Chapter 24 - Encounter
The ambient cascade of the waterfall gradually faded behind them, and in its place filled the gentle gurgling of the river flowing.
Vincent walked a step behind Maelle, his eyes darting between the other worldly nature surrounding them and the rigid profile of the princess in front of him.
The silence between them was deafening, broken only by the soft crunch of gravel under their boots and the wind rustling through the leaves above.
’Awkward... Man, the tension is killer. This isn’t going to work at all if we don’t break the ice. We’re supposed to be a team now, right? A temporary team. But a team nonetheless.’
*Ahem* "So... Maelle, is it cool if I just call you Maelle? Or do I have to conform to proper royal etiquette and call you Princess?"
Maelle didn’t turn her head back to him, she kept her gaze fixed on the path ahead as she answered. "You are my familiar. ’Maelle’ is fine."
"You mean... temporary familiar. I mean, having a legendary dragon as a partner sounds pretty epic, right? But hey, don’t worry! Like I said, I know people who are working on fixing the mistake–"
"I would honestly much rather have a troll as a familiar than a dragon," Maelle interrupted, sounding devoid of emotion.
’Trolls?! There are no trolls in the Divine Realm to replace me! Also, what about me?! I have a life too, you know?!’
Taking a deep breath to compose himself, he asked her calmly, "W-Why don’t you want a dragon? Aren’t they, like, the pinnacle of mythical beasts?"
Maelle offered no response. She simply kept walking with her chin held high, completely ignoring his question.
’Haaaa... guess that’s the end of that conversation tree branch.’
Not one to give up easily, Vincent tried a different angle to break the ice. "So, Maelle... how old are you?"
"I am twenty."
"Ohh, twenty? So you’re older than me."
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "How old are you?"
"I’m eighteen..." Vincent paused, tapping his chin thoughtfully as he calculated in his head. "...Actually, wait. I’m 518."
Maelle’s eyebrows twitched, but she remained silent as Vincent started softly rambling to himself.
"... No, wait. Back home, I’m technically eighteen, yes. But I spent five hundred years in the Divine Realm celebrating many birthdays with Mama, Dee, and Nat... Hmm. Hey Maelle, honest opinion – how old do I look to you? Eighteen or five hundred and eighteen?"
"You look eighteen," she answered without even glancing in his direction.
"You didn’t even look properly! And what about the five hundred other birthdays I had?! The math says I’m older!"
"Then you are five hundred and eighteen."
"Yeah! It only makes sense that I’m the older one here. From now on, you have to call me Mr. Winters."
"I take it back. You are eighteen."
"Haha~ What? Tired of being the baby of the family?"
Maelle stopped dead in her tracks, causing Vincent to nearly bump into her back.
She turned slowly and locked eyes with him in a chilling, dead-serious glare.
"Do not say that filthy word in my presence ever again."
Vincent held up his hands defensively, sensing an aura of sudden animosity radiating off her.
"Whoa, okay! What word? ’Baby’? Because my mama calls me ’baby’ all the time! At first, it was hella weird, but I got used to it eventually–"
"No. Not that. The other word."
"Other word...? You talking about fam–"
"Vincent. Stop."
Seeing the deep-rooted pain and rage flashing through her eyes, Vincent immediately shut his mouth and nodded.
Maelle stared at him for a quiet second, then turned back around and continued walking, with him following a step behind her.
They walked in silence for a couple of minutes before Vincent looked up at the sky, breaking the quiet with a genuine question.
"You know... when we were up in the sky, all we saw were endless trees for miles on end. Now, there’s what, a village up ahead? What kind of people would build a settlement in the middle of nowhere?"
"There are only four possibilities. It is either a goblin camp..."
"Of course it’s goblins."
"...Another bandit hideout, a hidden elven sanctuary, or, hopefully, simply a human settlement."
As the trees began to thin out, revealing the faint wooden fences of the village in the distance, Vincent’s keen senses suddenly spiked.
Without making it obvious, he closed the gap between them and stepped casually right beside Maelle.
Maelle side-glanced at him, confused as to why he suddenly started walking next to her, but she kept her gaze locked straight ahead.
"Hey," he spoke softly. "We’re being watched. Major stalking vibes right now."
"What–?"
"Don’t act suspicious," Vincent kept his eyes ahead. "Keep walking."
"How can you tell?" she spoke softly back.
"Trained senses. So, what’s the play? We’re getting close to the settlement. Should we keep walking, or should I make the first move and catch them by surprise?"
"How many are there?"
"Three to our left hiding up in the trees and three to our right in the trees across the river. All armed."
Maelle considered this for a brief second. "If they have not ambushed us by now, they are cautious. Let us continue walking as if we suspect nothing."
"You got it."
When they took several more steps forward, a sound caught their attention.
CRACK.
A dry twig snapped to their left.
"Hm!?"
Vincent’s arm shot out, stopping Maelle before she could go any further.
Pew—SNAP!
A streak of wood and iron whistled through the air, embedding itself deep into the riverbed stone right between Vincent’s boots.
"Looks like we’re not very welcome here, Maelle."
"DON’T MOVE, BANDITS!" a clear female voice shouted from the high branches above. "Put your hands where I can see them!"
Maelle’s royal pride instantly flared. She snapped her head toward the sound and shouted back, "Who are you?! Do you have any idea who I am?! I am the–"
Pew—SNAP!
A second arrow drove itself into the stone in front of Maelle’s boot.
"I am not telling you again! Put your hands up!"
*Tsk* Maelle clicked her tongue in irritation.
Gritting her teeth, she slowly raised her hands into the air. Seeing her comply, Vincent followed suit, holding his hands up beside his head.
He leaned his head toward her slightly and whispered under his breath, "Well... at least it’s not goblins."
The tree branches to their right rustled with movement.
A slender, agile figure leaped from the foliage, flipping gracefully through the air before landing silently on the riverbank, standing in front of them.
She held a beautifully crafted wooden longbow fully drawn and aimed at Vincent’s head.
The woman possessed long, light green hair tied into a braided ponytail. She wore practical green and white scout attire reinforced with light leather armor that left her midriff, toned arms, and thighs exposed for maximum mobility. Her piercing yellow eyes locked onto them with hostility. But most notably, a pair of long, elegant, pointed ears poked through her light green hair.
Maelle’s eyes narrowed slightly. "An elf."
THUD! THUD!
Two more elven archers dropped from the trees behind them, drawing their bows and trapping them in a pincer ambush.
"You two are now our prisoners," the lead elf declared. "Do as you are told and follow me toward the village. Do not make me use force, human bandits."
"We are not bandits." Maelle said.
"I do not believe you! Our sanctuary is hidden deep within this ancient forest, far from any human territories! You could not have simply ’stumbled’ upon us! Only those vile bandits know of this path... the ones who invaded our homes and stole our young! And now you have returned for more! Well, I will not allow it!"
"Hey, Ms. Elf, we really aren’t with those guys." Vincent spoke calmly. "In fact, just last night we escaped from bandits. As for how we found your humble abode, it was pure coincidence. We needed to find civilization, so we followed the river which led us here."
"Save your pathetic excuses for the interrogation!"
"Interrogation? Yeah... I really didn’t like the tone in which you used that word. Clearly, you guys aren’t planning on having a chat."
"Shut up and move! Follow me!"
Maelle let out a quiet sigh, taking a step forward to comply, but Vincent blocked her path once again.
"Vincent? What are you doing?"
The lead elf spun around, her face twisting in anger. "Didn’t I tell you to move?!"
"No. Give us your word that you won’t try anything funny once we’re in your hands, and then maybe we’ll move."
Maelle’s heart skipped a beat. She glared at him, keeping her face stoic despite the rising panic in her chest. "Vincent, why are you doing this? We are surrounded."
"Because I won’t let any harm come to you. Nobody is ever going to hurt you while I’m here."
"You have been warned, human. Archers! Kill the boy! The girl seems cooperative... we will squeeze the information out of her!"
TAK! TAK! TAK!
All three elven archers drew their bowstrings back to their ears, locking their aim dead on Vincent’s chest and head.
"Vincent–!"
Vincent looked the lead scout dead in the eye when a dangerous smirk spread across his lips.
"Bad move, Ms. Elf."