Through Fynn’s Eyes

Fynn’s eyes opened and he found himself staring up at the blue sky. A few clouds gently rolled by, and a bird soared across his vision. He blinked a few times and sat up, wincing at the stiffness in his chest where the iron arrowhead rested. Looking around, he noticed he was far from the village where he had been held prisoner. Fynn thought back for a moment, trying to trace his jumbled thoughts. He had been shot, and he had sent Leila away. He regretted doing so, but had no choice. He had died, or had tried to die, but the soldiers who had shot him had a sorcerer with them, and he had been viciously pulled back into his injured body and chained with iron. The rest was a haze until Leila had found him.

He smiled to himself as he pictured her face before his, her eyes full of worry as she tried to revive him. The spell the sorcerer had cast had been clumsy, trapping Fynn in his body like a prisoner in a cell. Leila’s presence, however, had helped him. He couldn’t explain it, but she brought him back to himself.

“Leila?” he called, looking around the forest where she had left him.

He rose to his feet and took a few steps forward when a green skinned tree spirit appeared before him. She held out her hand to stop him and shook her head. Fynn frowned at her.

“Stand aside,” Fynn commanded.

“You must stay,” the spirit said. “She has ordered it. We are to protect you.”

Fynn raised an eyebrow. “I hardly need your protection.”

“She has ordered it. We will obey.”

“Just you? Or are there others too?”

“The spirits of the forest are loyal to her. She was promised to us.”

To their right, a figure engulfed in flames appeared. It stepped lightly on the ground, singeing the edges of the leaves it touched and causing the tree spirit to wince with each step. The two spirits glared at each other, with Fynn standing between them.

“We will protect him,” the fire spirit insisted.

“She ordered us,” the tree spirit argued.

“And us as well,” a water spirit added, materializing on the other side of Fynn, opposite the fire spirit.

Fynn remained silent for a time, observing the three conflicting spirits. Their hatred for one another was apparent on each of their faces. The tree spirit hated the destructiveness of the fire, the fire spirit disliked the water of the water spirit, and the water spirit hated how the tree spirit drained its pools dry. Each of them obeyed Leila.

“She was promised to each of you,” Fynn said. “But who will she serve?”

“We found her first,” the water spirit exclaimed. “She is ours!”

“You let her go,” the tree spirit argued.

“We have been watching her since she arrived,” the fire spirit said.

Fynn leaned against a tree, watching the spirits argue with a smile on his face. The three elementals bickered and fought, each one claiming Leila as their own, as their fulfilled promise. Suddenly, Fynn heard arrows being fired, people moving through the trees, and screams. The spirits heard it as well, and paused in their argument. As clears as if she were standing next to them, they all heard Leila cry out for the spirits to come to her aid. The trio hesitated.

“She did not call one of us,” the tree spirit said thoughtfully. “She called us all.”

“We will not go if you are going,” the fire spirit pouted.

“She must chose,” the water spirit said as it turned away. “We will not go.”

Fynn stared in shock as the three spirits vanished. Turning towards the sound of the battle, he ran through the trees to the girl he had promised to protect. His chest ached almost unbearably, but he ignored the pain. He had to find Leila and fast.

He arrived in time to see the Huryl retreat. He smirked to see them running with their tails between their legs. Glancing at the battleground, he saw the wolf staring at him with his large yellow eyes. At his feet lay Leila, an arrow protruding from her shoulder in almost the same place Fynn had been shot. He froze where he stood, concealed by the trees and stared. He had failed her.

A woman dressed in green knelt next to Leila, cupping the unconscious girl’s head in her lap. She broke the arrow and pulled it free, and Fynn flinched at Leila’s cry. The woman spoke to Leila and a few other similarly dressed women crowded around. They picked Leila up and carried her away. The wolf took a step after them, hesitated, and looked to Fynn.

“I cannot,” Fynn told him. “Follow her, keep her safe.”

The wolf bowed his head in an almost nod and trotted after the women.