The one named Ari pointed her bow up into the air and shot slightly glowing green arrows continuously as she rode her horse. She ran her quiver dry after about ten seconds and then came to a stop a hundred feet away. Sela and Nita had split off to either side and Sela drew her sword and held it up into the air. I saw a green mist shoot out of the sword and go up into the sky. Nita held her hands out towards me and started to chant as her hands glowed green.

“Run.” Maylia whispered to me. “I'll take the blame.”

“I'd like to leave, except we're in an open field and the barrier is right there.” I said. “The only cover is the unconscious horses and the entanglement vines.”

“Then you need to dodge!” Maylia said and tried to push me out of the way. I grabbed onto her instead and held on as thirty arrows bounced off of the magical barrier, ricocheted off, then a strong gust of greenish wind pushed them straight down towards me. I looked up and saw that they were going to miss me by a wide margin, then I felt a pulse of mana and looked at Nita. Something like a spider's web came out of her hands and flew through the air to just above me.

I immediately created a solid bubble of Mana Presence around myself, Maylia, and the horses and guards. The green arrows hit the floating spider web all along the outer edge and slammed it down into the ground. The mana web caught everything inside and pulsed green as it tried to suck the energy out of my Mana Presence bubble.

“That's a neat attack.” I said. “The coordination and timing must have taken a long time to get right.”

“Why isn't it touching you?” Nita asked, surprised.

“Come closer and find out.” I said with a smile. “I'm a bit concerned that you would have covered Maylia and the other guards, as well as the horses with this web thing.”

“We would have sorted you out after you were caught.” Sela said. “Drop your barrier.”

“You know, even if I thought I would be treated well after being captured... again... I still wouldn't do it.” I said to her. “I have no need or desire to be squirrelled away inside a tree by your people.”

“What's squirrelled away mean?” Maylia asked.

“It's in reference to a small fluffy-tailed rodent that hides nuts inside the hollow trunk of a tree.” I said, and she looked at me with raised eyebrows. “Now I'm wondering what you would look like with a big fluffy tail of blonde hair.”

Maylia's face flushed slightly red and I smiled at her. A green arrow bounced off my barrier and I turned to look at Ari. Her quiver was full again and she put another arrow in her bow.

“Do you want my mother's necklace that badly?” I asked.

“Men shouldn't wear jewellery.” Ari said. “Plus, if Sela had killed you, I'd own it anyway.”

“I probably wouldn't have cared if I was dead; but, I'm not dead, so I do care.” I said and used a Presence Hand to scoop up a huge clump of dirt twenty feet away from her side, then flung it at her. Dirt and grass hit her on the side of the shoulder and knocked her aim off just enough that she let the arrow fly. It flew past me and came dangerously close as it whipped by Nita.

“Stop shooting! We're supposed to capture him alive.” Sela said. “We just have to wait for his barrier spell to end and Nita can maintain the web until then.”

“No, she can't.” I said and smiled. “It's permanent until I absorb it.”

Everyone gasped and their mouths dropped open.

“That also doesn't take into account that I can lift your web.” I said and created six Presence Hands, gripped the edge of the mana web in front of me, and lifted. It pulled the half dozen arrows out of the ground and I peeled the web back and off of my solid Mana Presence Bubble. Nobody moved or spoke as I easily disabled what I believed to be their strongest trap.

“Who are you?” Maylia asked from beside me.

“I'm someone who's tired of being hunted for who I am.” I said and turned to look at the guard and then at Sela and the other two. “Hear me now and listen well. I have safe passage in the elf lands, granted by the princess and the elders of that tree-town. I was just going to leave and let this thing end there; but, you people just aren't going to listen without a threat.” I said and bent over slightly to look at the guard that was entangled. “So, I'm going to give you one that you can't refute or dismiss.”

“There's nothing you can say that will convince the princess to...”

“With safe passage, I can easily leave like I've been trying to do.” I said and cut off her words. “Or, I can stay and make your lives a living hell.” I smiled evilly. “I can even walk right into the castle's throne room unimpeded and kill the entire royal family.”

“NO!” The guard yelled and tried to break free of the vines.

“You keep pushing me and I've taken it for a while. You should know that I'll only take so much and then I'm going to start fighting back.” I said and stood up straight and looked at Sela, Nita, and Ari. “You don't want me to start fighting back.”

“You... you're just a man.” The restrained guard said. “How can you threaten us? We're women!”

“Because I'm tired of being chased. I will threaten and then kill anyone that comes after me.” I said. “Do you understand?”

The guard looked at me like I was crazy. I sighed and turned to Maylia.

“Please tell me that you understand. I've been giving everyone an easy time because of the way your culture has taught you to treat men. I'm not going to do that anymore. If anyone comes after me, follows me, or looks for me, I won't hold back. Safe passage or no safe passage.”

“I believe you.” Maylia said. “We'll let the rest know.”

I smiled at her and took her hands with mine. “Thank you.”

Maylia looked down at my hands and saw the gloves, then she looked at my face.

“You know, I was tempted a couple of times to ask you to come with me.” I said and she caught her breath. “Yeah, asking you to leave your people and your life for someone you just met is pretty stupid.” I said. “I could be gone tomorrow, in whatever way I had shown up here or even some other way, and then where would you be? Ostracized and probably outlawed by your people, an outcast to the rest of the world and then you'd probably...”

“Yes, I'll go with you.” Maylia said and I stopped talking and looked at her.

“Excuse me?”

“Even after everything we've done to you, you are still treating us as if we are misbehaving and you're trying to discipline us.” Maylia said. “I've never seen a man do anything like that... or show concern for anyone besides himself.” She smiled. “All you've done is be careful to not hurt us.”

“Maylia, you...”

“I know what it'll mean, and I'm okay with that.” Maylia said. “My family will disown me for stealing you from the princess, anyway.”

“Stealing me?” I asked.

“I think she wants you for breeding stock and...” Maylia started to explain.

“That's all I needed to know.” I said and turned to the restrained guard. “With the others here, there's no need to put you to sleep.” I said. “I'll be going now.”

“We will be going.” Maylia corrected me. “We might not get far, since we're still stuck inside the barrier; but, I'll do my best to keep you safe and protected.”

I didn't feel the Presence waver at all and gave her a genuine happy smile. “Remind me to give you a hug later.” I said, then chuckled. “Heh, why wait?” I asked and put my arms around her and hugged her tightly. She was startled at first, then she put her arms around my waist and hugged me back.

“That's disgusting.” The restrained elf said.

“You believe that because you haven't had a man express genuine feelings to you.” I said and leaned back from Maylia and kept my arms around her. “I appreciate Maylia for trying to look past her own prejudice against men to see that I'm not like them.” I said, and her face flushed slightly red.

“Things like that aren't even shared in the bedroom.” The guard said.

“They're not?!?” Ari asked, shocked.

“That reminds me.” I said and let Maylia go and turned to Ari. “Don't shoot your arrows at me anymore.” I pointed a thumb over my shoulder at the two quivers I had. “I'll shoot back.”

“You don't even have a bow.” Ari responded with derision.

“I don't need a bow.” I said and used a Presence Hand to take an arrow out of the quiver and pointed at her with my finger, then threw the arrow. It smashed against the inside of my barrier and she flinched. I smiled and looked at Nita. “No web, or I'll catch it and throw it back at you.”

Nita didn't say anything and just nodded. I looked at Sela and she nodded as well. I nodded back and absorbed the Mana Presence bubble.

“Hurry up and attack him! He's right there!” The restrained guard said.

“I am at the moment... but, where will I be in a few minutes?” I asked and held a hand out to Maylia. She took my still gloved hand and smiled at me. I turned away and walked over to the barrier and no one said anything until I reached it.

“It really does need powerful spell casters to make a temporary hole in the barrier.” Maylia said.

I looked up and up, then turned around to see that it wasn't a wall of protection. “Now I know why Ari's arrows bounced off the thing.” I said and looked at the dome shape. “It's the same shape as my barrier when I create it.” I turned back and looked at the green energy barrier in front of me. “This covers all of your lands?”

“It took hundreds of magic users and decades of mana storage to cast a spell this large.” Maylia said. “We were all taught about it as children. How the rest of the world hated elves and how our people decided to cut ourselves off from the other races so that we wouldn't have to worry about being attacked anymore.”

“Then you turned into a completely closed off society that lives by its own rules and doesn't have to answer to anyone else.” I said. “Yeah, that would change your people's outlook and how they treat other races.” I chuckled. “It makes a little more sense to me now and I'm glad I wasn't killed as soon as I was found.”

“So am I.” Maylia said. “You're not like any man I've ever met.”

“After hearing about the men of your people, I'm even happier that I wasn't just killed outright.” I said. “So, do you feel like leaving your homeland?”

“What? Leave?” Maylia looked at the barrier and then at me. “I told you that...”

“Yeah, and I believe you.” I said with a smile. “You said you need a few really powerful mana users to open a hole in the barrier, right?”

“Yes. Even then it normally takes hours to cast the spell.”

I've had the barrier inside my detection range this whole time and I know that it's just an energy barrier. A really thick and strong energy barrier. I've been manipulating energy using Presence for years, so I used a Presence Hand to take off the glove on my free hand. I was going to touch it with the glove on; but, for some reason that felt wrong. Just like with the trees and them not sharing energy until I touched it with bare skin, I knew that I needed to touch the barrier with a bare hand.

“No! Don't touch it!” Maylia exclaimed.

“Don't worry. I've got this.” I said and placed my palm flat on the barrier.

*

Over a thousand miles away, the Queen of the Elves sat in her throne room and governed her lands with an iron fist. It kept the elves strong and let them survive for millennia, and she was teaching her eldest daughters how to continue the family tradition when she felt a warm hand touch her lower back. She gasped and put a hand on the spot.

“Mother, what is it?” The oldest twin asked.

“I... I want to say it's nothing; but, I can feel someone... touching me.”

The twins looked at each other and then back at her.

“Mother, there's no one there.”

“I know that!” The queen snapped, then closed her eyes. “This is... I don't know what... OH!”

The twins ran over to her as she fell to her knees.

“What happened?”

“The... the barrier.” The queen said as she finally recognized the sensation. “Someone is trying to manipulate the protective barrier around our lands.”

“Who would dare do that without your permission?” One of the twins asked.

“I don't know.” The queen said. “Get the court mages. I need to go there right away.”

“Yes, mother.” They said and ran from the room. They came back with the handful of mages who quickly drew a teleportation circle around her and themselves.

“We're coming, too.” The twins said and stepped into the circle.

“There's no time to argue.” The queen said and the mages started to chant. “I only hope we can get there in time before whoever it is does irreparable damage.”

*

“We didn't die!” Maylia exclaimed happily. “You're amazing!”

“Th-thanks.” I said and my voice shook slightly.

The sheer amount of energy within the barrier was more than I had ever felt before. It was more than I could even imagine. I tried my best to wrap my head around it and tried to manipulate all of that energy. I made a few feeble attempts at shifting the flow of energy in front of me and the entire barrier shimmered as the small disruption spread over the barrier like dropping a rock in a pond.

“Don't do this!” The restrained guard said. “Only experienced magic users can open the barrier!”

“Please be quiet.” I said. “I'm trying to concentrate.”

“You're going to...hm.” The guard's words stopped when I covered her mouth with solid Presence.

“I think I need my other hand.” I said, and Maylia let it go and slipped the glove off for me. “Thanks.” I said and put my other hand on the barrier. Another ripple like on a pond flickered over it and I used several mental techniques to let me think and stay calm.

A bright glowing circle appeared twenty feet away, and everyone else gasped as a bright light shone for a moment and the royal court mages were there.

“Cease and desist your actions immediately.” A very authoritative woman's voice said in a familiar tone. I immediately stopped and took my hands off of the barrier to turn and look at her. If my mother Aida had a sister, this would be what she would look like, except for the much longer ears. Her long golden hair cascaded over her shoulders and down her back, and she wore a fancy dress that looked both comfortable and functional. She was surrounded by blue robed women that glowed green.

“Your highness!” Maylia, Ari, Sela, and Nita all exclaimed at once. The last three slid off of their horses and knelt on the ground, Maylia knelt as well, and the restrained guard could only duck her head. The queen waved her hand at the guard and the vines shrivelled up and disappeared, as did my Presence over her mouth. Whatever it was freed her completely and the other two unconscious guards from the horses.

“Thank you, my queen.” The guard said and knelt.

The Queen? I asked myself as the woman elegantly walked over towards me through the tall grass.

“How dare you touch my barrier.” The queen said from ten feet away, her voice filled with calmness and anger at the same time. “No one can leave my lands without my permission.”

“I didn't come here with your permission.” I said. “Why do I need it to leave?”

“Shut your mouth.” Two women's identical voices said from behind her, then they stepped out to her sides. They were identical in looks as well. “No one questions the queen.”

“Well, someone needs to.” I said to them and looked at the queen. She was the same height as me. “I woke up a captive with no idea how I got here. No one asked me anything or told me anything, so I escaped.”

“No one can escape from...” One of the twins started to say.

“I'm standing right here in front of you.” I said and cut her off. “Is that not proof that I did?”

“You had help.” The previously restrained guard said and nodded at Maylia.

“You mean from the only one who listened to me and didn't shout, 'Ew! A man!'?” I asked.

“So she did help.” The queen said.

“Only with directions, which she didn't lie about.” I said. “She gave herself up for the other woman I had to save her, and she stopped me from killing everyone by proving that not all of you are sadistic men-hating crazy people.” I wanted to say bitches; but, they probably don't know what that means.

“Is that how you see us?” The queen asked.

“I can only comment on how I was treated by nearly everyone.” I said. “What other evidence should I consider?”

“You cannot judge an entire people from one experience.” The queen said.

“Yeah, like your people don't do that with all men.” I said. “Like I told them...” I motioned to the guard, Ari, Sela and Nita. “...I'm tired of being chased and hunted for being who I am. If you keep coming after me, safe passage or no, I will kill them.”

“Safe passage?” The queen asked.

“I fought your daughter and won safe passage in the elf lands.” I said. “Along with this cloak and some food.”

“You beat our sister?” The twins asked at the same time.

“Yes, even after she kicked me between the legs with her full magical strength.” I said, and both twins gasped. “She and the elders granted me safe passage in the elf lands, so I left. Of course, the guards and the ones that captured me the first time followed me to take me back to the princess.”

“Why?”

“I insulted her by calling her scum.” I said, and the three women's faces scowled.

“How dare you!” The twins exclaimed.

“Where I come from, it's the lowest form of attack to hit someone below the belt. Only people who are scum will lower themselves to that level.” I said. “Royalty or not, she injured me very badly in my most delicate area. I redirected healing to stop the pain and it's been healed as far as I know, but...” I stopped talking and sighed. “I don't know if it will function properly after receiving that much damage.”

The three women's faces lost the scowls and sadness replaced it.

“For her to damage a man in that way...” The queen sighed. “I need to instruct her more before letting her out of my sight again.”

“It is a valid tactic.” The guard that had been restrained said.

“Only for males of no concern, not for men with potential.” The queen said. “Her callous act has damaged much more than something merely physical.”

“I'm amazed to meet two people who can see past their prejudices.” I said and she looked at me. “Maylia was the first to see that I didn't want to hurt anyone and only wanted to leave. She knew I wasn't to be treated like a typical male and was open and honest with me.”

“I hope you realize there are more women like Maylia than there are like my youngest daughter.”

“You weren't surrounded by hundreds of female elves with bows and arrows aimed at you as they chanted 'he's a man'.”

The queen closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them. “It would be pointless to ask you to stay now, wouldn't it?”

“Are you joking?” I asked, and she shook her head. “I was taken captive and robbed of my things by your people. The last time that happened to me, I was held for twelve years and then they set me up to be killed when I wouldn't join them.” I said. “I escaped and recovered these artifacts, then it took me a year of searching to find the piece of garbage that had stolen my mother's necklace. I killed him to get it back.”

Ari's face lost all of its color when she heard that.

“You will be treated like a king from now on.” The queen said without conviction.

“A male king?” I asked, and she sighed in defeat. “No thanks.”

The queen walked over to the barrier and held a hand toward it. “Are you sure that...”

“The only thing I want will be for you to not have Maylia become an outcast because she's going with me.” I said. “If you will welcome her back if I ever disappear, or she decides the outside world isn't for her, I'll keep it to myself about how I was treated by your people and I won't come back here to kill you all.”

“You really believe that you can kill us, don't you?” One of the twins asked.

“I might not be able to do it personally; but, I get the feeling that there are a lot of people on this world that haven't been treated kindly by you.” I said, and I could see on everyone's faces that it was true. “How many would love a chance to get back at you?” I asked, and no one said anything.

“Very well.” The queen said and did a weird finger wiggle and chanted something under her breath. The barrier opened just wide enough for one person to go through. “She won't be persecuted for abandoning us.”

“You're wrong. She's not abandoning you. She's been protecting you this whole time.” I said. “She's been telling me not to fight or overreact every time we meet, and I've listened to her.”

I held a hand out to Maylia. She saw my bare hand and took it anyway and my energy flowed over her. She glowed slightly green as she stood and I motioned for her to go through the barrier first. She didn't question me and went first, and I saw the look that the queen and her daughters gave me. I let Maylia's hand go so she could keep going and I noticed that the barrier was about ten feet thick.

“By the way, I'm not stupid.” I said to the queen. “I knew you were going to close the barrier as soon as I stepped in to cut Maylia off from following me.”

“You will not be allowed back in.” The queen said.

“I have safe passage.” I said and was about to step inside the barrier, then I turned and looked at the queen. “Actually, there is one more thing you can do for me.”

“Name it. If it is within my power to grant, it will be so.”

I walked over to her and her daughters stepped in front of her to protect her. She smiled and touched their shoulders to move them aside. I stopped right in front of her and stared at her face. It was very close to that of my mothers, so it was easy for me to imagine that it was really her. I closed my eyes and slowly put my arms around her to give her a gentle hug.

“Goodbye, mother.” I whispered in her ear. “I love you.” I placed a kiss on her cheek and let her go, then stepped back to see the queen's face was a deep red. She didn't say anything and I walked through the opening in the barrier, then it closed behind me.

“What was that all about?” One of the twins asked the queen, who shook her head.

“Hey, sound can travel through the barrier.” I said, surprised.

“As can wind and rain.” Maylia said as she took my hand and held it in a death grip.

“Well, damn. I wish you had told me that before.” I said.

“Why?”

“I could have just walked through the damn thing instead of trying to move the energy out of the way.”

“I don't understand.” Maylia said.

“I'll explain later.” I said and turned to the queen. I gave her a little wave and she waved back, then she turned to the mages.

“Take us home.” The queen said. The mages quickly formed another teleport circle around her and her daughters as well as themselves, then they all disappeared.