The Elven Curse

Chapter 12

Aerin had successfully done everything until now.

Everything was great until the scent lured him inside the woods and now he was lost. The scent disappeared and he was terrified, he didn't know where he was.

He looked around with labored breath, everything was blurred with darkened edges, and his vision was obscured by the stress and lack of oxygen.

He'd been walking completely disoriented, walking in no precise direction and purpose, until the scent came back and pulled him insistently, he almost groaned with irritation but followed anyway.

He could see small flecks of sparks in the air, forming a trail and leading him to the source of the scent.

The bright blue dots tickled his skin as he passed them, green trees leaned towards him, trying to get closer to him as did the plants at his feet.

He walked dazed to wherever he was being pulled, his hesitant steps started to move confidently and faster, and in no time, he was running as fast as he could.
The trees he passed turned into a blurred mess flashing through his eyes.

He got closer to it and a foreign feeling settled in his chest, his heart thumped loudly in his ears and he could feel the ground at his feet beating with it. Sudden excitement took over and he couldn't help but smile at the pleasant feeling.

The feeling that had accumulated in his chest was about to explode, but instead, pain exploded on his forehead, spreading down his spine and traveling through his body.

The newfound pain was so intense the whimper that escaped past his lips was inevitable.

The impact of whatever had crashed into him, or he'd crashed into, sent him flying to his side and roll down a hill covered with leaves and grass, which thankfully comforted the fall as they bent towards him, protecting him from any possible damage and leading his moving body to a soft meadow.

He laid there, unmoving, his chest heaving up and down rapidly, sweat covering his forehead and his heart thumping loudly and vastly inside his chest. His legs were trembling intensely from the sudden rush of adrenaline.

The pain that lingered on his forehead led him to whimper and groan in pain continually, he didn't even bother to repress them as he'd forgotten the possible danger from whatever he'd hit.

He laid there for a few minutes, trying to catch his breath and waiting for the pain to mitigate. He raised his head still stuck in some deep part of his mind.

When someone emerged from the deep shadows his eyes widened, they weren't like him or anyone he'd ever seen in the palace, the man that started taking big steps towards him was tall, very tall. And the scent he'd been smelling came from him. Aerin had seen people like the prince or workers that were bigger than many, but nowhere near the size of this man.

He stared at the man's robust shoulders and the muscles of his arms.

Why can't I look like that?

He stared so intensely that he had completely forgotten how to move his limbs, his mouth had gone limp and he was brought back to reality by drool oozing from his mouth slowly.

His eyes widened and he quickly wiped it with the back of his hand, his face flushed red and he stared at the approaching man with big eyes.

You're so embarrassing!

He did the first thing that came to his mind. Run. He moved his legs as fast as he could, dodging dry trees on the way clumsily.

He could feel the man at his heels, screaming and begging him to stop, but he wouldn't listen.