Eternal Starlight

Eva Winters stared out of her window from the second floor of the house. Her gray orbs watched the silver car below intensely as it roared to life. Her nails dug into the palm of her hands trying to contain the excitement pulsing throughout her very veins. She couldn't wait for that vehicle to drive off, disappearing from view. Finally, after the excitement was going to drive her nuts if she didn't do anything, the car drove off and wouldn't be seen for another two days. It grew smaller and smaller as it traveled, until it turned left and vanished from view completely.

Unable to contain the emotions inside, she let out a squeal of delight. She had been looking forward toward this day for weeks now. Finally though, the day had come. She quickly left her room to leave the house, placing a hand on the smooth, polished wooden railing and ran it along as she rushed downstairs.

Once down stairs she glanced around the house looking for her hiking boots. Eva quickly found them and slipped them on over her socked feet. Next, she grabbed a light green jacket and slipped her arms into the sleeves. Adjusting the jacket until it fit right, she ran a hand through her dirty blonde locks. There was a wide grin on her face, making it unable for her to stop smiling. The fact that the day had finally come just gave her pure exhilaration. Not wishing to waste any more time, she opened the front door and shut it behind her with a snap.

Next to the house was the Forest of No Return, or that's what the locals called it. On the atlas and maps it was known as the Misty Forest because of the mist that always seems to ward off anyone who came near it. But not to Eva. After walking past a certain point, the mist was lifted revealing the beauty of the forest. Eva couldn't help but be amazed every time the fog was lifted exposing the ever green trees and plants. It greatly reminded Eva of those ancient forests shown on the movies, but real, not some computer animation. It was truly real. Which was another reason why she was so excited; it had been almost a week since she last traveled into the depths of nature.

Flickering her eyes back and forth from up and down to make sure she didn’t trip or run into anything, she followed the path into the Forest of No Return. The trees towered over her and the animals were silent. The only sound seemed to be the leaves and sticks the crackled under her feet. Her hands gripped on either side of her skirt out of pure habit wondering if he was all ready waiting for her. She wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't, he wasn't one to wait for anyone, especially humans.

The mist was starting to lift up slowly as she continued walking until it was finally gone allowing her to see the wonders it was hiding. She paused from her stroll and gazed upon nature at its best. The trees were large, thick trunks with moss and ivy devouring it and reaching towards the sky at amazing heights. The brush was thick and luscious with vivid colors of greens along with a variation of colorful flowers ranging from whites, pinks, reds, yellows, blues, and purples.

Struck with awe, Eva took a step forward but soon emitted a small scream. She soon found herself on her back staring at the dense leaves hovering above her with rays of the setting sunlight streaming through the mess.

A scoff reached her ears, and she tilted her head back as much as she could to find the owner of the voice. She instantly found him sitting on one of the tree branches, leaning against the main trunk with his arms folded over his chest one leg prompt up and the other hanging off the branch. His expression was normal from what she saw, his eyes giving her skeptical looks and his lips never frowning nor smiling.

It almost seemed forever since she last seen her forest friend. He looked normal as per usual. His hair still a dark tree bark brown with short curls that were seemingly thick, but to much of Eva’s surprise, were thin. His skin was still a light bronze colour from always being in the sun all day and the unnatural green tattooed markings on his forehead still seemed to give off a certain tiny glow. His clothes were still tattered as ever, the white shirt had dirt smudges and pieces of the hems missing, with his tan khakis in the same condition. And he still had no shoes, remaining barefooted. But what Eva missed most was his eyes. The inhumanly jade green that were always so intense that Eva felt like she could drown every time she stared into them to long.

"I've never seen a human as clumsy as you are," he stated with a rather bored tone. She frowned as he rolled his eyes and turned his head, looking away from her fallen form. Eva sighed softly, positive that he heard her little sigh. He was a difficult character to be around, but she truly didn't mind. She knew he didn't hate her, in fact, he watched over her to much too even dislike her, despite his claims of hating the human race.

Before she could make a reply, she blinked. A gleam of silver caught her eyes, which made her blink again. Surprised couldn't stop the words escaping her mouth. "When did you get your ears pierced?"

He turned his head back towards in her direction, his eyes clearly spelling out on how he was surprised by her statement. But as soon as the surprised look came, it disappeared as if it never had existed. Indeed his pointed ears had a small, silver hoop earring in them. Something she had not seen the last time she had saw him. "Yeah, after the day you left."

"Why?" Eva questioned this time sitting up, her head tilted in his direction. "And wouldn’t it hurt with your ears extra sensitive, Keita?"

Keita looked a bit agitated with the questions but answered them never the less. "I had to have my ears pierced for an elven tradition that you have never heard of, and no before you ask; I will not explain the tradition in any way or form. And the answer to your second question, yes. It hurt a lot more than it would if you had yours done, but the pain has dulled down after the week. All right?"

Eva nodded innocently, and moved her hands to clean her dirty blonde locks of leaves and tiny sticks.

Keita gave a heavy sigh and uncrossed his arms, watching Eva wearily as she picked at her hair. True, he was surprised that he had stuck with Eva for so long, let alone help her in most of her clumsy moments, but he couldn’t help but feel some attachment to the human girl. He wasn't too positive as to why, but he was, no matter how much he denied it.

Getting up from his sitting his position and shifting into a standing one with one hand holding on the trunk balancing him out, he stared down at her. He just hoped that no one from the Forest Council would stumble across them once they were at their destination. Shaking his head slightly to get rid of the negative thoughts, he jumped down from the at least ten foot branch and landed gracefully as if it were no big deal.

Eva stared at Keita with slight uneasiness. She didn't like it when he did things like that so carelessly. Yes, she knew that he was an elf. A being that was much better than her own race in the terms of physical ability, but she couldn’t help but worry.

"Are you going to sit there all day or what?" he attacked, crossing his arms again. Eva puffed out her cheeks at his bluntness but did her best to ignore it. Placing her hands firmly on the ground she pushed herself up to her feet.

"Ready to go Keita," she exclaimed with a smile once on her feet.

Keita resisted the urge to roll his eyes instead he merely turned his back to her. He started to walk forward not looking back to see if she was following or not. He was positive she was; she always followed him most of the time without question.

Eva continued smiling, observing the darkening forest as they walked in silence. She wasn't sure how long they walked after they had met, but she didn't mind. It brought simple happiness to walk around, exploring new places within the forest with Keita by her side.

Unaware that Keita had stopped, she had walked straight into him. She emitted a soft gasp, and looked up to find Keita staring at her with a raised brow. "Ah, sorry Keita," she apologized instantly seeing the error she had made.

She watched him roll his eyes and was sure she heard a distinct mumble of 'humans' before turning face forward again. "We're going to have to use that tree branch to get over the ditch," he explained motioning towards the sturdy branch hovering over a big gap in the ground. Eva could hear a small tinkle of water, and assumed that there was water in the hole.

"Okay," she answered simply and watched as Keita easily reached for the branch and grasp onto it. With a small hop he clung to the branch as he lingered above nothing but air. Eva brought her hands up unconsciously and clasped them together, hoping that Keita wouldn't fall. Keita pulled himself up on to the branch and stood on it in a crouched position his gaze resting upon Eva.

"Come on, it's your turn," he ordered, his eye not wavering from her form.

She took a step forward towards the edge of the land. She peered down into the 'ditch'. It was at least four feet deep with creek water running through it but she could see pointed edges of rocks sticking up from the water, announcing it would not be very pleasurable if anyone had fallen in.

Small fear gripped onto her with the chance of falling into the hole. Her eyes now nervously glancing back and forth towards Keita, who looked impatient, and the unpleasant drop.

"Don't worry, I won't let you fall," said Keita. But despite the words that were supposed to be comforting they seemed rather harsh not bring any reassurance to her. Biting her lip she made up her mind to try to one step at a time.

Stretching out her arm, she reached for the branch. Frowning slightly she readjusted her footing and tried to reach out further but she could only manage to barely brush her fingertips with the bark. She couldn't reach the branch. "I- I cant reach Keita," she complained still trying to grasp the tree but her short height forbid her to do so.

Keita hid his heavy sigh wondering what in the world possessed him to lead her to where they were going. He didn't think that there were going to be some problems for Eva since he could easily overcome the obstacles. It slipped his mind that Eva was human, and was not an elf like himself.

Inching forward slightly, he leaned forward a little and held out his hand towards Eva who in returned stared at his hand unsure. "Just take it. Ill swing you across," he stated simply earning an un-amused look.

"You're joking Keita right?"

"When have I ever joked around?"

"Never. B-But Keita!"

"But nothing. You wanna go to the place?"

"Yes but-"

"Then trust me. I will get you there in one piece."

Eva bit her bottom lip and stared at his hand again. Swallowing the wad of saliva, she took a deep breath before hesitantly reaching out for Keita's hand. Placing it in his hand, he grasped it gently; her smaller hand completely covered with his calloused one. With her hand still in his, he effortlessly moved his position until he was hanging upside down, his legs securely around the branch. He held out his other hand and she took it just as hesitantly. She could feel her heart beating painfully against her chest, she could even feel her arms shake a little.

Once ready, his eyes met her nervous ones. "I won't drop you, so don’t worry." She only nodded in response, not daring to speak. "Ready?" Another nod. "All right, now jump!"

She did what she was told. She jumped withdrawing her legs as she dangled over nothing but air. Her hands tightly gripped onto Keitas her fear still rising. "K-Keita," she called as fear started taking over mind.

"Calm down," he ordered as he started working. He forced his upper body to move in a back and forth motion making Eva's body do the same. When her body neared the other side of the ditch, she stretched out her legs, her feet pointed, trying to dig her toes into the earth to stop the swing. After five or six times she was able to plant her feet firmly on the ground. Keita released her instantly making Eva fall forward to her knees.

Eva exhaled a breath that she didn't even notice holding, and titled her head back towards Keita. Keita was all ready in a straightened posture, sitting right sit up on the branch his jade greens dwelling on her form. "You okay?"

"Y-Yeah." Eva sat down on her bottom rather than on her knees, her hands gripping tightly on the long forest green skirt to calm herself. She watched Keita nimbly cross the branch and jump to the ground with ease. Once on the ground, he quickly stepped beside Eva's sitting form.

"Come on, we need to hurry or else we wont make it in time," Keita urged, holding out his hand once again towards her. She smiled and took up on his offer. He helped her up but didn’t let go of her hand. "Let's go." He waited for her to brush the dirt away from her skirt and tugged her arm. He was walking much faster, almost dragging Eva.

"H-hey, Keita. S-Slow down," Eva complained stumbling along. After her fourth time stumbling over a tree root, Keita stopped and tilted his head back. He lowered his body and Eva stared at him in confusion. He let out an irritated sigh.

"Get on my back. At the pace we are going, we won't make it in time." Eva ran her hand through her hair and frowned slightly. She didn't like it when Keita forced her to follow his orders. Even though it wasn't physically forced, he made her give in with the explanation of his words. And if she still refused, he used his eyes against her. She knew that he knew his eyes had a big effect on her. "Eva."

"Okay, okay" Eva reached over and wrapped her arms loosely around his neck. She leaned her body against his before making a small jump where his arms caught her thighs, hauling her up securely onto his back.

"Hold on tight." Before she could reply, Keita took off in a dash. Eva tightened her grip around his neck and buried her head into his back with her eyes closed. Keita was a fast runner, she did not doubt that in any way, doing small hops and jumps over rocks and logs that stood in his way. What would take an hour he could probably do in half the time.

Eva wasn't sure how long he was running for, but she could tell at least that the sun was almost completely down. The night's chill was nipping at revealed skin, making her body shutter. It was like this for a little longer before she noticed Keita's speed slowing down into a walking pace, until he finally stopped. That's when Eva finally lifted her head, peeking over his shoulder. And what she saw awed her.

She slid off of Keita's back and took a step forward aligning herself with him. Set before her was a meadow with moonlight white flowers starting to bloom as if night was daytime, with tall grass waving in the slight night breeze. Above there were no trees branches or leaves to cover the sky though trees surrounded the meadow as if they were a fence. The sky has a very faint pink glow to it, but there was already the blanket of the dark blue sky covering it, with stars awakening from their sleep.

An excited smile appeared on Eva's face, one that greatly resembled a child's when they are told that they are getting some candy to eat. With a small laughter of amazement, she hurried into the meadow her arms spread out and twirled around, her head tilted back towards the sky allowing the starlight bathe her body. "Keita this is so amazing! Thank you so much!" she thanked lowering her arms to her side with an even wider grin etched into her face.

Keita shook her head slightly at her childish behavior, and allowed a tiny ghost of a smile appear as she went back to twirling around, dancing around the flowers. He glanced around making sure that there was no one else around that would cause any harm to Eva before walking over to a willow tree and sitting down, his back leaning against the bark. Though the drooping branches and leafs, he kept an eye on Eva.

After a few minutes of running, and twirling the sky was completely filled with stars, the sun no longer visible. Eva panted slightly, tired from all her childish antics. She searched with her stormy orbs of eyes, glancing around, searching for her friend. It wasn't long before she spotted him resting underneath a tree. She walked over, brushing away the leaved curtain and took a seat next to him.

No words were exchange between them; they just sat there, staring at the stars that were visible through the leaves. Time passed by, Eva wasn't sure how long they just sat there but she knew it was getting late. A small yawn escaped her tired body and she found herself tilting off to the side, leaning against Keita's body.

"What are you doing" Eva could easily his uncertainty laced within his tone of voice. She gave a tiny chuckle, and nuzzled her head against him arm, she could feel his muscles go tight and tense unsure of what to do.

"Humans do this when they're tired. They lean on each other for comfort," Eva explained with another tiny yawn, her hand covering her mouth. She gave a petite grin as Keita tilted his head ever so slightly, foreign to such gestures that humans do.

After a moment of digesting the information she had given him, she felt his arm move. Frowning Eva assumed that he didn't like the contact and was pulling away from her, but she didn't expect him to snake his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close towards him. He didn't even remove his arm from her shoulders when he had readjusted her and himself. She could hear her heart drumming in her ears, and preyed that he didn't hear it, and also hoped that he couldn't see her scarlet blush across her cheeks.

"K-Keita?" she questioned.

"Sleep," he ordered his eyes flashing down on her. His eyes seemed to be glowing, like an animal's eyes illuminating in the dark. Before his eyes could pull her in any deeper, she blinked breaking the contact. She slanted her head downwards until it was resting on Keita's chest, right below his neck.

Inhaling deeply, Eva smiled against him with one of her hands gripping onto his shirt. His scent was the whole forest, and she loved the smell; his scent alone was intoxication her to sleep. Her eyes fluttered closed, letting the day's activities drain her. But before sleep could take her a soft sound reached her ears.

Lifting her head, she listened carefully. It was someone singing, a gentle sound that was to beautiful to describe in words. She glanced up to see Keita's face, his eyes were staring out far head, intense and alert. "What is it, Keita?" asked Eva quietly.

"Melvina."

"Melvina?" she repeated, confused.

"The Lady of the forest, and of our kin," Keita explained, for once not telling her it wasn't her place to know. "On some nights she wonders throughout the forest singing her songs to the trees and to ease our kin's minds."

Eva blinked once, and returned to her head to the previous position. She wanted to ask more questions about Melvina, but decided it against it. She didn't want to annoy him any further than she has today.

Eva jumped when she felt a tingling sensation emitting from the tips of her hairs, before it spread. "Go to sleep Eva," he ordered again but softly and not as bossy from the first time he had said it. The word sleep reminded her of how heavy her eyelids were.

Exhaling, she closed her eyes. The soft singing and the comforting feeling of Keita's hand running through her hair relaxed her, making her drift into the dream world.

Keita sighed softly when Eva's even breathing reached his ears. He shifted slightly to move his numb muscles, and pulled Eva even closer. He would not allow anything disturb her, or harm her in anyway. He wouldn't even let his Lord or Lady touch her, he would protect her from all harm.