‘I have no clue what you’re talking about.’

Though Julian’s voice was slightly panicked, the rest of his body remained composed and he made no effort to struggle. However, this didn’t convince her at all, and the sword was pushed slightly more into his neck, now drawing blood.

‘A-Alright!’ Julian said and shuffled under her sword and glare. Though he wasn’t being truthful before, he didn’t have what she spoke of and even if he did, he had no intention of handing it over to her.

‘You better not be lying, boy.’ Her words were harsh, and it made Julian almost decide not to lie. Almost.

‘It’s back in Esteria.’

‘We’ve searched the whole Human Kingdom.’ The Elf’s grip on her sword tightened and she pressed her sword down harder on his throat, making Julian try not to choke. ‘I told you not to lie.’

‘If you don’t have it, we have no need for you.’ Julian’s eyes filled with genuine panic as she drew her sword back, ready to end his life. ‘Any last wor-’

‘-Um… Excuse me…?’

The two heads whipped around to face a short girl in armour, who was holding two slightly curved swords. Though Julian was slightly relieved, the Elf payed no attention to her, despite seeing her weapons. She didn’t see her as any kind of threat.

The Elf swung her sword towards Julian, but it was stopped barely an inch away from his neck. One of the curved blades which the small girl held had intercepted it, and she nonchalantly flicked her sword up, making the Elf release the blade. It hit the floor with a loud clatter, and the girl had a small and creepy smile across her face. While the Elf was occupied, Julian clambered to his feet and with a few quick steps, he took hold of his dagger again. He positioned himself behind the Elf so she had no easy route of escape, though he doubted his ability to take her down if she did charge at him. Without his proper sword, he wasn’t much use in a fight.

Though her chances looked slim, the Elf didn’t give up and instead, with a loud scream, lunged towards the smaller girl without a proper plan of attack. Not very surprisingly, she didn’t last too long. The girl used one of her swords to slice at her leg to limit her movement. Her second sword positioned itself at her neck after her legs had buckled underneath her.

‘You will get to your feet, and walk away. Leave your sword. If you even attempt to attack me or him again, I will not hesitate to kill you.’ Her voice was calm, but cold and incredibly threatening.

The Elf tried to hide the fear in her eyes, refusing to admit how scared she was of such a short person. But her attempt failed, and in a rush of terror she jumped to her feet, despite the pain, and ran past Julian and down the street.

Julian watched her run away for a moment, before turning back to look at the girl. Although he would admit the fight wasn’t a terribly difficult one, it was obvious she had skill in swordplay. Before he could speak properly to her, she was already turned and beginning to walk away.

‘Thank you!’ He half shouted after her, hoping to get her attention. Hearing his voice, she did turn around to face him, half shocked. Only then did he notice the small Insignia that was engraved into her chest plate that helped explain her skill at fighting. ‘You’re a knight of Esteria?!’

His voice was laced with joy, excitement and surprise. Though he never doubted the strength of females, it was rare to see them as knights, due to the famous sexism that Esteria’s military was plagued with. She was surprised with his recognition of her armour, considering how far away from the Human Capitol they were. But she was happy with his obviously excited tone, which may have had something to do with how she just saved his life.

‘It’s no trouble…’ She returned her two swords to her belt, and brushed a few strands of her shoulder length hair out of her face. ‘And yeah, I am.’

Julian clapped his hands together and took a few step towards her. ‘Maybe I could treat you to a drink? As a thank you for saving my life.’

‘Sure.’ She shrugged slightly, not turning down the offer of something free. ‘I’m not in any rush.’

Julian noticed how soft her voice was, and not at all like how it was when she was threatening the Elf. It was almost unsettling how deceiving she could be.

‘My name is Julian, what is yours?’ He asked in innocent curiosity, making his way to the inn which was barely a few meters away.

‘It’s Alice… Nice to meet you.’ She said quietly and followed him into the inn with a small smile.