Lovely Dark Things

THIRTY-FIVE (ISELEN POV)

AN: For those of you who asked about Iselen getting old after 50 years, this is what the Queen explained to Ruby in the first chapter:  The fact that she's alive after travelling between three worlds is some kind of miracle and the consequences of this trip on her body have yet to be witnessed. For now, she doesn't age like an average human, she arrived here 50 years ago but looks as young as the day she set foot for the first time in Ingstad. I suspect that time flows slower in her world, maybe... So now you know that 50 dark elven years could be like 1 human year in our world, that's why she's still young. 

"Hold on, Ruby, please..." The assassin is lying in the middle of the boat, covered with her cape and a blanket and I can't see her face although I know she hasn't passed out because she's answered with a growl, thanks God. Her race is strong but she's lost lot of blood and tonight is really cold...Luckily, I found an area with clay soil and taught elves how to make bricks to be able to make buildings faster and cheaper, I've heated up some of those and wrapped them up in leather straps so they can work as a heater for a few hours till they get cold. That will keep my girl alive and my feet won't freeze while I handle the tiller. Damn it, Khrise and her curiosity weren't on the list of problems I thought that could arise.

I had planned everything so well... Half of a century gathering information about the dark elves, visiting all their cities, studying old maps, choosing between the routes through the southern forests and the northern mountains passes although the passage from the Sea of Chill to the outer ocean was the best option, definitely. I visited the Slaver's Gate several times while my mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, I built the new watchtower designing the windows overlooking the kingdom smaller deliberately... after all, elves were worried about who could get into their country, not who would try to get out of it. Half a century creating my spy network with the slaves, working nonstop to improve infrastructure in Baalberith while gaining the trust of builders, engineers, nobles that were our allies, the Queen's entourage and all kinds of workers... I also gained the trust of Ruby, her father and the Black Guard.

They stopped asking questions and just waited for good results, enjoying hot water in their rooms, the fancy and comfortable clothes I designed for them, enjoying new recipes with fresh veggies that grew in the kingdom, their faster ships, their powerful weapons and new wealth. My bodyguard used to leave me alone in my office or the shipyards with some soldiers that got bored watching me all the time while she was carrying out missions for the Queen... No one noticed what I was doing. No builder asked me who had commissioned a boat big enough to sail for weeks but small enough to be handled by one person. No one asked me why I needed barrels of water and wine or boxes full of non-perishable food. No one imagined that the human was planning an escape.

This last year was really hard, I felt the tension growing around me and knew Ruby was fighting against a lot of assassins sent to kill me. I feared she could kill me herself to get rid of me, although I prefer to believe that she'd do it to relieve my suffering... Yes, I knew she'd do that. I've fallen in love with Ruby Rose, from the House of Kouran Darkhand, Captain of the Black Guard, and there's no point in denying that... 50 years are too many living with a beautiful woman, intelligent, passionate, funny when she gets relaxed, who cares about me and treats me with affection. Our relationship has become strong and stable and I think she feels fine when I'm around, I don't think she's in love, I don't even know if dark elves can love, but she felt comfortable and was reasonably happy. A poor human in love with a powerful elven warrior... but the relationship worked well. We could've just kept on going like that but Sryne ruined it all.

To be honest, I was ready months ago and could've run away last autumn when the Queen told Ruby to go on a mission for three days to one of the northern fortresses, everybody would believe that I was locked up working in the office and they wouldn't notice that I had vanished till she returned... I'd splash some blood on the curtains and they'd think that someone had managed to kill me finally, getting rid of my body. But that would mean leaving her behind and I knew I wouldn't be able to do that even if my life was at stake, in fact, I can't picture myself living in this world without Ruby. Later, when I learnt she was our enemies' target, I focused on finding out what they were plotting and planning our escape together, I knew the assassin would follow me since staying in Baalberith would mean her death sentence and she's willing to live... and to get her revenge.