Mary-Cade Mandus - Skin Deep

Filch hightailed it down the trail, persecuting wasps of guilt and remorse swarming about him. The buttons clutched fiercely in his hand acted as a repellant of sorts against his conscience’s attacks, but not a very potent one. Sneaking a peek over his shoulder he saw that Crispin had made no move to follow, but sat motionless upon the broken wall, mouth rigid, posture bowed as though having received a blow.

Self-preservation urged Filch to seek his bower and lie low, but knowing there was no escaping the consequences of what he'd done prevailed, so he continued on to the kitchen-house -- to face Elena and admit his treachery.

Crispin’s thoughts were in turmoil for he was badly shaken by what he’d learned.

It wasn’t what Filch had revealed about himself and the others that had him rattled. He just felt like an idiot for failing to discern the truth from the start. The telltale traits were so obvious. And it wasn’t as though he’d never been exposed to halfling-species. He’d seen his share of half-wolves while serving in the militia sent to defuse the Gnarlybone uprising. The deviation in this case was that Filch and his companions were the result of enchantment rather than blood intermingling.

The disclosure that had him alarmed was that – as maintained by Filch –the Wilderness was both a sanctuary and a trap - there was no way out. The words Elena had uttered that first day about how he’d grow accustomed to the cold and lack of light and not miss them now came back to him. He’d had a bad feeling then and it had just been confirmed.

Panic coiled about him but he cast it off. He wouldn’t just docilely accept that this was his destiny. Neither Elena nor any of the others had ever tried to leave, therefore they really had no way of knowing for certain that an outlet didn’t exist. Also, every enchantment he’d ever heard of had at least one flaw and he was determined to find this one’s. He had to. He could not remain, not while trolls rampaged throughout the kingdom, putting all he knew and loved to enslavement and the sword. He had a duty to fulfill.

Incited to action by single-minded purpose and an unwillingness to accept at face value something that had never been confirmed, he set off toward Mutch’s hut.