"How long have you been following me?!" the young stonekeeper shouted firmly at her first enemy, masking her surprise.

Trellis glared at her and ignored her question with sarcasm. "Thanks for the warm welcome."

His remark only made her more furious, so she asked, "Why would you expect me to be nice to you after you tried to kill me and my friends?"

"That wasn't me! That was Luger! And I'm sure you haven't noticed, but if it weren't for me, he would be presenting your head to my father about now."

She couldn't argue with that, so she lowered her staff. "Get up."

He knew he shouldn't let her kick his butt, but she seemed so small to him that he felt like all he could do was let her, which was stupid, considering he was sent to kill her. There was something about her that made him care, and he beat himself up for being so weak.

Emily backed away as the Elf Prince rose to his feet, still glaring. She didn't know what to do. Turning her back on him wasn't an option, because then he might try to kill her again. So instead, she stood on her gaurd and asked him, " Speaking of your chaperone," (Trellis growled when he heard that), "where is he?"

"I'm still looking," Trellis answered. "What are you doing out here? It's not a very safe place for an inexperienced little girl all by herself."

"You shouldn't care. And don't call me 'little' and 'inexperienced' when I can kick your butt better than anyone."

He growled and gave into his frustration by charging at her and kicking her in the stomach, sending her flying and landing on the hard ground. He drew his sword and pointed it inches away from her face. "You're not that great," he concluded. Then he put his weapon back and helped her up.

She found that confusing. "Why aren't you destroying me?"

"I'm not that heartless. And as I see it, something bigger will eat you before you reach your destination, unless you make a lot of new friends before you're attacked."

"There's no one out here."

"Exactly. Have a fun trip." And with that, he started to walk back into the brush.

Without thought, she cried, "Wait!"

He stopped and expressed puzzlement towards her, asking cautiously, "What?"

What an embarassment. All she managed to do was stand hesitantly before dismissing the thought. "Never mind," she said and dropped her gaze.

"You were going to ask me for help, weren't you?" he spoke blankly.

In defense, she retorted, "It was a dumb idea. Just ignore it and leave."

He snickered. "Your just as difficult as my father, but I suppose I owe you for not blowing me up, so I'll help. But I don't want anyone hearing about this," he informed her.

It was hard to understand any motives that this creepy elf had, so Emily didn't want him interferring with her mission. Yet, she knew she wasn't going to make it out of this alone, so maybe it was better to accept his offer. The stone itself had even told her she would die without another hand.

After her moment of thought had gone by, she sighed and said, "Okay," then held out her hand.

Prince Trellis smirked and shook it.

"Now tell me why you're out here and what you're supposed to be doing, and then go get me a bunch of branches," he instructed.

She scolded herself. "What have I just gotten myself into?"

Her stone, Lezelldium, chuckled.