The Ballad Of Forest & Snakes

Chapter 1

Forgotten memories hurt.

Elvenia looked at Linden and Sparrow, reminiscing wistfully as if they were just a forgotten memory. Linden, golden-haired with olive skin, turned around, laughing. She caught Elvenia's eye, offering a small smile before going back to Sparrow.

No one wanted to be friends with the failed Cursed Mistake of Rowan. She stopped daydreaming of savaging her friendship with Linden and Sparrow through her home's window, getting up to walk to the kitchen.

"Grandma Elodie," Elvenia called out, spotting Grandma Elodie sitting in a rocking chair, leering forward and then back. "I'm going outside to hunt," she said, toying with the ring on her pinkie.

Elodie Foster blinked, almost dazed. "Alright, dearest. Get rid of that ring, will you?" Grandma asked and Elvenia was taken aback. Grandma Elodie-in her full glory with papery pale skin, graying stands of red hair, and brown eyes-never asked Elvenia of such things. "You're stuck in a loop, Elya."

Elvenia muttered, "Grandma, Elya's is Mother's name. I'm her daughter, your granddaughter, Elvenia, remember? Mother isn't here anymore." Grandma Elodie lurched forward, squinting.

"No, you are Elya. Elvenia is much shorter, she's still an itty-bitty baby..." She went off rambling in the rocking chair in the kitchen, next to their worn, wooden dinner table.

"Okay, well, I'm going out now, I'll bring home next week's dinner." Elvenia gathered a quiver of arrows, her father's bow, and a lanky spear that was as tall as her. She was heading out the door when Grandma Elodie bellowed;

"Stay away from the Peregrine Border, away from the Naga lands and the Lamia Folks!"

"Got it, Grandma," Elvenia mumbled, her feet creaking under their wooden porch. She walked along the rocky path and travelled further away from the Fosters' modest cottage. On her way, she passed by Linden Winchell and Sparrow Lorne who were sitting on the tall, spiked grass under a shady tree.

The sunlight peeked through the tree's leaves and branches, reflecting off of Sparrow's dark complexion and black curls. "Oh, hi, Elvenia." His response was short and curt, so Linden elbowed him.

"How have you been?" Linden asked, smiling so far it reached her blue eyes.

"Okay." Elvenia toyed with her ring. "I'm going hunting."

"I've heard that there's been less buckshots, weird since it's just around mating season," Sparrow replied. His father was a big hunter in the Rhoswen Clan, well-respected and well-known in the Naim lands. "Also there were fewer jackalopes."

Buckshots were usually referred to as deers, the same goes for jackalopes since they're known as rabbits, but Elvenia knew Sparrow couldn't resist bragging about his knowledge. "Well, I'll let you know if I should go fishing for garyns instead. Have a nice afternoon..."

She quickly took off, not wanting to be near her ex-friends. Behind her, she could make out the whispers of Sparrow and the loud hushes of Linden. What happened to us? Elvenia wanted to ask. Why did we fall out? She went through the Naim town square, clutching her spear. Do I look abrasive? She hoped not, she needed luck on her side.

Elvenia breathed in the familiar scent of oak and pine, feeling her muscles loosen. The calming noise of songbirds always made her feel at ease in Naim, even if she viewed it as a failure of Rowan, the God of Forests.

She walked along the crooked stonework of the sidewalks, passing by the night market, which was still set up. Elvenia soon made it out of the townsquare, heading into wilder forest territory.

Away from the other Rhoswen Folks, she began to hum a ballad that Mother taught her. "In the heart of the forest, where trees stand tall, each leaf whispers secrets in the wind's embrace, nature's beauty surrounds us, one and all..." Suddenly, she heard cries and paused.