Indigo Elf

Ch. 17

Ch. 17

Arlen

When I got back to Helen's apartment, it was still very dark outside, and as one would expect, completely deserted. Once at her door, I hopped off my chair and knocked softly. I wasn't expecting Helen to be awake, and was more than prepared to camp out on the roof, but un-expectantly, the door flew open and in the doorway stood no one other than Helen. Her eyebrows were furrowed in confusion as she was expecting me to come back home when the sun had rose.

"Arlen?" she gasped. Without a second thought, she pulled me inside and swiftly closed the door, making sure to lock it. She turned towards me, her pink eyes dark and narrowed in anger. Almost immediately, she laid into me, chastising me about being out during the night and for not calling her earlier. I remained quiet, allowing her to go on her tangent.

She suddenly paused, "Is there something the matter?"

I released a shaky sigh and buried my face into her breasts. She slowly wrapped her arms around me and ran her fingers through my hair.

"That prince," she whispered, "Something must have happened between the two of you to make you like this."

I hid my face, allowing the tears to fall once more. I didn't know why, but I felt comfortable crying in front of Helen, so I had no problems letting it all out while she held me.

"Goodness," Helen gasped, "Arlen?!"

I couldn't stop. The tears kept flowing and my sobs seemed almost never-ending. With a sigh of defeat, Helen pulled me into her bedroom and grabbed some tissue from her nightstand. She didn't say anything as she cleaned my face.

"Get some sleep," she finally said, "In the morning; I'll make you something good to eat."

Without giving me any time to question her, she shut off the light and closed the door, leaving me in darkness. In no time at all, I was sleeping better than I had in a while.

*_*_*_*_*_*

I curiously peeked over Helen's shoulder as she held a package in her hands.

"It seems as if you have some mail," Helen said as she pushed the package into my arms. I stared blankly down at the package, reading over the information stamped to the top. I suddenly gasped when I saw The Shadow Realm in small black letters from the sender.

"It's from the guild I applied to!" I chirped excitedly. Helen smirked and curled into her favorite chair with a mug of milk.

"Why don't you open it?" she said as she took a sip.

Suddenly nervous, I sat down on the couch opposite of Helen and ripped the tape off of the box. My heart was beating a mile a minute as I cautiously peered inside of the box. I don't know why I was so nervous after expecting to be thoroughly rejected, but I guess I really wanted to join.

Helen watched me closely, her pale red eyes dancing in amusement. Pouting, I stopped stalling and reached into the box, my heart jumping when I saw a golden box lying under the envelope. Not even paying any mind to the envelope, I yanked out the box and swiftly opened it. Inside the box was none other than what I assumed to be the guild amulet.

"Helen look!" I cried, my face practically splitting from the large smile on my face.

She smiled knowingly at me and I held the pin close to my chest, softly running my thumb across it. The pin was about the size of a quarter and was a beautiful white gold color. There were four small, dark blue gemstones that were embedded in a rhombus design and in the middle, made entirely out of very small gemstones was a dragon that had its wings outstretched and blowing out a stream of fire.

"Wow," Helen commented. I flinched slightly, having not heard her approach me at all.

"Very intricate work."

I nodded in agreement and softly placed it back inside the box and set it to the side. Grabbing the envelope, I gently tore it open and pulled out the letter inside. I unfolded the piece of paper and slowly read over the contents.

'Dear Arlen,

Congrats, you've piqued my interests, although I'm not too sure whether I want to accept you or not. That means you must prove yourself to me, show me what you're capable of. I will be in the Forest of the Dead tomorrow, find me before 5 pm. If you're even a minute late, I will deem you unworthy and you will be required to return the pin. If you want to keep your spot, impress me, little Caster.

Sincerely,

Gabriel Silver

P.S. Come alone.'

Helen growled ferociously and snatched the letter out of my hand, reading it over and over to confirm whether the contents were correct or not.

"The Forest of the Dead?!" Helen snarled, "Is he out of his mind!"

While Helen raged, I tried not to let myself become too discouraged. It wasn't as if he flat out rejected me, he just wanted to see what I was made of, and that was exactly what I was going to do. I had never heard of The Forest of The Dead before, and by the way Helen was reacting, it clearly wasn't a place for a level forty Caster such as myself, but I was going to have to find a way to get through it with my own strength. I had to get out of the habit of always depending on Casper and Helen to bail me out.

"No," Helen sneered, "That forest is too dangerous. It's filled with the undead and they all range from level eighty to one hundred. I refuse to let this son of a bitch get you killed."

Grabbing the golden box containing the guild amulet, I quickly stuffed it into my storage. Knowing Helen, she would probably send the pin back immediately, but I wasn't ready to give up yet.

Helen snatched up the box and dug around inside, narrowing her eyes when she didn't see the small box the pin came in. Her eyes met mine and I immediately felt as if I was melting. Helen's glare felt like I was standing under a waterfall of molten lava, she was one scary fox girl.

She held out her hand towards me expectantly, "Give it to me, right now."

Her voice was low and deadly, meaning she wasn't playing any games whatsoever. I shifted uncomfortably on the couch, unable to face her intimidating stare any longer.

"I want to at least-,"

Helen cut me off with a growl so loud it seemingly shook the building.

"I SAID GIVE IT TO ME, ARLEN!"

I froze. Arguing with Helen was something that I, under no circumstances, wanted to do. Helen was very special to me, and I looked up to her, but I refuse to budge. I wanted this, I needed this. Helen had been a tremendous help to me since I got here and I was extremely grateful, but I couldn't continue being a burden.

Sighing, I shook my head.

"I'm not giving it to you, Helen. I want to do this."

Helen looked as if I'd struck her. Her eyes welled with tears and she quickly turned her back to me. I tried not to let the guilt eat me alive, but it did anyway. I hated hurting Helen like this. I could only hope that she'd come to understand where I was coming from.

"Whatever," she finally whispered. With the note still clutched in her hands, she stormed off to her bedroom and slammed the door shut. I released a sigh and slowly got up from the couch. Rummaging through my storage, I pulled out some clothes and took a bath. After drying my hair, I threw it into a messy bun and shimmied into a pair of dark blue jeans, my favorite slippers, and a pink t-shirt.

I quietly exited the apartment and floated down to the adventurer's hall. What I needed right now was a drink and some good food.

_Gieo_