Renascence

[Ashla]

After the conversations faded, the girls fell asleep. Felicity went out cold, sprawled across her bed with her hair covering her entire face. As she snored, Ashla kept the oil light on at her side of the room.

While her supplies, bags, and armor were kept under the bed, Ashla still had her dagger under the pillow - in case it was needed. One would notice that one small parcel had been opened, however. Back on the bed, one hand under the straw pillow; her left hand held a small, pretty object. The girl was fidgeting with a humble ring made of solid gold. The ring had three gems, all rare nixstella from the region of Eiskalt. She gazed upon the ring with eyes riddled with longing and sullenness.

She missed him.

Ashla rarely had tears to cry anymore. Too many had been spent throughout her history. As the candlelight flickered, causing light to fade slightly then reappear, she closed her eyes. Tightly grasping the ring, her breath grew shaky, but no signs of tears were there. She missed Julius, she missed Daisuke, she missed Hanuh. . . her husband, the father figure she never had, and her daughter. . . She would be two now.

This ring she held, her wedding ring, represented only a fraction of everything she ever lost.

How could Felicity still judge her? The Crimson Hand agents, those crime lords and bandits, they all deserved death for what they did. Destroying her country, taking innocent lives, ripping families apart. . .

Everything she had ever done, Ashla had done to help people.

It was absurd that the law had been chasing her. The same law she was helping to uphold, it chased her. She was wanted in Corone and Raiaera for theft and murder. She was wanted in Salvar for the same things; plus the killing of law enforcement officers plus the usage of magical powers. She always considered Fallien as a second home, but the place had always disliked outsides. Although she spent a portion of her more carefree teenage days breaking barrels in the desert infested island, now she was too well known as the ex-leader of a vigilante group. In Alerar, the new elves hated high elves - and she was half high elf. Additionally, Alerar hated Eiskalt and she was Ashla Rose Freaking Icebreaker, a former leader of the country! Even more, Eiskalt hated the Icebreakers now. The only reason Ashla had ever left was because at the end of the Eiskalt War, when the poor and war torn citizens had lost everything, they blamed it on their leaders and had an uprising that started the Eiskaltian Civil War.

So basically, she was pretty much wanted everywhere for something she did wrong. - Well, the reason she was staying in Scara Brae was because she was not at all wanted here. She was safe here. . .

. . . But for how long?

A deep, pained sigh was emitted due to the heaviness in her chest. It was like a ten thousand pound weight was just sitting there. It was like roots of poison penetrating the depths of her heart. Could she ever shake this off?

It was late. Now was not the time for this kind of introspection. She reached and put the ring on the small nightstand next to her. Sitting up, she took the latern, opened the glass hatch, and blew the flame out.