Chapter Six

The whole place was totally quiet, no laughing, no talking, nothing. I walked quietly and cautiously to the taproom door, and carefully peered in.

I gasped at what I saw. I watched in horror as the black-hooded figure advanced on a green-cloaked person who was standing up, the black-hooded figure was taking out it's long jagged sword!

The green-cloaked person had his or her back turned to me so I did not know whom it was even though they looked really familiar. Finally, as the black-hooded figure got close to the person, the person backed up and stumbled over a bench. When the person got up and pushed their cloaked off of their face I saw who it was.

I gasped and he looked up at me and was dumbstruck. He was just standing there even as the black-hooded figure advanced on him! Right as the black-hooded figure raised his jagged sword to strike did I come to my senses and yelled at my friend, "watch out!" He turned around and raised his own sword in just the nick of time.

Their swords clashed against one another and they held them there for what seemed like hours. I finally realized that my friend needed help, so I dashed from the taproom door and up three flights of stairs to room three hundred ten. I whisked out my key from under my cloak and fitted it to the lock. Once I got the door open, I ran inside, grabbed my sword, my scabbard, my bow and my quiver full of arrows.

I ran back outside my room and jumped three steps at a time down the three flights of stairs. Once I got to the bottom of the stairs I made a run for the taproom door and sprinted inside.

My friend and the black-hooded figure where still in their same position when I sprinted inside. I took out my bow placed an arrow on it and shot at the black-hooded figure in just a matter of about five seconds.

The black-hooded figure stepped back so that my friend could recover and slash his elven sword at the black-hooded figure lots of times but not enough. The black-hooded figure recovered quickly and started fighting my friend again!

I suddenly had an idea. I ran over to one of the torches on the wall and grabbed it. I ran back over to where my friend and the black-hooded figure where fighting, and I threw the torch at the black-hooded figure and it's robe caught fire! It stopped fighting and my friend jumped back. The black-hooded figure threw up it's arms and ran out the taproom door and the entrance door screaming. My friend and I watched it run until we could only see smoke in the distance, and then we turned to each other.

"W-what are you doing here, Elendir?" I asked him.

"Most likely the same reason you are here Arien."

I put my hands on my hips and asked, "and what reason is that?"

"You tell me."

I rolled my eyes, "whatever."

He turned his back to me and looked around the inn then said, "is this inn any good?"

"Yes, I suppose so, its pretty good." I answered.

He turned back around grinning, "That's a lot of answers for just one question."

I blushed deeply, "Sorry."

"No need to be sorry" he laughed. "how long has it been?"

"How long has what been?" I asked stupidly still gaping at him.

"How long has it been since we've seen each other last?"

"Oh" I replied blushing again.

He laughed again and said, "I think it's been about four years now, man, how much you have grown. You were about fourteen and I was sixteen years old then. So you must be sixteen, am I right?" He asked looking at me again.

"Yes, I am eighteen, and you must be twenty now?"

"Yes, I am noble twenty."

"Noble?" I asked raising one eyebrow.

Er…It's just an expression" He smiled nervously and tugging at his broach on his cloak nervously.

Right, what is it that you're trying to hide from me?" I asked suspiousisly.

I'm not trying to hide anything from you" he squeaked.

I rolled my eyes, "whatever".

He smiled then asked, "How do you get a room here?"

"ell you usually get a room from the innkeeper, but it seems that he has run off" I laughed. "But then again, I guess you can sleep on the floor in my room."

"Er…ok" he replied. He went outside of the inn followed by me to the stables. Elendir walked over to a beautiful chestnut horse standing next to Sila.

I walked over and put my hand out to touch it when Elendir barked at me, "Arien, don't!"

I rolled my eyes and started speaking softly to the chestnut, then I finally put my hand softly on it's back and slowly moved my hand up it's back, up it's neck, until I had my hand on it's head stroking it. I turned around at smirked at Elendir (he was watching in horror).

"You could have been bitten you know" he said disapprovingly.

"Whatever" I turned around and started to walk away when Elendir ran up to me and asked.

"Where are you going?"

"Up to my room" I smiled then added, "As I was saying before what are you doing here anyway?"

"Same thing as you of course" he smirked.

I sighed, and what reason is that?"

"Alright, I'm just here for the festival, but now that you're here too, I feel like doing anything you do, if that's all right of course" he winked.

I laughed, "You always amuse me in some kind of way, and you don't act like your twenty-two at all, it seems like your still sixteen."

"Well you seem more grown up, your personality even has changed just a bit, and you have changed physically too" he told me seriously.

I stared at him for a while then turned away blushing and whispered, "Thank you."

He lifted up my chin and looked at me for a long time, then whispered, "You really have grown, wouldn't your mother be proud if she knew, and I bet she does, doesn't she?"

"Well, she, er, she passed away three years ago" I answered while getting tears in my eyes.

Elendir stood there dumbstruck then after about five minutes he asked, "She has, has she? How did she die" he asked me fiercely.

I could see fire in his blue eyes so I answered, "She was slain by no other than Lord Canashash himself."

"What did she do to have Lord Canashash kill her personally?"

"She was trying to protect me."

"How did you get away?"

"I ran, I ran so foolishly! I should have stood by my mother and helped fight Lord Canashash."

"No, it was very wise of you to run, for you were only fifteen, you couldn't have held him off for a second. Why are you here anyway?"

"Well, I first went to Salia to find elves but none were there, so…"

"WHAT! No elves in Salia!"

"I don't know why, but because the festival was in Talia, here, I came here to find elves, and it seems that I found one" I smiled.

"Yes, but why are you looking for other elves?"

"Because… well, because I think that maybe one of them might know where Lord Canashash is."

Elendir stared at me suspiciously for a while then asked, "Why are you looking for him?"

I looked up at him, and with fire in my eyes I answered with one word, "Revenge."