*Whoosh!*
Theriault ran swiftly through the forest, his heart beating wildly as he heard the growl of an animal chasing him.
'Why am I running?' He thought to himself as he stopped and jumped to the side, changing directions and narrowly dodging his hunter.
He looked down at his feet in awe. A white rabbit hopped towards him with its tongue hanging out, stopping just shy of touching him. It seemed confused by Theriault's sudden appearance but still kept coming, hopping around him and then disappearing into the bushes behind him.
He continued to run, not knowing why he was running or even where he was. What had happened to Shen Yi? To Hunter? It would be a shame if his companions were dead at the very beginning of this journey.
Theriault tripped, falling face-first into the snowy ground. It didn't make sense to him, he was never this clumsy.
"Something's not right…"
"Of course, something isn't right silly…" A cold voice said behind him, making a chill crawl up his spine as a branch broke off to the side.
"It's all because…" The voice continued as a man with silver hair and beady eyes broke through the brush, looking at Theriault's hungrily.
"You're dreaming."
Theriault snapped awake, the eyes of the man still fresh in his mind.
It was morning. Shen Yi and Hunter were still fast asleep he realized as he stood up, looking around the plain they were in.
They had traveled pretty far out of Ireland in the last few days, only stopping for sleep and eating.
Theriault breathed in deeply. "Yeah, this is much better," He muttered to himself, the fresh air causing him to relax.
He'd always preferred the wild, cities just didn't do it for him like woodlands did.
The three travelers had been traveling on foot since leaving the village, and now that he knew there was no threat of danger from Arcadians, Theriault felt more confident than ever. They hadn't seen any people so far either; However, that was pretty unusual since they were in hunting grounds.
Now Theriault, awake and alert, squinted his eyes as he looked around. He'd spent most of his life being hunted and having to hide, so how was it that he'd made a big appearance and there was still no one after him yet?
'Have I become irrelevant?' He thought, sensing no one around them.
"What are you doing up so early? Is it already time to step again?" Shen Yi's voice broke him out of his concentration.
Theriault shook his head, shrugging as he looked at the teen leaning against a tree, yawning as she tried to fix her wild unkempt hair.
"Nah, not yet, I was just thinking about something… You know there's no fixing that mop right?" Theriault said, smirking as he saw Shen Yi struggling to finger-comb her hair.
"Welcome to the adventurous lifestyle, you'll always stink, be dirty, and have messy hair. I know it's not what you're used to Princess, but please don't complain…" Theriault said with a mocking tone as she glared at him.
"Is it just the American way to be a total piece of shit or is that just you?" She asked, standing up and dusting off her clothes as Hunter woke up, looking even more tired than when he'd gone to sleep.
"Just me…" Theriault answered, looking over to the younger boy. "You should really take a break from communicating with the Phoenix, it drains you physically and mentally."
Hunter nodded slowly, not really listening as he packed up some of his things and threw his sack over his shoulders.
"Where are we even going?" The boy asked curiously as Theriault started kicking dirt all over the place.
He'd done this every night they'd been together, covering their tracks just in case someone or something was after them.
"We're going to the great town of Nunya," Theriault said, burying some broken sticks as Shen Yi looked at him, a surprised look on her face due to the fact that he'd actually told them where they were headed.
"Where's Nunya?" She asked excitedly, already thinking of a beautifully crafted city, maybe one like the Greeks had.
"Nunya business," Theriault finished, standing up and dusting off his hands. "We aren't going to any place that you two would know, you see, when I began this journey a few months ago, I was told there was only one way to find The Master Key… And that's through history…"
Theriault started off, quickly followed by his two companions, who were both eager to learn more about their journey.
"And how do we do that? Or are you full of it as usual?" Shen Yi asked, a sweet smile on her face as Theriault sent a glare in her direction.
"Long ago, Saberhagen crafted the keys in his house under great duress, he was aided by the goddess of Creation…" Theriault said as he ducked under the overgrown brush of the forest, crawling through the mud without any hesitation.
"Hurry up, it's not cold," He called as Hunter sighed and dove in the mud, crawling after him.
Shen Yi groaned, looking at her white shirt and jeans. 'Oh well,' She thought as she got into the mud, crawling after the other two.
"What does that have to do with finding The Master Key? I was hoping for something that got me stronger, not a scavenger hunt!" Shen Yi yelled as they crawled.
"If you were more open-minded you'd understand that The Master Key is the most sought-after artifact in our society… Which is why us going after it is so dangerous, I need you both to understand…"
Theriault looked back, a serious look on his face as the two stopped. "I've seen thousands killed mercilessly just for this key, if you think this is just a silly scavenger hunt I suggest going back, this is serious, by going after this key we are breaking ancient law set in place by the council…"
Theriault continued forward. "Of course, I couldn't care less about their rules…"
"Well, why not?" Shen Yi asked, shivering slightly at Theriault's words. Was she really ready to become a criminal? For what? Because she wanted to have freedom over her choices? Was it really freedom if she would become a criminal for it?
Shen Yi shook these thoughts out of her mind.'He may be an asshole, but he's also the best thing that could happen to me right now.' She thought.
And she believed this completely. If she had chosen to stay with her father, she'd be in hiding right now, probably married and forced to bear a child simply to continue on the bloodline and pass down the key.
That wasn't the life she wanted. She wanted freedom, adventure, Love, all the childish things she used to dream about, that was all she wanted in her life.
"Have you seen me fight? I'm not one to brag…" Theriault paused, getting up as he reached the end of the thorny brush. "Actually I am one to brag, I'm powerful, and going against the Key Council is just another Saturday for someone like me… I can already see those old bastards bowing to me in defeat…"
"Haha, Look sister, It's a narcissist!" A high-pitched voice called out. Making Theriault snap his head up and look around, only catching leaves falling.
"I think you're right sister, he seems to believe he's strong, But we know the truth…"
Theriault widened his eyes, looking down just as the ground burst, revealing two very small women with bows pointed at the pale boy. "We both know humans are quite inferior in the ways of combat…"
Theriault dodged the arrows that were shot at him point blank, grabbing the arms of the tiny people and flinging them behind him as Hunter and Shen Yi scrambled up.
"What are those things?!" Shen Yi asked as she flicked her wrist, the short Chinese sword appearing in her hand as Hunter summoned a flame in his hand, looking at the pointy-eared humans with a blank expressions.
"God… I haven't seen elves in years," Theriault said as the tiny woman flew at him, a small dagger in her hand slashing at his face.
He put his hand up, stopping the blade and punching the elf full force, sending her flying into a tree.
"You remember how I told you monsters exist in the world… Well so do mythical creatures... and these are possibly the worst ones," Theriault said, gritting his teeth as he dodged a tiny arrow.
Hunter sent a wave of flame toward the attacking elf, missing her by a large margin and setting the surrounding trees on fire.
"You dare harm mother nature! Dirty human!" The elf said, shrieking as the other elf got up, wiping blood trickling from her mouth.
"I've heard of these humans before… Masters of the Keys, Saberhagen's offspring, I never thought I'd see such disgusting beasts in person."
Theriault scoffed, "Yeah, we're the disgusting beasts," He said, rolling his eyes just as he felt something prick against the back of his neck.
"Silly human fell for the oldest trick in the book!" The elves cheered. That's when Theriault cursed himself. He'd let his guard down, forgetting elves don't move in twos, but full squads of 16 or more at all times.
The many cheers of the elves broke out as Shen Yi and Hunter fell to the ground. Theriault gritted his teeth, rushing an elf and slapping her to the ground.
He grabbed the tiny dagger and flung it up into the trees.
"Stop fighting it!" A tiny voice squealed as another needle pricked him, then another.
He stood upright, glaring at the multiple elves that came out of the brush, their evil cackles echoing in his ears as his vision began to blur.
"Haha, So even one so skilled can be caught off guard, all that training just to be beaten by elves?" The skeleton said, floating next to him.
"Ah... Shut the fuck up," Theriault said, falling to his knees and collapsing, his eyes closing as he lost consciousness.
"What should we do with them Princess Thessalia?" An elf girl asked the female elf who had a small crown around her head.
"Tie the men up, leave the girl-"
The princess stopped talking as her flesh erupted with goosebumps, she looked to the side, seeing Theriault struggling to stand up.
"Damn... Creatures, trying to beat me? Me?!" He yelled, his eyes glowing as smoke bellowed out of his mouth.
"What is this... Evil presence," The princess said, tears coming to her eyes as her body froze.
*Plop*
Theriault's body dropped down harmlessly, the evil feeling that had frozen the elves gone. "Correction Axilya," She said after a few moments. "Tie them all up... With the strongest rope you have."
The princess gulped, her body covered in sweat as she looked at the unconscious Theriault. "Is that really a human?"