Curious
A/N: Another new one-shot! Eventually I might delete my one shots and stick them all into one bucket, who knows! Enjoy ;)
Zoey was strolling through the serene forest, brushing her fingertips across the scabrous bark of the swaying oak trees. The velvety, jade grass rustled gently in the calm breeze. Up above, the petite birds sang their delightful melodies, and the crickets played their fascinating song. The sun was shimmering, and all was peaceful. She stepped daintily, and listened to the birds sing.
She wore a smile on her face, and a long red and gold dress. Her dress brushed against the grass, and the band around her waist hung loosely. The piece of red ribbon was embellished with intricate designs, the same pattern around the top of her sleeves and just below the neck line. At her elbows the sleeves turned into curtains of delicate red lace, and around her head was a golden headband, engraved with the same patterns at the rest of the dress. Around her neck was a ruby necklace, each gem braced in 24 carat gold. Zoey's scarlet hair reached down to her elbows, and billowed gently in the summer breeze.
Everything was perfect...
...But not for long.
All of a sudden, the peace and tranquility of the forest was broken, shattered like glass into a million shards, as a thundering BOOM! ricocheted throughout the landscape. The birds ceased their singing, and all flew away, trying desperately to escape what could only be assumed to be danger. Zoey, being an Elf, could not help her curiosity, and hitched her up skirt, running to investigate.
Soon, she came to a clearing.
The clearing wasn't natural, it had been created. By the same peculiar object that had caused the sound just a few moments before. The clearing was entirely a crater, and it reached across about 5 metres. At the epicentre, as the smoke lifted, she could see a faint, soft purple glow, however the light was partially obstructed by the rubble.
Zoey, being the curious Elf she was, stepped down the steep side of the crater, skidding as the jagged rocks crumbled under the pressure of her weight. As she approached the glowing object, the smoke cleared and revealed that the object was in fact... a man?
He was lying on his side, curled into a loose ball. A black scarf covered the lower half of his face, a long black cape was crumpled behind him, and from his back sprouted a great pair of black and purple dragon wings. They had many many holes in, like he had been in rough fights. His hair was long and slicked back, dark brown with a single light brown streak at the front, and a pair of twisting, long, black horns sprouted from the top of his head. He was wearing purple armour that clung to him over a tight black suit, with black edges and highlights, and by his side lay a long, black, scaled tail with an arrowhead point on the end and razor-sharp barbs along it. On his feet was a pair of tall boots that matched the pattern of his armour and covering his hands was a pair of black leather gloves, but at the tip of each finger was a small hole. Just out of reach of his hands was a book, bound in black leather, with patterns and symbols painted and engraved on the cover. The soft purple glow was coming from his hands, eyes, tail and the tips of his wings.
Zoey was stunned. She just stood there for a while, taking in the sight that was this man at the epicentre of a 5 metre crater in the middle of the forest.
Eventually, she snapped out her trance-like state and pulled up her skirt once again to go and seek help. She ran through the forest until she came to the big oak tree which marked the entrance to the magical elven Kingdom of Iyhasari. It was kept hidden by a magical barrier that kept others from seeing or entering it, and allowed them to pass through like it was simply open space. The kingdom was home to thousands of elves, ruled over by a kind and loving king and queen.
Zoey found the symbol on the twisted tree, and pressed her hand against it. A gentle green light shone around her hand and the barrier was lifted, the edges green as they peeled back towards the centre of the kingdom, the tip of the centre spire of the beautiful marble palace. The kingdom itself reached up high amongst the trees, towering over them, each building delicately carved and constructed by hand from the finest quality materials. The kingdom itself sat atop a large hill, with a stream running through it that ended in a waterfall which tumbled down into the crystal river below. Each building was carved from creamy marble and decorated intricately. Each side of the river was thick forest, inhabited by deers, rabbits and many other forest creatures. Mountains created a safe barrier to the south, so they were unable to be attacked from behind and the forest made it difficult for any army or enemy to navigate to the kingdom, so they were safe. The sight was beautiful.
Zoey ran through the streets, ducking, diving and weaving her way through the crowds of the market. She ran right up to the palace gates, and straight through and into the palace itself. She ran to her father, the king, and stopped, panting.
"Father...need...help...where's...Teep?" She panted.
Her father stood up and trotted over, helping her stand up and sit in his throne. Her father was a tall man, with dark brown hair that desperately needed cutting and pale skin. His eyes were a brilliant blue and he wore a brown leather tunic decorated with red maple leaves. His trousers were simple brown cotton with knee pads, and he wore old brown boots, and a matching pair of gloves along with the intricate gold elven crown that sat atop his head.
"Zoey, slow down. You said you need help?" He asked.
Zoey nodded, and caught her breath. "Yes. I need Teep, do you know where he is?"
"I believe he was out patrolling the forest, looking for you," He recalled.
"Can you call him back?" She asked, still slightly out of breath from all the running she'd been doing today.
"Of course," He said, going over to where he kept his messenger bird. The bird was a beautiful female spotted owl named Atreyu, with a wing span of 4 feet and completely tame.
Zoey's father -Xephos- wrote a small note on parchment and rolled it up, sliding it into the capsule on Atreyu's leg and holding out his arm for her to climb onto. The bird ruffled her feathers as she stepped onto his arm to be carried over to the window, where she spread her wings and flew out into the forest. Xephos stepped back from the window and walked over to Zoey.
"There. He'll be back soon, but what do you need him for?" He asked, kneeling in front of her.
"I need his strength," She said, looking at her hands sitting in her lap.
"His strength? Why? Is there a fallen tree somewhere? A monster?" He asked, getting more panicked as he listed ideas.
"No, none of those. It's- It's nothing. It's hard to explain," She said, silently hoping he wouldn't ask many more questions.
"Okay, I trust you to tell me if you are in danger or something dangerous happens. You will tell me won't you?" Xephos asked, standing up.
"Of course, father."
Zoey stood up too, just as Atreyu landed on the windowsill again. A few seconds later, Teep came running in the door. Teep was a young Elf assigned as Zoey's protector, and he was always there for her. He was tall and lanky, but had surprising strength. He had pale skin like the others, and had long shaggy black hair that matched his black but kind eyes. He wore a leather tunic and trousers, with green oak leaves decorating his outfit. On his back was a quiver, along with his ornate wooden bow. He wore no shoes, as he said that they made too much noise, and that they would scare off animals if he ever wanted to go animal-spotting.
"You summoned me Princess?" He said, barely out of breath.
( Hells yeah Teep can talk! )
Zoey nodded. "I did. I need your help,"
"My help?" He questioned as Zoey walked forward, grabbed his wrist and dragged him out and through the gates. "Where are we going?" He asked, pulling himself from her grip and walking alongside her instead.
Zoey broke into a sprint, followed by Teep. "There's something- or rather someone I need to show you," She answered him.
"Someone? Who could you possibly need to show me?" He asked.
"Just wait," She said.
A few minutes later, they came to the crater. Teep gasped and skidded down the side, closely followed by Zoey.
"Who is he?" Teep asked, kneeling by the strange man's side.
"I don't know, but he made this crater, and I think he might be injured," She said.
"He's injured alright. Look at the way his wings are bent, and his foot rests in an unnatural position. Who knows what other bones he's broken," Teep assessed, gently laying the man's wings flat, and rolling him onto his back.
"Is he from the north? A spy for the trolls? Warlocks? Dwarves?" She asked, panicked.
"No, the trolls aren't that clever and we recently made truces with the warlocks and the dwarves, so they'd have no reason to send spies. He doesn't look like he belongs to any of the races, not that I'm aware of," Teep said, carefully scooping him up and standing up straight. "Let's get him back to the palace,"
"Yes, Kaeyi can tell us how much damage was done, and maybe my father knows something about where he's from," Zoey said.
So they carried this strange man back to the kingdom, and into the palace. As soon as they stepped foot inside nurses were flitting around Teep, trying to get a good look at the man. Luckily, Teep was tall enough that they couldn't reach him.
"Ladies please! We need only one nurse. Where's Kaeyi?" He asked, and they all sighed and pointed to the stairs. "Thank you,"
They both walked towards the stairs, and Zoey smiled at the nurses, and they smiled back. When they reached where Kaeyi was, Zoey rushed over.
"Kaeyi! We have a very special patient for you!" She exclaimed.
Kaeyi turned and looked at the man in Teep's arms. Kaeyi had long, wavy bubble-gum pink hair and wore a simple white cotton dress that was tied at her waist with a ribbon. She wore a red and white apron over the top. On her head was a simple white hat that had a red cross on the front, and she had white pumps on her feet. Her skin was pale and her eyes were pale blue. She was one of the prettiest girls Zoey had ever met.
"Oh...Well, put him in a bed, I'll get my things!" She said, pointing to an empty bed before running off.
Teep laid the man down and a few moments later Kaeyi returned with her bag, and opened it up.
A/N: I never expected it to be this long... Okay well now this has turned into a two-shot! Oh well! I guess, see in the next part! Please rate and review, it makes my day and if you ever have any questions or constructive criticism don't be afraid to speak your opinion! And don't forget to check my other stories if you're interested in this one. See if you can guess who this mysterious figure is, and find out next time if you're right!Remember, I wanna know what you guys think ;) Until the next time.
-K