The journey ahead was tense. Gabriel was more on edge in the week it took to make it to the border then the days they were running from the two soldiers. The argument between him and Noah still created turmoil between the two. Theo soon realized he would have to be mediator if all three wanted to live to see the next day.

Gabriel stopped as they neared a small creek and starred ahead without a word. Theo and Noah were hesitant to ask what was going on so they watched him carefully. The soft babbling of the creek eased the heavy silence that had encased the three for days giving way to a nice change.

“We’re about to make it into a safe haven that many have failed to do,” Gabriel softly said. He took in a deep breath and turned to look at Noah. “This doesn’t mean the fighting will stop.”

“War will still come.” It wasn’t a question. Noah knew deep down they would have to fight. He knew no matter how hard he tried to run or protect Theo that in the end it would still come down to a fight.

Gabriel sat silently waiting for the two boys to pass into the Southern Kingdom. At some point he had decided these two were worth protecting. He wouldn’t throw them into a new city and leave. No, this was more than a job now.

“Hey Gabriel.” Theo road up next to him. “So who exactly is this friend of yours? I mean will he try and rat us out like the last one?”

“I can promise you that he won’t be one to give our whereabouts.” Gabriel assured Theo. “He’s not exactly fond of any authority.”

Theo raised an eyebrow causing Gabriel to laugh.

“He’s been around for… awhile. Seen a lot and now he’s an old man living out his days as a recluse to anyone outside the small town.” By awhile, Gabriel meant centuries, but how do you go about telling someone who’s never been outside the walls of a kingdom that barely tells their citizens of the happenings in everyday life that some beings can live past the human expectancy?

“What’s his name?”

“Elmar.” Gabriel saw Theo’s eyes widened. He smiled to himself and carried on as if he didn’t see the realization hit Theo.

“But that’s an elvish name.” Theo put two and two together. “I was told they were only children book characters.”

Gabriel glanced over and winked. “Like I said before. You’re going to see things out here that you’ve never seen before.” And continued ahead before Theo hurried to keep up.

“Wait! Gabriel…”

~~~*~~~

They were about a mile or so from the border when Gabriel stopped them. He looked around as precaution hoping no one followed them.

“What are you doing?” Noah asked as he followed Gabriel’s line of vision.

Gabriel glanced to Noah. “Making sure prying eyes aren’t watching us enter the town.”

Noah looked at Gabriel as if he had three heads. No town lay in front of them. A small creek moved along and miles of forest encased them. Maybe Gabriel had gotten them lost.

“You trust me?” Gabriel smiled.

Noah glanced again at the creek then at Gabriel. “I don’t know.”

Gabriel rolled his eyes and chuckled. “Just… walk through the creek.”

It was official. This assassin for hire was crazy and lured them into these woods to kill them. It probably wasn’t even near the border. For all Noah knew, they had been going to opposite direction.

Theo huffed and pushed past Noah. “Well if you won’t go then I will.” Before Noah could finish his protest, Theo led his horse through the creek and disappeared. Noah sat slacked jaw with Gabriel smirking at him.

“Come on.” Gabriel nudged him and set off after Theo. Noah shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut thinking this was a dream. He opened his eyes and both of them were still gone.

Carefully Noah led his horse into the creek. As soon as one of the hooves touched the water, Noah felt a pull from his chest. He continued forward until the pulling stopped and stood no longer in the middle of a forest but a small town full of a bustling crowd.

“What in the…”

Gabriel leaned over to Noah. “Shield charms.”

“Charms?” Noah snapped his attention to Gabriel. “But magic…” Gabriel raised his eyebrows in a knowing way. “Magic doesn’t exist… they said it was old practices…”

“Old practices that were purposely forgotten and therefore banished from the Northern Kingdom.” Gabriel finished. He knew quite a bit of the history of magic in the Northern Kingdom and where the king stood in his beliefs on it.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“Oh.”

Noah felt stupid for not knowing magic existed. Felt even worse for calling Theo childish for believing in such things. He watched Theo’s childlike wonder return to his eyes. This was clearly a place of old magic and Theo couldn’t believe he was here in this town.

Gabriel smiled as he sat back and watched Theo take in everything. He glanced over at Noah again and noticed the sadness. “Hey.” Noah was pulled out of his little world. “It’s not your fault you know. King Erebus has been keeping his citizens as clueless as possible about many things.”

“But why?”

“I think we both know.” Gabriel moved his reigns for his horse to follow the command. “I think it’s the perfect time we meet my old friend.”

They rode through town taking in everything they could. The people they passed would smile and wave. Some offered food but Gabriel declined. Kids began clustering around them intrigued at the new visitors. It wasn’t every day that outsiders made it in.

Theo noticed the odd language that was etched into signs that hung above small shops. It was one he had not seen or read before. As his eyes moved from store to store, he wanted to explore more of this strange town. His fascination and imagination ran wild with the fact they could be a civilization of elves. However, Gabriel was keeping close watch on both brothers making sure they didn’t run off just yet.

As they made it through the main part of the town, the crowds lingered back. The three kept on and noticed fewer and fewer buildings around until only homes that were covered in overgrown vines and plants were left. This was the original village build all those years ago. There were ten houses that sat in a large circle. Each covered in their own set of vines and moss. Gabriel said this was on purpose for camouflage and protection. The shield charms weren’t implemented until a few decades later.

“Stay here with the horses.” Gabriel hopped off and handed his reigns to Noah. “I won’t be long but I don’t want to scare him.” He walked off into the little village leaving the two boys to wonder.

“What are you two doing out here?” A deep voice called out behind the brothers. They turned to see well… an elf. Both were too speechless to say anything. “I’m not going to stand here all day. Come on there’s a place for your horses.”

The boys jumped down and followed closely behind. Theo took the moment to really study the elf. He was quite tall and lean. His stride always keeping him several feet in front of the boys who were almost jogging to keep up. His snow white hair was neatly braided and fell down his back. Theo notices the number of rings on each hand. They weren’t jewelry of this century.

Theo finally found the confidence to speak up after they followed the elf for a minute or two. “We’re actually waiting for our friend. He went to find someone who lives here… in uh the circle.” There wasn’t a better way to describe that but Theo still felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment.

The elf turned sharply. His icy blue eyes piercing through Theo. “The elders aren’t to be interrupted. They’re far too old to be gawked at like some animal. Who’s your friend?”

Theo shot a nervous glance to Noah. “Um… his name is Gabriel.” The elf’s expression immediately changed. His harsh glare softened but he still stood rigid.

“I see…” He looked off into the distance of houses then back to the boys. “There is a place in town for your horses. I will send a few handlers come and take them away.”

Noah shook his head in confusion. “Wait. So what’re we going to do? Just stand here in the field and wait.” Theo nudged Noah. He was looking towards the elders’ houses and saw Gabriel watching them.

“Go. Leave the horses with me.”

This was a very strange encounter but Noah wasn’t about to question it. They hurried off towards Gabriel not daring to look back. As they stumbled over the fairly tall grass, Theo made out the anger on Gabriel’s face. He hoped it wasn’t towards them.

Without taking his eyes off of the elf, Gabriel asked, “You two, okay?”

“Yeah.” Noah looked back as well. “What was that about?” Did everyone here know of Gabriel? The complete 180 mood change had caught him off guard, but the way Gabriel was acting sent warning signals to Noah’s brain.

Gabriel was the first to break eye contact and started heading back to the houses. “Nothing,” he answered darkly.

Noah mouthed ‘What the fuck’ to Theo only to get a shrug in return. He rolled his eyes and jogged after Gabriel. Theo not far behind him. An eerie feeling fell on them as they entered to center of the houses. It was something old and unexplainable. Theo wanted to stop and turn around but Gabriel shot him a warning look.

“Don’t let the spirits know your fear.” Theo nodded weakly and all the hair on his body stood on end. This was definitely out of their comfort zones.

Gabriel led them to the furthest house from the town. It looked as if it had been abandoned for decades. Theo and Noah stood side by side starring wearily when Gabriel waved them to go in. Noah shook his head frantically and Gabriel rolled his eyes. He walked over roughly grabbing the nap of each boy’s neck pushing them forward harshly. Theo was too shocked and scared to fight back but Noah struggled against Gabriel’s grasp. He didn’t win. They were pushed through the dark entrance praying it wasn’t their demise.

Theo squinted his eyes to the dimly lit room but soon his eyes adjusted to the candle light. It was a small room they had been pushed into. Theo took a step forward and the wood moaned under his weight causing a shuffle from the other side of the room.

“Gabriel?” It was a raspy voice that cut through the stale air.

“I’m here. I’ve brought two visitors.”

Noah leaned over to Gabriel. “Dude, get me out of here.”

“Shut up,” Gabriel answered through clenched teeth. He elbowed Noah hard in the side causing him to stifle a yelp.

“Visitors.” There was a curiosity in the voice. More shuffling occurred and the floor creaked and moaned under the weight of another being. A figure appeared as they came into the candle light. He stood about a head taller then Theo and smelt of old books. He peered down to Theo. “Hello.”

“Uh hi.”

He lifted his gaze to Gabriel. “Who is this child?”

“That would be Theo and this is Noah.” Gabriel nudged Noah and he waved shyly.

“Theo. Well I quite like that name.” He smiled. “I’m Elmar.” Elmar held out a hand for Theo to shake. Theo gladly took his hand as he realized who this was. Elmar pulled Theo in a bit closer. “Gabriel has told me you have an interest in elves.”

Theo looked back quickly to a smirking Gabriel. “Well I’ve uh never known they existed.”

Elmar let out a hardy chuckle and clapped a hand over Theo’s. “Gabriel if you don’t mind. I think I would enjoy a walk and discussion with my new friend here. You may go.”

“We’ll be in town if you two need us.” Gabriel ushered Noah back out which he was grateful for.

Theo moved to the side as Elmar began out the door. Theo followed closely as the cool air hit his face. Elmar turned around and for the first time Theo was able to see the face of Gabriel’s friend. “How about a tour of town?”

“Okay,” Theo answered with a smile