A forbidden love

Chapter 1: The white stag

We raced through the forest; some took to the trees, gracefully gliding from branch to branch. Others found refuge on the ground, blending in with our surroundings. I climbed a nearby tree until I reached the canopy and made a run for it on its massive, outstretched branches. We were hunting, it was a seasonal festival that happened at the beginning of every spring, the hunt for the white stag. As winter melted away, the animals slowly lost their white winter coats. This helped them blend in during the different seasons. It became tradition to hunt down the remaining white stag before it lost its white coat.

I climbed higher up into the large oak tree, hiding myself deeper up in the thick leaves. Everyone blended into our surroundings so well, you needed to know exactly what to look for in order to find something. I heard a rustle from below, elves scurrying around, trying to cover as much ground as possible.

 I took in a deep breath, the morning dew white upon the leaves and grass, shone in the first rays of sun, the dew brought a brightness that was somehow warming. Opening my eyes, I continued to dash through the forest light on my feet, barely making a noise. I jumped from tree to tree as I surveyed my surroundings, for any sight of the white stag.

The forest grew silent, no one could be seen anymore, the silent grew heavy and not even the birds seemed willing to break the silence, it was peaceful yet unearthly, dangerous. My ear twitched as a distant noise made its way to my ear, before slowly turning in its direction. Someone else was here... watching, waiting.

Carefully stringing my bow, I waited, anticipating my enemy's every move. The wind blew through my silver hair. The air felt different as if warning me, I was being watched. Suddenly there was a rustle in a tree not far from my own, and by instinct I flung myself around and let go of the arrow letting it zip through the air at an unnatural speed.

 It made a sound as it hit something hard, before I heard movement in the leaves and my predator was gone, you could feel the release of tension in the air. I missed, I shot at a tree, I never missed. Curious, I made my way to the tree to retrieve my arrow. I saw it wedged deep into the tree with an unusual object dangling from its shaft, a pendant. I looked at my arrow, the fletching* was broken off, someone had broken my arrow on purpose.

*A fletching is the back of an arrow; the three feathers or vanes are used to stabilize the shaft during flight.

Grabbing hold of the pendant around the shaft, i took a close look at it. It was a crescent moon. I had never seen such a thing before, it must have been left here on purpose as well. I pulled at my arrow with a struggle trying the break it free from the stubborn hold of the ancient tree. Once it broke free I put it in my quiver and the pendant I hooked around my belt. I was suddenly reminded of the hunt; I was falling behind, and I could not just stay here. I took off once again in the trees.