1

Morning came swiftly. Annabelle and Sean had managed to get out of slavery after Sean had, somehow, paid off a merchant caravan to take them under their wings. To the king they served, they claimed they would learn about the ways of the merchant trade and perhaps come back to the village to open up a shop of their own. To each other, however, they knew it was a way to escape a life of servitude, and that no matter whether they lived to reach the fabled throne was better than serving a king who neither particularly liked.

Annabelle finished packing up the contents of her room, thankful for once to only have enough clothes and trinkets to fit in a single bag worth. She decided to go for a little stroll through the castle, lost in thought.

At least the two elves wouldn’t take up much room in the caravan, which may have explained why, other than the coin, they could tag along.

The caravan was only until they reached the path to the forest. Once upon a time, it was known as Starfall Forest. When the miasma poured forth from an unknown source, it became known as Plaguebearer’s Forest. Many individuals avoided the forest despite it having some of the most direct paths to other villages, in fear that the rumors of the miasma turning anything into mindless creatures were true. Most who ventured into Plaguebearer’s Forest never returned…

“Annnnaaaaaa, are you getting ready?” Sean spoke as he poked his head into her room, frowning the moment he saw it empty. “Anna? Annaabeeellllleeee, are you in here?”

When there was no response, Sean frowned a bit more and then moved back to the hallway. They were free. Surely she hadn’t gone through her morning routine duties that she was so accustomed to. Or maybe she just went for a stroll.

While Sean stood there pondering the whereabouts of his missing other half, stroking his chin with his thumb and index finger, Annabelle turned down the hall to her room. She paused when she saw the red-headed elf, shaking her head for a moment before raising a blonde brow.

“Why so distressed-looking?” she asked, her head tilting to the side with a soft, brief smile as she watched Sean nearly jump out of his skin at the sound of her voice.

“Oh, Anna, I thought something had happened to you, or that you went back to your duties despite us being free,” Sean spoke, a faint blush crossing his face as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “You didn’t answer me, and then…”

“You assumed the worst,” Annabelle sighed, though she smiled more. Sean never failed to amuse her, except with his stupidity tactics. Such as wanting to go deep in the forest and sit her upon a fabled throne. She scowled to herself at the thought of the journey, annoyed at herself in some ways that she had willingly agreed to his tactics.

“Well, not the worst, just thought that maybe you went for your old duties or something.”

“No, just went for a little walk, try to clear the nerves,” Annabelle shrugged. “Not that it worked, however. Nerves are still just as twisty and turny as ever.”

“They’ll fade, I promise. Now let’s get our stuff and go meet the caravan, okay?” Sean said. He took Annabelle’s hand and led her into the room to grab her belongings. Soon they would ride with a merchant caravan to the biggest adventure of their lives.

Featured image created by author in Canva.