how sad Aurea was at the sight of her ruined home, Linnor went to her side, biting the inside of hos cheek as he watched her. "It...it'll be fine," he told her, awkwardly placing a hand on her shoulder. We'll find them, I promise." Reaching for her hand, he squeezed it reassuringly, wanting to help. In truth, he was extremely worried about the state of the rest of the city. Were all the wild elves gone? Had his people left their tribeleader after the attack had ended? Was he now the only wild elf alive in the city?

Eyebrows pressing together as he thought of it, he closed his eyes for a long moment, feeling a headache forming at his temples.
 
Aurea abandoned his hand in favor of the rest of him, turning around and hugging him. Where was everyone? Had her parents left her, or were they dead? She could only confirm it at the Lord Regent's home, but she couldn't take Linnor there. Technically, though he'd risked his life to defend them, Linnor's tribe was at fault for some of the damage. Still, she couldn't bring herself to do anything but love him. He was trying, even though their friendship had blossomed during a difficult time.

"I don't know where anyone is," she whispered into his shoulder. She got her answer as a hand slammed on the stone doorway leading to their burned room.

"You... Aurea... You're alive?" Her father was leaning in the door way, hair disheveled and a blood streak on his arm.

"Father?"

"How dare you bring this damned slum here!? He caused this! Your mother is wounded and most likely dead because of him!" Aurea started to shake her head, the tears spilling, but he advanced, clinging to a sword in his uninjured arm.

"No, Father, he helped us. Talik and Naltan were with me!" That seemed to stop Falyen for just a second, his angry eyes locking onto Linnor.

"Is this true? You helped my sons? You're the tribe leader, yet you didn't lead your people. Why?"
 
When Linnor saw Aurea's father in the doorway, he immediately clenched his hands into fists, ready to defend him or his people. However, as Aurea defended him, he found himself nodding with what she said, though her father most likely wouldn't believe anything he said.

Seeing how she was crying, Linnor wanted to hold her and wipe her tears away, but he was pretty sure that her father wouldn't appreciate the gesture. Jumping when her father spoke to him, he answered, "I may be their tribeleader, but I am also the only tribeleader to have lived in the city for most of my life. I know that what we need now is to be making friends with the city elves, not creating more enemies...but now," he added with a sigh. "All of my people are probably dead or have abandoned me as a traitor."
 
Falyen's sword arm dropped and Aurea resisted the urge to breathe a sigh of relief. She didn't realize she'd been pressing against Linnor just barely, like she'd been afraid her father would actually swipe at her with the weapon. However, she didn't move away even as Falyen seemed to recognize his mistake.

"If you'd wanted to make friends with us, you should not have sent them to attack us."

"Father, they were doing what they thought was right."

"Be quiet, Aurea!" She blinked back more tears, but her mouth closed and she said no more for the time being. Falyen stood up straight and glared at Linnor. "What's left of your tribe is with the Lord Regent. Some of you lived, though the Lord Regent was not killed, if that's what you were hoping for." He didn't seem to believe that Linnor really wanted to make nice with the city elves, but he didn't outright say it. "There aren't many of you slums left, but you did a fine number on the City Guard, and on my wife. You were with my daughter when this all happened. I should kill you myself."
 
Linnor clenched his hands again. "You think I told my tribe to attack? I had been against all of it, told the other tribeleaders not to attack. I am sorry about your wife, and if you want to kill me, I understand, but right now, I have to see to my people." Turning, he placed a soft, gentle kiss on her lips before running out the door, heart racing as he made his way to the Lord Regent's home.

When he finally made it there, he saw what was left of the City Guard standing before the doors, keeping guard. As soon as one of them saw him, he shouted, "You killed my brother, you filthy slum!" before he ran at Linnor, landing a solid punch on his jaw as they both toppled over.
 
Aurea wanted him to stay, but she couldn't get a hold of him fast enough. She ignored her father's angry, but wide-eyed stare as she bolted for the door. "No, Linnor, wait!" she called, but he was already gone. He was going to get killed at that rate, but what could she do to stop him?

The only thing she thought to do was race after him, but she reached the steps leading up to the Lord Regent's home as Linnor and the guard crashed into one another in a fighting flurry. Aurea hid away from them, unable to get into the fighting. She watched one other guard come up and pull his comrade away with some effort.

"You'll get your justice watching this slum hang for his crimes," she heard him say. "But first, the Lord Regent has to deal with him." Two more guards came up to seize Linnor, dragging him inside the heavy doors before they slammed shut. Aurea couldn't leave him to die, but she was stopped as she came up to try and follow.

"The slums are in there, Miss. You can't go in."

"Please, I have to. My mother was injured in the attack. She was here when it happened. I have to see her."

"Who is your mother?"

"Rinath d'Thaon."

There was a hesitation before they opened the door for her. They still had to respect the Lord Regent's advisers and their families, even though there was little left to advise. Aurea didn't immediately go to see her mother, but she could see the destruction in an instant. There were city elves huddled in every corner, comforting one another while the last remaining wild elves were detained in various locations. Blood lined the floors and walls, and bodies were being carried away, the takers making no distinction between city and wild elf.
 
The guardsman who attaced him got in a few solid punches before Linnor began fighting back. But by then, his comrades had pulled him off of him. As the other pulled him to his feet, Linnor spit out blood, his leg throbbing as he was led inside.

Eyebrows raising as he saw the chaos inside, he was led away from the other wild elves, chained to the ground. The guards inside were awful towards the wild elves, using all manner of slurs as they abused and tormented them. Occasionally, one would be told to stand and was taken before the Lord Regent. From what Linnor could see, the wild elves got two choices: death, or being sold to slavers over the border. Most chose death.

A few minutes later, Linnor saw Aurea walking into the long room, and turned his head. He didn want her to see him this way, chained and broken.
 
Aurea had a hard time looking at the city elves, but her eyes were drawn to the wild elves, and there was a clear difference in the way they were being treated. She wanted to stop the guards, but if she intervened at all, they would all be killed. Her eyes fell upon a familiar form, but his head was already turned away, and she knew he'd seen her. Pained love filled her gaze as she turned toward a makeshift infirmary, finding various city elves on anything that could serve as a bed.

She found her mother with her eyes closed, part of her dress torn open, bandages wound on her shoulder to stop the blood. "Mother?" she asked, touching her arm.

"Aurea...? What are... you doing here? Where were you...?"

"I was... I was with Linnor." There was no point in lying now.

"Were the boys with... you?"

"Yes, Mother. They're safe now. They're with Father." Her mother managed a hurt smile, sucking in breath as her arm shifted.

"Your... friend... they won't spare him... He's just like the rest now...." Rinath sighed before she slipped back into darkness, her conscious subsiding into quiet.

Aurea didn't want to believe Linnor was going to be killed, but she knew it to be true. There was little she could do, but she still tried to think of something, anything, to stop Linnor's death. She reentered the room where they were keeping the wild elves, finding two more were missing from the dwindling crowd. She slipped into the area nearer to the Lord Regent, watching as they dragged a third wild elf inside. It was hard to watch, but she did. She used a group of uninjured city elves watching the executions to hide, hoping no one would recognize her and single her out as a relative of an adviser.
 
Linnor watched as his tribesmen were brought before the Lord Regent, given their options, and taken away, either to be killed or to be sold to slavers. When the last of the other wild elves were gone, he was finally brought before the Lord Regent.

"The slum leader, Nightvine," he said, gloating the fact that he was here kneeling before him. "You commanded your filthy people to attack the city elves last night. Of course, you failed, but not with killing most of my men. And for that, you will die. The other tribeleaders have already paid for what they did, and now it's your turn."

Linnor said nothing, simply kneeling there and wishing Aurea wasn't there to watch.
 
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