The woman gazed upon the glorious forest before her in wonder.
Her new husband's people insisted that the woods were not safe, that an elf witch resided within; however, the young woman found it difficult to believe that something so lovely could contain something evil. Besides, as tempting as it might be, she had no intention of going any further than the forest's outer fringes.
So with that thought in mind, she plopped down beneath an old oak not a hundred yards within, and began to read a book. The sun perused her form as if curious to see a mortal within the Golden Wood. All the while, another watched the young woman as well.
His eyes scanned over her form and studied her demeanor, looking for any indication of malicious intent. He saw none. His expression turned to one of curiosity. What is she doing here? He wondered. He had not seen any of the villagers approach the Wood in centuries, content with their tales of witches and evil elves. Yet, there she was beneath the oak. He wondered about her name and from where she hailed, for he was certain she could not have been born within the village. He thought of approaching her, but dismissed the idea, afraid he might startle her into never returning; though this approach was usually the practice of the border patrol, he loathed doing so with her. She was barely more than a child. Instead, he made himself comfortable within his tree and continued watching her, enjoying the myriad scope of emotions that played across her face as she read. It was obvious she was enjoying her book. Suddenly, her head whipped around and she was staring hard at his tree. He froze. Had he laughed aloud?