10. Rukh

When I decide that I’m done with the two dark elves, I set off into the woods, looking for her in the last place I saw her. She’s lucky those elves didn’t see her peeking her flaming head of hair out at them, although I would have stopped them from doing anything to her. But still, I don’t think she realizes how much of a target she is.

I reach the spot, seeing that she’s not there. Did she get frightened by what she saw and leave? I wouldn’t be surprised if she did, but the thought quickly fades as I inhale, smelling her close by.

I follow the scent, spotting her leaning against a tree not far away. She looks to be deep in thought and hasn’t noticed me yet. I scoff at her utter lack of attention to her surroundings.

“You stayed,” I remark. She startles, looking up at me with what I’m pretty certain is a grimace.

“Yeah.”

“Look, you can’t stay out here all by yourself.”

“What? I’ve been on my own so far and I’ve been fine,” she argues.

“For now. But there are many dangerous things out here. Evil things. I should know. They won’t hesitate to come for you if I leave you here alone.”

“What are you saying?” she asks.

“You’re coming with me.”

“Where?” She crosses her arms across her chest.

“I’ve been residing in a cave nearby. We can stay there for now.”

She rolls her eyes but seems to think for a moment. Finally, she nods and walks over to me.

“How far is it?” she asks as we begin walking.

“Not far.”

“That’s it? No time estimate?”

“Why? Do you have somewhere you need to be?”

She scoffs, making my blood boil. Who does this girl think she is?

“I’m just wondering how long we’re going to be walking for. I’m tired.”

“Not long. Where were you planning on sleeping before I offered up my cave?”

“I hadn’t figured it out yet. I find a spot every night just fine. Is the cave your home?”

I bite my tongue, not wanting to admit I’ve seen most of the spots she claims for her nighttime rest and she’s better off in the cave with me. “I don’t have a home. I move too much to call any one place by such a name.”

“Why do you move around so much?”

“Evil takes many paths,” I answer.

“I have no idea what that means.” She rolls her eyes again. I’m beginning to think that that’s the only face she knows how to make.

“We’re almost there.”

A few moments later, we arrive at the cave mouth. I wave her in, stopping and sniffing the air before following her, checking to see if anything worth noting is nearby and finding nothing.

We reach the back of the cave, where there’s a large circular area. I wave my hands, creating a fire with my magic in the center of the space. Annette walks up to it, reaching out.

“I could have done that, you know.”

“I thought you were tired,” I remark. She shrugs.

As I watch her, I realize that this is the first time I’ve gotten to really look at her. Of course, I noticed some things before this, but in the fire’s light, I notice more.

It’s pretty obvious that she’s in rough shape from the past week of living in the woods. But despite that, she’s striking. Her long, bright red hair looks even brighter next to the fire, framing her face in curls.

When she finally looks away from the fire and up at me, the bright green of her eyes looks even more fierce than the first time I saw them. Even her freckles stand out. Remarkable.

Her skin reddens the longer we stare at each other, and her mouth opens to speak, but I beat her to the punch.

“We should get you cleaned up,” I say. She nods, giving me a soft smile.

I wave her over to me, motioning for her to sit down in front of me. She does so without resistance, surprising me with her apparent trust in me.

“Wait here,” I tell her, standing up and retrieving my bag from the other side of the clearing.

I pull out a small towel and walk out of the cave, leaving her there. There’s a small pond nearby, and I dip the towel into it before taking it back to her.

I sit in front of her, beginning to take the cloth to her skin, slowly wiping a week’s worth of dirt away. She stares into my eyes as I do this, not looking away once. I avoid those eyes, knowing that they will only distract me from my task.

This isn’t normal for me. I don’t take in strays, and certainly not human ones, which makes me ponder the reasoning behind my actions. I’m not someone who nurtures life, I’m someone who snuffs it out.

All my life, I’ve never done anything to help good people, not on purpose. I just remove the bad ones. It’s my gift, it’s in my nature. It’s just what I do. So why am I doing this, sitting here with this human and taking care of her like she’s my pet?

“Why are you alone?” I ask her. She takes a moment to answer.

“Witches aren’t exactly welcomed, well… anywhere.”

“Your family?”

“I don’t have one. And before you ask, I have no idea what happened to them.”

I can tell that it’s a sensitive topic, so I don’t push her on it. I’m not sure why I even care in the first place.

“Why did you follow me today?” I ask.

“I wanted to see,” she replies after another long moment.

“See what?”

“I’m not sure. Why did you kill those elves?”

“They were evil.”

“Why do you care if they’re evil?”

“I don’t.”

“But you killed them.”

“My gift shows me the evil ones, and so I kill them. They deserve to be killed.”

“You say that like it’s so simple. But who are you to judge who should be killed?”

“They’re evil,” I repeat.

“Are you not evil, too? Is killing not evil to you?”

“No, I am not like them,” I state. She shakes her head, clearly not understanding.

“How are you not like them?”

I sigh. I think I preferred the quiet.

“Why do you need to know so bad?”

“I’m just trying to understand.”

“You will never understand. You’re a mere human.”

“I’m a witch. I have magic, just like you.”

“No, not just like me. Your magic is nothing compared to mine. But you already know that. What is this really about?”

“I just don’t think it’s fair for you to decide who gets to live and who gets to die.”

“So you think I should have let those elves do what they were about to do to that family?”

She stays silent, thinking. I finally make eye contact with her, searching those green eyes.

“Human, this is no matter for you. I am not hurting anyone that doesn’t deserve to be hurt. You shouldn’t go poking your nose into things that don’t affect you.”

“Isn’t that what you’re doing when you hunt down evil?”

I sigh, standing up and looking down at her.

“No. And I don’t exactly hunt down evil. I just get rid of it if I see it. Now stay here,” I tell her before walking back out of the cave. I head over to the pond again, wringing out the dirt and soaking it in clean water once more.

Once back inside, I sit across from her again, taking the cloth to her face. She closes her eyes and lets me work.

“Tomorrow, I will get you supplies. I’ll find you some new clothes to wear.”

“I don’t need your help.”

“Oh? Would you rather I kick you out there into the darkness right now and feed you to the beasts lurking nearby?”

“Are there really beasts nearby?”

“Don’t worry, I’ve warded the cave. No one can get in but me.”

“And me.”

“No. If you were to walk out of this cave right now, you would not be able to get in unless I dropped the ward. Remember that if you decide you’d like to run away in the middle of the night tonight,” I warn her.

She swallows, looking from me to the entrance.

“Thinking about it?” I chuckle.

“No,” she huffs. “So what, I’m your prisoner?”

“No. But you will die if you leave.”

“Is that a threat?”

“No, it’s a fact.”

I finish wiping her face, setting the cloth aside.

“There’s a small pond outside. Tomorrow you can use it to wash up some more if you’d like. I’ll guard it while you do so.”

“What about food?”

“We’ll find you some of that, too.”

“No, I mean right now.”

“You’ll have to wait until morning, unless you think you won’t last until then.”

“No, I can. But where will I sleep?”

I stand up and grab my pack, handing it to her.

“Use this as a pillow. No bed or blanket, I’m afraid.”

“That’s fine… Thank you for this.”

I grunt, not wanting to actually acknowledge the fact that I’m being nice to her. I still don’t even understand why I’m doing it.

Annette settles against the wall, placing her head on my pack. I wave my hand over the fire, making it disappear. No need to call attention to the cave all night, even if no one can get in.

“We’ll find a more suitable place to stay tomorrow.”

She doesn’t answer. I lie down near the pathway that leads out of the cave, putting myself between her and the opening. Within minutes, I hear her breathing slow down as she falls asleep.

I find myself turning to look at her, watching her. I’ve been a solitary being my whole life, and I’ve never regretted it. But something about this strange human makes me question that for the first time. The feeling makes my skin crawl.

Being alone only turns into loneliness when you want a companion. Do I really want that, and can someone like me even have it?