This is a second sequal to this story.
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If there is one thing that I have succeeded in without a second thought, it is to accompany Him without question. I have given my everything to that elf. I have given my love, my heart, my very soul to him. All has been done to show my dedication. And I have seldom questioned him. But now he has given up on himself and all others. And I must finally give up on him as well.
I have been patient with him from the beginning. I have been nothing but understanding and have just nodded my head and stood quietly while Amathlan has made mistake after mistake. I have loved him with everything I have, but if once he loved me, now only anger resides in him.
I place my hand against his cheek, the cheek where I would once place kisses, when we shared a bond. But even now, I must let him go. My heart still longs for him, but this time my mind has triumphed.
My gaze hardens and the words I then speak, the most difficult thing I have ever had to say.
"What love have I for a beast who cannot love me in return."
The words sound sharp and filled with hatred, even to my own ears. Before, the look of betrayal that falls upon his face, would have swayed my heart.
"I have no need for one such as you, who would mind me as a keeper! I am all I need within myself! Begone!" He shouts at me. I turn, so that he does not see how the words affect me. The last thing I see, with tears filling my eyes is the look of anger and betrayal.
There are days when I think that I could have done more to help him. Perhaps I could have loved him more, protected him. But not even I could have saved him. All my efforts fell on deaf ears. Any act of saving him him was followed with words of 'overbearing' and 'mother hen'. But I could not give up on him back then. He was everything to me. But I can only forgive and forget so many times. There is no more forgiveness left in me. I must move on, and leave him to wither away from his pride.
Pride has pushed everyone who once cared for him away. And where once a kind and loving elf stood, now there is only a beast. A beast so terrible that all flee when they see him. One who spits fire and brings ruin upon everything it touches. All the efforts of those who once cared for him have been for naught.
Tales were told of a great beast, setting cities ablaze with no care for the people who lived there. But few dared to face the beast. Only those who had once been close wth him would stand tall in front of him. Even they, fearless as they were, could not halt the wrath of one who thought all scorned him.
What the beast searches for, I can not know. Perhaps Pride does what he does out of anger, or even need for revenge. He destroys everything in his path and though my anger at him runs deep, so does my pity.
All of his friends have failed in their attempts to soothe him, or make him see the errors of his ways.Duty who was once his best friend, could not move the beast with words. Duty was thrown aside with barely a glance.
Loyalty, another great friend of pride, was the one who could get closest to him. She tried to fell him with a sharp blade, but was bested as well.
The last who dared to stand before Pride in opposition, was Wisdom. A steadfast friend he had been to Pride. But even he could not get through to the great beast. And so, I was the only one left. The only one who dared to face the wrathful serpent.
I stood by for too long, watching Pride destory not only others around him, but also himself. I can no longer bear to see the ruin Pride has brought himself. So dressed in gleaming, silver armor, I finally confront the beast who had been the one I loved. My garments, complete with a cloak that resembled the night sky, and a blue plume flying from my helm. They are a depiction of me and my strength.
Pride laughs as I approach him. The silver ring still lying on my finger is the only thing keeping my fear at bay.
“And who might this fool be, to approach me alone? Can one truly be so arrogant as to temper that which cannot be?”
I have no true answer for Pride's question. Nothing I say will change him, return him to how he once was. There is only one way I can save him now. Silently and with a heavy heart, I knock a single silver arrow into bow.
.“PATIENCE!” He roars.
And as I pull the string of my bow taut, I close my eyes. Patience, that I am and always will be. Patience that once tempered Pride. But now Pride has become a beast that thinks himself unstoppable. I can not allow him to ruin himself any longer. Patiene must win this day.
A single tear falls down my cheek as I release the arrow. The arrow pierces Pride's being in a spot bare of any scales. That clear space having been the love Pride gave to me long ago.
My own heart pains me as it breaks. The sight of the beast...No...the elf, falling brings me to my knees.
All is silent as he falls from the sky, down until he hits the waves of the ocean. The only sounds I hear are the harsh breathing coming from my mouth and the sound of my cold heart finally breaking in two.
Pride will no longer haunt this world or me. Have I saved him? Have I saved his friends? But one other question will forever haunt me. Have I done what is right?
