A Place To Belong

Their Journey Begins

After having seen who he was releasing from a life of torment and solitude, Harley gently knelt down in front of the bars as the girl turned around and instantly backed away begging him to leave her alone. For a few minutes it was quiet between the two until Harley said, "You don't need to be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you." This caught Elyssa's attention and raising her head to look at the man before her she still held her arms up for protection. It was then that Harley asked, "What's your name?" By this time he was picking the lock making sure to be as quiet as he could while doing so.

The girl: ... Elyssa." She said cautiously with a tint of fear.

The man: It's nice to meet you Elyssa. My name's Harley." He says softly and reassuringly.

Looking on in wonder at the man before her, she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Deciding to learn his true motives she lowered her arms and even though it was painful to do so, she hugged her knees to her chest. The look of pain and the smell of dried blood didn't escape Harley's notice so once he slowly started turning the wrench and pick to open the lock he asked "Did they hurt you?" Again Elyssa was surprised to hear the concern in this strangers voice. For all she knew he could be faking it to steer her into a phase of false hope. But she decided to play along. "... It's my legs. I don't know how long it's been but, I am more than certain I have been here for at least a couple hours. I tried to get away, but they attacked me before I could." She said with more sorrow and pain than she meant, so much so that she closed her eyes to hide her tears.

By now Harley had been able to pick the lock, and after putting his tools away he slowly opened the door as to not frighten the girl anymore than she already was. But the sound of the slight creaking of the barred door caused her to flinch, and then again when she felt the stranger cup her cheek. Thinking that he was going to hit her or yell at her to shut up she pushed against the back wall again, all her training leaving her at that moment. "Please; don't hurt me." She said truly frightened, feeling the fear taking a tighter hold. Gently coming closer Harley wrapped his arms around the frightened girl and brought her close to him to show he meant no harm. "You don't need to be afraid, I'm going to get you out of here..." He then broke the hug and looked her in the eye and continued, "I promise."

This time when the man who called himself Harley cupped her cheek she could feel that even though his hand was rough and callused, she could tell how gentle he was being with her. She then opened her eyes to look this man in the eye, and after he wiped the tears from her face she asked, "Who are you?" For a moment he said nothing, but the look in his eyes told her he was a good man, someone who she could trust at least for now. She was even more convinced when he said, "I'm a friend."

Deciding to trust him Elyssa throe caution out the window and quickly wrapped her arms around the giant of a man. Taken by surprise Harley gently returned the gesture and let the girl cry, knowing that the release was a much needed one. A few minutes later after she had calmed down Harley asked, "Would it be ok if I took a look at your legs Elyssa? I have medical training, and if what you said is true, then the wounds will need to be cleaned and treated." Looking on at the man before her in silence she nodded and reluctantly loosened her hold on him. After having left the embrace Harley tried to be as gentle as he could and helped her lay her legs out so he could get started.

Seeing the fine dress she was in Harley could only guess that the girl must have belonged to one of the noble families of Xadia, more than likely from the high class because of the design and pattern of the stitching. Looking at her for reassurance, Elyssa nodded back at him and Harley lifted the heyem of her dress just above her upper knees. While the wounds themselves had stopped bleeding, the fact that each one looked to be made from a sword or some type of blade he could tell that Elyssa wasn't going to be walking on her own, at least not for a while. Quickly unsealing what was needed Elyssa was amassed to see that Harley seemed to be able to pull the medical supplies out of thin air.