Run Away

Life, Trauma/ Loss

Fenneck looses Evelyn and his parents and escapes Flottenheim.

Fenneck opened his eyes as he heard Evelyn pop into his room. It was quite late and she was fully dressed, wearing a cloak around her shoulders. "Hi," he greeted her, a bit startled from her sudden arrival but grateful to see her. "What are you wearing?" he asked her, confused that it looked like she was about to go out into the snow. She had tears in her eyes and her nose was red and puffy. Her hair was loose and messy around her face and she was shaking. He saw her eyes were sparkling with an all to familiar silver tint. "We need to talk," she said angrily. Fenneck stood up and gave her a cautious nod. "Okay..." he said as he slowly reached his arms out to her to try and hold her. "I'm pregnant," she said fearfully, choking on her tears. Fenneck shook his head in confusion. "No... we're too young for that," he said in confusion, knowing elves as young as them very rarely had children except in very extreme circumstances. "I can feel him, Fenneck!" she exclaimed, clutching her belly. "I'm pregnant!" She started sobbing and Fenneck moved toward her but she pulled away from him, shaking and jumping at his touch. "Evelyn," he tried to sooth her. "What if you're not pregnant? What if it's something else?" he said, remembering what Erikur had told him. "I know about your sister, Ev. I know about Mephistopheles," he told her gently. She looked up at him and her irises turned completely silver, sending a cold chill down Fenneck's spine. "Don't you dare speak his name!" she said in a hauntingly dark, layered voice that scared Fenneck to death as he realized Erikur had been right. "Evelyn!" he cried out to her in fear as tears filled his eyes. "Please come back to me!" he begged her. "I don't want this, Fenneck!" she exclaimed, her voice returning to normal but her eyes remaining the cold silver and she started shaking uncontrollably. "I'm getting rid of the child," she told him decisively. He shook his head at her, trying to get her to come back to reality. "You're not pregnant, Evelyn!" he tried to tell her. "Stop this!" he asked her as he started shaking in fear, wishing Erikur would burst into his room and help him. "I know how to help you Ev, please!" he begged her, reaching out to her. "We're done, Fenneck," she said decisively. "I can't risk this anymore! It's too dangerous! What if my father finds out?! He'll have you killed, Fenneck!" she told him fearfully. Fenneck shook his head and went to her. "Don't do this. Evelyn, please," he begged her, taking her in his arms. She squirmed to get away from him but he held her firm. He forced her to kiss him and she relaxed a little before starting to cry into his bare chest. He kissed her gently and caressed her hair from her face. He watched her eyes start to turn back to their normal bright blue, but thin silver veins remained in her irises. "Evelyn, shhhh, it's going to be okay," he tried to tell her. "No it's not, Fenneck!" she cried desperately. "I'm pregnant! We can't hide that!" she exclaimed again, looking up at him woefully. He kissed her face lovingly, trying to calm her. "Are you absolutely sure?" he asked her softly, still not believing that to be the actual cause for her hysterics. She nodded and grabbed Fenneck's hand and placed it on her small belly. After a moment, he felt a kick and his heart lurched in a joy he didn't know was possible. He dropped down so that his face was level with her belly and he rested his head against her and felt the child kick his face softly. He started crying and he clung to Evelyn, wishing her horrible nightmare would end. He wanted to have this child with her more than anything else in the world. "Fenneck," Evelyn said, trying to pull away from him. "This isn't a joyous occasion!" she exclaimed in bewilderment at his reaction. "We'll figure it out, Ev," he said with renewed confidence and purpose. "We can. We have to. You can use magic to hide your belly and... and I'll raise it here. We can figure this out," he promised her, desperately clutching her in his arms. "No, Fenneck! It's too dangerous!" she said, wrenching herself out of his grasp. She walked a few feet away, taking deep heavy breaths. "Is... is it a boy or a girl?" he asked her, unable to hide his excitement. She pursed her lips, clearly upset with his reaction. "A boy," she told him reluctantly. Fenneck felt his heart swell as he imagined their perfect, beautiful son. "What is he like? You can feel him right?!" he asked her excitedly running up to her and kissing her face. "We can do this, Evelyn," he told her joyously. "No we can't, Fenneck!" she said angrily pulling away from him. "I can't hide a pregnancy for two years! Or nurse him when he gets here. Where will people think you got a newborn baby? People will ask questions, Fenneck!" Fenneck shook his head in denial. "We'll let my parents raise him, then. They know about us and they're willing to help. Evelyn-" "You told them?!" she asked in disbelief. He quickly shook his head. "There was a misunderstanding yesterday," he tried to explain. She cut him off. "I trusted you," she said clearly feeling betrayed and backing further away from him. "Look, I didn't do it, Erikur did!" he said, trying to revert blame away from himself. She shook her head at him. "I trusted you, Fenneck," she said, looking away as she started to cry and shake again, causing her to stumble aimlessly around the room. "We can't do this. It's too dangerous. We're done!" she said decisively. Fenneck's jaw dropped in horror at what he was hearing. "Wha - no! We... we aren't done, Evelyn!" he told her in disbelief. "You're carrying our son!" he begged her. She shook her head and looked up at him with tears streaming down her face. "I'm going to the Vallee. I've heard of a cleric there who can remove unwanted pregnancies. I'm doing this for me, Fenneck. I have to take care of myself!" she said looking up at him desperately as the silver started to swirl back into her eyes. He gave her a horrified look. "You're... you're going to kill him?" he asked her painfully. She threw her hands up in distress. "I don't have another option, Fenneck!" she cried out desperately. "If my parents find out they'll kill you and punish me and possibly kill the child themselves! I can't risk that, Fenneck!" she exclaimed before clutching her head in pain. "So our son is the sacrifice for our sins?!" he exclaimed in disgust with her decision. She dropped to her knees and dropped her head to the ground and cried out in agony as if she was being attacked. "I'm sorry, Fenneck!" she exclaimed through her pain and looking up at him with her red, sweaty face. Her veins looked black and Fenneck started to shake, fearful that he wouldn't be able to help her. He knelt down next to her and reached out and pulled her into his arms. She tried to fight him but he held her firmly closed his eyes and focused as he sent waves of magic into her like he'd seen Erikur do before. It was a warm glow and it seemed to calm her. He opened his eyes and saw the warm golden glow around her face as the black veins disappeared. He sighed with relief as her eyes seemed to return to normal. "I wish things were different," she told him in a hushed, desperate whisper. "Let me get my parents," he begged her softly. "They can help us!" he told her. She softly shook her head at him. "I'm sorry we had to end this way, Fen," she said, reaching a hand up to caress his face. "I love you so much, but... we can't see each other again," she told him. He felt his heart shatter into a million pieces at her words, especially knowing she was returning to her normal self. "Well... what about when you come to the shop-" he tried to argue, desperate to find away out of this situation. "Then you will treat me like a princess and look the other way unless you are addressed," she said with a defeated shrug. Fenneck looked deep into her eyes, trying to make sure she was really there with him. "You... you can't do this to me, Ev," he begged her, nuzzling his nose against her own. He saw her eyes soften as he held her "You can't stop me, Fenneck," she told him with a sad shake of her head. "I've made my decision, Fenny," she told him affectionately. Fenneck kissed her and gently pushed her back into their bed. She kissed him back and he felt her hands caress his chest lovingly. He kissed her neck and worked his way down as he lifted her dress and kissed her passionately to try and convince to stay. To work though this. He slipped inside of her and gently held her and he made love to her, clinging to their love and affection for each other to get them through this. He started pounding into her and she moaned in pleasure, giving Fenneck hope. After a few minutes though, she started crying softly through her moans. "Fenneck," she said sadly, prompting him to slow down. "Stop," she finally begged him sadly. "We can't do this anymore." He stopped but stayed inside her, shaking his head as he tried to catch his breath. "Don't do this, Evelyn. Please," he begged her in a desperate whisper. She gently kissed him one more time, a deep, sensual, wonderful kiss that Fenneck knew was goodbye. She pulled her face away and looked him deep in the eyes with a sad defeated look. "Goodbye, Fenneck," she said lovingly before vanishing into a cloud of mist beneath him. He clutched at the air and collapsed to the ground. He laid there in shock for before he started sobbing harder than he ever had in his entire life. He wept all night, painful harsh sobs that seemed to destroy him physically. As morning rolled around he knew he had to make an appearance in the shop before Naertho got suspicious. He cleaned himself up and forced himself to go to work, despite the pain he was feeling from he and Evelyn's breakup. Naertho was alone, quietly working on one of Jasna's dresses in the corner of the room. When Fenneck walked in, he turned and walked toward his nephew and pulled him into a tight hug. Fenneck hugged him back and forced himself not to start crying. "Morning," he let out a dry raspy greeting. Naertho pulled back and nodded understandingly to him. "Good morning, love," he said, more affectionately than normal. "I've heard it's been a rough couple of days for you. Your parents came over for dinner last night and told me what happened," he explained. Fenneck nodded, grateful to have an excuse in case he broke down today. "They told you about...?" he tried to gauge what Naertho knew. "Just that you confronted them about their political movement and that there was a big argument," he said, giving Fenneck an understanding half-smile. Fenneck sighed with relief, not wanting anyone else to know about Evelyn. "Yeah, I'm... fine, though," Fenneck tried to assure him. Naertho nodded and kissed Fenneck on the forehead. "I assume you'll be working on Princess Evelyn's gown today?" Naertho asked casually, not wanting to upset Fenneck anymore in that moment. Fenneck felt his chest well up as he heard Evelyn's name and he nodded and swallowed through the pain. "Yeah," he said, moving into the back room where the pretty blue dress was sitting on its mannequin. After about an hour of painfully forcing himself to work on the dress he heard the bell at the front of the shop ding and a hooded figure walked into Fenneck's work room. The figure removed their hood and Fenneck saw a high elf he'd never seen before suddenly transform into Princess Jasna. "We need to speak. Privately," she told him in a hushed voice. She had clearly been crying and Fenneck's heart pounded in fear. "What's wrong... you highness?" he asked her, scared that Jasna would come to him like this after only ever having a very formal relationship with each other as a tailor and a princess. "You were the father, weren't you?" she asked in a hushed whisper. Fenneck felt tears well up in his eyes and he nodded slowly. "You need to leave," she told him fearfully. "Evelyn... Evelyn died last night," she told him with painful tears in her big brown eyes. "It looked like she tried to kill the baby with this weird potion in her room, but... it killed her too." Fenneck felt the room start to spin as this information set in. "No... No..." he said in disbelief. "I... I tried to stop her," he assured Jasna, seeing her heartbreak on her face. Jasna nodded sadly. "I don't have much time, Fenneck, but you need to run before... before they find you," she warned him. "Who?" he asked her, fearful that he knew the answer. "The KAV," she said in a hushed whisper. "Hurry!" she told him, reaching into a pouch at her side. "Here, this ring will make you invisible so you can get out of Flottenheim," she said, putting a silver ring into his hand. "It was Evelyn's," she explained softly. "She loved you... a lot. I'm so sorry, Fenneck," she told him affectionately, fighting off tears as she thought about her sister. "Tell Naertho you have to leave. Now," she said before pulling Fenneck into a tight hug and kissing him on the cheek before pulling back and vanishing from the room. Fenneck looked down at the silver ring in shock and fear. It was a beautiful ring with a tiny crystal that was a bright blue, about the color of Evelyn's eyes. He took a deep breath and ran out into the shop and ran to his uncle and pulled him into a tight hug. "I have to go," he told him fearfully. "I can't tell you why," he said sadly, quickly stepping back and wiping his tears from his eyes. Naertho closed his eyes and nodded solemnly. "Here," he said, walking quickly over to a rack of clothing and handing him a rabbit fur-lined set of leather armor. "Be safe, Fenneck, and be quick. This will keep you warm in the mountains," he told his nephew sadly. Fenneck nodded and quickly changed in one of the dressing rooms and hugged Naertho tightly. "I love you," he told his uncle, trying to fight his impulse to start sobbing. "I love you too, Fenny. Run," he told him urgently. Fenneck nodded and slipped Evelyn's ring onto his finger, vanishing from sight and ran out into the market place and darted for his home. He ran inside and quickly packed his backpack full of food and anything else he could think of before he grabbed a few blankets, a bit of firewood, a warm cloak, his shortswords, his bow and a full quiver of arrows. He looked around his perfect house sadly, remembering all of his wonderful memories here. But he had to go. He opened the door and walked out into the market place and made his way to the lifts. He had to tell his parents goodbye before he left. As the lift arrived, he saw two KAV soldiers exit it with fresh blood on their uniforms walking toward his house. Fenneck stopped in fear when he saw them and noticed one of them was bald with a brown beard and silver eyes that reminded him of Evelyn's when she would have her episodes. It sent a cold chill down Fenneck's spine as he looked into the ugly high elf's face who stood about as tall as he did. The other was a normal high elf with long blond hair and bright blue eyes with a stoic face and pale white skin. Fenneck was confused as they walked right past him until he remembered he was invisible. He bolted to the stairs and hurried down a flight before running toward his parents' house. His heart skipped a beat when he saw their door busted in. He ran up frantically and looked inside and saw blood on the ground, trailing out of their bedroom. He felt horror and dread well up in him as he cautiously walked into the eerily quiet house. On the kitchen table was a fancy piece of parchment paper with glittery golden ink on the bottom of it. Fenneck looked down and saw the Emperor's signature across the bottom of the bounty in the golden ink. "By order of the emperor, his Imperial Majesty Anessen Staladin, the high-elves Leonid Frostears and Faina Frostears have been sentenced to death for treason, acts of sedition, the unlawful use of magic, and murder. The KAV may use any means necessary to dispose of them as they are a grave threat to our society. ~Emperor Anessen Staladin." Fenneck hesitantly walked into his parents' bedroom and saw his parents' mangled bodies lying together on the ground. They were horrifically mutilated and beaten. He felt sick to his stomach and he turned away so he wouldn't break down and saw Erikur and Baegla in the doorway. He felt guilt overcome him as he saw Erikur and remembered their last conversation. This was all his fault. He backed away from his parents' room, fighting back a flood of tears. Erikur and Baegla started walking toward him and Fenneck remembered he was invisible. He backed around the kitchen table and watched Erikur and Baegla gasp in horror at his parents' bodies. "Oh my god," Erikur said, horrified. "I have to go find Fenneck," he said fearfully, turning around abruptly but Baegla grabbed his arm, holding him firmly. "He's already leaving, dear," she said, surprisingly composed and casting a quick glance in Fenneck's direction. "It isn't safe for him here. He needs to hurry," she told Erikur who started sobbing as he collapsed to the ground into the halfling's arms. Fenneck could've sworn he saw Baegla give him a curt nod before he turned and nimbly made his way into the market, passing a scared Alexei who was running toward his parents' house on his way. Fenneck wanted to stop but he knew he couldn't. Baegla was right. The soldiers would be looking for him by now. Fenneck hurried and made his way out of the mountain and hurried down into the Vallee, trying to stay on the stone paths so that he wouldn't leave footprints. He ran through the forest and into the mountains, running on pure adrenaline and not letting himself think about everything that had just happened. He crawled into the cold mountains and passed under the Great Skyway as it was getting dark. The mountains were cold and harsh he was grateful for the armor Naertho had given him that kept him feeling warm from a magical enchantment. Well into the black, cold night he finally stumbled upon a cave and cautiously ventured inside. He remembered a trick his mom had taught him when he was younger, the only magic he knew, and he waved his hand to create four bubbles of magical light over his head. Inside the cave was a sleeping bumblebear and Fenneck froze in fear. As he did, his foot scuffed the rocks and the giant white bear made a grumble as it looked up from its hibernation. It looked groggy and its little wings fluttered a bit as if they were stretching. Fenneck quickly drew his swords and ran to it and jabbed them into its side. The bear roared in pain and reared back as Fenneck drew his swords from its flank. The bear swiped at him and slashed Fenneck's arm, causing him to cry out in pain. Fenneck fearfully swiped at it again and slashed its chest open causing the bear to stumble back onto all four legs. It growled at Fenneck and went to bite him but Fenneck nimbly dodged out of the way and slashed its face with one sword while digging the other deep into its neck. The bear made a few choking noises as it collapsed to the ground, dead. Fenneck looked down in horror at the dead creature and dropped his swords, shocked by what he'd done. He collapsed to his knees and buried his head into the bear's large pelt and started sobbing. "I'm so sorry!" he told it sadly, hating himself for taking its life. "I didn't mean to kill you! I was scared," he told the poor creature as tears flooded down his face and all the adrenaline he'd used to get there disappeared. He collapsed into the bear's white fur and sobbed for hours as he realized the awful mistakes he'd made and felt the grief and guilt of losing his parents, Evelyn, his unborn son and this poor innocent creature weigh heavy upon his soul.