Sweet Rebellion

Chapter 3

"Kielo? That's a very beautiful name. What does it mean? If you don't mind my asking."

"It means Lily of the Valley." She said trying not to let the shake in her voice show.

"That is a very lovely and fitting name for a flower such as you." Lucian said smiling and taking off the bow and quiver, followed then by; his belt with both the sword and knife going with it. "Would you like to sit back down? Or do you prefer to stand there?" he said pointing to the ground where she had been sitting before.

"Uhhhhhhhhh....."was all she could say. She was panicked all over again.

"If it helps, I plan on going for a quick swim so I won't even be up here." Lucian then proceeded to take the top of his armor off and Kielo turned a bright shade of red and looked away. "And now you're turning into a cherry." He said smiling. Kielo then turned even brighter shade of red.

"Kielo Felgrand!" they suddenly heard from the forest edge.

"Mother!? What are you doing here?" Kielo asked completely horrified. Lucian turned back to take his boots off. He knew better than to get in between a mother and daughter fight.

"I go into your room and you're not there! I searched the entire village looking for you! Then, where do I find you? At the river where you aren't supposed to be! You know you are not allowed here without your father or Artemis with you!" she shouted. "Then, to top it off, I find this!" she said pointing to Lucian. "It's situations just like this why you are supposed to have one of them with you!"

Lucian looked up when the conversation turned to him. His eyes were wide with confusion at first, but then his eyes softened, and the sorrow hit them. He was obviously hurt. Then, to Kielo's shock, the light grey streaks in his hair became a dark grey. "Mother! He did nothing wrong! He spooked me at first when he appeared out of nowhere, but that was it. He's actually been quite nice to me!"

"And yet, he is half undressed and your skirt is wet! Do you take me for an idiot!?" Her mother said with anger dripping from every word.

"You know Mother, you are a lot of the reason I have no friends. You find something wrong with them the second you meet them and insult them right to their faces. Just because Lucian is a dark elf, it doesn't mean he's evil."

Her mother looked her right in the eyes, flames dancing in hers. "If you are not home in three minutes, you will be cleaning the stables with your two hands alone for a month. No tools, just your fingers. Do you hear me!?"

Kielo gave up the fight. "Yes Ma'am." She said ready to break down into tears again. With that, her mother stormed back into the trees towards the village.

Kielo turned to find Lucian walking towards her. He looked like a god walking in the flesh towards her. She snapped herself out of it, "I'm sorry about my mother. She hasn't been herself since Father and my older brother, Artemis, left for war."

"War?" Lucian asked confused. "I hadn't realized the elves were at war with anyone."

"Yes. But, just our village. The Orcs to the north engaged war against us because they want our land. My father is a commander and my brother is a soldier. It was only supposed to take a month to defeat them and return home. But, it's been nearly six months now. All the worry has driven Mother mad. Litterally."

"So, it wasn't just because I'm a dark elf? I know your people think that we're all mean and hateful elves, and most dark elves are. But I never could be. Nor were my parents. That's why they were banished and my sister and I were taken away. I'm trying to find a way to leave the village and find them. But, until I do, we both go out for days at a time to hunt." He said smiling a smile filled with hurt and betrayal. "Go on. You should get home. I don't want you to get into more trouble. I want to continue talking with you. It's nice to talk to someone who sees me for who I really am instead of what I look like. But, if she won't let you come here, the we'll have to find another way. That is, if you would like to."

Kielo didn't know why, but she did want to. She thought for a second about how they could still communicate. "I know!" she said. She then walked over to the rock that Lucian had been sitting on before, and lifted a part of the rock to reveal a small hole. "We could write letters to each other. I can get away long enough for that." She said smiling.

"That is a good idea my dear. Alright. I'll make sure to leave you your first letter before I begin my way back to why we are camped."

"I look forward to reading it. When I finally get back here to get it." She said with annoyance in her voice, but a smile on her face. "Goodbye Lucian."

"Until our next meeting dear Kielo." Lucian said as he gently grabbed her hand, then brought it to his mouth, and laid a gentle kiss on her knuckle.

Kielo turned bright red once again. She smiled and then turned away from Lucian to the direction that her mother had gone.