~ Chapter Photo: Laela of Baequinnanea, drawn by me ~

The wind rushed through the trees in Baequinnanea, whispering soft words in my ear as I stirred awake. The moss blankets slipped off my hammock, which was suspended between two branches of the tree. I jolted fully awake with a start, clutching for them fruitlessly. 

"No, no, no, no no no!" I cried, grabbing at the empty air. I watched them drift down to the forest floor, many metres below. 

"Seriously?" I demanded. The forest, naturally, did not respond. The trees swayed in a rhythm that seemed almost amused, their leaves shimmering in the early morning sunlight.

I laid back in my hammock, blanketless and at the mercy of the early morning breeze. Goosebumps peppered the surface of my skin, reacting to the early morning chill. The light shone through the canopy, sending golden kaleidoscope patterns downward. 

I propped my head on my arms, enjoying the gentle swing of the hammock. The deep green of the leaves above shaded me, their edges softening the morning light like a blanket. Moon above, I love this forest. My thoughts wandered to my brother, Arnos. He loved the forest just as much as I did. I knew he'd be missing it. I wondered what he was doing currently. 

He'd enlisted in the army to fight against our enemies, the Elven Ones of the Field. Pretentious dicks, they were. They called themselves the "Holders of the Light" and saw us forest elves as "lesser". They trained rigorously and were notoriously vicious fighters. Light does not always equal good, children. In their eyes, we'd wronged them in some way centuries ago. Their absolute dickhead of a king, Argalad, ordered our lands invaded. Since then, we'd been stuck in a war dubbed the "Five Hundred Year War", rapidly approaching six hundred. If you asked me, we should have won decades ago. Then Arnos wouldn't have had to enlist.

 I was brought harshly back to reality when a black raven perched on the end of my hammock, cawing loudly.

Caw! Caw! Caw!  it croaked. This seemed to convey the meaning "Get! Up! Stupid!"

It flapped its wings with displeasure, sending another chill along my newly exposed skin. I was not awake enough to deal with this shit.

"Fine, fine, fine, I'm awake." I groaned, aiming a listless kick to the stupid bird. It nimbly dodged. Did I mention it was a stupid bird? I rolled over, rubbing my eyes, before swinging my legs out of bed. I stopped for a second. Today was the day! Arnos would return, and I could hug him again. I'd missed my big brother. Almost teeming with excitement, I dropped to the wide branch below me, almost as thick as my waist. I raced along it, barefoot. My bare shins scraped against twigs, causing the endless amounts of tiny cuts that dotted my warm brown skin. I raced along its length, building up speed for the jump ahead.

I leaped upward, my hands reaching for the thick branch above. The bark was rough beneath my fingertips as I grabbed hold, hoisting myself up in one fluid motion. My legs swung beneath me, and with a quick twist of my body, I let the momentum carry me forward, the branch creaking slightly under my weight as I swung forward.

I landed easily on the forest floor, feet firmly planted beneath me. I flicked my long black hair, loosely woven with leaves, behind my shoulders. "Perfect landing!" I announced to absolutely no one in particular, flexing my toned arms. 

A few passersby gave me strange looks, but I was used to that by now. It didn't bother me - that much. I had all I needed - a few friends, a raven and Arnos. I raced along the dead leaves, enjoying the crunching noises that accompanied my footfalls. Dirt coated my bare soles as I made my way to the large oak tree that was the meeting point in our village. I scaled it easily, seated comfortably in the Y of two branches. 

I watched the cluster of people grow at the tree, excitedly awaiting the arrival of their loved ones. Sons, daughters, siblings, parents, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, friends ... everyone had someone who was in the war. Deep in my mind, a small voice whispered to me darkly. 

"Not everyone will come back," it hissed. "See all these townspeople? They're not all getting someone back. Arnos won't come back."

I shoved it back where it came from. No. Arnos would come back to me. It was that simple. He promised, and he never breaks his promises. He would be here. Wouldn't he? Yeah. Yeah, he would.

I waited excitedly in the tree, until I saw the caravan of soldiers making their way back. 
"They're back!" I yelled with enthusiasm, swinging out of the tree. I dropped to my feet into the back of the crowd, immediately lost in a thick forest of shoulders and heads. I shoved my way to the front, not caring who I pushed past. I was short, not polite.

My raven drifted down to my shoulder. 
"Caw," it said in a warning tone. I knew its meaning. Don't get your hopes up. Not everyone comes home. I chose to ignore this completely irrelevant advice. It didn't matter. He'd be here. He'd be here. He'd.... he'd be here. 

I stood on tiptoe, trying to sneak a glimpse of the soldiers. A mother reuniting with her son. Awww. Not Arnos. A father kissing his newborn daughter. Aww. Not Arnos. A young woman crying, holding a toddler. Oh. Not Arnos. And it won't be me, either. Because he'll be here! A tall, handsome elf with mahogany antlers. Ooh~ cute.. not Arnos. I kept focus on my mission and continued to scan the crowd before my gaze flicked back to Tall Hottie. I was pretty sure I knew him.

I tilted my head. I did know him. I walked a little closer. HIs stag antlers stretched upwards, a darker shade than my thinner, lighter ones. He was a good foot taller than me and pretty damn handsome. His cheeks were lightly coated with stubble, contrasting nicely with his amber eyes. A silver sword was holstered at his side, a forest green cloak clasped at his neck with a leaf brooch. A cut was carved into his cheek.

I planted myself firmly in his path, crossing my defined arms over my V-necked singlet. 
"By the Moon herself. Evellon?" I asked incredulously. I found it impossible to associate this muscular embodiment of Tall, Dark and Handsome™ that stood before me with my geeky, skinny friend I'd hugged goodbye all those moons ago. 

I hugged him around his middle. "Hey, man, how you been?"

"Oh, Laela!" He sounded surprised. "I didn't recognise you for a minute. You're so, uh, different." HIs voice was deep enough to liquefy soft substances - like my eyes, for instance. I craned my neck to look him in the eye. 

"You are way too tall now. What the fuck?" I laughed.
Evellon chuckled sheepishly. "Guess I'm not the only one who's different." HIs eyes shifted, something darker emerging. Concern, maybe? "Hey, have you, uh.... you seen Arnos yet?"

A swooping sensation took my gut by force. I paused for a moment, feeling the weight of the words before I spoke.
 "No, I uh..... I haven't..." My hands trembled slightly. The monster in the back of my mind laughed with glee. "He's not here, Laela. He's dead. That's the truth."  My knees felt shaky, and I gripped Evellon's hands for support.

"He's alive. He's.... he's gotta be alive." A tremble entered my voice, betraying a hint of my doubt. What if he's not? I forced it back, taking a shaky breath. I detangled myself from Evellon, forcing a confident smile. "He'll be here. We... we just gotta wait."

I pulled away, forcing myself to remain upbeat and optimistic. I spotted a townsperson glance my way with pity in her eyes. I almost physically recoiled. How could she look at me as though I was grieving? I wasn't! He was alive! He was out there! And he was COMING BACK! Because he PROMISED! I turned, feeling as though the world was closing in on me. 

Desperately, I rushed to the front of the crowd again. The caravan had come to an end, the soldiers no longer entering the clearing. I saw people crumpled on the floor, crying for loved ones who would never return. I saw people reading the lists of the dead. I snatched the closest one from a man and scanned it desperately.

Mireth of Baequinnanea. Cause of death: head trauma.

Balan of Lothlorien. Cause of death: starvation.

Moiar of Baequinnanea. Cause of death: decapitation.

Eruant of Baequinnanea. Cause of death: decapitation. 

My eyes flew down the list in a panic, my heartbeat growing in my ears.

Arnos of Baequinnanea. Cause of death: neck trauma, blood loss.

What?

I reread the line.

Arnos of Baequinnanea. Cause of death: neck trauma, blood loss.

"No. No, no, no, no no no!" I cried, throwing the list away from me with revulsion.

The world spun around me. He was gone. My brother, Arnos... was gone? This had to be a sick prank, a joke.... anything. This couldn't be real. This was a mistake. Some other Arnos. Not him.

I laughed, feeling myself growing hysterical. "Nope." The monster in the back of my mind snarled with glee, hissing softly, "I warned you..." I pushed it away feebly, feeling too numb to fight it much. 

My raven landed near me. "Caw." It said quietly. I glared at it. 
"Get away from me!" I yelled. I sank to my knees, tears streaming down my face. "Arnos is dead! He's gone!" I cried. Evellon slowly sat next to me, his amber eyes concerned and gentle.

"Laela...." he said quietly. I turned on him too. "No! No! This is not okay! Nothing... Nothing is okay! He's fucking dead!" I roared, the wind whipping through my hair. I imagined I looked as wild as I felt, hair a mess, tear stains down my face. 

My anger broke suddenly. "Evellon, he's dead." I whispered. Evellon's muscular arms wrapped around my torso, pulling me into a warm embrace. I put my head down and silently cried into his shoulder. "Arnos...." I whispered.

Behind me, the raven cawed and took to the skies.

___________________________________________________

Word Count: 1691 words. Here you go! The second chapter. I felt really sad writing this but it was a really satisfying one to finish. Tell me what you think! It's 11:36pm here aaagh I should sleep soon.

___________________________________________________