What Is Done

Chapter 17 - The Forest of Talking Trees

Dire situations like this were only supposed to be found in storybooks. At least, that's what Essaerae thought. It was an unfair fight, three; technically two guards and a single incapacitated Elf King against a pack of random wolves. But possibly, they weren't random. The wolves seem more focused on Sellion than Essaerae or the High King of Elven Guard. When one did leap forward, Sellion thought he was going to really die for a split second. He stumbled over his own feet, a mistake only a new fighter would make. He allowed himself to be caught off guard. The wolf bit the shaft of his spear and just when Sellion thought it'd ripped into his arm, let out a yelp.

He shook the entirety of his weapon, a little freaked out by the events. He managed to thrust the wolf off of him. When more wolves prepared to attack, something fell from the sky.

Out of nowhere, there was an elf standing in front of him. Then a few more elves formed a circle around the trio, behind the wolves. They wore the same livery with the symbol of a wolf's head on their backs as their insignia. Instead of fighting the wolves, they rubbed behind their ears and whispered commands like they were scolding a lost pet for running out the open door. Some of the elves spoke in silly voices like one would to a dog. The wild animals calmed down when they did this.

Did they jump from the canopy? No way they would have survived that, those trees are hundreds of feet tall. 

Sellion snapped out of his thoughtful daze when the first elf who'd appeared began closing in on him and Essaerae.

"Are you alright?" He had no expression. He had golden locks and coal-like gray eyes. "If we'd been a moment late, you three would have faced the inevitable."

"We had it," Sellion said to him, refusing to admit he was sprung on. "Who the hell are you?" He pushed him backwards with a quick motion of his hand pressed into the center of his chest.

"Gendan Alnwick, Head of the Tamers at your service, Mr...?" The man took a bow, pleased with himself.

"Sellion." He rarely told people his name. Most people learned his name from others. He had always thought "Mister" sounded too fancy, even for him.

"You know the wolves?" Essaerae pressured Gendan.

"Oh, yes, they live in this area. They are our friends but we leave them be for the most part." Gendan was almost too much of a people pleaser in Sellion's eyes already. "They're...not supposed to attack elves though... Perhaps there was some error in our training of the descendants."

Gendan's gaze turned to Laverne, who was mostly a pile of silky hair and clothing with a single leg sticking out. One of the wolves pushed his head over, whining at the passed out elf. Laverne groaned in pain, trying to lift his body up.

"Your friend is hurt. Let us take you to our city in the trees." Gendan offered to Essaerae and Sellion. Some of the other elves picked up Laverne, careful not to damage him further. Sellion and Essaerae quickly became skeptical. Essaerae became more relaxed when she noticed the Tamers being gentle with the man she loved, Sellion only became less tense in the shoulders.

"Gendan! This is the High King!" One of the others, a female, shouted. She could tell from his complexion. It was likely she'd met with their family at one point.

The wolf-taming elves loaded Laverne, Essaerae and Sellion onto a makeshift elevator that fell from beyond the mist. On the way, Gendan asked how they got there, then reassured them that their horses would be found and brought to their public stables. As they went up, higher and higher, lights could be seen gleaming from other trees and the forest. The mist thinned the higher they got. It revealed houses built in the strong arms of the trees with intertwining bridges stretching across the empty space between.