David Dalglish - A Dance Of Death

Laryssa stood, leaning heavily on her chair. Despite the shaking of her arm, she let it go, and stood to her full height without aid. Looking down at Alyssa, she shook her head.

“We do not fear the blades and fires of man. We are Celestia’s children. My father walked the land when your gods first breathed life into the dust, creating such imperfect servants. We saw you come from dust, and will still be here when you return to it, having learned nothing, accomplished nothing. Only destruction. It is all you humans know.”

All about her, the elves cheered, and whatever hope Alyssa had dwindled and died. She was not on trial, not anymore. There in the starlight, she stood representing the crimes of all her race. Her innocence didn’t matter. Her words of defense would not change anything. The elves wanted blood for Laryssa’s wounds, and for the others killed by the mobs. Random lowborn peasants hanging from ropes would not satisfy them. They wanted the highborn, the nobles. Someone whose death would matter. Someone like Alyssa.

She prayed her execution would be swift, and painless.

“Look at me,” Laryssa said, stirring Alyssa from her thoughts. “Tell me, why did you send your pet after me? Let me hear it with my own ears, the reason for your betrayal. Was your anger so great, all because we would not risk our lives for you? Is that it? I saw the eye drawn with my blood, and know it was left by the Watcher, who you brought with you from Veldaren.”

Alyssa stood tall, refusing to be humbled, regardless of her attire or the filth of the dungeon caked to her skin.

“When the mob attacked you, I was in hiding at a temple of Ashhur. I did not send the Watcher after you, nor my friend, Zusa. Even now, you are manipulated by the fools you so openly deride. Do you think you would have lived if I had sent the Watcher? Do you think he’d be so foolish as to leave his mark? You believe the lies you hear because you desire vengeance, and I fit every falsehood you put upon my kind. You want to believe us betrayers, murderers, a race without hope, without redemption. Even those who helped you might turn on you, that’s what you want to believe. You need it, all so you can justify the bloodshed you wish to create.”

She turned and spat, knowing full well how great an insult it would be doing so in front of their princess.

“I will have no part of it, and will accept no blame. I never betrayed you. It was you who betrayed me. I never struck against you. It was you who came after me, killing all in your way. I have tried to prevent warfare, yet you have courted it with every word you speak, and every arrow you fire. Execute me if you wish, but I die innocent, and the war you so desperately seek will destroy the last hope of peace between our kind. Go on, Laryssa. Kill me. Let me see the hatred, ignorance, and bloodlust in your eyes, so I may know elf and man are alike in every…single…way.”

The camp went silent. She could sense the mood about her, and it had turned decisively cold. A sarcastic smile tugged at her lips, and she truly could not care. For so long she had helped the elves, trying to find a compromise that would benefit the Trifect while minimizing the loss of life. If they wanted to kill her for it, then so be it. Her heart ached for Nathanial, and she wished to hold him in her arms and say goodbye, but the world was a cruel place. She’d learned that long ago, sitting in her own father’s dungeon, shivering in the cold.

“On your knees,” Laryssa said. When Alyssa refused, two elves approached, grabbed her shoulders and forced her to obey. One of them tugged her hair so she would lower her head respectfully.

“Alyssa Gemcroft, I find you guilty of your accused crimes. By your word, you struck against my kind, inspired mobs to riot, and nearly took my own life. You deserve a lengthy execution, but because of your rank, and your past cooperation, I will give you a painless death.”

The elf with the emerald eyes drew his sword, the blade sliding smoothly out of the oiled scabbard. Pulling back on her hair, he lifted her up, so she might face Laryssa. The keen edge of his sword pressed against her throat, and all around her, the elves held their collective breath.

“Do you have any last words for me to pass on?” the elven princess asked. “A final goodbye to your son, perhaps?”

Alyssa winced at the pain from her pulled hair, then gave Laryssa a smile.

“No goodbyes,” she said. “Not yet.”

Zusa leapt from behind one of the trees, and before the other elves could react, her dagger pressed against Laryssa’s throat. All around, elves drew weaponry and reached for bows, but Laryssa cried for them to halt.

“That’s a smart girl,” Zusa whispered into the elf’s ear. “Now let Alyssa go before I start cutting.”

“No,” Laryssa said. Alyssa felt the sword against her throat turn, angling sharper into her flesh. Blood trickled down the blade. “Once she is safely away, you will kill me.”

“I will kill you if she stays. This is not a negotiation.”

Alyssa could feel the tension, so thick it made breathing feel difficult. Zusa’s stealth had been perfect, her plan simple enough, but it seemed Laryssa had no intention of playing along.

“I am not alone,” Zusa cried to the others. She pulled the princess closer, one arm holding her head, the other positioning the dagger. “One false move, Laryssa dies, and you will face the Watcher.”

“You will suffer for this,” Laryssa said. “I am no hostage to be taken. Release me, or Alyssa dies.”

Zusa looked to the elf that held Alyssa.

“If Alyssa dies, I lose my employer. If Laryssa dies, you lose your princess. I wonder who will suffer more when we return to our homes?”

“Do not listen to her,” Laryssa insisted. “We have given in to their fear for far too long!”

Alyssa could sense the uncertainty of her captor. He pulled harder on her hair, but the sword no longer cut into her skin. Zusa’s eyes swept the camp. They were badly outnumbered, and while holding Laryssa kept them from attacking, so far it had not bought her and Alyssa an escape. The threat of fighting Haern seemed to have carried little weight as well.

A far cry made her jump, and pain streaked across her throat, the blade giving her a shallow cut. She wished to turn and look, but could not. Instead, she heard a body drop, and then Haern speak.

“He was to release an arrow,” said the Watcher. “A bad decision.”

Haern on one side, Zusa on the other, with Alyssa caught in the center. Both sides were eager to fight, but neither was willing to risk the death of their hostage. She tried to think of a solution, but could not. Part of her just wanted them to flee, to live. She saw no way for them to escape alive. But she didn’t need to.

“Laryssa!”

She recognized that voice. Storming into the camp came the ambassador, his face livid. He shouted something in elvish, turning and berating many of them at once. Laryssa said something in argument, but Graeven didn’t even let her finish. He turned to Alyssa and bowed.

“Forgive us this horrible travesty,” he said. “I can assure you, these elves do not represent Quellassar in any way.”

“I find that hard to believe,” Zusa said.

“If you wish to live, you must. They will not harm you, but first, you must let Laryssa go.”

Alyssa looked to Zusa, who shrugged. The emerald-eyed elf started to object, but Graeven shouted him down in their language. Again he bowed low.

“Please, Alyssa. You must trust me. There is no other way out of here alive.”

Alyssa swallowed, and praying she made the right decision, she ordered Zusa to let the princess go. Laryssa hurried away, and collapsed in the arms of another elf. Blood seeped from the bandages in her side, the red staining her dress. Meanwhile, the elf holding Alyssa tensed, but Graeven lowered his voice, and spoke with undeniable authority. The blade left her throat, and she felt the pressure on her head end as he released her hair. She accepted Graeven’s offered hand.