Of Two Suns

vii *revised*

The breath caught in Ryla's throat as she stared at the dark figure across the clearing from her. A faint buzzing began in her ears, increasing until it had drowned out even the dragons that had begun to screech in unison.

She couldn't understand why this kept happening; why her assailants kept catching up to her, why they all seemed to be so dedicated to her capture. Why each time she thought she had found some semblance of safety, they would reappear before her. Although she had never much believed in luck, the past few days had her wondering if she could be severely lacking in it.

"You little bitch." the Elf's growl bit into her skin. He had a fire raging in his eyes as he glared at her, bright enough that she could see it from where she sat. As he flicked his gaze to Gale and back to her, a nauseating thought occurred to her: they were partners.

She jumped to her feet so fast that she nearly stumbled, but was quick to catch herself. She had been so consumed with her pain, her own grief, that she had allowed herself to fall into whatever sort of situation she was now in. How had she been so blinded that she had agreed to trust an Elf? She was weaker than she had ever considered herself to be.

The wind from the dragons' wings, now both circling above her, barely stirred her wet hair as she flicked her gaze from one Elf to the other. Their screeches were piercing, and she noticed the dark-clad Elf wince; if only that was enough to drive him away.

"Riven!" Gale's voice broke through her looming doom. "That's enough."

She couldn't help but pull her eyes from the Elf across the clearing from her to watch as Gale rose to his feet. He seemed less steady than he had mere moments before, his complexion suddenly paling. For a split second, she thought that Gale shared her sentiments for her assailant.

She jumped back as Gale neared her, but was slightly surprised as he stepped past her. He paused a few steps ahead of her, and she noticed how his shoulders had begun to droop. How had she also been blind to his obvious illness?

"Enough? Enough?" the other Elf spat the words out, as if he couldn't believe Gale had said them. "Do you have any idea the trouble that little bitch caused me today? And look at you! You look like you're about to keel over."

"That isn't her fault, and you know it." Gale growled back, his voice suddenly fierce.

Ryla couldn't help it as her eyes darted from one Elf to the other as they continued to snap back and forth at each other. It was obvious that they knew each other, and quite well. Which meant that she had indeed made a grave error in trusting Gale. She wondered if this had been some sort of plan; while she had been running from one of them, the other had caught her. And she hadn't even realized it. She was a fool for abandoning her mother's teachings.

Slowly, as carefully as she could, she began to retreat backward. She hoped she could reach the treeline behind her before either of them realized. If she could at least put some distance between them, there was a small chance she could escape. Even if she was only half Elf, she had still inherited their speed; a small chance was still a chance.

Unfortunately, she had only managed to put a few feet between her and Gale when he turned back to her. He looked far worse than he had only minutes ago, his complexion practically grey with sickness. He now had an arm across his middle tightly grasping his shirt, as though he might collapse if he were to release it. A part of her instinctively flinched to help him, to lurch forward and catch him if he were to fall.

The screeching above her head ceased any forward movement before it started. The cries of the dragons were a painful reminder that there was only danger there. Danger in the Elf across the clearing, danger in Gale before her. There was probably even danger tangled with the little ones themselves. And she had no way of dealing with any of it.