I Miss You

[Criala 729]

Currently, Ryllae was loading arrows into his quiver. A quiver that had been given to him by his father, as well as the bow that he used. His eyes fell on the bow for a moment, a wave of sorrow hitting him. That was the last time he had seen his father before he’d headed off to war. 

 

-

 

The young Wood elf looked up when he heard his name being called by none other than his father, Seith. 

 

"What is it, dad?" He asked, turning to face his father.

 

He had always taken after his father when it came to his looks. The light blonde hair, his facial features, his skin tone, his build. All from his father. About the only thing that came from his mother were his eyes and his ears. They were a tad pointier than his father’s.

 

"Here." Seith spoke with a grin, holding out a slightly worn looking bow to his son. "This is for you. My best bow. Doesn’t look like much, but looks are always deceiving, aren’t they? It’s gotten me through a lot."  

 

"Really?" Ryllae asked with wide eyes. This was the bow that his father always used. "You’re giving it to me?" 

 

"I am." Seith’s eyes softened. 

 

Carefully, Ryllae took the bow from his father’s hands and was looking down at it. 

 

"It’s yours now." Seith reached up, ruffling his son’s hair. 

 

"Thanks, dad!" Ryllae let a wide grin come to his face, pulling the bow over his shoulder so he could properly give Seith a tight hug. 

 

"You’re welcome, son." Seith returned the hug, holding onto his son tightly. "I’m headed off tomorrow." 

 

"Do you have to go?" Ryllae asked, chewing on his bottom lip. He already knew the answer, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t hope that the answer would change.

 

"Yes, sadly, I do. I’ll more than likely be gone before you get up tomorrow morning." Seith told him. "But, I’ll be back before you know it. I’ll always come back to you." 

 

"You promise?" Ryllae looked up at him hopefully.

 

"I promise." Seith gave a nod of his head.

 

"I love you, dad." Ryllae said softly.

 

"I love you too, Ryllae." Seith smiled at him, pressing a soft kiss to his temple. 

 

And Seith had been right. When Ryllae woke up the next morning, Seith was already gone. All that was left was a note with a message from Seith.

 

-

 

Tears welled up in Ryllae’s eyes as he pulled a crumpled, obviously old piece of paper from his pants pocket. He unfolded it, reading over the words written on the page.

 

If you’re reading this, then I’ve already headed off. I love you, Ryllae. I’ll see you soon, son. I promise.

 

-

 

Three months. Three long months that Ryllae had been waiting for his father’s return. The longer Seith was gone, the more he worried about him. His father always came back to him. Always. But he just couldn’t help worrying. 

 

He was tending to the bow Seith had given him when he noticed another one of the soldiers walking towards him. Another Wood elf that had gone off to war with his father. The elf’s name was Elessar. If Elessar was back, then that meant his father was back!

 

Immediately, Ryllae set the bow down, carefully of course, and rushed over to Elessar. 

 

"Elessar!" He exclaimed excitely with a bright grin on his face. "Where’s my dad?" 

 

"Ryllae…" Elessar trailed off, glancing around nervously. It wasn’t hard to tell that something was wrong. The elf looked quite troubled.

 

"Elessar…?" Ryllae’s bright grin slowly transformed into a frown. "What is it? Where’s my dad?" 

 

"Seith has…" Elessar paused for a moment, trying to gather himself before continuing. "H… Has fallen in battle…" 

 

Ryllae’s eyes widened. “N… No…!” 

 

Elessar nodded gravely, wringing his hands together. “He has been killed in battle. Shael… It turns out he was a double agent a.. and he killed him…” 

 

"No… No… No!" Tears blurred Ryllae’s vision and he fell his knees, sobbing into his hands.

 

-

 

His shoulders trembled as he fought off the tears that were threatening to pour from his eyes. 

 

"Yo… You promised you w-would c-come back, d-dad…" He whispered, not taking his eyes off of the small piece of paper in his hands. Finally the tears began to flow freely, streaming down his cheeks and dampening his pant leg. 

 

"You promised…" A sniffle came from him, his voice still only a whisper, and it was followed by more tears. "A… And you… You never came back…" His hand shook, but his grip on the paper never loosened. "I miss you so much, dad… I…  I need you…" 

[Knox213 10]

Moved to the Archive. It shall be sorted into the appropriate category shortly.