literature

Untitled - Chapter 4

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Sitting upright suddenly, her lissome frame nearly falling through the branches, Artemis inhaled sharply in surprise. Visual manifestations of a nameless fear etched themselves into her mind, as the echoes of fading battle cries accompanied the graphic images.

Having heard the rustle of the otherwise gently billowing branches, the elf accompanying her shifted in his leafy hammock.

The raven-haired girl swung her legs over the side of her resting place and walked bare foot toward the rushing fresh water that had lulled her to sleep the night before. Slipping her feet inside the cool river, Artemis knelt down to cup her hands and bring some of the refreshing liquid up over her, letting it trickle down from her forehead. The renewing resource was as significant as the tree she called home. The ever flowing stream was the source of drink, of cleansing, and of a nightly cooing lullaby.

As he began to wake up, Kieran dragged his hands over his face tiredly, and stood up to stretch. Walking from his perch and toward the stream in hopes that some cool water would wake him fully, he stopped as he spotted Artemis through the trees leading to the water's edge. He tilted his head as he stood behind the tree and watched her; not as a man watches a woman, but as a curious boy watches a goddess.

Feeling a presence behind her, Artemis turned her head over her bare shoulder from where she sat in the water. Seeing the elf's vibrant eyes from beyond a thin blanket of leaves, the huntress turned back and looked into the water. Those eyes; those curious eyes. She had never seen eyes watch her with any emotion beside fear. The raven-haired girl stood and dried herself lightly with a small towel before slipping into her river-washed and sun-dried clothes.

He had been seen. Guilt pricked at his conscience, for he had done with his father had told him not to do. 'She is not to be underestimated,' the Oracle had told Kieran. And he knew that. But she was an Enigma; something he had never encountered in his life. Hearing her soft footfalls come close, he walked to where he left his bag and shuffled through it to grasp a flint. He walked to a pile of firewood he had gathered the night before and started a fire.

Artemis knelt to pick up her quiver and slung it across her back as she approached Kieran. "We need to get moving. We can reach the edge of the Brey by mid day. And onto the nearest village. I am in need of a smithy to sharpen my arrows."

He looked up from where he was in front of the fire. "Eat first," he said, trying to make it sound like an important suggestion. The young woman opened her mouth to protest, but closed her lips and sat across from him, watching him turn a skinned bird on a spit over the lapping orange flames.

They ate silently, the only accompanying sound provided by the wind whistling through the trees.

After a long walk through the rest of the Brey forest, the two travellers reached the grassy knoll over looking a small village that Kieran identified as 'Shoalside'. It was so named, as Artemis could see, because of the large body of water it resided beside with a vast sandbar in the middle, connecting one side of the lake to the other shore.

As they neared, a child ran up to Kieran. The boy called his name loudly and with glee. The elf smiled. "Go fetch Magistrate Jahl. Tell me I have a guest to introduce to him."
As requested.
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AtotheX's avatar
Uh oh! Scandalous.