The sun peeked out over the trees; the grass swayed so gently against a weak wind. Liri wandered about her forest, searching by the usual spots. With the coming of summer, she didn’t have to stay inside anymore. She filled her basket with all sorts of fruits and mushrooms, enough of each kind to entertain her for the week.

  She checked her traps, finding a stray rabbit caught in one of them. Liri held the squealing creature up by the ears, ready to quiet him down. A sudden rustling made her jump. She dropped the rabbit and he quickly scampered away.

  ‘Lucky bastard,’ she muttered, before quickly turning to see what had interrupted her.

  Liri instinctively covered her ears, her mind going blank. Out of the bushes, a knight in rusted armour fell to the floor. She gripped the handle of her knife, taking a few steps back. He pushed himself back up, standing on shaky knees.

  ‘You wouldn’t happen to be Illara, now would you dear?’ he asked, his voice coarse but pleasant to hear. Liri shook her head, loosening her grip on the handle and lowering her hands. Illara had been her great-grandmother, she was surprised a human still lived who remembered her name.

  The knight shook his head, his helmet loudly scraping against his armour. Bits of moss and root had grown against his chest-plate, snaking their way around to his back. Liri was curious; it was hard not to be. This was the first human that had entered the grove since, well her great-grandmother.

  His foot had gotten stuck in the overgrowth and he was struggling to pull himself out. He grunted loudly, startling a small family of sparrows that had come to watch.

  ‘I can help you!’ she stammered suddenly, clenching her fists awkwardly. The knight looked back up at her and nodded.

  ‘Thank you kindly,’ he said as Liri crouched and snipped at the vines with her knife, freeing him.

  He continued walking, travelling down the way he’d come.

  ‘U-um!’ Liri called out, the knight slowly turning his head again, ‘Where are you going?’

  ‘Stonehold Keep,’ the knight responded, returning back to his sluggish pace. Liri’s sharp ears perked up at the name, she’d heard many stories about its former glory. She’d even been there once.

  She dashed after the knight, basket in hand. He hadn’t put any distance between them, and she doubted he would even if given the time. Side by side with him, she held her basket nervously.

  ‘I know about the place,’ she said, shakily fiddling with a funny shaped mushroom. Liri didn’t know why but something about his looming presence made her so nervous. Or maybe it was his voice…

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  ‘Ah, well the elves are wise,’ his voice muffled slightly by the helmet, which Liri realised bothered her though she couldn’t explain why. ‘Now you must simply excuse me, I have urgent matters to attend to there.’

  And he quickened his pace but not by much.

  Liri continued walking next to him, humming against the beat of his boots. Something was so strangely fascinating about this man. She just had to know more.

  ‘I can help you get there faster,’ She said loudly, whistling a little. Whether this annoyed the knight or not, he didn’t show any signs of it.

  ‘Really?’ He exclaimed, ‘W-Where?’

  The knight suddenly paused, realising he’d spoken too quickly because now Liri was grinning at him. He cleared his throat, as though that made it any better, and repeated himself—this time a little more firmly and politely.

  ‘If you would please lead the way, Miss Elf.’ He lowered his neck in a sort-of half bow. Liri wasn’t exactly pleased but she accepted it nonetheless, reciprocating a half curtsey.

  ‘Of course, Mr Knight,’ she teased him. Again, no reaction but she felt that she was cutting just a little into that metal exterior. ‘Here! Quickly follow me now.’ She ran up ahead of him, waiting patiently as he stumbled over the small hills and holes littering her forest.

  He was so terribly slow but for whatever reason, she didn’t mind it.

  ‘So, Mr Knight, what’s this urgency at Stonehold?’ she asked, trying to pass the time.

  And this time, he did humour her.

  ‘The keep’s been overrun. I’ve been called to come repel the invaders.’ He said with such a seriousness that it made Liri giddy with excitement. A real adventure!

  ‘What kinds of invaders?’ Liri twirled her hair nervously, ‘And are they the kind you can handle all on your own, Mr Knight?’

  ‘Ghouls, goblins, wraiths…’ he said, walking just a little faster, ‘And yes, I can deal with them.’

  ‘Hm,’ she tapped against his rusted exterior. It rattled a bit. ‘Are you sure you’re strong enough?’

  ‘I’ve never faltered.’ The knight said, ‘Not once.’

  Liri wasn’t sure whether she’d said something to offend him, but just to be safe she kept quiet for the next few hours of their journey. Every now and again, she helped the knight out of ditches and vines. His sword was too rusted to cut through any of the teeming plant-life. She really did wonder whether he’d be able to fight back these invaders of his.

  Night fell fast; it was hard for it not to when they moved at such an unhurried pace. For someone who claimed it was so urgent that he return, he didn’t make any sign of it. Liri was in no rush of her own so she didn’t think of it too deeply.

  They rested by a small fire she’d made herself. She didn’t want to be too overbearing, the least she could do was help him stay warm.

  ‘Here,’ she held out a roasted mushroom to the knight. The knight held up his hand as a silent way of declining her. She shrugged, finishing the food herself.

  She gave him a quizzical stare, ‘What’s your name, Mr Knight?’ The knight feigned a sleep but he shifted ever so slightly at the sound of her voice. Liri sighed, lying on her back and staring up at the sky. He was so quiet, so unbothered by her presence, this knight. Liri wondered what it was like, to live like the humans did. She’d only ever heard stories, after all.

  Humans could be cruel; they could raze forests and kill elves over nothing more than a want for land.

  Humans could be kind; they could foster children they hadn’t birthed.

  Liri didn’t understand, but she wanted to. So, she made up her mind to learn as much as she could about him in the coming weeks.