There was a small village at the edge of a dry vast land, nesting just before the long stretch of desert the village has rarely seen a visitor let alone venturing out into the vast desert. The sullen villagers were quite aware what lay far north at the far reaches of its burning plains. The Forbidden Forest was what the humans only whispered about when the storms that shook the houses from their foundations. Only when the storms came could you see the haunting forest light up in terror that seemed close but it was miles away. Hoping that the terrible tremors would stop, the storms lasted no longer than a week. Afterwards flowers and grass flourished about leading a trail straight through the desert. It was a mystery and a burden on the town. For there were some that would here of the rumors of the green path and come and wait tell the day that the forest green trail would appear, yet they fallowed and never returned. Finally after the imperial guards came requesting to know where the missing peoples went they knew that the village knew they had to put an end to the seekers of the trail. Sending the guards off with a puzzled story the village knew what lay at the end of the trail they knew it was the Forbidden Forest. Not knowing what was in that forest, yet curious nonetheless no one dared and the village prevented anyone from going.
The storm was a battle, the sound of thunder and metal clashing through the sky rang throughout the air as lightning flashed and streaked upon the land.  The village seemed to stand its ground not affected by the storm. In the tavern the villagers hid their fear and drank it away not expecting a visitor for some time. To their surprise lightning struck when the door opened and a lone cloaked figure stepped through the threshold. Falling face first the figure curled into a ball the only words croaked from the mouth was "Help".
The whole tavern was dead silent as they stared from one to the other. No one dared moved to where the figure lay crumpled just inside the door. The bars maid rushed by closed the door and hurried to the back of the room like a scared cat. The storm roared on as the body on the floor lay motionless.  Breaking the silence from around the room hushed whispers saying "no" and "don't touch it" coaxed the young girl from creeping over to the body. Standing over the lifeless figure she knelt down and rolled the body over. Her eyes widened after the hood of the cloak fell away revealing it was a man. And by the looks of it he was parched and near death she motioned for someone to bring water and carefully sat him up. Tilting his head into the groove of her arm she parted his lips. Slowly dripping some water into his dry mouth, the life seemed to flow back into him as he reached for the cup and drank heavily.
Looking around the room with a worried look the young girl felt all eyes on her. Staring at the man in her lap she sighed and spoke in a quiet yet loud enough voice for everyone in the room to hear. "We at least need to take him in; I won't stand here and watch someone die as if he was a plague from that storm! I know it's frightening we have no clue what he is here for. I don't feel that he is of threat; otherwise you know I would not be over here this close…So please someone help him to a room with some food and a warm bed. We can question him in the morning….Please?" The man stared at the girl with half closed eyes as he finished the water then fell back into a conscious enough state to be feeling his body  lifted off the ground, strong arms caring him up some stairs and placing him propped up on a bed. A warm blanket numbing away the cold from his feet as his boots were slipped off and put by the door. Smelling a hot plate of food woke him as he weakly sat up. Opening his eyes and looking around the wooden room he saw the door closing as the aroma of the girl that helped him drifted away. Smiling and reaching for the plate he gouged himself in the delights of the hot bread and cheese the meat melted down his throat as he regained his strength. Putting the empty plate by the bed he wrapped up in the blanket and fell into a deep sleep knowing that he would have a lot of questions and answers for the morning.  
That morning it was not the warm sun that streaked through the window but a bolt of lightning that shook the inn, knocking him out of bed and throwing his tangled body to the floor. Eyes wide and taking in his surroundings noticing that the room was still and quiet once more he sat up and untangled his body from the blanket. Looking for his pack the only thing that was with him when he arrived, he laughed lightly knowing it would have been confiscated. The emerald green bandana tied around his head had been the only thing not removed from him that night. Making sure his ears were tucked in he got up and started putting on his now dry clothes that were folded on the chair beside his bed. Stretching and letting the strength come back to his body he set off to speak with the village folk. Just about ready to open the door, there came a quiet knock that startled him aback. Opening the door the man looked about a foot down into the golden eyes of the girl from the night before.
Smiling and trying to warm the unfamiliar mood he scratched the back of his being careful not to let the bandana slip from around his ears. She spoke first in a quick and hushed tone, "I would like to speak with you before you are to meet with the whole village. Is that alright?" He noticed she did not look at him any longer and kept her eyes locked on the ground. As he moved aside to let her in the room he merely nodded and closed the door behind her. His voice was smooth and gentle different from his features. Whereas his jet black hair and beard seemed to give him a tough look his voice was calm and soothing. "That's fine as long as you don't make me leave or run off just yet, " He chuckled lightly and moved over to the chairs putting them so they faced one another. "Hey its ok you know I don't bite, go ahead sit down. So what is it that would like to talk to me about hmm?"
Looking at her standing by the door he didn't think she would come over and sit with him and was quite surprised when she did.  The girl seemed slightly nervous and though she was in full control of herself she sat down rather unladylike. "Look I know what you are and why you are here. I had a dream about you before the storms came, and was prepared to take the blame if the villagers find out about you. I am being so straight forward because we don't have time for chit chat. My name is Elania Sapphire daughter of Eldinari Sapphire and I am an elf in disguise watching over this place. The people of this village know me as human girl Elly Wildheart." She stopped talking to take a deep breath and before she started again he interrupted her. "Excuse me are you being serious?! What about your ears…ther-there normal! And I thought all of us elves have you know gone into hiding? Man never thought something like this would happen….when I got here…"
He felt her golden eyes upon him as he placed his hands on his knees.
(Hey everyone,, so I wrote this when I was like 16 never finished it and it stops there. sorry)
© ashcrisb