Only Winter Knows

Rowan

A young sorcerer's sitting on a tree branch, entertained by watching a very distressed elf striding towards the forest he's hiding in. A black cape making it hard to spot the being from the shadows of the tree. A sharp pair of eyes follow the approaching young elf until he stops close by, on a small opening in the forest.

.

Kata slumps down on the soft pile of leaves he found. The fall really has it's benefits, if you don't think about the cold winter following.
He stares at the multicolored galaxy above him. If Kata's lucky, he'll have another few hours before anyone notices he sneaked out. The elf relaxes against the crunching mattress of his and closes his eyes.

Not a minute later Kata hears a crunch. Probably an animal, no big deal.

"I thought elves were hard to ambush and all that."

Startling up, Kata's eyes widen as he franctically searches for the source of the voice. His gaze lands on a hooded figure jumping down from a tree, just feets away from where he was trying to nap. Holy fuck.

"Who the hell are you?" The elf snarls while gathering his magic on his hands, making them glow blue.

"Ohh a prince you are, then? Honestly I expected more. I've heard so much about you, Kata is it?" Continues the figure without a care.

Kata grits his teeth and consideres just attacking, leaving the diplomacy or whatever it's called.

"You're clearly not an elf. You lack the grace for that. So what are you doing this close to our main walls? Answer now and I won't have to make this hurt."

"I must say, threaths are always the highlight of my day. So unique you are! Anyways, I was just strolling around and this tree was simply perfect! A lovely view you have around here", smiles the, based on voice, young male.

"Fine, have it your way", Kata growls and lunges forward.

Before the elf can get a good hit at the other, said opponent flicks his wrist and Kata falls face first onto the grass. He flips his hair away from his eyes and looks at his foot, seeing a root of a tree tightly wrapped around his ankle.

"You're a sorcerer, aren't you?"

"So are you", replies the man.

"No I'm not! Not like you at least. My magic's in my blood, not just some stupid spells and learned tricks like yours", Kata spits out and rips his leg free.

"Ouch", the sorcerer dramatically places a hand on his chest

He lifts his hand up and slides the hood of his cloak away.

"It was nice to meet you, though, prince of the elves. My name's Rowan", The man, Rowan, bows and turns to walk away.

His hair is just slighltly shorter than Kata's. It's silver in color and flows smoothly in the gentle breeze, reaching his defined jawline every once in a while. And despite having a middle part, a few grey strands fall on his eyes. The sorcerer's figure is tall and graceful, showing full confidence with every step. He can't be much older than Kata. Maybe the same age? Rowan's eyes are a scary shade of blue, almost grey. If it wasn't for his tanned, light brown skin, Kata would say he looks like a corpse.

"Now hold up!" Kata dusts his clothes from the dirt. His white blouse isn't looking so white anymore and the black leather pants have a rip at the ankle.

Rowan turns back, raising a questoning eyebrow.

"If I ever see you here again, you won't get away this easily. Got it?"

"Yes, your highness", The sorcerer chuckles.

Rowan walks off and Kata is left alone. He watches the spot where he saw the man dissapear. If a sorcerer was here, he could've been a spy. Or something. Maybe. You never know, right? Kata shakes his head and decides to just not think about it. He was always taught that sorcerer's, along with dwarfs, should be kept at a distance. Firstly, because they're the other two big kingdom's ruling large parts of the land in Astraea. Secondly, sorcerer's are known for their tricks and dwarfs for their weapons. So getting involved with them could be dangerous and even lead to war. Kata's a bit of a hypocrite when it comes to judging someone for using tricks, though. Hesitantly  he starts walking back to the castle, no longer feeling like spending time in the forest.

.

A window slides open soundlessly as a black figure climbs in from it. Taking off the hood once more, Rowan sighs and turns around.

"Thanks for covering me again, Gi", The sorcerer smiles apologetically to his friend.

Said girl looks up from her book and shrugs.

"Not much I had to do, to be honest. They only checked once and I just said you took a break and went outside."

Rowan nods and takes off his cloak.

"Where were you for real? As your saviour I have the right to know", the girl says as she closes her book.

"Just went to get some air, all the studying was making my head hurt."

"You haven't opened a book in years, Rowan. Tell me the truth! Or I might just strangle you in your sleep and do all of us a favour."

Rowan scoffs and pats the shorter on the head.

"You wouldn't. Anyways, I really was just out in the forest. You know, all those new spells are getting on my nerves", Rowan turns and walks to the other wall of the room, where there is a wooden chair.

"They don't even understand what they're trying to teach! The spells are weak and won't improve my abilities in any way. I need to learn from someone who actually knows magic and doesn't just teach kids to become soldiers. It's crazy how all the so called masters care about is preparing children for war that isn't even coming!"

"Right...as a non magic user I can't really say much. But I swear, I hope you're not thinking about what I think you are. Going to someone outside of this kingdom for help would be a suicide mission."

"You're one to speak! What's a dwarf doing here huh?" Rowan smirks.

"You know very well what I meant. And besides, as you know, I have a permission and I'm about to leave right about now actually", the dwarf girl smiles sarcastically and gets up from Rowan's bed.

"Nooo I didn't mean it I'm sorry, do you have to go?"

"Yeah the gates close soon and even if home isn't far I'm gonna be late soon. My parents hate how much time I spend here and you know it."

Before Rowan has the chance to answer, someone beats him to it.

"Giselle! The gates are closing! It's time to quit studying for today", yells a high female voice from a close by room.

"Going, thanks!" The girl, Giselle, yells back and raises a brow at the sulking sorcerer.

"Well, see ya!" She says and jumps out from the still open window.

Rowan sighs and closes his eyes.