Finding Fenneck

Life, Milestone

In the mountains to the Northwest of Flottenheim Natalya encounters a ranger from Glitterfjell. When she see's him she knows he is her thiramin. His name is Fenneck and he recognizes her as the wood elf who killed Staladin. He thanks her for her sacrifice and convinces her to come to Flottenheim and meet Baegla. Natalya who did not grow up familiar with Elvish customs is untrusting of the feelings she has for Fenneck.

Natalya climbed up over another cliff. The snow was coming down harder than normal, making it difficult to tell what time of day it was and obscuring her vision. She needed to find somewhere to camp before nightfall. The wind blew harsh against her nearly frozen skin and she pulled her ragged cloak tightly around her shoulders and looked down to hide her face from the stinging ice. Her fingers had been numb for days and she was growing fearful that she wouldn't make it to Lenisily before the cold got to her.   Suddenly the ground below her disappeared and she found herself sliding down a jagged rocky ledge. She landed in a pile of snow and felt her bow snap on her back. She cried out in pain as she felt her leg burn from the fall. She had a huge gash in her thigh and she panicked as she watched her blood spill out over the snow around her.   She had fallen into a small clearing with a few trees around her. Apple trees that had bright colorful fruits and bright green leaves on them in the middle of winter in the middle of the mountains which caused Natalya to scrunch her face in confusion. She looked around and saw a shadowy figure up ahead in the snow with their bow drawn and aimed at her.   As Natalya looked up into the figures face she felt a weird feeling come over her. She felt a very strong feeling that this person's soul was somehow intertwined with her own. That she would be with him one day. That she would love him. He was a high-elf with long, straight white hair with small ornate braids in it and bright green eyes. He had a soft, innocent face and was wearing a silver and blue ornate tunic that looked like it was lined with warm white rabbit fur. He had a large white cloak on with fluffy, white fox fur around the neck. He was quite possibly the most beautiful, elegant creature Natalya had ever seen.   Natalya instinctively reached for her bow and panicked as she saw the splinted wood on the ground. She turned back to the high-elf and suddenly realized it must be a charm spell like Pufuktin would use on her. She felt the sickening feeling built up in her and she suddenly leaned over and threw up into the snow. It burned as she threw up the water and bile, her empty stomach have nothing else on it to soften the burn. She whimpered in fear and pain as she saw the blood pouring out of her leg. "Who... who are you?!" she finally asked with a weak, raspy voice as she clutched at her leg. The high-elf looked frazzled and nervous. "Fe... Fenneck," he told her cautiously. "Fenneck Frostears."   Natalya felt her heart sink as she realized who was before her. She couldn't let him take her. He was a Glitterfjellian. She'd killed his partner all those years ago. He probably wanted nothing more than to torture her and arrest her. She looked at the sharp, elvish arrow he had pointed at her face and she realized she had already lost this fight. After all she'd been through in Arrallath to end up here, like this at the hands of the lover of the first life she ever took, seemed a rather fitting end. She had to guarantee it though.   Natalya slowly drew her dagger and Fenneck gave her a cautious look. "I'm warning you," he told her. Natalya ignored him and tried to ram the dagger through her neck to end her suffering but she screamed in pain as his arrow shot through her wrist, causing her to drop the dagger. She saw him coming toward her with his swords and she went grab her rapier but saw the hilt of his sword hit the side of her head instead and everything went black.     Natalya opened her eyes and looked around. She was in a small, warm room, in a bed of fluffy white fox furs with a new set of clean clothes on her body. She nervously sat up and looked over to see a small halfling woman and a tall high-elf sitting at a table together. The halfling had white hair pulled back into a low bun on the back of her head and she wore a simple silver diadem on her head. She was wearing blue robes and had a wooden walking stick at her side. She seemed rather old but she had a sweet demeanor about herself. The high-elf had long strawberry-blond hair and warm brown eyes. He had good posture and carried himself in a way Natalya was all too familiar with. He was wearing slick navy blue leather with silver trimmings.   She looked around and realized Fenneck wasn't there. Fenneck. What the hell was that about? She had hoped the weird spell would have worn off at this point but it hadn't and she felt herself growing sick to her stomach as her body started to get excited thinking about the beautiful high elf. She lurched out of the bed and threw up a meager amount of clear bile onto the stone ground. The halfling and high-elf looked over and the halfling jumped up to run to her aid. "Oh dear!" she exclaimed in a cute, motherly accent. She waved her hand, causing the vomit to disappear with magic and Natalya sat up and gave her a cautious look. "Feliks," the halfling addressed the high-elf. "Why don't you grab the stew," she told him. "Please dear," she said, addressing Natalya. "Why don't you sit up and get some food in your system?" she told Natalya kindly. The high-elf brought over a tray with a bowl of hot stew and fresh bread on it, as well as a glass of clean water.   Natalya took the tray and looked the pair over suspiciously. "How do I know it's not poisoned?" she asked them. The halfling woman chuckled at her. Feliks smiled. "Would you feel better if you watch me take a bite?" he offered. "I understand that being in the business as long as you have it becomes second nature to assume such offenses but I can assure you that this is safer than anything they fed you in the compound," he told her understandingly. The halfling woman smiled at her. "Please eat love," she assured Natalya. "You look absolutely starved." Natalya looked at Feliks expectantly. He chuckled and pulled a piece of bread off and dipped it into the soup and took a bite before taking a small swig of her water. Natalya watched him swallow it and give her a playful smile. "I'm surprised you care," he pointed out. "Fenneck said you tried to kill yourself when he found you so why would you care now if we poisoned you?" he asked her.   "I don't want to be tortured for information," she said bluntly. Feliks smiled. "Trust me, we don't do that here. You're not in Lenisily anymore, your in Glitterfjell." The halfling smiled and reached out a hand. "Baegla Snowma," she introduced herself. "This is Feliks Polyakov and your name is?" she asked her expectantly. Natalya looked up, startled to realized this halfling was Baegla. The almighty, all-powerful sorcerer that gave Pufuktin nightmares. She slowly shook her tiny hand and swallowed nervously. "Natalya," she told her. Baegla scoffed at her nerves. "Please dear," Baegla assured her. "Eat."   Natalya gratefully allowed herself to bite into the roll and quickly scarfed down the meal. As she ate, Feliks and Baegla pulled their chairs closer to the bed Natalya was in. "Now dear," Baegla addressed her. "Do you need any medical attention? Fenneck seemed to heal you well enough from the scuffle you both had in the grove but I just want to make sure you're okay before we get started." "I'm fine," Natalya assured her through the bite of bread she had in her mouth. Baegla nodded. "I know you've had a rough..." she looked Natalya over thoughtfully. "Well, a long while to say the least. I'll be blunt and get to the point so you can get some rest. Did you or did you not kill Emperor Staladin?" Baegla asked her. Natalya nodded knowing their was no point in trying to run anymore. "Yes," she told Baegla nervously. Baegla smiled at her honesty. "So you were in fact a KAV soldier?" she asked next. Natalya nodded. "I was, for... about seventy years." "And before that?" she asked. "I was raised in the Voyennyy Academy," she explained. "It's a military school specializing in raising children to be soldiers. From their I was chosen to join the KAV as an assassin." Feliks chuckled at her. "It's where I was trained too," he told her. So he was a KAV soldier...well, ex-KAV soldier.   Baegla nodded thoughtfully. "Can I ask why you killed the emperor?" she asked. Natalya nodded slowly. "I... I wanted to help my country and my people. He was a cruel man and he was killing innocent people." Baegla studied Natalya intensely. "So Pufuktin didn't order the job or someone else in the KAV?" she asked bluntly. Natalya shook her head. "I didn't know Pufuktin was Staladin's heir. I'd prefer Staladin to him any day, trust me. I... The reason I'm going back is to..." she trailed off as she realized how pathetic of a goal it was to try and take Pufuktin in her current state. "To face him," she decided. Baegla cocked her head at Natalya thoughtfully. "You think you can... kill him?" she asked Natalya, trying to understand Natalya's plan. Natalya shrugged. "I don't have anything else to do or fight for," she admitted. "When I escaped after killing Staladin I made it all the way to Arrallath. I... helped defeat a demon lord and then-" "Wait!" Baegla cut her off. "You were the 'rogue' that helped defeat Lord Arrallath?!" she asked excitedly. Natalya nodded. "Yeah," she confirmed. Baegla smiled mischievously. "Well, you've quite the reputation," she mused. Natalya shrugged nervously. "I guess. I was just trying to help," she said. "So after that I... I found out Pufuktin had become the emperor and I decided to come home and... fix the mess I'd made."   Baegla rubbed her chin thoughtfully. Feliks spoke up though. "Why would Pufuktin want you brought in alive?" he asked her curiously. Natalya looked down at her bowl of soup as she thought about how to answer that. "He... I think he's in love with me?" she told them. "He... Ever since I got into the KAV he would bring me into his office and charm me with some kind of spell and he would sleep with me," she said nervously. "I was with him the night before I killed Staladin and he... he raped me without the spell and was angry that I didn't love him. He... he then told me that Staladin wanted to see me the following evening and he was very angry about it," she explained. Both of their eyes were wide in shock and horror about this story. Natalya swallowed nervously and felt her skin start to flush in embarrassment. Baegla gave her a sad frown and shook her head. "So he's even more of a monster than we thought," she said with disgust. Feliks took a deep breath and shook his head. "He was always an asshole but this is something else entirely," he said. "I wonder then if the whole reason Staladin wanted to sleep with you was some kind of power move against his son? It's all fucking disgusting," he said, growing angry. Natalya shrugged. "I didn't know they were related at the time but Pufuktin was fairly blatant about his disdain for Staladin," she told them. "Did you tell him you planned on killing Staladin?" Baegla asked her. Natalya shook her head. "I told no one. The only person I told afterwards was another soldier who helped me escape into the mountains. He's also why I wanted to go back. I just wanted to make sure they didn't find out and kill him," she said, trying to hide the fear and worry from her voice. "Who is this soldier?" Feliks asked her. "His name is Dimitri," she explained. "He's a half-elf. We were close in the KAV because we were the only ones who weren't high-elves." Feliks nodded. "Sounds about right," he remarked.   Baegla considered this for a moment before taking a deep breath. "I have to ask one more thing," she said, seeming conflicted. "You said you were a soldier for many years and... Well, I'll just be blunt about this," she decided. "Does the name Erikur Oblonsky mean anything to you?" she asked Natalya. Natalya swallowed fearfully and nodded as she remembered the beautiful high-elf lying in a pool of blood with his eyes full of pain and blood splattered across the pretty lavender feathers in his ears. "He... he was my first target," she admitted nervously.   Baegla face filled with pain and she walked away and paced the room, avoiding Natalya's eyes. This continued for a while. Feliks gave Natalya a comforting smile as they waited for the halfling. Finally she collected herself and walked over and reached out a hand to Natalya and squeezed Natalya's comfortingly. "I'm so... so sorry," she told Natalya with empathetic tears in her eyes. "You've been through so much pain," she said as a tear rolled down her rosy cheek. "I know you need rest and we'll let you stay here for the night. In the morning we can further discuss how to go about this," she decided. "I'm sure Fenneck will want to visit you soon as well," she assured Natalya. "He feels bad for shooting you and knocking you out," she explained, seeing the apprehension cross Natalya's face at the mention of Fenneck. "Okay," Natalya said cautiously.   Feliks stood up and smiled at Natalya. "Have a good night," he told her. "You're safe here, don't worry." Baegla nodded in agreement. "Welcome to Flottenheim love," she said sweetly before turning and leading Feliks out of the room. Natalya watched them leave and noticed guards outside her door.   Natalya finished the food and sat it down on the ground next to the bed, not even bothering to stand before lying back in the fluffy warm fox-fur cloak that she noticed she was laying on. It was the one Fenneck had been wearing when he found her. She felt an odd feeling as she realized it felt like he was there with her, causing her to look around the room in fear. Maybe he was invisible? They did seem to like magic here. She wondered if it was some kind of effect from the spell he'd put her under. "Hello?" she softly spoke into the room. Nobody answered and she realized the feeling was coming from inside her almost. After a little while she got used to the feeling and laid back into the warm bed to meditate.   ***   The next morning Natalya opened her eyes to a knock on the door. She looked around, remembering where she was and she slowly tried to stand, but her legs were weak and tired. Luckily the door opened and Natalya saw Fenneck in the doorway. He was wearing a nice silver tunic and he had had his hair in the same braids as the day before. Natalya noticed he seemed nervous as he walked into the room.   "Good morning," he greeted her, awkwardly rubbing his hands together. She gave him a confused look. "Good morning," she responded hesitantly. She shook her head at him and decided to put this to an end. "You... you can stop this okay? I... I'm not interested," she told him plainly, not wanting him to assume his spell was working. He gave her a conflicted look. "I... I don't understand-" "This spell," she accused him. "Please stop. I don't want this magic bullshit. It's starting to freak me out okay?" Fenneck looked startled by this. "I... it's not a spell," he told her. "Surely you've heard of thiramin?" he asked her.    She squinted at him in disgust and anger. How dare he try to lie to her about such a stupid myth. These Glitterfjellians were crazier than she thought they were. "That's just some story they tell children. It doesn't actually exist. Now stop. I'm not interested," she told him firmly. Fenneck stuck his nose up at her in frustration. "It is real," he argued back. "It's not nearly as wonderful as I'd hoped it be but... that's what this is," he told her sadly. "I'm not trying to trick you!" he promised her. Natalya glared at him distrustfully and he threw his hands up in annoyance. "My parents felt it!" he explained, trying to convince her. "As well as many other couples here! Look, you're from Lenisily," he pointed out. "I forget that they don't exactly like the idea there." She shrugged in annoyance. "I'm still not interested. I don't know you and I want it to go away!" she told him. Fenneck started laughing and he threw his hands up in exasperation. "Take it up with Corellon then. I doubt it will get you anywhere though, trust me, I've tried!" he said in annoyance.   He shook his head as he started pacing the room. "Look, I just came down here to check on you and to try and get to know you a little bit but clearly that's an awful idea and you want to be left alone in your prison cell to mope! So I'll just leave. I would ask your name but you'll probably accuse me of being a devil in disguise trying to trick you into giving up your voice or some stupid dragonshit like that!" he exclaimed in frustration. "This is a prison cell?!" she asked in confusion. Fenneck looked at her as if she was stupid. "Yeah, you think we're going to just let the best KAV soldier to ever walk this godforsaken tundra to just roam about freely in the palace?!" She look around in confusion and a new sense of fear. "Well... why is this room so nice?" she asked him. "I've seen prisons before and trust me, they don't look like this." He scoffed at her in frustration that this was what she was taking away from their argument. "You're in Glitterfjell, not Lenisily. What do you think we are, animals?" he asked her in annoyance. Natalya shrugged. "I don't know. I know you guys use a lot of magic here and that Pufuktin is scared of you and Baegla but-" Fenneck his hands cutting her off. "Pufuktin is scared of me?!" he asked her, clearly thrilled by the idea. Natalya rolled his eyes. Men and their goddamn egos. "You're ridiculous!" she accused him. "You're just like him aren't you?! All you care about is power and tricking people. I bet this room is all an illusion of some sort for me to trust you lunatics and spill all the KAV's secrets!" she said accusingly.   Fenneck burst out laughing at her. "Oh dear Corellon!" he swore. "You have no idea what's going on, do you?" he asked her. She glared at him for his condescension. "All I've learned since the moment you walked in here is that your a grade a asshole with a superiority complex," she said aggressively. "I don't care if you are my soulmate, I want nothing to do with you," she decided. Fenneck stopped and straightened himself out, clearly taken off guard by this. "I'm... sorry I gave you that impression," he told her. "I'm personally, a bit... frustrated by this situation as well," he admitted. "I'm just trying to get to know you," he told her, rather pathetically. Natalya sighed in annoyance. "What do you want to know?" she asked him reluctantly. "Well..." he started nervously. "What is your name?" he asked her. "Natalya," she told him. "Lieutenant Natalya Ivanhoff." He swallowed nervously. "Do you prefer to be addressed as Lieutenant?" he asked her, clearly reluctant to call her that. She rolled her eyes at him. "No, I'm not a soldier anymore anyway. I'm a prisoner in a foreign country," she said, passive-aggressively. Fenneck pursed his lips. "Are you mad I brought you in?" he asked her. She raised her brow at him. "I tried to kill myself because I knew I'd get arrested and tortured and you shot me through my wrist!" She held up he wrist to show him the scar. Fenneck shrugged and looked down, avoiding her eyes. "At least it wasn't because you thought I was too ugly to marry when you found out I was your thiramin," he poorly attempted a joke, clearly having taken her suicide attempt personally. Natalya softened her demeanor toward him as she realize how serious he was about this soulmate business. "That's why it felt like you were in here last night? Isn't it?" she asked him. Fenneck looked up and nodded nervously. "It... took me off guard as well," he admitted. "It... it was kind of... nice though," he told her, looking desperately into her eyes for some kind of comfort. Natalya shook her head, trying to understand this. "What... what is it?" she asked him. He cocked his head at her. "Thiramin?" he asked. She nodded.   Fenneck hesitantly walked toward her and sat down on the end of the bed. "Its... its when..." he swallowed, trying to collect his thoughts. Natalya noticed his ears were starting to flush red and she couldn't help herself from smiling at him, finding him rather adorable. "My parents told me that your thiramin is your... person. The person you marry. The person who becomes your best friend. Your... partner," he explained. "You feel it when you meet them and you know that they're the person you're meant to be with." He looked up and met Natalya's eyes and she felt her heart start to pound at the idea. "It's... confusing," Fenneck admitted. "I... I've waited for it for so long... I must admit it... it's not what I expected it to be like at all, so I... I understand if you're disappointed." He gave her a small, empathetic frown. Natalya felt confused and frustrated as she felt a swarm of strong emotions come over her. Fenneck seemed to share this and he looked away nervously. "I'm not really sure what's going to happen," Fenneck told her. "I know Baegla isn't done with you here and... I just wanted to see you in case she decided that you were... too dangerous to let go," he told her honestly. Natalya gave Fenneck a worried look. "Like... she'll kill me?" she asked him. Fenneck shrugged. "I have no idea," he admitted. "I'm not in charge. She rarely gives out such penalties but... your case is rather... particular." He saw her concern and he scooted closer to her and slowly reached out his hand to take her own. As their hands touched they looked into each others eyes as they felt the excited chemistry between themselves. They instinctively moved closer to each other and Fenneck slowly leaned in to kiss her. As their noses gently touched the door suddenly opened and Baegla walked in with Feliks, prompting Fenneck to leap away from Natalya in fear.   Baegla gave Fenneck a concerning look before clearing her throat disapprovingly. "Fenneck darling," she addressed him. "Would you please excuse us?" Fenneck nodded guiltily and looked at Natalya longingly. "I um... Thank you for... meeting me," he told her sweetly. She nodded shyly to him. Fenneck awkwardly bowed to the room before quickly leaving the room. Natalya turned to Baegla and Feliks who once again pulled chairs up to her bed. "Sorry to interrupt," Baegla said as she sat down. "I didn't ask him to come here," Natalya assured her. Baegla nodded. "I know dear," she said. "You're thiramin, right? I assume it's only natural, especially with Fenneck. However I still am not certain I want you alone with any of my citizens," she explained bluntly. "You did kill his... well." She swallowed as if she wasn't quite sure what to call Erikur and Fenneck's relationship. "Fair enough," Natalya agreed. "So... thiramin is a real thing?" she asked Baegla. Baegla cocked her head at Natalya. "Of course dear," she said. "For elves at least. Many couples here in Flottenheim are thiramin matches," she explained. Feliks nodded. "My wife and I are thiramin," he told her. "I know they don't encourage the belief of it in the KAV and soldier programs in Lenisily. It surprised me too when it happened." Baegla gave Natalya a comforting look. "I know it probably makes this all the more confusing," she said. "Hopefully we can get through the rest of this relatively easily," she told Natalya. "It is a busy day and I do need to be quick. I have a lot to attend to," she explained.   "Now, first things first," she said, pulling out a ledger to take notes in. "You have admitted to killing the Emperor Staladin, Lord Arrallath and Erikur Oblonsky. Of those three, one would consider you a hero in Thymryu, one would consider you an extremist in Lenisily and the other, frankly, makes you a murderer in Glitterfjell. Erikur was a very prominent, important citizen here. He helped pave the way for the revolution and civil rights and many other wonderful acts of service to our small kingdom. I'm not trying to guilt you," she assured Natalya. "I am just saying the facts. Your presence here is not going to easily fall under the radar and I need you to be aware of what I am responsible for holding you accountable for." Feliks cleared his throat. "One could argue though that his death was not her fault," he countered. "You have been known to pardon and forgive others for their past mistakes. Especially if they were following orders," he pointed out, clearly talking about himself.   Baegla nodded. "I have and I'm not ruling such a thing out. Killing Staladin was no small thing. If anything that should be the main thing I base my judgement on. Staladin has been our greatest enemy for ages and we were quite grateful to learn of his demise. I do believe your intentions are good. You clearly care about your people. Perhaps I allow Fenneck to accompany you to the festival tonight and show you around the city. You will not be allowed to carry any weapons and the guards will be alerted to your presence but I trust that you will be on your best behavior?" she asked Natalya. Natalya shrugged. "Okay," she said. "I don't have anything else to do it would seem." Baegla frowned. "Look," she said. "I want to believe that the gods sent you here for a reason. Especially if you're Fenneck's soulmate. I have to be cautious though and not allow us to let our guards down too much. After tonight you might have a different opinion of our little city. Perhaps we can offer you a purpose. I know you have a strong desire to face Pufuktin and to save your friend but it is a very dangerous endeavor. You can clearly handle yourself well in the mountains. Fenneck and I have talked about trying to map out the area up there. Perhaps you and him could do it together." She stood up to leave. "I will go and inform Fenneck of our plan for the evening. I'll have the guards bring you a wash basin so you can clean up and eat something before he arrives." Feliks stood up and nodded politely to Natalya as they left.   After a few moments the guards brought a basin in and left Natalya to bath. She tried not to think about everything that had just happened as she slipped into the water. It was all so much and she wasn't quite sure what to make of it.   As she lowered her frostbitten skin into the water she winced a bit but pushed through the pain to scrub the grime and dried blood from her skin. She realized all of her wounds had healed over and her toes were almost black they were so damaged from the cold. She took her time and by the time she was done she felt worlds better as she got out of the bath and wrapped the robe they had left her around her skinny, frail body.   She brushed out her hair and pulled half of it back into a braid. As she was tying it off she heard a knock at the door. "Come in!" she called out.       His bow was already drawn and aimed at Natalya. When their eyes met she felt a warm feeling come over her. A strong feeling that told her he was meant to be with her. A feeling that made her desire to love this person. A feeling Natalya distrusted with all of her being as it reminded her of the tricks Pufuktin would play on her. "Who are you?" The elf asked her. He seemed hesitant and confused but not exactly hostile. His voice was beautiful and songlike. "Get away from me!" Natalya exclaimed, waving her bow threateningly. The elf had an uneasy look cross his face before he looked down at her leg. "You're injured. Let me help," he asked her slowly, starting to lean down toward her. "Don't touch me!" she spat at him. "And stop this magic bullshit. Your charms won't work on me." Natalya glared at him threateningly. He looked at her, genuinely confused. "I'm not trying to hurt you." He slowly lowered his bow. "It's not magic," he said, seemingly upset. "I promise." Natalya didn't move. "Who are you? Where am I?" she asked him, still aiming her bow. "You're in Glitterfjell, just northwest of the the city of Flottenheim. My name is Fenneck," he said. Natalya felt her heart drop as she realized who was before her. It was the elf that had almost killed Dimitri in the woods that day. The elf whose partner she killed. He looked a bit startled at her reaction. "What are you doing in these dangerous mountains? Are you running from something? Or... someone?" She didn't answer him. She was too scared. Surely this elf would love nothing more than to gut her if he found out who she was. "You're making this quite difficult you know. Please lower your bow, I don't want to hurt you," he said rather desperately. He seemed to be getting upset with her and Natalya reluctantly lowered her bow. Fenneck came closer to her. "Let me see your leg," he asked her, a bit more gently this time. Natalya didn't speak as he moved toward her and gently touched her twisted ankle. Natalya felt it instantly relieved of pain as his magic healed it back to normal. Magic like she had used to save Dimitri that day. "Thank you," she thanked him in Lenisilian instinctively. He smirked at her. "You're welcome," he responded. She looked panicked and realized her mistake. "So you're from Lenisily?" he said pointed out. He looked at her with a sense of realization prompting Natalya to slowly reach for her dagger. "Your hair..." he said studying her. "You're the wood elf that... that killed Staladin aren't you?" he asked her. Natalya froze and felt the color drain from her face. "I..." she stuttered. He looked pensive for a brief moment, as if he was wrestling with himself. "Can... can I buy you a drink?" he asked her, rather awkwardly. Natalya squinted at him, confused. "I'm not really sure how to thank someone who kills your greatest enemy, but I figured I could at least start by getting you a drink. There are some great meaderies and distilleries in Flottenheim," he informed her, giving her a somewhat forced smile. Natalya stared at him, confused by his response. "You aren't going to arrest me?" she asked, perplexed. "Are you joking? You're a hero here." He laughed softly. "The streets of Flottenheim were filled with dancing and cheers the night we heard of his death. Baegla would love nothing more than to thank you herself." Baegla. Baegla was the infamous sorcerer she had heard about all these years. Pufuktin's worst nightmare. Natalya wanted to trust this elf, but worried she might fall into a trap. Fenneck took a heavy sigh. "Well, can I at least know your name?" His eyes met her own and she felt an annoying fluttering in her heart. "Natalya," she blurted out before she could stop herself. "Natalya," he uttered her name slowly and gracefully, as if tasting a fresh berry in his mouth. "That's a beautiful name." He smiled to himself looked up at her with his bright green eyes begging her to trust him. "Please come to Flottenheim with me. I'm not sure if you're heading somewhere in particular, but Baegla would not forgive me if I failed to convince you to meet her." He stretched out his hand for her to take it. Natalya shrunk away from him. "I will if you stop this charm effect," she said defensively. He frowned and looked deeply hurt by her words. "I already told you. It's not a spell. Surely you've heard of thiramin?" His eyes were full of fear now. Thiramin? No no no no no. That couldn't be what this was. Natalya had never actually known anyone who had experienced it before. Supposedly it was some fairytale. "That's just some story they tell children. It doesn't actually exist. Now stop. I'm not interested," Natalya said, hoping he would stop lying to her. Fenneck looked hurt by this statement. His face grew hurt and angry. "Then I guess you can stay here and try not to freeze to death." He stood up abruptly and stared her down. "I promise, it's no spell. A curse perhaps, but I didn't cast it." He angrily turned away as if to leave. He stopped as he walked into one of the apple trees for a brief moment. "If you change your mind, come find me at the palace in Flottenheim," he told her, without looking back. He started walking away. Natalya stood up and brushed the snow off herself. Her heart felt heavy watching Fenneck walk away. What if he really was her soulmate? What if this wasn't some trick? "Wait!" she called after him. He stopped without turning around. "You promise it's safe?" she asked him. He slowly turned to face her. "On my life," he promised. As his strong green eyes met her own she felt a sensation of peace and trust consume her. "Then I'll go," she told him. He smiled, hesitantly, seeing she had changed her mind. "This way, we aren't too far actually," he said before turning and leading her through a ridge. Natalya took one last look to the north; she thought about Dimitri, about Pufuktin, about the mess she had left behind, about her home. She took a deep breath and followed Fenneck through the mountains toward Flottenheim, toward this new path the universe had thrown her way.