"I don't want to ride the big doggy," Asha protested weakly as Margaret tried to coax her up onto the massive white dire wolf's back. Despite her earlier bravado, the little girl now eyed the fearsome beast with trepidation.

It took a lot of convincing to even get her near the wolf after Aaron suggested that Asha could ride on its back so she could rest as they traveled. Her fever had suddenly spiked and Margaret wanted to give Asha a chance to rest. And, truth be told, she was tired from all the running and just surviving in the wilderness for this long.

She was still reluctant to trust such a fearsome looking beast but she had a feeling Asha would be safe. Or at least, was being watched over by something else. The way her scream coincided with the shockwave from earlier was not lost on her.

“It’ll “be fine sweetie. Margaret soothed, shooting Aaron an apologetic glance. “Mistral is Aaron's...friend. A very special uhhh, dog? Who’ll keep you safe while we travel."

Aaron nodded solemnly. "Mistral has been by my side through countless battles. You need not fear him, little one. He would never harm an innocent child."

The wolf seemed to sense Asha's unease, turning its great shaggy head to regard her with intelligent blue eyes. It let out a low, rumbling snuffle, surprising them all when its massive tongue lolled out in a distinctly doglike pant.

"See?" Margaret took Asha's hand, guiding it gently to sink into the luxuriant fur around Mistral's neck. "He's just a very big...dog-thing. And his fur is so soft and warm, you'll be nice and cozy up there."

Asha couldn't hide the way her eyes went wide with wonder as she stroked the wolf's downy coat. Some of the tension left her small shoulders as the beast's warmth enveloped her hand. When Mistral butted his wedge-shaped head against her stomach with another affable snuffle, the little girl finally cracked a smile.

"Okay..." she murmured, allowing Margaret to lift her up and settle cross-legged atop the impromptu mount. Immediately Asha's arms circled Mistral's thick neck, her cheek nuzzling into the pale fur.

With Asha secured, they set off at a brisk but steady pace. They didn’t look back as they left the ruins of the village. More than glad to be away from a place that exuded so much death and decay.

Though the trail was treacherous with ice and uneven footing, Mistral's bulk easily broke the way ahead while Aaron scouted on foot alongside. Margaret kept close, admiring the easy camaraderie between elf and wolf.

As they trekked onwards, the winter forest slowly transitioned from snow-muffled stillness to a verdant spring awaking. Vibrant wildflowers began dotting the mossy underbrush, their vivid pinks, purples and whites heralding the change of seasons. Birdsong lilted all around them as they passed beneath canopies of fresh green foliage, the newly unfurled leaves swaying in refreshing breezes.

When they came across a flowing stream Aaron paused and moved to Mistral's side to scoop up handfuls of the fresh, ice-cold water. He passed a skin up to Asha first, who gulped it down greedily.

Their eyes met over the water skin's lip, and Margaret felt her breath catch in her throat anew at Aaron's closeness. The elf's handsome features were even more striking up close, from the elegant slant of his cheekbones to the full, sculpted lips currently curved in a gentle smile.

"You look thirsty as well, my lady" he rumbled in that rich baritone. Margaret could only nod dumbly as he offered the water skin to her next.

Their fingers brushed with the brief contact, sending an odd frisson of energy shivering through Margaret's arm. She tried to dismiss the strange spark, but Aaron's widened pupils and slight furrow of confusion told her the elf had sensed it too.

An awkward silence stretched between them until Mistral swung his head around to regard them quizzically. The moment was broken as Asha giggled at the wolf's antics, reaching out to ruffle the thick scruff around his neck.

Clearing his throat, Aaron straightened and resumed their trek without further word. But Margaret couldn't help stealing sidelong glances at the striking figure now and again, feeling her heartbeat quicken in unfamiliar ways.

She chalked it up to the singular experience of encountering and elf - an actual living, breathing creature out of myth and fantasy made flesh. How many wonders might she bear witness in the days to come?

The thought rekindled Margaret's curiosity about their ultimate destination, and she found herself gazing at Aaron thoughtfully before asking her question.

"So, this town you're taking us to...what's it like?" she ventured. "I don't suppose it's full of...elves like yourself?"

A wistful chuckle was Aaron's initial reply. When he turned towards her, the tips of his elegantly arched ears were tinged a faint pink.

"Elven kind are few and far between these days, I'm afraid. Even in the days of the Lost Empire's glory, we never held a majority among the civilized races."

He cast a glance back at Asha, already dozing amid Mistral's comforting fur with a beatific smile on her face, before continuing in a lowered tone.

"The settlement we're bound for is has many humans, like yourselves. It was mostly a dwarven settlement but there are many races living there. A simple but sturdy frontier town clinging to the old ways. They'll likely be...curious about you both."

Margaret frowned, not sure how to interpret that ominous pause. "About how we came to be traveling alone in the wild like this, you mean?"

Aaron nodded slowly. "I suspect more than a few questions will need answering upon our arrival. Some may not...approve of providing haven based on your circumstances, strange as they seem."

"Strange?" Margaret echoed with a nervous laugh. "We're hardly anything of the sort, just a mother and daughter looking for a place to rest is all.”

If Aaron was unconvinced, he didn’t make it obvious.

Truth be told, Margaret wasn’t sure how long she could hold on to the facade that they were normal. Because Asha was anything but. There had been two incidents within a single day that made it almost undeniable to Margaret that her daughter was starting to show powers beyond her own comprehension.

The second event happened just before they had set off. When she asks for the large sword Aaron called a claymore that was currently strapped to her hilt as of the moment.

He hesitated to give it to her at first but after a firm look Aaron relented, unstrapping the sword from his belt and handing it to Margaret with a reluctant nod. "Very well," he conceded. "But be careful with it. It's a powerful weapon, and it can be dangerous in untrained hands."

Margaret nodded solemnly, her fingers closing around the hilt of the sword with a sense of purpose. Only to almost drop it when she struggled to lift it even an inch above the ground. Her hands trembled as she struggled to supports its weight with her entire body.

What is this?!

Margaret wanted to scream, it was the heaviest thing she’s ever lifted. The only time she had to put in this much effort was when her car got stuck in a ditch and she had to push it out without any help.

She heaved and wheezed, drawing the attention of the concerned paladin and her daughter who both tried to approach her.

“No! I can-I can do this!”

“Mama…” Asha soothed, placing a gentle hand over her mother’s trembling fingers. Suddenly a rush of cool sensations radiated throughout her body. A window appeared in front of her but it disappeared faster than she could read it but she already had a feeling about what it was.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

It became undeniable when she was suddenly able to lift the sword with its scabbard high up with little to no resistance. A feat which shocked the paladin but made her daughter smile so brightly.

But such an act only made Margaret’s heart drop. Another thing to add to the list of growing worries plaguing her mind.

What did it all mean? Margaret couldn't help but wonder. Was Asha's growing power a blessing or a curse?

She needed answers and she hoped she could get them soon

As they continued their journey, Margaret found herself drawn into a conversation with Aaron, the natural rhythm of their exchange easing some of the tension that lingered in the air.

"How long has Asha been unwell? I couldn't help noticing her frail state when we first met."

Margaret felt a pang of guilt, her hand straying to brush Asha's flushed cheek as the girl returned to her side. "It's been about a week, but she does seem to be improving lately."

Relief flickered across Aaron's features. "That's fortunate to hear. Still, I'd feel better having the village healer examine her properly once we arrive, if that's alright?"

"Yes, yes that would be wonderful," Margaret agreed readily. A second opinion on Asha's peculiar condition could shed some much-needed light.

As they prepared to depart, Margaret's gaze strayed to the crumbling remains nearby. "So... what brought you to that village ruins we encountered?" she asked carefully.

Aaron's expression grew somber. "Paying my respects to the dead," he answered simply. "That village fell decades ago to the demon king's forces. It was my childhood home."

"Oh... I'm so sorry," Margaret murmured, lamenting her indelicate question.

But the elf just shook his head with a philosophical look. "It was a very long time ago. I appreciate your sentiment, Lady Margaret, but the past is the past."

She could only nod, sensing there were profound depths of sadness and experience behind his ageless eyes. A bygone life she couldn't begin to fathom.

As Mistral rumbled and shook out his thick ruff, Aaron seemed to shake off his melancholy. He turned to face her fully, green eyes glinting with renewed curiosity.

"You've asked me many questions about my life. Perhaps you'll indulge me with some of your own? There are aspects of your situation that have me...puzzled."

Margaret tensed imperceptibly, her hand straying to Asha's shoulder. "I... suppose that's fair. Though it depends what you want to know," she hedged.

Aaron raised a placating hand. "You need only say the word, and I'll refrain from prying where you're uncomfortable. You have my oath on that."

After a moment's hesitation, Margaret nodded slowly. "Alright...I'll try to answer what I can. Ask your questions."

"Very well." Aaron met her gaze steadily. "What brought you and your daughter so deep into these untamed mountains during the winter thaw? Especially with Asha appearing so unwell at the time?"

Margaret felt her breath catch, panic flickering in her chest as unpleasant memories resurfaced. She swallowed hard.

"We were...looking for help. Or a new home, at the very least. Our old life is..." A tremulous sigh. "Gone."

"I can see this is difficult for you," he murmured. "But know you can trust me, Lady Margaret. I swore an oath to guide and protect innocents. An oath I intend to keep”

His words, spoken with such solemn conviction, sparked a glimmer of hope in Margaret's heart. She found herself searching his timeless features, looking for any hint of deception or malice.

But all she saw was quiet strength.

Slowly, she felt the rigid tension bleed from her shoulders as she let out a shaky exhale. Perhaps she could finally explain everything to someone after all.

Margaret was jolted from her recollections of Asha's mysterious abilities when her daughter let out a delighted squeal.

"Look mama! A giant birdie!" Asha called out, pointing excitedly.

Following her daughter's gesture, Margaret's eyes widened at the towering stone sculpture looming ahead through the trees. It depicted a winged figure, arms outstretched in a posture of flight or embrace. The weathered stonework was moss-covered but clearly ancient.

Aaron chuckled at Asha's childlike description. "That's not quite a 'birdie', little one. It's a statue of an angel, or one of the Aeros - winged servants of the gods themselves according to old scripture."

He moved to lay a reverent hand on the sculpture's base, bowing his head briefly. When he lifted his gaze again, Margaret saw it shone with quiet awe.

"This is an old wayfarer marker, showing we're not far from the village now. I can bend the veil here and take us the rest of the way swiftly."

Margaret listened raptly as Aaron explained, inexplicably feeling the statue's quiet grandeur despite her unfamiliarity with his beliefs.

She managed a small smile at that, feeling her wariness ebb a bit. Before she could respond, Asha piped up again.

"The statue's so pretty! Can we go see it up close?" The little girl patted Mistral's flank insistently.

With an indulgent look, Aaron moved to take the dire wolf’s leading rein. "Of course, little one. And from there, I'll show you both to the village before night falls."

As Mistral bore them onward, Margaret couldn't help stealing glances at the enigmatic elf leading them. So much about this world and its wonders was still a mystery to her.

But she felt a growing certainty that leaving it all behind, her old life, had been the right choice after all.

Aaron moved to stand before the towering angel statue, retrieving something from the pouch at his belt. It was an ordinary looking river stone, yet when he cupped it in his palm it began to glow with a faint inner light.

"This is an ancient relic, tied to the old wayfarer network," he explained to Margaret's inquisitive look. "Used by the Wardens to travel great distances in mere moments."

Margaret watched, entranced, as Aaron closed his eyes and began murmuring softly, words of power in a language she didn't recognize. As the strange syllables washed over her, she felt an indefinable energy gathering around them, a heightened frisson that made her breath catch in her throat.

The glowing stone flared brilliantly in Aaron's palm like a miniature sun. Its radiance bathing the clearing in blinding golden light that seared away all shadows. Margaret had to shade her eyes against its brilliance, motes of magic swirling around them in a shimmering vortex.

Asha cried out in mingled delight and trepidation, burying her face in Mistral's pale fur. But the dire wolf seemed utterly unfazed, stoically weathering the mystical maelstrom as if this were an everyday occurrence.

Just when Margaret feared the energy buildup might become overwhelming, Aaron spoke one final resounding word in that alien tongue. Reality itself seemed to warp and fracture around them with a deafening thunderclap.

Margaret barely stifled a scream as a shimmering rift split the air, revealing a kaleidoscope vision beyond that made her head swim. It was as if a portal into another world had been torn open, alien vistas and landscapes flickering past in a blur of colors and shapes.

Then, just as suddenly, the vortex contracted into a brilliant point of light that rushed to engulf them all. Margaret squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for oblivion as vertigo churned sickeningly in her core.

But the lurching sensation was fleeting, over in a mere beat of her thundering heart. When she dared to open her eyes once more, the bucolic forest scenery around them had transformed completely.

They now stood atop a snowy hill overlooking a bustling settlement in the near distance. But this was no ordinary frontier town - it looked to have been ripped straight from the pages of a storybook, or an imaginative child's wildest fantasy.

Rising along the far edge of the village was an imposing timber palisade, watchtowers looming at regular intervals. But within its sturdy walls the buildings were an eccentric hodgepodge of ramshackle structures capped by steeply angled thatched roofs, their quaint shuttered windows overflowing with flower boxes and hanging baskets trailing vines.

Most peculiar of all were the denizens themselves, bustling this way and that on the muddy streets without a care in the world. Some were human, much like Margaret herself. But she also glimpsed folk that appeared dwarven, with prodigious beards and barrel-chested frames. Others resembled fauns, keeping wary to the shaded sides of the lane while short leathery faces peeked out of holes in the earthen walls.

Near a central well, the town square's heart, Margaret even spied a trio of scaled humanoids that looked plucked from a storybook depiction of dragons themselves, albeit bipedal and almost comically short of stature.

It was as though an entire realm of myth and magic had been brought vividly to life before Margaret's astonished eyes. This was no hallucination or trick of the mind - it was palpably, undeniably real.

And she found herself trembling anew, scarcely believing what she was witnessing even as Aaron turned to her with a slight smile.

"Welcome to Greencrest, my lady. A humble but sturdy frontier settlement on the edge of the Ardeep woods." He chuckled at her dumbstruck expression. "It may seem...different from what you're accustomed to."

Margaret could only gape soundlessly, caught somewhere between delight and outright terror at the indisputable fact that her old world was now forever behind her. For better or worse, they had crossed fully over into a strange new reality.

But she found her voice at last as she turned to Asha, nestled contentedly amid Mistral's fur after the stomach-churning vortex ride.

"Yeah...I'd say this place qualifies as 'different' alright. What do you think, sweetie?"

The little girl considered the outlandish vista solemnly before cracking a sunny smile. "I think it's the most magical place ever! Can we go see the magic people?"

Despite her tumultuous emotions, Margaret couldn't help but laugh at that. Perhaps her daughter had the right idea after all. If this truly was their new life laid out before them, why not embrace its magical whimsy and wonders wholeheartedly?

Squeezing Asha's hand, she offered Aaron a resolute nod. "Alright then... Lead on. Let's go meet the magic people."