Only once the sun was high did he put out the flame

he didn’t dare relinquish it before the morning came

the boy had slept the whole night through, right by the hero’s side

and when he finally awoke, he thought he might’ve died

The hero stood above him radiating warmth and light

with overflowing magic, such a mesmerizing sight

but when he realized who he was staring at in awe

he grimaced at the power of the enemy he saw

“Why did you start running suddenly, that wasn’t fun

did you really spend all night pretending you’re the sun”

the hero’s eyes were dark and cold but he stood tall and strong

he feigned a smile and started humming some old hero’s song

“No more questions, take me to the nearest battlefield

I must see this evil that has kept itself concealed”

the smile upon the hero’s face as he began to sing

terrified the young boy more than almost anything

He pointed over the horizon to a mountain range

the hero shook his head but his expression didn’t change

“you shall be my guide and I shall keep you safe and sound

I won’t leave you somewhere where those shadows hang around”

“I’m much too sick to go with you, just leave me here to die

and why would I help you, my enemy, not knowing why”

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“don’t be silly boy, I healed you while you were asleep

come on now, a hero has appointments he must keep”

The boy stood up and realized he really had been healed

but still he wanted to go nowhere near a battlefield

“why bother to heal me if you hate my kind so much

don’t you call my people monsters, demons, beasts, and such”

“Don’t be silly, you’re no demon, you’re a noble elf

even though you’re lost, please don’t be so hard on yourself”

the hero stared intently at the boy until he moved

now that any obstacle to journey was removed

And so they walked together while the hero hummed a tune

hoping that he’d find a horde of monsters to fight soon

he filled himself with pride for saving one innocent soul

even as the lack of sleep began to take its toll

The boy who walked in front of him was losing sleep as well

he wondered if a demon was just guiding him to hell

one day he dared ask the nature of his captor’s song

and how he could repeat the same old melody so long

“This is just a song my father used to sing to me

about a hero who fought for his kingdom gallantly

he was born a blacksmith but with love and sacrifice

he saved the world from evil dragons, not just once but twice”

“A silly song then, dragons are no threat to anyone

they were once our allies when the wars of old begun”

the hero didn’t pay much mind to what the young boy said

he simply gestured for the lad to quickly walk ahead

For several days the hero and the boy continued on

the hero never sleeping as he sang from dusk til dawn

never letting darkness creep upon him anywhere

singing songs and casting spells of light without a care

The fear the boy had felt before had given way to doubt

he wondered if the hero really came to help him out

he had no other quest in life but living day by day

and so he thought it best to simply show the man the way

“I don’t know how a human earned the blessing of the fae

or if you gained that magic power in some other way

but tell me honestly, since I have promised to guide you

when you reach the battlefield, what do you plan to do”

The hero stopped his singing for a moment and he thought

then he looked affectionately at the child he’d caught

“I’ll do what I have always done before an enemy

I’ll hunt down every single evil monster that I see”