The snow glitters like the gleam of a blade. Such sacred places are desecrated by the endless wartime. Once hallowed, the hall now sits bare of the holly and garlands that once decorated them, their remains now used in the fireplaces. Quiet and empty of the cheer that once filled it, when peace was no rarity and all could sit with anyone.
Innogen sits now, alone, in the formerly great hall, waiting for whoever it was that called her here. Friend or foe, a stranger nonetheless. She wishes she could have seen this place, in the glory that her companions speak. Before the snow overtook and ice froze the hearts of all, and war overtook anyone who crossed the wind’s chilly path. But now it was as bereft as their morals, and it could never carry the same history.
She could still see the scene of the first blood spilled, marring the doorway. Elf and gnome combined in a nasty stain. Time and weather and stories have made it all but impossible to tell who struck first. All that matters now is that someone did strike. The carnage that followed shows in the turned over benches, the marks of a fire long gone, the bones that no one came to collect. Such sacred places.
Echoes of footsteps ring loudly as a short figure is backlit by the moonlight. Innogen draws her sword and stands to face them. Too small to be an elf, a bit too tall to be a gnome. “What are you?” She demands to no answer. They step closer and place something on the ground, a box, before they bolt. She chases to no avail, they are gone. Lost to the snow.
Cautiously she approaches the box, one that reminds her of her former life, her former world. Wrapped in red paper and brown twine, a clunky imitation of a gift. “To the elf’s human” read the scrawl on the side of the box. She unwrapped it with care and found a pin made of clusters of green and brown gems. An olive branch. “From the dwarves”.
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Hi everyone! Merry Christmas Eve! I didn’t really know what to write, so I tried to write a little sneak peek into Innogen’s future! No promises that this is making it to the final draft haha! Hope you all are able to spend time with the people you love! I’m stuck home alone this christmas cause I’m sick :/ but my stuffies and I are gonna have a movie marathon to celebrate! Merry Christmas once again!
Your Faithful Scrivener, and Scout, Lorelai Harper