1 The Asur Princess

*Miera's POV*

I, the daughter of the king of the High Elves, was late.

The armor that was tightly bound around my bosom felt heavy. And the iron belt around my waist, was weighing me down.

I was running through the thick forest in high speed. My feet barely touched the ground.

As I tried to focus on my breathing, I raced against the clock of time. Of course I could of used my magic, but I liked the thrill of almost getting caught.

I was not supposed to leave the castle of the Asur, as we called ourselves. But today of all days, it was the most stupid thing I could do. Because today, all eyes were on me.

The Asur were the protectors of the ancient world. We were a proud and ever so mighty nation, of powerful warriors. Today was my 18th birthday. That meant I finally had the chance to become a warrior, in my father's army against the Sun Elves.

Today was the day I became a woman.

As my feet touched the ground for the shortest second, I almost tripped. I stopped to see what almost floored me, but I only saw a pile of reddish leaf's . I bent through my knees and my long black boots felt uncomfortable.

My breathing was still shallow, as my breath forced the leaf's to scatter. I cocked my head to the side, surprised by what I had found.

On the damp forest ground, laid a young man with golden hair. His face was covered in mud and blood. His eyes were closed.

Was he passed on?

My hood fell before my eyes as I touched his face. He felt cold as ice. I pondered what to do. He was probably dead and I would be too, if I did not hurry up. My consciense took toll on me. I placed my head against his chest and listened.

I heard a faint heartbeat.

He was not dead. At least not yet.

I placed my hands under his cold body, and used my strength to pick him up. The clothing he wore, were not those of a warrior and certainly not of one of our people.

Images of the future passed my mind, as I sought a place he would not be found.

His eyes were still closed, when I placed him on the rocky ground, of the cave behind the waterfall. "If I wasn't already in trouble, I sure am now." I mumbled to myself, thinking of everyone who would probably be looking for me.

Then suddenly his eyes flew open and a pair of strange colored eyes were holding mine. "Who are you." He demanded to know, while he held a fistful of my golden necklaces.

I blinked a few times. "Gwendelynn." I told him in half-truth. The young man was weak and he slowly let go of me. Some strings of my brown hair escaped from under my hood. "You should rest." I told him, as I rearanged my hair.

"I will come back for you."

I saw images blur in my mind. "But just not now." I said as I saw the rath of my father, as he found out what I had done.

There was still time to change that future, but I had to act now.

I left the young man in the cave and sealed it with magic.

Closing my eyes, I felt the ground beneath me shake.

When I opened my eyes, I was on the big old oak swing, in the palace garden. I smelled the sweet scent of the wild flowers surrounding me.

"MEIRA!" My brother shouted.

"Where were you?!" He said accusingly.

"Here." I said nonchalantly.

Emmyth shook his head disapprovingly. "Let's go." He muttered. I whistled a melody, pretending I was anywhere but here.

"Everyone is waiting for you." He grumbled.

The front of our silver palace was set against the royal mountain. I followed Emmyth inside. He was five years older than I was, and his protectiveness suffocated me at times.

The deeper we went into the mountain, the darker our palace became. We entered my father's throne room, the light of day could not find its way there.

We walked onto one of the crooked branches, that led to where my father was seated. Left and right, it did not matter where I looked. For everywhere I diverted my eyes, people were staring at me.

I kept my head high, as I almost reached my father. There was no sound to be heard, than that of mine and my brother's footsteps.

I kneeled before my father's oakheart throne. His long grey hair seemed to sparkle against his silver tunic.

"My daughter, princess of the Asur." He said as he proudly looked into the crowds of inpatient elves. "RISE!" He said, as his echo resounded through the large hall.

I slowly, but deliberately stood up. My father rose from his seat as well, and gazed at Emmyth to follow his lead.

We walked to the center of the platform, which was used as a balcony of some sorts, to address our people.

"Today is the day." My father said in authority. The whole crowd jubilated. "That my daughter, Meira Gwendelynn of the Silveroak." Everyone stomped their feet in a marching Rhythm. I could tell that my father really enjoyed the sound of it.

My brother Emmyth looked at me for a split second and winked at me. My father held up his hand, gesturing for the hall to be quiet again. It was utterly still and so my father continued his speech.

"Becomes the greatest warrior of all times, as the prophecy has predicted." The crowd roared in battle sounds and my father gazed at me. *Are you ready?* My father spoke in my mind. *Yes.* I communicated back.

"Now that she has become a woman, she is obligated to fulfill her destined task." My father spoke with care.

"She will return the Northstar sword to us." He said as he looked at me. "And she will do so, before night falls twenty-four hours from now." My father's eyes were dancing.

My heart drummed in my chest.

Even with all of my abilities, as I had several more than any other High Elf had, it would take a lot of endurance to complete this task.

As the ritual with water of the sacred fountain was performed, I shifted images in my mind to find the Northstar sword. I had no success in doing so. I mumbled something under my breath and my father narrowed his eyes.

*You are cheating.* He said in my mind.

*No I am not.* I thought with an attitude. *I am just making best use of all of the abilities the Gods of the oak have given me.*

"Fair enough." My father said under his breath.

The priests were almost done, I heard by the sound of it, as I was still fully focused on trying to find the sword.

Nothing.

I could usually find a place, item or person in a heartbeat. If I had any trouble at all, a physical token of the thing or person I was searching for, would help as well. I had none.

"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce this quest to be opened." My father said. That was my que to lift up my chin and wave to my people in respect.

"I, princess of the Asur, pledge my faithfulness to all of you, and I vow to bring back our people's sword." I declared.

When the people beneath me roared in enthusiasm, I made my exit.

I ran out of the palace like a breeze of wind.

Nobody knew, I could appear and disappear whenever I wanted to. We all could wheel magic. Some more than others. That was a trait of the Asur elves we were rather proud of. But I could do more, than many did.

It was strange how I never really noticed how much I relied on those abilities, as I did now. I blinked my eyes and I appeared in front of the waterfall, where I had left the young man.

I knew I was supposed to go ahead and find that sword, but if I was honest, I did not know how. There were no images guiding me towards the blade.

It felt like I was blind, searching in the darkness.

I kicked a stone in frustration and it burst into pieces. I sighed.

This was not how it was supposed to go. I decided to go check on the cold, golden haired figure, I had found a few hours ago.

"Illumnia Waterhho." I said breaking the magic seal.

The curtain of the waterfall fell for a split second and I let myself inside the cave. I heard the water splatter against the rocks again.

The young man was still on the ground, as I had left him. I did not know why I had expected something else. I walked closer to him and heard him take shallow, but steady breaths.

I did not know why, but I felt relieved.

His skin looked paler than mine, I noticed. I touched his cheek and he was still cold. Investigating his wounds, I decided it was probably for the best, that I spend the night here. Maybe he would need me right?!

I was not going to admit that I was dreading my quest, simply because I did not know how to proceed. It would not be something I would ever say out loud, or even admit to myself.

No, the only reason I could not yet hunt that blade, was because of the faint heartbeat, of the young man I had never met before.

I darted out of the cave, and decided to gather some wood, to start a fire. Yes, I could surely wish for the chunks of wood to be here, and so they would be, but what was the fun in that?!

I sealed the cave again and jumped across the sturdy river.

Who would he be? He was definitely from a different clan. I somewhat guessed he was royal, but I was not sure. He wore no jewelry, as prince's did, but there was something about him…

I blinked my eyes and I was in a meadow full of flowers and herbs. I found what I was looking for, picked it and placed it in inside one of my long leather boots.

When I blinked again, I was back inside the forest. While I gathered chunks of wood, I could not help but get frustrated by my lack of insides, regarding to where the blade was. This rarely happened to me.

Now I wished that I had listened to what the priests were saying, because they gave little riddles to help with the quest. Too bad I only had the ability to see the near future, but never the past.

As I entered the cave, the young man was still laying motionless. I placed the wood in the middle of the cave and set it on fire with my mind.

Then I crouched on the ground before him, and took the herbs out of my boot.

When I looked at him again, I held my breath. He was awake and his strange colored eyes were holding mine. "Who are you?" He asked with a faint voice.

"My name is Gwendelynn." I said softly "But I have told you that before." I said as I reached for my water flask, that was attached to my armor. He looked wary. "Do you remember that?" I asked him.

He shook his head.

I scratched my nose a little, trying to concentrate. I scrutinized his face, as I wanted to see his future, but it seemed I was blocked, or somehow prevented from seeing that.

I sighed heavily. This was really not my day. "Who are you?" I asked him as I cleaned his headwound with leaf's and water. Then I tied it up, to prevent him from bleeding out.

He looked at me, like he was trying really hard to remember.

"I don't know." He breathed.

"Mhh…" I mused.