The Contrast

The city was bigger than the town she grew up in. Rose was stunned by the style and beauty of the buildings. Even the smallest cottage was amazingly built and decorated. With the first rays of sun, the sight of the town was breathtaking. It looked like the town was covered with golden dust. But what really caught her attention was the sight of humans, elves, dwarfs, and other races walking around unhindered without any conflicts. They all were talking together like they were old friends. Rose liked that. In her small town the different races were not so friendly toward each other. They would tolerate each other as long as they had money, power, or if they had made some kind of peace agreement.

There was a movement and she turned around. Balok woke up and looked at her with a sleepy smile. Rose returned his smile. He truly knew the art of distraction and last night he once again calmed her fear of men. He made her feel safe and protected.

"Good morning Rose."

"Good morning Balok." As he yawned and stretched, Balok noticed that she was looking out of the window. Her side of the bed was facing the small window with its magnificent view of the streets. He came closer, embraced her and together they looked at the bustle in the streets.

"It´s beautiful Balok, everything here is shining in the sun. Would an artist paint this sight, the result would be a masterpiece."

"Do you know the name of this city?" he asked and Rose shook her head. During their journey, he had never mentioned the name of it. Maybe he somehow wanted to keep that as a secret. Several times Rose had wanted to ask him about it, but simply decided to let it be and to trust him. She knew she was safe with him wherever they would go.

"In all languages it means the same, but humans call it 'The Crossroads'. Do you know why?"

"I think I know why. I can see many different races inhabitate this city, and they seem to tolerate and accept each other. There is no hatred in this city. It is completely opposite to my hometown."

"Exactly, when I wanted to enter your town, the guard did not want to let me in. I had to pay him a big amount of money." As he mentioned the money, Rose recalled how they met for the first time and felt uncomfortable all of a sudden. Balok was puzzled by her change of mood. Did he say something wrong?

"How much have you paid?" Rose whispered. "How much have you paid for me?" He swallowed hard because he never thought that she would ask him this question. She turned to face him, waiting for an answer.

"Converted to human money it was about one hundred gold coins." He knew what to expect. Her eyes went wide and the colour drained from her face. Rose could not believe what she had just heard and sheer astonishment was written on her face. The whole time... ever since they had met he had only pitied her. All her life Rose had pitied herself and her miserable life in the brothel, but she couldn´t stand the feeling of somebody else pitying her.

"I should have known. How stupid I was!"

"Rose..." Balok didn't like the undertone in her voice and he certainly didn't like her desperation.

"You should have left me in the snow to die. I have pitied myself for too long."

"I never pitied you Rose. Never."

"Then why did you pay such an amount of money to Madame Ruby?! Did you think that it would be enough for her to show me mercy?" She screamed at him, yelled... she almost attacked him.

"As I said, I never pitied you. But I had to pay her anyway."

"I know that. I just wanted to know why," she hissed furiously.

"Because I wanted you to have enough time to rest and think! I cared about your pleasure!"

This surprised Rose. She never expected this. "You remember that I said I would make your first time memorable. I never pitied you. I only wanted for you to have a positive memory of your first time. I couldn't do anything, apart from showing you that, doesn´t matter what you are, you can still enjoy the joining between male and female. That is all."

Now they were both surprised by their own reactions and the reaction of the other. Balok was astonished by her rage and the fact that she thought he pitied her. Rose was surprised by his sincerity and by the fact that he had no other choice. Before one of them could make a reply, they heard a loud knocking at the door and then the voice of the innkeeper telling them to be quiet and to solve their marriage problem. Balok told him that they were sorry and that they would be quiet. Then he fell on the bed laughing and holding his sides. Rose joined him in the laughter.

"Do we really seem like a married couple?" Balok asked Rose when he managed to calm down.

"I guess we do. Do you mind?" Rose seemed to cheer up.

"No... not at all. If I had a quarrel with my wife, I would certainly think of ways and means to stop it...," Rose knew that kind of tone in his voice. The thought was tempting, but she was hungry and wanted to explore the town.

"Balok, I am hungry. Would you join me for breakfast, before you start your search for that person?"

"You think you are hungry?! My dear, you know nothing about hunger. I am starving! Do you know how much energy is needed to perform the magic from last night?"

Again they had to laugh and when they had calmed down once more, they got dressed and went downstairs to get some food.

++++++++++++++++++++++

This was odd, the blonde-haired man thought. All tracks he could find seemed to indicate that Rose and her companion were on the way to 'The Crossroads', which was a little strange. Her powers were waking up, but certainly she was not completely aware of them. If she knew... if she only knew what she possessed. As for her companion, apart from being elven kind the blonde-haired man knew only very little about him, which meant things failed to run according to his plan. Was he an inhabitant of 'The Crossroads' or was he just passing by? He would find out, that was for sure.

The blonde man was very tired and hungry. So far he didn´t have the chance to feed him self and it could still take days until he could satisfy his burning hunger and as long as he was searching in the town he could not settle down.

He had to hurry and knew that he would only be able to find a few small animals on his way through the forest. Furthermore, it would exhaust him even more if he had to use his magical abilities. The blonde-haired man cursed. First of all, he had to find a way to satisfy his hunger. Moreover, he would have to be very careful when he was in 'The Crossroads'. The town was well known for its neutral politic. The inhabitants respected each other regardless of their race and would always cooperate and help each other. There were even half-breeds, actually a lot of half-breeds.

It was clear to him that Rose knew almost nothing about 'The Crossroads', but the real question was what a drow was seeking there. Drows rarely went to the surface; they did not have the habit of going out frequently. One more thing about drows was that when they did go to the surface, they usually would go as a group. That drow was either strange, or a loner, or stupid, or very powerful to be able and willing enough to go on his own. The blonde-haired man was lost in his thoughts. Maldas... the drow used the coins of the light elves, which meant that he was very well paid or rich. Drows did have their own coins, but other races usually wouldn't accept them.

The drow... he and the blonde-haired man were very much alike. Both of them practiced dark magic, belonged to one of the races that possessed great beauty and charm, and they both...well...did not like the sun. He wondered why the drow took Rose's virginity and did not break her spirit. Drows were best known for being one of the merciless and cruel races in the world. Did he actually show mercy to Rose, when they met? That thought made him feel sick to the core. That was completely opposite to his reputation. He had maldas, so whatever his job was, was very well paid. In the drow society there were only a few very well paid jobs and none of them were nice.

Although it was winter the sun was still strong enough to weaken him. Damned! He had to either settle his growing hunger, or find some shelter and wait until he would be able to continue his journey. The blond-haired man hoped he won't be too late to find his target. He sent prayers to every demon and evil spirit he could remember to aid him in his quest. Lucky for him the forest was dense with a lot of trees so that he was not fully exposed to the sun. On his way he saw a cave, probably a wolf cave, and hurried into it. This would be good enough until he could continue his journey.

++++++++++++++++++++++

"Balok, this was delicious! I have never tasted this kind of food." They sat in the kitchen, enjoying their meal. Rose liked the pastries they had in the inn. Never before did she taste sweets. Balok wondered if he had enough free time to take her on a walk to see the town. There were various buildings and places in this town he would like to show her, but he knew that this was not the main purpose of his presence here. He had to find Vetehinen, the person he was looking for. When he started his journey he was searching for some kind of advice, he needed a person he could trust.

"Rose, we can take a little walk through the town, but later on I have to go and find the person I seek."

"Will it take long to find him?" Rose wanted to know.

"Don't know. I have yet to find out where he is...," he confessed. Balok wondered if it would be all right for her to stay behind and he did not want take a risk. What if the innkeeper couldn't look after Rose? He recalled the previous night when he briefly left the inn in order to take care of something and came back just in time to stop those bullies from raping her. As if she could read his mind, Rose touched his shoulder which distracted him from his thoughts.

"I understand. Don't worry! I will try to avoid any kind of trouble while you are gone."

"But Rose, are you sure?"

"Yes, I will be here and wait for you. I shall help the innkeeper in the kitchen and to clean up."

"Then I will try to find that person as fast as possible and we will have dinner in our room." He stood up from his chair and winked at her. Rose blushed and smiled at him. After all, Balok could not always stay close to her and be her babysitter and Rose knew that. She had to take care of herself and find some way to be useful here at the inn. Rose stood up and kissed him passionately. Balok returned the kiss with delight. They remained like that until they felt the need for air.

"See you later, my sweet Rose!" he said before he took his weapons, a long sword and a magic ball, and went out.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

My sweet Rose..., Balok thought. Since when did he call her HIS sweet Rose? Where did this idea come from? Sure... he liked the idea, but he didn't know whether he had the right to call her that. They were lovers and travel companions, but he wondered if it was alright for Rose to be with him. He was more than flattered that he was her first man and also the first person she trusted. Somehow he was worried whether it was wise to keep her close to him. He cared enough for Rose to question himself whether she was safe in his presence or if she could have a better life without him.

He simply was used to be alone. It was not that he ever felt lonely, but from his experience he knew it was easier to be alone. When he needed a female, Balok would usually have some kind of passion adventure, or simply ask for a prostitute. There were many reasons for that. First, he did not like drow females at all. He could still recall his first encounter which made him avoid further experiences. It was not as if he was not appealing to women of other races, but the fact that he was a drow did frighten most of them. Only a few very brave and adventurous females would let him be their lover. Maybe he was attracted to Rose because he was her first and wanted to protect her. Was this some kind of possession?

The dark elf was deep in his thoughts while he was walking through the streets. Not just an ordinary town but also a town full of magic and power. There were both white and black magic, but their adepts and masters were not allowed to fight each other, or attack a person with no magical abilities. So if he got himself into some duel, he would have to rely on his sword. He personally believed that he would not have to fight, but you could never know. Even here, some people were always interested in fighting, especially in dark and hidden streets.

Suddenly, the snow below his boots elevated forming a snowball. Balok looked at it. What was this? Whose magic was this? The snowball hovered a few moments before it moved, like someone invisible threw it, and landed a few inches in front of him. He went to the point where the snowball fell to the ground, and there was already a new snowball. The new one, like the previous, was thrown a few inches in front of him. This is some sort of a guide, thought Balok, but where? Who was leading him and whereto? The only way to find out was to follow the snowballs. So he did. He followed the snowballs which always seemed to be waiting for him to approach them.

This was a bit unusual, but it was fine. Balok never felt a presence of danger in this magic and he had a lot of experience when it came to the use of magic. Like a dog, he could smell any kind of danger, no matter whether it was a magical or physical danger. This seemed more like some kind of game, but there was no child around to perform this. He knew there was a difference whether a child or an adult wielded magic. The further he went, the darker the streets were. Alright, so the person was living in some not so well known place.

'I know that you are here young drow.' Balok heard a voice in his head. That surprised and scared him a bit. He knew about mind readers and telepaths, but never met someone with that kind of power. They were very rare and usually were suspicious towards others. Balok paused for a moment to take a look at his surroundings, but could see nothing except houses. He could not find the source of the voice. It was a male voice, almost feminine, but a male voice nonetheless. The snowball was levitating in front of him. 'Yes, I am the one throwing snowballs. It is a great winter game. Just follow the snowballs and you will find me...' the voice said.

That was interesting. Balok smiled, this would be an interesting challenge. He loved challenges and riddles and this seemed like a combination of both. The dark elf continued to follow the snowballs which were flying in front him, showing him the way. He didn't care that his boots were covered in snow or that the area was very quiet. He only wanted to find Vetehinen and he believed that it was he who spoke to him. And if he had to fight, he would not hesitate to do that. He had to face anything to get the informations he needed from Vetehinen. The sooner he came back, the better.