Ines came down the wall with rapid and silent movements. She was trained for exactly that kind of missions, so she was confident that she wouldn't make any mistakes. She slowly entered the forest and followed the small light ahead. It was like a white glowing stream that showed her the way.

After minutes of walking, she gradually saw a small group of people gathered together, talking in hushed tones. She bent down behind some bushes, close enough to hear them, and far enough to stay undetected. So far so good, she thought in relief.

'Peter!'

Ines' eyes went round from fear. She couldn't believe his blunt indifference towards her orders, or the importance of them staying under the radar.

'Shhhh. Be quiet!' she scolded him. 'Why did you come? I told you to stay put!'

'You have a history of messing up.'

Ines gave him the most terrorising glare she could master and turned her attention to the group of those unknown people.

'...careful. The city is well guarded,' cautioned one of them.

'Hmph. They are weak little creatures.'

'It will be a walk-in.'

'Make sure you take the right one. We can't afford any mistakes,' spoke again the first one.

As they prepared to go, Ines watched them intently. She could easily count nine of them if there weren't more in hiding. They wore peculiar clothes made of bright colours with beautiful patterns on the sleeves, capes and masks that hid their faces, and top boots. Their hair was light and long, either braided or loose.

'They are elves!' Matthew said in surprise, as if to confirm her thoughts. 'What are they doing so close to the city?'

'Something is going on. They must not make it inside the city. Let's go!'

'Finally, some action.'

Matthew drew out his sword in excitement, and Ines noticed that it was the one from the storehouse, the one she had specifically said not to take with him.

'Matthew! I told you to leave that sword behind!'

'When have I listened to you, buddy?' Matthew gifted her with his biggest smile.

Ines groaned and stood up. They didn't have time for arguing. She tailed the elves, her sole goal being to catch up with them and hold them back, until someone on the wall saw them and sounded the alarm. They would have to move fast if they wanted to make it in time.

The trees passed by them in a blur while they run in the woods with all their might, past through branches and leaves, over trunks and through dry mud. They run without hesitation, their goal was set, and they depended on them.

Ines saw them exit the forest and pushed herself even harder. The elves had found a blind spot on the wall where the soldiers were scarce, and that infuriated Ines. They had kept track of the weakest part of the wall, waiting for the right time to attack—they had masterfully planned their onset.

'Come on!' she shouted to Matthew right beside her.

Together they charged at the elves. Despite their small number, the elves possessed powers that could easily surpass the humans' weapons, so Ines had to be on alert for anything. At least she and Matthew had the element of surprise and took advantage of the elves' confusion.

Ines attacked her nearest victim, a man who didn't have time to react. She hit him on the head with the hilt of her sword, temporarily knocking him out. She was lucky enough to surprise another one who had his back at her.

She silently ran behind him, jumped in the air and landed on him, punching his jaw hard in the process. That wasn't enough because, when they fell on the ground, he moved his hands to cast a spell. Ines punched him once more and he went unconscious.

So far, she had been lucky, but then the other elves realised what was happening and were ready to fight back with equal force and determination. A woman attacked her first, throwing rocks at her with her magic. She didn't need a sword—her hands were her weapon. Ines dodged her strikes as best as she could; she jumped and rolled on the ground, she used her shield for cover and her sword to deflect the rocks.

Right then, another elf started his assault on her, helping the woman. His eyes turned white, his body stood completely still. Ines thought he was going crazy, so she ignored him and just kept on fighting the female elf. After minutes of dueling, Ines still hadn't been able to prevail against her enemy, and she was getting impatient. In an attempt to finally end the fight, she run towards the woman, holding her shield in front of her, expecting her opponent to go left to avoid her.

Before her sword could bore into her skin, the elf swiftly evaded her weapon by going left, precisely as Ines had anticipated. Right then, she threw her shield as a discus, which landed on her throat and caused her to black out.

Ines would celebrate her victory if she didn't hear a tremendous roar coming from the woods. She looked around her, fear overtaking her face. She could see Matthew barely missing the elves' strikes. He was losing ground, due to a deep cut on his leg that made him limp, slowing him down. It was three against one, two men and a woman in a vicious fight for dominance.

The youngest man of the two seemed to be in charge, and bended the metal of Matthew's shield and sword, while the woman looked like she was trying to do something with her mind. She had the same expression as the man next to her, her eyes completely white and her face blank.

Ines run to his aid, but was stopped by another roar, closer this time. She scanned the area and what she saw filled her with dread. Two huge black bears menacingly sprint towards them. They were enormous, more than two meters tall each, and had sharp fangs that were made to tear skin and bone. Ines knew she had to get to Matthew before it was too late.

She weighed her options. The bears were getting closer with each minute, so she chose the easiest target first. She attacked the man who mentally controlled one of the animals. He was standing exposed, unguarded, since the others had fallen under her sword, and Ines took him down in one move. She kicked his legs, knocking him down, grabbed his neck and hurled him to the ground.

She hoped the bear he was controlling would be free from his magic, and at first it seemed so, when she looked at the animals though, she was proved wrong. One of the bears kept running towards Matthew, while the other stood a bit dazed, unsure of what to do, until another elf took control of its mind. Its eyes turned white, its mouth opened in a deafening roar, and its legs began thundering on the grass. Ines looked around, her face twisted from fear. The old elf had taken over the animal, which was looking at Matthew with bared teeth.

Ines ran to his aid. She wouldn't wait for backup. 'Whoa, watch out!' she screamed at him, when she saw the elf attacking his blind spot.

'I've got it,' Matthew reassured her.

He span around and resisted the elf's magic. When the man bent his sword, Matthew struck him with his shield. When he felt his shield yield under his spells, he waved his sword, trying to wound him. It was like they knew no one could win the other, but they still fought in rage. Although, they were both exhausted, they refused to surrender.

Their duel was raging fiercely, and Ines had no idea how to help him. She stood there watching in terror as Matthew avoided the elf's strikes by an inch. Another roar behind her was her cue to intervene. She jumped towards Matthew and threw him down with all her strength, just in time to save him from the bears' jaws.

'What the hell?' Matthew growled.

'I forgot to tell you there are bears that want to kill us,' she answered.

'We won't last long. You have to go. I'll hold them off.'

'I'm not leaving!'

They had reached an impasse, they had failed miserably. They had nothing else to do than accept their defeat. They lied on the grass, too afraid to move, counting the seconds until their doom. Ines looked at Matthew and found him staring back at her, an expression of despair written on his face. She snatched his hand and held it tight.

There wasn't time for tears and heart wrenching goodbyes, so they only closed their eyes, waiting for death to take them, their hands still clasped in an unbreakable hold. Ines prayed for a miracle, some kind of sign, when the city alarm was suddenly raised. That gave them hope, and they reluctantly opened their eyes to see what was going on.

Soldiers had gathered on the wall, throwing arrows at the bears, and others ran to support them. Screams and clashing of swords echoed in the night, as Ines and Matthew stayed down. They were unable to move, let alone fight, so they waited for the soldiers to take care of the elves. Once they heard claps of victory and rejoicing, they tiredly stood on their feet.

'You did well,' Matthew said to her, patting her shoulder.

'Thanks. You, too.'

The soldiers tied up the elves' wrists. The ones that were unconscious were carried on a stretcher under tight surveillance. Ines saw their captain giving orders to the men.

'Where are you taking them?' she asked him.

'None of your concern. We are taking charge from here.'

'Probably to the camp. They need to get information first,' Matthew suggested.

Ines glanced at him. His brow was cut, his arm was bleeding, and he was limping.

'I've had enough. You are going to the physician,' she said with determination. She pulled his arm over her shoulders, supporting his weight. She couldn't explain the reason why she acted that way. It's no like I care, she thought. She would have done that for anyone.

'I'm fine, Peter,' he told her.

'No, you're not.'

She felt Matthew's eyes on her and looked up.

'What?' she asked.

'Nothing.' Matthew's lips curved into a smile. She had no clue what he was thinking about and she preferred it that way. 'Are you worried about me?' he whispered.

'Shut up!'

His deep chuckle did things to her skin. I'm definitely losing it, she shook her head. She helped him reach the others and then left them to tend to his wounds. Once she looked back to check if he was okay, she caught him observing her. She quickly turned around, ignoring her flaming cheeks.

'I still have a shift to finish,' she reminded herself, and climbed up the stairs by the wall. At least for the night she would have something to distract her from weird thoughts. Thoughts that had to do with a very much annoying pair of green eyes.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A/N: I was wondering if anyone would like to see a map of their world in the near future. Share your answer in the comments!

Phrase of chapter:  ἐν μὲν γὰρ τῇ οἱ παῖδες τοὺς πατέρας θάπτουσι, ἐν δὲ τῷ οἱ πατέρες τοὺς παῖδας / in peace, sons bury their fathers, in war, fathers bury their sons  - Herodotus