(written by Dejsha)

Note: Lamatre is pronounced “Lam at ray”.

Chapter One

The morning light shone through the forests new leaves, dappling the forest floor with a greenish glow. The tall trees rose like columns all around the tiny clearing. High up in the canopy birds flitted from tree to tree, filling the forest with their chirping songs. Squirrels ran up and down the tall trees, looking for food on the ground. Bugs and butterflies hovered in the warm spring air – their drone sounded like a chorus of voices.

Suddenly in the clearing, a young girl emerged. She held a pack in her hand. She dropped the pack to the floor of the forest and she leant against one of the large trees, which was on the edge of the small clearing and she glanced around – she thought she saw something move deeper in the forest. Ariana was just reaching womanhood. She had grey eyes which flickered nervously around trying to catch the movement deeper in the trees but it didn’t seem to be more than a shadow. She flicked her dark hair from her eyes, as it was irritating her. Above her the small creatures paused in their paths but after asserting the identity of the young woman, the creatures began to run again.

The birds, which seemed drawn to the young woman, were flitting round her, chirping their songs of admiration. They sang a morning greeting and she smiled. They were trying to get her attention. She placed a pile of seeds at the base of the tree and watched them as they ate their usual morning feast that she provided. Trees murmured their friendly welcome, the wind rustled leaves sighing in the soft breeze.

“My lady,” a voice called to the young woman. She looked to the spot where a good-looking man stood a respectful distance away. He had appeared from behind a tall tree and Ariana knew that this man was the movement she had seen but a moment ago. She smiled to herself, as she noticed that he had a cloud of birds hovering over his head. The birds were protecting her, as they always did when unknown or unwanted people came to the clearing. They would protect her when she wished not to be disturbed – they seemed to know when she wished to be alone to think in peace and to write in her journal. ‘Sweet little creatures,’ she thought. She loved her chirping companions. They –apart from Lamatre—were the only ones who listened to her when she told them of her troubles, however, it was not Lamatre who had called to her and who now stood, leaning against a nearby tree, arms folded across his chest – watching her with his light blue eyes.

Ariana moved a step away from the tree against wich she had been leaning, fear clouding her gray eyes. The birds hovering around her head took flight at her sudden startling movement. The young woman backed away from the strange man, her heart racing.

"Hello, sir," she said softly, "Why have you broken my solitude and invaded my small clearing?" She smoothed down her long flowing dress and brushed the leaves from her hair.

"I'm sorry my Lady, I had no intention of startling you," the man said soothingly, "I was merely told you often came here during the morning."

Ariana stared at the man, wondering how he knew this fact, only Lamatre knew, or she thought he was the only one who knew. Her gray eyes examined him, looking over his body. He had long dark hair that was pulled back with a black band. His eyes bore into her own soft gray ones and the look he gave her made her feel uneasy. The look was one of dark intents.

"What, pray tell, was your purpose of coming to my clearing? Was it to look at the scenery?" She asked, relaxing.

There was a silence and a dagger appeared before the young maiden. "I am one of the men who are looking for you," he snarled in her face, making her step back.

‘Who is looking for me?’, She questioned to herself, but she had no idea at the moment. She sat down, fearing the worst. Her legs were shaking so much; they would not keep her steady.

"Alagryn!" The tall, muscled man - who had also apparently been hiding in the shadows of the trees behind the maiden , called to the man not far from Ariana, in a ringing voice. "I said to stay out of sight." The man who had just shown himself was tall, with a long sword at his hip. He wore leggings of blue material and he wore a scowl upon his face. The Captain – for that is what his badge of office read walked further into the clearing.

"I'm sorry Captain Gornius, but she's even more beautiful than the man said she was."

Captain Gornius snorted and snatched the borrowed dagger from the man's left hand. "This goes, and you come with me." Then, he turned to the young woman. He stared at her for a moment, nodded and pointed to his warrior who followed him into the trees. Ariana was beginning to feel afraid of these men. They had the ability to take her and no one would know.

Lamatre watched the proceedings from a perch high in the tree; mere feet to the left of the girl below him. He wanted to get her attention, but without the others noticing, so he silently plucked one leaf from the branch and let it fall, aiming directly for her lap. Hopefully, she would recognize her friend and mentor's message for what it was: I am here, watching you. Whatever happens, you are not alone. I will act when I can.

Ariana felt the leaf drop into her lap; she didn't know what to expect. ‘If Lamatre has disobeyed my orders’, she left the thought hanging ominously.

Lamatre smiled to himself. Ariana’s expression all too clearly said what she must have been thinking. Even if she hadn’t wanted him to come along, he knew that it was for her own safety that he did so.

With a faint smile playing over his handsome features, he let another leaf fall, cementing his message firmly in place. He wasn’t leaving her now. The two men were gone, but Ariana knew that they were sheltering themselves behind the tall oaks and other various trees. Ariana heard low male voices conversing – they were no doubt deciding if they should kill her quickly, or make her suffer a long and painful death. She preferred the former. She was glad Lamatre was there, even if he had interrupted her solitude however, she realized, the men had also interrupted her solitude.

“Oh, very well,” she called up to the tree where her friend, teacher and ward was hiding, “show yourself, but if anything happens, don’t say I didn’t warn you, okay?” She felt uneasy, but she grinned to herself: Lamatre was protecting her.

‘Lamatre, do you know how much I love you?’ She banished the thought immediately. He may have seen her thoughts, as he was prone to do at unexpected times.

Lamatre merely responded by shaking the branch slightly. ‘I may be here to protect you’, he thought to himself, ‘but it doesn’t mean I’m going to show myself to put you in any danger. I care for you and I’m not going to let anything happen.’ Pulling himself out of his thoughts, he saw that she herself was in deep thought. He quickly brushed his mind against hers. ‘Ah, it’s true, as I thought. The little crush she has for me is confirmed.’ He chuckled quietly to himself. Ariana took the leaf up from her lap and threw it back up to the tree where Lamatre had concealed himself.

She knew, though she didn’t know how, that it had hit his nose. She muffled her giggles, holding her palm against her mouth. Lamatre shook his head exasperatedly before perching on the limb, contemplating jumping to her side.

Ariana thought she’d surprise him with one of the tricks he himself had taught her. Focusing her mind inward, she made him fall from the tree to land safely on the leaves that cushioned his fall.

Lamatre came up spluttering as he shook the leaves from his clothing. “There is a reason I taught you that... and that was most certainly not it.” He scolded her, the faint smile twitching at the corners of his lips giving him away.

“Then what, prey tell,Master Lamatre, was the reason?” She questioned, using the title as she always did to tease him.

“Self protection to disarm unseen enemies,” Lamatre replied, taking on his ‘classroom’ tone of voice.

“Ah, I see, sir,” Ariana giggled, “but what if you were pretending to be an enemy? I mean, you were hiding up there and I didn’t know – I was already edgy when Captain Know It All and his men,” she pointed into the thick underbrush where the Captain and his men, – she did not know the exact number at this time, were conversing, in low tones. “Well...” she didn’t finish her sentence.

“That was precisely why I wanted to remain hidden – you’d have the advantage of surprise if he and his companions hiding behind the trees were up to something.” Lamatre replied, seeing where her unfinished sentence lead to. He took a sip of water from a skin that he took from his pack.

“I can put you back up there if you want? I hope you enjoy flying, it’s harder to make someone rise by using my magic than it is to make one fall. You yourself said it takes a lot of time and effort to learn such a simple thing.” She smiled; glad to be showing off her knowledge and the fact that she had been listening to his lessons. The other children of Laykan were more interested in play, but Ariana had certain feelings for her dear

Lamatre and she wanted him to know that she was the student who was keen to learn, especially from him. She and Lamatre would sit outside in the sun, learning about magic and how to control it. “I think males are unable to comprehend that a woman is able to protect herself.” Ariana took the offered water skin and sipped at the cooling water.

“I’m not saying that you are incapable of protecting yourself, only that an extra pair of eyes is often better than one, to keep you safe.” He placed the water skin back in his pack after she had handed it back to him.

Dan padded through the woods, until he came to a clearing. He saw his two friends and licked them both in a wolfish greeting when he reached them. Dan had not always been a wolf. He had accidentally burned down a mages hut and he had been turned into a wolf until he died, or paid redemption. Ariana ssmiled as dan walked over to her and she patted his head, whispering a greeting. “Hey, Dan,” she said so that only the wolf could hear. He rubbed his head against her arm.

“Good morning, Dan.”Lamatre said, moving to the animal next to his student. Instead of his usual greeting, Dan whimpered, warning them of something – or so Ariana thought from his tone. Lamatre spun around and saw half a dozen men looking at them from between a pair of huge oaks.

The ten or so men wore white helmets and mail shirts. They drew long steel swords before moving slowly towards the wolf and the others at a snail’s pace.

They chanted in unison “The one for the many. The one for the many.”

Ariana gripped Lamatre’s arm. “What do they want?” She was trembling and Lamatre rubbed his hand over her arm, trying to calm her.

“I’m not sure – but we’re not going to find out. Come on, let’s go.”

Lamatre replied tensely, urging her to her feet. He took her hand in his large one.

“Where?” She questioned her guardian. She trembled as he carefully guided them from the clearing away from the slowly moving men who were still chanting their meaningless chant.

Ariana gripped his hand; it felt soft and gentle covering her own. She blushed when thoughts that she dare not repeat to Lamatre entered her mind.

“We’ll figure that out in a bit,” Lamatre replied, keeping his voice reassuring and calm despite the danger he knew that they were in. The men were certainly more than they appeared to be—common soldiers. Ariana and Lamatre were outnumbered a dozen or so to one.

The men walked towards Lamatre, Ariana and Dan, with their swords drawn and pointed at the three in a thrusting motion.

Lamatre glanced ahead, rapidly gauging the distance between his hidden ‘Home’ and their current location. “Change of plans. Get to that large oak to protect your back.” He murmured in her ear, pushing her gently ahead of him in the direction of the oak. With that said, he also drew his sword, positioning himself in a fighting stance.

“Be careful.” Ariana whispered, turning in the direction he had told her to go. She hated the idea of leaving him alone to try and defend them.

“If only it were that easy,” he said, kissing her temple. Ariana hardly moved from the gentleness of his lips on her skin. “Go, my dear,” he said soothingly.

The armored men charged, chanting their litany. Lamatre waited until precisely the exact moment. A man rushed towards him, his sword drawn and his face was set in a sneer that showed his teeth. One of the knights tried to slash at Lamatre’s side, but Lamatre blocked the movement. He was surprised but he didn’t let the fact register upon his face.

Ariana felt sick with worry, she didn’t want Lamatre to die. That thought stopped her in

her tracks; it hadn’t entered her mind before. ‘No.’ She silently begged. ‘Please don’t let him die, oh good spirits please.’ She would not let this happen. Dan padded softly behind Ariana, protecting her from harm.

‘Lamatre’, she sent the thought out to his mind through her own – they called this mind-speak. ‘What does the chant mean?? Oh, Lamatre, be careful.’ She said, making her way to their house.

‘Trust me, you don’t want to know what the chant is, or what it means. I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me.’ He steadily worked his way towards the tree, blocking sword thrusts as he moved closer and closer to the ‘Door’. The tree hid the entrance to the ‘Door’ and his hidden home.

Ariana saw Lamatre blocking the swords aimed for him. The warriors chanted, their voices droning in unison “The one for the many, the one for the many.”

Ariana reached the ‘Door’ and Dan barked at her to tell her to enter the house. They had always called their home the ‘Door’ which was a name that stuck after some time.

‘Are you in yet? Don’t touch any of the things on the mantle – for your own safety. I should be in shortly I think.’ Lamatre said gently in her mind. He always had some strange experiments or other going on and he always, for her safety, told her not to touch any of the experiments.

‘I am, oh and Lamatre’, she stopped wondering if she should tell him of her true feelings. ‘Never mind,’ she smiled briefly. She didn’t know how to tell him, not yet.

Suddenly, the two men came at Lamatre and tried to turn him back to the dark trees. They were still chanting their endless chant. ‘I generally do try to be careful,’ Lamatre replied. He tried to fend off the swipes and thrusts of their blades.

As you say Lamatre, but those men... She didn’t need to finish her sentence, as he finished it for her while trying to stab a tall warrior with his sword.

’...are currently trying to drag me away, or cut my limbs off or both...

Either way, I fear they will succeed.’ his thought responded distractedly in her mind, and she felt her heart begin to thud against her breast.

Lamatre lashed out with a sword in his left hand and a small hunting knife in the other.

The men stopped trying to do whatever it was that they wanted to do and looked up at the sun. They, to Lamatre’s surprise, said in unison, “Yes, oh Holy one,” and they started to walk away.

Unwilling to kill them, as he didn’t know what their reason was for attacking him, Lamatre watched them go for a time before calling after them, “What was the purpose in that?”

Suddenly, one of the white armored men turned, and shot an arrow. The arrow nicked his leg. Lamatre thought it was on purpose. He seemed to think these men wanted them alive, but willing to speak at the same time to answer any high- ranking officials questions, about what he did not know.

“A message from our god.” The warrior looked up at the sun hovering in the sky. “Give us the girl, or you and your house will burn.”

Dan meanwhile, examined the mantle. He sniffed and barked at things that Ariana had no inclination of what their use was for. She whispered to Dan, “Come away from there, boy, Lamatre told us not to touch anything on the mantle. Where is he anyway?” Dan whined, wanting to look more closely at the fireplace, but he backed away, head lowered as if he thought he were in trouble. Ariana rubbed his ears.

Outside, Lamatre watched the men silently. They were leaving in a southerly direction. The Great Road, he thought. The Great Road lay south.

His breathing had returned to normal and he turned towards his house. His leg ached and it was only then that he noticed that his leg bled heavily.

Ariana decided to go outside to see what happened. She feared the worst. She walked out into the night, and Dan went with her. The silence was absolute – the air felt heavy around her. Dan padded beside her, sniffing the ground for snacks. Halfway towards the trees, she saw Lamatre hobbling towards her.

“They’re gone.” Lamatre said simply. He sighed with relief.

“What happened to your leg?” Ariana asked, concern etching onto her face when she saw he had his robes lifted to make it easier for him to walk. His leg was bleeding. There was a forest around, she would be able to heal a wound that was so small– at least she hoped it was.

“Ah, one of the men had me distracted enough that he had the chance to slice it. Thankfully, it is only a nick, and it’s not poisoned. Let’s get inside before it gives out though. It’s bleeding heavier than I’d like.”

Dan, however thought he’d help, by licking the wound to try and staunch the flow of blood.

Lamatre gazed in to Ariana’s eyes, telling her with out words that it was alright. He relaxed his tight posture slightly. “Thanks, Dan, I’ve got some bandages in the kitchen – of sorts.” Lamatre smiled through the pain.

“Lamatre, allow me to heal that wound before Dan makes it worse with his disgusting licking. Dan, that is gross,” she said, smiling. ‘To think he was once human.’

“If you insist.” Lamatre relented, acknowledging the pain that the gash caused him.

She offered him her arm. “I do indeed.” They walked to his house. Inside, he led her to the room that constituted as the kitchen and or dining room. The wooden house had only three small rooms. Ariana lit a fire in the hearth and she began rummaging in the cupboards. He slid into the nearest chair, his leg feeling slightly better now that he was sitting down.

“In the cupboard on your left, top shelf – there should be a roll of bandages.” Lamatre said, glancing into the newly lit fire that Ariana had kindled moments ago.

“Tea, no... spices, no... Ah, here they are.” Ariana came back with the bandages and she knelt by his side. She took his hand in hers. “Oh, wait, I'll need some Civryl.” This particular herb was very useful as it helped close small wounds.

“It is next to the jam.” Lamatre said quietly, allowing his head to fall back against the chair, as his eyes grew heavy.

‘He should organize his cupboards – their is no way I would have known otherwise how to find any herb. He’s always changing things, moving them. I think he must like to irritate me. How does he remember where things are if he keeps mixing things around? If I were his wife... I’d organize it for him.’ She let the thought slip from her mind. She moved silently to his chair and she noticed his eyes had closed slightly.

“Did you find it?” he asked in the same quiet voice. His eyes opened then, to peer at the jar. “There are other herbs in that cupboard that I would really rather not have anywhere near an open wound.” He leant back against the chair as she opened the jar.

“I did. I also made you some tea. Why, are they dangerous?” she questioned refering to the herbs, handing the steaming cup to him.

“Tea.” Lamatre murmured tiredly and thanked her. He took the cup gratefully, sipping at the liquid. “Not necessarily dangerous,” he held the cup in his hands and looked at her. “Some of the herbs are poison, but don’t worry, I know which ones.”

“Ah, I see.” Ariana said, lifting his robes. She knelt on the stone floor, working carefully on the wound. Lamatre sighed contentedly and went to sleep. Ariana had healed the wound as best as she could; it would take a few days before he was able to be properly up and about, and on his feet again. She contemplated walking over to the mantle and having a peep at the new experiment, but knew that that would be disobeying his orders. She leant against the chair he was sitting in and put her head on the arm. Her eyes closed almost instantly.

(Well, here's chapter two, written by openmeadow. The language in the last few lines is not ours, but Tolkien's. It is Quenya, or 'high elvish')