This Is The End

It was difficult for Val to focus with all of the panic filling her body with adrenaline. It wasn't a good thing as pumping adrenaline would pull the infection more quickly through her body. It wasn't until the boy told her that he promised she wouldn't be hurt that she calmed enough to fix gold and orange eyes on his face, getting a good look at him this time. His bisected face was russet and black. There was a white marking on his face and horns curled off of his head in either direction. He was handsome and his face was kind, the kind of face that instilled trust. So trust, she would.

The boy told her that they were in Fenmyre, whatever that was and that there were warriors and dogs for protection. That served to calm her a little more and she nodded along with his words, though there was still panic in her eyes. That panic surged to life again as he lifted her. A gasp pulled from Val as he settled her upon his back like she was light as a feather, which she was not. She had a fever? He then handed her a container and said it was a tonic. Valtiel didn't know what a tonic was, but she wouldn't argue. Perhaps it was the slave in her. Tipping the contents to her lips, she drank the herby liquid without even making a face.

As the boy carried her through the green, leafy forest, the obsidian girl became quiet and still. She kept her eyes on the ground as they moved along towards whatever falls he was talking about. Before they arrived she spoke softly, "Do I belong to you now?" Her words were laced with confusion. She didn't know her place in the world now. "My first master died, so my mother and I were given to a new master. Now you've taken me from him, so I belong to you, right?" Perhaps there was a bit of hope in her tones. The boy was proving to be very kind. A kind master would be a drastic change from the last and she so desperately needed that kindness.

"Valtiel"