Sleeping Ema (Klema)

Secret Rebellion

Following her cloaked assistant, Ema felt the weight of carrying her boss for so long... Her arms ached and her feet were numb from the cold.

A singular light was lit up ahead, shedding a warm glow onto the frosty forest path ahead of them. When did they enter a forest? Ema couldn't recall.

Watching the light, tiredly, Ema looked once more towards her helper...

He was close to her height... He had brown hair brushed back with two tufts sticking up in the front... He looked familiar, but Ema couldn't recall his name. He had a bow on his back and was dressed in some form of a vest and rolled-up sleeves. His attire looked brown, but whilst approaching the light, it took on a more crimson tone.

"You look like you've never seen an Archer, Miss..." He smiled and glanced at her, softly.

Ema blinked and looked at his face, absently. "Well... I haven't." He looked so familiar....

"Then you'll have plenty of people to stare at." He led her off the trail and through the thick of the woods without hesitation.

"How can you see where you're going..? It's pitch black out here." Ema had to pull against him in an attempt to not trip over her own feet.

"Hm? Oh, right. Sometimes I forget that normal people can't see in this lighting..." He slowed down and lightly laughed at himself, helping her along at a more reasonable pace.

"Normal people?" Ema glanced at him suspiciously. "Don't tell me you're some kind of fairy as well..."

The boy chuckled and grinned at her once more. "Not a fairy... Elf. Fairies are evil creatures; followers of the king. I'm not his follower."

Ema watched his face in the darkness. "Yeah... I see that." Why would he be in some sort of resistance if he believed in what the king was doing?

"Almost there..." He led Ema a bit further... Then stopped and whistled a short melody.

Ema glanced around in the darkness, but she couldn't see what he stopped for. She grouchily looked at him again as she felt her shoulders ache.

He stood still for a second... Listening. Then he continued forwards, past a large tree, into a previously unseen camp.

Ema blinked and looked around at the torches strewn about. How had she not seen any of this earlier?

A large encampment was now visible... Cloth tents, hammocks, and a considerable amount of onlookers casting looks her way.

"Polly!!!" A young girl with brown hair appeared in front of them and tackled her guide in a hug. "You're back!"

Ema's guide laughed and hugged back, tightly. "I am, Trucy..!"

Ema looked at them oddly. "Um.... Nice to see a happy reunion, but I can't hold him much longer..."

"Oh!" The girl, Trucy, looked at her curiously, tilting her blue hood out of the way of her eyes. "Polly, were you taking her to Daddy?" She looked at the boy again.

"Yes, I am... She's hunted by the king as well. And her friend here is under a spell." He folded his arms, slowly.

"Ooh, I can help!" Sprinting off into the thick of the camp, she called for her father.

Ema glanced at this... "Polly" once more.

"That was my sister, Trucy." He smiled at her and led her further into camp. "Ignore her calling me 'Polly', that's just her nickname for Apollo." He grinned with pink cheeks.

"Hm...." She sighed and adjusted her grip on her boss. "Can we sit... Or something?" She wiggled her frozen toes, tiredly.

"Of course, just follow me." He led her into a tent, quickly.

Slowly, she followed him in.

"Oh..?" She glanced around at the inside, looking at the tattered blankets on the floor. She looked at the fire pit in the center, and straightened a bit. "Oh, thank goodness...!" She knelt by it and untied her boss from her back, laying him down next to her. "Do you have a fire starter?"

Apollo nodded and took an arrow from behind him. "Yes, Ma'am." He struck the end against his glove and watched as it lit up like a giant match. "Here..." He stuck it into the fire pit and sat down with her.

Sighing deeply, Ema took off her shoes and held her feet by the fire. "Thanks..."

He smiled back and scratched his head, bashfully. "It's nothing..." He looked at the blonde next to her and tilted his head. "Tell me about this spell?"