[Brinniel]

Raye hacked furiously at the troll. She never even thought about what she was doing or if there was a better way to destroy the creature; she just did as what her companions did.
The troll was enraged by the fierceness of the others’ attack, and it thrashed around, striking down whoever it could. Hwesta had already gone down, now unconscious. Yenhofir was dead.
Faryn was next to go. The club swung down on her suddenly, and there was a flash of red. They heard her scream along with the sound of bones breaking, but this time not even Tallin came to her aid. It was no use. They all knew she was already dead.
Raye saw Arrelle go down, and though she seemed unharmed and conscious, she remained where she fell, dazed. Dimithil, who had at first rushed to Arrelle’s aid, now charged at the troll, but was knocked to the ground by the club. But almost immediately, he got back up and charged again.
Belle struck fiercely at the troll’s feet. The creature’s club continuously swung at her, but the elf somehow managed to dodge it each and every time.
Tallin, who was now swordless, hacked at the beast along beside Raye with a dagger, but she did not remain there for long. The club brushed against the wolf tamer’s already wounded side and she fell unconscious. The two wolves howled in fury at the sight of their friend unconscious, but they did not stop their attack on the beast.
Now there were only six of them left to fight the troll.

Raye swung her sword even harder into the troll. She would not give up, no matter how tired she was. The murderess screamed and cursed at the beast as she stabbed it until her voice grew hoarse. She pulled out her daggers with her spare hand and one by one, she threw each one of them at the creature. And then suddenly, without warning, the troll dropped its club, swaying. The creature had finally given in.
As it began to stumble, Raye backed away from it to avoid being crushed. The remaining other three and the wolves did the same, also pulling unconscious Tallin and Hwesta out of the way. The troll then fell, landing with a thud, only feet away from the now small group. All was silent except for the heavy breaths of the remaining four and the wolves.
Raye watched Belle bend over Faryn’s broken body, and examining it. Realizing that two of her company were now dead, the elf shook and collapsed in despair. Dimithil, her brother, was at her side immediately, hugging her and whispering comforting words in Elvish.
Not far from the two elves was Arrelle, who had gotten up from where she had fallen and was now knelt down beside Tallin and Hwesta, trying to wake them both. The wolves were beside her, whispering to Tallin with their mind speech.
Raye stared at them all in disbelief. I am the cause of all this, she realized. The murderess had killed many, but never before had she seen other grieve for the dead.

A moan, barely audible, interrupted her thoughts. Berethion! Raye thought and immediately turned around, running to him. How could she have forgotten him?
When Raye reached the elf, she knelt down beside him and saw what neither she nor Tallin and Hwesta saw before. Berethion’s chest was completely torn. It seemed nothing but a mass of flesh and blood. Yet somehow the elf remained alive.
Suddenly, Berethion’s eyes fluttered open and looked at Raye.
“Corrowyn,” he whispered. “Are you all right?”
“I am,” Raye nodded.
“What about Tallin? How is she?”
Raye looked over at Tallin, who was just coming to. “She is all right,” she answered.
“And what about Hwestlaeriel, my sister?”
Raye looked again in Tallin’s direction. Hwesta laid beside the wolf tamer, still unconscious, but alive.
“She will live.”
Berethion nodded. He opened his mouth to say something else, but instead coughed up blood.
Despair swept over Raye, as she realized she could not save her friend. Even if she were able to tend to him earlier, his wounds were too severe. He was dying and it was because of the murderess. Unable to hold back her tears, Raye collapsed over herself, burying her face into her arms and wept.
“Don’t cry,” Berethion said, his own voice shaking. In an attempt to console her, his hand reached out and stroked Raye’s hair.
“I’m sorry,” the murderess whispered, sobbing. “This is all my fault. The troll was meant for Tallin and only Tallin, and even for doing that I-I………Oh, I’m so sorry, Berethion.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Corrowyn,” Berethion told her, dropping his hand back at his side. “We all make mistakes. That is how we learn.”
Raye lifted her head and looked at him. “And what am I to learn, Berethion?”
“That friends are better than enemies. That in order to survive, you always need someone else on your side. You need a friend, Corrowyn. You must learn to trust another being, besides me. I won’t always be around for you to rely on, you know.”
The elf tried to smile at the murderess, but failed. His eyes then moved past Raye, and he lifted his head, staring at something else, but the murderess did not bother to turn and see what. Still looking away from Raye, Berethion opened his mouth to speak, but once again, nothing came out but blood.
Berethion laid his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. The elf was unconscious again.
Raye stared at the dying Berethion, tears streaming down her face. Blood still poured freely from the gash in his chest and she could see that breathing had become difficult for him. The color of his skin made Berethion already look dead. The elf suffered openly and Raye hated it. She knew Berethion would not give up so easily and he would live on until he bled to death. And though that would not be much longer, Raye could not stand to see her friend suffer anymore. She could not let him bear such pain.
Slowly, the murderess leaned over him, stopping only inches from his face. In a whisper barely audible, Raye spoke.
“She loved you, Berethion. Tallin loved you.” She paused before continuing. “And so did I.”
Then the murderess kissed the elf, drawing out all the life that was left in him. Berethion’s chest stopped moving, and suddenly the elf seemed at peace.
Raye took one look at the now dead Berethion and her emotions took hold of her. I killed him, I killed him, she kept telling herself, crying. For the first time, the murderess saw herself as others saw her; a monster.

Though she could hear nothing over her own weeping, Raye saw a glimpse of the others out of the corner of her blurred eyes. Then, there was a flash of a sword. Oh, great, she thought. They are going to kill me, now. And for once, the murderess no longer cared.
Raye held her breath as she felt the sword plunge into her side.