The young lady was flanked on both sides by two other women. They were most likely her maids or caretakers.
The young lady was the one that put on a brave face and spoke to Emrys. "Ple...please don't hurt us. We just want to go home..."
Seeing how utterly afraid they were, Emrys wanted to find a way to calm them down and convince them he was not going to harm them.
He thought for a moment. What do humans like? He wasn't exactly sure, but he did know of something that a lot of the younger creatures of the forest liked back before he was forced into a deep slumber and lost the forest to the demons.
Emrys walked slowly until he was just in front of the humans. They looked like they wanted to move away but were too scared.
Emrys knelt down and held his hand out with his palm facing upwards. They had no clue what he was about to do and feared the worst, but that was when something unexpected happened.
A small stem grew rapidly from his palm. It grew up until it was a few inches high and then beautiful glowing yellow pedals unfurled from the stem revealing it to be a rare and highly sought after Eugenia flower.
Just looking at the flower had a powerful effect that would release dopamine to any who gazed at it for more than a few seconds.
The young lady's eyes opened in surprise. The fearful expression on all three of their faces melted away.
Emrys used his other hand to pick the flower from his palm and gave it to the young lady.
"It's for me? Are you sure?" She asked.
Emrys nodded his head so she carefully took the small flower from him.
"My name...is Emrys." He bowed his head. Back when his mother was still alive, she once taught him to do this as a way to show respect to the humans. He had never had the chance to do it until now.
"I'm Alannah Hersilia. Thank you for the gift."
Emrys gave her a small smile. "Why are...you here...Alannah?" He asked.
She looked nervously to both of her companions before replying. "Those assassins, they tried to take my life and the lives of those that were traveling with me so one of my guards drove our wagon through this forest to try and lose them, but they followed. And now were the only ones left.
Tears started welling up in her eyes. Her companions did their best to try and comfort her. The experience was all too fresh in their minds.
Emrys understood the situation now. The only reason they were able to make it this far was because they were moving as fast as they could while being chased. And they got lucky.
Or maybe there just wasn't enough of the creatures of the forest left to stop them.
"Um Emrys, can I ask you something?" She asked once she calmed back down.
"Yes."
"Why did you save us? I don't mean to be rude but monsters and humans don't normally get along." She explained.
"Oh? I wouldn't...know. I'm the...guardian of...this forest. I have...never been...outside." Emrys's speech was slow and hard to understand but Alannah didn't seem to have any trouble understanding him.
"Is that so... Then it was lucky that you were the one we crossed paths with.
"What...will you... do now?"
Alannah got back up on her feet and dusted herself off. "I must get back to my home. I must warn my father about the assassins. I fear I may not be their only target." She said with a worried look.
Emrys stayed silent, as if he was trying to make up his mind about something. It didn't seem to be an easy decision for him.
He rose back up to his feet and met Alannah's eyes with his. "I will...go with you. If you will...have me."
Alannah was taken aback for a moment. A monster coming with her to the human capital? It was unheard of. Once the soldiers caught sight of him they would immediately attack.
"Emrys no, I cannot take you with me. Humans are afraid of monsters like you. They would surely take up arms against you." Alannah said but she felt like she could see a determined look on his face even though he had no facial expressions.
"Why would you need to go to the human capital anyways?" She asked.
Emrys took a long look at the forest surrounding them. It was barren, empty of all life, and corrupted beyond repair. Even if the demons were to leave now, the damage had already been done and it was lethal.
If he could not save his forest then he would do hid best to avenge it. And to do that he would need help.
"I have...a request...of the humans." He said in a low voice. "I must...speak with...your leader."
"You mean the king? Its not easy getting an audience with him. They only let people of great accomplishment or fame have that honor I'm afraid." She shook her head. The king would only see heroes or those of high standing. It would be difficult to say the least.
Emrys couldn't even begin to understand human culture. If what he needed was to become accomplished or famous then that's just what he would do.
Sensing that he wasn't even close to giving up, Alannah decided to let him come back with them. "Alright, if your sure this is what you want then I will do my best to keep anyone from attacking you once we get there. Its the least I could do for someone that saved our lives."
"Besides, we could use the protection now that all of our guards are dead." She added.
"Guardian, what's going on? You've been talking with this human for sometime." Indigo, who had been sitting quietly nearby decided to speak up. He couldn't understand a thing they were saying.
The whole time they were talking they were using the human language so he was unable to listen in on their conversation. His curiosity got the better of him so he decided to speak up.
"Indigo...I will be...leaving for...a while." Emrys explained.
"What, where? To the human lands?" Indigo couldn't understand why their guardian would want to leave the forest. They would be defenseless without him.
"Yes. There...is something...I must do."
They hadn't been traveling together for very long and Indigo wished they could stay together longer but there was no way he could go to the human lands. A giant beast such as himself would be attacked on sight. Maybe if he had a more humanoid form...
Indigo accepted his fate and agreed to stay in the forest. He would await the guardians return.
Having calmed down by now Alannah checked on their horses while Emrys was speaking with the griffin. The monster language sounded strange but familiar to her in some way but she still could not make out what they were saying.
The horses were a little spooked but they were fine. The carriage driver did not fair so well. He was lying in a puddle of his own blood a few feet away.
One of her maids could drive the wagon probably. Both of her maids were still freaking out about being in the presence of monsters as they were standing completely still like they were afraid to move.
"Marissa." She called out to the older of the two maids.
As soon as the words left her lips the maid screamed and jumped like a frightened cat. When she realized who it was that said her name she immediately controlled herself and walked over to Alannah.
"Yes, my lady." She bowed her head.
Alannah sighed. "Do you know how to drive a wagon by chance?" She said holding on to a small amount of hope.
The maid froze and then dropped to her knees. "I'm sorry, my lady. I have never driven a wagon in my life." She replied thinking she would be punished.
"I should have expected this. What will we do now?" Alannah drifted back into her thoughts and paid no mind to the frightened maid.
By now Emrys was finished speaking with indigo so the proud griffin stood and leapt into the nearby woods disappearing amongst the many trees.
Now that the big scary griffin was gone both of the maids seemed to relax. Not completely, but they were able to regain their composure.
Marissa, the older of the two maids, had short dark brown hair with matching brown eyes. She looked to be around her twenties but had mature facial features that made her look older than she was.
The younger maid was called Georgina, or Gina for short. She was a head shorter than Marissa, had blonde hair and soft features. She was quite young for a maid, almost looked the same age as Alannah.
Both maids stood next to the carriage awaiting their next orders.
Alannah finally broke free of her thoughts and looked over to her maids. "Girls, make sure to grab the I.D cards from each of the fallen so that we may return them to their families when we get back."
"Yes, my lady." Both of the maids replied in unison and went to carry out their orders.