#˖ ࣪ ˖ 𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒂 𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 » ella.

[maimedaffair]

❛   thank you ---------- that would have been it for me , i think. ❜ her lungs struggle to catch up as ella places a hand over her heart , wide emerald eyes still in a state of shock. leaving home hadn't been her finest plan , but it was one she was intent on finishing. coming into the fae realm was just a part of that journey ------ it was the only way to get to lucinda , after all.

she's in quite a state --- her dress is torn &* her skin is dirty from the forest floor she'd been thrown in to. the tear in her sleeve shows the blood of her arm. one moment , she'd been walking through the quiet woods -- the next , she'd been so easily knocked down by something otherworldly &* intent on having her for lunch. her iron dagger had done nothing. but a short scuff had ended with her being swept up by this man ------ her gaze flickers over @lornrequiem , reality slowly sinking in. her line of sight catches on his wings. so very different from what she'd assumed fairy wings looked like -------- her book hadn't shown her anything like that. wait ---- her book ! her gaze turns a bit frantic as she looks around then , a nervous noise leaving the brunette. ❛ we have to go back ! i need the book i had.   ❜

[maimedaffair]

ella's shoulders relax at his acceptance , a sigh of relief slipping past rouged lips. even better to not have to be tied to another fae. making deals was rule number one on the whole DO NOT DO list for mortals , but desperate times called for desperate measures. ❛   thank you. i didn't think it would be this dangerous. i even brought iron with me. ❜ ella touches the bracelets on her wrists , nervous as she glances around. she does not find azriel to be any threat -- if he was , he wouldn't have saved her , right ? unless he planned on something worse. fae were tricksters , weren't they ? she's not sure that would even scare her off if she wasn't desperate ------------ death was preferable to her stupid curse.

his command has her feet following instantly. she's glad she's tall --- long strides aren't as hard to catch up with. she walks just a bit behind him , unable to leave that exact positioning. she makes it look as natural as she can ------- the last thing she needs is some faerie figuring out she can't not do what they tell her to do.

❛   where are we going ? ❜ she murmurs , hugging her cloak closer around her sides like it might help her blend in with the woods around them.

⠀His  assumptions  were  right,  then.  She  had  dealings  with  a  certain  faerie,  and  depending  on  who  that  faerie  was,  it  could  either  be  with  a  lesser  faerie  who  had  harmless  magic  used  only  for  mischief...  or  a  faerie  with  malicious  intent,  and  if  it  were  a  high  fae  or  worse.  Alas,  the  circumstances  this  mortal�� girl  has  entangled  herself  in  couldn't  be  anything  good.  Azriel  knew  it  would  certainly  be  on  him  if  he  let  her  go  wandering  further  into  Prythian.  ⠀“ And  if  the  book  isn't  there?  It's  not  a  risk  worth  taking. ”  ⠀or  at  least  in  his  mind,  it  wasn't.  It  seemed  though,  the  woman  was  adamant  on  returning  to  the  place  of  danger  to  retrieve  her  book.  None  of  his  words  of  caution  were  sinking  in,  much  to  his  dismay.

⠀“ You  do  not  need  to  indebt  yourself  to  me. ”  ⠀He's  quick  to  refuse,  nose  scrunching  in  the  slightest.  The  book  had  clear  significance  to  her,  and  well,  it  wasn't  a  normal  book  from  the  sounds  of  it,  either.  In  the  hands  of  others?  It  was  a  disaster  waiting  to  happen.  Exhaling  a  sigh  of  defeat,  scarred  fingers  brush  away  dirt  from  his  leathers  as  he  straightens  up.  ⠀“  ...I  will  retrieve  this  book,  but  not  before  you  get  to  safety.  In  the  middle  of  a  forest  isn't  exactly  a  safe  haven  for  mortal  woman. ”  ⠀Azriel  wasn't  obligated  to  her  by  any  means,  and  any  illyrian  from  windhaven  would  have  ridiculed  him  for  his  lenient  nature  ——  but  they  were  barbaric,  and  he  refused  to  associate  with  any  of  them.  Brotherhood  or  no.

⠀Hazel  eyes  scout  the  area,  and  whispers  come  from  his  left; ⠀shadowy  tendrils  brushing  past  his  ear.  A  cottage  nearby,  they  croon.  Abandoned,  or  so  it  seems  to  be.  It  was  a  greater  alternative  than  standing  idly  in  the  woods.  ⠀“  Follow...  and  do  not  stray.  ”  ⠀is  all  he  commands  as  he  strides  forward,  letting  himself  be  guided  by  the  wisps  of  his  shadows.

[maimedaffair]

❛   you don't understand ------------ i need that book. it has magic in it ; faerie magic , to be exact. it shows me whatever i ask of it ----------- i need it to show me where to find a specific faerie. ❜ ella can tell him this much -- it does not reveal why she needs lucinda ; does not reveal her curse. her mother made her promise to tell no one of the curse of obedience that has plagued ella her whole life -- one cast on her from a stupid faerie who thought she was helping mortals with deals they were tricked into accepting out of fear of the faerie's rapidly changing moods. ( ' would you prefer i turn her into a frog or bless her ? ' )

❛   unless you know of a ditzy faerie known as lucinda , i need that book more than anything. ❜ emerald gaze turns pleading. ❛   you warned me of debts -- fae can't lie , can they ? so you didn't need to tell me. what if i willingly make a debt to you to get that book back for me ? ❜ foolish girl ; drawn to desperation at this point. life with this curse was not worth living -- she'd do anything to break it.

⠀What mortal thought it wise to wander past the wall and into faerie territory, thinking they could survive the heinous creatures without the proper means of protecting themselves? Azriel had to at least acknowledge her efforts of protection, even if the iron dagger was all but futile. Mortals had an interesting perception of them, it made the spymaster bemused. A mortal wandering these lands was was either foolish, or had business with the fae themselves⠀...⠀A bargain she made, perhaps? A string of pondering thoughts ruminate in the shadowsinger's mind as hazel eyes take in the almost frail looking female– no, woman. She was human, that much he could conclude, and all that his shadows could detect. Azriel couldn't exactly leave her to her own vices now, not without something else threatening her.

⠀“ Careful —— thanking the wrong faerie will have you indebted to them ”⠀⠀Not a scare tactic, but a simple fact. Someone had to tell her some of their secrets, and it was best she heard it from him and not someone with malicious intent. It seems to dawn on her of what he is, if her bewildered glance towards his wings is any indication so, and he tucks them closer to his shoulders out of instinct, as he does with his scarred hands when one stares too long. Azriel goes to question as to what exactly she was doing out here, but before he has the chance, she's frantically looking around for—

⠀“ A book? ”⠀⠀His eyes narrow, head tilting slightly as to gauge at her outburst —— always assessing, trying to figure people out.⠀⠀“ Go back? ”⠀⠀What was so significant about a book?⠀⠀“ Unless you want to tempt the creature that attacked you even more to chase you, I'd advise you to forget about the book ”⠀⠀It surely wasn't worth her life, was it? Mortals and their attachments to inanimate objects.