Elend was well aware of his faults. With a father like Lord Straff Venture, who took it upon himself to constantly point them out, it was hard not to.
You spend too much time with your nose in a book Master Venture.
You are stupidly idealistic my friend
I don't know why you are constantly disheveled. You are the son of a Lord, look like it!
Why do you never straighten your hair?
I have never had the displeasure of training someone as clumsy as you in the art of sword fighting.
And those were just a few of them. The people in his life worked wonders on his self-esteem.
Another one of his shortcomings presented itself in his current predicament.
He was lost.
Alone.
In the woods.
Honestly, he doesn't even know how he always found himself in such situations.
He was on his way to visit Sheriff Elariel as per his father's request. He may not be what his father hoped for in a son but he wasn't stupid. His arranged marriage to the Sheriff's daughter Shan was an open secret.
I need you to discuss with him measures on controlling bandits my ass, Elend thought grumpily as he assessed his situation.
His horse had been spooked. A snake on the path. The horse diverted its path and galloped at neck breaking speed into the forest, thrashing and trying to dislodge Elend, who had a weak grip on the reigns, off of its back.
The horse succeeded.
Which brought him to his predicament. Nightfall was approaching, his horse and guard were nowhere to be seen and he was pretty sure he'd passed this tree three times.
Great, he was walking in circles.
Exhausted and dehydrated, he slumped against the tree and slid down till he was seated.
Despite his exhaustion, he kept vigilant. The woods were a dangerous place to be, especially at night. Wild animals were a large population of the woods but they were mainly deeper in the wood.
No, what really worried him were bandits. Not just any bandits, a certain group of bandits that had made themselves known a few months ago.
They were led by a man the skaa called The Survivor.
Numerous rumours surrounded the man.
Some say he's skaa born. Others say he was a noble but his protests against how the skaa were treated made his family disown him.
His originals were unknown but the reason he was a legend was because he'd escaped Hathsin, the harshest and most well-guarded prison in the kingdom. The Pits were many people ended up dead.
Not only had he survived but he'd escaped.
Escaped and decided to rob every noble he came across. He stole from them and gave the money to the skaa. Sometimes he killed them.
He was regarded as a hero to the skaa but the noble families saw him as a threat.
Elend saw him as a revolutionary. Someone who fought back. He'd mentioned it to his father in passing and he still held scars from the beating he received.
Despite his private praise for the man, Elend was still a noble.
A noble lost in the woods the Survivor was known to hid in.
He couldn't help but be a little dramatic and spoke aloud, "I'm going to die, aren't I."
"How did you know I was here?"
Elend jumped to his feet, his pulse racing so fast it was miracle he hadn't had a heart attack.
Behind him stood a girl.
She was…small.
Small in height, small in body.
Her long black hair was tied away from her face and the mask she wore only showed her green eyes that looked at him suspiciously.
She seemed familiar for some reason.
"I-I…" damnation, his heart was still racing. "I- I d-didn't know you were there."
She was silent as she assessed him.
"I got lost." His voice and hands wouldn't stop shaking.
From her dressing and the symbol on the mask, she wore, it was obvious she was a member of the Survivor's crew.
"You're a noble."
She said it casually. A statement, not a question.
Elend swallowed.
"Are you going to kill me."
Her eyes widened.
"What! No!"
Elend oddly believed her. He shut his eyes in relief. He heard her mutter something that sounded like 'Damn you Kelsier' but he didn't think about it too much.
"I'm not going to kill you." He nodded, relief evident on his face.
"But we might get a nice ransom out of your family."
Elend snorted. "Good luck with that. You'd probably get money from father if you were to kill me."
Yes. Kill his legitimate heir and he would have the opportunity to make Zane, the bastard son he was proud of, his heir. As well as have more ammunition against the Survivor and his crew.
Elend wasn't sure but he thought the girl was frowning.
"What's your house?"
"Venture."
Her eyes widened.
"You're Elend Venture?"
He nodded, awkwardly.
Suddenly, she reached up and removed the mask covering her face.
She was beautiful but Elend ignored that and narrowed his eyes in slight recognition.
"I've seen you before."
She shook her head.
"No time for that. You need to come with me."