They were standing on the edge of a steep cliff that circled a little hidden valley. Down there was a small village arranged in a circle where young elves dressed in white robes played and ran around the central place surrounded by purple flowers and fruit trees. You could see greenery everywhere, and beautiful white and pink birds were dancing gracefully above a breathtaking waterfall that fell into a river below. It was a true paradise hidden in the forest. 

"Maybe we could pause here as you, ladies, seem to enjoy the scenery. What do you think? Elwyn asked. Follow me, he said before they could even answer the question. There's a natural staircase over there. 

He pointed to rock carved into the cliff. "

"I'm going down first, he said, leading Sasha and Manta. Be careful. The rocks may be slippery."

Sasha followed his advice and started going down slowly while holding onto the side of the cliff. She felt an oddly rectangular rock coming out of the wall and lightly pushed it back in. She shrugged and continued unbothered. A second later, She felt a light earthquake then a pebble hit her head. She looked up to see where the little rock fell from. 

"Rock avalanche! Behind you! Manta screamed at the top of her lungs."

The young girl, still holding onto the wall turned around to see big stones tumbling down the stairs at top speed. Manta hopped as fast as possible down the staircase and Elwyn stopped and glanced behind him when he heard the Etomanian screams in terror. He saw Sasha far behind, trying to escape the giant rocks getting closer to her by the second. 

"Sasha! Elwyn yelled as he ran towards the young girl. "

She gave him a look of terror. At the last second, she threw her bag up in the air before the impact. The avalanche came to a halt. 

"Sasha! No! The elf shouted in horror. Manta! Go to the village. Go get help! GO! he ordered, in an absolute panic."

The Etomanian went down as fast as her small legs could and jumped from tree to tree. She saw some elves from the village who heard the commotion. She hopped towards them. 

"Our friend is stuck under the rocks! Help us! pleaded Manta, in tears."

Elwyn ran towards the pile of heavy rocks that Sasha was buried under. He saw a pair of red wings peaking out of the mountain of stones. Upon reaching it, he was dumbfounded. A small fiery dragon was trying its hardest to dig the giant rocks from where Sasha's small arm was emerging. Merlin looked directly into the elf's eyes and let out a hearth-shattering scream of despair.

Elwyn fell to his knees and started frantically lifting the rocks one by one. He finally found her head covered in blood, her eyes closed. He tried to move the other rocks crushing her. He was panicked. His breath was fast and shaky, his heart pounding frantically in his chest, adrenaline rushing through his veins. He almost got her completely out but one of the stones, the largest, which he wasn't able to lift on his own, was still on her small leg. The elves from the village had finally arrived and Elwyn immediately ordered them to help him push. It finally rolled to the side, freeing the unconscious girl. Elwyn quickly examined her wounds. She had a large stream of blood running down her face, her nose was broken, she had cuts and bruises everywhere, multiple ribs appeared to be broken and her right leg was crushed. Elwyn put his ear onto her chest and...

heard nothing. He went pale. His heart skipped a beat. He never had to deal with a situation like this, but the adrenaline pushed him to instinctively put his hands on her frail chest and push down with all his strength. He tried to listen for a heartbeat once again. Nothing. He continued pushing, destroying the ribs that were still intact. 

Meanwhile, the other elves tried to stop the abundant flood of blood. Merlin laid next to Sasha, waiting for a sign of life. Manta sat in a corner, bawling her eyes out. 

Salty tears of guilt started to sting Elwyn's eyes, but then, the young girl suddenly started breathing again. He let out a whimper sight of relief and carried her to the village. He put her as carefully as he could on the bed in the healer's hut and left hastily. As soon as he got out, he fell to his knees, his head between his hands. He was well aware that Sasha wasn't out of trouble yet. It was all his fault. He couldn't help but feel this way.