CHAPTER TWO: THE UNLIKELY ENCOUNTER

"Come on, Knothole Rangers! Kick their asses and score another goal!"

"Over my dead body! Come on, Spagonia! You've got it in you t' catch up!"

My eyes were glued to the TV with absolute amazement as I watched the Knothole Rangers get the ball from Team Spagonia, their left wing player taking an absolutely insane shot from just outside the box and SCORING with only five seconds left in the game. My team had won, and in sheer excitement overload I leaped up from the sofa and started yelling.

"LET'S GO! IN YOUR FUCKING FACE, JOSS! I TOLD YOU THEY WERE GONNA WIN! YOU OWE ME 20 RINGS, A DEALS A DEAL!" I pointed down at Joss, who had his head in his hands.

"This is why Meg tells me to stop betting on football, (soccer for the Americans!) I never end up winning…" He begrudgingly got up from the couch and took out his wallet, handing me my hard-earned rings. "Here, you deserve it. That was a pretty impressive shot from your left wing."

"Thank youuu!" I smugly took it from his hands, putting it inside my own wallet.

"I never took you to be a football guy, Elias. No offense, but you don't seem like the type that would actively follow it."

"Yeah, I guess you're sort of right. Myself and Sally used to watch all of the Knothole Rangers games together. It was what we bonded over the most I'd say." As soon as I'd mentioned her name, my phone pinged from inside my pocket. "Well, speak of the devil." I pulled my phone out, seeing that it was indeed Sally that had texted me.

Elias, did you just SEE that game?! It was absolutely INSANE, that last-minute goal had me screaming and cheering so much the whole of Knothole probably heard it! I'm sorry I couldn't come over to watch it with you :( but I hope you still got as excited as you always do watching the game! Hope to see you soon, I miss you a lot 3

I smirked to myself as I read the text. I was glad she still enjoyed it without me around too. I quickly typed her up a response before putting my phone away, turning back to Joss who was watching the post-game interviews.

"You seem like you're in a better mood today, Elias. Still having that nightmare when you sleep?"

"Uhm… Yeah, I did last night. Megan called the doctor yesterday to try and get me some new sleep medication that might help it stop. That's actually where she's gone, she went to the office to get the prescription to pick up. I would have went myself but-"

"But you refuse to leave Feral Forest. That little rule of yours. I did mean to ask… Why would you do something like that to yourself? You said you wanted more adventure, but at the same time refuse to leave here? It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me."

"I mean, it's called self-exile for a reason. I don't know, I just… I really have anxiety about leaving here. That if I step out of here, I'm going back into the world that knows me and who I am and what I did. This is my safe space, and I don't want to leave. Not yet anyways. Not until everyone forgets who I am."

"I think those doctors of yours need to start treating you for some serious anxiety disorder as well as insomnia. Do you hear yourself talking? This is a textbook example of it. Are they not taking you seriously or something? I know men's mental health isn't talked about as much as it should be but you seriously need to start speaking up for yourself more. You can't let Meg do all the talking for you, she can't know exactly what's going on in your head. Only you can." Shit, he was right. I HAD been letting her do all the talking for me at appointments, I really needed to start speaking up for myself more so I could get proper help.

"I… Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Joss. I really needed to hear that. Next time I can, I'll make my own appointment and try to talk about what's going on in my head."

"I'll be holding you to that. Now, how's about we watch the other match going on? Take your mind off things?"

"Sorry, I can't. I picked up an extra shift working today to get some extra cash, the store has a new flannel I really want so I need the money."

"Do you not think you have enough of those?"

"Clearly not." I subconsciously began to turn my attention to the TV as it switched from talking about the game to another breaking story. Apparently the arena in the next town over was expecting a very famous band to play an anticipated sold-out finale concert of their world tour with tickets soaring into prices of over a thousand rings just to stand in the pit.

"What the hell? 1000 rings?! Imagine how many flannels you could buy with that, Elias! That's extortionate! Who would pay that much for a concert ticket!"

"A concert in the next town over? That's bound to bring more people here! Looks like business will be booming for a while." I went over to the door and began to put my boots on to get ready to leave for my shift.

"I know, right! Maybe we'll finally find you a friend, eh?" We were still kicking this dead horse, huh?

"I wouldn't put your money on it, like you should stop doing with football since you follow an embarrassing team." I didn't skip a beat, just continuing to get ready.

"...Touché. Hope you have a good shift this time."

"I'll try." I put my gloves on and grabbed my axe, giving Joss a wave before going outside, proceeding to walk into the forest to get on with my job.

I had to admit, I felt like I had outdone myself this time around. Instead of dwindling on my thoughts, I tried to take Joss' advice and let myself be one with the trees (very weird but if it worked it worked). In just an hour and a half I had managed to get through half of my quota for my entire shift, and, being quite satisfied with my work ethic, I sat down in the tall grass to take a very deserved smoke break. I stared around at my surroundings and soaked in the afternoon sun as I did, finally allowing myself to be one with my thoughts again. Y'know, this was actually quite quiet and peaceful, maybe I was overreacting to this all. Maybe this life wasn't as bad as I was making it out to be…

SNAP!

I quite literally almost jumped out of my skin as soon as I heard that noise. I immediately dropped my cigarette and whipped my head around to where I'd heard the noise, like someone had stepped on a branch. That noise had been way too loud for it to just have been a wild rabbit or another local wild animal. Was… Was someone watching me? Had they… Figured out who I was? Were they trying to sneak up on me?!

As much as I hate to say it, I let my anxiety get the best of me. I slowly reached for my axe as a wave of paranoia rushed through my body, shakily standing up and looking in the direction of where the noise had come from. I had to squint to see it, but when I did I could see a short, blue tail peeking out from behind an old tree to my left. As much as I wanted to turn and run away, I knew I had to stand my ground against this intruder to protect my territory. I was not about to let someone come and ruin my peace. I sternly began to approach, keeping my axe visible.

"HEY-! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING HERE?!" As soon as I shouted, it seemed to scare the person as they turned and immediately bolted away in the opposite direction. Ok, so this person had definitely been spying on me. I don't know what had been going through my head, but instead of just leaving it there and scaring them away… I decided to chase them down, axe in hand. I wasn't ACTUALLY going to use it on them… Maybe only as a threat tactic.

I had a moment of hesitation when we came to the border of where Feral Forest ended. I stopped, looking down and pondering. Was this person really worth leaving my self-exile for? Before I could make my mind up, I heard the noise of someone tripping, and an exclamation of pain, and knew that they'd tripped on a tree root and hurt themselves. This was my chance to question them about what they were doing. Sighing and furrowing my brows… I took the step over the border, leaving Feral Forest and my self-exile for the first time in months. I ran straight ahead, seeing the figure laying on the ground just in front of me. I raised my axe, on high alert in case this was a ruse and they were about to jump up and attack me.

"Hey, what's your fucking deal?! Spying on me like that, who do you think you are-!?" I tightened my grip on my axe, finally approaching the person, standing right in front of them. And that was when I finally got a good look at who I was dealing with.

It was a girl. Laying on the ground, clutching her ankle that had clearly been hurt by the tree root with one hand, bracing herself from me with the other hand. She didn't seem like she was trying to spy on me for anyone. She was scared of me. Now less paranoid about her, I slowly lowered my axe, dropping it to the ground as my face went a bit red from embarrassment. How could I have done that to an innocent girl? "Hey…"

She looked up slightly, moving her arm away from her face, and her reaction said it all. She had realized who I was. She spoke back to me a little bit hesitantly. "H-Hey…"

I quickly knelt down beside her, though I didn't touch her in case she freaked out. "Are you alright? Those tree roots can be serious ankle breakers. Do you need me to call a medic?" She looked at me again before moving her foot around in a circular motion. Man, her Doc Martens were really cool. I wished I had a pair of my own.

"I'm fine… I think. It doesn't feel broken, I should be ok to get up." I nodded and stood up again, offering my hand to her which she took with barely any hesitation. "Thanks."

"It's fine. I am… so, so sorry for chasing you like that. I thought you were spying on me and I just got so paranoid and I-"

"It's ok, dude. Chill! I totally get why you thought I was spying, I probably looked like a real freak hiding behind that tree. I was just exploring when I spotted you. I stepped on a tree branch and it totally freaked you the fuck out so I was just trying to hide so that you didn't think I was spying on you like a weirdo… But clearly that didn't work now did it?" I smirked a little bit, finally seeing the funny side of this.

"Yeah, I guess it didn't really work out for you." We both went silent for a moment before she spoke again, the moment I knew was coming.

"Say, you're…?"

"Elias Acorn? That abdicated king that everyone hates? Yeah, that's me. I thought you'd say that, the look you gave me told me you knew."

"Yeah, you're very recognizable unfortunately. I didn't know you were all the way here in the back ass of nowhere, everyone just said you kinda… Disappeared after you ran away. Also, you're not hated by everyone, per se. People just kinda… Disagree with what 'ya did, y'know?"

"You don't have to sugarcoat it, really. It's ok. I know people hate me for what I've done, I've accepted it at this point. I can't change people's minds, so it's best not to linger on it."

"Y'know, I don't hate you for whachta did. I can kinda get why you wanted to say fuck it and leave to make your own life elsewhere. You've got the right to be able to live your life the way you want since you only get one. Fuck what other people think of you. As long as you're happy, that's all that matters. That's my motto for life." Ok, wow. I REALLY liked this girl, despite only knowing her for five minutes. A person who didn't hate me for what I did? UNDERSTOOD my decision? She was instantly in my good books. Now more comfortable with talking to her, I knew I had to get to know her better. Figure out her story, what made her tick and what made her think like this.

"Say… Would you want to come back to the village with me? I could… Show you 'round. Maybe have some tea and talk for a while? I'd love to get to know you better."

"Oh, what a lil charmer you are! Lemme see…" She quickly took a look at her watch, smirking to herself. "Yeah, sure! I'll come with you, I've got a bit of time before I have to meet up with my friends. Lead the way, Elias Acorn!"

"Alright, good! Come with me, I'll show you the safest route back to the village, there's a lot of nettles and thorns around here, I don't want you getting stung." She gave me a nod and a thumbs up to let me know she heard me, and so we began to make our way back to my house together. It was strange, I didn't even know this girl's name yet and I already wanted to be friends with her. Huh, looks like Joss was right. I really was hoping to make a new friend today because of this concert.