The warmth of the sun's rays peeked through the material of her tent, trying to get her attention.

Mani groggily woke up when she heard footsteps outside. It sounded as if Aerendil had gotten up bright and early and had already started making breakfast. After sorting herself out, she unzipped the flap and quietly left her tent.

Mani yawned and stretched out her limbs. "You're up early."

Aerendil seemed startled at the sound of her voice. He glanced at her for a quick moment before resuming his cooking. He spoke without looking at her. "I couldn't sleep."

"Why's that?"

"It's none of your concern."

Mani frowned but did not probe. He had always been guarded, always refused to tell her much about himself. That behavior went both ways since she didn't tell him much either, save for that one time they had a nice talk.

"I see, very well. I'll head out earlier to hunt then," Mani said as she stifled another yawn with her hand, grabbing her crossbow.

"You should eat first," Aerendil said as he glanced at her, and she nodded.

***

It was an incredibly quiet morning when they ate. None of them bothering to make conversation to fill the silence. At this point, it was a rather comfortable silence. He would usually try to ask her questions she wouldn't answer or took every opportunity to bicker with her. But he wasn't doing any of that, even after she returned from hunting. Mani just assumed he's in a bad mood, or that he wasn't feeling well.

She was content to let the silence carry their day.

So she was surprised when the silence was interrupted by a sudden demand in the middle of the day.

"Tell me. Tell me the real reason you decided to save me. I refuse to believe I merely reminded you of a friend." Aerendil's tone was demanding. If Mani didn't know any better, it might have also sounded desperate.

She furrowed her brows as she looked at him. "Why is this important right now?"

"I need to know, human. We've been living with each other for a month now and I still don't know your reasons. I am an elf, and you are human, I cannot fathom a reason for you to rescue me, especially from your own kind."

Mani looked away and stayed silent.

"Please," he pleaded which caught Mani off guard. That was the first time he's ever begged.

"You want a reason? It's simple, those nobles were being inhumane. I couldn't bear the sight, so I stepped in. Honestly, if you weren't being brutalized to that extent, I would have never intervened."

She thought he would be satisfied with the answer, but his expression and tone turned sour. "That's bullshit. You claim you did it out of the goodness of your heart?"

Mani crossed her arms and glared at him. "Is it really so inconceivable?"

"It is. You must have had something to gain. Were you going to enslave me instead?"

"Are you serious? That's not even how it works!"

Aerendil raised his voice and took a step closer to her. "Then what did you have to gain?!"

"I was never planning on benefitting from this situation!"

"Liar! You humans are all the same. You would never do anything that wouldn't benefit you. You're not a good person, I'm sure of it. So tell me the real reason!"

Mani gritted her teeth in anger. "You're right, I am not a good person in the general sense. But get this through that thick head of yours. I. Had. Nothing. To. Gain."

"I cannot believe you."

"Then I won't waste my breath." Mani turned and stormed into the dense forest. In these situations, it was better to leave and cool off rather than get into a full out screaming match.

After all, this was only one of the many arguments between the two, it was normal.

***

The afternoon air did wonders in calming her down, and when she had, she decided to return. Aerendil had barely moved an inch from his spot, a frown painted on his face as he stared into the fire. Mani took the opportunity to try to mend things between them.

"Brat–Aerendil. Listen, I don't know why my reasons are so important but believe it or not, what I said was true," Mani said as she walked into the clearing of their camp. Aerendil didn't look up or acknowledge her. He looked troubled as he muttered to himself restlessly.

"Aeren—"

The sound of a galloping horse interrupts her. Without a moment of hesitation, she ducked back into the forest and behind a tree. She got worried and confused when Aerendil didn't move.

She lowered her tone into a whisper only he could hear. "Aerendil, hide."

He didn't show any indication that he had heard her, so she gave up, hearing the horse approaching. She leaned back further into the shadows.

One horse and its rider revealed themselves, the rider was clad in a brilliant gold and green armor. Mani's stomach dropped when her eyes land on the symbol engraved onto the breastplate. The winged halo. The elven army.

Things couldn't get any worse.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

But it did.

"Sister," Aerendil spoke first, turning to address the golden-armored-woman.

What? This can't be right.

Mani swallowed the lump in her throat and stayed hidden behind the tree. Aerendil knew she was there. All the signs were obvious, but Mani couldn't accept it.

He's just planning on leaving. His sister is here to take him back home. He wouldn't...

As Mani wallowed in denial and confusion, she silently begged him not to reveal her position at least. The internal conflict playing out on his face was enough to give her hope.

Please.

All her hopes dissipated as Aerendil said something to the woman then turned to her hiding spot. Their eyes met and she knew she was a fool. She knew next to nothing about him, how could she have trusted him?

Betrayal.

So caught up in her emotions, Mani threw all caution to the wind. She wanted him dead, whatever the cost.

A second went by after their eye contact. Furious rubies met unreadable emeralds.

Then heat engulfed the air.

Flames burst from Mani's location, aimed right at the traitor and his 'sister.'

Aerendil and his sister leapt out of the way, his eyes growing wide in confusion as the flames licked at him. His sister turned the horse away as the flames singed its mane. His sister dismounted her horse quickly and unsheathed her sword. Aerendil froze as he stared at the source of the flames.

"You didn't inform me she was an incarnation!" his sister yelled at Aerendil, snapping him out of his confusion.

"I had no clue!"

Mani wasn't thinking, she should've just ran but...

Betrayed once, betrayed again. When will it end?

She stepped out of her hiding spot to face the two fully. Her breathing was heavy as she glared right at Aerendil's face. He stared back with wide eyes.

"This... This is truly an unfortunate end. A pity, really. I had assumed we were companions until this, whatever this is, happened." Mani's voice was unshaken. This was a bad idea, the worst one yet.

Flames emanated from her forearms and palms as she prepared another attack. Aerendil didn't say a word, he just stood there with his mouth agape. His sister held her offensive stance, her sword pointing at Mani's direction.

Another burst of flames headed straight for the two, but they ducked away. Mani's attacks were sloppy, fueled by rage.

His sister saw an opening when Mani sent another burst of flames towards Aerendil. His movements were quick to dodge, there was no way he was just some slave.

His sister's sword glinted from the reflection of the flames as she moved in to attack. A wall of fire obscured her path. It was a back and forth between his sister and Mani. Not only that, but Mani also had to look out for Aerendil's magic as he sent gusts of wind towards her, occasionally blowing out her flames.

"Human, surrender and no one gets hurt!" Aerendil yelled out.

Of course, he never even had the decency to use her name. Was it to keep his distance? How long had he planned this betrayal?

Things were starting to look dire; it was two against one. His sister took a melee approach while Aerendil supported her.

That's when more galloping drowned the sound of battle.

More soldiers from the elven army arrived and joined the fight. One, two... five of them including Aerendil and his sister. Mani wasn't deterred as she immediately threw attacks towards them as well. How did these elves even sneak into Minervahn land? Especially during the war.

Her thoughts and movements were interrupted by his sister's sword to her throat. And just like that, she was surrounded.

She closed her eyes, her hands raised in surrender.

"Fuck."

She trusted him. She really did. She saved him and this is where that choice got her.

The remaining soldiers hastily bound her hands behind her back, she didn't resist.

"You gave in pretty quickly, human. I suppose you're smarter than you look. Aeren had said you would put up a fight." His sister pressed the blade closer to Mani's neck, causing blood to trickle down her throat.

Aerendil avoided making eye contact with Mani when she opened her eyes to glare at him.

"The red-eyed human... King Dregg will be pleased. If she really is a royal then we could tip the scales in our favor," one of the soldiers said triumphantly with a smug smile.

The two other soldiers were also celebrating their small victory.

"Wait 'till the others hear about this!" one of them exclaimed.

Mani wanted answers but as she opened her mouth to speak, one of the male soldiers ripped the earring from her earlobe. Mani screamed in pain as blood dripped from her ears and onto the grass. Aerendil and his sister was taken aback and began chastising the soldier.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Aerendil shoved the soldier back.

The soldier merely laughed it off and brought the red earring up to eye-level and admired it. "My darling's definitely going to like this. Not like the human's going to make use of it in the dungeons."

Mani heaved deep breaths. Her eyes were wide as she stared down at her blood forming a small pool. None of that concerned her at the moment, she cannot lose the earring.

"...ring..." Mani mumbled, capturing the attention of the soldiers. The one holding her earring snickered and dangled it in front of her.

"What did you say, human? You're going to have to speak up," he mocked.

"My earring. Return it," she mumbled with her head down.

The soldier scoffed and then turned to regard his comrades, "Can you believe this? A captured human is making demands!"

Aerendil and his sister were unamused, the two other soldiers looked at his sister for guidance. It seemed like she's their leader.

"Human. I apologize for the way he went about it, but confiscating your items are necessary," Aerendil's sister said, her blade was still pressed against Mani's neck.

Mani was losing blood, she's getting lightheaded. Even so, she cannot accept this.

She remained silent for a long while as the soldiers gathered the horses. Aerendil volunteered to help them, no doubt to avoid Mani as much as possible. His sister remained by her side, her sword not moving an inch and her steely gaze remained focused on Mani.

Mani was muttering to herself; the mutterings soon fade into low dark chuckles, causing the soldiers to stop in their tracks. Two of them began to walk towards her, leaving the horses with Aerendil. His sister flinched but her sword stayed.

Mani's laughter died down to a low whisper, "Truly unfortunate."

In one moment, it seemed as if she had given up. The next, flames originating from her body burst out and fanned into a circle.

Aerendil's sister, with no time to slit Mani's throat, was pushed back by the heat with a grunt. She started to yell orders as soon as the attack went off, holding the arm that was burnt. The armor she wore protected her flesh, but the heat still caused injury.

"She's trying to escape! Subdue her at all costs!" she screamed at the soldiers, but no reply came.

The two soldiers screamed in agony as they rolled on the ground. In the chaos, their horses attempted to run but Aerendil tried to calm them down. One of the burned soldiers was the one who took her earring. Mani detoured to his body and snatched the earring from his palm before making a dash toward the forest.

Aerendil was hot on her heels after successfully calming one of the horses. His sister stayed behind, presumably to help the last soldier take their burned comrades to their camp.

And to get reinforcements, no doubt.

Their camp... Where could it be? Mani had never noticed anything suspicious in her hunting trips. How did these soldiers even hide out for so long without garnering the attention of Rivane patrols?

Mani snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the galloping of Aerendil's horse.

"For real?" she muttered as she took sharp turns and hopped over large roots.

That last attack was too weak, weak enough to not finish them all off. It was a testimony to her exhaustion, an exhaustion enhanced by her desperate sprinting. She considered retaliating and attacking Aerendil, but that would cause a forest fire and draw more attention to their location.

That's what she told herself.

Mani ran ahead and once she estimated she was far enough, she ducked behind a tree for cover. She brought a hand to cover her mouth to stifle her heavy breathing.

After a minute or two, she peeked out to see if anyone was still following. It's been a while; she had no doubts that their reinforcements were already looking for her too.

There's no one at first, but then a rider walked into her view.

Aerendil.

Their eyes met.