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Fern killed a woman, it's not like it was intentionally, so I guess it doesn't really matter.
She said sorry.

The stranger was a water elf so obviously she was going to hunt and kill Fern's entire village because that's what water elves do.

Fern waited in the trees looking down at the limp body, hopefully no one would come, hopefully this woman she had killed was a lone traveler, and no one would come to check on her.

Fern couldn't stop staring down at the body. She wished she could move it away, but she couldn't bring herself.

Her instincts said run. Her instincts also said stay, and she knew she should run as far as she could to clear suspicion but...Fern felt like she was glued to the branch. Everything in the world was moving but she couldn't move and the body on the ground wasn't moving either.

Fern had just killed someone! She was just walking by and Fern loosed an arrow at her, just for existing. Truth was, she didn't mean to, not consciously. It was out of impulse, you see, Fern was hunting, she was going to catch a bird to eat later, she had pulled the bow's string back and aimed but then, this water elf comes moping along, dripping wet and intimidatingly tall. She looked like a ghost. Slowly, the woman walked up to the bird and reached out a pale, shaking hand to touch its wings.

Fern had been told to shoot on sight and who knows, maybe she wouldn't have, until the elf looked up at her with those eyes...white eyes with no pupils, Fern was scared and even if it was just appearances she felt threatened and her arrow was already pointed at her...she let it go in a seconds decision and it hit the elf in the central arm. Instantly she fell back and hit the ground with a low slam.

Water elves weren't inherently bad, this much Fern knew. But the peace treaty between kingdoms was not yet signed and until it was, they were strictly forbid from being on Earth elf turf.

Fern couldn't take it anymore, she dropped her bow and jumped onto the ground, she slowly crawled over to the Water Elf's body. She didn't look like an assassin or killer, she bore traditional water elf robes, which were hard to walk and swim in so these days the only time they were worn was for big occasions.

Fern patted her down for weapons or anything that she could take. Expecting a dagger Fern was surprised to find a sword. Swords weren't uncommon -at least in the Earth kingdom- but most people in the remote forest weren't high enough class to get their hands on a nice one like this.

Who's laughing now, Rose?
Fern pulled the sword all the way out of the elf's scabbard. It looked shiny and new, or at least recently cleaned. This was one of the finest weapons Fern had ever seen.

Should she keep it for herself or sell it?

It was a thin sword. The kind that was mostly made to look pretty. Yeah, perhaps it could kill someone but it was more a fencing sword.

One more glance at the white skinned, pale indigo haired maiden and Fern remembered.
"I'm guilty of manslaughter." She uttered, the fact was hard to grasp and it'd be a while until it fully sank in.

She rushed a hand to her mouth after realizing she had spoken out loud.

"We take this to our graves." She whispered to the body.

"I mean, not that you'll have to!" Fern laughed uncomfortably, slapping her knee.

"Fern!" She heard a yell echoing off trees, it was Cliff. The yell sounded pretty far away, she had time.

Looking down at the body again she realized that the elf's robes could sell for enough to get her a new...well- a new anything!

Is it disrespectful to run off with a dead person's clothes?

She without a doubt had some stupid water elf outfit on underneath so it's not like she'd be laying dead and naked in the middle of the forest. Just dead.

Water elves always wore woven seaweed layers under their armour or land clothes for warmth in the cold water.
Hey, maybe if you wore some actual armour you wouldn't be dead.

Fern carefully untied the kimono-like dress and slipped it onto herself for size. It was long, really long. This stranger was tall, on the other hand Fern was not- which Cliff never ceased to remind her. Though, Fern's antlers made her appear much taller but some people claimed that didn't count.

The water elves made all their clothes out of plants or fish scales and they were much more colourful than the drab clothes Fern wore.

In this...she felt important. It didn't look half bad with her medium dark skin, or cascading brown hair, in fact she very much liked it.

"Fern!" She had forgotten about the voice calling to her, she had totally ditched Rose and Cliff after today's target practice. Guess she wouldn't be able to bring dinner tonight.

Fern ran towards the loud voice, until she got to a clearing where several houses were, and a tall young man with a brown mullet and sour expression stood in the middle of it all -Cliff.

"Fern! Where did you run off to?!"

He looked his friend up and down and let out an exasperated sigh as he brought his gloved hand up to his forehead.
"What are you wearing?"

Fern had completely forgotten about the water elf robes.
And there was no denying they were just that.

"I found them."

"Just laying around? Likely story. Where'd you really get them?" Cliff crossed his arms and waited for her to fess up.

Another elf that stood next to him, a white haired, red hooded young woman named Rose sensed Fern's discomfort from several feet away and butted into the conversation.
"Did you catch us dinner?"

Cliff looked like he wanted his question answered but there wasn't a chance he would disregard anything that came out of Rose's mouth.

"No."

Cliff threw his arms up in the air dramatically. He was fun and sweet but when he wanted something done he wanted it done, especially when Fern was the one who had to do it, something about building character.

"You see, I almost had a bird but then..." Fern paused and shifted in her robes.
"Then it...flew away."

"Excuses, excuses, will you ever learn?" Cliff muttered, walking towards the house already exasperated by their encounter.

Now it was just Fern and Rose.

"What really happened?" Rose asked, a sly grin making its way across her pale face.

Fern was not going to spill. She was going to keep it under wraps, she would never tell anyone that-

"I killed someone!"

"You? No way."

Fern shoved her arm into Rose's face so that she could gaze upon the mildly bloodstained blue fabric.

"Yeah right. That's berry juice." Rose doubted.

"You can't prove it." Retorted Fern.

Rose pulled Fern closer to her and licked the blood right off the dress sleeve.

"Not blood."

Fern couldn't find the words. She supposed she should go along with it instead of confessing to homicide when she was almost off the hook.

But, still, that was disgusting and creepy. Rose had just drank blood like some sort of...water elf!

Fern was about to slip off into the forest again now that Cliff was gone. But as she turned Rose grabbed her arm.

"Cliff was really afraid you'd get hurt. It's not safe so close to the water kingdom, not yet."

What gives?

"Why's he worried about this now?" Fern asked, not expecting or particularly wanting an answer.

"Because, marrying off the Prince is going to lower security in the capital, the water elves know this, they could send spies." Rose explained. Fern could solve that problem, in fact she was planning on going to the capitol as a guard, she only needed Cliff and Rose's permission.

"I can take care of myself."

"He knows. He just wants to make sure you're safe."

Fern's face softened at the thought that he saw her as capable (if that was even true) and she soon started toward the run down shack the trio called their home. She would ask now.

It was the smallest house in the village. Three rooms. But they spent most of the day outside shooting arrows and tossing the heaviest swords they could find. Cliff was the best as tossing swords and anything heavy, on the other hand he wasn't the best at using a bow, despite the facts Cliff claimed bows were made for womanly hands.

The rest of the village consisted of much older elves, they mostly kept to their own as well but they watched over Cliff, Rose and Fern like hawks.

Fern opened the door and saw Cliff was welding in the middle of the 'everything room' as usual. Every time he slammed the metal against the anvil it made a booming sound that might have made Fern jump if she weren't desensitized to it by now.

She wasn't sure if Cliff had the best room in the house or the worst. Anything that didn't belong solely to Fern or Rose was in the 'everything room', he was closest to the fireplace making his room the warmest and it was also the biggest, the only downside was that everyone walked through his room all the time.

Fern plopped down on the cheap couch just in front of his anvil.

"So...Cliff..." Fern hadn't really thought of how to start this long awaited conversation, and it was hard to think with the loud slamming.

"How's the weather?" Dang it.

Cliff leaned forward towards the window and stopped pounding.
"Uhh...nice?"

"Is that so?" At this point Fern was just trying to distract him from his welding for her ears sake.

"Do you want it to be?"

"Yeah...you know what else I want?"

Cliff leaned onto his giant hammer and waited for Fern to finish her sentence.

Fern stimmed with her fingers and let out a deep breath before meeting Cliff's piercing pinkish eyes.
"I want to go...to uhh... the...capitol..."

There was a sound wheezing ringing through the air that reminded Fern of a laughing hyena. It was not. It was her friend.

"You?! In the capitol?! Kid, you wouldn't last a day!"

"Fight me, Cliff!" Fern yelled when she realized she couldn't craft a proper response.

Unfortunately she didn't seem so threatening to someone nearly a full foot taller.

"I-I'm sorry I can't hear you all the way down there!"

Fern jumped up and kicked him in the boot and when it had no effect she flopped back down onto the couch and groaned.

"Please! Please! Pleeeeaasee! I'm begging you!" She whined into old pillows.

Cliff scrunched up his nose
"But...why? What do they got there that we don't?"

"How about a life!"

"Fair enough. No. You're my best friend but unfortunately for you you are also recklessly irresponsible and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if that pea-brain of yours got someone killed."

Good. Because it did.

"I'm your best friend?!" That was a much bigger surprise than anything about Fern's recklessness, that she was well aware of.

"I guess so. It's not like there are many options around here."

"What about Rose? You always spend time with her!"

Cliff flushed beet red and let his bangs fall over his eyes as he averted them from looking down at Fern.

"Welding classes. She's my welding buddy. That doesn't count."

Fern gave Cliff a lopsided grin and he started to weld again.

"Wait-" Fern shot up off the couch in an explosion of energy.

"You could come too! You and Rose! There's so many great welders there- It'd be like a big welding trip!"

Cliff smirked as he gave the hammer a swing.
"Sounds nice."

"Is that a yes?"

"How about I think about it for a couple days?"

Maybe, as long as she wasn't alone he'd let her go. However her dream of being a guard was being slaughtered.

Fern didn't want to wait for an answer but she supposed this was a lot better than nothing.

They stood in silence, Cliff had finished welding his blade and was examining it for any flaws.

"Do you...do you think I'm a bad person?" Fern asked suddenly, looking down at her boots and the water elf's robes.

Cliff laughed for a second before realizing she was dead serious.
"That came out of nowhere but uhh...yeah, I think you're a good person. I can't tell you though. Leave that to God and...yourself."

Fern hardly thought it was fair that someone could judge their own goodness. After all they saw themselves through the lens of self confidence.

"I can't even be trusted with that."

"Kid, if you weren't a good person you wouldn't be worried about this." Cliff leaned down and ruffled her brown hair.

She supposed he was right, more or less. However, it was pretty hard to not question your morals after killing someone.

Fern went to her bedroom to change out of this attire. Once it made her feel good but now it just made her sick. She took it off and just looked at it for a while.

The blood made her thoroughly uncomfortable as she was unable to shake the thought that she caused this. Before she knew it she was heaving tears, her lungs constricting making it difficult to breathe.

She had never wanted this. She had never wanted to end someone without a good reason and she had never realized what would happen after. Fern knew that she wasn't a good person.

Suddenly there was a knock on her door and she wanted to scramble across the bed and hide for ever and ever but unfortunately she had to face whatever life threw at her.

Instead of waiting for a response Rose let herself into the room. She sat down on the bed without saying a single word.

"Fern...are you alright?"

Fern wiped the tears from her eyes and straightened her back.
"Never been better." She replied monotone.

"What's wrong?"

Fern removed a knife from her belt and handed it carefully to Rose.
"I shouldn't have this."

"Are you wounded? Did you hurt yourself! Don't worry just stay calm I-"

"No. I'm fine. I just need to hit the hay a little early."

Rose looked like she wanted to ask more questions but something caused her to stop. She took the knife Fern had handed her and placed it into a small scabbard on her own belt.

"Okay." Rose was really the definition of 'mom friend' for that matter Cliff was a Dad friend too. The two were definitely far too young to be Fern's parents but they took care of her and kept her safe as well as being her closest and only friends.

She was the kid of the group, it saddened her that there seemed to be no way to repay the two for all they had done for her.

As Rose exited the room Fern fell back onto her bed. Being Earth elves in such a remote village their furniture was less than expensive and high quality. It was a few pieces of wood and fabric so dropping into it kind of hurt, she didn't mind though.

After all, who was she to talk about pain when she had just put someone through far worse?

Fern had deducted that she would live the rest of her life in guilt, maybe she would end up isolating herself from the world, perhaps she should get used to this room in case she never left it again.

That probably wouldn't happen as Cliff would literally drag her out and toss her like a potato sack onto the floor, if not he would probably take down her door with an axe like in The Glistening.

Fern stayed there for a long time, she wasn't doing anything and she was barely thinking at all, she was just...existing.

Eventually, her tired eyes drooped closed and she soon fell into an unpleasant dream.

She floated in a the middle of the cold, dark sea. Of course, being a land elf, Fern had never learned to swim and she felt herself beginning to lower into the water. There was nothing she could do about it, she flailed and flailed trying to swim but she just couldn't, it only made her descent faster.

"Help!" She cried, she didn't know how far out she was but at least there was a chance someone would hear.

Fern's mind was a mess, her thoughts swirled chaotically as she waited for something -anything- to happen.

Then it did, just as she went below the water and her senses fell useless a hand reached down to grab her wrist, unfortunately another hand grabbed her foot and began pulling her forcefully down.

She let out a scream, not expecting water to overtake her lungs.

And in that moment she looked down at her attacker and came face to face with the water elf's empty eyes.

Fern was so afraid of what she would say, what she would do. Though she only spoke one word, it was enough to make Fern jolt awake in a cold sweat.

"Death."