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visibly nervous to let her
out of the city walls alone, but even he did not stop her. This was
a great step in her career as a member of the King’s army. Creeping
along the forest floor, she approached the small river that ran
through the forest. She was close now.
    “Why would they send a girl out alone, in
the middle of the night?” Wolf was saying as they walked back
toward their room.
    “Who knows?” Logan replied uninterestedly.
“I’m just glad it’s not me out there.”
    “And Elisa, of all people,” he
continued.
    “Are you concerned for her?” He laughed,
jabbing his elbow into his friend’s side. Wolf pushed him into a
wall in return, and shook his head.
    “No, I’m not concerned. I’m just
curious.”
    “Don’t lie! You’re worried about your dear
future wife,” he teased, laughing. Wolf was always sensitive about
their impending marriage, swearing it would never happen, but Logan
wondered sometimes if that was truly how he felt. In all honesty,
she was the most beautiful girl in town. She was a medium height
and thin, her long hair a lovely shade of gold. She had hazel eyes
that were rimmed by thick, dark lashes, and she had a full, pink
mouth. She would always wear the same riding pants as the boys did,
although they just looked so much better on her than they did on
any boy Logan knew. And her shirt was always tight, the arms cut
off, making it easier for her to move around with her bow. Not only
was she beautiful, but she was also talented, the most talented
archer they had. Really, Wolf was fortunate to be betrothed to such
a girl, but with as many options as he seemed to have, Logan could
understand why he didn’t want to accept it. Sometimes Logan
wondered if it wasn’t so much that he didn’t want to just settle on
one—girls threw themselves at him wherever he went—as it was that
she was the only one that didn’t throw herself at him. She
seemed to be completely impervious to his looks and charms. It was
actually quite funny to see him get frustrated whenever they left
her. Logan laughed out loud as he thought about it, causing Wolf to
look at him, his eyes narrowed suspiciously.
    “What is so funny?” he asked, squinting his
eyes further.
    Logan held up his hands in defence.
“Nothing.” He laughed again.
    “I will beat you up,” he warned him,
probably guessing what Logan was thinking.
    “If you can catch me!” he replied, taking
off at full speed. Wolf might be a better rider and swordsman than
he was, but if there was one thing Logan was better at, it was
running. He knew he was way faster than Wolf, and laughed out in a
high cackle as Wolf struggled to grab him, cursing at him the whole
time.
    A small fawn stood beside the river, its
head lowered while it drank. Elisa crouched behind a tree, watching
it with appreciation. Something near to them moved, cracking a twig
under its feet. They both looked up in the direction the sound had
come from. The fawn stood motionless, ready to take off in a
moment’s notice. Out of a clearing in the woods came one of the
beasts. Its breath filled the air with smoke against the cold
night. His eyes glowed yellow in the darkness, and Elisa could hear
it growling low in the silence.
    Moving as slowly as she could, without
bringing attention to her location, she began to string an arrow
into her bow. The beasts had impeccable hearing, so it wouldn’t
take much for the thing to notice her, if it hadn’t already.
Pulling it back, she closed one eye focusing on her target. The
large animal hadn’t moved, keeping his focus on the baby deer. She
wanted to yell at it to run, but the poor thing seemed to be stuck
in its spot. Breathing out slowly, she let her arrow fly, watching
with both eyes open as it sailed through the air and into the leg
of the large hog-looking animal. It growled in anger, turning his
head to look in the direction where she sat. With the attention off
it, the fawn took off into the woods, leaving Elisa alone by