We walked down the long stone street away from the big crowd of townspeople who were gathering near the square after the fire. The gray stones under our boots were very hard, dry, and smooth to walk on. We moved our legs slowly because we were still looking for the person the king told us to find in this town. The air around us felt cool as the sun started to go down in the big blue sky above, casting long dark shadows against the high wooden walls of the buildings. Alea kept her position right next to my left side, walking with steady steps on the path while looking at the different doors and windows. Eufrien walked a few steps behind us, keeping his eyes on the road ahead to make sure we were completely safe from any more danger. We turned a corner onto a much quieter lane that did not have any active shops or loud noises from the people. While walking suddenly we bumped into a yellow haired girl with pink eyes who wore a simple combat outfit and a blue cloak but she has a sleek looking sword at her waist. Our physical bodies hit each other slightly because we did not see her coming around the corner of the large building. The small unexpected bump made all of us stop our feet right away in the middle of the quiet street. We stood completely still on the stones and looked at her body.
She stopped moving after her body hit mine in the middle of the path. She apologized and she continued walking down the road away from our group without waiting for us to say anything back to her. She took two steps forward, moving her boots across the gray stones because she wanted to keep going on her own way without talking to strangers in the town. But Eufrien did not want her to leave without answering a question about our important task. Eufrien stopped her by taking a fast step forward and raising his right hand to get her attention right away. He stood directly in her path so she could not walk past him on the narrow street. Eufrien stopped her and asked her, "Do you know anything about where the current hero is?" He spoke his words in a very calm and clear voice that was easy for everyone to hear. When she heard his question, she stopped her feet completely on the dry ground. She just stood there and looked at us like she's thinking whether to tell or not. She kept her mouth closed and did not say a single word for several seconds. She looked at my face, then she looked at Alea, and then she looked at Eufrien. She stood there on the hard stones, keeping her body still while she thought about her answer. She did not move because she was trying to decide if we were friendly people on the road now.
The street remained very quiet while she stood there looking at us with her pink eyes. I realized that we needed to introduce ourselves so she would know we were good people from the castle who needed help. I decided to speak up to break the long silence in the middle of the road. I just stepped forward and introduced myself to the girl in the middle of the path. I took one slow step closer to her and spoke with a clear voice so she could hear every single word I said. I just stepped forward and introduced myself, "By the way, I'm prince Sogha of the Elf kingdom." I hoped that my official title would make her want to help us with our long search for the hero. When she heard my words, her face changed and she looked very surprised. She looked at my face and my body with a lot of confusion. She answered with, "Wait, you're a guy? And you're not an elf." I just felt embarrassed when she said those direct words to me in front of my friends. My face felt warm, and I did not know what to do with my hands for a short moment. I chuckled and said, "I'm not but I'm the... fiance of the princess... I guess you could call it that..." I rubbed the back of my neck with my hand while I spoke to her. She watched my movement as I stood before her body now.
She listened to my words about the princess and the kingdom very carefully while standing still on the path. She suddenly looked excited and said, "I know where the current hero is... it's me!" She spoke the words with a very loud voice, a bright expression, and a big smile on her face. I was extremely surprised to hear her statement in the middle of the street. I turned my head around right away and I looked at Eufrien to see if he believed her words. Eufrien did not look shocked or surprised at all by her announcement. He just nodded at me with his head to show that she was telling the truth about being the person we needed for the war. After he nodded to me, I turned my body back toward the girl to continue our talk. I asked her a very important question because we needed her assistance for our big task. I asked her, "Can you come with us and join the war?" I waited to see if she would agree to travel with us. She did not say yes right away because she wanted to know more about the fight before making her final choice. She asked, "What war? I'm not going to join if we're going against a nation without it being deserved." She spoke firmly because she did not want to hurt innocent people. She stood there waiting for my response while keeping her hands perfectly still by her side now today.
I knew I had to tell her the exact truth about our enemy so she would understand the situation completely. I looked into her pink eyes and answered her question without waiting any longer. I said to her, "It's not against a nation... it's against an otherworlder..." She listened to my response and became very quiet for a few seconds in the middle of the road. She looked at us and at her side and said, "Are we going on a suicide mission?" She was worried that the enemy was too powerful for us to defeat safely without losing our lives. I wanted to make her feel better, so I spoke quickly to reassure her mind. I suddenly said, "No, no, we have more people and in fact we also have an otherworlder on our side." When she heard that we had an otherworlder helping us, she looked slightly relieved. The worry went away from her face, and she relaxed her shoulders in the middle of the street. She stood firmly on the stones and said, "I guess it's to save the people so... sure, I'll join." She agreed to become a member of our group for the journey. Alea just jumped up excited when she heard her answer. Alea moved her feet and leaped high into the air because she was very happy that the current hero was coming with us to help. She smiled at us with joy because everything was completely settled for the trip right now.
We were all standing together on the stone path now that she had agreed to join our trip back to the castle. I realized that we did not know her name yet, so I wanted to ask her before we started walking again. I asked her name so we could talk to her properly as we traveled together. She looked at my face and she said, "I'm Chalreth and I'm 23." We were glad to know her name and her age after talking for so long in the quiet lane. We stood in a small circle near the old building while the wind blew past us. Eufrien decided it was time to introduce himself to our new companion as well since they were both heroes. He took a step forward on the stones and started his speech with a calm voice. Eufrien introduced himself and said, "I'm Eufrien—" and before Eufrien can finish his introduction Chalreth suddenly interrupted and said, "Oh my goodness, you're EUFRIEN?!!! THE FIRST HERO???!!! How are you still alive?!!" She spoke in a very loud and shocked voice, opening her eyes wide as she looked at him with complete disbelief. Her mind was completely filled with wonder at this sudden news today. She could really not believe that the famous person from the stories was standing right in front of her body on this street. She kept her gaze fixed on his face for a long time. He looked at her now. Eufrien suddenly said, "It's complicated..."