The bank of the pond was moist and covered with moss. The trees surrounding the pond casted eerie black shadows all around. There was a full moon that night. The moon reflected off the water, making everything look soft and cloudy. The frogs hiding under the lily pads, croaked in conversation to each other. The crickets sang their beautiful song in a way that no one could mimic. The girl starred sat her reflection. What she saw wasn’t who she was, but what she has masked over her soul. She couldn’t see who she was. She was so filthy. Her brown hair was matted with dust and mud. Her face was tear stained and dirty. Her lip was fat and her eye started bruising in a nasty way. The cut over her cheek had dried blood crusted over it. Her arms were bruised into the shapes of hands. They had grabbed her so hard. Her hands were cracked and bloodied from all the work she’s done since childhood. She starred and starred for a long time. She starred till she couldn’t bear the sight of her. She jumped up and stripped off her dress. Under the dress was a disturbing sight. Her body was bruised and cut. Bruises formed on her on her back, stomach, chest, and legs. Her body was the body of a woman’s. That’s why they had attacked her….

Those men thought she was a woman of the streets. But she was only a girl. She had never done what those women did. She dreamed of a respectable life. The girl was walking home when they spotted her. She was wearing a too small dress. It wasn’t hers. Hers was ruined by stains of spilled wine. The dress she was wearing fit snuggly. It formed to her curves, showing the, off. Her breasts were full and barely fit into the dress. The dress was meant for a tall woman with a small waist and breasts. Not a girl with so pronounced curves. Thos men had thought she was a goddess in that red dress. Her pale skin was paler in it. Her dark hair was coiled on her head. Curls hung own randomly. Her red lips full. Her dark eyes shone with tears of embarrassment. They had to have this goddess. They wanted the woman. They surrounded the girl, whispering the things they wanted to do to her. They pleaded with her to ease their need. Her heart pounded as she said no. she wasn’t what they had thought. Their breath reeked of alcohol. The three men started to get agitated, demanding her to serve them. She tried to run, but they grabbed her around the waist. She screamed for them to let go…

The girl stood at the ponds edge, crying at the pain of the memory. Her body shivered from the cold. She doubled over, clutching her torso, holding it together. She stayed like that for awhile. Finally, she stopped crying. Some of her cuts reopened and were bleeding. She felt the blood run down her legs and chest. She damned those men to hell. She got up and glanced down at her beat and battered body. Horrified at what she saw, she stepped into the pond, walking further and further into the water till her head was submerged. She let herself go. Her hair floated around her, making her look as if she was a broken angel. The fish swam around her, pausing and starring. The moon casted a blue glow into the water, making her skin transparent looking. The blood had stopped flowing, her head had resurfaced. She swam till she could stand…

She screamed at the men. She screamed and fought them. One man hand punched her, knocking the breath out of her. They had shoved her to the ground. She regained her breathe and started to fight. The biggest of the three men pulled a knife. The girl thought, this is the end, this is how I’m going to die, raped and murdered. She fought on. Even when they ripped her dress off, exposing her pale body, she fought. The big one had slashed her legs. Cut her cheek, sliced her arms and chest. The pain of what they were doing was like nothing she’s ever felt. She was tearing in half. Her pleas and screams weren’t noticed. Her ear shattering cries went on without care. She bled and they did not stop. The alcohol had made them reckless and uncaring. Just when she thought she wouldn’t live, she saw a light. Those men turned into black shadows. The light was burning the darkness. She stopped fighting and starred at the light, watching as it fought back the shadows. Her own battered soul was slipping away. The darkness was gone. The light had won. She found peace…

The girl stood, starring at the moon, the pond was cool around her. It soothed the burning sensations of the cuts. She wondered where her light went. Where her savior disappeared too. She had wanted death. She waited for it, but it never came. Now, she is grateful for it. Great full she is alive, but heartbroken she will never marry. She’s been ruined, but so alive. She didn’t expect a man to take a girl without her virtue. She thinks about how her life will be from now on. She will never marry. She will have to become a washer woman. Oh, dear, how dreadfully boring. Her life will be an adventure. But first she can’t be carrying one of those men baby. She didn’t want a monster child. Then, she cried for all she was worth. She cried for her adopted mother’s reaction when she told her. She walked to the shore and fell because her heart and body were braking. But, then, she felt a hand on her shoulder, and the softest fabric she’s ever felt. She looked up and saw the face of her savior. He leaned over her and whispered, “You’re so cold.”

She thought she had gone to heaven when she saw that face. She had breathed a sigh of relief, and had closed her eyes. He had said something but it sounded distant and unreal. She couldn’t decipher the words he had spoken. She felt she was flying. When she opened her eyes, she was at the pond. Her eyes searched for her angel, because she was in heaven. But then the pain hit, and she knew she wasn’t dead.
But now, as she looked up to him, all her pain was forgotten. His green eyes weren’t just an ordinary green. They were a pine green and flecked with silver and gold. His lashes were thick around those eyes. His eyebrows were perfectly shaped. His skin was kissed by the sun, a perfect copper color. It was completely smooth. His forehead was furrowed in worry. His high cheek bones made him look like royalty. His jaw was chiseled, like a statue. His nose was the perfect size. His hair was jet black. Blacker than the darkest of nights. This man was her light. Her savior. Her angel.

She noticed something. She noticed his body was long. His hair came to the middle of his back. His ears peaked out from underneath his hair. They weren’t rounded like normal ears. They were pointed. His beauty wasn’t human. He wasn’t human. He was from the woods. She heard the stories but never believed they were real. Why her? Why did he save a human and not his own kind? Of course, elves are inhumanly strong, so female elves would be fine. But males are so protective over them because they are so fragile to their race. Children are so rare they need every female to live. Her mind was filling with questions as she lay there. She watched him as he dug in a bag. Then, suddenly he stopped. His head snapped to look at her. As soon as his eyes found hers, her mind lost track of time as she looked into those eyes. He starred, concentrating hard. She was about to ask when her body felt severe pain. She arched her back and screamed. Her cries caused havoc among the sleeping animals. She had awakened the whole forest. Then he was there, at her side. He took the fabric he had covered her with and exposed her body once more. He placed his hands on her stomach and chest. He murmured words in a language so foreign, but so soft. Her pain ceased. She lay there shivering, hyperventilating. She broke out in a cold sweat. He pulled the blanket over top of her. He looked at the girl’s face and didn’t see how she didn’t know, how she didn’t know what she was. He touched her hair, feeling the silkiness of it. He leaned down and whispered what she was in his own language. She didn’t understand a word of what he had said. He kept whispering secrets to her, stroking her hair, calming her. She sighed. Her breath touched his ear, and he stopped whispering. He didn’t realize that at some point he laid down next to her he leaned back to look at her and what he found shocked him. He didn’t expect to find such beauty in a ruined soul. He searched her soul and saw who she really was. Who she will become. The girl was only sixteen years of age and already she has already learned how cruel life was. Her story was sad, but somehow she was sane. She was okay. He watched her as she slept. He marveled at the perfection of her face, the curve of her neck down to her shoulders, how smooth and unblemished her skin was. How pale and beautiful. The cuts on her face would heal almost completely. They wouldn’t be noticeable at first. He couldn’t believe such a beautiful girl had to live such a horrible life. But no longer will she have to have that life. They were going to take her away. Back to the city in the trees, where their kind lived. She was the only one who was a half breed. He’s watched over her all her life. He was assigned to be her guardian, after her father had died. He was an elf. Her mother was a human. It’s an interesting story about how her father felt for her mother. He was the king of the elves. The queen stood by with jealousy of this human. The king was captivated by her mother. He had seduced her mother and she was the product. The first ever hybrid. He had died in battle, trying to keep the girl and her mother safe. Her mother had died, throwing herself in front of an arrow that was aimed towards her daughter. Now, her she lays ruined. He had killed those men who had attacked her. He had formed this protectiveness over her, after watching her for her sixteen years. He carried her to the selected family to watch over her. She was so small, so fragile. He had never seen a baby before. There hasn’t been a birth among the elves since he was born. He is seven hundred years old. He held that baby girl close. He fell in love with those deep brown eyes. He watched her grow from a distance. He saw her struggle through life, watched her face the challenges every day. He saw she was pretty. But up close, he had underestimated her beauty. Even though she was beaten, she still had that shine in her eyes. They were deep and knowing. He could see everything in those eyes. His hand reached out to touch her cheek. A few centimeters from it he realized what he was doing. He pulled back and got up quickly. He paced back and forth, thinking about what had just occurred. He couldn’t fall in love with her. She wasn’t meant to be with him. She has been arranged to marry an elf of higher rank. He is a warrior. He has no right to marry the heir to the throne. But she is so beautiful. Extremely beautiful.

“Who are you?” he heard a voice, as soft as the wind, ask. The voice was so soothing. He closed his eyes and his shoulders relaxed. He turned around slowly and opened his eyes. His breath caught in his throat. Her eyes are so deep, so innocent. How had he missed her beauty when he watched her grow?

“I am Luthais, your guardian.” He says softly. He does not want to frighten her and be sent away.

“Luthais? Such an odd name. I’m Adriana. Why did you save me?” Luthais smiles because of her openness. It fades because she wouldn’t be here right now if he had been there earlier. She wouldn’t be ruined if it wasn’t for him.

“You aren’t Adriana. That was a cover up name your keeper gave you when you were a baby to hide your true identity. You are Navi, princess heir to the throne of the elven world. I saved you because you are the only hope to bring the forest to peace once again. Our queen is very week. She can no longer hold the throne. I would have to gotten you later, but…” his voice trailed off. The pain in his voice was hard to bare. The anguished of his guilt made him close his eyes and breathe slowly. His anger boiled under his skin. He couldn’t lose control with her. He had to stay strong for her.

He opened his eyes and looked at her. Her face was a mask of surprise and shock. Then, something tender came of her, softening her looks. “Thank you” was all she said. She motioned him to come closer, to sit beside her.