Memories of Ice and Warmth - Aia Nar'Thil

[Hope]

The sun elf sits on the wooden bench looking down from its place within the trees at the training grounds below. The soft sunlight shines down on her snow white hair and pale complexion, highlighting her delicate features. As she sits an emotionless and serene look masks not only her face but her emotions as well, keeping them hidden beneath the surface. Even her way of sitting reflects this, straight backed, calm, proper, serene. Her delicate hands linger on a large leather bound tome that she had recently been reading, her long slender fingers marking her spot while a small fluffy white snow rabbit naps contently at her feet. She was home again after some time away and she once again felt at peace, as her small village hidden deep in the Misty Forest always made her feel.

"Hidden. A strong word considering how things have been since I've returned." The thought slips through her mind as she closes her almond shaped jade colored eyes. Her thoughts slowly shift back to her recent journey to her birth place of Evereska and her relatives there. Blood relatives. Family only in such a sense, not true family like those she lives with now. And as always happens when Evereska enters her thoughts she once again is awash in memories of her past.

---

A bright smile lights up the young elf child's face as she walks through the streets a few blocks from her parents' home. Her long white hair flows freely behind her as she moves down the street. The warm sun casts its heat down upon her but she doesn't notice, her skin had begun to grow pale months ago and with it came the unending chill. She didn't feel the heat anymore and not even the heaviest of clothes and blankets could bring her warmth and chase away the coldness she feels. She had grown used to it over time and now the warmth she once felt was nothing more than a fading memory.

She had just finished her arcane lessons for the day and was free to wander about the city. She enjoyed doing so immensely and, as much as she enjoyed learning the arcane arts like her mother and father before her, she enjoyed socializing with her neighbors and the people of her city even more. Today she was in an even better mood than usual and the smile on her face was all the brighter because today she had been promised a whole handful of the sweet candies she loved by Xylia'an, the elder elf who sold candies and baked goods a few shops over. Her face lit up with joy as the old elf gave her a warm, kindly smile and after a soft pat on the head handed over a small bag full of the hard candies along with an admonition not to eat them too quickly or she would upset her stomach. If he noticed the coldness of her skin or the growing paleness he did not comment. He never did. She loved him, he was always so nice and kind.

The young sun elf girl made up her mind, she would bring the candies to her friend and share them with her while the moon elf practiced with her instruments. Humming softly to herself she moved quickly through the streets to her friend's home further down. To get there more quickly she moved down a small alleyway between two businesses. Her mind was already considering the sweet, fruity candy that she loved and the joy she would have at sharing them with her closest friend. Caught in her thoughts and in her haste she didn't notice the older kids follow her into the alleyway. Children can be cruel, even elves are not exempt from that. She didn't notice them until they pushed her down. One of them kicked her. It hurt, but not as much as the words. The words hurt the most. Freak. Monster. She clutched tight to the little bag of candies but one of them noticed it. They took it, she tried to hold onto it but she was never very strong physically. They took the bag, laughing as she began to cry. Another kick and another word. Then they left her there, a little frozen elf crying tears into the ground as she curled into a ball. For the first time in her life she was hurt for being different. The first time but far from the last. Inside her heart something began to change and the coldness of her skin slipped deeper, into something all together different.

---

She snaps out of her thoughts, the memories fading as she once again feels the warmth of her new home seep into her being. She looks down from her vantage point at a mother and her smiling child as they walk across the ground below her, heading towards one of the sets of stairs leading up into the trees. Her delicate fingers move up and touch her own pale cheek. She starts a bit in surprise as her fingers brush against thin trails of ice on her cheeks, small paths of frozen tears flowing downward from her eyes.

For a long time she simply sits there, upon that bench, in silence.