The Hunters

Chapter 18 part 1

Adriana

I can hear Eros and Mahlia speaking, but I'll be honest, I can't find it in myself to listen to them.

All around us there are creatures. Creatures that even in my weirdest dreams I would never have managed to conjure up their image. I can safely say that this is far from anything I ever could have expected.

It seems like the majority of the beings here are more humanoid in nature. These ones are not too different from Eros, just generally a little shorter, with much longer and pointier ears. They are all slender, but even then I don't doubt I would stand little chance against any of them. Many of them carry a bow and quiver of arrows slung over their shoulders as if it's just an accessory to them, sometimes paired with a couple of daggers attached to their clothing. Walking amongst these people, there are also some others I have not before seen. These ones are still humanoid but much shorter, carrying little sacks over their back. At their tallest they are just under half my size, but immediately I can tell they're much quicker than anything else here, nimbly weaving their way through the crowds that largely ignore their presence.

Eros taps me on the shoulder, grinning a little at my curiosity. "The taller ones are elves. They're the most closely related of all of them to the High Fey. The shorter ones are gnomes. And those over there," he points to a creature I had yet to notice. It has wild hair and is dressed in rags from the waste down, covering little of it's muddy brown, wrinkled skin. It is probably the most foreign looking being here, but to top it off... it suddenly disappears. Into thin air. Eros chuckles at my apparent shock. "Those are brownies. Not many of them here, fortunately for us. Tricky little buggers."

Curiosity getting the better of me, I turn to him. "Why are they tricky?"

"What do you see?"

"Well I can't see any of them anymore. I could see one but then it disappeared."

"That's pretty much why. There's four over their in a little group. I can see them because of my lineage but to most, they tend to turn invisible. They like practical jokes," his face scrunches, as if remembering something. "Of course, being able to see them doesn't make you immune to that."

I smile, wondering how on earth they could have managed to play a prank on the almighty prince. Maybe I aught to make friends with a couple of them.

"They're generally domestic fey. Meaning they like to live in the dark spots inside the houses of other fey or sometimes humans. They're amazing at sneaking around and stealing or moving things. Makes you feel a little mad sometimes," a scowl finds its way to his face. Looks like grumpy prince is back.

"Oh get over yourself boy," Mahlia tuts. "He's just bitter for getting in trouble with his parents over love letters."

"Love letters?" I scoff, giggling. "You don't strike me as the type to be writing romantic poems and stuff."

"I didn't write them!"

Mahlia crosses her arms, lips pursed together.

"Ok maybe one of them I did but I never intended to send it and the rest were for me from random girls," he mumbles, glaring at the witch.

Her arms drop to her side, her expression satisfied. "Better. I didn't raise you to be a compulsive liar now did I?"

Now obviously I had to snort at this. I couldn't help myself. With him, I never quite know what's true and what's not. This only makes him scowl at me however. It does little to intimidate me though. The pink tinge of his cheeks isn't really doing him any favours, so I just smirk at him. "What's the matter, Romeo?"