The Effect

Lo, guard me!

    "Estalet! Can you help me dear? It's too many things to carry again", the old miss Benar asks from afar, "When do I ever deny you of help miss Benar?", a now, 17 year old Estalet, chuckles. The young high guard happily skips over to miss Benar to help her carry things she needs at her house, "Thank you so much forever and why do you always have to be so correct, Estalet?", miss Benar asks while she pats Estalet's head of black hair in thanks.

    "I am pretty sure that everyone will make a mistake at one time or another", Estalet smiles widely, despite the heavy load in her hands, 'I can't believe everyone actually believes this lady is very mean, she seems so nice!', Estalet jokes in her mind. As the young guard and aging lady begin to walk down the wide cobblestone street with small houses along the sides, Estalet becomes deep within thought about her training and how busy she is going to be this week.

   "So! Your going to participate in the young high guard's tournament, I surely hope?", miss Benar asks excitedly. "Wouldn't miss it for the world! Though, I have the honors of putting up and taking down the decorations and such for the whole week, unfortunately", Estalet answers both enthusiastic and disappointingly. The older woman sighs sadly, "Why do they have to always give you the dirty work Estalet? Honestly, I think you should try asking them if you can do some lighter work... again", "I asked before and I never shall intend to even think of asking ever again... I still remember", The saddened high guard replies, "Even if I am good at swordsmanship", Estalet adds quickly.

    The rest of the walk was silent and the guard became consumed into her thoughts again. "What was that?", Estalet almost had jumped, she was so surprised that she also almost didn't hear what the elderly lady had asked. She knows for a fact that the woman beside her had keen senses though the age had wore down her appearance.

   It takes a second before the guard was able to compose herself again, only to be alerted by the old woman's words'. Touching her long-sword by her side, she asks the lady, "Did you hear something or see something miss Benar?", miss Benar looks around curiously before responding," I'm not sure, maybe the age is finally wearing down my senses to madness", though the young guard was still, well, on guard.

    Looking up to the sky, the guard notices the sky now darkens to night, 'this walk seemed longer than other times...', Estalet concludes to herself. Moving her eyes back to the road, she see's the woman's small house nearing. "Looks like we-", miss Benar gets cuts off by Estalet, whom had tackled her to the ground. Estalet had been right on time, for she heard a arrow whiz right past her ear, 'only a few inches away from my ear, no less I'd say!', Estalet comments to herself.

    "Stay down! The enemy is hidden! I cannot let you get hurt!", Estalet viciously whispers while kneeling down in a protective stance in front of her old friend. 'At night they attack', Estalet sighs to herself, though not losing her stance. "Stand down! Please! I am no enemy!", a feminine voice calls out, "Ask miss Benar she knows me Estalet! She also has told me about you!", a hint of laughter in the voice coming from the dark shade of the tree's. "Miss Benar?", the young high guard cautiously asks, "Ah, yes, it's my niece, she visits so less now it saddens me!", miss Benar responds with a hint of laughter as well.

    Before the guard can even stop the old woman, she is already running towards the forest, only to be met in the middle by the said niece with a loving hug. Ah yes, Estalet can see the slight similarities between the faces, even with miss Benar's aging face. 'But what with the arrow which had missed me by a hairs width?', the young guard questions, though not aloud of course.

    Estalet narrows her eyes which were directed toward the niece. "Hello, as you have said, you have heard about me, but have you been acquainted with me?", the young high guard says after walking towards the two. "Ah, excuse my impoliteness, but without furthering my embarrassment, my name is Anarie", the niece says after doing a curtsy, of course, Estalet does the same ,"And mine, Estalet, as you have said".

    Keeping a watchful eye on Anarie, the young guard says politely, "It's getting even more-so dark out, you know what they say, I recommend us moving along quickly", "Your house should be very close to here, miss Benar", she adds. "Ah, I suppose so Estalet, Anarie are you going to stay at my little house?", miss Benar questions. Anarie sighs deeply before responding, "Are you sure I won't be a burden, after all, I might stay here for only a while".

    "You know already what i am going to say to that, Anarie", miss Benar giggles, seeming younger than her true age. "True, true, though I have used up my resources on the way here, as I can see you're going to need some", Anarie comments. All eyes turn to the fallen and broken goods that lay on the street and Estalet hangs her head down in shame.

    "Estalet...", the older lady murmurs,"Estalet, dear...", miss Benar repeats louder, placing a hand over the distraught guards' shoulder, "It's better that the goods took the damage rather than an arrow through the heart", almost immediately, the young guard lightens up and comments, "That's surely true, but how will you pay for the goods you bought, the amount of goods you bought should've lasted you for a few nights and all the stores are shut at this time". "Ah, ah, ah! Did you two not hear my words clearly? I am sure that i had said i used all my goods, but i did not say my money as well!", Anarie giggles conclusively before miss Benar was able to respond.

    "That's a good idea, i suppose that'll have to wait for morning though, we should get moving first", Estalet comments, without anymore questions or problems, the three begin walking again down the cobblestone street... though a few unanswered questions still lingered in the young high guards' mind, questions that revolved around the arrow that had been shot from the forest's shadow, some of these question rotating throughout her mind was...

    'Who had shot that arrow?', or 'I am sure that just wasn't a coincidence that miss Benar's niece had arrived after the arrow been shot, but was she the one that had shot it? or maybe also 'Who was the main target me or miss Benar?'...

    Sooner or later the guard had dismissed the wandering questions, seeing to it that she gets a night's rest by opening the door to her tiny cottage, changing into more comfortable clothes and lastly but mostly laying into her small bed where she succumbed fastly to her needed sleep for the next unique day of training with maybe a bit of patrolling to do.

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A/N

-The chapters will get longer.