Collaboration by eyesonlyhacker and VicierWhen next Ender was conscious of anything it was that he was laying on something soft and warm. There was also something over him. He moved his hands pulling off the blanket and groaned from the soreness as he turned over and looked around. It wasn't much different than his own cosy cottage, though he saw some things unfamiliar to him. A cold circle against his forearm pulled his eyes from scanning the room and looked down. It was the pendent Ender had found in the river bed. He was surprised at how cold to the touch it was.
He picked it up and turned it in his finger in the light. It had an ethereal quality to it that screamed magic. Maybe it had been magic that pulled him away from his hunters. It was than his mind snapped back to the events in recent hours. The Huntsman jumped up from the couch looking for an escape. But he only got up half way before the pain in his side shot through him again. His whole body went rigid as Ender fell back on the couch in a scream of pain.
"Whoah, whoah, whoah!" Running forward she dropped down skidding to a stop on her knees in front of the couch her hands reaching out pushing lightly on his chest so that he wouldn't more and hurt himself anymore than he already had, "Listen, your hurt, the more you move the worse it will get. So stop being so stubborn and just stop!" She narrowed her eyes staring him straight in the eyes her voice firmer than normal as she began to lay down the law for him, "Now, this is what I've gotten so far, you fell out of the damn sky and straight down on top of me. Not to mention you broke my favourite snowboard." Standing up she pulled off her gloves and jacket letting them fall to the ground at her feet as she continued her little rant, "Unless your the Doctor and you have a tardis stashed away somewhere on the slopes, I will not excuse what has happened here today, and I most certainly wont let you go anywhere until your fit and ready to. Do I make myself clear?"
She placed her hands on her hips as she eyed him sizing him up and wondering how far she could take it before he retaliated, if worse came to worse she could always throw him out into the cold snow but she was not like that. Showing the thought out of her mind she huffed out a sigh giving herself a moment to calm down before she dropped back down to her knees her hands reaching out, one taking a hold of his while her other gently rested on his forehead brushing his hair off his face so she could see him properly; her gaze soft and showing her concern, "My name is Elise. My father owns this ski-lodge. I can tell you now that nothing is going to happen to you while your under this roof, but until your well again... I will not let you out of my sight... Do you understand?"
"The who and a what now?"
Ender was bent over holding his sides, head down as he tried to catch his breath. He barely noticed anything else the girl said until he felt her warm hand brushing the hair from his forehead. He looked up into the brightest blue eyes that he'd ever seen. But those were dwarfed by the girl's beauty. He gaped as Elise continued to stare at him with concern. Finally he has able to speak through parched lips. "Tha..thank you. Where are we?"
The Huntsman waved off the obvious repeat that they were in her father's ski-lodge. "I mean how far from the Enchantress' boarder. I'm not safe as long as I remain within her spear of influence."
"Tha..thank you. Where are we?" Her lips turned up in a soft smile as she heard him speak for the first time since they had been thrown together in the snow, relaxing slightly she let her eyes flick over his features; cracked lips, a soft pinkish tinge to his cheeks and the sound of his voice slightly horse. Standing up she made her way into the kitchen fumbling through the high cupboards as she grabbed a couple of glasses as she answered him, "We're up in north California..." Moving over to the sink she filled each of them up with water as she continued, "Lake Tahoe? Any of this ringing a bell or do you honestly not know where you are..." Her voice trailed off as she watched him the water overflowing in one of the glasses causing her to stumble slightly quickly shutting off the faucet, picking herself back up from her stumble she wandered back over to him holding out one of the glasses for him to take.
"I mean how far from the Enchantress' boarder. I'm not safe as long as I remain within her spear of influence." Enchantress? What on earth was he on about? The only time she had ever heard of an Enchantress was within the books that she read and the Disney movies she had watched over and over again as a child, the worn out tapes lining a couple of the shelves on the bookcase in her room, "There is no Enchantress... There's no Evil Queen, no big bad wolves, no poison apples... No dragons, dwarves, elves... No happy endings... This is the real world, fairy tales don't exist. You want to make it here, you need to work..."
Ender looked at the girl funny as she spoke. He'd never heard of this California. And he didn't know about these...
elves...but dragons did exist. Hell he'd seen one fly over his head barely a week ago. If only he'd realized it than that the dragon had been tracking him Ender might have gotten a better start. He had to agree with the no happy endings. His whole life had been the opposite.
The Huntsman took the glass of water and quickly downed it. He almost retched it back up because of the metallic taste. Never had he ever had water that tasted so dirty. Finally he set the glass back down on the table and looked back up into those clear blue eyes. "Are you daf girl. After everything that...witch...has done to my people...our people...how can you say she doesn't exist."
He knew he was getting a little too excited. He hissed as another shock of pain went through his side. For the first time since the river Ender lifted his shirt to examine the damage. His whole side was purpled in bruises. The fact that he could still breath meant that at least nothing was broken.
She watched in silence as he took the glass sculling the water before placing it down on the coffee table in front of him,
"Are you daf girl. After everything that...witch...has done to my people...our people...how can you say she doesn't exist." Was he trying to make her angry, because if that was his goal it was starting to work, "Look here, there is no magic, no witches, no warlocks! No Princes or Princesses... No Kings or Queens... Nothing! Its all made up! Make believe for the sake of little children! So get your head out of the damn clouds because here on earth, the closest thing we have to magic is the damn television and microwave popcorn! Stop filling yourself with nonsense about fairy tales and grand adventures, nothing like that is real, no matter how much hard wish; dreams don't come true, true love is a myth, and like I said, there are no happy endings unless your rich enough to buy them..."
She shut up as she watched him lift his shirt the purple and black bruising causing her eyes to widen with worry, closing her eyes she took a deep breath once again calming herself down; it wasn't his fault... He probably just hit his head a bit too hard on his way down from where ever it was he came from. Reaching out she took hold of his hands helping him up onto his feet before leading the way down the hall and into the bathroom, letting go of him she turned and leant into the shower turning the taps so that the water began to fall at a temperature that wasn't too hot to scold him but wasn't as cold as ice, "Here..." Standing up straight she turned back to him an apologetic look on her face, "I'm sorry... I lost my cool back there, I didn't mean to... Have a shower, the warm water should help you feel better. I'll get you some clean warm clothes, when your done just let me know... Towels are behind you on the rack..." Slipping past him she closed the door leaning back against it her eyes closing as she bit her lower lip softly.
Ender stared at Elise in confusion as she walked out of the bathroom. What is wrong with this girl. She was acting like their entire world didn't exist. How was that even possible. What kind of world could exist without magic and the like. Slowly he peeled off his clothes, avoiding any jarring movement as he stepped into the shower. The whole shower set up with strange. He didn't understand the whole temperature knobs. He ran into another issue when Ender couldn't find the soap. There as a bottle with some sort of thick liquid that smelt good and a puffy towel like ball.
Shrugging his shoulders Ender dumped some of the liquid in his hand and gently rubbed it into his body. As the warm water rinsed over him, washing away the soap Ender began to think some more. The last fifteen minutes hadn't made any since. It would think that the girl was simple in the head by her answers, but one look in her eyes told Ender that she genuinely believed what she said. If Elise believed in the world she spouted on about, yet Ender knew that the opposite was true than what could be real. Than again with the little magic the Huntsman had seen in his time he knew nothing was off limits to its practitioners, even whole new worlds.
Ender stopped in mid-scrub as a possibility struck him like a thunder bolt. No...it couldn't be. Ender quickly shut down the shower and practically burst from the stall. Pain long gone as she dug through his pile of clothes looking for it. Finally his hand came away with the pendent encased in his fingers. It was still freezing to the touch and radiated power. With a smile on his face the Huntsman ran out of the bathroom, forgetting his clothes entirely, and searched the house for Elise. He spotted his blonde mane and rushed up to her, grabbing her arm.
"Here...I have proof." Ender held up the pendent for Elise to see. He stared a hole into it trying to make the damn thing work again. But nothing happened. He saw Elise stare at him like he'd gone completely crazy, and to be honest Ender was starting to believe it. He was about to give up when he remember his last thought before the light. Maybe, just maybe. The Huntsman pictured his home in his head, remembering all the feelings the sight always brought him. Then there was a bright light and a whooshing sound.
When next he open his eyes they stood on the bank of the Shire River. Looming over them was the cliff hanging Bree Hold. Ender stared at it with a slight smirk, the cold breeze across his exposed nether region a distant sensation to him. "Still think its all make believe?"