The entire formation appeared hypnotized by the music. All of the hunters had fallen under the elf’s spell and were completely frozen. They simply swayed to the rhythm of her song. All except Varre.

  The elf looked at the unaffected man strangely as she continued singing and slowly coming closer. She squinted her eyes and stared deep into his own, but that only made him more confused. He had so many questions. Who was she? What did she want with him and his men? Was she a threat?

  She raised her voice and the king finally realized that she was trying to charm him as well. He was so shocked by her sudden arrival, that he hadn’t even realized the danger he found himself in until now. He was alone. He had no idea why he was the only one unaffected, but he wasn’t about to let her do as she pleased. There’d be time to investigate her abilities later.

  Varre reached for his sword, and the elf immediately froze in her tracks. She raised her hands in defense, and stopped her song. She said something in a language he did not understand. All he could hear was her strangely melodic voice. It sounded friendly enough, but if she was this skilled in charming people with her spells, there was reason to believe she was just as manipulative in conversation.

  “I don’t understand you,” the king replied with his hand still on his hilt, “release them.”

  Her eyes widened. “Logres?” she asked.

  She knows the name of our nation? Varre thought to himself, then perhaps we might be able to communicate. Somehow.

  The elf woman glanced around. She was now in the center of the formation, surrounded by nearly two dozen heavily armed men. The monarch wasn’t sure how familiar she was with the human race, but his group contained some of the strongest warriors in the entire kingdom. Hopefully, she realized that too. At the very least the Royal Guards’ plate armor should have impressed her. They didn’t look like any normal person around here.

  Of course, the king had no idea about the elf’s strength either. He assumed that if these mystical beings were truly that dangerous, someone would have warned him about them ahead of time. Plus, if she was strong enough to easily trounce such a large force, she wouldn’t bother with hypnotizing everyone first. Surely.

  For now, Varre had to remain on the defensive. He wasn’t confident enough in his abilities to take her on directly and he didn’t know how to break the men out of their charm either. With any luck, they’d wake up as soon as the two came to blows, but he couldn’t be sure. It was better to keep bluffing for now. She was just as confused as he was about why the magic wasn’t working. Perhaps he was far stronger than she had assumed. Though that did not explain why the expert adventurer Kerryn, or Senior Mage Elvira succumbed to it.

  “Yes, we’re from the kingdom of Logres,” the king confirmed, then drew the first few inches of his sword out of his scabbard, “but don’t change the subject. Release my men now!”

  The elf licked her lips, clearly hesitating. “Alright. But you promise. No fighting.”

  Varre looked at the other hunters. Their swaying was slowing down and some were about to stop. Perhaps since the woman ceased her song, the charm was breaking down.

  Still, he was curious about her. He wanted to ask her some questions and he decided that it would be easier to have a conversation without everyone pointing blades at each other. There was no reason to refuse her offer.

  “That depends on your intentions,” the king replied, “but if you have nothing against us, then we will not hurt you. You have my word.”

  She thought about it for a moment, but time was running out. It looked like the others were about to wake any moment now. “Fine. I accept. Don’t betray, Logres!”

  Varre nodded and pushed the sword back into its scabbard. Though he kept his hand on the hilt. Just in case.

  Elvira looked like she was about to wake on her own. She leaned down in her saddle and grabbed her head with a groan. But before she could fully come to her senses, the elf clapped her hands and the charm burst like a bubble.

  Everyone started blinking and shaking the last remains of the lethargy off them. Until one of the knights noticed the stranger standing in the middle of the formation.

  “Guards! Alert!” he called out as he lowered his lance down, preparing to run the woman down.

  “Halt!” Varre yelled, over the ruckus, “no one moves until I say so!”

  The soldiers complied, though the situation was tense. They each held their weapons down and were ready to charge into action at a moment’s notice. They had no idea what just happened, but it wasn’t hard to put two and two together. Something was clearly wrong.

  Elvira rode her horse towards her liege. “Your majesty,” she half whispered and half yelled, “that woman has just used something to hypnotize us. We need to be careful!”

  “I know,” the king said with a reassuring smirk, “we were just talking.”

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  The court mage looked at her monarch strangely, but accepted that explanation without further comment. She turned to look at the stranger, same as everyone else.

  The elf was clearly on edge and didn’t appreciate her current position. Still, it was her own overconfidence that pushed her into this situation. If she had stayed hidden in her bush, no one would have even found her. She was the one who announced her presence. And she was the one who waltzed straight into the center of the enemy’s formation. Unarmed.

  “Now, why don’t you tell us who you are,” the king pointed to the elf with an open palm.

  “I am Sofia,” she introduced herself, “and you?”

  “Varre,” the monarch paused, then added, “the first. King of Logres.”

  While he didn’t often introduce himself with his full title, he figured it was best to tell the elf who exactly she was interacting with. She had no way of knowing that. And this information would probably change how she treated him.

  Indeed, Sofia immediately grimaced. “King of Logres? Here? In Gomera forest?”

  “Actually, I believe this is still part of my territory,” Varre corrected, “you’re the one encroaching on my land.”

  The elf frowned, but eased up after glancing at the armed men surrounding her again. “I am sorry. I did not want to cross.”

  The king wasn’t sure what her opinion on the exact border was. He wasn’t even sure what his own kingdom’s opinion on it was. No one told him about any elven country that laid claim to these woods, or what borders they considered their own. It was supposed to be empty no man’s land, filled with nothing but monsters.

  Perhaps the woman considered this an encroachment on her territory. Maybe even an invasion by a foreign force, but she wasn’t willing to argue the point while outnumbered and surrounded by armed enemies. But if so, it was strange that none of the other hunting parties here had ever ran into their kind. Still, if this really was her kingdom, Varre didn’t want to spark any diplomatic incidents without a good reason. It was best to keep it civil.

  The king decided to change the subject. “Why have you charmed my men?”

  The elf visibly saddened and then looked to the wounded aurochs, still laying collapsed on the ground. Through all of this commotion, the monarch had nearly forgotten the beast that got them into this mess in the first place.

  The hunt was successful and the target was caught, but Rodger never had the chance to finish it off. It was still breathing, barely, as the spears lodged into its flesh caused terrible pain in its final moments.

  The woman carefully approached the animal. Despite its injuries, the sharp horns could still easily gouge and kill a human. She showed no fear. Either unaware of the danger, or completely confident.

  As soon as she moved, the guards jerked in response, ready to react in case she tried anything hostile. Varre had to raise his hand and signal them to stop. There was no reason to turn to bloodshed just yet. Besides, he was curious what she was going to do. It would have been rather embarrassing if she went through all of those motions just to hurt herself by this sudden decision.

  Still, she seemed to know what she was doing. She started humming a quiet tune, which almost sparked another round of panic amongst the troops, but this song was harmless. It appeared to soothe the animal as she kneeled right beside it.

  The elf started gently patting the aurochs’ neck as it wheezed in agony. Then, she pulled out a dagger from somewhere in the folds of her robes and quickly slit the animal’s throat.

  As soon as they noticed the weapon, the guard’s tensed up once more. Yet again, the king had to hold them back. He understood the tense situation and that the soldiers had to be ready in case this was a trap, but he still hoped for a peaceful resolution to this meeting. Regardless, he quietly enhanced himself, just in case she was about to throw the dagger at him. Hopefully, the increased speed and dexterity would improve his reactions. And if not, the extra toughness might just save his life.

  “Such brutality,” Sofia commented, as she returned to petting to the now unmoving aurochs, “why would you do this?”

  “Don’t look at me, he’s the expert,” the king replied, pointing towards his host.

  Rodger raised an eyebrow. “Its an aurochs. A worthy animal to hunt. To fight it, like we did, is the highest honor we can share with the beast.”

  “Honor?” the elf almost spat out, “twenty riders against one animal? That is not honor.”

  The lord crossed his arms. “It’s a dignified challenge. We risk our lives, just like the beast risks its own. It has a fair chance to escape, or kill one of us. How much more fair can we get?”

  “If he killed one of you, would you let him go?” Sofia asked, “don’t think so. He had no hope. He was in pain. You are adults bullying a child!”

  “I will not waste my time explaining honor to a savage!” Rodger replied gritting his teeth, “especially not one who charms innocent people in their own home!”

  “Do not lie. I know this forest is not your home,” the elf said back, but it lacked some of her anger. It was clear that his words had an effect on her.

  “Why did you do it?” Varre asked, “and what would you have done if you managed to charm all of us?”

  He still had no idea of her real intentions. If her magic ended up affecting him too, would she have captured them? Taken them to her leaders for punishment? Or slaughtered them on the spot to avenge the aurochs? As far as anyone could tell, she was still a serious threat.

  “I couldn’t watch this,” Sofia admitted, looking at the ground, “I heard his screams of pain. The aurochs was calling for help. And no one else would do it, but me.”

  “You killed it. You didn’t save it,” the king pointed out, “if you had asked for it, we could have tried healing it.”

  The elf grimaced, as if the words pierced her heart. “I know. I was too late. But I couldn’t watch. Someone had to help. The animal was suffering.”

  “Rodger was about to finish it off, before you intervened,” Varre insisted, “you could have stayed hidden and we’d never even know you were there. The outcome would be the same.”

  “My song eased his pain. He deserved dignity before death,” Sofia looked up at him.

  “Fine,” the king let it go, “but you ignored my question. What would you have done if I wasn’t here to protect my men?”

  “Let you go. I know how you humans are,” the woman replied, “I can’t change your nature. But I could help the aurochs and leave in peace. You’d never know I was here.”

  “Lord Rodger,” Varre turned to his host, “is it common for elves like her to live in this forest? Do you meet them often?”

  The host shook his head. “Never. I heard that they live somewhere deep in Gomera, but no one ever ventures that far. Some adventurers claim to encounter them now and again, but who knows how deep they got before meeting any.”

  “It’s true,” Kerryn chimed in, “there are some settlements, but they often move around. Some people trade with them for trinkets or resources, but meeting an elf is always an impressive tale to share among guild members.”

  The king looked closely at the lone elf before him. “Then what were you doing here? And why were you alone?”

  “Maybe she wasn’t alone?” a voice called out from one of the treetops.

  Maybe she speaks an older, more archaic version of the language, or simply isn't too familiar with it. Who knows?