An Elven Tale

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Tarchon shrugged off his knapsack and sprinted up the tree as though he were half-squirrel. There was no one around that he could see of, which meant more of the land to himself. Veren wouldn't come along this time, unfortunately. He was, again, too afraid of getting caught. No one ever wanted to venture this far into the woods, for it usually meant crossing into the borders of the kingdoms of men. The last time the woodland elves crossed those borders, less than half had returned alive.

As he leaped up into the upper branches, he swatted at a bee that seemed to take immense interest in his head. He enjoyed the view from this height, but there was always a much more adventurous feel to being this high up in lands he he should not be. But what his father did not know would not hurt him.

As his eyes wandered over to the river, he spotted an unfamiliar object lying on the banks. He could not make it out from this distance, but it certainly did not look like something that belonged in these woods. He leaped from his branch and darted off in the direction of the mystery object. Whatever it was, it was not moving. Perhaps it was a dead deer? As he peered through the bushed at the object, however, he immediately realized it was not in fact a deer. It was a girl, and she could very well be dead. Without hesitation, he sprinted towards the body and lifted her, pulling her away from the water. A large gash was visible on the side of her head, but she was still breathing. It was slow and shallow, however, which meant he would have to hurry home as quickly as possible. But there was no telling if she would be able to last that long.
 
The girl's red hair was very distinct even though the red blood stained it a bit darker. She had been so close when bam! Wrong footing sent her tumbling toward the river and the sharp rocks below. She had just wanted to find somewhere to hide, and now she was in an elf's arms. The girl's weight was strangely light considering some of the other elven girls being taller and older than the strange person near the river. If she had been an elf she could have been no older than forty years old. Alas, she did not have the pointed ears.

Her freckled skin was growing pale as she laid limp in the elf's arm. A few sparks were gently floating to the ground from the tips of her fingers, fading quickly. She should have been dead by now, by all means considering what the other elves said about the humans being so fragile, but she was still alive. Starting to come to half-consciousness, the red head used a hand to hold onto Tarchon's shirt.
 
As he felt the weak grip, Tarchon inhaled deeply. She was certainly alive. He raced back to his knapsack, carrying her in her arms. There was little time to waist. He set her on the ground carefully before rummaging hastily through the bag. Surely he had remembered to pack it somewhere in here. After what seemed like far too much time spent searching the thing with frustration, his hand found the feriz leaves he had stowed away. Working quickly, he crushed them in his hands, almost enjoying the tingling sensation they brought to his palms. He the pieces lightly over her wound and whispered a few words in the ancient language. "Alume nasara haleen." Leaves of life.

He then lifted her again and began making his way back home. With the added weight in his arms, he would likely not reach their until just before sunset. But as long as she held on until then, there was no reason to worry as long as the makeshift poultice worked. He had been reprimanded for journeying this far before. It was nothing he was not already used to. Either way, he was far more worried about this girl's life, despite the fact that she was evidently a human.

As he raced back as quickly as he could, his mind flooded with questions. Who was this girl? Where had she come from? And how had she gotten so far away from her home? All of the answers would have to wait until she awoke... if she awoke.
 
The red head started to wake up. She felt fuzzy with two strong arms wrapped around her. Her green eyes were glassy. "B... Baba?" She asked quietly, thinking of her uncle as she felt her head pound. "Baba, it hurts..." She was delirious, obviously. The poor human was starting to shake, cold settling in as her body started to react to the injury. Dried blood started to crust over on her hands, which were scraped.

Where was she? A forest... It took a few minutes to register. "Baba... don't bother the elves... they don't like humans..." She murmured, eyes glassy. Her ragged breaths made Tarchon's arm start to feel warm from heat. She was talking to someone in her mind at least. That was a good sign, right? Leaves blew past her, making her watch in silent wonder.
 
He had not the slightest idea of who this Baba was, but he would find out eventually. At least he hoped to find out more. The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon. Palinisir was not too far away now, and she was talking, which meant the herbs were working. Mother would have plenty of other treatments, so there was little to worry about once they reached home.

The leaves of the Velnar had been starting to turn orange and brown recently. Autumn was almost upon them, and that meant they would soon shut themselves off from the rest of the world, even the other elves. If this girl was ever going to be returned to her homeland, it would have to be done quickly before the gates closed. They would not reopen until the the beginning of spring. It was always Tarchon's least favorite part of the year. He felt almost trapped in Palinsir, as if he was a prisoner.

The sun was still barely in sight when Tarchon raced up to the gates. The guards looked as though they were about to inquire as to where he had been, but upon seeing the body in his hands they immediately stepped aside as he raced off to his home. He could still hear the faint breathing as he rushed into his home. Father was nowhere to be found as far as he could see. Mother, however, saw him immediately and rushed to his side.

"How long has she been hurt?" she asked, placing a hand over her brow.

"I don't know," Tarchon admitted. "I found her by the river."
 
The girl was starting to develop a fever as her ragged breath could still faintly be heard. She probably had been injured for at least a few hours for the infection to have been setting in so early. The poor girl was probably going to have a serious headache when she woke up again. Hopefully the poor human would be okay under the elves' care.

The guards were whispering about the strange girl in the young man's arms. She didn't look like an elf so who was she? Why was she in the elves' territory? What happened to her that made her get injured? Just what exactly was going on?
 
Tarchon watched as his mother began to recite ancient chants of the old language, rubbing her palm over the girl's forehead. He could see the enchantments working their effects slowly but surely. He did as he was bid and placed a dampened cloth over her forehead before covering her body in a blanket. She was going to wake with an unfortunate fever, but there was little that could be done about that.

As the wound began to close up, Tarchon finally noticed the small amulet around the girl's neck. It displayed a blue stone in which was carved the figure of a staff and crown. Unless he was mistaken, that was the emblem of the kingdom of Osmai. Then she was indeed from the kingdoms of men. But how she got this far away from home was still a mystery.
 
Later, the girl woke up feeling warm. "Wh... where am I?" She asked, blinking blearily as she looked at the strange area she was in. Last she remembered she was running when... The girl sat up as she blinked. Where was that man that had chased her? She looked down at her amulet, smiling when she found it was still there. Slowly, she looked around the place she was in.

It looked like a house, and she was laying on a bed. The home didn't look anything like what a human would have built. She was running when she got to the fore-oh God. She was in the elven territory. She was in the territory where elves hated humans and outside contact. She was so dead. They were going to tear her piece from piece.
 
Tarchon and his mother soon reentered the room. "No, I told you," she was saying. "The last time a human was-" She cut off her words and both of them stopped dead in their tracks upon seeing that the girl was now awake. The motherly elf immediately rushed over and eased her head back against the pillows. "Easy now," she said in a soft tone, almost a whisper. "You need to rest. You had a terrible gash in your forehead."

Tarchon dared a step closer, not sure what to make of the girl. It only occurred to him in that moment that he had never seen a human before. In truth he did not see a great difference between them now, although he found her clothing to be rather odd and less elegant than what he was used to seeing. After a few more steps, slowly but surely, he was at her bedside next to his mother. "Do you have a name?" he asked inquisitively.
 
The girl was surprised to find the woman pushing her back on the bed. Elves? Elves had taken her in? Her uncle had always told her that the elves hated humans, would rather kill a human than let one live. This confused her greatly when the woman told her about the gash. "A... gash? What?" She moved to touch her head, surprised when she found a wound.

When the man asked her for her name, she felt herself tensing. Name? She couldn't give her real name, of course she couldn't! They could realize that she was... Think of a common name, she thought. Think... think... "Ava." She said, looking over at the elf who asked her name. "My name is Ava." Great! There were dozens of Ava's! They wouldn't be too concerned of a strange girl named Ava if someone asked for her.
 
The female elf placed a hand on her brow gently, checking for any signs of a fever. "My name is Edraya, and this is my son Tarchon." She moved her hand away and frowned slightly. "You are still sick from the infected wound. You must rest for now. I will be back later. In the mean time please drink this." She hands her a cup of what appears to be water, though at a second glance there are small herbs that can be seen floating at the top.

As Edraya steps out to leave, Tarchon lingers for a moment or two. There were so many questions he was prepared to ask her, but he knew there would be a more appropriate time to. He gave her a friendly nod before taking his leave as well. As soon as the door was shut behind him, he shook his head. "Where is father? He will want to know more about her."
 
Ava blinked before taking the cup slowly and drinking some of the liquid. Sick? So the wound was infected... She sighed. Away from home, in a place she didn't know, she was just in a world of weird. Hopefully the boy would come back. Even if it was to question her, she would rather have someone to talk to her then being alone. A thought struck her. She was all alone.

Ava continued to drink from the cup, starting to feel scared. The poor girl was lost with no one to help her. She pulled out her amulet and stared at it. Her uncle made sure she kept it before she left... It was all she had left.
 
Almost as if in response to his question, Tarchon's father appeared in the doorway. Belvan the Wise was what most other referred to him as. He was certainly not the oldest elf, though he certainly had seen his share of centuries, almost five of them to be exact. As soon as he walked in he stared down Tarchon through calculating eyes. "You wandered into the lands beyond again, didn't you?" It was not so much a question as it was an accusation.

Tarchon nodded. "I was only going exploring. But I found something you may-" Belvan put his hand up to stop his son from speaking, the look of disappointment plain on his face. "It does not matter," he said with a heavy sigh. "Please just do not go wandering so far again. We cannot risk getting caught up in human affairs once again. The realm of woodland elves has remained at peace for so long, and we would rather not change that."

Tarchon huffed slightly. "I understand. But you should hear what I found first. It was a girl. Not and elven girl. A human girl. She was wounded and on the verge of death." Belvan's face grew more serious at that and his eyes widened with what appeared to be shock. "Where is she?"
 
Ava felt tears come to her eyes as she pulled her knees to her chest. She never thought that leaving the kingdom would make her feel so... alone. She was left to her own, having no one to help her. As the young human gripped her amulet, she started to create a small being, a bird in shape though it was made of a misty substance. It flew around her, trying to alleviate her fears and pain. The small bird made the young girl giggle, smiling at the creature. She touched it, making it change colors as it tweeted silently. The small bird flew for a bit more before bursting into sparks. The remnants of the magic floated down toward the ground, filling the room with a soft vanilla smell. Ava felt a bit more at peace with this.
 
A little while later, Tarchon returned to the room carrying a fresh plate of fruit, containing mostly some grapes, pears, and a few orchard plums. As he set the tray down on the bedside table, he noticed the drying tears on her cheeks. He could not blame her for being afraid in a land she had never seen, much less experienced, with beings she had likely never seen either.

He took a seat on the chair, hoping she would be easily comforted. "I know how you must be feeling right now. But you have no need to fear us. We are not like the elves of the mountains. We seek only peace, not war." He found himself staring at his hands and decided he should probably be looking at her if his words were going to have any sort of meaning. "My father was not happy when I told him that I brought you here. We are not particularly fond of being involved in human matters."
 
Ava glanced over at him before sighing. "I can understand why... All we do is fight and fight and fight... You don't have to worry though." She gave a hollow smile. "I'm sort of an... outcast you could say. No one's going to be coming for me any time soon." She felt tears start to well up again as she thought about what made her leave in the first place.

She never should have trusted him. He just wanted to sneak into her family and steal her place. Not like she had much of a place in her family, anyway. Her parents probably hated her and weren't even noticing that she was gone. They would be too busy with their 'new son' to notice that their only child was gone, left for dead in a strange forest.
 
His curiosity peaked at that. It was not everyday that one met a runaway, especially one from the realm of men. He folded his arms and leaned back in his chair, prepared to listen for any important information. "I know this may seem like a bad time to start asking questions, given your condition, but I must know. Who are you? And how did you manage to travel so far from home?" His eyes scanned over the wound still visible on her forehead. "And who gave you that?" he inquired, pointing at it.

He did not enjoy prying so openly, but the thrill of meeting a human was beginning to excite him more than he was willing to admit. What could have been a better call to adventure than an occasion like this? And she just admitted that she was an outcast, meaning that trouble was stirring in the human kingdoms. Oh how father would be furious to know what plans were slowly forming in his head right now.
 
Ava felt a bit endangered with all of the questions. "I already told you who I am, I don't know, and I tripped and fell in the river." She said, irritation clear in her voice. She pulled her knees closer to herself, not liking the feeling of helplessness that seemed to be coursing through her. She was stuck in a place with a curious elf who seemed to want to know everything about her.

She hoped that maybe nobody would come after her. They wouldn't, not if her uncle said she was dead. Her parents would completely believe that, see that as the perfect way to get rid of her and find some new heir.
 
Tarchon recoiled slightly at her anger. He had not meant to upset her, but at the same time he could understand her frustration. What he wanted to know was more about her and who her family was. But he was not willing to press her for more information just yet. He sighed heavily and tried to give her his kindest smile. "You have nothing to fear from us. No one in these woods would ever do you harm because of where you come from."

He almost made to put a hand on her shoulder as a sign of comforting, but thought better of it and instead gestured towards the tray he had brought in. "You mus be hungry. Eating will help you to regain your strength much faster."
 
"If I had to fear my own people, I have just as much reason to fear someone from a different race." She said, thinking of how many assassins had nearly killed her. How many people had tried to hurt her in her time, even her own parents... She had no reason to trust this person. Even if he promised her no harm. She looked over at the food hesitantly. It looked so good...

"It's not poisoned, is it?" She asked, looking at him with skeptical eyes. She felt her mouth water as she looked over at the food, her stomach starting to yell at her to eat. She really could use a meal... Maybe some brandy while she was at it.
 
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