Lo gave out a slight whimper as tears ran down her face. The fall had broken one of her right ankle, wrist and a few ribs. Her father had told her not to play around the well but she hadn't listened and now she was here, trapped alone in the dark. A stone fell from the well above her, thinking someone might have caused it come loose, she glanced up, hoping that someone was here to rescue her, but there was nothing, no knignt in shining armour like in the stories she had read, just the inky blackness and the streaks of sunlight that broke through the plants that had overgrown that part of the garden. She gave out another sob and cried for help but no one answered her call. She cried out again. Nothing. She tried to pull herself up with her good arm but gave out a slight whimper as she lost her grip on the wet stone and her other hand smashed against it. She started crying again before feeling a slimy hand on her knee.
She recoiled slightly at first but then moved to get a closer look. "What are you?" She asked the small blue creature.
"Me minion, you need help yes?" It asked before grabbing her wrist, she tried to pull away but stopped as the pain disappeared and she could move her hand again. "You have magic, yes? You fix yourself?"
"Apparently I do, but I don't know how."
"Me know, me know, me show you." The minion yelled and jumped around her before grabbed her small hand and placed it on her dress where she'd broken her ribs. "Want it to heal."
"Of course I want it to heal."
The minion gave a slight frown. "No you must want it to heal, think about it fixing, will the bone together. You try, yes yes." Lo focused on the wound and thought about the bone moving and gave a slight whelp as she felt a pain in her chest. "Slower, too fast and it hurt, yes." Lo started again but instead of pain she felt a slight tingling sensation then nothing.
She threw her arms around the minion's shoulders and received a slightly confused look. "You might not be a handsome knight but you're just as helpful. What's your name?"
"Me not sure, think it used to be Morg."
"Nice to meet you, Morg." Lo held her hand out and stopped herself from moaning when he put his slimy one in her palm. She wiped the muck of on her dress at the waist and put her hand at the ankle and felt the slight tingling as she healed it. " Can you help me get out of here?"
"Yes, yes we climb, follow, follow." Morg started climbing the cobbled wall, leaving hand prints as he pulled himself up. Lo gave out a sigh and decided to follow, but chose larger stones that fitted her hands well, when she was about halfway up, she found she could go no further as the skirt stopped her from moving her leg onto a higher foothold.
"Morg, help, I can't climb higher." Lo felt her hand start to slip down the wet stone and moved her hand to a lower one.
"Dress no good for climbing."
"I know that now, wait, stop, don't rip ... that." Morg started tearing at Lo's dress so the silk stopped at the knee.
"Easier to climb yes, yes."
"This was my favourite dress, now mother's not going to let me play outside. And why do you say yes twice."
"Me don't know."
" And you should say I, not me."
"Me ... I sorry?"
"Close, but instead of I you should have said I'm."
Morg let out a sigh and finished pulling himself to the top of the well. "Human language to complicated."
"You think that's complicated, apparently I'm an elf so my parents are forcing me to learn that language as well, with that and the other tutors." Lo gave out a sigh and Morg offered to help pull her up. "I wish they'd let me play with other kids but I'm not allowed to go into the jungle without guards and they scare people away."
Morg pulled Lo up. " I'm lonely too, I don't know where blue hive is."
"What's the blue hive?" Lo sat on the edge of the well while Morg sat next to her.
"Home, family, friends."
"Will you be my friend Morg?
"Yes, me have friend, I'm not alone any more."
"See, you're learning, I'll teach you language and you can teach me magic."
"I only know healing." Morg looked at his feet as if in shame.
Lo put her hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, can you do anything else?
"No, friends used to be able to teleport." Lo rolled up her sleeves and checked her arms for injury before Morg grabbed her wrist and his eyes widened.
"Where you get markings?"
Lo moved the cloth so it was up her shoulder and started tracing the vine like patterns along her arms. "I was found with them, a mage came and said they acted as a focus for magical energy."
Morg opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by man shouting. "Lo! Where are you? Your mother wishes to speak with you."
"That's Sir Baristan, leader of my fathers guard, do you want to meet him? He's very nice."
Morg shook his head. "No, me don't like people."
"My rooms the second on the left on the second floor, wait for me there."
Morg gave a nod and ran towards the a drainpipe.
Sir Baristan was a bear of a man with arms like tree trunks, his armour was simple, overlapping steel plates tied together by leather strips. "What in the name of the gods happened to you?"
"I fell down the well and broke a few bones but then I met a blue fish person called Morg and he taught me healing magic."
Sir Baristan knelt down on one knee to look her in the eye. "Lo you're eight, that's too old for a highborn lady to have imaginary friends."
"He's not imag ..." Lo stoped as she saw Morg put a finger to his lips and went shh. " I'm sorry, but I know healing now."
"Let's get you cleaned up otherwise your mother won't be pleased if you go to her like this." He messed up her red hair and led her into the house.
Lo sat in the stone bath as Morg handed her a bar of soap that smelled like orange blossom before jumping in himself.
"Why do you like the water so much." Lo asked before she started to scrub herself.
"I can breathe underwater."
"That's amazing, you're like a frog." Lo giggled before she gave him a stroke on the head. Lo carried on washing herself before grabbing a towel. She put on the new dress that the servants had brought, tied her hair back into a ponytail and found her mother sat on her bed.
"I thought your father told you not to play near the well".
Lo put on an innocent face. "I'm sorry mother, but I'm fine."
"That's not good enough Lo, Sir Baristan will take you to a healer, I want to be sure you're okay."
Lo let out a sigh. " But I'm fine."
"It will only be for an hour Lo, it's only because I care about you."
"Fine, I'll go."
"Thank you Lo. The carriage should be ready by now."
Lo moaned as the carriage went over another bump. She hated taking the carriage through the jungle, the road was never repaired because of the bandits. Lo looked out the window into into the dense undergrowth and then fell of her seat before the carriage came to an abrupt halt.
She leant out of the window and Sir Baristan yelled " Get down!."
He pulled his sword from it's sheath as a group of men appeared from the foliage. " well, well, what do we have here."
"We don't want trouble, let us pass and no one will be harmed."
"What is the ransom for future queens these days, and has that line ever worked?"
"No ... " His sword hit the first in the chest while he drove a spiked gauntlet into anothers face "but honour demands it."
Lo curled herself into a ball, she hated bandits but her chain of thought was interrupted when a figure blocked the light. "Come here you little brat."A hand grabbed the scruff of her knock and dragged her outside, she was pulled through the undergrowth and thrown against a tree. "Shut up you little bitch or I'll cut your tongue out." Lo started crying before blue lightning crackled out of her hand and went into the man's chest. He arced his back and collapsed to the ground and started crying. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please, I'm so sorry." Lo heard the sound of steel boots and looked to see Baristan striding through the plants before neatly slicing the bandits throat and throwing Lo onto his shoulder.
"Why did you kill him?" Lo voice cracked slightly as she spoke.
"Duty, you will understand one day."
Lo was dropped to the ground before Baristan fell against the carriage and blood leaked from his shoulder joint. "What happened to you? Move your hand."
"Nothing little girls should see."
"I said move your hand." Baristan shifted his hand slightly and Lo pushed it further before pressing her hand against the wound.
"What are you doing girl." Before he could bat her hand away he felt a sudden pain and then a slight tingling.
Lo moved her hand away. " Do you believe that I can heal now."
Baristan gave out a laugh. " This won't get you out of visiting the healer child, and I would like to have your work checked." Lo gave out a huff and went back inside.
"The girl has magic your ladyship, she healed me from a lethal wound and the healer found evidence of fractures that had healed too quickly to be natural".
Lo mother was sat in the main hall with Baristan talking to her. She let out a sigh. " I don't know, she's only eight."
"That's not all, during the attack I couldn't see her for a for a moment and when I found her one of the bandits was on the floor."
"So she can bring a man down?'
" I'm not sure, the man was crying, and apologising."
"I'll talk to my husband when he returns about sending her to the college. You are dismissed."
Baristan gave a bow and walked out. Lo was stood out side, tapping her foot against the ground.
"What did she say?"
"She will talk to your father when he returns from the capital."
"When the bandits said what was the ransom for a future queen, what did they mean?"
Baristan let out a sigh " Your father is negotiating with the king about marrying his son to you."
"What? But he's ten and boys are disgusting! "
Baristan knelt down on one knee and looked her in the eyes. " Lo, why did I kill the man in the forest."
"Because you're mean."
"By killing that one man I stopped him from hurting others, it was my duty. The king believes you marrying his son will show the elves we aren't like the empire, the overlord united the races by fear, he thinks we can do it in peace. It will be your duty."
"But I'm eight!"
"Duty is duty. No matter your age."
"But I don't want to sit on some throne, I'd rather fight."
"You want to fight girl? Then hit me. On the battle field ..." Baristan stopped as Lo slapped his face. "Killing a man is different from slapping ... ' He stopped as she slapped him again. " This is not a game." Lo slapped again.
"I want to learn to fight."
"I saw what you did to that man, you don't need steel with that power." Slap.
"Then give me a better metal."
" A sword is no tool for a woman."
"Then give me a bow."
"You've got quite the mouth haven't you girl."
" And you the reluctance to teach."
" I've never been comfortable with bows, if you are to kill someone you should have the courtesy to look him in the eyes, man to man."
"Well I'm not a man or are you going blind."
"I''ll see if I can find you a tutor but you must not mention it to your mother, and you must finish your normal lessons before training."
"I won't, and thank you." She gave him a playful slap and walked back to her room.
A/N ty for reading. Anyone know a good beta reader?