Heirs of the Gods

Ch 35: A high elf and a half-fae walk into a bar

Absolute silence.

The chilly, late-autumn wind whipped against the glass panes, a rhythmic staccato accompanied by the gentle ticking of the old grandfather clock above her writing desk. One in the morning, it announced. The quiet was evidence of the late time of night.

Which was perhaps why Ella felt her footsteps and breathing were louder than normal.

With a last glance at the wrinkly parchment where she'd hastily scribbled a set of instructions, she pocketed the note into her cloak pocket. She just had to get to the Petrium and head to the nearest border town, then, it was smooth sailing ahead, she lied to herself in reassurance.

As nervous as Ella was, even the floorboard seemed to creak more than usual as she made her way out of her room. She should not have been as jumpy as she was. Hadn't she snuck out for years? She was practically an expert at this point, she reasoned, as she closed her door softly, padding down the gloomy hallway.

Still, it was somehow different, wasn't it? When she'd snuck out as she was younger, it was usually just to head to Cedric's house and do sods all. Now, her plans were substantially different. And that had been Codshire... not Gerrathea.

Hell, even the halls seemed longer. The marble statues seemed to be enormous, casting dark, distorted shadows as Ella hurried along the gloomy, candlelit halls. It was so dark, she could barely see in front of her. She had to get a grip on herself. How could she go ahead with her plans if she wasn't even out of the castle and she was already nervous?

Yes, she just had to calm down. She was only going to head out for a spell and run some errands. Everything would be perfectly fine... she just had to keep her wits about her and...

A poke between her shoulder blades.

"Boo."

The screech that left Ella's mouth was so humiliatingly loud that she would not have admitted to it even at the risk of torture.

Followed by her scream, her instincts kicked in even before she could reason and soon, Ella was swinging around, arms braced as she slashed with her concealed dagger. A hand braced on her arm to avoid her cut, but she twisted out of the hold and broke free, shoving forward and aiming her dagger to what she knew were soft areas, even in the gloom.

"Oh, fucking hell! It's me! Stop stabbing around!"

Aedion's voice--screech, really--was like a sobering slap. Just like that, Ella realised it was him she was holding at dagger-point, the blade pressing into his stomach, near his ribs.

"You scared me half to death!" she pulled back and pressed her dagger-less hand to her beating chest, exhaling roughly.

"You?" Aedion looked at her incredulously from where she'd forced him against the wall. "I almost got stabbed, you mad woman! Had it been anyone else with fewer reflexes, they'd be skewered like a pig on a spit."

"Yes, well, you don't sneak up on a lady," she sniffed, pocketing her dagger.

"A lady wouldn't have swung on me like a butcher," Aedion drawled. Then, grinning impishly, he added, "Though I must say, excellent defence. I do so appreciate a woman who could maim me given the chance."

Ella rolled her eyes and fixed him with a glare. "What are you doing here?"

He lifted his brow. "I could ask the same, dear."

She crossed her arms. "I was out for a walk."

"At one in the morning?"

"Restless legs."