*Elion's POV*
I was processing what I just saw and felt. It was like flashes of the past flew by in my mind. Or at least I thought it was the past.
I saw Gwendelynn in a castle that seemed to merge with a mountain. I saw images of me and a beautiful blond woman. She was overthrown with jewelry. I did not know what my relation was to her, but I felt a protectiveness overwhelm me.
In another image, I saw the castle where I saw Gwendelynn before and the woman, whom I called Talila was dragged inside.
I felt like I needed to find her and knew Gwendelynn was the key.
I Shakely wanted to get up and I narrowed my eyes at the woman in full armor before me. "Why is it that you want me to come?" I asked her, trying to unfold her secrets. I realized she probably had many. To begin with that quest of hers… Would it have anything to do with Talila?!
"I don't really know what happened…" She said, still bewildered. "But I think you just gave me a clue." She mumbled. It made me wonder if she was talking to me, or to herself.
"Can we try that again?" She said as she was already walking towards me. "What did you see?" I prompted.
"I don't know." She said in a small voice. "Yes you do!" I countered. She seemed to ponder how she would answer my question. She did not seem to trust me, as I no longer trusted her.
"A centaur." She finally mouthed. "Oh.." I said.
"What did it look like?" I asked her, trying to sound nonchalant. "He was half man, half dear." She said in a husky voice. "His staff was like.. " She breathed heavily. "I could see blue magic sizzling on the top of it." Gwen said as he was thinking out loud.
"What else did you see?" I prompted. I wanted to know if she saw images of me, as I did of her. "The centaur carried knowledge, in the form of book roles." She breathed. "And he had a horn he blew on." She added.
"Was he old or young…" I encouraged her to continue talking. I looked around us. Even the animals were quiet. I saw runes… on his chest. But I could not decipher them." She said and pouted her lips.
The way she was dressed seemed silly to me.
For someone who did not seem to intently want to draw male attention; she made it impossible not to stare at her rather large breasts, that were literally cupped in her armor.
I shook my head trying to focus. "Can you maybe take off your hood?" I asked her. Maybe it would help me to focus on her face instead.
"I think he was really old." She said. "As centaur's usually are though." She added. "But he had a long white beard." She mused, not answering my second question.
"Your hood." I reminded her. "Why?!" She frowned. I shrugged, not really knowing how to respond. "If… " she began… What would she be demanding now?
"I can give you a name." She smiled. Gwen raised the palm of her hands. "If you are going to tag along, I need to be able to call you something." She grinned at me.
"What did you have in mind?" I cocked my head, trying to keep this conversation light. "Let me call you…" She said trailing off. "Izz." She stated. "Izz." Gwen said again. I frowned. "Yes, I believe that name suits you well, for that name means; mask, or hidden." She said surprising me.
"Your identity is up for the grabble right, as you do not know who you are." She shrugged. "Good, I like it." I agreed.
She reached for the black material, and bit by bit, lowered her hood. Her brown hair fell loose around her face and some strings around her head were braided.
Her face seemed soft and her lips were inviting. And then her eyes. Gwen's eyes were the deepest of blue. They shined so bright, they could light the world. There was something about her. She looked stubborn, but gorgeous.
"WHAT?!" She almost shouted. She humored me. "Nothing." I said flashing her my teeth.
"I need to know if I can trust you, if I let you come along with me on this quest." She said, not sounding sure if she was taking me or not.
"You can trust me." I flatly told her.
"You need to swear it." She said raising her chin. She was a stubborn one alright. I had to keep reminding myself, that she was probably not one of the good guys, as she was holding Talila in her castle.
"Alright, I swear it." I simply said.
"No. Not like that." She said as her eyes almost spat fire.
"How then?" I narrowed my eyes, suspiciously.
Gwen reached for something in her boot and took out a sharp knife ."Like this." She said as she made a cut on her wrist.
I did not expect her to that. "Now you." She said as she walked towards me, gesturing me to give her my arm. "A blood oath?" I said in shock.
She grabbed my arm and the ground was starting to tremble. Suddenly we were standing in front of a huge Oaktree. "We will make the oath in front of the Gods. If we try to break it, the Gods are given permission to strike us."
I blankly stared at her.
She was serious.
The branches of the Oak started to move and all of a sudden the tree had some sort of face. I felt like I was going to have a heart attack. "What in the world!" I exclaimed.
Gwen bowed down before the tree. "Oh wise one." She said. "We come before you, as our witness. We want to bind our faits together in an oath." She continued.
It took me a while before I realized what she was saying. "Are you both sure?" The tree spoke.
"Yes." She said and turned around to look at me. I thought of Talila, and Gwen being the only connection I had to find her.
"Yes." I breathed.
Gwen took the knife and made a cut on my forearm. It stinged a little. Then she rubbed our wounds together.
"It is done." The old oak said.