Si seulement...

Elves are known for their cheerful and kind nature, innocent appearance, magical abilities, and soothingly aesthetic homes.

But this was all in the past; few elves are like I've just described.

Why? You might ask.

I only have one word for you - humans.

It all happened one fateful day when the humans suddenly started to capture the elves one by one. The humans, consumed by greed and envy, tortured and tormented the captive elves; they tried to force them to reveal their secrets.

All but one elf endured the pain. All but one elf refused to expose and endanger their friends, family and the whole elven race. All but one elf was selfless and died gracefully. All but one elf stood by what they believed in...

Due to the betrayal of one egotistical elf, the humans stormed the elven territories and began to steal, kill and eradicate harmony. Many elves went into hiding; many were killed or taken away from their families and sold. It descended into utter anarchy.

Fortunately, none of the humans were able to find any of the elves that had gone into hiding; for many years, they stayed safe and hidden away from society until one elf encountered some humans passing by their hiding place.

This elf had suffered; he was captured and sold; he had seen the inexplicable; he was forced to do the unimaginable; he had almost lost his sanity. When he saw the humans, he lost his grip on reality.

Gracefully twirling his hand, the elf gestured towards the humans, whispering sweet nothings to the wind, commanding it to bring one of the humans closer, closer to him. Beguiling the wind, he instructed it to create a soundproof barrier so that the other humans wouldn't hear them. Before he (the human) had time to react, the elf made a deep cut (with his dagger) on his limb, which caused him to fall to the ground (on his knees) in pain. The human was weak and vulnerable now he was cut, the perfect opportunity for the elf to kick him, so his face landed in the dirt, grazing his mouth and cheek. The elf continued to beat him till there was barely any life left in him. The elf then pried the humans' eyes open and gouged his eyes out with his dagger. Once he had finished, he took the other humans and did the same to them.

He enjoyed it.

The thrill of killing someone.

Their soothing and piercing screams.

The warm, vermillion fluid clinging to his skin.

The mark of a murderer...

He enjoyed every second of it.

While admiring his artwork - realization hit him; this wasn't typical elven behaviour...

Elves are known for their placid, optimistic and kind nature; what this elf had done was not, in the slightest, loving or cheerful.

He knew that.

He chose to do it anyway, even with the thought that the curse would engulf him.

A curse was placed on the elven race many centuries ago. Whenever an elf acted out of character, they lost any sense of reasoning. Whenever they looked at themselves or saw their reflection, it drove them crazy. All that they saw was a monster, the darkest version of themselves.

They would smell a strong stench that made them feel uneasy. No matter how many times they washed, or used herbs or flower oils, they were unable to get rid of it; the smell was ingrained in their very being. Their aura became deadly and dangerous and drove others to their deaths. It intoxicated those they dearly loved and forced them into the same aberration that engulfed them. Due to this, the elves would get lonely and hear whispers and cries. They would either kill themselves or embrace their madness; killing everything in sight.

As you can guess, the elf that betrayed the elven race suffered this exact fate (they ended up killing themselves), and this elf was going to suffer that very same misfortune.

He ran to the nearest lake to see if he could get rid of the smell, but he couldn't. Staring at his reflection in the river, he was shocked; he no longer recognized the elf that he was looking at.

Slowly backing away, he ran towards the (hidden) village, trying to avoid any of the other elves, but they had already sensed him. He bolted into his cottage and locked the door. In front of him was his lover, staring at him in disbelief, "How could you?"

Gazing at her, guilt washed over his face. How was he supposed to explain what happened? What would his lover say if he told her? Would she leave him? If she did, would he have to take matters into his own hands? What would he do if it came to that? Kill her? Force her to stay?

"Are you going to answer me, or are we just going to stand here in silence?" she bitterly said. He sat down in the nearest chair and looked at her, "I-I don't know what to say..." Glaring at him, she stood in front of him, forcing him to look at her.

"Why did you do it?" she asked.

"I don't know", he replied shamefully.

"Yes, you do. Tell me." she sternly said.

He looked her dead in the eyes and said, "I saw them; they were laughing and smiling. It infuriated me. They were living their lives, not caring about what they had done whilst we are here suffering trying to survive."

"They were innocent," she said, "You took the lives of innocent people. We have suffered, and it's painful to see them not caring about the dangers of the world, but you targeted the wrong people. The ones who did this to us are already gone..."

"It doesn't matter! All humans are the same! I did what was right. I don't care about the consequences because I did what any sane elf would have done. They would have died anyway, so what I did made no difference-"

Before he was able to finish his sentence, his partner raised her hand and slapped him. "How could you say such a thing?" He looked up at her expecting to see tears brimming in her eyes or a look of disgust, but her cold demeanour remained.

"Those people were innocent. They had done nothing wrong. We are indeed suffering because of their ancestors', but we cannot keep living in the past. Many elves have already moved on, but now we have to suffer once more because of you."

"Then what should I-"

knock knock

Unable to finish his sentence, the elf looked at his lover. His mind was racing as his eyes darted across the room, looking for a place to hide. He thought hiding would be much easier than facing the raging sea of inhabitants, angry at the demons they had become.

He looked at his lover desperately, searching for any sign of empathy but her cold demeanour remained.