Give up her weapon! What a foolish, stupid, idiotic notion! Humans would never leave her be because she carried no weapon, because she was peaceful. Hah! She lived by the scythe, and she enjoyed it. There would be no way to take it from her. No way was she was going to listen to any more of Rinn's weakling rants.

Sennah sat on her bed, her blade in her lap. Even in Lightfoot, humans were far from friendly. They were tolerant, but anyone could see the deep-rooted distrust and dislike they held for elfs. Consequently, she was determined to defend herself, no matter what anyone said--even Rinn. Exhausted, Sennah pulled down the sheets of her bed and carefully set her scythe down within arm's reach. Undressing, she reflected on all the people that had teased her, insulted her, refused to speak to her, beat her... There were so many. Some were only doing as they'd seen their fathers do, their friends do, but others had true malice. Still, regardless of why they did those things, only they themselves were truly responsible for their actions. They should have known better.

None of them deserved her forgiveness. After all, they would do no different for her. Sennah fell asleep with only that thought racing back and forth in her mind.

~~-~~~=~~~-~~

Morning came with a jolt: she had a knife pressed to her throat. As if by reflex, Sennah brought her scythe around to strike at whoever aimed to kill her. She only barely managed to stop herself when she saw who it was.

"What the hell are you doing, Rinn?!" she roared, furious. Rinn put the knife aside and pointed to Sennah's blade.

"You wouldn't have stopped me in time."

"I would have taken you down with me," she shouted. "That's enough for me."

"Violence isn't the answer," he told her for the umpteenth time. "I don't know how I'll convince you anymore." Sennah sat up, fuming.

"It's all they listen to, Rinn!"

"And now it's all you listen to!" he spat back with a measure of disgust. "I've been in this room for over an hour, and I'd had that knife at your neck for five minutes before you woke up!" His words visibly fazed her, but Sennah still refused to defer to him.

"I can protect myself," she protested. "I'll just start sleeping lighter." Shaking his head, Rinn took his knife and moved to the door.

"You can't keep that up for long," he warned as he opened the door. "Get dressed and meet me outside. We'll go for a walk." Sennah waved him away angrily, resentful not only of the stunt he pulled, but also because of how sure he sounded.

~~-~~~=~~~-~~

Normally, Sennah would have stood still to drink in the early morning; today, she was far too agitated. She absently donned a light coat and walked purposefully to where she knew Rinn would be waiting. She could feel the dew under her bare feet, could hear the birds, but all that mattered was the rage in her mind and the scythe in her hand. She'd show him, the arrogant, pompous idiot.

Sennah found him waiting at the old well, leaning against it as usual. He looked unconcerned, calm, patient. With long strides, Sennah walked up to him and swung her weapon, screaming in rage. The blade, however, just bounced off thin air, not even reaching Rinn's person. Put off balance, Sennah fell gracelessly to the ground with a grunt. Rinn, to her rising bitterness, made no move to help her up.

"You use sorcery to defend yourself, now? What kind of an elf are you!? Coward!"

"Sorcery," he replied calmly, "is your first and best defence. If used properly, you can do more than just get out of a fight; you can prevent it altogether." He motioned for her to stand, and she did so, her temper still far from in control.

"You remember the three laws of sorcery?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"Of course I do," she snapped back.

"Forget them. They're meaningless to us." Sennah was suddenly surprised. She had always thought of Rinn as a person who would uphold the law above all else, especially those that restricted the use of sorcery. Though Sennah had to admit it did explain the unusual attitude of the citizens toward him, it was still surprising. The first law of sorcery stated that the use of the art for the purpose of altering a person's mind under any circumstance was strictly prohibited. That law in particular had been observed for centuries and was almost never breached, even by the most apathetic of criminals.

That Rinn advocated she disregard the law was unthinkable. It wasn't right. There were other ways, ways less perverse.

Before Sennah could say anything, he cut in: "I know what you're thinking. Believe me, I've tried other ways. This is the only one that works." Sennah pointed her scythe at Rinn.

"My way works," she said firmly. Rinn righted himself and walked over to Sennah, oblivious of the scythe so close to his head. He brushed the blade aside and took Sennah's free hand in his.

"But for how long?" His voice was soft, concerned. He backed away, and to Sennah's surprise, took off his shirt. What lay underneath made her stomach turn.

Rinn was covered with scabs and scars; his body was so disfigured that there was not one spot left untouched on his chest or back, nor on his arms. Now Sennah understood why he always wore long-sleeved shirts and slacks. His legs were probably more of the same. Finally, she understood his viewpoint, his mentality. He had been through the same treatment as her, had in fact been subjected to much worse. Just the thought of the pain he had no doubt endured through the years made her head spin.

Overcome, Sennah dropped her blade to the ground and collapsed, sobbing. She refused to ponder it. She would never want so much pain. Rinn had been trying to save her from herself; she had simply been too stubborn to realise it.

Rinn crouched down and held her tightly as she cried in his shoulder, one of the few patches of skin that lay undamaged. He held her close for well over a minute. Once she had settled down a little, Sennah raised her head and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Teach me," she whispered. Rinn nodded his head and helped her up. Together they returned to Sennah's house, for once without her scythe.

~~-~~~=~~~-~~

Her lessons progressed slowly at first, but Sennah nevertheless became adept quickly enough. Her parents as well as Rinn were a great encouragement to her. They had no idea what the true purpose of her lessons were for, but they were happy to see she no longer came home with scars or bruises from fights and scuffles. They were happier, more cheerful; Rinn practically became family. In all honesty, Sennah had to admit she was happier as well. Her days were no longer filled with looking over her shoulder, and she was beginning to understand what and what not to do to alter the human mind properly. Rinn stressed constantly that she must only do what was necessary. However, she understood and agreed: she wasn't comfortable with breaking the laws of sorcery to begin with.

After eighteen months, Sennah's situation had changed dramatically. The people held no hatred for her simply because she was an elf. To them, she was just a human who looked slightly different from the norm. Lightfoot finally became her home. She made a few friends, and not because she altered their perception of her more than necessary. She was simply no longer an elf to them. Indeed, she almost felt human herself. Sennah at last felt wanted, needed, appreciated. She felt confident. She felt happy.

Her parents were overjoyed. On her sixteenth birthday, friends celebrated with her family. She received more presents that year than she could ever remember. The party lasted well into the night, with much drinking and even more merriment.

A dark shadow was hanging over Sennah's head, however. It was one that had followed her all her life, one that would never go away: her family's land was dying. People were beginning to notice.

Rumours quickly spread through town. Sennah's parents immediately made plans to leave, but Rinn convinced them to stay. They assented, but only reluctantly. Rinn was certain the situation would all blow over--this had been the case for him before--and her parents trusted him implicitly. Sennah, however, feared for her safety and that of her parents. Consequently, she reunited herself with an old friend.

~~-~~~=~~~-~~

Sennah returned from the butcher with a frown on her face. Rinn greeted her from the porch, where he was fixing a broken chair leg in to the song of the birds. He immediately knew what was the matter. She had the roast under one arm and her scythe in the other.

"Again?" he said simply. Sennah nodded. She wiped sweat from her brow and rested on the porch step for a few moments.

Rinn left his work to sit beside her. "You didn't get hurt?"

"I'm fine," she replied. He worried for her, now. She was relying increasingly on violence, but he could understand considering their situation. Rinn himself sometimes fell into hopelessness. They would probably have to leave soon: the situation was getting much too tense for his liking. Unfortunately, he didn't think there would be any way to even suggest it. Lightfoot was home to Sennah and her parents; it was home to him. Even if it was difficult to live around the locals, they liked the place, and so did he. Still, he didn't want to die in Lightfoot, not while he was still in his twenties. Unfortunately, the possibility was now very real. If Sennah didn't want to leave, he would force her. It was as simple as that.

He watched her as she entered the house and thought about how much worse things would get over time. Eventually, Sennah would get back into fights, would forget all that he'd taught her. Eventually, he feared some of the human men would find a good old-fashioned elf raping awfully appealing. Sennah was far from unattractive, even for a human. If enough of them tried, they would invariably succeed. He couldn't let that happen. He was going to walk into that house, call everyone to the table, and tell them straight away that they had to leave. Yes, he'd do just that.

And that's just what he did.

Unfortunately, the suggestion did not go down well. In fact, they were almost hostile. Rinn suspected that would be the case, but he was still disappointed--and ever more concerned. He would have to take measures of his own.

~~-~~~=~~~-~~

She had not seen Rinn in well over a week. Bah. All the better: he would only try his best to irritate her, anyway. These days, Sennah didn't even bother to go into town. Her wounds were too fresh, anyway. Instead, she stayed at home and sought out new ways of using sorcery; she read and wrote her journal in her native language. Her parents were becoming more and more distant from her, withdrawn even from each other. Lightfoot was a poison for them; Rinn had been right about that.

Agitated, she closed her journal and sat up from bed. She grasped a candle and started towards her parents' bedroom. She needed to talk.

To her surprise, her parents were not in their bedroom, nor were they anywhere in the house. She did have a feeling, however, that she knew where they were. She left without changing, oblivious to the chill and to her lack of weaponry.

Rinn's home was small, and a little unkempt due to the time he spent with Sennah and her family. It did nevertheless have a cosy feel to it, though, and Sennah had always loved to visit in the past. This visit, however, was as far removed from pleasant as she could imagine.

The house was burning rapidly.

She raced inside, coughing heavily, frantically looking for her parents. She could hardly see two meters in front of her, and the heat and smoke made the search unbearable, but she did find them: they were both dead, their throats slit.

She also found Rinn nearby. He was alive--barely. Sennah couldn't help but be filled with rage. Why did they have to die? Why did he survive? Of course, she knew the answer. It was always about sorcery. Sennah was certain of it. Crouching down, Sennah turned his head toward her and made sure he focused.

"You should have protected them," she spat. Rinn only moaned. His face was a mask of pain. "Good luck getting yourself out of this," she continued. "I'm not going to help you." She stood and turned, heading for the door. Walking through the threshold, Sennah left Rinn and the rest of her life behind, and she never looked back.