The Life of a Half Dark Elf

Chapter Three

Ariel groaned weakly as she awoke. For a moment, she had no idea why everything hurt, and she couldn't move. Her chest throbbed with each beat of her heart, letting her know that she was still alive. Suddenly, she remembered that night, and her eyes flew open. She tried to sit up to find her brothers and the girl, but the pain in her chest kept her down.

"Whoa, Ariel just lay down," Chris said from beside her. She tried to look at him, but her vision spun, and she groaned again.

"How do you feel?" Daniel asked. His voice was filled with worry.

Ariel heard Chris lightly smack him. She tried to say something about being glad they were there or ask about the girl. However, her breath caught in her chest. Pain filled her as she felt herself arch off of the ground. She groaned once more as the daylight faded from her vision.

Daniel, Chris, and the girl watched as Ariel arched her back in pain. None of them knew what to do when she passed back out. They had to admit that they were happy she at least woke up for a second, though, because they weren't sure she would make it.

Chris had been the first one by her side when they unceremoniously tossed her across the border. He rolled her on her back before anyone could stop him. Her breathing had been shallow, but they all sighed, knowing that she was alive at least. All they could do after that was wait and pray that she woke up.

"Hey, Dana, right?" Daniel asked the girl, breaking the tense silence.

"Yeah," she answered. "I'm surprised you remember."

"You were nice to me in class," Daniel smiled. "I wouldn't forget that. I do want to know why you did it, though?"

"What do you mean?" Dana asked. Her eyebrows furrowed curiously as she tried to figure out if he wanted to know why she was nice in class or why she stood up for them while they were being outcast.

"Any of it," Daniel stumbled, trying to clarify. "Why were you so nice in class, but I mainly want to know why you tried to help us back there."

Dana answered, "You all seemed so nice, and like you just wanted to belong. It's not like Ariel chose to be born a half dark elf. In fact, I saw how hard she tried to hide it."

"But why would you try to make them stop back there?" Chris asked. "You had to know they would turn on you."

"I knew exactly what I was doing," Dana responded, her voice harder than before. "When I saw her fall, I knew she was already hurt. I heard your father laughing about how he had already beaten her. I knew I had to do something so you all could get away. Why did you come back? You were supposed to keep running. They were not going to beat me as hard as they did to Ariel."

"I couldn't let you be beaten," Daniel answered.

"Same," Ariel groaned as her eyes opened once more.

"Ariel, you're awake!" Dana said happily. "I'm Dana, by the way."

"Nice to meet you," Ariel said slowly. "Sorry about the circumstances."

"Hush," Dana said forcefully. "You have nothing to be sorry about. If they couldn't see the light in you, then they can hardly call themselves light shadows. Can they?"

Ariel started to laugh but stopped quickly when it hurt. "No, they can't. Now, would one of you help me up so we can leave?"

"Just stay there for a while," Chris said softly. "Hank put you through the ringer. I'm shocked you're actually alive, let alone awake. Just rest for a while."

"We need to get away," Ariel said before she took a deep, pain-filled breath. "We can't stay here."

"Ariel, just stop," Chris said. He reached down to hold her when she tried to get up anyway. "We thought you were dead after Hank hit you full-force in your heart. You didn't make a sound when he roughly threw you over his shoulder. Then, he threw you directly into a tree, and you still stayed silent! Please, just rest for a moment."

Ariel slumped down, considering his words. That was a lot for one night. She knew they had been worried. She wasn't sure she could just lie there, though. Looking back at the village, she could feel their joy. It made her sick that they were celebrating after beating her and tossing her out like that.

"Nope," she breathed as she forced herself into a sitting position. Before she could actually stand, her stomach churned. She felt like she would actually be sick. So, she twisted on her hands and knees as she heaved.

"Please slow down," Chris sighed as he rubbed her back.

"Nothing stops you, does it?" Dana asked with a slight laugh.

"I can feel them," Ariel breathed when the heaving finally stopped.

"Who?" Dana asked with concern clear in her voice.

"The village," Ariel said softly. "They are celebrating."

"Can't you ignore them for a bit? Just focus on us," Daniel asked. He kneeled in front of her.

Ariel looked into his light blue eyes. She finally saw the black eye Eric had given him. She also saw the bruises on his arms from the mob. She looked at Chris and Dana, seeing similar bruises on them. She also saw the pain and worry in Chris' brown eyes, even though he had his messy brown hair covering most of it. The joy from the village smacked her again, and she fell with a small yelp of pain. She couldn't ignore them, but she also couldn't move.

She looked up to see that Chris was offering his hand, saying, "Let's get you away from here."

She smiled and accepted his hand. He gently helped her to her feet, but she almost fell again. Dana swooped in and caught her. She wrapped her arm gently around her to help hold her up. Ariel's gray eyes met her hazel ones. She saw the concern in them and wondered if she was second guessing her decision upon seeing her differences up close. However, Dana just smiled and nodded. She knew then that Dana was nothing like anyone else in the village.

Together, they walked into the woods. None of them had any supplies. They didn't even know where they were going. All that mattered at the moment was that they were together, and every step was taking them further away from the village.

She could still feel that horrible place, but it wasn't as bad since they started moving. The pain in her midsection outweighed the feeling of the village. It was still enough to blind her, occasionally making her stumble. Even so, she wouldn't stop.

The boys offered to carry her, but she said no. They also asked how Dana was doing, and she said she was fine.

"I don't want you to pass out again," Chris said after asking Ariel yet again to let him carry her.

"I said no," Ariel said in a very strained voice.

"Can you still feel them?" Daniel asked.

Ariel paused for a moment before saying, "It's still there, but it's bearable."

"So, can we sit for a moment?" Dana almost pleaded.

"Yes," Ariel answered lightly.

"Good, 'cause you're starting to get heavy," Dana sighed. She looked around, wondering how to help her down.

"I got her," Chris said. He grabbed her free shoulder and placed his other hand on the small of her back to help balance her. He then guided her to a tree where he helped her sit and lean against it.

"Thank you both," Ariel sighed.

"Anytime, sis," Chris smiled. He then turned to Dana and said, "We asked you several times if you were doing okay. Why didn't you tell us that she was getting heavy?"

Dana responded, "You two were making sure we didn't fall. I was fine supporting her. She was just barely starting to get a little heavy."

"Dana, thank you for helping me get this far," Ariel started softly. "Chris is right, though. If I was starting to get heavy, you should have asked one of them for help."

"It wasn't a problem, really," Dana smiled. "I'll be honest though, you said many times that you didn't want to be carried, and they are much bigger than you. I couldn't think of any way you could have leaned on them that would have helped much."

"That's true," Ariel said with a small smile. She looked up at Chris and Daniel. They were at least a shoulder taller than her. "Then we could have stopped sooner."

"And make you feel the village?" Dana said in a mock question. "No, I was fine, really."

"Okay," Ariel sighed. She no longer had the energy to argue.

She leaned against the tree a little more and closed her eyes. Upon doing that, she realized that she actually could feel the village too well for comfort. However, she didn't want to say anything. They had all been through enough and needed the rest. So, she just tried to focus on the group instead. She didn't open her eyes, and it was a little easier than it had been before. It was still far from perfect, though.