1 The Exile

Here in black assure city I, Hazel Yoshihide had just finished scout training and had earned my golden sword.  Then just as I was fixing it to my belt Haruto came up to congratulate me on getting promoted to prince guard regimen not to mention on being betrothed to him, you see I had been engaged to Haruto Yoshitsune who had turned out to be a royal elf and well I was an elf too in fact Haruto and I were even the same race of elf, a fire elf but there was something about me that I hadn't told Haruto before, it was that in my last battle against the dark elves something had changed and I wasn't sure how to break it to my betrothed in fact I thought it best if he didn't know in the first place so I didn't really say anything but one night when Ihad woken up after noticing my center of my chest along with my back was hurting like fire. So I got out of bed and tried not to wake Karma but was unsuccessful to say the least first he stirred then he sat up in bed and looked over to see me walking to the bathroom looking almost as though I would break clutching my chest and as I thought he would Haruto got up and stroked me behind the ear and then came in front of me and hugged me tight and lifted my head to give me a kiss but as I reached out to caress his face to give him back the love another wave of pain flashed through me I then shove him out of the way and thinking that I'm okay I tried to continue to the window but I started to fall and crumple to the floor. Haruto catches me just in time I look up at my loving betrothed as I admit.

"Haruto there's something I didn't tell you about my mission last week I ran into a horde of dark elves and one of them gave me his cursed gems and now I think the process of me becoming one of them has started but there's something about it that's different, I think that when he gave me his gem it fused to my chest and arms and now I'm probably beginning the process into a dark elf in which case I can't be with you much longer" as I look up at my husband to be and he has a very worried look on his face I stroke his gentle face and say

"My love it will be alright and you know how I know this"

"How?" his face starts to crumple and his voice breaks

"Because (cough) I have you and there's some things that the dark elf told me and it's that I won't die" as I finish Haruto looks down at me and just as my hand falls from his face he cries

"Noooooo!!!!" and for the rest of the night he sat in the same place cradling me in his arms after that he took me to the fire elf healing center and from there my mind goes completely dark.

I wake up to see Haruto resting by my bedside in one of the healing chambers at the ember healing halls. I sit up in the bed and notice that my back had engraved markings on it and they looked like a shadow and a celtic circle on it both all the way down my back since this comes as a surprise to me I wake Haruto and have him call one of the healers to look at my back, the healer comes and explains that these aren't regular markings and that they were more like a cursed tapestry that had been engraved onto my back. Also the healer says that something was evil about it and when they tried to remove it, it just shot out at them like a defense mechanism and the healers said that if it wasn't removed soon then I would have to leave to go look for 100 spirit stones, 5 lengths of fox squirrel fur and I would have to live as an exile in the spirit wiles.

    Later that week the final healer had tried everything that he could think of to get it to be just a regular tattoo instead of trying to remove it but he had tried in vain because it had the exact same reaction that it had, had for the other healers. So within that week I had to pack what I was going to take with me and then at the end of the week I was to be banished from the black asure city and was to not return until Iwas rid of the cursed tapestry that seems as if it was now part of me, which didn't bowed well for my late boyfriend and his family and if I stayed I knew that something bad would happen or come after me or the royals. Also seeing as it clearly had been put on me with some intention of ill will written into the silver lining somewhere I kind of had to leave.

The end of the week came quicker than both Iand Haruto had hoped would take forever, but the morning of my banishment was here and there was nothing that we could do about it. As he and I walked to the gate he was dressed in his best attire he was wearing his dark blue coat and had his orange and white prince outfit on along with his gold crown with sapphires and rubies adorning it.  To say the least, it was saddening to see him seeing as how he was my betrothed and the fact that I had gone on that "mandatory" mission three days before our wedding and it had been canceled due to the circumstances and it looked to me that it may never happen and that I may never see him again.

"On this auspicious day a reliant, loved and strong individual who has protected the royals for 5 years now has protected both us the people and the royal family with cunning, fearlessness and courage is now banished from The Black Asure City and is not to return until rid of the curse she now bears and henceforth from this day shall be unwelcome and to be blocked out of the city unless she henceforth shows proof that she has rid herself of evil and has succeeded in her quest now Iconclude the banishment of Hazel Yoshihide on this saddened day."

With that the scribe rerols the scroll and the gates are called open and Istart my treak of banishment until either further notice and start my new life as a "fugitive".

The next thing that happened was unpredictable and really wierd after at least a month after my banishment my hair has grown down to my hips and I've taken on a roguish outfit and ive started to do something that if Iever saw my beloved again I would never admit it to him and that's the fact that about two weeks after I left I became a rogue bounty hunter elf and i've buried my past in my new life and left it behind and right now I've been watching some merchants that have been on my list for at least a week and it seems that they've made plans to ship the spirit stone out to some pirate named Nico.

"Hehehe well at least I might be able to get my hands on some rare stones if I pull this off not to mention that one of them might be able to get rid of that cursed tattoo on my back as well" I speak to myself then I start to think (however seeing as it's been so long since that happened to me I guess I already turned into one of the dark elves it was an interesting process because after that little incident I hadn't really noticed that I was different other than the fact that now I'm a dual race elf and that now I'm a dark fire elf and other than the new powers and the overenhaced abilities I would say that I'm about the same. I sigh "guess I'd better get this show on the road before they move positions again" i finish whispering to myself. So trying to stay as quiet as possible I prepare my trademark knives, aim at my target and let them fly two of them miss their mark but my third one hits my target smack dab in the temple of the barganer that had been on my sights list for a while after I check to make sure that know one was around I collect my excess knives and shove them under my leather bodice and raise my hood again. Next I pluck the bloody one from my victims head and clean it, afterwards I head over to the smaller cart that the nobleman had with him and rummage through the loot inside looking for the spirit stones that I had gotten a heads up about and sure enough I find them in the back wrapped in a blue satin cloth. 

I carry my new loot out of the wrecked cart and bring out my bag for spirit stones.

"3 in total now still not enough to get rid of the curse but i bet i could do something with them in the meantime" I sigh putting the bag back under my belt. Then in the corner of my eye I spot a paper inside the cart in the front corner that i missed it wasn't too appealing at first because at its appearance it seems like an ordinary supply list but as I fetched it from the back, I noticed that it had the royal family crest on it at this I knew that something was amiss that I wasn't aware of at the time. Later as I'm walking along the road about three miles from the town of saint haven i see a small scouting group of what looks to be a fire elf escort unit and seeing that I decide to recede into the shadows so as not to be spotted because of one the bounty for my head but one of the scouts on the outside unit near the end of the escort hears me and lets the guards ahead know pretty soon after that they halt to a stop and decide to investigate, seeing that this situation is starting to get dicey i decide to just reveal myself even though the escort unit probably was protecting one of the royals from my hometown but nonetheless I decided that if I was to be found out i might as well do it on my terms and knowone else's. 

So as the soldiers come closer towards my spot I decided to use my agility to jump over them and onto the top of the carriage as I land I try to make as little noise as possible but i do it unsuccessfully and end up making a little bit of a thud on the top. Now hearing this the people inside decide to get out and investigate for themselves and come out.

"What's going on out here" asks a young man as he stepped out of the carriage.

"Sir there seems to be a problem" a guard informs

"Well don't we have the resources to help this issue faster?" he asks continuing to scout the surrounding until his eyes land on me.

"Well what do we have here i thought that the security detail that I took with me would be enough but it appears that you have outsmarted them all and not just anyone can do that, so kudos to you rouge but why have you decided to stop my escort." the boy says

"Well you seemed like you were planning to go somewhere so I figured why not just interrupt you for fun and maybe while I was at it, I might just snag some supplies from you since you seem to have quite a few of them." I comment staring him dead in the face

"Well then why not just take us all out right now? You probably could just do it all in one swoop couldn't you" he exclaims looking around and then glancing at me

"Well if at all possible I wanted to do this the most civil way that i could because I only want a couple things and I don't feel like doing anything reckless right now." I comment sitting down on the top of the carriage letting my feet hang off waiting for him to do something about me.

"Well i don't know if you noticed but I'm kind of on a schedule so if you could leave us that would be great" he comments

"Well unfortunately i have to do this the hard way i was hoping that I wouldn't have to do this the hard way but it looks like I'm going to have to" I exclaimed jumping off the top of the carriage and sneaking up behind the two guards that are closest to the boy and I stab them with the paralyzing formula i made myself and after it has taken effect i come back to the boy and ask in a somewhat menacing tone

"Alright now that your guards can't do anything to stop me let's get back down to business, lately i've heard that you've been planning to attack a life elf camp, and I hate to put it like this but either you give me the info I want or I expose the behind the scenes bargains that you've been making with the dark elves and pirates." I threaten holding one of my golden emerald jeweled blades to his throat.

The boy swallows hard and then admits 

"Ok yes you've got me i've been making deals but not without reason you see ever since the kingdom lost its best warrior it's been difficult to defend against the intruders and we've ended up scrambling ever since we lost HER, that's why we're out here in the middle of the whispering woods where we got a heads up that she was dealing and that HER hideout was here because we heard that she was the best in the land and to be frank I've been wondering if this bounty hunter is the same GIRL that left my kingdom so long ago because if so then i need to find her and bring her back because we need someone as powerful as her because we will lose everything i we or I don't track her down." the boy finishes swallowing hard.

After that i come around to meet his eyes to see if he was truly telling the truth and sure enough his eyes didn't lie he was sincerely telling the truth. Not to mention that from his posture when he was standing and the way his breathing had sped up when i had attacked him he was telling me a rouge the truth about everything.

"Well you seem to be sincere enough to be telling the truth and I think that from how your acting you couldn't have put it any other way and to be honest I didn't think that the day would finally come when i would be called back to that place i left so long ago, not to mention that I never thought that my love would come back to find me in the wiles." I exclaimed removing my hood but keeping my mask on.

Next thing I know the boy in the princely attire is trying to find his words as his eyes widen because for some reason after all this time there is a spark in him like there hasn't been for years and that both of us know what's going to happen next.

After what I said I took him everything he had just to find something to tell me

"What, who are you and how do you know that?" He asks looking me up and down

" Well because if your the mighty prince Haruto that I remember then you've finally come to seek me out whether it be to kill me or to tell me to come back either way I don't think you will find the girl you were looking for in this body because the Hazel you once knew has become a hard person to get to and if you are the person I think you are then you'll know what I'm talking about soon enough." After I sputter my last words I leap into the shadows leaving the young prince to ponder what just happened to him and if anything do some soul searching for the answer that he knows in his heart about his long lost love and if that had been her. 

Later that night I came to their campsite to watch their conversation and see if there was anything of interest that would be of use to me in the future.

"Did you hear there have been sightings of a newly appeared rouge elf in these woods that we are camping in right now, I bet the guy is just waiting till we are unaware enough so that they can loot our camp and take us out." The first man speaks in a low voice.

"Well I don't really think that the rouge is a boy the movements that people have seen every time he or she shows up the movements are almost girlish". The second man says 

"Well if the rouge is a girl then why is it that Everytime they have been spotted it looks as though it's a male and not to mention that each time the rouge strike they leave a symbol somewhere on continuing the conversation.

"I heard that the fire elves are sechong for this so called rouge and it was never specified as to why the fire elves want this rouge in question."

"There's also tell that there was a rich shipwreck off the coast of the leaf elf land" The first one says.

After listening to the two men talk a while I finally hear anything if interest

"Really the shipwreck was salvaged"

"Yeah and the soldiers that were salvaging it are fire elves and no one knows why or how it ended up in their territory but it did and they are trying to get every last bit of it".

"Well they didn't take long they must be short on supplies if they are salvaging a wrecked foreign ship for resources."

("Wait what did he just say, the fire elves are short on supplies since when did the fire elves need to salvage and scavenge wrecks of ships for supplies?") I think to myself. But despite that I'm not even sure if I should worry about them until I get what I need".

After a little while longer listening to the two of them babble I decided that it was about itnw that I got going seeing as there would be a leaf elf patrol coming through soon and I didn't want to be spotted. But while I was heading back to my hideout there was something that had been bothering me about the two men talking and it seems like for some reason it felt as though something was pulling my mind back to the clearing and not the conversation itself but just the clearing but I couldn't quite put my finger on it and even after I got home I decided to ponder it a little while trying to fall asleep after a long day so that I'd be ready for the next one.

After the night came and went I woke up to a very strange sensation coming from my bracelet that my love haruto had given me before I had left to be exiled from the kingdom until someone came and found me that aside as I look down at my wrist I noticed that the ruby gem was glowing and it was quite bright witch either gave me the hint that something or someone was coming. As I scan the forest that surrounds my hideout I spot a hint of red and black clothing and seeing that I grab one of my smaller daggers and ready it in case I've been found by the wrong person. As I hear them come closer I start to focus my hearing on their pulse and as I do I hear them come closer all the while their pulse quickening with every move. After a while the mysterious person that has been lingering under my window finally makes a move and I'm ready. As my window creaks open and the mysterious figure starts to enter that's when I strike it only takes a minute for me to come up and hold my curved dagger to my Intruders throat.

"Alright who are you and how did you find this place" I ask in a deeper more threatening tone. 

"Whoa there I didn't think that you were so menacing especially since you didn't seem like it in the first place but what can I expect, exile in a place like this will do that to a person especially if something has happened before hand that caused this to be even worse." The stranger says as he slowly starts to try to get me to release the blade that is now around his neck.

Seeing that I tighten my grip and find a good chunk of hair to hold him down by.

"What do you know about me and who are you?" I scornfully ask my eyes turning into staring daggers their blue color tuning to ice.

"Well if you could listen your grip on me I could probably tell you." The stranger says glancing away from me.

"Well if you'll tell me then I will, but if you try anything your dead." I comment back letting him go while still holding my knife in-between us still keeping as much distance that I could in a cramped space like MY hideout.

"Ok ok princess I won't try anything"he says clearly reading the mood.

"Alright now back to the point why and how did you find this place" I say

"Well I kind of just spotted it and came in thinking that it was abandoned seeing as from the outside it looks like it really is." He replies still looking at me

"Well it isn't, so what are you going to do now, go tell your friends try to take this place as your own or will you leave and let me wipe your memory I suggest the easier way out unless you want to be one of the many people that I add to my kill list" I threatened my eyes shining like daggers.

"Hehehe I dont think that I want to die today so I'll keep my mouth shut" he assured me as I put my knife closer to his neck.

"Ok, but I can't let you leave without a little of a warning that if you do tell anyone then you'll regret it" I threaten right as I slice his neck which heals almost right after I slit it.

"Wh,wh,what did you just do...to..me?" The man says covering the slice mark that I had just given him with his hand.

"Well to put it in the simplest way possible, I marked you with my enchanted blood blade so that if you mention this place to anyone, including your family you'll start to die do you won't be able to tell anyone of my whereabouts and if you do, I think that you know what'll happen." I exclaimed as I wipe the blood clean off my fire dagger.

"Oh… I assure you I won't" the man says jumping out the window to the ground below and disappearing into the abyss of trees below.

(Well at least I got that out of the way man that really took it out of me, especially since I had to use my magic as well damn I still haven't gotten used to it seriously how long is it going to take for me to get used to my new capabilities) I think to myself flopping down onto the fluffy animal skin blankets on my bed.

After a while of laying in my solitude sleep grew more and more tempting and in the end I just gave up and let it consume my body and bring the blackness of relaxation to my mind but pretty soon I wake and the entire day had slipped by without any feeling of time passing. Not to mention that after I did my tattoo was throbbing which meant that either the other dark elves were trying to find me or the next phase of power was coming.

(No no I'm not ready yet why can't you just hold back a little longer) ahahahah its like fire has consumed my body why can this be any easier uff uff huf. I roll over onto my stomach and bite down on the fur in front of me as the tattoo spreads creeping down to the small of my back and coming up and around the nape of my neck and coming down my arms a little creating the final tattoo ring on my arms while also lightening my fiery red hair and even brighter tone of orange red and this time the tattoo triggered something inside me and it started to lengthen the shorter canine teeth that I had into half fangs not to mention that the additional tattoos on my legs that the dark elf that I had encountered recently gave me also started to crawl along my skin down to my ankles stopping there by the time it was over only my face, hands and feet hadn't been covered by the strange symbols that had stemmed from the cursed tattoo that had started all of this. 

"I wonder if haruto will ever find me and if he's still single." I think out loud to myself. Then as if on cue there a commotion outside in the trees and as I sit up ready my knife and prepare to strike and in comes my love himself.

"Well this is quaint, in fact it's quite the hiding spot if you never want to be found." he says the jewels on his piercings gingling as he looked around the room. 

Seeing his eyes i know that this is the man that i was going to marry all those years ago and at that my pulse starts to quicken as i realize the situation that i have managed to get myself into.

Fiddling with the knife that I've kept since my banishment i throw it up and down in the air waiting to see if he reacts and recognizes it. After what seemed to be an eternity of messing with it he comes over and i stop throwing it and stand up to meet his fiery orange eyes with my cool blue ones.

"Where did you find all this stuff?" he asks me

"Oh you mean all the furnishings?" I ask looking down at my dagger

"Yes they are offaly similar to the ones I have." he says.

"I actually made half of them myself the other half I paid someone to do it with the mahogany wood that I like." I comment back

"Really well aren't you resourceful" he remarks

"I guess" i reply.

"But i have one question for you and it's not about the wood" he points out

"Ok ... and what might that be?" I ask back walking over to the window while still holding my dagger.

"Well..there is a … person that i've been searching for and you have the closest resemblance to her that i've seen out here". He admits earnestly 

"W..what are you saying?" i ask my focus shifting away from the knife long enough that i accidentaly cut myself on my birth marked hand that had a flame with wings on it.

"Ah shoot not that hand why is it now of all times that i cut it." I half speak as I stumble over to my desk to lean on letting my hand drip with the blood from my hand.

"What, what just happened are you ok." he asks 

"I don't think so I just cut my hand in a spot that is the worst spot possible to cut" i breath

"And that spot is?" he asks

"(I guess I have to show him now so much for smoothing this out without a problem) across a birthmark that i got a long time ago" I exclaimed as I showed him my hand.

"Ooh that looks pretty bad do you want help with it?" haruto asks with kindness in his eyes 

"If you don't mind that would be good" I respond while I slowly show him my hand. Right after I do a faint orange light starts to glow around my hand and it starts to heal with his magic and as it does my mark starts to become visible again not to mention that the curse from the tattoo on my back is weakening in the part that had darkened my skin and changed my hair is now fading away restoring both back to the original color they had been which was light orange for my hair and a pale tone of skin color that they had been.

"Wow when I did that healing spell I didn't expect…" haruto says looking up at me like it's the first time in his life.

"What what's wrong?"I ask looking puzzled.

"Well I don't know how to say this but I think that your the one I've been searching for all this time" he stammers swallowing hard.

"Why exactly are you saying this?" I say pretending to not know what he's talking about.

"Well if.. you want to know then go look in your mirror". He tells me in disbelief.

"Ok if you say so" I say shrugging as I walk over.

But when I get there my appearance has shifted back to what it was before I had been banished by hair was back to the golden blonde it had been, my skin had turned back to a normal color and the tattoos effects on me were completely gone.

After I've finished looking astonished at myself I turn back to my old love and gaze at him with love in my eyes.

"Ha looks like you've found me at last my love" I raise my hand to his now sad face showing him that it's really me as I lovingly gaze into his fiery orange eyes with my ocean blue eyes.

"But… how I thought that you were... dead… I mean as far as I could tell you looked like even the wind would break you when you left and now what… your out here thriving and doing your own thing like there's nothing wrong." He tells me as he gestures toward my back were the tattoo had been moments before where only a scar remains.

"Well I couldn't just go away and then find a hiding place and hide there could I, I had to take care of myself and if that meant I had to become a rogue looter then that's what I would do and it turned out that that's what had worked best for me so I did". I tell him matter of factly

Haruto's eyes widened as I was talking

"But why chose the profession of looting and stealing why not a regular job like potion making or animal care like you used to think about doing?" He asks still confused and concerned about my situation.

"Yeh believe me i tried but seeing as I'd become a dark elf know one would apprentice me and since the dark elves get such a bad wrap you can imagine why right?".

"Well I guess so but you could've at least tried right?". He says his eyes falling to my back still marked with the now uncursed tattoo.

"You have a point and don't get me wrong I wanted to try but every time I tried to come back the tattoo stopped me from moving and then made me faint so it made me realize that until I got rid of it I wouldn't be able to come back to you or the kingdom and after all i've been through I'm glad that you found me because I would've killed myself today if you hadn't." I admit as I sigh.

"Well I'm glad that you waited otherwise if I had found you out here dead I wouldn't know what to do with myself" Haruto exclaimed look at me with affection in his eyes.

"Ok so depressing stuff aside what did you come and find me for I mean I'm sure that there's a reason so what is it?" I asked laying my hand over his.

"Huh the reason I came, you really can't tell?"Haruto asks raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah I guess I mean you have a kingdom to run and you might as well just keep up with the duties of the kingdom seeing as we need to keep up with the regimen as well". I state 

"Well that's a shame seeing as I can't even find my girl and then when I do she doesn't even know what for" Haruto sighs looking back up from the ring I had on.

"Hey don't blame yourself blame me because the past five years have let's just say has changed me and well I honestly don't want to even admit how much".