Four days into their journey, Elira’s patience was wearing thinner than the soles of a palace dancer’s slippers. She cast a sideways glance at her traveling companion, who hadn’t stopped talking since breakfast. Since yesterday’s breakfast, if she was being honest.
"—and that’s when my grandmother told that if you ever find yourself face-to-face with a wild boar, you should climb the nearest tree," Anna continued, seemingly oblivious to Elira’s exasperated expression. "But what if there aren’t any trees nearby? I asked her. Well, she said, then you’d better hope you’re wearing your fastest boots!"
Anna’s laughter echoed through the forest canopy, startling a flock of birds from their perches.
"Fascinating," Elira muttered, adjusting her position in the saddle. "Simply riveting."
"Captain Diana says I notice things others don’t," Anna continued, ducking beneath a low-hanging branch. "That’s probably why she chose for this mission. I an, I can spot a deer track from fifty paces, tell you which direction the wind is blowing just by the way the leaves flutter, and I once identified an assassin at court just by noticing she was the only one not sweating during the sumr solstice dance."
Elira snorted. "Or maybe she chose you hoping Thornvale’s elves would surrender just to make you stop talking."
Anna gasped in mock offense, then broke into a wide grin. "A strategic choice then! My endless chatter: the Moonlight Kingdom’s secret weapon." She patted her horse’s neck affectionately. "Poor Pebbles here has heard every story I know twice over. Haven’t you, girl?"
The horse snorted as if in agreent.
"See?" Anna laughed. "Even Pebbles is tired of my voice."
"Perhaps we should rena her ’Patience,’" Elira suggested with a smirk. "Though I think mine deserves a dal after four days of your company."
"You love it," Anna insisted. "Without , you’d have nothing but trees and your own thoughts for company. Dreadfully boring, I’d say."
Elira rolled her eyes but couldn’t entirely suppress her smile. "I was rather looking forward to boring. Boring ans no one’s trying to kill us."
"Speaking of killing," Anna said, seamlessly transitioning, "did I ever tell you about the ti I accidentally startled Captain Diana’s predecessor during night watch? Old Captain Thorne nearly ran through with her sword before realizing it was just bringing her evening tea!"
"Only four tis," Elira replied dryly. "Though the story seems to gain an extra sword each telling."
"Details, details," Anna waved dismissively. "The point is—"
"The point is," Elira interrupted, "I’m beginning to understand why Captain Diana paired us together. She’s punishing for that prank with the fake spider in her boot last month."
Anna’s eyes widened. "That was you? She had the entire barracks doing extra drills for a week!"
"Worth it," Elira said with a wink. "You should have seen her face. The mighty Captain Diana, terror of the northern borders, jumping like a startled cat."
"I’m surprised she didn’t make you run laps around the entire kingdom," Anna said, shaking her head in admiration.
"Oh, she did," Elira confird. "But I convinced her the exercise would only make stronger and more troubleso."
They rode in blessed silence for nearly a full minute before Anna spoke again.
"Do you think Queen Elena will actually help us?" she asked, her voice growing serious for the first ti in days. "Everyone says Thornvale is a place of horrors. My cousin’s friend once claid she saw a Thornvale elf turn a trespasser into a toadstool just for looking at her wrong."
Elira’s expression sobered. "Those are just stories. I’ve been there before, you know. When I followed Captain Diana and the Princess searching for Eren. It’s... different, but not the nightmare everyone makes it out to be."
"You’ve actually been there?" Anna’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "What’s it like? Are the trees really made of bones? Do they drink blood instead of water? Is Queen Elena actually twelve feet tall with the head of a wolf?"
"What? No!" Elira laughed. "Where do you hear these things? The trees are normal trees. Maybe a bit taller. And Queen Elena is just an elf, like us. Though her crown does have so rather intimidating spikes."
The forest began to thin around them, sunlight breaking through the canopy in bright, dappled patterns. Ahead, the trees gave way completely to reveal a vast clearing unlike anything Anna had ever seen.
"By the Veil," she whispered, her endless stream of chatter finally ceasing.
Before them, the ground appeared to hover slightly above itself, as though the very earth was breathing. A shimr hung in the air, distorting the landscape beyond like heat rising from sumr stones.
"Welco to the edge of Thornvale," Elira announced with a theatrical flourish. "Where even the ground can’t seem to stay grounded."
Anna dismounted in one fluid motion, her eyes wide with wonder. "I’ve heard stories, but I never thought... Is it safe?"
"Perfectly safe," Elira assured her, swinging down from her own mount. "Well, mostly safe. Probably safe. Let’s go with ’hasn’t killed anyone in weeks.’"
"That’s not reassuring," Anna muttered, cautiously approaching the strange phenonon.
"To enter Thornvale," Elira explained, "we need to tap the ground three tis. It’s like knocking on their door, letting them know we’re here."
Anna nodded solemnly, then broke into an impish grin. "So the ground does a little dance, and we have to applaud it?"
"Sothing like that," Elira laughed. "Though I wouldn’t make jokes about the floating ground to any Thornvale guards. They take their territory very seriously."
Before Elira could offer any further warning, Anna had darted forward and begun jumping experintally on the edge of the shimring ground. With each landing, the earth beneath her seed to ripple like water, sending concentric circles outward from her feet.
"This is amazing!" she exclaid, bouncing higher. "It’s like walking on a cloud! Or maybe a very firm pudding!"
"Anna, wait—" Elira called, her voice caught between alarm and amusent. "That’s not exactly how—"
But Anna was already performing what appeared to be an improvised jig on the responsive ground, her face alight with childlike joy. "The stories didn’t ntion how bouncy it is!"
"Anna, you’re supposed to tap three tis, not perform an entire dance routine," Elira called, struggling to keep a straight face. "You’re essentially hamring on Thornvale’s front door with the enthusiasm of a sugar-crazed squirrel!"
"But it’s so springy!" Anna replied, executing what might have been an attempt at a pirouette. "Co join ! When else will we get to dance on floating ground?"
Suddenly, the earth beneath Anna’s feet began to ripple more violently. She froze mid-bounce, wobbling precariously as the ground split open not three paces behind her. Anna remained blissfully unaware, still admiring the curious sensation beneath her boots.
"Um, Anna?" Elira’s voice had lost its playful edge. "You might want to—"
"I know, I know," Anna interrupted, still focused on her footing. "I’m being disrespectful to the sacred floating dirt or whatever, but you have to admit this is—"
"No, Anna," Elira cut in sharply. "Behind you."
Three figures erged from the opening in the ground, rising silently like ghosts materializing from the mist. Anna, still talking, finally registered Elira’s wide-eyed expression.
"What? Is there sothing on my face? Did I step in sothing?" She patted her cheeks frantically. "Why are you looking at like that?"
Elira’s face shifted from alarm to recognition. "Oh, not now. Mika and the Lens twins."
"The who now?" Anna asked, finally turning around. Her sentence died in her throat as she found herself face-to-face with three Thornvale elves who definitely hadn’t been there monts before.
Two of the elves were clearly identical twins, their silver hair cropped short and their matching forest-green armor adorned with intricate leaf patterns. They stepped back simultaneously, their movents perfectly mirrored, and spoke in perfect unison.
"She announces Mika."
The third elf—presumably Mika—had skin the color of burnished copper and wore her dark hair in elaborate braids adorned with wooden beads that clacked softly as she moved. Without warning, she drew her sword with a flourish that was clearly ant to be intimidating but sent her slightly off-balance. The blade whistled through the air, missing its intended mark—Anna’s shoulder—and instead slicing cleanly through a lock of Anna’s hair.
A perfect golden curl drifted to the floating ground.
There was a beat of stunned silence.
"Did... did you just cut my hair?" Anna asked, reaching up to feel the newly shortened strand. "That was actually quite impressive! I’ve been wanting a trim for ages. Though usually I prefer a more even cut. Say, is that a moonstone in the hilt of your sword? It complents your complexion beautifully. Your skin tone is absolutely radiant, by the way. Do all Thornvale elves have such flawless skin, or is it just you? What’s your secret? Special herbs? Magic water? Please tell , I’ve been trying this serum made from crushed pearls and morning dew, but honestly, I think it just makes sll like wet flowers—"
Mika blinked rapidly, sword still extended, clearly thrown off by the barrage of words coming from soone who should, by all rights, be terrified.
"Do you ever stop talking?" she demanded, recovering her fierce expression.
"Not voluntarily," Elira answered for Anna, stepping forward with a strained smile. "Mika! So lovely to see you again. You’re looking well. Have you done sothing new with your hair? The braids are very fetching."
Mika’s eyes narrowed dangerously. "Why are you greeting like we’re friends?" she growled, sword still pointed vaguely in Anna’s direction. "Last ti I saw you, you were sneaking around our borders with your princess."
Elira’s friendly expression vanished instantly. "Eren has been taken hostage," she said flatly.
Mika’s sword wavered, the tip dipping toward the ground.
"And that," Anna whispered, leaning close to Elira while keeping her eyes fixed on the three Thornvale elves, "is why Captain Diana sent you on this mission."
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