[Brinniel]

Raye stared into the darkness, waiting. She had been chained to the post for three days now and was already beginning to feel the presence of her approaching death.
Her stomach ached with hunger and her throat was cracked and dry. Twice a day night elves visited the murderess and beat her with sticks. The pain was unbearable, but Raye did not complain.
Aragilath took advantage of this. He tempted the murderess by telling her he would have mercy on her if she asked for it. But Raye refused to believe him. Even if the night elf was being honest, she would not lose her pride so easily.

Raye had given up hope long ago on any chance of escape. She quickly learned that Aragilath had been true to his word when he said escape was impossible. The chains that held her were fastened securely and for the first time in her life, the hook Raye had always concealed in her boot was useless. From day one, the murderess knew she would die here.

The fact she would die did not bother Raye. She had seen death too many times to fear it. It was the way she was to die that bothered the murderess. Though she had led Aragilath and the other night elves to believe she still had pride in herself, the truth was that she had lost it all. Raye was ashamed and embarrassed of what had happened to her. She was a murderess, and yet she allowed another being to kill her. She could not stand the thought of this.

Raye was still thinking about her own death when the cell door opened and then closed. She looked up, expecting Aragilath to be standing at the doorway with the usual smirk on his face, but instead she found herself staring at the reassuring face of Berethion.

The elf shook his head, almost smiling.
"Goodness, Corrowyn. What sort of trouble have you gotten yourself into this time?" he asked quietly.
"Berethion," Raye whispered, still unable to believe he was really there. "What are you doing here?"
Berethion smiled. "I promised to meet you on the night of the seventh day. Don't tell me you forgot about that, Corrowyn."
She had. During her stay in prison, Raye had lost track of how many days it had been since she left his cabin. Berethion was the last thing on her mind. But she would not admit this to the elf.
"How did you manage to get in here, Bereth?" the murderess asked.
"You're not the only one who can pick locks you know," Berethion responded, twirling a hook in hand.
"But there were guards."
"There were."
"And?"
"I killed them."
Raye frowned. "You don't kill, Berethion."
The elf shrugged his shoulders. "I do if it means saving another's life."
"I did not hear you fight them."
"I caught them by surprise."
Raye stared at the elf with a large frown on her face.
"Oh come now, Corrowyn," he said. "You must believe me. If I were lying, I wouldn't be here, would I?"
Raye nodded. She knew Berethion would never lie.
"Then if you truly came here to rescue me, why haven't you released me from these damn chains yet? I think I've been waiting long enough by now," she said rather impatiently.
But Berethion was quick to respond to Raye's request and got to work freeing her immediately.
Raye waited, trying to be a little more patient, still amazed that Berethion had saved her life for the second time.

Five years ago, Raye had managed to escape from the night elves without trouble. It was her attempt to escape the Grey Mountains where she was headed for disaster. The murderess had heard of the dreadful creatures that dwelled North. Unwilling to face whatever they were, she escaped from the night elves, and headed East.
The murderess quickly learned that heading East was a big mistake when she came across a swamp. It was the last thing Raye expected to see in the Grey Mountains, and the last place she wished to go. But by then, she had no other choice. She could not go back and face the night elves again. There was nowhere else to go but the swamp.
Raye had not been in the swamp long when she began to feel ill. Her head pounded and she felt nauseated. By the end of the day, the murderess had left the swamp, but the swamp sickness continued to feed on her strength. A fever raged inside her and by the time morning arrived, Raye was unconscious.
When she woke again, the murderess found herself lying in a bed inside a small cabin. An elf sat at her side, tending to her. He introduced himself as Berethion and told her he had found her on the borders of the Grey Mountains. The elf claimed that if he hadn't found her then, she would've died. Raye was too weak to disagree with what he said and allowed Berethion to care for her. She was surprised to find out the elf already knew much about her, as not only had he already heard of the murderess before, but he had listened to her crying out in her dreams. It amazed Raye that Berethion was still willing to care for her, despite the fact that she was a murderess. He did not fear her, but instead treated her like she were anyone else; something that no one had done before.
As Raye's strength slowly began to return, a trust for Berethion began to grow. She revealed to him her past and even her true name, which she had never told anyone before. By the time Raye had completely recovered, she and Berethion were close friends.
A month after Raye had awoken from her sickness, the two parted, going their separate ways. Since then, they had only occasionally seen each other, but did not have another actual conversation until that morning seven days ago.
And now, here was Berethion again, saving Raye's life unecessarily. The murderess owed so much to this elf, so much that she could not give him.

"There, all done," Berethion said as the last of Raye's chains were unfastened, freeing her arms.
Raye brought down her arms, sighing with relief. She felt so stiff and sore from lack of movement. The murderess knew she had become weak, but she did not realize how weak she had become until she tried to walk. The moment she took her first step, she collapsed in a heap into Berethion's arms. He sat Raye down for several moments, allowing her to regain her strength and energy before pulling her back up again. To much of Raye's delight, the elf then handed her lembas and a skin of water. She inhaled the lembas, washing it down with water, and felt much more refreshed when she finished and handed the skin back to her friend.
"We should go now," Berethion said suddenly. "We've lingered here too long. The night elves will begin to suspect something."
Raye nodded in agreement. "Which way do we go to get out of this nasty prison?" she asked.
"We're not leaving. Not yet."
"What?"
"We have to find the others first."
Raye crossed her arms, obviously unhappy. "The others?"
Berethion sighed. "Of course the others, Corrowyn. Why wouldn't we? Come now, I saved your life. The least you could do is save their's."
"It would be easier if only two of us escaped," Raye argued.
"I don't care, Corrowyn. I'm not leaving them behind! Especially not my sister. You can leave now if you want, but I'm getting the others, alone or not." Berethion opened the cell door and stepped outside the room.
"Well, that would be stupid," said Raye, following him out. "You'll get yourself killed without me."
Berethion grinned. "So, does that mean you're coming with me?"
"Yes, but...." Raye trailed off, realizing she had no weapons.
She scanned the dead bodies of the night elves, noting how well made their weapons were.
"Hold on," she told Berethion, wandering towards the bodies.
The murderess snatched a broadsword and every dagger she could find, claiming each of them as her own.
Raye was picking up the last dagger when she heard footsteps approaching, causing Berethion to signal urgently that it was time to go. Raye immediately obeyed the command and two of them ran opposite from the footsteps, turning into the left passageway in search of their lost companions.

[ February 01, 2003: Message edited by: Brinniel ]