Roon and Jaiken returned to the forest at about an hour to midnight. They were accompanied by the pastor and vendor woman. Tonight, the Elves had positioned themselves so that it would be possible to see attackers even when frozen. But still, they had blind spots and Roon knew exactly how to use these to his advantage. He and the others drew runes in the mud and on the barks of nearby trees. After which they hid themselves and waited.

Midnight arrived, it was time to strike. But there was a bit of a problem, the Elves didn’t move.

“Why aren’t they moving?” Jaiken whispered from a tree branch above.

Roon replied. “Because of us.” The Elves were using the spell to their advantage. While they were frozen, they were also invincible. This is why the Guardians simply couldn’t slaughter them in the daytime. The moon risen at its peak gave them the power to temporarily best the spell and move themselves. But that was only if they wanted. And clearly, they did not.

Regardless, Roon ordered his men to remain vigilante. They observed the Elves until midnight was over and only when they were sure that the Elves could not move, the group left the forest.

~

“They’re not undoing the spell.” Roon reported to Rion, who sighed with a hand braced against his forehead. This was one scenario he had expected but which he could do nothing about. The Elves were likely ready for their attack, having had three thousand years to do so. The only reason they moved was simply because they wanted to. But now, having been threatened, they would most likely remain frozen until the night of the full moon. There was nothing to be done about it.

“You must continue monitoring the forest every night. Don’t let your guard down. If any Elf moves, make sure to kill them.” Rion then dismissed Roon and moved towards his bed. He lied down on his back and faced the ceiling. If the Elves had no intention of moving, then there was nothing that Rion could do.

“You seem to be in distress.” Sarah entered the room and sat down in the chair beside the window. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

Rion glanced at her. She wore a long black dress that had a pretty red rose on its shoulder. Rion thought it to be bland and boring, and also quite depressing. He smiled, that was exactly Sarah’s style.

“What do you think? In less than two weeks, the Elves are going to attack and I can do nothing to stop it.” He returned his face to the ceiling. “Perhaps evacuating the town would be best.”

“That would be a horrible idea.” Sarah remarked. “The people wouldn’t get far. And the Elves would just hunt and kill them.”

“Then what would you do?” Rion asked. It was a rhetorical question for the most part. But he still wanted to know her answer.

“I don’t know. But that’s why you’re our leader and I’m not.” Of course that’d be her reply. What else did he expect? There was no real solution to the problem at hand. The only hope that they had was Maria. But if that failed, (which it most likely would), the next full moon would become tainted with blood.

~

Arthur swung the blade through the air. It glimmered in the sunlight as it moved swiftly and sliced the grass below. Arthur retracted it and took another stance. He slashed the blade forward while holding it with both hands. Anyone would have noticed that he had no training with a sword but even so, his actions felt natural. The blade felt more like an extended arm than a piece of refined metal. It was as if power flowed from the sword into his body, giving him a burst of confidence and strength. He liked that very much.

After hours of slashing at nothing, Steven and Maria returned home from school. Indeed, Arthur had chosen to skip school and instead played around with his new sword. It wasn’t unlikely for him to do something like this but still, Sarah would be furious when she found out. Though Arthur didn’t know how he felt about Sarah now, after having kept so many secrets from him.

Steven approached Arthur, after having placed his backpack inside of the cabin. “What have you been doing all day?” his little brother asked, his hands rested in the pockets of the grey trousers that he wore.

“Isn’t that obvious, I’ve been practicing.” Arthur replied as he continued slicing the air, while advancing steps.

“Do you even know what you’re doing?” Steven asked, his head tilted in a disappointed expression.

“Of course I do.” Arthur lied. He genuinely had no idea what he was doing.

After that, Steven sighed and walked away. “What does he know?” Arthur wondered to himself. Arthur knew that Steven had also withheld information from him. It was a gut feeling but he had confirmed it after Steven had spoken with Maria. Everyone simply thought of Arthur to be a fool. But Mr. Welkins thought different and Arthur wouldn’t let him down. Arthur kept swinging the sword and for a moment (though Arthur did not see it) the blade flashed golden. Arthur kept swinging.

~

Steven walked into the cabin and took a seat by the dinning table. Maria had gone to her room to do who knows what and Arthur was outside playing hero. What was Steven to do? He hadn’t gone to the forest last night. Steven had desperately needed some sleep after having stayed up for quite some time in the previous nights. And despite not hearing any singing, the boy had managed to sleep quite peacefully even when the nightmares returned. With all that had been happening, he seemed to be less afraid of the dreams. Still though, he would gladly live without them.

Steven wondered what Teya was doing right now. She was frozen during the day but could she still see and hear? Perhaps Steven would try and find out. He could of course just ask Sarah about it when she got home. But he had time to spare, and was quite bored. So the boy decided to make his way towards the forest and looked around for Teya. He wouldn’t be able to see her entirely but he could still make out the vague outline of her body. He found her perched on a tree top, not far from the Elven village.

He climbed up the tree and sat beside her, waving a hand in front of her eyes. He swore he saw a flicker in her eyes. Though it was hard to tell with her being transparent and all. “Can you hear me right now?” he asked.

“I don’t suppose you could tell me even if you did.” Steven then reached in the small haversack he had brought with him and pulled out a sandwich. It was nothing but bread laced with peanut butter but he still thought it to be quite good.

“So I was wondering. What will you do when your people get out of here?” He took a bite of his sandwich and munched at it loudly, manners didn’t matter much when you grew up poor. “Well, I’m assuming that you all intend to break free since you’re planning to attack the town.” Steven took another bite at his sandwich and then looked into Teya’s eyes. “Stop me if I’m wrong but I don’t think you’re the type to kill people. If you were, then I’d probably be dead.”

Steven pulled his head away. He couldn’t imagine what it felt like to be frozen like this for so long. It must have been dreadfully boring. Steven looked out beyond the trees, the sun was quite low. It must have been nearly nighttime by now, seeing how the orange colour had begun to form in the east. He should get going. The boy slid along the tree branch until he reached the trunk and then slowly hopped from one branch to another to eventually reach the ground. He may return later in the night to continue his conversation with Teya, that is, if she would let him have it.

But before he could leave, a light illuminated from behind him and he turned around to see Teya whole once again. Her dazed eyes screamed confusion as she stared profusely at her hands, now filled with its usual silver color. “Teya!” Steven shouted at the girl whose eyes immediately became fierce. She leapt down from the tree. But surprisingly, she didn’t land on her feet. She fell flat on her bottom. Luckily, it wasn’t that great of a fall.

“Why did you come back here?” she asked, her arms crossed after having forced herself on her feet.

“Did you not hear any of my questions just now?” he returned another question, his finger raised in the air.

“I did.” Teya glanced to the right. “But that’s none of your business. I’ll do and go wherever I please when I am out.”

Steven retracted his finger. “I see.” He then looked at her with a tilted head. “But how are you free now? I thought you could only move at midnight?”

Teya hesitated and once more looked at herself. She examined herself again. “I don’t know.” She answered.

Steven then crept closer to her and as expected, she reflexively tried to forge a moonlight blade. But nothing happened, her magic did not work. She continued trying to make weapons but to no avail. In addition, Steven noticed that her hair had now changed from a moonlit silver to a bright, burning orange. Her ears too were now human like, without a point at its tip. She did, however, retain her blue eyes but they deepened to resemble the ocean more than the moon.

“What’s happened to me?” Steven came closer and looked at her. She pushed him away. “You did this!” she shouted. “This happened because of you.”

Steven kept his distance, seeing that Teya was a bit antsy. And he couldn’t blame her for it. This was a somewhat bizarre occurrence. “How would I be able to do this?” he asked.

Teya stuttered, “I-I-I don’t know.” She continued. “But you did!”

After that, Steven didn’t say anything. He watched Teya as she frantically walked around, her hands grasping her scalp. She kept mumbling “Oh no, what I am I going to do?” and “What will father think?”

Obviously, Steven didn’t know what to say. But an idea did come to his mind. Based on her appearance, Teya was now human. She could not use magic nor was she as agile as she was before. Not to mention, she now had human ears.

“Teya.” Steven spoke. Teya stopped her frantic walking and glared at him. “Why don’t you try and leave now?” he asked.

“What?” Teya replied, though her facial expressions seemed to say. “What did this idiot just say?”

“Think about it. You’re obviously human right now. And only Elves are trapped here by whatever magic. So by that logic, you should be able to leave. And if not, what’s the harm in trying?” Steven explained, but took a few steps backwards in fear of being shoved again. He really wasn’t a fighter at all.

Teya didn’t say anything. She looked at her hands again and felt her ears. She pulled a strand of her hair in front of her eyes and then once more tried her magic. It didn’t work. Then without saying anything, she ran towards the direction of the village. Steven followed, but found himself unable to entirely keep up despite Teya having lost her incredible speed. He was also not a runner.

Teya got to the village. Her eyes were filled with disbelief as she looked around, sweat dripping from her forehead. Steven caught up and stopped beside her, his hands clasping his knee caps as he panted for a breath.

“I can’t see them.” Teya said in a broken voice. Steven looked at her and stood up straight. He then glanced around the surroundings. He noticed two male Elves perched on the tree branch above them.

He nudged Teya to look up and she did. She didn’t see them. “You really don’t see them?” Steven asked.

Teya replied, her voice soft as a whisper. “No.”

Teya then turned around and made her way from the village. Once more, Steven tagged behind her as fast as he could, which wasn’t very fast at all. Eventually, they made it to the edge of the forest, right where that old picket sign laid with the dreadful message. Teya outstretched her arm but quickly pulled it back.

“Why don’t you try?” Steven asked, now having caught up.

“If I do, and I get through. Then what does that mean?” she asked.

Steven replied, taking a step out of the forest and reaching his hand back for Teya. “We can deal with that later.”

Slowly, Teya pushed forward her hand, her fingertips curling outwards as she edged towards Steven. And with one touch, she grabbed his hand. Her palms was quite soft, delicate even, especially for someone who had threatened Steven one too many times. He pulled her forward and she walked. Teya looked back. She had left the forest.

~

How? How was this possible? Had Steven done this? Teya stared at the forest. When was the last time she had left it? Some three thousand years ago? “It worked!” Steven exclaimed. She looked at the little boy shrieking with joy, her expression surely one of dumbfoundedness. It had to be him. What else could have caused this other than this little boy?

On another note, when she claimed that Steven was a ‘little’ boy, it was more a remark on his height rather than his age. For you see, Elves developed differently from humans. Biologically speaking, most Elves aged at a slowed rate when compared to humans. And in actuality, Teya had only aged during that one hour every night when she was able to move. When taking that into account, she was somewhere around one hundred and thirty seven years old. That much was more or less equivalent to a twelve year old human. Though, of course, experience wise, she gravely outmatched the young Steven.

But that aside, how was this possible. Perhaps this was Steven’s magical ability? “Steven.” Teya began as he watched the boy walking up the hill. Teya followed behind. “Did you do anything weird to me while I was frozen? Something which I couldn’t hear, see, smell, taste or feel?”

Steven turned around and looked at her, he continued walking backwards. “How would I do such a thing?” he asked.

Yes, how would he do such a thing? If it were magic, Teya would have sensed that as well. But magic was the only explanation so that meant that Steven used some sort of spell or ability that was far beyond Teya’s abilities to sense. A skill such as that would have placed him amongst the highest of mages.

“Okay, but what should I do now?” Teya asked, seeing that Steven knew as much as she did. She still didn’t understand why she trusted him that much.

“You could stay at the cabin for tonight.” Steven answered.

The cabin? Teya followed the boy up the hill and saw the little wooden structure on top. It was quite small, and poorly decorated if she were to add. He led her inside through a wooden door. Fun fact, Elves didn’t have doors but knew of their existence. Having the means to protect themselves from their own neighbors was something the Elves didn’t need.

When they arrived, Steven halted her with a palm and then snuck through a what she supposed to be a window. He returned with a rangy looking shirt and a pair of trousers, probably quite old. “Wear this, if you go in now with your clothes, Sarah will know that you’re Elven.” So Sarah was a Guardian? Was Steven also one?

Teya wouldn’t want to be figured out so she complied, but not before she made sure that she was hidden from view behind the cabin. The trousers were quite short for her, it stopped a good bit over her knees. It was also torn at some places and had a dull grey colour. Teya thought she looked homeless, which she supposed she was at the time.

She revealed herself to Steven who chuckled in response. “It doesn’t suite you at all.” He said and gestured for her to follow him to the cabin’s front. Steven opened the door and walked in, Teya followed behind him. And there, sitting at a rectangular table was a little girl and a remarkably beautiful woman. For human standards anyways, she’d be quite average amongst Elven women. But something bothered Teya, she couldn’t sense anything from anyone. Even humans who’ve yet to unlock their magic could have their magical prowess measured. So either, no one here possessed even an ounce of magic, or Teya having lost her magic also lost her ability to sense it.

“Steven.” The beautiful woman spoke. “Who is that?” she asked, with a pot held with her hand. It would seem that Teya was interrupting dinner being made.

“Oh, I found her at the bottom of the hill.” Steven lied. “She doesn’t have a place to stay tonight.”

“Is that so?” The woman walked up to Teya. They were about the same height, though Teya was a bit shorter. It would seem that her Elven height had not disappeared at least. She would be quite tall for human girl who was a little over ten years old. “In that case, feel free to welcome yourself here. That is, if you’re okay sleeping in the main room?”

“U-mm, yes. That would be fine.” Teya replied, she had no idea that humans could be kind as well. She always thought them to be dreadful and horrid. But even if that were true, Teya still thought that slaughtering them all would be a terrible thing to do.

The woman smiled. “Take a seat.” She said as she walked towards the stove. “Dinner will be ready soon.”

And just like that, Teya spent the night with Steven and his family. They ate chicken foot soup for dinner, Teya didn’t eat meat so she humbly refused and settled for eating some potato salad that Sarah quickly prepared. It was strange eating after so many years. The spell had always prevented the Elves from going hungry or thirsty so no one ever ate. Then again, there wasn’t much to eat in that forest.

After that, Teya prepared for bed which was but an old polyester cloth on the floor. She saw Steven, the little girl and another boy, (though he was closer to being a man) bathe for the night. Teya hadn’t took a bath in the last century or so. It would have been a waste of time considering that she was only allowed to move an hour every day. Not to mention, Elves almost never smelt bad. But tonight, she indulged in the act and soon after, retreated to bed.