Chapter 13 part 1:

Ten years later

A solemn, cold breeze drifted over the empty field. The large tree in the middle of the field, which many years ago grew beautiful and green, now stood naked, with no leaves and no new branches growing from it. It still had scars from a fire from long ago. Even the grass and the wildlife surrounding the tree had not grown back, where before their growth could hardly be contained. It was as if it was frozen in time.

Silas’s boots crunched on the dead grass as he approached the tree, a small bundle of white flowers local to the area in his hands.

“Nothing yet, huh?” Silas whispered, patting the trunk of the tree like it was an old friend. He then circled to behind the tree, where a little grave sat. He crouched down beside the forlorn little grave marker, wiping the dust off and laying down a few flowers down in front of the grave.

“Hey Emmeline,” he said, taking a seat next to the grave and taking off his armor headpiece. He placed the armor next to him with a small thunk and pushed his short, blonde hair out of his face. He smiled weakly, his face still youthful and handsome, but his eyes were dark, and the eye bags under his eyes were increasing daily, “Sorry it’s been awhile. They have been keeping me incredibly busy. I practically had to threaten abandonment before they’d give me a day off.” Silas chuckled, shaking his head, “You wouldn’t believe what my commander said when I told him that.”

Silas then looked down and stuck his hand down his armor plate and shirt, pulling out a small necklace with his wedding ring hanging from it. It had a crack in it, but Silas had gotten it repaired, and, in fear of losing it, kept it around his neck, instead of on his pinky, “I still have it. Even after four years, I haven’t lost it once.” He paused, contemplating, as he held the small ring in his calloused hand, “Actually, I almost did, once. And that was the night-” Silas stopped himself, looking down at the grave, “It was the night you died. It broke in half. I had to get it fixed.” Silas chuckled softly, “That poor blacksmith. I must’ve looked like a mad man. He told me he didn’t know how to fix it, because it was made of wood. He managed to fix it, though, after some desperate pleading from me. And I’ve sent a lot of business his way since, so it wasn’t all that bad for him.”

Silas carefully put the ring back behind his shirt and patted it, ensuring it was safe, “I still haven’t found them. I always keep an ear open, but it’s getting incredibly difficult to keep my hopes up. It’s been ten years since I last saw my family. How much longer should I wait until I let them go?” Silas took a deep breath and blew it out, turning his head to the side, “I really wish you were here. You’d know exactly what to say to make me feel better. Or,” Silas said with a weak smile, “You’d at least say something silly, and just for a little bit, I’d forget about the pain.”

Silas got up on one of his knees and placed his ungloved hand on the dirt mound in front of the grave marker. He closed his eyes and imagined Emmeline was there with him. He strained his ears, trying to imagine her light laughter and her beautiful voice, but every day he found it harder and harder to remember what she sounded like. It was almost impossible for Silas to recall her voice now, but a small part of him still remembered her laughter.

Silas became so lost in his thoughts that he did not even hear his subordinate approach.

“Captain!” The young soldier named Redford said, clicking his feet together and bowing slightly for a moment before rising. Silas opened his eyes and icily glared up at the young man, which made him falter slightly, “I’m sorry, Sir! The colonel asked me to come and check up on you! She said this may be a difficult time for you-”

“Redford!” A deep, angry voice snapped out from a short distance away, “You useless little-” A short, but imposing elven woman barked as she approached the duo. Her heavy armor did nothing to slow her down as she briskly walked up to the two men, looking ready to break the young soldier in half, “Go check on the latest shipment that arrived!”

“Ma’am!” Redford yelped before repeating the shallow bow, his red hair falling into his face, “But the last shipment has already been processed?”

“Then go shine my shoes or something! Just get out of my sight!” She snapped, furiously waving him away. They both watched the young recruit take off before Silas stood up completely and the colonel rubbed her eyes in frustration.

“Gods have mercy, I’m going to kill that child.” She whispered, before looking up at Silas, “I’m sorry he said that. I just wanted to make sure you’re alright. I can only imagine how difficult it is to be back here, especially after some time.”

Silas looked away coolly before leaning down and collecting his helmet, “No need to worry about me, Colonel. I’m fit for duty.”

“Silas,” She said, glaring down at him, “You know what I meant, don’t be a smart talker.”

Silas looked away from her before attempting to walk past her. At this slight, she grabbed his arm and held it tight, slightly pulling Silas back to her,

“Stop running from me, Silas.”

“Let go, Adora.”

“Not until you talk to me.”

Silas turned around, glaring darkly at his superior officer, “You were the one that decided we should put some distance between us,” He then took a step towards Adora, but unlike Redford, she glared back at him, “So let go of my arm and kindly fuck off.” Silas said before violently ripping his arm away from her and angrily walking away, leaving Adora to stand there and watch him leave before she threw up her hands in frustration and spewed off a litany of foul language.

“He should thank the gods that I can’t wring my hands around his neck!” She cried, holding her hands up, pretending to throttle a certain elf’s neck. Yet after a moment, with an exasperated sigh, she dropped her arms to her side. Adora looked at the dead ground at her feet before glancing over to the small grave in front of the dying tree. Adora looked at it for a moment, her eyebrows scrunching up, before she looked away with a sigh.

“I’m sorry, Emmeline. I’m trying so hard to take care of him, just like you asked.” Adora shook her head slowly, “He just makes it incredibly difficult sometimes. I sometimes think he’s worse now than he was four years ago.”

Adora took one more glance at the small grave before saying an elven prayer and walking away, keeping her back to the small, lonesome grave.

…

Silas stood over the many papers covering his desk, trying to make headway in the incredible amount of paperwork he had. The smell of ink permeated the air, giving Silas a pounding headache. After seeing Emmeline, he was no longer in the mood to work. If anything, he was begging for a distraction to take his mind away from it.

It was only the shuffling of feet outside of the tent that made Silas look up, his hands resting at his temples with a stressed expression.

“Yes?” Silas called, putting his hands down on the table, sighing to himself.

“I’m sorry to bother you, Captain!” Redford called out from outside the tent, “But I’ve completed all my duties, and I was told to see if you needed any help before I return to the barracks!”

Silas rolled his eyes, but still allowed the young, human soldier into his tent. He grabbed some paperwork from the large pile and signed off on them quickly before passing them over to the approaching soldier, “Get these to command. Tell them there has to be traces of vegetation if they want elves to move here. They’ll get the hint.”

Silas then sat in his seat and leaned his head back, closing his eyes as the soldier barked out a “Yes, sir!” before racing off.

Why are we even doing this? How do they expect elves to want to live here when everything is dead? All these fires have ruined the ground. Silas groaned and rubbed his forehead before sitting back up, trying to finish more paperwork before he went out to see Emmeline’s grave again. There were things he had wanted to catch her up on, but having those uninvited guests made it difficult for him to clear his mind properly.

This time I’m not telling anyone where I’m going. Silas thought to himself with a shake of his head.

…

Clarence sighed as he finally finished his lessons for the day, stretching his long legs out from under the table and leaning back. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting them rest after looking over his books for hours. The library was the perfect place for Clarence to study, as it was quiet and peaceful. Bookshelves lined all the walls from the floor to the ceiling, and they were all full of books from all over the world, varying in language. Even some elven books were hidden inside the library, but they had not been touched in decades. The library smelled like dust and old books, and though Clarence was not keen on the smell, he enjoyed the library nonetheless.

In the back of the room, next to a grand window, there were some tables and comfortable seats, made with a dark oak wood that matched the bookshelves. Clarence was situated near the back, sitting in front of a desk near the window, where light was streaming in over his face. He did not mind, though. He actually enjoyed the warmth on his face.

However, when he heard the door open and quietly shut a moment later, he opened his eyes and sat up in his chair, reaching for his concealed dagger.

“There you are, Clarence.” A young, handsome man with curly, blonde hair and piercing brown eyes said, grinning as he quietly made his way over to the back of the library and snuck over to him, “Goodness, I thought I’d never escape that nasty tutor.” The boy’s lips danced in a saucy grin, and the mole at the corner of his right eye made him seem even more mischievous. Clarence shook his head and relaxed his arm, releasing his grip on his dagger.

“Eh, she’s not that bad, Alywin. You’re just a horrible student.” Clarence said casually, leaning back in his chair and smiling, “And you sneak out all the time. Like now?”

Alywin snuck around Clarence's desk and sat in front of him, his legs on either side of Clarence, “So? I don’t want to study anymore! Besides,” Alywin said, reaching out his pale fingers, twirling one of the silk strings holding Clarence’s shirt shut in his hand, “I’m bored, and you look pretty bored too.” He looked up at the prince and smiled.

“No, I actually finished my studies, and I was resting my eyes.” Clarence said, nonchalantly pushing Alywin’s hand away with the back of his hand. He then fixed his shirt with an annoyed expression. Alywin rolled his eyes and pouted, standing up and slowly walking over to the window in the library. He looked out at the large, lush garden without any expression.

“How are you not bored to tears with all this studying?” Alywin asked, leaning against the window as he looked back at Clarence, his eyes crinkled with his infamous, troublesome grin. Clarence smirked sarcastically and rolled his head back, looking up at the ceiling without any interest,

“Because I don’t have the luxury of not studying. I’m going to be king eventually.” He stated plainly.

“That is why you have fun now!” Alywin said, slipping back over to Clarence with a mischievous grin. He lifted himself onto the arm of the chair where Clarence was sitting and moved onto the prince’s lap, slinging his arms over Clarence’s neck like a lock. His face moved closer and closer to Clarence’s, as if he were attempting to kiss him.

This caused Clarence to frown as he looked at Alywin’s arms with more impatience, “You can be serious once you have the throne. Until that happens though,” Alywin said with a mischievous smile, standing up and tugging playfully on Clarence’s shirt. Clarence rolled his eyes, but followed along anyway, “You can have some fun with me.”

“My mother made a mistake when she let you in the castle.” Clarence said with a sigh as Alywin wound himself around the prince’s arm before he dragged him out of the library, glancing around to make sure his tutor was not in sight.

“For only being eighteen, you sure act like an old man!” Alywin said with a smile and a teasing pat on the arm, continuing to pull the reluctant Clarence away from his responsibilities.

…

Silas wiped once more at his tired eyes as he finally put his paperwork done and stumbled over to his unmade bed. He threw himself on the jumbled mess of blankets and closed his eyes, quickly falling to sleep.

Silas did not think he would dream, but he did. He had a horrible nightmare. Black outlines followed Silas as he ran in a never-ending forest. He ran, his breath ragged as he tried to stop himself from tripping on vines that began to wrap around his feet. A scream tried to escape his lips, but it remained stuck in his throat. He just continued to run until he saw a clearing. Summoning his last bit of strength, he sprinted the last bit until he broke out into the sunny, lush clearing. Panting, he glanced around. His eyes searched for someone to help him, but all he saw was grass. He shouted out for help, but all that he heard was his echo. Silas closed his eyes, listening for sounds of life, but he snapped his eyes open when he felt intense heat on his face. He was surrounded by fire. There was no way out. He would burn to death. As the fire caught on his arm, the outlines in the forest watched, smiling happily as Silas’s arm quickly burned, and it began to spread all over his body. As he finally summoned a horrible scream, he awoke with a start.

That was when he noticed Adora was stepping into the tent.