Have you read Elves Part Two - Loss?
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We were running at a blinding pace, trees a blur as we leapt between all manner of obstacles. I was trying to remember the last time I had allowed myself to run at such a pace. The last memory I could find was of me and Thain as children, bounding through the castle grounds trying not to get caught by the guards on duty, giggling the entire time. I looked over at Thain, thinking of this simple, sweet time we once had together, feeling the depth of how much we, and our relationship, had changed since then.
Thain had easily gotten us out of the gates with some sweet but authoritative words of duty and blah blah blah. I gave up trying to overhear him as urgency made it hard to concentrate on anything else. I slipped out behind him with my hood up in an attempt to conceal my identity.
My eyes were constantly scoping the wood, narrowing at any sight of disturbance. The wood was dark, heavy dampness filling the air and weighing in my lungs. The feeling of oddness surrounded us. We were only running for a short time before Thain abruptly stopped as I flew past him. Seeing him halt, I stopped myself and turned back to him.
“What are you doing?” I asked while approaching. He looked around before turning back to me.
“We have gone far. I have not ventured into these woods before,” he said, looking around again almost nervously. “What is the plan here Ari? We can’t aimlessly run through the wood hoping to stumble on something leading to your sister,” he told me while stepping closer.
“I planned to run a parameter around the wood surrounding the castle and then…” I trailed off as I realised I hadn’t thought any of this through in my desperate haste to find Lirien.
“That's what I thought,” Thain said without humour. My eyes had drifted to the ground during my explanation, but quickly snapped back to his at the comment. I opened my mouth in retort but was cut off before I had the chance. “Ari, how much do you know of your father’s Royal Guard, or the exhibitions carried out by them?”
“You serve and protect the Kingdom from external threats,” confused but reciting back to him what I had been told time and time again from early childhood. He answered with a forced laugh, running a hand through his cropped hair, my eyes tracking the movement, realising I liked this new style of hair. It suited him.
“I should have expected as much,” shaking his head, looking at me with a sad smile on his face. “There are no external threats, at least not on the Royal Path through the forest to the coast, which, by the way, is the only path the Royal Guard is on. And the serving and protecting? There is no protection that is required. Sure they serve the Kingdom, but not in the way you think.” My eyes narrow on him at this.
“You speak as if you are not a part of the Guard.”
“Because I am not.” I waited for further explanation but he just stared almost directly down at me, as I stood a head shorter than him.
“You… You’re…” I stumbled over the words, shaking my head and feeling the lump building in my throat. “You left. You wanted to join the Royal Guard. You have been gone for years Thain! You are dressed as a soldier, you stand at my father's side as a soldier! What do you mean you are not a part of the Royal Guard?!” I exclaimed, flailing my hands around at him.
“I was not accepted into the Royal Guard.” He looked to stop there but carried on at the furious glare I gave him.
“I did not understand for a long time, and I still question if I fully do. I was the best of our intake. Fighting, listening, commanding. There was no one that compared,” I would have taken this as boasting except for the fact he told me this so calmly and confidently, as if there was no other truth. “When training was over and placements were handed out, I was pulled aside and told I would not join the Royal Guard. Your father had requested me personally for a position. I was beyond thrilled, it was what I worked so hard for, hoping I would reach a position where…” He trailed off, staring intently at me before looking away and then back.
“I was placed at the head of the Royal Path to oversee who leaves and enters. I thought I was asked to hold this position due to the reputation and respect I had achieved at the time. Turned out to be the worst position to be given despite being personally requested by the King to be there. I assumed this position would have me monitoring the ins and outs of the Royal Path, however those who left and entered were not allowed to disclose to me what went on out there. When I questioned this, I was reprimanded and told this is a position I should be grateful for. One of the utmost importance to the King.” He huffed out another fake laugh while staring out to the forest over my head.
“Nothing added up. I began my own investigation. Those who I trained with, and trusted me, explored as much as they could. They didn't have to go far to discover that they encountered no issues on the Royal Path, but that it was used to exploit the resources of the forest. Far south from here, there is nothing but a waste of the destruction at the hands of the Kingdom.”
I suck in a sharp breath in shock. I was taught by my mother to always respect the wood. Nature and life were one in the same; to disrespect one is to disrespect the other. My heart goes out to Thain hearing this, knowing he especially always had a way with the earth beneath his feet. From the limited magic I had seen from him, it was always to nurture the soil and weeds that surrounded him. This news would have tortured him. As I compose myself I begin to feel the anger rise again at the further lies I had been told at my father’s expense.
Reeling myself, I asked. “What does this have to do with Lirien?”
Thain paused for a moment before replying. “I don’t know yet what this has to do with Lirien, or if it has anything to do with Lirien. What I do know is that this forest is uncharted and it does not feel right here.”
“That does not matter. The only thing that matters right now is finding Lirien and we can figure out the rest when it comes.” I looked out to my right, into the dense forest as I said this.
“Ari…” Thain said, my nickname only he has used, a breath, yet pleading at the same time. I turned back to him at the sound, lips parting as we stared up at each other. He raised his hand as if to cup my face before freezing, looking sharply to our left. I heard it, the commotion of branches cracking and scurrying across the forest floor. Before I had a chance to pull my bow from my shoulder Thain pulled me behind him, one hand on my hip while he unsheathed his sword and raised it in front of him. We waited only a few heartbeats before we were confronted with spiders the size of horses. The three spiders had all eight eyes staring at us, two in the tree branches just above us, the largest at the foot in the forest ahead. I readied my stance. Thains body was taut, a slight adjustment telling me he’s about to launch himself, before a voice echoes around us.
“What is this? Elven entering where they should not be,” I quickly realised it is one of the spiders questioning and answering itself in the same breath. My eyes widened at the reality that I just understood a spider speaking. Thain also froze at this before quickly recovering.
“We mean no harm. We are looking for the missing Princess. We would appreciate any information you could provide us.” His steadfast voice was the only thing tethering me.
“Princess?” The spider seethed, moving one leg forward. Thain took a step back pushing me further, raising his sword again not realising it had fallen slightly.
“Yes. Princess Lirien. She has been taken.”
“And you suspect us? Despite having no knowledge of our existence?” The spider exclaimed, taking another step forward. Thain’s body shook with careful control. “I know you have no knowledge of us because we have very little knowledge of you.”
“We suspect the abduction is by the Common Elf Folk and are searching the area in case they chose the woodland as their hideout.”
This surprised me. I hadn’t told him my father’s accusations, had I? Before I could get too wrapped up in my thoughts, the spider spoke again.
“No Elvens have dared enter our northern territory. As for the south… that is another story entirely,” the spider trailed off. I had not realised the two above us had crept closer on their branches.
“We are not privy to the Kingdom's choices south. All we are here for is the Princess,” Thain stated, standing straight, trying to conceal me further from the horrors before us. I am riled up, I’ve had enough of the protection constantly around me, nor do we have time to waste on this. I stepped out past Thain as he made a grab for me.
“What have you done with her?!” I yelled, raising my bow, arrow notched. All the spiders slunk back slightly at my abrupt entrance to the conversation.
“We do not have your Princess,” The spider at the forefront approached again, standing tall in all its might. “Your kind knows not to enter the forest surrounding your homestead, they understand the cost. We have eyes everywhere. No one has entered this territory for many millennia.” I’m shocked at the revelation.
“Then where is she?!” I practically screeched as I shot forward before Thain grabbed me by my waist, pulling me back against his chest. The spiders hissed in unison at my outburst. Thain leant down to whisper in my ear.
“Ari… Please. Let us walk away from this,” his soft voice sent shivers down my spine as his arms wrapped protectively around me. He tucked me behind him again once my nervous shakes decreased.
“Thank you for your time. We will leave now,” he stated, taking me by the hand and steering us away. We halted our exit as we heard scurrying again, the spiders entering our vision once more.
“You may leave, but take to your Kingdom our message. If the brutality in the south does not stop, all horror will descend on your Kingdom,” and with that, they moved away, scurrying again, evident of their exit as the sound faded.
The faint sound of my nickname being murmured as Thain held me comes into focus as I realised I’d been hyperventilating for the last few minutes, head against his chest.
“Ari…” He murmured in my ear again as he stroked his hand down my hair, holding me to his body with his other hand at the small of my back. I put my hands on his chest pushing him back slightly to look into his face. My face felt warm with the heat that flooded it from my tears.
“Lirien,” I croaked out, pulling a hand up to wipe my face. I continued trying to wipe my face before Thain pulled at my wrists, forcing my gaze up to his.
“Do you know what this means Ari?” He asked me, his heated stare the only thing filling my vision. My thoughts had been a mess for days, I closed my eyes trying to wrap my head around it all. He could tell when I had come to my conclusion when my body froze up. I opened my eyes again, staring up once more. Thain took a deep breath.
“Lirien never left the castle grounds.”
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Read Elves Part Four - Love now!