Hidden Kingdom

Chapter 0.1

The moon shone through the canopy of the trees giving everything it touched a silver glow. The leaves crunched slightly under my feet as I moved through the forest. I froze as I saw a glimmer from beside me. I turned slowly as I reached for the blade at my hip, opting for close range battle rather than what I was good at, a bow and arrow. I was already on top of the threat so there was no real way to use the bow. I pulled the blade from its sheath and it began glowing as soon as my hand wrapped around the hilt. The purple glow allowed me to see a little better as I shuffled towards the tree. The glimmer came back as I moved closer to the tree and realised that the glimmer was sap, dripping slowly from a cut in the tree.

I feel my hand subconsciously grip the hilt tighter. With my opposite hand, I reach out to touch the sap. Still wet. The gash in the tree is fairly new. I took the battle stance as I checked my surroundings again. Something had made the gash in the tree quite recently meaning they could still be around. Was it made by the one I am tracking? Or someone else? Maybe it was just an animal... Either way. I am not alone in this rainforest. I closed my eyes to let my other senses take over as the darkness was overwhelming my sight.

I hear the wind blowing above the canopy, causing the leaves above to rustle. I hear the creak of a tree branch as a bird lands in a tree, somewhere above. I hear the flutter of a butterfly's wings as it floats by my- I hear the snap of a twig and then the intake of a short breath. Someone is here, and they're close. I quickly duck behind the tree, keeping as quiet as possible and now regretting the dull glow of my blade. I grip the blade tighter still and listen again. Someone is definitely out there. But they're not trained. Their breathing is terribly uneven and they continue to move, even though only slightly. This is not an assassin and this is not who I came out here looking for. I opened my eyes and in the small sliver of moonlight I caught sight of the intruder. The tips of  black antlers shone back at me, standing out from the rest of the forest. Then the little head popped up so I could see his face. I instantly knew their identity.

The stupid Animorphial followed me out here even when I told him not to. It was a sign though. A sign I had not been paying enough attention to my surroundings. His name was Cedar and he had stopped me on my way out of the city, damn near got himself killed then too. He wanted my help. I didn't even listen to what he wanted. I already had a mission.

I pocketed the blade, opting now for my favourite weapon and my favourite scare tactic. Attached to the arrow was a piece that whistled as flew through the air. The whistle was not loud enough to draw attention but was damn near enough to scare a small Animorphial with no battle training. Cedar now stood in the slight opening I had previously been standing in, looking around completely lost.

I lined up the arrow, pulling the string back up towards my mouth as I had always been taught. Closing one eye and breathing in, I focused on the exact spot I wanted to put the arrow. Breathe out. Fire!

The arrow whistled satisfyingly straight past Cedar's ear and into a tree not far behind him. I quickly fired another arrow past the other ear. I threw the bow back over my shoulder and across my chest then quickly scaled the tree quietly. I jumped across the branches silently, utilising the training torture I had endured for a hundred years, until I was right above the stupid Animorphial.

"CEDAR! You have entered the forest without permission. Turn back now!" I ordered in my deepest, most threatening Forest keeper voice.

"Gaelira Shareith. I demand your attention," Cedar's voice bellowed. As he spoke, he began to grow. He stood up straighter, got a few feet taller and his muscles stretched his shirt to its limits. This was no long the Cedar from the village. "Your reputation precedes you, not only in the village but far. You are not easy to track down. I need your help and I will not ask again," he demanded, his deeper voice now seeming to echo through the forest.

My mind raced as I tried to figure out what to do. He's untrained so I could run but no other Animorphial I have ever met has been able to do what Cedar just did. The Animorphial have been around since the beginning of history, just like the elves, but somewhere in their history, they were mixed with animals, now they walk around as essentially elves but with their specific animal characteristics. None of those animal characteristics has ever involved this type of magic.

Even in the small amount of moonlight, I could see his chest moving up and down as he breathed. I could see his fist clenching as he awaited my response. I closed my eyes and listened. Besides Cedar's breathing and the whistle of the wind through the trees, the only noise was the soft chirp of crickets in the distance. I grabbed out both of my blades, rarely ever usually reaching for both. I steadied myself in the tree, making sure I was in the right position. I jumped, doing a front flip in the air before landing in front of Cedar, one knee down on the floor in a classic superhero pose. My silver hair fell in front of my eyes as I looked up at him, attempting to hold a menacing glare. 

"What do you want Cedar? I am a little busy," I growled at him.

"I need your help, Elf. I hear your the best at your job. I am here to ask for your help and offer my protection in return. Heaven knows you need it, considering how far I tracked you without you realising," Cedar growled back.

"I knew you were there," I stated, knowing my lie was probably pretty obvious.

"Oh really? Then why did you seem so surprised by the cut I put ino that tree," Cedar replied, gesturing to the tree and blowing my lie right open. 

"That was you?" I asked warily, glancing back over at the tree.

"Yes. Now, will you help me?"