Nineteen year old Adrian took a step forward, but his feet sunk into the sand of the fast desert. He struggled under the weight of Misti, the redheaded girl thrown over his shoulder. She'd been his best friend since he was four, and he always knew she'd be there for him. There was once a time when Adrian was there for no one, and he couldn't repay Misti, but now, he was trying to make up for that.
“She needs water.” Alastair, Adrian's other companion, announced. Alastair was a young elf of seventeen, but he wasn't a typical wood elf. No, Alastair was of the mysterious dark elf race, of which most human, merman and wood elf doctors knew nothing about, which led to many complications when trying to diagnose Alas with any kind of illness. Along with that, Alastair possessed strange powers; his eyes would glow a blood red when darkness fell, giving him enhanced night vision, several times better than any human, and, if the moon was out, his long white hair would turn black to hide him.
“I know, Alastair. But where do we get that water, in all of this?” Adrian answered, exasperatedly throwing his free arm up in the air and then around to scan the environment. It was his typical drama to do such...he was a king, after all.
Alas rolled his normally gray eyes and peered through the glare of the sun against the brown sands to the horizon line.
“You may not see it, but there is a smudge of green on the horizon. AND, before you say it's an illusion, I can feel forest magic.”
Adrian simply sighed, not entirely satisfied, but at least, he thought, they might be able to help his friend before she was beyond hope.
Truth be told, Adrian was panicking. Misti was the most important person to him in almost all the world, and he would probably die himself if she did. Earlier, she had simply collapsed out in the desert heat. But instead of feeling warm when he felt her pulse, she felt incredibly cold, and there was a cool sweat dripping down her face. Adrian was worried she'd been poisoned earlier in the king's palace, but without Starr nor Trent, their two doctors, he was unable to tell what poison. And in the desert-dwelling attire they wore, he could barely see more of his friend than her face and her hands, and that's when he took her head covering and gloves off.
“It's going to be alright, my love...I will never give you up easily.” Adrian whispered to the eighteen year old slung over his shoulder; she probably couldn't hear him, and he was speaking more to himself than to her. Anyways, she had no idea that he loved her, and probably never would.
It was several hours later, when the desert sun was setting in brilliant orange and red hues that Alastair began complaining to himself. He felt sick to his stomach, and his legs ached from walking in the sands, which was saying something, since Alastair's body was toned to excellence. The forest was visibly close, so he figured he would have relief soon. And now that his nightvision was beginning to kick in, he could see little huts in the shadows of the forest.
“Adrian...” 'Alas' began, struggling to pull his foot from a crag. “What would you give to have Starr here right now?”
“Quite a bit, but probably not as much as you would.” The older boy answered. Alastair turned on him.
“Why would I give more? We're both fearing for Misti's life, and most likely you're more worried than I am.”
Adrian chuckled, and Alastair knew exactly what he was getting at. If only the sand were snow, Alastair thought, I'd throw some at him.
“Never mind it. We both would like that little doctor here right now. No doubt Trent, Rainer, Liosliath and she have already made it to the destination. Say, Alastair, I wonder if that little forest up ahead was the great expanse of green that the townspeople told us to meet at?”
Alastair groaned at the thought. “Surely not. Surely I am not so cursed to believe that that is the only bit of green in this vast desert part of this country...”
“You know...” Adrian began, “I think I see them shining a light. What do you see, Alastair?”
“A group of beings lighting a fire in the center of the village.”
“There's a village?”
“Oh...” Alastair winced at the fact that he had forgotten the tell Adrian what he had been seeing. “Yeah...forgot to tell you that. Hey, did you see that? No, wait, you didn't...” Alastair trailed off as he strained his eyes to switch to night vision in the growing dimness, and they cooperated for once. Suddenly, his eyes began to water, and then cleared. The figures became sharper, and Alastair could make out a few flashes of pink light. He abruptly stopped walking and instead began ripping off the layers of clothing he was wearing. Taking out his knife, he gave up taking off the clothes and just cut through them to see the Shielding Shard embedded in his chest glowing fiercely. Adrian saw it, too, and smiles spread across their faces.
“They're in that village, aren't they? They're calling us.”
“Yes, indeed.” Alastair answered, and sheathed his knife.
It was hours later that Adrian lay on a straw mat in a hut in the middle of the village. Misti had already been healed by Starr, and was sleeping safe and sound with Starr and Liosliath on the other side of the village. Trent sighed heavily.
“You have parted me from my wife...” He mumbled grouchily.
“You'll get over it.” Alastair answered.
“Eh? Don't you not like being separated from the girls?”
“No, I don't, but that's the way this country works, and we don't want to appear barbaric to them.”
“Yeah, but I'm married to Liosliath. I can stay as close to her as I want.” Trent answered, indignantly.
“Agh, we need someone watching Misti! And Liosliath is the woman to do it!” Adrian answered, frustrated. “Like I said, I don't like this place. In fact, I can't stand it. Strange customs and even stranger illnesses; making all medical skills save Starr's useless. But we have to bear it. We'll be out of here soon.”
“I know, but it's still miserable.” Alastair answered, turning over on one side.
“Hey, the trip hasn't been terribly bad for you.” Adrian shot back, sarcastically.
“Don't be silly. I got seasick on the ship, was chased and caught by dogs in the town, was condemned to death by their emperor...what else could possibly go wrong?”
“Starr get poisoned and almost die.”
“Oh.”
The three young men were quiet for several minutes before Alastair spoke up again.
“Sorry for complaining, Adrian. You know, you really should just ask her to marry you before we all die.”
“Shut up and let me sleep, Alastair.” Adrian answered, sighing. He tried to close his eyes in sleep, but he couldn't. He kept worrying about he girls alone on the other side of the village. Something would have to be done about it.
-Argent ♥
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