by J B Forest
She was even offered a position in the High Council’s elite guard for her skills but turned down the offer to accept a position as an outpost sentry. Most considered the wilderness assignment as the outpost was often referred to as a punishment. Aleesia, however, loved having the freedom run and ride without interference from commanding officers more concerned with politics in the capital. It also served as a buffer from her well-meaning, but smothering family. Her parents could never understand her decision to make a career in the military over a life in academia. Her sisters and brothers before her were all scholars. Although she enjoyed debating with them on various topics and theories, particularly when they discussed untraditional and unconventional topics, she could not imagine herself rooted in a stifling classroom all day.
She left the outpost well before dawn and had been traveling for a few hours when smelled the remnants of a fire. It did not seem large enough to mean the danger of a forest fire, but more like a cooking fire. She wondered who would be foolish enough to make camp here; it was too close to the outpost not to complete the journey. Then again, if someone were trying to hide something, it might be a perfect distance away. She was immediately on alert. Aleesia decided to proceed on foot. She hobbled her mount near a small pond so that the mare would be close to food and water.
If the people who built the fire meant trouble, she certainly did not want to forewarn them of her approach. Armed with her bow and quiver slung over her back, and a dagger tucked into a strap at her waist, she proceeded swiftly but stealthily to the site of the camp fire. There had been no word of strangers traveling along the boundary lands at the outpost. It had been decades since any Svartan raiding parties had entered Ljosan lands. Raiding parties did not typically make campfires within a few hours ride of the outpost. She was still trying to figure out who could have made the fire and why when she heard a horse snort. She slowed her breathing and carefully approached the campsite.
There was no movement in the camp other than the shifting of the horses. It was still early, the sun was only just beginning to rise, which is probably why the travelers were not awake yet. She was too far away to determine how many people were in the party. She picked up her pace slightly to cover the distance, but stopped abruptly as she nearly stumbled into the camp which was located in a small clearing near a stream. Thankfully the sound of the running water helped to block her approach. The two figures were just steps away from her, sleeping as soundly as they would in their own beds.
They were not Ljosan, although one of them almost looked Ljosan. She had never seen an elf with skin so pale. It was almost as though his skin was transparent. It was surreal and intriguing at the same time. His companion on the other hand had the dark skin of a Svartan, it seemed as smooth as marble. Aleesia had never seen two elves in such stark contrast to each other. Clearly the one was Svartan, but what of his companion, she had no clue. She had no idea whether they were friend or foe and no weapons were visible, but decided to err on the safe side.
She slowly unslung her bow, reached for an arrow and notched it the bowstring. Just as she raised the bow to aim it as a precaution, the pale elf opened his eyes. “Connak, it seems we have company,” Laosx stated warily. His friend moved to react quickly, but Laosx stayed his hand. “Slowly, my friend, slowly. We do not want the sentry to loose that arrow prematurely.”
“That would be a drastic mistake I agree.” Connak slowly nodded towards Ljosan sentry with his arms spread wide. “Good morning to you friend, may I sit up and introduce myself?”
Aleesia relaxed slightly, but still kept the bow pointed in the direction of the two travelers and nodded in agreement. “You may.”
“My name is Connak and this is Laosx, we are emissaries from the Svartan High Council on a mission to seek assistance of the Ljosan High Council. We have been traveling for two weeks and decided to make camp before entering the Ljosan outpost and request safe passage to Cidrean. It seems you have us at a disadvantage.”
Svartan emissaries on a mission to seek the help of the High Council, well she would never have come up with that as an answer. She relaxed visibly but was still somewhat wary. Even raiders would not have had such a far-fetched story. She realized that they were waiting for a response. “My name is Aleesia, I am a sentry stationed at the outpost. I came across your camp while on my rounds.” She hoped that her facial expression did not give away the flurry of emotions that she felt. Now that they were seated facing her, Aleesia could see how remarkable the pair were. Their looks were extraordinary even in elven terms. The dark one, Connak he called himself had sharp muscular facial lines, almost as though his features were etched in stone while the pale one, Laosx, had soft, gentle facial features. Each man alone was sufficient to cause any adult elven woman to pause, but the two of them together was almost too much to absorb at once. Aleesia silently chastised herself for inwardly gawking. Normally she rarely took the time to be distracted by something as shallow as a male’s good looks. And here she was on official duties, practically drooling at these two strangers. “I will be happy to escort you to the outpost, that way you will not incur any more unexpected encounters.”
“We really appreciate the offer, but we do not want to keep you from your responsibilities. You mentioned that you were on duty when you came across our campsite,” responded Laosx.
“It is not a problem, in fact, I would be derelict in my responsibilities if I did not accompany you back to the outpost.”
Connak chimed in before his friend could respond. “We certainly would not want to cause any problems and welcome the escort. It will only take us a few minutes to get our things together. Laosx planned to make some tea before we set out, would you like some as well?”
Laosx gave Connak a sharp look at the suggestion that he make tea for the three of them. He was no one’s personal servant. But in reality, Laosx quickly warmed up to the idea, absently thinking that his special brew might actually impress the attractive sentry. He had noticed right away that she possessed a subtle attractiveness not readily apparent with only a superficial glance. Her appearance was enhanced when she had her bow strung and pointed at their chests. There was something about her determined expression that made her even more attractive. He did not doubt that she would shoot either one of them if she felt threatened. She seemed a very serious and capable woman. He began to think that having her accompany them to the outpost would give him an opportunity to get to know more about this sentry, Aleesia. With those thoughts, he set about preparing tea for the three of them.
Connak could sense that both Laosx and Aleesia were assessing each other. He could literally feel the pheromones that the pair was sending off and neither of them was consciously aware of what was happening. He smiled to himself thinking that things were going to get interesting very quickly. Laosx’s first interaction with a Ljosan and he has already fallen in love. He needed some air and decided to take care of the horses. “I will ensure that the horses are ready,” he called as he walked briskly away. He had never seen his friend so attracted to a woman so quickly. They both had been in more than their fair share of relationships, once Laosx was close to commitment. But things did not work out in the long run. Connak had a strange feeling that the intense reaction he just witnessed was not a fleeting occurrence. Of course, Laosx would never admit it, at least not immediately.
He fed the last of their fruit and nuts to the horses, removed their hobbles and finished the preparations for the last leg of their journey. Although this was not the way he expected to meet the Ljosar, maybe having a sentry escort them into the outpost was in their best interests. He knew that the Ljosar would be wary of their unannounced arrival and had no idea how they would react. He and Laosx had planned to make sure that their demeanor was non-threatening. At least with Aleesia in their company, the potential for a violent reaction was somewhat minimized. There was always a chance that some ‘hot head’ with more brawn than brains would react prematurely without listening to reasoning. However,
he had a feeling that Aleesia would prove to be a powerful ally. The tea was ready by the time he returned to the camp.
It was well past mid-morning when they broke camp. She led them back to the outpost on a trail that skirted the stream where the pair camped. It was a longer route than she took to reach their camp but she wanted to take the extra time to assess them before they arrived at the outpost. So far, they seemed to be truthful, but it did not hurt to use a little caution. Aleesia also wanted to use caution in approaching the outpost with the two strangers. She was glad that one of her hot headed colleagues had not stumbled onto the pair. Not all of them used their best judgment when dealing with unusual situations. And this could certainly be categorized as unusual. She hoped that her captain was on duty when she arrived. It would make things a lot easier.
It was a beautiful day, the sun peaked lazily through the trees and the temperatures were not too hot. The trio traveled in relative silence, each lost in their own thoughts. The soft trickle of the stream provided a soothing background. Connak wondered if the Ljosan High Council would receive their story as well as Aleesia had. She seemed to have her doubts at first but accepted it fairly quickly. “So Aleesia, have you heard of any problems with your elders? Our elders first approached our High Council several months ago, but only recently did things seem to get bad enough for the council to take action.”
“I have heard nothing, but then, I am usually out here at the outpost and news travels slowly. I was at Cidrean a week ago but did not hear anything then.”
“Do you go to Cidrean often?” Laosx chimed in.
“No, when we are on detail assignment we only leave our duty stations for special assignments or leave. Most do not go all the way to Cidrean to take leave because we would spend half our free time traveling.”
“So was it a special assignment that brought you there? Can you tell us about it?”
Connak was taken aback by his friend’s directness. Laosx was known for not mincing his words but even this a bit much for him. “Laosx, your question is somewhat intrusive. We just met Aleesia a few hours ago and you are already drilling her about things that are none of our concern,” he said giving his friend a stern look. They were trying to make a good impression on these people and here Laosx was alienating the first Ljosan they met.
“Oops, sorry,” Laosx replied sheepishly. “You do not have to answer; I did not mean to be rude.”
Aleesia smiled, “It is not a problem, but no, I was not on a special assignment. I was at an archery tournament.”
“I knew by the way you held that bow on us this morning that it was more than just a prop,” responded Laosx. “So how well did you do?”
She tried to hide the smile that crept upon her face. “What makes you think that I did well?”
“If you did not, you probably would not have mentioned the tournament. You could have come up with some other reason to tell us why you went to Cidrean or said nothing at all.”
“I did okay, took home the Medal of Honor.”
“Wow, the Medal of Honor, I will be careful to stay on your good side. Congratulations.” This woman was something else. She was serious, smart, beautiful, and an expert archer all in one package. Meeting someone like Aleesia was an unexpected but very welcome bonus for this journey. He had offered to accompany his friend on this journey to help relieve some of the burden. The undertaking was daunting, trying to convince the estranged Ljosar to unite with the Svartar to help find the source and resolve a problem that was still a mystery to most inhabitants of both realms.
Connak was impressed but not surprised, Aleesia seemed to be a very serious and capable sentry. He suspected that she was the kind of person that many of her colleagues foolishly underestimated. “Congratulations, as well,” he said. “We are honored to have a master archer as an escort.”
“Thank you,” Aleesia responded gratefully. She could sense that both men were sincere in their offers. She met so many who were not as sincere in offering praise for her accomplishments. The sincere praise was a welcome relief. Again, she found herself relaxing in their company. There was no need to defend her capabilities; they accepted her for who she was.
They rode into a clearing and Laosx groaned painfully. “How do your people withstand so much direct sunlight? My body is so blistered and sun burned that I can barely stand to wear clothes.” He shifted his head covering to ensure full protection for his head, neck, and face.
Aleesia glanced at him and saw that he was truly miserable in the direct sunlight. She did her best to stifle the smile that was beginning. His painful expression made him look even more striking, if such a thing was possible. “I must admit that your skin is extremely pale, even for the Ljosar, I have never met someone with so little pigment. It is the lack of pigment makes your skin ultra-sensitive to the direct rays of the sun. Most of us use some type of ointment to help protect ourselves from the elements and I guess we are just accustomed to the environment. All of the sentries wear the tinted glasses to protect our eyes as well. I use a potion that has been passed down through my family for centuries, it is based in aloe. You are welcome to try to some if you like,” she offered. She was surprised at her own generosity; she did not usually offer personal items to people, much less to total strangers.
“I do not want to impose,” replied Laosx. He already felt badly about being so blunt with his earlier question. The potion was obviously something very personal to Aleesia and he truly did not want to make her uncomfortable. Inwardly he was grateful for any relief from the dreaded sunlight.
She smiled at his thoughtfulness, “no problem, this is a good time to take a break, let me retrieve it from my bags.” They crossed the clearing and stopped in the shade of the forest. Even though the sunlight streaked through the trees the shade was a welcome relief for them all. Connak offered to water the horses while Laosx and Aleesia shared the aloe ointment. “You should apply a generous amount to your face and neck. Your arms are well covered by your shirt and gloves,” said Aleesia as she passed a bottle of the ointment to Laosx.
Laosx thanked her again and began to apply the ointment. “It has a minty smell and it is pleasantly cool to the touch.” He felt better immediately. “Maybe you can share the recipe for the lotion so that I can prepare some for myself while I am in the Ljosan realm. I have a feeling that the closer we get to Cidrean, we are going to find that the forest is less and less dense. Am I right?”
“You are correct about the forest,” she replied. “However, we rarely share the ingredients to our family potion, but I may make an exception in your case since you do not have your own family potion to rely upon. Potion recipes are typically tightly held family secrets. I am not sure why, but the elders tell that centuries ago, there were many feuds revolving around the legendary family recipes. Even though I have not heard of feuds about sun protection potions in my lifespan, families rarely share the recipes for their potions.”
Laosx was deeply moved that Aleesia was willing to share the potion’s recipe with him. “I am honored and grateful that you would consider such an offer. I would never have asked for the recipe if I had known that they were family secrets. It seems that I have intruded on something very personal yet again. I do not usually blunder around with people so much. I really do feel out of my element here.” He really did feel out of sorts with this woman, it was a totally foreign and unusual feeling. The High Council encouraged him to make the journey because he was the supposed ‘expert’ in Ljosan history and traditions and yet he did not know about the existence of such basic things as family recipes for sun-blocking potions.
“Think nothing of it,” she replied. “Just do me a favor and do not broadcast it to anyone. I do not want word getting back to my grandmother.” She grimaced at the thought of her grandmother finding out that not only had she shared the coveted family recipe, but with a Svartan stranger. She would never hear the end of her grandmother’s lamentations. “You and your friend will need to stay overnight at the out
post before beginning your journey to Cidrean, I will meet with you once you are settled tonight and give you the recipe and the ingredients so that you can prepare your own for your journey.”
Laosx was pleased two-fold. He was going to have the recipe and ingredients to make his own supply of sun-blocking potion and he would get another chance to be with this fascinating elf. He caught himself in mid-thought; he definitely needed to refocus on their mission. But honestly, the distraction was welcome. His track record with members of the opposite sex was not very good. He had his fair share of decent relationships, but had yet to find “the one”. Aleesia was different from anyone that he ever met, and it was not just because she was the first Ljosan female he met either. He paused again and wondered where the thought came from; he had only known her for a few hours. He cautioned himself to tread very carefully, she was not Svartan and he definitely was not well versed on their customs and traditions of the heart.