After finishing his training for the day, Theron found himself flipping through pages of the oldest books he could find in the Sanctuary. He had them stacked in his favorite spot; the table closest to the window overlooking the courtyard. The lot he gathered today looked as old as they were. The leather binding began to peel around the corners and faded on all sides from wear. The pages began to turn yellow and the ink was hard to read. Even with all this damage, Theron was thrilled to have them sprawled out in front of him.

The first book was about the ancient Dwarven Wars. It stated that the dwarves, at the time, wanted to expand past the mountains in which they dwelled, into the valley below that the orcs had claimed. They tried coming to agreements about land ownership, but overall, they fell out and led to a fifty year war. Constant bloodshed on both fronts. Neither side was getting anywhere from where they started. In the end, the dwarves gave up and receded back to the mountains, where they've remained and thrived ever since.

The second book was about the trade commute between the beastmen of the North and the humans in the South. Back then, beastmen were free and lived in their own part of the country. The trading was full of valuable crops from the North and cloth and fish from the South. Like most stories involving humans, they eventually got greedy and wanted more for less. The Chieftain of the beastmen demanded that they kept doing as they have been, but the human ruler they were trading with was overrun by greed and then ordered his troops to seize all they had.

The beastmen were ill-prepared for the onslaught the humans brought, and soon surrendered. All the goods and land were taken control of by the humans, placing Barrons on the land to rule over the beastmen. And with that, that's how they became slaves. Once trading goods with humans as free beings, to becoming the goods that were being traded.

And the third book, the one he looked forward to the most, was about the free elves. It was covered in black Elven leather, scriptures molded into the leather itself on the cover. The book was handwritten in blue ink, and too his surprise, it wasn't as faded as the rest. The book started off with describing things he already knew from the history his mother use to share.

The free elves ruled all the forests in their prime. They lived with no fear of the other races, for they were a peaceful people. As with most nice people, however, they were soon taken advantage of. By no other than, the humans. However, this history went a little differently than the beastmen. The humans made their mistake by moving in on Elven lands. The Elves knew the forests like the back of their hand, they were one with nature.

Time and time again, the Elves forced the humans to retreat. They hit them with ambushes from the trees, barrages of arrows and their mystic arts.

Mystic arts? What's that?

As he turned the page, he was greeted with nothing but disappointment. Again, the pages were torn out, leaving just a huge gap in the story. The next available page started with the humans making a comeback. They got wise and instead of entering the forests, they brought torches and set the edges on fire, forcing the Elves to leave their homes and give up the advantage. In the open now, the Elves stood no chance against the human's tactics. Slowly, but surely, they were defeated after putting up the biggest fight the humans had to deal with.

After closing the book, he returned them to the shelves. Theron walked up to the Sanctuary Keeper, coincidentally, he was another elf recognized by the King. Ever since he began coming here, they talked pretty often and all of the books Theron has read were all recommendations from him.

"Cithrel! Those books were amazing!" Theron rested his arms on the front desk.

"Well if it isn't Theron. I'm glad you found those to be of your liking. They were just a couple I found collecting dust on the back shelves. I'm glad they were able to be opened and given life once more." Cithrel looked over his glasses with a smile on his face.

Cithrel was a descendent of the Wood Elves, so his features were different than Theron's. His ears stuck out a bit more with more of a point to them. His eyes held more green and brown to them behind his dark brown hair that hung as low as the middle of his back. He also wore a special pendant, one he made by hand though. It is a blue stone encased in wood. He never went into full detail, but it held a lot of meaning to him.

"I was wondering, do you know why most of the Elvish books have pages missing? Especially when the stories talked of some mystic arts or magic? It's only briefly described, but it sounds like magic. Before it goes into detail though, the pages are missing." Theron said, recalling that every Elven book he's read from here was the same way.

Cithrel's face lost its smile and he just stared blankly off to the side for a moment. "Now that is odd. I do recall someone mentioning it before, but I had no idea it was with more than one book. That is something I'll have to look into." The smile reappeared, but it looked less sincere this time.

Theron sighed with relief. "Thank you. If you find anything out about them, let me know please! And if you find any more interesting books about the old elves, put them on hold for me!" He jogged out of the Sanctuary, waving to Cithrel.

"I always do. And hey!-" Cithrel shouted after him, "no running in the Sanctuary!"

Cithrel shook his head with a smile and spoke softly to himself. "He's a wild one. Just like you in so many ways. I wish you could've been here to see him grow." The smile faded as he pulled his cloak aside and glanced at the book he kept in the pocket. The black leather was faded and obviously not worthy enough to hold the pages it sealed inside. An ancient Elven crest lay imprinted on the spine. He closed his cloak and tucked it until it was comfortable again.

"But he's not ready for this yet. I'll give it a little bit more time."

*********************************************

"Should I wear this?" Halea held one dress up to her body while looking in the mirror. "Or this one?" She said as she switched to the outfit in her other hand.

Belvedere stroked his beard and thought a moment. "I believe, if young Theron is a true gentleman, which I know he is, your outfit won't interfere with his duties. So pick whatever is comfortable, Ma'am."

Halea rolled her eyes and tossed both outfits onto her bed. "That was literally no help, Belvedere. But thank you for trying." She fell backwards on the bed, stretching her arms out and looking up at the ceiling.

He went over to her wardrobe and began rummaging through it until finally, he pulled out an outfit. "Well, if it makes up for it, I think this one will work in both of your interests."

Belvedere held up a frilly, white skirted dress. The top was laced on the arms and collar, and the attached skirt was wavy and sat directly above the knee. When Halea wore it, it would show just enough skin to woo anyone she wanted, whilst remaining her royal aesthetic.

"I love it! Isn't that a bit flashy though? He's just escorting me through town as I browse the fair." She thought out loud.

"If I may speak freely, Your Majesty, you're the heir to this kingdom. If you want to walk around town in a comfortable outfit you love, then there should be no one to stop you. Besides, this shows a lot less skin than the outfits you see down at the brothels." Belvedere said, standing perfectly straight beside the mirror, his hand folded neatly behind his back.

Halea gasped. "Belvedere!" Her face turned a shade of pink. She did not want to know how her butler knew about that side of the kingdom. Besides, how could he say that so openly and so nonchalantly?

If it was only him then she'd be a little bit more surprised. However, she caught her mother sneaking out of the castle one night and followed her to one of the brothels. That was an image she did not want to keep memorized.

Halea put on the dress and checked herself in the mirror. She was relieved when it hung a bit lower on her legs than she originally thought. However, her shoulders were a bit more exposed than she would like and the bust area was a little tight.

"It seems I've grown more as a woman since I've worn this last." She muttered embarrassingly to herself.

Finally accepting how it looked on her, Halea finished up and was ready to go. The more she thought about it, the antsier she got.

"It's just his duty. He's your protection, nothing more." Halea thought to herself.

She gathered herself and her things and headed to the front door. The guards opened it and the sunlight mixed with a gusty breeze drifted across her skin, warming her in an instant. She was escorted down the steps, through the courtyard and to the front gates. They led the way through town to the meeting spot. Theron and her are meeting by the fountain in the middle of town. With every step, her heart raced faster. It started as a quickening thud in her chest, but soon changed into a pulse she could feel throbbing in her veins and eventually one she could hear in her ears.

They rounded the corner and the fountain was in sight. There, in his dazzling armor, was Theron. He greeted the guards with a nod and she knew that cheeky smile was for her.

"Thank you for the escort, I'll see you back at the castle." Halea said to the guards.

In unison, the guards bowed and spun around and left.

She looked back at Theron and shook her head with a grin. "You'd think someone was after me or something the way my father ordered an escort everywhere I go."

"Well, he certainly chose the right guards for the job. They were definitely intimidating." Theron teased. "You look amazing—" he cut the sentence short realizing he said it out loud.

Halea blushed and looked down at her outfit. "You really think so?" She picked at the lace out of nervousness.

"Y-yeah, I think so." Theron scratched his head to distract from his own blush. He coughed to change the subject. "Where are we off to first?"

There was just so much to see in so little time. Today, the whole kingdom was out enjoying the beautiful day. Merchants from all over erected their stalls up and down every street, hollering out for people to browse their wares. There was everything from weapons and armor, jewelry, knick knacks, bards performing and even food.

The bards sang their joyous tunes next to the various foods the bakers set out, making a mouthwatering harmony combination.

She couldn't decide where to go first so she just grabbed his hand and pulled him along. "Come on, let's go!"

Every stall they went to, she noticed Theron making mental notes of everything she said she wanted. A knights pay isn't much, and he gives most of it back to his father. That's something she adored about him; he isn't selfish. Everyone else is before himself. He must've noticed her staring because he smiled.

"Are you alright?" He asked, setting down the trinket he was looking at.

Halea quickly nodded her head. "Yes, quite so." She tucked some platinum hair behind her ear and blushed from embarrassment.

Just then, Theron looked over his shoulder and stared right at an alleyway. She looked around him, but saw nothing. "Are you alright?" She said with a confused look.

He swung his head back around with a smile, "never better."

Since then, however, Theron seemed a bit more on edge. Halea brushed it off as him being nervous for his first big assignment. This is the best day of her life. Nothing could ruin it for her, right?