Deception Cont'dMature

He watched her peel off her boots and hurl them to the ground further up the bank. She sat silent against the wall of the raised river bank with her feet immersed in the chilly water. Ardrion scuffed at the dirt behind her. He fished the knife out of her discarded boot and collected a nearby fallen branch. Planting himself next to her, he took a noisy breath and began to carve into the bark without regard to what he was really doing. He watched her carefully out of the corner of his eye.

She ignored his presence.

“Who's Elye?” he finally stated bluntly.

Kaelyth froze. “What?” She turned to face Ardrion and tilted her head. By her look, Ardrion knew he was already treading deep waters. “Where did you hear that?” Her accent seemed more pervasive than usual.

“You talk in your sleep.”

“What else?”

He shook his head defensively. “I don't know. I didn't understand the language; but you kept calling for 'Elye.'” He raised his arms submissively, but continued to prod at a reason behind the incident.

Kaelyth only turned back to the river while Ardrion impatiently waited for her answer. But only silence followed. The camp beckoned him instead.

“He was my dearest friend.” She said to somewhere over the horizon. The way she said it made Ardrion more uncomfortable than he anticipated. He nodded, urging her on.

“We grew up together and were never apart.” She smiled and hugged her knees tighter.

“What happened?” he said slowly.

Her smile vanished. “He fell in love with someone,” her eyes dropped to her fidgeting hands in her lap, “and she killed him.”

Ardrion froze this time. “So, wh—”

“The council wishes to speak with you about this morning.” Jenrik materialized behind them. Kaelyth gave Ardrion a sideways glance, collected her things, save the knife still in Ardrion's tight grip, and walked silently back to camp.

Ardrion felt uneay about the council. What is she not saying? He had no idea how the elven council worked or what kind of consequences she might have to face. Ardrion picked up the knife and followed suit as Jenrik turned after him.