Chapter Text
Wind softly ruffled with leaves, as the moon light up the dark forest. Even with the moon being in its full form, it was still hard to see. The magical mist protected the forest and its residents. Light crunches of dried up leaves echoed around. Someone was sneaking in a place they shouldn't.
This forest was as well known as the Arethron. Forest, filled with magic, and protected by magical creatures, who lived on top of the tall trees - elves. Elves protected this land, and in return, they received protection from the forest itself. If outsiders tried to get inside the forest, they could, but they would never find their way out.
Why would someone go inside a place like this, knowing they won't get out? Reason is the treasure. Arethron forest was well known for its rare animals, which hunters couldn't keep their hands off. Their body parts ended up sold on the black market.
"Who is here?!" Someone said.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, there was a complete silence. Everything seemed to freeze. The hunter who was sneaking around earlier stood on their place, patiently waiting.
From the top of trees jumped down another person. Night black hair shined in the moonlight. Electric blue eyes with cat slits shined from behind a mask. Just from a glare, the traveler knew they weren't welcome there.
"Human? Why are you here? What is your business? Reveal yourself if you value your life."
Traveler pulled down their hood, revealing snow-white hair and beautiful golden eyes. He knew that if he kept himself hidden under the hood, it would cause problems with the masked guy.
"I am here looking for herbs. My younger sister is in grave danger, and only some plant named Pherla or something like it could save her life." He spoke, his voice filled with sadness and worry. The person stared at him, like they tried to stare deeply into his soul. For a few seconds, there was silence.
"The herb you are looking for is Phrelda flower, also known as the flower of life. It is one of rarest flowers growing inside this forest." The person spoke and broke eye contact, clearly trying to think what to do with said traveler.
"Can you help me or not?"
More silence. Traveler already picked up a hint that this person might be one of the elves living here. If this elf says no to helping him, he might as well leave this place. One single 'no' and entire forest will be against him, trying to kill him. But he couldn't give up, for his poor, sick, little sister.
"Very well, human. I will help you. You cannot hurt any creature while we are here and, you are not allowed to take with yourself anything else but that flower. Understood?" Human nodded in agreement.
"Sleep for now. We have a long journey ahead." Masked elf spoke and returned into treetops. Without argument, the white-haired decided to go to sleep. He kept his guard up because he never trusted elves.
The morning came quite fast. The elf jumped down from the top and elegantly landed on the ground. The mask still covering the face.
"Let's go. If you end up getting lost, it will be your fault and your death." Elf spoke. There was something female-like in that voice.
"How am I supposed to call you?" he asked, he wanted to find out more about this individual, for his mysterious reasons.
"..."
Ah, the lovely silence. It became such a typical reaction from the elf. The said elf ignored that question and started walking. The white-haired guy quickly got up and started to follow the elf. He had to admit that the forest looked beautiful in the daylight. He noticed a bunch of bird-like creatures flying across the sky. Melodies from different animals around, it was beautiful. Maybe, it was way too much beautiful. Something deep inside kept scoffing at this place. Something very deep inside him wanted to set this entire place on fire. But his guider wouldn't like it, now would they?
"... me Guardian." Said the masked person out of nowhere. The white-haired guy was surprised for a second.
"I beg your pardon? I wasn't paying attention, my deepest apologies." He spoke with his best made up smooth voice.
"I said you call me Guardian." The Guardian said again. "And how am I supposed to call you, human?"
Another surprise. Typically, elves didn't care about humans. They didn't care about anyone else except themselves. Well, that was a lie. They did care about one more thing. That thing was another nation - Demon nation. Demons were the worst nation of them all. They were brutal, had demonic magic, and enjoyed destruction. Everyone feared them, and everyone had a solid reason to do such a thing. Some had their homes destroyed by the all the wars demons start. Sadly everyone knew the demons had one goal - conquer the entire world. The male shook his head, trying to clear his mind from too much thinking.
"I'm... Ixrany." He said. He waited a short time for a response. Like he was somehow important. And, he was.
"Am I supposed to know what you are? Keep your tone down, human. You are just a mere traveler."
"My bad, Guardian." He started again in his smooth voice. "I should have known that an elf wouldn't know about me. I apologize for my tone. I am a prince from one of the human kingdoms." He continued. His golden eyes shined a little bit. But there was something behind them. Hard to guess what it was.
"A prince? Why would the king allow his offspring to leave the safety of walls and venture into this deadly forest?" Guardian asked with a lot of curiosity in their voice.
"As I mentioned yesterday, it is for my little sister. King is too old to go alone and, if he sent soldiers, you would kill them before they would get into the forest. His only choice was to send me, his only son and heir, for this mission." He continued in his smooth voice. He noticed that it indeed affected the Guardian.
"Very well, your little majesty. I will do my best to keep you safe we wouldn't want another war with your people, would we?" The Guardian replied. It sounded like they had a small playful smirk on their face. "Let's move faster. The longer we stay in one place, the higher chance we will get caught by Crusgaris."
Guardian started to walk a bit faster than before. The prince was nearly behind them.
"What's a Crusgaris?"
A roar echoed from far behind them. The sound was so powerful that the ground shook from it and, the entire forest fell silent. Prince looked alarmed and looked up at Guardian, who stood on the same spot without a single shiver, but who knows what was truly happening behind the mask. They turned around to face the prince.
"Does that explain it to you? Believe me or not, even elves leave the monster alone. Very few of us lived to tell the tale of an encounter with this creature. Let's go." They started to walk. Prince did their best to be on the same pace as they were.
"How do you know about it then?" He expected any kind of answer, but a chuckle wasn't one.
"I'm the Guardian, what, do you think? I know everything about this forest, from the animals, to plants. Why do you think I am taking you to that flower? I am the only one who knows where it blooms. And even if someone magically learned where it blooms, I am still only one who knows how to get there. Also, aren't you quote curious, your majesty?"
The prince laughed a bit. "I maybe am. In the end, I am one of few who got into this forest and didn't die during the first minute they encountered with elf." His voice was full of pride.
"I can quickly change that." Answered elf in cold tone. That was a clear sign for him to stop talking for now.
They had quite a journey ahead. The prince knew he had limited time to save his sister. A small, barely noticeable, a smirk appeared on his lips. His golden eyes shined again.
Oh, he was so lucky he met this kind of elf.