Estïqiã

The elf, who just so happened to be a Dragon Magic holder.

I screamed, and backed up involuntarily. The bear dropped down to all fours, and began lumbering towards me.

I am going to die.
I shut my eyes and waited for the inevitable, feeling its hot fetid breath as it snuffled my face. Its massive jaws opened and let out a mighty roar, blowing my hair back. Then, suddenly, the bellow was cut off. There was a loud thump, and I opened my eyes a crack to see the bear on the ground, dead, with an arrow stuck through its eye.

I whipped around to face a woman, standing on a nearby rock, holding a bow in her hand.

She looked perhaps four years older than me, but her eyes spoke of a much older age. Her skin was creamy white, and her hair was a silky, beautiful, inky black. The eyes were a bright, startling purple, and her facial features captivated me for a moment. The tips of her pointed ears just barely showed through her long, straight hair.

Then she turned and ran.

She was Estïqiã, no doubt about it. Leaving the pan by the bushes, I jumped onto Peeka and kicked her sides, leading her in a chase, and startling Bess into a frightened dash. On horseback, I was sure to catch her right away.

Wrong.

This elf was fast. She darted through trees, and I had a hell of a time trying to keep her within my sights. She would be one place one second, and in another place the next. Peeka crashed through vines and branches, loyally galloping forward, and even though Bess wasn't happy about it, she followed. I had no idea how this Estïqiã person was staying ahead of such a fast horse.

The elf sprinted around a huge boulder, out of sight, and I pulled Peeka into a right turn around the rock, only to yank as hard as I could on the reins, causing Peeka to rear up, when I turned right into Estïqiã pointing a deadly arrow at my head.

"Why are you following me?" her voice is low and level, but it holds a clear message of menace.

"Wait, don't shoot!" I held up my hands as a sign of surrender. "I come as a friend."

"Then leave the forest, as a friend, before I drag you out, as a corpse." she replied.

"Wait." I fumbled around down my tunic, and finally pulled out my necklace. "Look! I'm Avaline, but call me Ava, and you're Estïqiã, and I'm supposed to find you, and the Prophecy, and then there's this guy, he's evil, and we're-" She holds up one hand, and I stop babbling.

"The Prophecy?" her hand goes to her chest, and curls her hands around something under her shirt. A long pause stretches between us. "Eńteì spoke of this.....but I never thought....." she lapses into silence, until I clear my throat. She jumps, then begins speaking again. "Come with me." Pause. "Ava." she adds, turns and sets off again, only much more slowly this time.

I follow her with Peeka and Bess, and stroke Peeka's neck as we go. Since Peeka had been in the lead, Bess had been protected from slapping branches and thorny vines, and I had not realized how much that run had hurt Peeka. Her flank was scratched and bleeding in some places, and she was limping slightly, but she continues without complaining.

"I promise I'll clean you up when we get wherever we're going." I murmured, then glanced at Estïqiã, traveling quickly, with her deadly bow slung over her shoulder. "If we get there."

Estïqiã suddenly stopped in front of a gorgeous waterfall cascading over a cliff, into a sweet little pond with crystal clear water, complete with an abundance of pretty vegetation, creating a picturesque little setting.

"Get off the horse and disconnect them." she ordered me, and I complied. When I untied them, I turned to face Estïqiã again, now holding the halters of each horse in my hands.

"Give me the reins to more skittish horse and follow me." she commanded me, and I handed her Bess's reins. She set off at once, gripping the rope with confidence as she approached the seemingly sheer cliff face. The waterfall roared past her head only a few meters away as she stepped onto a flat outcropping on the cliff.

I suddenly realized the outcropping actually continued up along the bluff, serving as a walkway up the rocky face, and ended next to the waterfall about nine meters off the ground. Estïqiã led Bess up the trail, pulling the stubborn packhorse along firmly. When she reached the point where the ledge reached the waterfall, she slipped in between the sparkling waterfall and the cliff face, and disappeared behind the wall of water.

I stared nervously at the narrow outcropping. I've never liked heights, and a thin, unreliable rock trail sticking out of a cliff was no exception. Estïqiã stuck her head back out.

"Well?" she yelled to be heard over the waterfall. "You coming?" I groaned inwardly, but started up the ledge cautiously, pulling Peeka behind me. My anxiety caused my breath to come in short gasps, and I forced myself to step carefully and slowly, while Peeka's hooves clip-clopped behind me. As I shakily traveled up the trail, the roar of the waterfall grew louder and louder, until I found myself face to face with Estïqiã. The tall, graceful elf moved back to allow me to move behind the waterfall.

I found myself in a large cave, with the mouth of it covered with the roaring waterfall. Peeka snorted and snuffled my face, and I sighed with relief as we rejoined Bess and Estïqiã.

Without a word, the elf turned and began walking down the cave.

"Follow me." she called shortly. I was tempted to simply turn around and walk away, but a part of my knew I couldn't run away from the prophecy.

Groaning inwardly, I grabbed Bess's and Peeka's reins and trotted behind the brusque and shady elf.

The cave had numerous twists and turns, but Estïqiã never hesitated when picking a direction to go. I had no doubt that she had booby-trapped the dead ends, so if you made a wrong turn, you were dead.

She finally stopped at a dead end, and stood there for a moment.

"Are we lost?" I ventured.

"No." she snapped. "Don't be ridiculous." She marched over to the rocky wall, and started to feel the stone with her slender hands, murmuring something I couldn't make out. The rock began to glow a greenish hue, and part of the rock was outlined by the glow. When it faded, a wooden door stood in its place.

Estïqiã opened the door and walked inside confidently, while I lagged behind, tired of having no idea where I was or where I was going. When I entered the room, I was confronted by her home.

There was a small fireplace, with a chimney leading up the wall, until it hit the ceiling, and probably continued all the way to the surface. In front of the fireplace was a cozy looking couch, and a plushy armchair, with an ottoman. There was also small kitchen, with cabinets and drawers, and I could see a spit sitting in the corner, unused at the moment, but something told me that Estïqiã ate well.

Sitting by the kitchen was a small oak table, with four chairs, all handcrafted by probably Estïqiã herself. On the opposite wall, there were four other doors, one slightly ajar, showing what was probably her bedroom.

"You will stay in here." Estïqiã opened the door in the far right, showing another bedroom, with simple but charming furniture.

"I'm staying here?" I asked, and she looked at me strangely.

"Of course you are. I know of the Prophecy, and I know there is an evil we must stop. That means you must stay here, and train. I have a friend of mine, a fairy, and he will teach you all you need to know."

"That's great!" I exclaimed. "Then we can go and kill Ekzema!" Estïqiã stopped.

"Ekzema?" she whispered hoarsely.

"Yeah. The bad guy. He's amassing an army behind King Leopold's back, and we have to stop him. It's the Prophecy." I explained. Estïqiã looked pale.

"Estïqiã? Are you all right?" I asked, concerned.

"I can't." she whispered.

"Can't what?"

"I can't face that monster! I-I haven't trained enough! He'll try and kill me!" her eyes were wide and frightened, and she looked like she was about to run.

"Wait, hold on, calm down. We can do it." I try to comfort her, but I'm uneasy. She's the older and more experienced one. She should be the one ready to face Ekzema.

"No. I will not fight him." I try to say something else, but she changes the subject. "You can keep your horses in that room. I have stables and hay down." she pointed at the door next to my room. "The last door leads to the bathroom. I'm going to bed." she stood abruptly, went to her room, then closed and locked the door. I stand alone for a moment, confused, before taking Peeka and Bess to the stables.

As I rub them down and fed them, I wondered why Estïqiã had been so afraid. What had Ekzema done? Why didn't she understand that whether or not we were ready, Ekzema had to be stopped?
The way the elf had so readily invited me in, the way she had seemed so prepared, and so unsurprised by my arrival, I had just assumed that as soon as I was trained, we could leave. Training probably wouldn't even take that long.
I carried all the saddlebags to my own room, and got myself ready for bed. A stone on the bedside table was emitting a soft glow, illuminating the room as I climbed into bed. Next to the stone was a dome, and I used it to cover the light, so that the room fell into darkness.

I closed my eyes, thoroughly exhausted by today's events, and fall asleep.

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Estïqiã paced her room worriedly. She had known this day would come, ever since her Sheñshåweï had told her of the Prophecy. She had prepared her whole life for this, and had waited for the other warrior to come and help her in the fight against evil, and bringing back the elves and dragons. That was really the only part she cared about. The part about the defeating evil.....well, she had always avoided that part.

The evil could be anything, she had reasoned, but, in her heart, she had known it was only one thing all along. But she had been to scared to confront the truth, the truth about the terrible evil.

Him.

He, who had done the most wicked things imaginable, the one who had bested her and nearly killed her as she slept, as a child, an innocent child, asleep in her bed. He had told her, as he was banished, that he would find her, and he would finish the job he had started, and that for her insolence, he would kill her šõüsįktæ, and everything she held dear.

He was not one to fall out on his promises.

To get her mind off things, Estïqiã approached the fire burning in the center of the room. Only eight days ago, she had made another trip to Dråçønel, the hidden dragon sanctuary, and had stayed a week, as her tradition, to learn more of her magic. On her last day, her Sheñshåweï Eńteì, had given her a locked box, made of gold.

Inside was an unbelievable treasure. It meant that her Sheñshåweï was no longer qualified to teach her, and that she had completed the first stage of training. Eńteì had told her the box would keep the treasure safe and alive, until she reached her home, and then she would have to keep it in a burning fire to keep it alive.

The object had to be kept so hot, that it would literally melt the flesh off of anyone who tried to touch it, except for the person caring for it. And so, it was safe for Estïqiã to touch.

She did so, lightly touching her hand to the round object. It was about the size of a horse's head, and it was a dark purple, that often pulsated, letting out a soft glow. In patches, there was a flaky black substance, much like hardening lava, where black signified the cooling and hardening parts, but the liquid orange lava showed in spots where the black had not yet formed.

As soon as she touched the treasure, a lovely, melodic tune filled Estïqiã's head, and she closed her eyes with pleasure as she listened to the singing.

Finally, and reluctantly, she pulled her hand away. She stared at the pulsating, glowing object for a while, watching as the flames of the fire licked at its surface.

Estïqiã tore herself away, walked to her bed, and crawled in between the blankets. After she covered her light-stone with its dome, darkness descended upon the room, and, despite her worries and fears, Estïqiã felt sleep setting in.

She yielded to the night, and wearily let her eyelids slide closed.

Author's Note

Okay, so hooray, hooray, Ava found Estïqiã! The way Estïqiã reacted to Ekzema was weird...it was like she had known the weirdo before. Oh, wait, she did! From this, I guess Ekzema tried to kill her, but failed, but still managed to get a threat through to her. Plus, it happened when Estïqiã was a little kid, so when this crazy, jacked-up evil dude threatens to kill you, you usually take it pretty seriously. Yikes. Anyway, any guesses on what the object/treasure thingy is?