We walked until we got to a small village and entered the tavern.
"We'll stay here for the night." I said with a sad smile. David looked at me and nodded.
"Alright. I'll go get our rooms." he said walking over to the counter to get the rooms. I looked around for an empty table and found one near the fire place. Eriol padded over to the table and curled up beside the chair I'd chosen. I looked into the warming fire, but looked up when she heard David place two steaming mugs of cider on the table.
"Thank you." I said pulling one of the mugs toward me. David simply smiled and sipped at the cider.
"I guess I should tell you about why Erik attacked me." I said looking down at the cider. Eriol lifted his great head and eyed me warily.
"Jamii, are you sure about this?" he asked softly. I nodded and placed a hand on his head.
"I'm positive Eriol. I have to tell him if I want him to trust me." I said with a sad smile. I looked back up at David after Eriol placed his head back on his forepaws. "Where should I begin?"
"The start would be the best idea I guess." David said calmingly. I nodded and folded my shaking hands in my lap.
"I guess it all started when my mother died. We didn't have enough money to keep the family business going, and my mother died after lack of nutrition and childbirth." I said closing my eyes. "My father raised me as well as he could but when I turned eight father sold me to a slaver for a very high price. I guess the price was high because I was still so young, and I'd built up a tolerance to pain." I looked down at my hands and clenched them tightly.
"I didn't understand why I was being forced to leave the only home I knew at first, but I did when the slaver put me up for auction. I was sold to the highest bidder, and forced to do what they wanted." I looked up and gave a weak smile. "Don't get me wrong, they didn't use me for anything indecent, but they did place a magicked collar around my neck. One day when I was out working the field, I saw a man watching me work. I'd known better then to approach strangers, but my master had informed the house that he was expecting a guest. So I called out to him and asked him if I could help him with something. He only told me that my master had sent for him. I took him to my master and went back to my field." Eriol lifted his head as he knew what was coming.
"What happened?" David asked curiously. I glanced at him then back down at my cooling cider.
"After dinner that night, my master came to my room and started beating me, blaming me for everything that was happening to him. Eriol told me after that he would have killed me if the other man hadn't appeared and saved me from my master." I said clenching my fists even tighter. My knuckles had turned white and Eriol had noticed. He licked my bleeding hand and I gave a thankful smile.
"The man broke the spell on the collar and took me away with him. But he soon found out the powers that were kept within my body, for I was thrown into a blood rage and nearly killed him. He fashioned this collar for me and told me that it would help control the blood lust."
"So he was the one who abandoned you with that collar?" David asked noticing that I had started fingering the soft fabric.
"Uhn. After my fifteenth birthday the collar was ripped off my throat by a stray arrow and I was thrown into another bout of blood rage. The thing was, it just happened to be inside the village where I had finally made a real friend. Ryn." Tears fell from my eyes and landed on my clenched fists. "I couldn't see anything but pain and fury as I killed countless people and soldiers. When I felt my claws rip through the soft flesh of my best friend, and heard her painful scream, the blood lust was broken and I realized what I had done. I killed my best friend. I killed Ryn. Everything was my fault, So I stitched the collar onto my neck and ran away from the village. I've been wandering the wastelands searching for my master for two years now. " I opened my eyes slowly and looked up at David.
"That's when I found you David. I thought I'd been given another chance at having a real life. But ever since Erik's attack, I've gotten the feeling that you don't want to be near me anymore." I crossed my arms on the table and rested my forehead on my crossed wrists. "I'm so sorry for causing you all this trouble... If you don't want to be anywhere around me I'll understand. But please... even if you don't want to be near me... will you still be my friend?" I looked at him hopefully, but when I found him silent I closed my eyes and allowed the tears to fall. I felt a pair of arms hug me around my shoulders from behind. I opened my eyes fast and looked up to find David with his eyes closed and his cheek against my hair.
"No matter what, I won't leave you behind. I can't." He said gently. I smiled despite the pain I was feeling and leaned into his embrace.
"Thank you. From the bottom of my heart... thank you." I whispered as the tears fell from my pale eyes.
((Sorry for such a long wait, I just got over my writers block and I've been itching to write again. So to my readers, thank you for waiting so valiantly. Oh and to make up for the long wait, I made it really long... 3nodding So do you forgive me for putting it off so long?))
Lady Nuil Community Member 
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