Click.
The door swung open.
Ed barely had ti to process the movent before Zareth barreled in—fast, urgent, and completely oblivious to the fact that Ed had just stepped out of the bath.
Ed, clad in nothing but a towel, blinked.
"Uh—?"
Then it happened.
A small puddle of water near the entrance. Zareth's foot hit it at full speed.
Slip.
Crash.
"Gah—!"
Zareth went down hard—straight into Ed.
Ed barely had ti to curse before both of them hit the floor, limbs tangled, the breath knocked out of him.
A beat of silence.
Then—
"Oh! Sorry!"
A distinctly female voice.
The door slamd shut.
Ed froze.
No.
No, no, no—
Slowly, painfully, he turned his head.
"Zareth…" His voice was dangerously low.
Zareth, still sprawled across him, winced. "Uh…"
"Who. Was. That?"
Zareth hesitated. Then sighed. "…My sister."
Ed's stomach dropped.
"Your sister?"
"Yup."
A long pause.
"Zareth."
"Yeah?"
"Your only sister?"
"Yup." Zareth exhaled. "Vynesaa."
Of course, it was.
And now she had walked in on this absolute disaster.
Zareth opened his mouth, then closed it. Because, yeah.
That probably did look bad.
Ed covered his face with one hand.
Zareth sat up with a groan. "Eh, she probably doesn't care."
With a sigh, he shoved Zareth off and got to his feet.
"Alright, whatever. Why the hell did you co charging in like that anyway?" ed asked.
Zareth perked up, suddenly rembering why he was here in the first place.
"Oh! Right! I got permission from Father!" His grin returned. "You're allowed to train with us!"
That got Ed's attention.
He straightened. "Really?"
"Yup!"
A slow smile ford on Ed's face.
Finally.
Training with them ant real techniques. ant getting stronger.
"But…"
Zareth's grin faded slightly.
'Of course there's a 'but.'' ed thought.
Zareth scratched the back of his head.
"It's my teacher. She doesn't just train anyone. She only accepts those she deems worthy."
Ed crossed his arms. "What, like a noble test or sothing?"
Zareth snorted. "Not even close. Most kids fail. Even noble kids." He tilted his head.
"Right now, it's just and Vynesaa."
That gave Ed pause.
Only two students? In a palace full of elites?
"So, what's the test?" he asked.
Zareth sighed. "It's… different for everyone. She figures out your biggest weakness and makes you prove yourself against it.... that was my test but I failed."
Ed frowned. "Biggest weakness?"
"Yup." Zareth smirked. "She's kinda terrifying like that."
Ed didn't answer.
He was already thinking.
What would this teacher see as his biggest weakness?
His body?
His lack of proper training?
The fact that he was a human outsider in a world of elves?
Whatever it was… he wasn't planning to fail.
Zareth clapped him on the shoulder. "Get ready. The test is tomorrow morning."
Ed raised an eyebrow. "That soon?"
"Yeah."
"Great. No pressure or anything."
Zareth grinned. "Oh, tons of pressure, actually. But don't worry, you'll either pass or be brutally humiliated in front of everyone."
Ed rolled his eyes. "Wow, thanks. That makes feel so much better."
"Anyti, buddy."
Ed exhaled, shaking his head.
Tomorrow, huh?
He'd be ready.
.
Later that evening, Ed sat cross-legged on the bed.
He exhaled slowly, steadying himself.
"It's ti," he murmured. "Bloodmoon let's see your mories."
{Hmm....}
The sword did not glow, did not hum with power. It simply remained as it was—silent.
Then, a pulse.
A slow, deliberate pull at the edge of his mind.
And suddenly—
The world shifted.
———---- -----———
First Breath, First Pain
The first sensation was cold.
It was not a gentle cold.
It was sothing deeper—sothing that gnawed at his skin, seeped into his bones, and wrapped around his tiny body like an unseen predator.
The cub lay curled beneath a towering pine, its branches heavy with frost.
His fur was white, blending into the snow around him, his breath weak and shallow.
He did not know how long he had been here.
Had he always been here?
No mories surfaced.
No warmth, no voices, no pack.
Only the howling wind and the vast stretch of white, endless and indifferent.
He was alone.
His small body trembled, but he did not whimper.
He did not yet know how.
The hunger ca next.
A sharp, twisting ache in his belly, demanding sothing he did not have a na for.
He shifted, his paws unsteady beneath him. The snow clung to his fur, pressing against his skin like icy hands.
Instinct guided him forward.
The world was too big.
The trees stretched high into the sky, their dark silhouettes towering over.
The ground beneath the snow was uneven, hidden roots and stones threatening to trip him with every step.
He was weak. His legs wobbled. His breath ca in short bursts.
Yet he moved.
Because he had to.
---
The first scent was blood.
A sharp, tallic tang that cut through the crisp air, awakening sothing deep inside him.
It made his mouth water, his paws move faster despite the exhaustion dragging at his limbs.
Then he saw it.
A fox.
Sleek and red-furred, its body poised low to the ground. It held sothing in its jaws—a hare, limp and lifeless, the white fur stained with fresh crimson.
The fox's eyes, sharp and golden, flicked toward him.
The cub did not stop.
He did not yet understand danger.
Only hunger.
His small form stumbled forward, drawn by the scent, by the promise of sothing to fill the aching void in his belly.
The fox growled. A low, rumbling warning.
The cub did not understand.
He reached for the carcass, his teeth barely grazing the snow-stained fur—
A flash of movent.
A sharp snap.
Pain.
Blinding, searing pain erupted in his neck, a pressure that crushed down with terrifying strength.
He felt sothing warm spilling from his body, his limbs weakening, his vision fading—
And then—
Darkness.
Nothingness.
For the first ti, he died.
---
And then he breathed.
His eyes opened.
He was lying in the snow, his body whole, untouched.
But the pain—the pain was still there.
Reviews
All reviews (0)