1Beginning A/N: Enjoy. Review. Here it is.
Chapter One
Bargaining
Elves
"Nooooooo!" she screamed. It was so hard to believe that a spider had killed her mother. Her mother had remained so strong over the centuries, enduring torment from dragons and other creatures as well as taunts about the elven race in general. Finally the end of the world was near. Her mother had said that Kaitlyn would know when it approached. Now she finally understood the meaning of those words. As soon as her mother died, she knew the world was nearing its end, unless someone could save it. At the time, Kaitlyn didn't care what happened to the rest of the world. She just hoped that she wasn't supposed to take part in saving the world. Maybe one day she would find the courage to be what her mother wished her to be, but the day her mother died, she could not find any courage in herself. All she found was grief and anger and disbelief at the unfairness of it all; she tried to control herself but couldn't, and ended up releasing a huge bolt of magic that destroyed a round acre of trees. She sobbed, frightened at her own display of uncontrolled anger and power. 'I must control my feelings,' she thought, 'and my magic.'
A little later in the day, she stood up from the ground where she'd been sitting and then proceeded to go back to the cottage she'd shared with her mother all those years. The cottage was divided into three sections, all of which had magically enlarged storage spaces. They took up less room in the real world than they should, but the insides were just as spacious, if not more so. Kaitlyn, one of the last female elves left in the world, went into her mother's storage room to collect any sellable items left of value. She did, after all, have to make a living. She regretted having to clear away memories of her mother so quickly, but the money was almost all gone. She needed money for a lot of things, such as food, new clothing, and random magical items that she found every once in a while. She had to protect these artifacts, because they were rare and valuable items that needed to be kept hidden from humans and kept out of the hands of any being that wished to do evil. Kaitlyn wished she could curl up in a ball and ignore her worldly problems, but she knew that that wasn't what her mother would have wanted. She must stay strong and keep up their lifes' work. (A/N: Is it "lives' work, live's work, or lifes' work?) Now she was alone, and she had to make sure she kept up with all the work.
First, she had to get all this...all of her mother's things... sold. She burst out sobbing again and only just stopped a reflexive bolt of magic which might have destroyed the last of her mother's possessions. She controlled her sobbing once more and went back to gathering up her mother's things. She would sell them to an acquaintance of hers; another elf, of course. She never dealt with other beings; she'd always left that to her mother. Now she did not know if she would be able to gather enough nerve to speak to a different species. She set down the bag of her mother's things (the things that she could sell, that is) and sat down beside it to wait for her "friend" to arrive.
Once she almost dozed off, but she caught herself in time and made sure that she wouldn't close her eyes again. If she fell asleep in the middle of the forest, who knew what creature might attempt to steal her things? She blinked several times and then pinched herself repeatedly. 'My arm will be numb by the time I get home if I keep this up!' Kaitlyn thought to herself. She stopped pinching herself but began to stomp around to keep awake. She walked back and forth in front of the bag she'd gathered. 'Where is he?' Kaitlyn thought angrily. 'He is supposed to come here every noon to see if he has a customer. It is already past midday and I have been here since morning!' Kaitlyn felt indignant. After a few minutes of feeling angry like this, she began to feel worried. What if something had happened to the cheerful elf? After all, this was the first time he'd showed up late. She wondered if she should look around for signs of his home, but she knew that most elves did not like to be disturbed, even friendly ones like her friend, Rakhir. He had never told her his real name; they used business names, just in case unfriendly creatures were listening. "Rakhir" called Kaitlyn "Karynni" and she called him Rakhir. She had never learned his true name, and she doubted that she ever would. She didn't think that she'd ever reveal her name to him, either; she might not even get a chance to if he didn't show up. She decided that she'd return home if he didn't show up before dusk. There was no point waiting out in the forest for him once the sky became dark. No creature, intelligent or not, dared to come out into the forest at night. It was far too dangerous, and unless the creature was armed with very powerful magic or some very powerful weapon, it didn't stand even half a chance. Kaitlyn sat down again, wishing she could be back in her cozy home, with her mother, being... well, just busy. Anything but sitting here doing nothing. After her mother died, she needed to keep her mind and body busy, or she might start sobbing and lose control of her magic again. One time, when she was very little, she'd become upset at something, and that had been the first outburst she'd experienced. She'd been more careful ever since, but every now and then, she lost control and something happened. It had been a while since her last outburst, but today she'd lost control again. She knew she had to repair that acre of trees before it upset too many creatures' lives. She would have gone right then and there if she hadn't been waiting for Rakhir. Then again, she'd be doing a lot of things if she wasn't waiting for him... once again, she almost dozed off. Kaitlyn swore under her breath and began pacing again.
It was almost sunset; she would be leaving soon. If she used magic to speed along, she might be able to repair the damaged area of forest and still get back to the cottage before dark. She glanced around one last time before walking briskly towards the edge of the clearing. 'I guess he won't be showing up today,' Kaitlyn thought to herself, trying to convince herself that he would be there the next day. She really didn't think she could handle anymore stress, what with her mother's death and the now-fast approaching end of the world. 'I'd better hurry, or I won't be able to fix the-' Her thought was interrupted by a low moan coming from a bush on the side of the clearing. She looked in that direction, hoping that it had been her imagination but also hoping that it was Rakhir. 'Oh, what should I do? Mother, I wish you were here!' Kaitlyn held in another sob and then went to investigate. "Hello?" her voice wavered. "Who's there?" She waited for a reply, almost wishing that there would be none.
"It's- it's Rakhir," a weak voice croaked. "H-help..." From the sound of his voice, he had been lying there for a long time but had not had the strength to move, nor to shout for help, or basically unable to use his mouth whatsoever. Or maybe he had yelled, had shouted, until his voice became hoarse from the overusing of his vocal chords. Kaitlyn tentatively began to move part of the bush aside. And there, on the ground with a pool of blue liquid that looked suspiciously like elven blood, was Rakhir. Kaitlyn almost fainted, but closed her eyes and thought of her mother to calm herself down. The image of her mother calmly handling the situation did a lot to help Kaitlyn.
She opened her eyes again and asked, "What happened, Rakhir?" He moaned again.
"I...I have to get home..." he muttered feverishly. Kaitlyn had no idea where he lived and therefore could not take him to his home, so she decided to do the next best thing. She would take him to her home and nurse him until he was strong enough to leave. Once she made her decision, Kaitlyn wondered how she would get Rakhir home.
Elves were not supposed to use magic on others of their race without permission, so she asked, "May I use magic to bring you home, Rakhir?" Kaitlyn tried to keep her voice even, tried not to let it crack. She only barely succeeded.
"Yes," Rakhir whispered. Kaitlyn quickly whispered a spell and they were standing before her home. No one could enter using magic, and no one could enter without her permission. She opened the door and let Rakhir use her shoulder as a support as he followed her in.
"Follow me," Kaitlyn said, even though Rakhir was already doing so. She led him to a chair, where she made him sit down while she got out some medications. It had been less than a day since she'd last taken out this bag; when her mother was slipping away from this world and into another, better, world. Tears stung her eyes but she refused to give in. 'I will not cry, not now,' she said to herself, fiercely. Then she gently wiped away all of the blood on Rakhir's head. The whole side of his head was covered in it; she would work her way down slowly. She used magic to dull the pain, even though she could have used the human medicine to do the same. Elven magic was much safer; there was no risk of overdosing the patient. She'd never noticed the way his hair framed his face... it made him look so cute, especially when he had his eyes closed... Kaitlyn felt her cheeks turning red as she thought this. She hurried on, bandaging the various cuts, scrapes, and large wounds. He was very badly hurt; Kaitlyn told herself to remember to ask him what had happened. She wondered who had done this to the poor man...er...elf. She put a blanket over him, weakened the pain spell, and let him sleep naturally. She went into her section of the room to sleep, leaving him in the main section. Her mother's room remained empty. Kaitlyn sobbed herself to sleep. 'Why is the world so unfair?' She thought to herself, before slipping into the dark grasp of sleep.
The next day, Kaitlyn woke up early and went to prepare breakfast. Only when she saw the sleeping figure of Rakhir in her chair did she recall all that had happened the day before. She held in a sob again and continued on to the kitchen part of the room. She cooked a meal big enough for two people; she wasn't sure if Rakhir would eat much, but she might as well be prepared if he did. She glanced sadly in the direction of her mother's room; normally it would be her sitting across from Kaitlyn as they ate breakfast and discussed life. Now... now, sitting across from Kaitlyn was a strange elf whom she did not know the true name of. She wondered if she should wake him; she didn't want to; he looked at peace. 'Why should I force him back into the chaos of this world?' She asked herself. She left his plateful of food on the low table in front of the chair he was seated in and then headed for the day-old clearing she'd made the day before. 'Better go fix that up before too much time goes by!'
When she returned to the cottage, out of breath from her magic, Rakhir was already awake. He was eating his food hungrily, as if he hadn't eaten for some time. Which he probably hadn't. She watched him eat in silence. When he looked up after he'd finished, he looked startled to see her, which made sense. "Hungry?" Kaitlyn smiled. Rakhir nodded. "Do you need more food? Or are you done?" She asked him.
Looking embarrassed, Rakhir said, "No, I'm done. Could I have something to drink, please?" Kaitlyn went to the refrigerator (one of the few things in the house that came from humans) and retrieved a cup of water that had been mixed with some honey.
"Here you go," she said, handing the drink to him. He nodded his thanks and gulped it down.
Grinning, he said, "So how'd you find me?"
Kaitlyn winced. "I heard a moan coming from a bush. I'd been looking for you."
"What for? Business again?" Rakhir asked, suddenly a lot more serious.
Kaitlyn nodded. "I have a few things I want to sell. I was going to see if you would buy them."
"Let me take a look. Then I'll decide." Rakhir said, starting to get up from the chair. With a yelp, he fell back on his rump. "Oh, I forgot about those bruises. They really hurt." Kaitlyn winced. "It's okay, I'm fine now. So where are these things you wanted to sell?" Rakhir asked.
Kaitlyn went to grab the bag which she'd placed in her room. She returned and set the contents of the bag on the table in front of him. "This is it," she said. Rakhir examined the items spread on the table in awe.
"Where did you find these?" he asked in wonder.
"Umm... they were my mother's things."
"Were?"
"It's hard to explain," Kaitlyn blurted. "Can you just tell me if you'll buy them? I need the money!"
"Yes, I'll buy them, they're all good quality items. Name your price."
"One thousand dollars, American money. No bargaining." Kaitlyn said, averting her gaze as Rakhir looked at her incredulously.
"That's way overpriced! I'd say that's worth $600 at most! Definitely not $1000!"
"I'll go to someone else if you're not...interested."
"OK, fine. I don't have any money on me, though."
"That's okay, you can get it when you get better."
"Speaking of which, Karynni, do you have any healing magic?" Rakhir asked.
"Well, sometimes; it depends on my mood..."
"Can you try?"
"Yes, sure... I'll try. Don't get your hopes up, though," she said.
Rakhir nodded, and Kaitlyn began the healing. It would take at least half an hour. Rakhir watched as blue magic swarmed over his various cuts, and he felt the minor injuries being fixed first. He settled back and waited; it would be a while. 'Her magic is much stronger than I'd realized,' Rakhir thought as the healing process went on. 'She would make a good ally. I wonder how strong her offensive magic is?' Once all the small cuts were healed, the blue magic danced up to the large wound on the side of his head. Although he felt no pain, Rakhir winced.
Kaitlyn started in concern. "Are you alright? Do I need to make the pain-guard spell stronger?" she asked, sounding close to panic.
"No, I'm fine. Continue, please," Rakhir said, making sure to hold extra still just in case his body decided to wince again. Kaitlyn nodded and continued, checking Rakhir's expression for any signs of pain. The wound gradually began to knit itself back together; it was healing! Kaitlyn knew that this ordeal wasn't quite over yet, but she hoped it would be successful. So far, nothing had happened to make her think that this healing would fail. Rakhir watched Kaitlyn (Karynni to him) as she worked her magic. He watched her bite her lip as she concentrated, and watched as her brow furrowed as she healed a particularly deep gash on his back.
"Almost... done," Kaitlyn managed to say. Rakhir wanted to shout with joy, but knew that doing so would ruin the entire operation. He simply nodded his thanks, noticing as he went through the motion that his head was all better. This was the last part of the healing... he'd broken his ankle, and Kaitlyn was just beginning to heal it. Once more he noticed her brow furrowing. Her eyes were closed as she set the bone back to where it should be... as she healed the final wound. With a sigh, she opened her eyes and checked to make sure Rakhir was totally healed. "So when do you leave for home?" Kaitlyn asked with a smile.
"Now."
She nodded and said, "See you back at our normal meeting place tomorrow?" Kaitlyn inquired. Rakhir nodded his head. "I will bring the items; you bring your money. See you tomorrow." She said, hustling him out the door. She watched him walk in the direction of his house, and then, when he was out of sight, she closed her door and hurried off to repair the acre of damaged forest. It had been two very long days.
End Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed it... Review, please. CC appreciated.