Seed's of the Past

From her view on the castle wall, Temerity looked over the small city. In the courtyard bellow she could see a crowd gathering around two men, one in fine armor and the other in the rough leather of a ranger. After a few moments it was easy to tell they were fighting for the hand of a rich merchant's daughter, who sat at the side looking both distraught and charmed. Taking a bite from her red apple, Temerity leaned forward to watch the fight.

It was obvious that the knight was favored by the merchant. His armor was rich and his sword well made. He was also very handsome, with a charming smile and long golden hair. Every swing he took with his sword looked carefully practiced and elegant, and the crowd cheered as they also favored him greatly. However, the girl's eyes strayed more often to the ranger.

It was hard to understand her interest at first. He obviously wasn't as rich as the knight, and while he didn't look bad he wasn't quite as handsome. His features were more worn, his skin dark and tanned from the life on the road, but as he parried and leaped back and forth suddenly Temerity noticed something she had missed. In that moment, she knew he would win.

The ranger had Elven blood. Diluted through a few generations, but still strong enough to give him that natural grace and litheness that few humans could hope to achieve. As he jumped backwards away from another swing, Temerity finally noticed the telltale hint of pointed ears and how softly his feet struck the struck as he fell back. While well trained, there was no way the knight could hope to outlast this man.

Entranced as she was in the fight, it took her a moment to notice footsteps nearby. Turning her head slightly to the side, she saw a guard walking by. The moment he saw her she saw his face contort, and heard the barely audible "ugh" in disgust as he noticed her horns and her tail. It was nothing new. At this point, Temerity was used to all the dirty looks people gave when they saw her. Staring steadily at him, she suddenly grinned, flashing her long canines. The guard paled slightly and stumbled for a moment, before hurrying past her with fear in his eyes. Again, nothing new.

Looking back at the fight she noticed the telltale signs of exhaustion on the knight. His face was covered in sweat and his movements slowed more with each swing. His armor was good in a long battle, but was only weighing him down for this fight. He was about to lose, and he knew it. His face looked less charming now, with his brow furrowed in frustration and his smile long gone and replace with an angry sneer. The ranger circled around him, waiting for the right moment to strike, patient. Suddenly, he dashed forward to strike at the knights side.

Temerity gasped with confusion as she saw him tripped forward and hit the ground just a few feet away from the knight. The knight put his sword at the ranger's throat with a cocky grin, and the ranger surrendered. Confused, she looked around, trying to understand how someone so surefooted could trip on nothing. Then, she saw the knight quickly glance and smile in the direction of a man in the crowd. A sorcerer. Suddenly, everything made sense.

Her tail flickering back and forth in anger, Temerity got up from her seat on the wall and stormed down to the courtyard bellow. Unfortunately by the time she reached it the knight was surrounded by fans who congratulated him on his fight. Annoyed but unwilling to start a commotion, she instead walked over to the ranger. As she stood before him, he looked up and gave her a small grin, briefly throwing her off guard, and waited for her to speak.

"The dancer danced around the knight
To win the maiden fair
But the knight began to lose the fight
So his friend tripped the dancer with air."

The ranger was silent for a moment, then burst out laughing, causing her to blush. His eyes wandered over to the young girl for a moment, smiling as she glanced at him one last time before walking away with the knight. He sighed and then leaned back to look at her better.

"Yeah, I had a feeling that's what happened. Just surprised he didn't do anything sooner. A proud knight like him would never let himself lose to a dirty ranger like me."

"So, you knew? Why didn't you say anything? You could have challenged him to another fight!" Temerity's tail once again began to flick back and forth as her anger returned. The ranger just smiled.

"I guess I could've, but that would have only make me look weak. She's better off with him anyways, I just let myself get wayward for a pretty face. I've always been married to the road, and it's wrong to cheat on her now. It was my own fault for thinking I might be able to out trick him."

Temerity looked at the ranger, knowing that regardless of what he said he was still disappointed. In that moment, she also noticed for the first time how beautiful his eyes were. They were such a lovely shade of green, she blushed and quickly looked away, her tail swinging slowly side to side, unsure of what to say to him. After a moment, he broke the silence.

"I'm guessing from your little poem previously that you're a bard?" Temerity nodded. "Mind playing me a little something?" With a smile, Temerity carefully removed a thin leather pouch from her bag. Then she drew out a thin beautiful flute. It was relatively simple at first look, but upon further inspection you could see that there was thin vines covering the flute and cast with silver. Slowly she lifted it to her lips and began to play.

First she started slowly, playing a soft melody to help reduce his stress and calm his nerve. Then slowly she changed it to a happier, faster tune, inspiring hope in him and making him ready to go back on his journey. After a few minutes of playing she slowed it down once more, ending on a sweet, high, note. With a shy smile she lowered the flute away, and to surprise heard clapping from behind her. A small crowd had gathered and we're smiling at her, before slowly drifting away. It wasn't new, but it was rare. For a moment, her music made them forget what she was.

"That was lovely. That's a beautiful instrument, where did you get it?" He asked her his voice soft, eyes staring at her flute with admiration. Her tail flickered in joy, happy to have impressed him with her precious item. She sat down carefully, holding out the flute for him to observe. After looking at it carefully, he gently handed it back to her and she put it back away safely in her pouch.
"It was my mother's. My father died when I was very young, and life was rough for us. We lived on the outskirts of an elven village, but eventually many humans came to live there. The elves didn't like us but we're polite, but the humans hated and feared us. They poisoned our lake many times, costing us most of our money just to restore it. One day a half elf traveler drank from the lake by accident. None of my people wanted to help him, he shared blood with those who hated us. My mother however was kind, and took him in. When he recovered, they fell in love. He was a father to me."

Temerity paused for a moment, looking up and watching the people walk by, glancing at her ever so often. She played with her braid and took a deep breathe, the memories dancing before her eyes once more.

"One day, he sang my mother a song. He had a special ability, the ability to see a person's true soul. He sang her soul into a willow branch, and when he was done he held in his hands the flute. Then, he brought out a small lump of silver and sang another song, deep and sad and beautiful, and the silver carved vines into the flute. The silver was a piece of his soul he had given to her. However... A few years ago, when I was planning on leaving home, my mother grew sick. Despite purifying the lake, some poison had still gotten into her system,and over the years began to make her sick. Within months she passed. The Elven man stayed with me for a month, teaching me small things, and then one day came to me and handed me the flute. In that moment, I knew it was the last time I would see him. He walked into the woods, his voice sad and deep, singing his sadness."

They sat there in silence for a few minutes, the ranger absorbing her story. Finally, he broke the silence by gently placing an arm on her shoulder, and giving her a small smile.
"My name is Laethi. I hope you'll be kind enough to share yours." Temerity stared once more into his lovely green eyes, and smiled slowly.
"Temerity." She said softly. This man was something new.