Starting Out

I opened my eyes, rubbing the sleep off them. It was still dark out, thank the goddess. I groaned and rubbed my aching shoulder. I didn't sleep at all after my fight with Eldar and tossed around all night. I washed up quick and tied my long hair up in a ponytail. It was going to be hot all day and I didn't want to sweat all over my clothes. Washing clothes while traveling was a pain.

After I was ready, I grabbed my pack and headed to Eldar's room. Before I could knock, he opened the door and stared at me, showing no emotion. He was dressed in his armor, equipped with a bow and sword. "Good morning your highness, I am ready to leave whenever you are."

I squinted at him. What was his problem? He was being so cold. There's no way he could still be mad after last night. Eldar wasn't the type to hold grudges. I sighed. "Whatever lets get going."

We headed out of the castle and stopped to sit on a nearby bench. I pulled out my map and selected out a path. "Lycandor is southeast of here. I think the quickest way would to head through the south part of the Faerie Forest. If we cut Northeast we could run into some orcs in the wasteland and I don't think either of us want that."

Eldar nodded in agreement. Since we were elves, it would be safest to go thorough the Faerie forest because they had a treaty with us. Faeries were tricksters and could sometimes be snooty, but as long as you didn't threaten them they wouldn't hurt you.

I shut my map and started down the dirt path. Eldar cut in front of me. "What are you doing?! I want to go first!"

"No Faelyn. If there is an ambush, they will attack me first and that gives you a chance to get away. If you're going to insist to go on a stupid trip, at least be smart about one thing."

I crossed my arms and started walking behind him, sulking. As we walked down the road we arrived at the stables. I looked at each of the horses and decided on a spotted female. She was quite sturdy and had a sweet personality. Eldar saddled her and gestured for me to get on. He stood by the horse and laced his fingers together so I could get a foot up.

"I don't need your help! I can't get on just fine by myself, thank you!" He rolled his eyes.

"Faelyn stop being stubborn and just do it we need to get going."

I grumbled at him and stepped onto his hands. As he helped me up, I tried to grab the reins but they slipped to the other side of the mare and I fell back. "Eldar!" I screamed. He caught me with one arm under my legs and the other supporting my back.

"Are you alright, Fae? I've got you don't worry." His eyes stared down at me, filled with concern.

"Put me down!!" He gently placed me upright and I looked at the ground, face beet red from embarrassment. "T-thanks Eldar."

"Its fine, don't mention it. Here, step on this bucket. Its higher than what I can lift you, it will be easier this way."

He placed the bucket to the side of the horse and I gingerly stepped up and settled myself on the horse. It sure was gong to be a long way to Lycandor. I couldn't even get on my horse by myself! He led the horse out and we started off down the path.

"Eldar aren't you going to ride a horse? Its so far you can't walk the whole way!"

He shook his head. "No I'd rather walk. This way I can fight more easily without being stuck on a horse mid combat."

"Fine, suit yourself."

We traveled all day, only stopping once to eat a quick meal from a local tavern. As dusk neared, we settled in a thickly wooded area for the night. As I set up my sleeping mat, my stomach gurgled. I should have brought more snacks, I thought. We ate hours ago and I didn't have anything to eat for dinner.

Eldar threw a bag of apples at me. "Here, I brought these. I figured you'd be hungry later and I know you like apples as a snack."

I squinted at him. "Whats the catch?"

"You have to sleep beside me. You're too far away all the way over there and I can't protect you if something comes in the camp."

I stared at the bag of apples. Red, delicious, sweet and juicy. My mouth started watering and I groaned. A heavenly snack or go to bed hungry? I snatched the apples up and threw my mat on the ground close to Eldar.

" Ah ah ah. Closer."

I glared at him and kicked my mat beside him and sat down. "Happy now?"

"I am adequately pleased." He laid down and closed his eyes.

I laid down on my side and stared at his face. He was handsome. His hair splayed out in all directions, some parts perfectly framing his face. His lashes were long and his lips were slightly pink. I blushed and scolded myself for thinking dirty thoughts. I finished my apple and snuggled into my blankets and fell asleep.

I awoke to the sound of birds chirping. I yawned and smiled, enjoying their sound. The castle walls were too thick for me to ever hear the birds so this was a welcome change. Then I felt something around my waist. I glanced down and saw Eldar's arm wrapped around me! His chin rested atop my head and his legs behind me. As I tried to wiggle free, I felt something poke me in the back. I blushed and quickly pried his hand off. I got up, stretched and headed out to do my business. When I returned, he was awake and packing our belongings.

"Good morning Faelyn. You're up early. Are you ready to get going?" I was about to yell at him except it would be awkward to tell him that his..erection was one of the things that woke me up.

I scoffed. "I am known to wake up early sometimes! And yes, I am ready to go." Eldar helped me onto the horse with no incidents, unlike yesterday. We walked until noon, and stopped for a snack before we could find a tavern. We sat down in a small clearing on some logs and ate our apples. "We must be getting close to the Faerie Forest. It cant be more than a days walk from here."

Eldar nodded. "Yes, if we keep going all day today we should make it to the outskirts. The Faeries have well stocked taverns and comfortable inns."

I drooled at the thought of a comfortable bed again. Sleeping on the ground couldn't remotely compare to my bed at home. I jumped up. "Eldar, we must hurry! To the inns!"

He groaned. "Cant we rest a bit more? My legs are sore from walking."

"I cant believe you have the nerve to complain! You could have got a horse but no you wanted to walk! So lets go! Mush!"

He finished his apple and threw the core into the bushes. "Fine, I am ready lets go." We carried on through the dense forest and I began to yawn. This trek was so boring and Eldar wasn't exactly the most interesting or entertaining person to ride with. My eyes began to close when all of the sudden an arrow whizzed right by my head. I screamed and Eldar grabbed me off my horse and threw me into some bushes. He already had his bow out, scanning the area for the person responsible for almost killing me.

I hissed quietly "Eldar! Why are we hiding? We are sitting ducks here. We need to keep moving and maybe we can find someone who can help!"

"Would you rather go out in the open again and get shot? Staying here is our best bet. They will come looking for us and I can ambush them. The element of surprise is always a great advantage."

I thought about it and agreed. "Eldar, give me your bow. If they come looking I'll try to shoot them while you can use your sword and attack."

"Do you even know how to use it? Faelyn these people are serious. I don't know why they shot at you but you can bet its not for a good reason!"

"I've trained extensively with my bow. I can shoot very well thank you very much!"

"Fine. Be careful." We both turned our heads at the sound of faint footsteps down the path. Eldar looked at me and put a finger to his lips and I nodded back at him. I counted four figures, closing in quickly. As they neared, I squinted.

Orcs! Why the heck would Orcs be all they way down south? They lived in the far north, near the mountains. It was scorching hot and barren there, only the savage orcs would dare go anywhere near those hellish mountains. Eldar noticed they were Orcs too and shook his head at me. He had no idea why they would be here either. The beasts were armed heavily, with various daggers, swords, and bows. As they crept down the path I readied my bow and took aim at the first one. Eldar nodded and I released my arrow. The arrow struck the first Orc right through his neck, killing him immediately. As expected, the others quickly spread out and ran forward towards us. Eldar jumped out of the bushes and started fighting with two while the third came at me. I quickly fired again but missed his head, only shooting his right shoulder.

Dammit I cant believe I missed that shot! The Orc grabbed me and I reached for my ankle knife but it was too late. He punched my stomach and I fell to the ground. Eldar shouted for me and I quickly recovered and got up. My bow had fallen out of reach so my knife was my only option. As I went to slash the Orc attacking me, an arrow sunk into my chest.