CH. 9

"Stick close to me Seth and do not wander away from my side, understand?"

"Sure."

"Keep quiet as well. Promise me."

"I-I promise."

Keiran threw me one last serious impression, with narrowed eyes, before setting off towards the town square. The calm, relaxed demeanor of his now gone, replaced by the serious one of the towns Baronet.

Elves! Barely able to contain my excitement, I followed closely behind.

Aw man, I wonder what they're like! The standard noble impression of them was assumed, along with their peerless beauty and down to earth souls.

As a constant stream of townspeople traveled past us in the opposite direction, he and I continued through them, the only ones seemingly not running for the hills.

"Baronet sir! Baronet!"

Out of breath and sweating under his light armor, a guard ran towards us in a panic.

"Sir, a group of elves have arrived and are waiting in the town square with Stoldt and the others."

"Ah, so Stoldt is already aware of their arrival. That makes things easier then. Have they mentioned why they have brought themselves here?"

"Not at all. Stoldt informed them to wait for your arrival before finding out the details."

"I understand. We'll be there shortly."

The guard nodded and ran away, obviously to inform Stoldt and the elven party that Keiran, the local lord, was already on his way.

"Do not say anything Seth. Remain silent and observant. You promised to stay by my side, remember?"

"Yes… father… I remember. You don't have to worry."

It wasn't much further until we reached the pleasant meeting between the guards and the elves. Although I say pleasant, that's not really what it was.

The tension hanging in the air was so palpable, I was sure that if someone were to swing a sword, they'd be able to cut right through it. For such a warm day, it was uncannily frosty.

I knew the elven empire directly fringed one of the kingdoms borders, which meant that both countries traded with one another. Even so, with the commerce exchange between both, neither recognized the other as an enemy or ally.

Both maintained a neutral stance, which had remained unchanging for centuries. The empire was so nervous and cautious of the outside world surrounding its borders, that travelers who wished to enter were exclusive only to a select few who were recognized as required by the elven Royal Court.

Even those that were permitted entry were allowed to only travel to specific destinations, just inside its border. Anything further inwards was impossible and was heavily enforced by their military.

Therefore, no one had ever been to the interior of the territory, no one had met the emperor and high-ranking nobles of the Royal Court, nor were there any other records circulating of their cloaked modus vivendi.

But they were well known for one particular thing.

"Finally, you arrive. You certainly took your leisurely time and kept us waiting, didn't you?"

Standing before us was a group of elven men and woman wearing intricate, exquisite silver colored armor that you would swear were ceremonial pieces and not used for actual day to day use. Each one carried a longbow strapped to their backs and a short sword at their hips.

Though their overall appearance varied slightly, each one had long hair and long pointed ears, typical of the stereotypical appearance of elves.

The one who had spoken first, stood at their head, wearing an extremely displeased look. He was dressed similarly to the others, except for the purple cloak draped over his back. A golden crest covered the chest of the armor. A short sword hung from his left hip, whilst a dagger was strapped to his right.

Contempt was written all over his face and body language.

"Watch your mouth elf. That's the lord of this region you're speaking to. You will show the proper amount of respect that title deserves."

Stoldt stepped forward and reprimanded the elf, hand resting on the hilt of his sword. The nearby guards handled their weapons nervously in response.

"Hmph. What does that matter to me? You humans are inferior to us elves. Besides, even if he holds the title of a noble in your society, he's still only a Baronet. Pathetic really. I see no need to lower myself before someone of such an inferior status."

"I won't stand for your insolence elf! If I need to knock you down a peg or two, then I will."

Whoa! Stoldt wasn't backing down and neither was the elf. Both glared at each other without so much as flinching away.

"Think you can? I'm curious as to where you get all that self-confidence from."

"You're not the first bastard elf I've faced. Didn't think it would be the last time then, sure as hell this won't be the last time either."

The elves gathered around, drawing their swords as they fanned out around their leader, readying themselves for the inevitable conflict about to break out. The towns guards weren't as confident as the elves, each one also drew their weapons with shaking hands, and spread out around the square.

"My blades haven't been wet with your kinds disgusting blood for quite some time human. I relish the chance for them to taste it once again."

"You elves never change. Didn't learn your lesson from the last human and elven war huh? I'll gladly show you what you've already forgotten with that long life of yours."

Schting.

Stoldt drew his sword in response to the elven leader drawing his dagger and sword in each hand.

Holy shit! This is not what I was expecting the human and elf relationship to be like. What a misconception! This is bad, very, very bad.

Should I run?

If the area became a battlefield, I was definitely useless. No way would I be able to participate in that fight. I was a child after all, and I didn't possess any fighting skills whatsoever. I would very much just be farming food for these fighters to gain experience.

Hell, I'd never even held a sword, much less used a kitchen knife.

I had the maturity to acknowledge that about myself. If push came to shove, I was going to choose my selfish butt over anyone else. Besides, it wasn't a kid's responsibility to fight.

Now I understood why Keiran was so adamant that I stay beside him and not say anything. No wonder the other villages had disappeared when the elves had arrived. No doubt because they knew something like this would happen and didn't want to be caught in the middle.

Not that I could blame them.

"That is enough."

Keiran motioned for me to stay standing where I was, before he boldly stood forward, drawing the attention of everyone.

"Don't worry Baronet. Once I've dealt with this loudmouth, I'll be happy to discuss with you the reason for our arrival." The elven leader didn't remove his eyes from Stoldt.

"Stoldt is one of my most trusted subordinates. He only speaks in defense of my honor, as a vassal should. Forgive his words. I would be happy to speak with you."

"You need not lower yourself to these ingrates sir. Once I've dealt with this one, the rest should fall into line without issue." The elves fanned out around their leader bristled at Stoldt's bold statement.

"I appreciate your willingness to fiercely defend me Stoldt. But nothing would be achieved by spilling each other's blood here. Let them explain why they have come here, then they can be on their way."

Keiran stood with Stoldt, a hand on his shoulder. Stoldt wavered for a moment, his eyes flicking between the elf and the Baronet.

"Haa."

Heaving a sigh, he sheathed his sword and relaxed his stance.

"Yes. That's enough brother. We didn't come here so you could run your hot mouth off…"

A beautiful elven woman approached the elven leader and placed a hand on the one which was gripping the hilt of his sword. As beautiful as she was, what really got my attention was the clothing, or rather lack thereof, she wore.

A simple green dress, if you could call it that, ran the length to her knees, exposing her shoulders, arms, waist and legs. It scarcely covered her ample breasts and thick thighs, with a large leather belt buckled around her waist. The same golden crest was embroidered onto the fabric of the dress.

Carrying a polished wooden staff with a fiercely glowing gem at its tip, the impression I felt from her was one similar to a poisonous flower.

"Forgive my brother. He speaks before he thinks most of the time and it causes me no amounts of unending grief."

"Please forgive my vassal. He only means to protect my honor."

The elven beauty and Keiran inclined their heads slightly to each other in apology. As the elven beauty looked up, she glanced in my direction and we locked eyes.

"It's rude to stare child. Although, being so enamored by my beauty is something that I cannot blame you for I suppose. It's only natural after all…"

"Uhh…"

I could only gulp nervously as that cool blue gaze of hers bore into mine. The focus behind them rooted me to the spot and I couldn't even get a word out from under the pressure they exerted.

"Please leave the boy alone. Whatever your business here is, state it. Then begone from here, your presence is disruptive to the townspeople."

"Ouch. That hurts my delicate feelings… Words can be rather cruel you know."

Covering her ample chest with a hand, she wore an expression of faux hurt.

"Hmph."

The elven leader stepped back, reforming the group with his elven brethren and crossed his arms.

Though the tension in the square was slowly dissipating, everyone was still guarded and on edge. Stoldt and the other guards stepped back and reformed their group behind their Baronet. Standing by should they be required again.

Keiran and the elven beauty stood across from each other. The beauty wearing a smile that I only thought of as one a predator wears when observing its prey and Keiran, who was looking grim.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Loriell Monet of the Drummel family. The rather audacious one is my brother, Sret Monet. Forgive us for our transgression into your town and upon your people. Let's start over."