A Knight To Remember (Szor&Amira)

Nothing had been the same since the arrival of the mortals, the immortal world once in a delicate peace had been shaken to its core. Serena sat in the hall of leaders, there were three druidic princesses and one prince, each represented the four clans and elements that made up the Druid Kingdom. By the calm looks on everyone’s face you couldn’t tell they were actually in a heated argument, Serena was the youngest of the leaders. Only being chosen by elders half a century ago, the other three often referred to her as spirited. It was not a compliment.

“They are hammering our borders, and what are you going to do – sing them away?” The red head nearly spat, she leaned across a large table that had sprouted from the ground. The elf prince raised an eyebrow at her display and shifted in his seat, not speaking out. She let out a loud sigh, standing up from her seat. “Fine, if you three shall not do anything, I will.” She announced storming from the hall.

It wasn’t long after that Serena left Dunravi behind, heading for one of the largest human kingdoms she knew. Saddling up a rather large drake she flew across the protected border of the Druidic empire and into untamed land of the humans. She landed into the castle court yard in the dead of night, it caused quite the stir as her unruly companion bellowed through the air. He was a young dragon that liked to announce his presence whenever he arrived, Serena had chosen him because of his speed and stamina. Just as the king arrived, wrapped in royal robes and surrounded by a heavily armed guard. “What is the meaning of this elf?” He yelled up at her.

She stood on top of her mounts back, the moon shined behind her curvy silhouette. “I have come to speak with you human.” She said, her voice a bit haughty. How this simple human could speak to her in such a way was beyond her. What was special about humans? Yes, they were plentiful, they were physically strong, but they died in less than a century and could not channel the spirit of magic. She dismounted, her soft white robes catching a bit revealing more of her soft skin than was considered prudent by a human.

She walked towards the king, he was shorter than she had imagined, his face directly in front of her chest. “We should speak…privately.” She announced looking over at the guards.

The King and Serena discussed well into the night behind closed doors, by the break of morning there was a hand shake and a deal struck. The king would provide Serena with his best knight to escort her to the Mage king and would aid the druids at their borders in exchange for the protection of their own kingdom walls by Serena’s drake Azlin. “When am I to meet this knight?” Serena asked the king.

“I will send my guards to fetch him and ready him for this mission, you should settle in for the day. I don’t think waiting until morning will change much.”

The next morning,

Serena stood in the courtyard waiting, she had a hand pressed to Azlin’s face whispering to the drake in a tongue humans could not understand. She gave him instructs to protect the kingdom, which he gladly accepted, fool hardy and ready for his own territory and task. She knew she had made a good choice by bringing him, and it would be much easier to ride into the mage kingdom on horse back. The Dragons were not keen on getting too close to the mage kingdom because of the magic they used to protect their borders.

He was summoned very early in the morning, but that didn't bother him, as he was already awake. He typically trained early in the morning, then he would have breakfast. He was summoned before he had even gotten to the training yard. He was one of the king's best knights, and one of the most loyal. He put his tabard on, picked up his sword and followed the king's servant to meet the king. When he walked into the same room as the king, he went to one knee and bowed his head. The king smiled, telling him to rise and walk with him. The knight walked just behind the king, listening to the king. Like most of the knights in the king's service, he had fought the elves in the many wars in the last decade. The humans were far better in close combat, but the elves had magic. It made sense to send a knight to protect an elven princess. He wasn't happy about it, but he swore his fealty to the king and do as his king wish, and he would. He bowed, offering his sword to his king, and the king took his Oath of the Moment, swearing to complete his task, or dying in the attempt. The king gave his knight his personal seal, followed by the knight's sword. The knight stood up, towering over the small king, and bowed once more. The king gave his knight a proud smile, putting his hand on the bigger man's shoulder almost father like. "Make your kingdom proud, make me proud, and you will receive a hero's welcome upon your return." The king spoke in a soft tone.

The knight nodded. "It will be done, my lord." He said, turning to leave. The king watched as the man he had watch grow from a young orphan boy to one of his best knights walk out of the room and sighed. He was tired, the war had taken it's toll on the once young king. Nearing forty years old, he looked almost sixty. He didn't want the twilight years of his reign to be remembered as him failing to secure a peace. Which is why he sent his best knight.

Dral Bralor walked through the castle with a purpose, his long strides eating up the distance towards his chamber. He summoned a servant to assist him with his armor. His armor was brutish, the dark armor was angled and slopped to help with deflecting blows away from his body. He put his chest plate, greaves and gauntlets on, then pulled on his boots. He slung his kite shield across his back, and attached his bastard sword to his waist. He pointed to his secondary chain mail and his hold all bag, ordering the servant to carry them to the horses. He put the king's seal in one of the bags. Clasping his dark blue cape around his shoulders, he picked up his helmet, brutish like his armor, and carried it under his arm. He walked out to the courtyard, the sun peaking out from the east.

He was tall and strongly built, as most knight had to be. The elves didn't have anything compared to knights, so it was strange for the princess to see her armored protector. He wore his light brown hair short around his ears, and slightly longer on top of his head. His face was clean shaven, as if he had just shaved this morning. He was young, only roughly twenty-five years old, but his face was weathered, telling of days in the wild world. But even that didn't mask that he had a kind face, unlike what most elves thought of humans. The drake didn't unnerve him, as he respectful bowed to it. It seemed that as well as his prowess in combat, he also had a diplomatic intuition.

His green eyes looked at the princess as he approached, and he bowed as much as he could in his plate armor. "My lady." He spoke, his voice deeper than most male elves. "I am Sir Dral Bralor. My king has charged me with your protection into the Mages realm." He smiled at her, offer a gauntlet hand. "It is a honor to meet you." Unlike many humans, he had seen elves up close outside of combat, typically accompanying the king on diplomacy missions as a part of the king's honor guard. He knew first hand of their beauty. But he had never seen an elven woman as beautiful as she.

Serena looked over at the knight, she was a bit alarmed at his size. She had minimum exposure to humans, the druids had avoided all conflicts, even when the mages tried to drag them out by force. They would sacrifice a bit of territory to protect the things they valued, their dragons and other magical creatures. Her eyes examined him from head to toe, she accepted his hand unfamiliar with the gesture but it seemed the right thing to do. “I am Serena high princess of the Shaddix clan.” She spoke the human language with ease, but her words were strongly accented.

She brushed a strand of auburn from her face, tucking it behind her ear. Her ears were long and pointy, and adorned with silver jewelry, long and pointy ears were a sign of great beauty among the elves. Serena among her people was considered to look unique, unlike many elvish women her figure was full and voluptuous. “I must warn you.” She started, “I have gone against my people to perform this task, the Druids will not be our friends. I will protect you from their magics.”

She looked over at the sky, “We should leave, the journey will be long and the mages will not simply allow me to walk into their kingdom to greet their king.” She let out a little laugh, “Not that I plan to let them say no.” She started walking, just expecting Dral to follow outside of the castle gates. She paused, “Do you have a mount? I know that humans can be quite loyal to their steeds.”

He raised her hand and kissed her fingers, as custom of knights in the human realms. "It is an honor to meet you, my lady." He said, withdrawing his hand. He nodded, listening to her voice. It formed the human language with ease, and although she had an accent, it was still pleasant, almost like she was singing when she spoke. "And I will protect you from their steel, my lady."

As she started to walk towards the gate, he waited for his horses. A servant brought over two warhorses and a third riding horse for her. His saddle was on one for him to ride, the other to carry their gear. His was a large black horse, fitting for a man of his stature. The other was a grey, but seemed to be the same breed as the first. "We are, my lady. This is Ca, named for the night." He ran his hand along the muzzle of the black horse. He then reached out to the grey. "This is Orar, named for thunder. They are both of my stables, and have served me well for years."

The white horse was brought to her. "That is Cin, of the king's own stables. She was his daughter's horse. His daughter doesn't live here anymore due to the war, and is in hiding." He explained. "She is a great horse, and takes to any woman as a kindred spirit." He smiled, pulling his shield from his back. He handed it to the servant before mounted Ca. The servant handed the shield back to Dral. It was dark blue like his cape, with a white skull with blood red demon wings attached to it in the center. It seemed to be his personal sigil.

Serena greeted the horses with her gaze before focusing on the mount brought for her, she pressed her palm to its muzzle. She whispered into the mare’s ear, smiling as if the horse and told her a joke. She stepped around and mounted the horse in a graceful jump, it was much easier to mount the back of a horse than a dragon, but she would have to adjust to the saddle. The Druid people often rode bareback, they felt like they could connect with the beast better that way. She pressed her palm into the back of the horses mane, urging her forward a bit.

“They are all lovely spirits.” She admired, she adjusted herself spreading her white gown across her legs. Her robes were symbolic of her stature, she always wore white and shades of pastel. White symbolized being a daughter of light, and blessed by the elders. All of the royals wore these colors, and garments, the only differences were the delicate stitching around the hems. Serena’s was stitched from pure unicorn hair, which when caught by the light shifted from pastel purples and blues.

She examined the humans own robes, they were quite intense, something she wasn’t accustom too. “Tell me this mortal, do you identify with death and demons? Those are the symbols of the necromancers…” The Druids did not head kindly to the Necromancers, they did a dark and dirty magic. Tampering with life and death was not something sacred or holy.

He rode up to her, looking down at her from his mount before looking at his shield. "Ah, my singular. No, I do not." He looked back her, riding along side her. He show a guard the seal, and they opened the gatehouse. As they waited, he explained his sigil. "As a little boy, I feared the things I couldn't explain, and the things I didn't know." He clicked his teeth, urging his horses to move forward once the gate was up.

He continued after they passed over the drawbridge. The castle was still quite new, having been built in the last couple years at great expense. The king wanted it large enough to hold the entire population of the country side in case of an attack. "Many us humans share that common fear. The fear of the unknown, the fear of death." He explained. "Understand that our war with your people is still a new thing. Our people use to fight among ourselves, and we learned to use our common fears as weapons." He tapped his shield affectionately, smiling at her. "What more is there to fear than a man who uses his own demons to protect him?"

He shrugged, looking back at the road. "I don't know if your people feel fear the same way we do, but it doesn't mean I am going to change my sigil." He said, looking back at her. "Maybe they will learn."

He saw some children run up to him, touching his armor. He smiled down at them, reaching into one of his saddlebags, pulling out some coins. He gave a few to each child, who beamed a smile up at the armored knight before running off into the streets. The knight watched them run off, admiring their innocence and spirit. "I grew up on these streets, my family was killed in the beginning of the war." He smiled at the memory. "One day, a group of knights rode through the streets, much like we are now. And I ran up to one." He looked at her, still smiling. "To touch a knight is to gain good fortune, the people believe. I believed it as well. So, that was I aim, touch a knight." He chuckled, looking at the road ahead. "What I didn't expect was to be picked up by a knight and taken in as his squire."

Serena listened, she didn’t understand the fear of death, it wasn’t that elves didn’t or couldn’t die. They did, but Serena knew that being released from the physical body only brought her closer to the nature she honored. She looked around at the human architecture as they passed through the city, it resembled closer to how the mages built their cities than the druids. The druids tended to carve their dwellings directly from nature.

She smiled at the children, as he granted them some pocket change and they ran off. She couldn’t understand the story as an orphan, “My mother decided to release her physical form and become one of the council elders shortly after having me. I never knew of my father. Until I was chosen, I lived with Ko, she is a great ice drake of the north in a way I guess you could say she was my mother. She taught me everything, until I was chosen I did not spend much time around my people.” This was probably why she was so different, druids were so passive and Serena couldn’t stand it. She knew peace could be achieved among everyone but they needed to be proactive.

“I am sorry you lost your parents, I know from my studies that humans put great weight into the relationships with those of blood.” She looked across the horizon, pausing on her mount for a moment like she were listening to the wind. “We should take the forest to east, it is a bit off the path but it will keep us covered. Melz is looking for me, she will try to prevent us from going further.” Melz was one of the druidic princesses’ she was the eldest out of the four leaders. Before Serena had left she had adamantly fought against the young elves ideas, it wasn’t that she disagreed that there was something ailing the Mage king but it was fear of getting involved.

Deal chuckled, hearing that she was raised by a drake, although they tended to lump them in with dragons. Humans may not know the difference between the two, they did know that some were kinder than others, and had been allies (in a way) with them. "No wonder you flew here on one." He smiled, riding along side her. "A handful dragons frequent the city, typically meeting with the king. Although a few come to eat our food." He didn't know if they were Dragons for sure, as they usually were disguised as humans. But they could use magic, which is something humans have been unable to master yet.

The human smiled at her, his green eyes meeting hers. "I thank you for your condolences, my Lady." He began, shrugging as much as he could in his armor. "However, if it wasn't for their deaths, I probably wouldn't be a knight. Fate is ever changing, one never knows when a door might open to lead you to another path."

Dral nodded, looking out to the forest. "Shouldn't be an issue. The king sends out knights and his other soldiers a hundred leagues in every direction, ensuring the people's protection. We should be fine until tomorrow night." He said, following her. "Although a best way to win a fight is not to fight at all."

Serena sometimes forgot how little the humans knew of the druids, and their relationship with the dragons. While the Dragons had their own society they lived in tandem with the Druids for several centuries. It wasn’t strange for her people that Serena had been raised by Ko, for humans she supposed it might be strange.

“Melz will not attempt to fight us, she will simply try to trick you. Seduce you likely, into a trap…” Serena supposed the human wouldn’t think of it as a trap, but she knew better than to fall into Melz ways. They came up on the edge of the forest, she looked up at the tree canopy listening again for a moment. She frowned, she didn’t think this would be enough to keep Melz off their trail for long. She would just have to keep the young knight occupied and distracted so her magic would have trouble affecting him.

“So tell me Dral, what do you know of the mages?” She asked, she knew the humans had been fighting them since they arrived in this realm. “I mean, surely you have fought against them? Their magic is much different than my own.”

Dral listened to her, wondering why if she wasn't expecting an actual fight, why was he here to protect her. It sounded like she was able to protect herself pretty well, and she had the dragon! But he guessed there were reasons well above what he knew. He would do his best to protect her, as he swore to do. He would die before harm came to her.

While she asked him a question, he reached into one of his saddlebags and pulled some dried deer meat from it. He tore off a bit, putting it into his mouth to chew. He offered the other bit to her. "I've fought them, yes." He said, looking at her, chewing the meat in his mouth. "I've been a knight for eight years, knighted after five years in service as a squire. I had experience four battles in those five years, one was the Mages, the others were the other human kingdoms. It was crazy in those beginning years." He thinking into those years. "The battle with the elves were a terrible surprise, for both sides. They shocked us with their magic, we shocked them with our martial prowess. Our cavlery was terrifying for them. Three hundred heavy knights armed with lances charging their center nearly broke them." He smiled with pride. "My master, the knight I was in service to, lead that charge."

He looked away from her, hearing a sound off in the woods, but looked back to her after he determined that it was a bird. "After a while, they developed our tactics, but we are still coming short on developing theirs." He shrugged, getting off the topic of where he had knowledge of and moving to one that he had no knowledge of. "Magic isn't natural to us. We have to learn, but we don't have anyone to learn from, besides the dragons. But they are vague, having the patience of men who will never die." He chuckled. "We may seem impulsive or impatient to you, but it's because we live maybe sixty years if we're lucky. And those last fifteen years, we can't do much anyways. Our bodies give way."

Serena led them to a lake, she dismounted urging her horse to drink, she sat on a rock and pulled her heavy boots off revealing the soft skin of her feet. She stepped into the water, pulling up the edge of her gown so it wouldn’t touch the water. “The humans were a great shock for us, you are much different than us and some would say you are poison to this realm.” She wasn’t sure if she agreed, she was much more open minded then others of her race and indefinitely curious.

“Before the humans arrived in this realm, before I was even born the Mages, the Necormancers and the Druids were all one people. We were blessed by the gods with immortal life and magic, it was the ancient druidic magic that I am sure you are unfamiliar with. As time passed there was a movement of elves that came impatient with the ways of nature’s magic, they wanted to manipulate it in a new modern way they formed the mages. The Mages fought against the Druids, eventually forming two separate kingdoms of people.” She took a deep breath.

“From the mages came the unholy magic of the necromancers, as we pass out of druid territory I will lose their protection. They may be upset with me, but their attempts to sway you, and to stop me are their ways of showing they care. There is a land between this and the mages kingdom, where the necromancers dwell.” She explained, as she spoke the water around her feet began to swirl.

“I imagine by the time we arrive to the mages, word would have spread that I am coming. They will not allow us entry easily. There is a likelihood we will fail, and neither of us will return home…do you have a family?” She asked, looking over at him before stepping out of the water.

Dral put the other half of the meat into his mouth, chewing on it as she spoke. At the lake and she got off her horse, he followed suit. He dropped from his horse with ease, his armor clinking against itself. "And what do you think of our race?" He asked putting his shield onto a slot for it, before turning to watch her on the shore of the lake.

After listening to her about her people's schisms, he pitied her people. Where they were splintering and fraying, the human kingdoms were banding together against the Mages and the Necromancers. "I am sorry, my lady. Truly, I am." He said, holding his arms low across of his chest. "Those fractures are known to us, the Council of Kings have been using our forces defensively because of this. We're both waiting to see what's going to happen, and honestly, we don't want to fight." He sighed, looking at her. "Our fight is one of survival, not of aggression. We didn't want to be whisked away to this new world."

He nodded. "Well, along with protecting you, I am my king's emissary. Seemed like a good idea to send an emissary with an elf. Maybe we could work on developing a peace." He said, looking at the land around them. When she said that they may fail and never return home, he gave her a shrugged. "I am to protect you with my life. I took an Oath of a Moment in front of my king. I would die before I break my vow."

When she asked if that he had a family, he shook his head sadly. "No. My master, though he hasn't been since I became a knight in my own right, died in battle five years ago. He was like a father to me. My king is like an uncle to me, as my master and him were friends growing up." He sighed. "No women in my life. Well, not of any significance or anything. No children that I know of." It seemed to weigh on him, not having anyone to come back to.

Serena didn’t know what she thought of humans, she had very little exposure to them, she thought they strange maybe. She looked at the knight as if she was weighing the entire worth of his species on him alone, in a way she was. “This is the longest interaction I have had with a human, I once met a human child from a small village. I vowed to come back and teach her about dragons, and when I returned she had died of old age.” She let out a nervous laugh, “I guess I didn’t realize fifty years was too long.”

She nodded, “The Druids don’t fight, they want peace but they do not realize sometimes you have to fight for it. I do, I also do not think this current path of war is the Mage kings spirit. For several centuries King Gregor has been a gentle and kind spirit, this has only changed very recently.”

She could tell the human was sad that he didn’t have anything to return to, “I am two centuries old and don’t have a mate.” She gave him a kind smile, “If that makes you feel better. With how quick humans are to act, I’m sure you will have a mate, children and even grand children before I turn three centuries. When we return you will be a hero, I’m sure this will be quite impressive to the females of your race.”

Once again, he listened, and more he pitied her race. But it also showed a different, more personal aspects of her people. He chewed over her words as he chew over the meat in his mouth. He never hated the elves, having an enemy's respect of them. As she was judging his race based upon his actions, he was doing the same with her. He smiled at her joke, shrugging. "Honestly? How would you know? As you said, this is the longest interaction you've had with my people." He said finally, understanding what she was saying.

To her remark of a hero's welcome, a smiled. "I will receive a hero's welcome, yes. However, the mating thing is...difficult." He waved a hand before he folded his arms, walking closer to her. "I have no inheritance, my master had an actual son, so he received his father's wealth and lands. I received his sword as a gift from his son." He explained. "Because I am a knight without any real wealth, and more importantly lands, it will be difficult for me to marry. And commoners are not allowed to wed knights." He then chuckled. "And, on top of all that, I am a commoner myself. The old breed of knights consider me an upstart and an outsider. I am continually trying to prove myself to them and my king. The king knows my loyalty and valor. But he doesn't have any sway on the older knights." He let out a soft laugh. "And I cannot wed royalty, so the king's daughter is also out of the question."

Serena was about to open her mouth to explain to him that the mating thing wasn’t hard when he clarified what he meant. Her face immediately twisted with confusion, so many rules to take a mate seemed silly. She was considered one of the highest rulers in her land and she could take anyone she wished to be her mate, well any druid she liked. From what she knew of human courtship it was one male and one female, while elves took a singular mate it was more for companionship, they didn’t limit themselves otherwise.

“This human marriage ritual is strange, I can choose any mate I like and that doesn’t limit me to that one partner. If I wanted to take other mates, or just spend my time with others I would be free to do so.” She explained, “Maybe it’s the difference of living centuries rather than decades.”

She examined him from head to toe, “It is hard to tell through your armor, from what I can tell you are attractive and strong. You would make an excellent lover, that is the only think human women should care about.” She paused, “None the less, if we are successful I will grant you these things.” She said almost dismissively. “We should ride on through to night fall, we can make camp in the forest and we should reach clearing by morning.” She explained, she pulled on her boots and mounted her mare.

He smiled, shaking his head. "No, no, no. Not ritual." He said, looking at her. "More like caste system. You can't marry out of caste. But since I was a commoner raised to a knight, I am something of anomaly." He sighed, looking out to the lake. "Something that shouldn't exist. The king, and at one point my master, is trying to change this, but there are people who like this system." But he didn't know if he got his point across, and he didn't really understood the system.

He gave her a genuine smile. "I thank you, my lady." He said, mounting his horse. He didn't know if she could do such a thing, but he didn't want to say that out loud. "Sounds good to me. I certainly don't want to travel by night. We can't see as well as you." He clicked his tongue, urging his horse to follow hers. His second horse, tethered to his first, followed with them.

Serena let out a little laugh, “I will have to take your word on that.” She let out a little laugh as she rode forward, as they moved through the forest the elven woman was noticeably quiet. Occasionally she would pause and listen before changing their direction winding through and out thicks of trees. Light started to fade as the sun set, and Serena found them another body of water so the horses could drink. She dismounted, this time walking around the small clearing scrutinizing it. She frowned, she didn’t feel the pull of Melz magic but she knew that was an unreliable indicator.

“We should be fine here.” She announced, but she wasn’t really sure, she just hoped the human did not catch onto that. She pulled some items from her own pack, one item looked like a soft bread, she took a bite before stuffing it back in her pack.

“I am going to go gather some wood and see if there are any fruits for the horses, I should only be gone a few moments. I know it would be hard for you to see.” She explained before disappearing into the trees.

A few minutes passed when someone joined Dral, she was a beautiful elven woman. Her long blonde hair went well past her waist, she wore robes similar to Serena’s but the stitching was colorful. Her soft blue eyes settled on the human night, her pale slender figure almost glowed in the moonlight. “Dral Bralor, modest human knight, I am Melz of the light.” She approached him, stopping just a foot away from her. Her ears unlike Serena’s pointed a bit outwards, her figure more boyish and slender that was to be expected of an elf woman.

“Do not worry, whatever my friend has told you, she is a bit dramatic.” Her voice was almost a song, each word flowed together like a notes in a melody. “Surely, you are much more reasonable than she, so spirited, so wrong. Do you really think the two of you can just wander into the mage king and change him?” She reached over and pressed her finger to his lips, “It’s okay, I can help you…”

She removed her finger from his lips, slipping it through the front of her robe and causing it to fall to her feet. She stood there naked before him, presenting herself to him, “You could have this, and much much more…” As she said more, around them illusions of naked human women walked towards them, surrounding them in the clearing. “I gave give you honor, I can give you fortune all you have to do is refuse to help Serena.”

Dral followed her down the wood trail, looking about. Once again they came up to a body of water. He had traveled these woods for years under the service of the king. But even then, he never saw this one before. It was almost completely untouched by humanity. With the sun setting, the view was quite beautiful. "I've never been here before." He breathed out, dismounting with a clink, his voice full of awe. He nodded, stepping back to his horse to start unloading his pack.

He was done unloading the packs and feeding Orar oats when the second elf appeared. When she spoke, he noticed that it was different from Serena. He turned, drawing his sword with trained speed. He settled in a dueling position, looking down the edge of the sword at her. She was much closer to him than he thought, within his guard. His sword lowered, unable to harmed an unarmed woman. "How do you know my name?" Every few knew of him leaving with the Elven princess, as they left early in the morning.

He took a step back, sword lowered to where the tip was in the dirt, keeping just arm distance from her. He listened to her, how could he not, hanging on every word she spoke. Reasonable she said. Yes, he could be reasonable. But he too was spirited, strong willed. Something rubbed him the wrong way, and it wasn't in his trousers.

But it was when she presented herself to him. He took another step back, looking at the beautiful elven woman. He stepped back against Orar, and the horse snorted, getting out of the human's way. He listened to her words. Honor, wealth, lands. All the things denied to him, granted with ease. If he refused to help his charge...

He blinked, he would break his oath, the oath he took by his king. "No." He muttered, voice laced with uncertainty. The logical part of his brain screamed at him, begging him to take back that word. But it was decided, fate sealed when Dral Bralor raised his sword again. "You may not understand the meaning of these words, witch. But I took an oath. Sworn upon this sword." The uncertainty from his voice was gone, replaced by cold stillness of steel. His sword was pointed straight to her heart. "Honor cannot be given. Only earned."

He spat on the ground between them, his green eyes never leaving her blue. "I refuse your offer." He didn't lower his sword. "I suggest you leave before I decided to kill an unarmed woman."

Melz eyes narrowed, the soft glow that had been illuminating her in the dark forest suddenly stopped. “You think me unarmed, you foolish mortal?” While she never raised her voice, it was clear by the sudden harsh tone he had angered her. The water behind him started to rise, hanging above his head. “It’s a shame, you could have been a fun play thi-“ Her words were cut off the by the sound of a crack. The water returned to it’s normal state and suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere Serena stood between Melz and the tip of Dral’s sword.

“Melz.” The red head said in a calm voice, a lazy grin spread across Melz face in response.
She shrugged her shoulders at Serena, “Well I had to try.” The two of them began speaking back and forth in their native tongue, while their voices remained calm it was clear by Serena’s stance they were still arguing. A large gust of wind swarmed the clearing, and Melz nearly lost her footing her eyes narrowing at Serena who had a smirk playing across her face.

“Fine.” The blonde finally answered, “Get yourself killed, see if I care.” Her tone was defiant. “You are too spirited, we are only trying to protect you.”

“Spirited enough to actually to do something, we have a duty to our people to protect them and what have you done? Tried to seduce the knight trying to help me? That is the most you have done in half a century.” Serena shook her head, she stepped out from in front of Dral. “You may relax Dral, this is Princess Melz.”

“I apologize; do not take my actions personal mortal this issue is beyond you.” This statement seemed to irritate Serena who gave her a swift glare.

“Do everyone a favor and tell Hena and Falkor to not bother.”

Melz let out a little laugh, “I will do no such thing.” And just as suddenly as Melz had appeared, she was gone.

Serena walked over to the clearing where she had stashed her gathered wood and a few apples, she walked back over to the camp as if nothing had happened. She was actually quite impressed that Melz magic hadn’t worked on the knight Dral but she didn’t know how to accurately express that.

Dral stared her down his sword, ready to meet his death if need be. He had killed elves before, and will kill her if she forced his hand. He didn't know if he would be successful, but he was bound to protect her, and Melz was a threat to Serena. He was about to lunge in attack as Serena appeared in front of his sword. He didn't lower his sword as they argue. He spoke broken elvish, catching maybe one word out of five if he was lucky.

His sword lowered, but stayed drawn. "I gathered that." He muttered, his green eyes never straying from the other elvish princess. He merely grunted at her halfhearted apology, spitting again. "You may think lowly of us, witch, but do not think that you can fall to our level." He growled.

He sheathed his sword as she disappeared. He looked where she was, unconvinced that she was really gone for a moment. He sighed, looking at the ground. He took a rolled up blanket from his pile of gear, unrolling it on the ground. He started to take his armor off, starting with his gauntlets, setting them out on the blanket in what seemed a specific place. He continued to do so until his armor was off and all he had was the soft padded armor that laid under it. He seemed comfortable in it, walking over to a saddle bag and put on a dark blue talberd over it.

He then started to start a fire with the wood gathered by Serena, not speaking of the encounter. He seemed a bit ashamed, finding purpose in starting the fire and get food going.

“I cannot say I have ever seen anyone beat Melz magic, even I have fallen victim to it once or twice.” Serena admitted, she re-examined his form as he removed his heavy metal armor. “She is considered the fairest beauty of the land.” She found a log near the fire and sat down, pulling up the hem of her gown so she could start to carefully remove her boots. As she wound her fingers through the laces she listened to the forest around them, it was finally quiet, she knew Melz had given up for now.

“I have to apologize, I did fail you. I knew Melz was listening I should have known…” She shook her head, finally slipping off her boots.

“There are four druid leaders, Falkor, Hena, Melz and myself. We obviously do not agree on this matter, I find myself often butting heads with them. I wonder if the elders chose wrong when they selected me.” A soft blush crept to her face, she realized she had never admitted that aloud. It wasn’t like her people to speak so freely of their emotions and feelings, humans were so much more emotive and it made him easier to express herself around.

He sat next to her, though he kept his boots on. He pulled more of the dried meat from a bag, tearing it in half like he had done earlier and offer her some. "You never failed me, my lady. It was a test, my test. If it didn't happen now, it would have happened later." He said with certainty, chewing his piece. He looked into the fire as he spoke. "Throughout life, fate will give us choices. The important ones are never easy."

He looked over to her, giving her a warm comforting smile. "Your journey, this task, is a test of your will to see it through. To complete it, you have had to improvise and do something none of your people have done. Ask my people for help." He explained, looking out to the lake. "And you have to stay the course to pass your test, to succeed in this task." He turned to her again, giving her that warm smile, his green eyes meeting hers. "You didn't fail today, you allowed me to pass my first test of this journey."

She lifted the scrap of cured meat to her nose, her face immediately contorting at the smell. She handed it back to him heading back to her own supplies and carrying her bag over, she pulled out the same soft bread from earlier. She broke it in half, the inside was filled with some sort of dried fruits. She offered him half as she listened to him speak, she let out a little laugh, “Yet again, you impress me this time with your wisdom.”

She shook her head, “I think you king made a bad deal, I offered him Azlin for protection in exchange for your escort. I fear I have faired far better in this deal.” She returned his smile, reaching over and brushing some hair from his face. It really was a pity he was not an elf, she may even have considered taking him for her mate.

“I will admit, I am a bit nervous about the journey ahead. I have never been far from these lands without a full escort of dragons and fellow elves.” She chewed on the bread.

He chuckled, taking the meat back from her. He put in on his knee for later, taking her pastry. Well, it looked like a pastry to him, and tasted like one when he took a bite. Although it didn't go well with the dried meat. Her joke went over his head, still on the serious topic of their task. "A Dragon is perfect for static defense." He said, then realizing that she was joking. Her touch was gentle, face different from a humans, but not unwelcome.

He looked around. "Sometimes a small group can go places where a large army cannot. We will be fine." He finished the pastry, nodding his thanks. He looked back to her, admiring her beauty. It was, like her touch, different than a humans, but was very pleasant. Her eyes were like sapphires, sparkling in the fire light. He shifted, getting closer to her. He casually wrapped his cape around her, sharing his warmth with her.

“I know, we are safer. In the morning I will change out of my royal robes, it is considered a dishonor among my people but there is no way we can proceed further with me looking like this.” She looked down at her all white robes and let out a little laugh, “Plus, I do not think this color aids well to being hidden.”

He wrapped his cloak around them, she found herself scooting closer to the human, her side pressing completely into him. She knew it was probably dangerous territory but they were about to spend a lot of time alone together, and Serena had always been dangerously curious.

“Tell hu-Dral, in your travels have you bedded many women?” She didn’t understand this question might be a bit forward for a human.