The Truth At Last

[Elessar]

How time flies when you are having fun. . .

'Two years . . .' Elessar thought as he shivered and clutched the edges of his worn green cloak, pulling it tighter around him. It was cold up here on the rooftop of the Inn but despite his common sense telling him he should be inside where it was warm he lingered. For his long life there were not many anniversaries the elf acknowledged, let alone celebrate, but like them all the date of his last return from Genesis made him pause in reflection that another year had already slipped by.

It hardly seemed possibly that two years had come and gone but the date had confirmed it that very morning and as such was one of the reasons he was currently trying to turn himself into an ice cube upon the inn's roof. If two years had already passed for him then even longer had passed for the one he had left behind: how long had it been for her? He had spent the better half of the day trying to figure out the math, but his attempts had been in vain. The division of the flow of time between the realms was something he'd never managed to fully understand. What he did know was that, in the end, the passage of time wove faster in Genesis marking several years or more to one in Rhy'Din. To Elessar it was just plain confusing and never failed to irk him that, when asked, Armandeus could figure it out from the top of his head.

Aii, Armandeus. The thought of the other elf's name brought a sigh to Elessar's lips. Even after two years Armandeus still had not learned the full truth of what had happened during that fateful five months he had been missing. It was complicated. . Well, no it actually wasn't when you got down to it, but still, how did you tell someone who was your closest friend that you fell in love with their younger sister and then left her in prison to die? Elessar groaned and brought a hand up to scrub over his face. There weren't enough words in the realm to explain this one.

It wasn't fear over the sure hatred that would spring up over keeping such a secret for this amount of time, rather than the reaction that would immediately follow. Elessar was certain the first thing Armandeus would do upon learning of his sister would be preparing to leave for Genesis - a task which would prove disastrous.

He didn't like it, but Elessar had to admit that given the time that had passed he had begun to think Leondias no longer a threat and just look where that had gotten him. Armandeus had nearly lost his mind and Mary had nearly lost her life; all because of how woefully unprepared they were for an attack. If one of her many hunters had gotten as close as Ariella had done then it was a safe bet to assume that the portals leading back into Genesis would be heavily guarded as well. No, going to Genesis was definitely out if Elessar got his say in it. Wasn't it ironic then that the only way to get his say was to say nothing at all?

Elessar pondered on it as he laid back, ignoring the feel of the rough shingles against his sensitive back and the chill as the coldness began seeping from them and into his clothes. Instead the elf's gray eyes were focused on the sky above, straining to see through the clouds and the dark for a glimpse at the lush tropical forests that he knew lay beyond this realm's sight.

How long he lay there he could not say, lost in his own thoughts as he was, but eventually he became aware of the sensation of someone watching him and looked up to find a familiar pair of purple eyes watching him from just above the roof's edge. "Armandeus?" The blonde elf made to prop himself up on his elbows, leaning forward towards the eyes.

Ah, he had been seen! The purple eyes raised up to reveal the grinning face of the elven cook. "I thought I would find you up here."

How in the world had he found him?? Elessar just stared as he watched the other elf maneuver himself up onto the rooftop and walk across it towards him. "I'll have to find a better hiding place next time." Wasn't that the truth? Despite their years spent together it never failed to amaze Elessar at how Armandeus was able to find him, including when he had chosen the roof as a hiding spot. "I thought you were resting, although I suppose if you wished you would find me no mater where I went."

"Perhaps, perhaps not." The green-haired shrugged fluidly before sitting down a ways from the other man. "My success in finding you would depend whether or not you wished to be found and as for resting it seems I am not as tired as I thought after all."

Not as tired as he thought? That right there was Armandeus code for he hadn't even tried going to sleep and caused Elessar to sigh because of it. "Are you implying that I wish to be found?" There was a slight edge of frustration to his words as he watched Armandeus sit down. "You are not planning to head to Mary's again this evening, are you?"

"I implied no such thing. Still angry over last evening, are you?" Armandeus leaned back on his elbows with a sigh, sparing a glance over at Elessar. "I thought we had gotten over this; Mary has already considered it forgotten."

"I am not angry with you Armandeus." Now that the other elf was close Elessar couldn't help but appraise the other man from the corner of his eye. The other elf talked big but Elessar could see the slight tremble of muscles that had nothing to do with the coldness of the weather or the effort to keep him in a half upright position. He let out another sigh himself, reigning in the first few things that popped into his head before finally settling on, "Frustrated is more like it."

"Frustrated? Ha!" The green-haired elf gave out a mirthless laugh and cast a slightly glare in Elessar's direction. "It is I who should be frustrated with you! I see the way you're looking at me Elessar, and I do not understand why you have suddenly insisted upon playing mother hen when I am perfectly fine."

"Perfectly fine?" Elessar scoffed and matched the other male glare for glare. "Is that what they call it nowadays when one passes out behind the counter and leaves a child to run a store alone? Or is it when the same person has to be carried upstairs by a woman less than half their size because they are too dizzy and lightheaded to make the walk home?"

"You are twisting the situation! I was merely tired is all and Mary offered me the guest room for the evening. I am fine Elessar! It has been weeks since the incident out in the stables and---"

"That is exactly my point! It has been weeks and you have been pushing yourself far too much! Wake up and smell the coffee Armandeus; you should have been back to your normal strength by now and would have if you'd just taken the time to heal!"

"Oh you're a good one to talk! You act all high and mighty about my problems but what about yours? It's been two years Elessar and still you hide in our room like a cave dweller and bemoan things you refuse to tell anyone about! I believe that is what the mortals term a 'hypocrite'."

"Hypocrite!? You have no idea what happened to me! You can't even begin to imagine the hell I endured there all for the sake of keeping your location a secret! Don't talk to me of hypocrisy when you have no idea what you are speaking of! And yes, I may spend time in our room more than I did but I am getting out more and getting better and at least I have not been hiding from my girlfriend."

"Now hold it right there! You have no right dragging De'Ryanna into this! She has done nothing but try to help and this just goes to prove my point Elessar. . ." The green-haired elf had continued on with his diatribe but Elessar had stopped listening. 'There's no end in sight, is there?' Unlike Armandeus he had not been born with any gifts bestowed upon him like the Second Sight, but as Armandeus continued to rant Elessar found himself having a vision of his own.

They were old; frail and had long lived past the lives of everyone they knew in this realm but still the fighting had continued.

"It has been two centuries Elessar! Whatever you were protecting is gone so just tell me already!" The elder Armandeus threw up his hands in desperation - though thanks to the trembling of age he could no longer raise them over his head. .

"If it has been so long then it should no longer matter. Are you ever going to let it go?" He had crossed his arms over his chest, somehow managing to look defiant despite the fact he looked as pale and rung out as the bed he was laying in. . .

"--And further more. . ." In a blink of an eye the haunting image of what was to come had vanished leaving Elessar blinking at the still very much annoyed elf in front of him. He was right. It had been two years now, and more for her, so who was he really protecting? There was no way to turn back the hands of time and in the end this secret was going to be the death of him. Elessar breathed in deeply, letting the rush of burning cold air steady his nerves and closed his eyes. Releasing the air slowly, he jumped. . .

"I met your sister."


[To Be Continued . . ]