Elves of Ethal
By: Victoria M.

Ch. 1
Skillful

The sword glimmered in the morning sun and shade of the trees. Swung in the direction of a boar, with a sweeping motion, it widened its mouth wide in agony. Hughe held his stance as he waited for the creature to fall to its side. He grabbed a cloth from his hilt loop, and started cleaning the blade. While doing so, he sensed a presence from behind. He stopped and spun around with the sword ready to slash whatever was there. But with a sigh, he dropped his guard. "Geez Hughe, don't be so cautious," Adriana said sarcastically. "Well don't sneak up on me, and maybe I won't try and sneak up on you," he said with a smirk. She widened her eyes, but her blue eyes just sparkled in the rising sun. "Nice kill by the way," she said crossing her arms. He remarked with humor, 'Thanks, but I suppose you could do better huh?" Adriana puzzled this but with humor also, "Nah I think I'll leave it up to you." They laughed a little, looking at each other, but looking away when they thought it was a little embarrassing.
On the way back from Hughe's killing, they walked together and talked about little things. Hughe took the role of being the executioner of animals for food, while Adriana was the Princess, though she didn't like being treated like one, but rather a warrioress of sorts. She longed to be on a quest with her magic that she had been gifted with. Hughe didn't bear magic, only a sword, and an occasional long bow. He also wanted to be on a quest, but he doesn't have the skill yet to be fighting in a real battle, even though he was nineteen. Adriana was eighteen, but with a very skillful magic consistency, though she doesn't like to use it for little things.

As soon as they got into their small but quite abundant town, the children smiled and were in awe with the boar that Hughe had caught. The children also greeted them, then they ran to their parents to showing them also the meal. "Welcome back Hughe and Adriana," a woman with a bucket had said to them. Hughe nodded in welcoming, and Adriana smiled. "Shouldn't you be in the castle with your mother," asked a man with his knife and stick had asked. "Ed, you know I'm old enough to be on my own now, so there are no worries anymore," she said with a smile. "Right, I forgot you've grown up," he responded with a chuckle. She looked at Hughe and shook her head with a laughing mood. When she said that she should head home, they went their seperate ways, Hughe to the kitchen to drop off the boar and her to see her mom.
When it was around ten o' clock, Hughe went up to the fighting grounds, where people with weapons could hone their skills. Hughe was determined to be as good a fighter as any or better. As he settled into the opening of the grounds, other men and a few women greeted him. He nodded and took out his sword and asked, "Anyone care for some sparring with me?" Wes, spinning his sword agreed to spar with him. Hughe walked onto a good platform to fight, and Wes followed and stood opposite of him stood ready. Both having enough experience knew not to injure each other to cause a serious wound. Hughe breathed in deeply and exhaled, set his stance and nodded to tell him that he was ready. Wes started off first with a charge. Hughe caught it from the right side, while sliding Wes's sword away from him.
They backed up, then Hughe swung it above him and swung it down on Wes. Wes also caught the sword, but instead, afterward, brought it down and came to slash at Hughe's waist. It missed with just a few centimeters from his garment. "Swinging above is the worst way to try and hurt someone," Wes said with breath draining, but not too breathless. Hughe dropped his sword from up in the air. Then quickly swung at Wes, but Wes, even though caught off guard, took the blade just in time. Wes quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead, and with slight slow movement swung it in a right and upward slash, but moved back fast, so not to let him get back easily. Hughe moved forward half a step and swung the sword to the left, hitting Wes's sword with a resonating clang.
With the sparring in session, a few people stood watching, while other practiced on wood dummies. Usually the younger kids practiced on those, for their mother's do not want them to get hurt, with fighting for real. The people watching the two men fight, with their swords hitting against each other with every step and turn, couldn't help but watch in amazement. After about twenty more minutes, breathless, they adjourned their sparring and shook hands with great admiration as they walked away from each other, sweating and breathing heavily. "Hey thanks for the match, it was fun," Wes had said to Hughe wiping a cloth over his face. "Yes, yes it was, and thank you," he agreed and thanked him. When all was said and done, everybody else went to do what they were originally doing before they sparred.

Adriana looked out from her window, sighing, she drank in the summer sun. She closed her eyes, and listened to the wind, birds and bustling people going about their business. When she caught something that she'd never seen before, it made her want to see what is was. It looked black and misty, but she only caught a glimpse of it. It disappeared just as it was seen, though no one but Adriana saw it. She hopped off her window sill onto the floor of her room. Her dress was longer than her, so she picked it up and went down stairs, where her mother caught her and asked, "Where are you going in a hurry, darling?" She scanned around to think of an excuse, but could only come up with, "Oh I'm going to ask Hughe a question, I'll be back." Her mom looked at her questionably, "alright, just be back in time for lunch, dear" "Okay, I will." she replied with a smile.
When she walked past the well, no one really said anything to her as she went by, though the kids stopped and looked at her and waved. She waved back and kept walking towards the woods. Again she saw a moving shadow, but it quickly whisped away. She walked faster and soon came into the trees and shade.
When she walked a step, she felt uneasy and it felt as if her breath had been taken from her. She fell to her knees and collapsed to her side. Her pupils filmed over with black and she had fainted, from what she did not know.