Through The Storm

o n e

I knelt to touch the tracks in the trodden mud. The moonlight shone dainty and bright, bathing the tips of leaves and faces of trees in silver. My mouth stretched out into a smile as I brought my fingertips to my nose.

Rain.

These tracks were soaked in rain. My heart soared. I must be close.

I rose once more, one hand on the hilt of my sword as I advanced on muted footsteps. The mighty trees bent over far above me, ready to pull me into their protective grasp at any moment. A distant howl pierced through the silence- but I was not startled. This was home. The creatures of this land were family.

Suddenly, a twig snapped in the distance. The mud squelched under another pair of boots behind me. None of my family wore boots, they stalked the land on paws. I held my breath as silence enveloped the forest again. Another twig snapped- this time closer. I turned slowly, ready to draw my sword at the first instance. Bushes parted as whoever it was advanced forward.

I weighed my options within the flash of a second- I could run, or I could stay. This was a human, I knew for sure. A Hunter, if he had any business in these dense forests. But a clumsy, inefficient one, judging by the noises I had heard.

A shadow emerged. I gasped as the moonlight revealed the figure.

This was no Hunter.

Her face was luminescent, paling the low-hanging moon in comparison. Her skin seemed to glow, tinted with a slight pink blush that ran along her high, chiselled cheekbones. Her neck gracefully sloped into slender but strong shoulders and a willowy frame. She was clad in the lightest of furs, and yet the cold winds seemed to embrace her, rather than pinch her. And slightly narrowed lilac eyes, framed with thick, curled lashes were currently fixed on me.

"I'd address you as 'My lady' if I recognised you," I said, noting her rich furs and exquisitely regal aura. As soon as the words were out, I realised how short I sounded.

Her smile didn't twitch. If anything, it only grew. "You wouldn't recognise me, Callisto of Bracken. I'm Elven."

My breath caught in my throat, and within the blink of an eye, I had my sword drawn. "How do you know my name?" I demanded flatly. My throat went dry. Alright, she was an Elf. That was less startling than the fact that... she knew... how did she know?

Keeping her gaze on the tip of my extended blade, she said, "There is little that I do not know about you already. I also know that in Bracken, you do not go by the name of Callisto."

"No, I do not," I croaked, my mouth parched. Seldom was I afraid- in fact, there were rarely any times that I succumbed to fear. But this was one of those rare moments.

No one knew the name that had been whispered on the night I was born. Until now. She knew.

The Elf edged closer, and I instinctively raised my sword. "Don't come near me," I growled, "until you tell me who you are."

She stopped, her hands in the air. I realised then that she was unarmed. "Alright then. My name is Kaya. I am a princess since my mother and father are the Elven Royals. I'm on the run because I have sinned. I have committed crimes that have brought shame to my house, and I seek refuge away from the cruel eyes of karma."

My mouth fell open. I couldn't even bring myself to kneel.

Stupidly, the first thing that fell out of my mouth was "You talk as if you're part of an ancient story", so I wasn't surprised when she threw her head back and began laughing.

"I have lived longer than any of your kind, Callisto. I speak the language like it was originally spoken- if quite theatrically."

I shook my head, unable to say more. My eyes seemed glued to the pointed tips of her ears, peeking out from in between the silky locks of her silver hair. Then after a brief silence, I lowered my sword, but kept it unsheathed. "My apologies, Your Highness, but you seem awfully calm for someone who has just committed a crime, especially if it's as grievous as you make it out to be."