xx 07 xx [[Fear]] Is Only The [[Beginning]] xx 07 xx

Auron was a great distance away from where he left Ebony and the girl. Emalia, her name was Emma the little voice inside his head sneered. He ignored that voice for a moment, growling in annoyance to himself. His whole plan of getting away from her was back firing. In fact, Auron couldn't stop his mind from envisioning her face. She was haunting him, and he'd only been away from her for approximately five hours. Often, he found himself condemning her companionship, but knew that if it came down to it he'd most likely chose traveling with her than doing what he was supposed to do.

In a way, Emma was his scapegoat. She was the one person in the world that managed to interfere with his not so divine plan for the people of Yelner. Not only did she pose a threat to his sanity, but she kept his humanity intact. The girl was absolutely infuriating to be around, but he didn't mind so much. Being with another human being was a nice change of pace for the recluse man.

No, he was no man. He was a monster. The moment the girl discovered this, she'd run for the hills and swear she had nothing to do with him. Auron didn't want that to happen, not in the slightest. And so he forced himself to remain distant from the girl to prevent her prying nose from digging up the skeletons of his closet. Those deep dark memories that he chose to forget, willingly.

Auron's fingers clasped onto the strong branches of the giant tree as he hoisted himself into the air. His cloak billowed in the wind, and eventually fell gracefully to the ground where he once stood. An unruly mop of blonde hair matted against Auron's forehead annoyingly. The man snickered at the tresses that stuck to his skin due to perspiration. He thanked the heavens, or at least his own quick thinking, for the black mask that still covered the lower half of his face. His identity was in the very least concealed for now. Even though he doubted there was any signs of life near him that would want to look upon his face.

Emma would.

Auron nearly lost his footing when that thought entered his mind. However, due to his nimble movements he was able to remain in the tree. Flickers of past events infiltrated his mind. The man couldn't deny the curiosity within his young companion. He often saw Emma trying to peak a glimpse under his hood when they were walking close, or when he was sleeping. Luckily for him, he was a very light sleeper and was able to catch her before she saw too much. She was a sneaky one, that girl. He could give her that much.

Soon after ascending the tree, Auron had made it to the very top. All the while, he tried to rid the girl from his mind. Oh if only, if only, he had never met her to begin with. That was wishful thinking. Blinking a few times, Auron was able to clear his mind for just a little while. It gave him enough time to gaze at the landscape of the area to map out his current location. To his left he spotted the various treetops of the Dark Forest while to his right there was nothing but meadows of various colored flowers and long grass. To the north he could make out the faint silhouettes of the North Aleric Mountains. The south was lined with even more trees, darker in hue. That was the center of the forest, the part in which he just exited from.

Sighing, slowly and noiselessly, Auron stared at the mountain range. The natural monuments were the destination he was aiming for. However, with the way his travels were going he'd never get there in time. The time limit had already been shortened by a quarter of its original size due to the amount of traveling the girl was able to endure within a day's time. She truly was slowing him down. Auron grunted. He didn't like this situation one bit, not one damn bit.

Still, what else could he possibly do? His conscious, let alone Ebony, would not allow him to just abandon the girl in the wilderness. Auron attempted to convince himself that it was the only right thing to do, after all, she was just hindering him, but he never succeeded. The teensy bit of humanity the girl managed to awaken within him had made sure he stuck by his word to allow her to travel with him. After all, what was the harm of just a little bit of companionship in this desolate world? Things certainly couldn't get any worse than they had turned out for him now.

As if on cue, a startling scream pierced the air. The hair on the back of Auron's neck stood on end due to the high pitched frequency. Silently, he cursed himself for thinking something so taboo. Past experiences of saying "things can't get worse" has yet to prove him right. His situation always seemed to turn more terrible after those words crossed his mind.

Auron's head jutted in the direction of the scream, only to realize it came from the area he left the girl. In an action of pure astonishment, Auron lost his balance on the large tree branch he was currently positioned on resulting in his fast decent to the ground. Numerous tree limbs reached out to stop his fall, but only made it that much more painful. The man landed agonizingly on his back, gasping for air. He had to of fallen at least twenty feet before landing in the dirt. Another grunt escaped his lips, surely this was one of the instances in his lifetime he thanked the universe for giving him such durability. If it were another man, they'd have died from the fall, or possibly snapped their back.

After a few fleeting moments, Auron stood to his feet, shaking the dust from his black clothes. It didn't take long for the man to gain his bearings as he grabbed the cloak from the ground and dart off in the direction he came from. Swinging the black cloth around his neck, Auron ran through the forest. While avoiding the various trees that attempted to catch him during his sprint back to the campsite, Auron thought over the possibilities of what could have happened. Surely leaving Ebony behind would have given the girl some sort of protection; at least he thought it would.

His mind was churning out such useless probabilities of things that could have happened without really knowing what did. With his infinite wisdom of the area he knew there were plenty of creatures that lurked in the outskirts of the Dark Forest waiting for their prey to unsuspectingly lose their guard. Auron nearly rolled his eyes. If he had known that, then why did he leave the girl behind in the first place? Obviously his need to get away from her and his logical reasoning had conflicted with one another and the former won. Was he really that desperate to rid himself of her presence?

Auron mulled over this thought for a long while. He wasn't absolutely positive what the girl had that had captivated him so much. Auron could only guess it was her innocence, or something along those lines. She was a feisty one, and quite hard to handle at times because of her short temper. Still he couldn't help but feel that those things had nothing, absolutely none, to do with the fact that he kept her around him. He had tried to pass it off as just loneliness. What man could rightly deny the company of a pretty girl while traveling months on his own with only his horse by his side? Apparently he was susceptible to those silly little emotions and needs to have someone to talk to. Even if that someone just so happened to be a girl who was more trouble than she was worth, really.

Due to his fast movements, Auron was able to make good time running in the forest. It had taken him five hours to reach the point he was previously on foot while walking. But he was confident that it wouldn't take him that long to reach the girl running at his top speeds. It helped to know exactly where he was going. He had left markers on certain trees so that he could find his way back easily. Auron had no idea that he'd have to find his way back in such a rush. The girl was obviously a magnet for trouble. Not only did she get bitten by a vampire upon their second encounter, but she had found her way into another mess which eluded the man. Silently, he cursed her for screaming so loud if he showed up to find that nothing was wrong with her. Then he'd a have a reason to be angry.

It was then that he saw the injured man running naked in the forest. He had blood tainting his chin and teeth with a sword wound on his abdomen. Auron scrutinized the man quickly, not having the time to slow down and actually examine him closely, only to realize he was an Animagus, better known as a werewolf. Auron quickened his pace immediately after this realization donned on him. The beast was coming from the direction the girl was, and he knew Ebony did not fare well with werewolves.

Auron could feel time slowing down around him while an unknown feeling clutched at his heart. He didn't understand it, and didn't want to. The emotion had come so suddenly that it made him gasp for air. Everything had seemed so perfectly clear for him just moments ago, but now he felt different. His mind refused to comprehend the surge of adrenaline rushing through him. Refused to acknowledge the truth behind the way he now felt, because he just didn't want to admit it to himself. No, Auron couldn't admit it because in the end it'd only end up blowing up in his face. The girl would not accept him.

His feet came to an abrupt stop when he entered the clearing to see a strange spirit hovering over the girl he was coming to rescue. Ebony was still secured to the branch Auron had tied him to before he left. The stallion had bandages on his front legs, and he could only assume the werewolf had gone after Ebony first. However, this didn't force his mind out of the haze it had entered when he saw the water spirit next to the girl. The first instinct that came to mind was to draw out his sword. Spirits always had the tendency to take things that didn't belong to them due to their greed, and he wasn't about to allow the water spirit to do whatever it was it was going to do. Upon seeing his reaction, the spirit only giggled and Ebony huffed indignantly. Auron cautiously lowered his weapon.

"What are you doing here, Spirit?" Auron demanded.

His voice was harsh and rough to the ears. Despite Auron's casualness toward the girl he was now defending, he was not about to act that way toward an unknown spirit. The spirit only giggled even more at him. It placed a gentle hand on the girl's forehead before turning its gaze back to Auron.

"Phantom, what is this girl to you?" it asked.

Auron was caught off guard by the question, and remained silent for a moment. He too wanted to know the answer to that inquiry. "She is nothing to me but a burden."

"Oh? Is that why you were so apt to defend her just now?" the spirit laughed. "You have an odd way to treat your burdens, Phantom. But you mustn't worry about me. The girl has saved my life, and so I have returned the favor. She was quite brave against the Animagus despite her resolute fear of the creature."

"What summoned you here?" he questioned. "Obviously it wasn't just to strike a conversation with the girl. What was your true intention?"

"She was singing into my stream moments before I appeared. It was so lovely I couldn't sit by and just listen to it. I wished to bargain for her voice, but she was quite stubborn with me. She wouldn't even give me her name," the spirit explained.

Auron nearly felt his lips twitch into a grin. It was apparent Emma had some sort of knowledge on spirits. He gave her credit for being able to avoid giving out any information the spirit could have used against her. To put it bluntly, Auron didn't expect her to be so bold as to deny a spirit anything. He had taken her for a mere farm girl, a peasant who knew nothing about dealing with the creatures of the world. However, he was entirely wrong in his presumptions. She was different.

"Is that so? And now that you've saved her life, do you still intend on trading something for her voice?" he spoke, a hint of mockery in his voice.

The spirit giggled, "Oh no, not at all. As far as I'm concerned she will have much more trouble on her own with her voice. To repay the debt I owe her, I shall need to keep her alive until her days run out on her on their own accord. With you as her companion she'll need all the help she can get. Don't you agree?"

Auron's face darkened slightly, "What are you implying, Spirit?"

"My name is Caliana of the three sisters, and I suggest you remember it, Phantom. I expect you to tell the girl who was the one to save her life, for now. I treated her wounds, but I'm afraid that's all I can do for her," Caliana stated, her light voice had suddenly taken on a darker tone. "The necklace I gave her is a gift of gratitude, and may very well come in handy later on down the road."

"I will tell her when she awakens," he agreed.

"If she awakens would be the correct terminology, Phantom. While her wounds have been treated, she was bitten by an Animagus and I was able to detect a minute trace of a vampire bite as well. While some humans can live without any complications after being bitten by one of the two, I have never known one that could withstand two. Like I said before I've done all that I can for her. Now it is entirely up to the girl," she clarified.

"Emalia," Auron muttered. Upon receiving a bewildered look from the spirit, he spoke louder, "Her name is Emma."

Caliana smiled while giggling once more. She placed a transparent hand over her mouth as she laughed at the man. It was not a laugh filled with ridicule, but one of amusement. Auron tried not to feel intimidated by the spirit's chuckles, and instead began to scold himself for acting out of character. He hadn't even referred to the girl by her name within his own head, and it struck him as odd that he would do so when speaking with Caliana. Ebony snorted in the background apparently sensing his master's feelings.

"You are a strange man, Phantom. But I thank you for giving me her name. She will be known as Emalia the brave from now on by my children and sisters," she replied. "However, for now I must return to my home. Farewell, Phantom."

Auron nodded absently. Caliana dispersed into a puddle on the ground and disappeared. He knew she would keep to her word. Spirits, despite their mischievous nature, were true to their promises. He had never known one such being that went back on their oaths or pledges. Auron finally returned his sword to its sheathe completely and made his way across the clearing to where the girl lay unconscious.

Emma's wounds were wrapped securely with bandages to stop the bleeding and prevent infection. Caliana had done a splendid job on treating her wounds, and Auron felt the pressure in his heart lessen ever so slightly. He could no longer deny the feeling of concern that consumed him. It weighed heavily on his mind, and he wondered if the girl would make it through the night. However, upon staring at her complacent face he had a feeling she wouldn't give up so easily.

Despite all of this, Emma was in for the fight of her life.