There was no mercy for a sinner like her. The elf could see it as she was dragged away by the soldiers, peltered with rotten tomatoes and any other garbage the self-righteous citizens of Zantaric could find as she was dragged through the streets like an animal on its way to the slaughterhouse. The girl did not speak when the rotten groceries hit her, neither did she yell back to the simple farmers shouting curse words after her, naming her things nobody would call their worst enemy. As the soldiers dragged her up on the gallows platform, the ragged sleeves of her blouse was pulled up for a moment, revealing a thin arm covered in cuts and bruises, fresh wounds and old wounds alike. It was clear that this was not the first time anyone had used violence towards her.
The girl shuddered as a farmer threw a rotten egg in her head. The raw, smelly liquids of the egg slowly glided over her face, and remains of egg shell landed in her dark, curly hair. The citizens roared with laughter, spiteful words where shouted at the elf who stood on the platform with her hands tied, a quiet and pathetic little sitting duck for anyone who wanted to amuse themselves by tossing stones.
The elf just lowered her head, trying to make herself as invisible as possible while the waves of haughty laughter crashed over her, hoping they would leave as soon as they had finished their fun. Tears of shame threatened to fill her eyes, but she was too proud to cry in public. Tears would get her nowhere, she knew that. The rope around her neck felt strong and tight, and she was certain that she soon would die and get away from her tormentors for good... The soldiers seemed to think the same, for they all stood and sharpened their weapons, each and every one of them hoping to be the one to slit her throat with their daggers. The Dark Elf swallowed back her tears, preparing to die when....
"Hold!" a loud, strong voice sounded from the crowd... "I protest to this hanging,"
There was a shocked silence falling over the crowd when the voice spoke. Everyone looked around, trying to find out who was crazy enough to take a devil child like this under his wings. The soldiers glared suspiciously at the elf, certain that this was one of her magic tricks, but she seemed just as shocked as everyone else, looking around to see who had spoken.
At last they saw him: an elf with pale blue skin and silver hair that fell down his back. The soldiers looked at each other when he spoke. There was an air of command around the man, he was clearly not a man to disobey.
"I would like to assist the aforementioned condemned, and take this matter into my own personal control and do as I see fit."
The soldiers paused as the male elf made his way through the crowd towards the gallows, unsure of what to do and who to obey, but the Captain of the soldiers thought he owed the elf man a fair warning. "A-Are you sure you want to do this, Mylord?" he asked. "She may look innocent, but trust me... she is a little devil!"
Another soldier leaned towards the man and mumbled warningly in his ear. "She is one of them!" he whispered, clearly too afraid to tell who "them" was.
The girl stood at the stage and heard the discussion. From the look on her pale face, meager from starvation and thirst, she expected the man to give up before he had even started. She was wearing a sack-like dress, so ragged and dirty that it could hardly be called clothes. Her body was covered in layers of dirt. It was only the bright sunlight that indicated her skin had once been fair. Now she was covered in cuts and bruises, all in all she looked like she could need a good bath and a hair wash. Her eyes was still the worst part of her. Her gaze was disillusioned from seeing things not meant for the eyes of a child her age. And what age she was, she barely knew herself. Her body, or what was visible through the filthy rags, was too starved to give any indication of how old she was.
Perhaps it was the horrid stench which followed the girl that made the soldiers finally release her, leaving her in the care of the recently arrived elf man. The Captain was glad to get rid of her, but he still had some words of farewell for the elf man.
"I leave her in your care, Mylord," he said, his voice stern. "But if she makes ONE more mistake.... ONE more crime to her name.... You will BOTH hang. Do we have a deal?"