Arthur and the Invisibles 5: Legend of the Forest

Prologue: Thirty Moons Ago

The ever present glow of the light from above covered Selenia in a soft glow of gold, as if she was standing in some sort of ominous spotlight. Of course, it was not her that lay in the spotlight, but the sword, which she continued to pull at desperately, but to no avail. She had imagined herself more times than she cared to remember, lifting the sword from the obelisk, and stepping up into this spotlight, a hero of her people. Yet today, the sword did not move. Why?

"See! Told you so! Way too arrogant..." Her brother taunted from her side. She considered strangling him, but realised that he was the one who had infuriated her so much in the first place. Perhaps if she calmed herself, ignoring her anger, the sword would recognise her as its rightful owner. But the moment she put this new strategy into action, she felt the ground vibrate as her father's staff pounded thrice against the earth. 

"While the Princess get's a second wind, perhaps we should hear this young man." Her father announced, motioning to the guards. At this, Selenia reluctantly removed herself from the obelisk. She might as well observe this so called 'saviour' that was somehow more qualified to protect her people than she was. The guards parted their weapons, allowing the young Minimoy to step forward. 

The clothes he wore were nothing special, typical Minimoy robes composed of small areas of Patchimollet hide, with a few small pieces of wood decorated with shells to act as buttons. His eyes were large and shone a brilliant orange, and combined with the fact that he was wringing his hands together, he gave a sense of nervousness. His hair sprung upwards in hundreds of white spikes, and overall, although Selenia locked the thought deep within her mind as soon as it blossomed, he was actually quite cute. He began to approach her and her brother, glancing around as the whole population of the village observed his every move. Beta elbowed her in order to get her attention.

"Cool, huh?" He asked proudly. Selenia glanced at her brother, before turning back to the newcomer. She wasn't sure why, but she did feel something  inside of her in regards to this human. She couldn't quite tell what it was, though. And from that, she decided it was unimportant.

"Ordinary." She stated dismissively, before folding her arms and turning away. In a few seconds, the newcomer had turned to her as he passed.

"My humble respects, Princess Selenia." He spoke graciously, before continuing towards her father. A great burst of surprise spread through her mind, due to how this newcomer knew her name, let alone the fact that he decided to speak to her directly. 

But there was definitely something else. She still couldn't detect it, but her heart had fluttered with joy the moment his voice flew from his lips to greet her. What was wrong with her? She decided to focus on her initial reaction.

"Who told him my name?!" She asked no one in particular, clearly in astonishment.

"'My humble respects Princess Selenia!'" Her brother mocked from beside her, and the two descended into a series of elbows and budges, while the newcomer came to stand in front of their father.

"My humble respects, your majesty." He stated, this time with a bow. Selenia was astonished by his manners, as the strange feeling continued to well up inside of her. Stop it!  She told herself.

"Uhm...Yes. My respects." The King replied, although the words were barely muttered when Miro burst from behind her father.

"Oh, Arthur! I'm delighted to meet you, I was a good friend of your grandfather, Archibald!" He explained, clearly shaking the newcomer's hand a little too aggressively. 

"Miro, leave him alone." Her father muttered, shoving Miro out of the way and bending down to face this 'Arthur'. "Well young man, we're all ears."