4 Four

At first the smoke only looked like clouds. Dark angry storm clouds dotting the the sky outside her window. Elizabeth hadn't thought much of it, rising slowly and leisurely as she mentally prepared herself to walk down to the stable in what would surely be rain.

Only, as she she took in the rising plumes in the distance where the town stood a sinking feeling entered the pit of her stomach.

Fire. Lots of fire. Too much to be anything other than an attack.

For a minute all she could do was stare into the distance at the streaks of grey blurring the treetops coming from where the center of town was tucked into the cover of the trees. Her mind almost couldn't comprehend what it meant.

The only thoughts racing through her mind were of her friends and the shop. They weren't like her, tucked safely away in the quieter part of town. Eric, her suitor, lived almost directly off the main road in his father's manor, putting him directly in harms way.

She had to get to town. She had to make sure he was safe, along with Mary and her new mare.

Elizabeth's mind was a blur as she raced about her room, rushing to put together an acceptable outfit. She cursed herself from the night before for scattering her over clothes around the house, cursing herself even further for not preparing better in case of an emergency like this.

Her sword, a light steel short blade, had been tucked into her attic months ago and took a good portion of her time to drag out of the dusty space. Normally it would have been up on the mantle where her father kept his own weapons, but for some reason when she moved in to this smaller cottage house she decided she was too good for such crude imagery.

By the time she got herself out and ready the smoke had grown into a dark veil over the entire town, reaching all the way out to her own home, tainting the air with it's acidic taste. A part of her told her to turn and go back into the house, to hide beneath the floorboards until this all blew over, but her fear for her shop and friends burned brighter.

She wouldn't find safety until she knew her friends and neighbors were safe, and until she got Vain out of harms way.

The sound of yelling and loud cackling laughter chilled her bones as she rushed down the shaded paths further into town, the sounds like nothing she heard in her life. The closer she got the louder they became, along with the realization that not all she heard was entirely human.

Quiet Wood never got attacked. We were a forest town, one in the deep section of the enchanted woods. Any menacing people or creatures that might have once infested these woods were long since driven away by our hunters and guardsmen.

So why was this happening now after decades of peace in the Dark Wood Kingdom?

Reaching the back streets of the main town was a feat in and of itself. By the time she grew close to town figures could be seen racing back and forth across the streets, some close friends from surrounding shops and others people she only saw from afar. Knowing they must be running from something, she raced across the dirt path and dove under the shelter of one of the raised buildings.

People raced past her hiding spot, uncaring of anything else as the found their escape from town. She was relieved to see them go, even if it showed cowardice to leave a battle. As long as people were escaping she could breath a sigh of relief.

Still, none of the faces were Eric's or Mary's. There was as chance they had already left, but Elizabeth would never forgive herself if she didn't at least look.

From where she stood she could just barely manage to crawl under the dusty underbelly of the shop she hid beneath, wanting to rip her skin off as decades of dust and cobwebs scraped across her skin. Closing her eyes the entire way, she tried to convince herself that none of the webs contained actual spiders, and the crawling she felt on the exposed skin of her neck as just her hair.

Squeezing from the bright exit on the opposite side of the building might have been the single biggest relief she had ever felt in her life.

Until she saw the group of goblins ransacking one of the shops opposite from where she exited. In the nick of time she managed to duck behind a barrel of corn, but not quick enough to miss the ugly mug of the little grey creature.

They were just like pictured. Pale grey with beady black eyes and faces too smooth, like a child's. Hairless and naked, they moved in a way like maddened animals, all swinging limbs and shrieking laughs. Some were coated with layers of fresh blood, telling a sickening tale of what they had done to get as far as they had.

Just the sight was enough to freeze her blood in her veins.

This was no storybook rescue like the ones her father used to tell her about. This was a bloody fiery battle and she had just planted herself right in the middle of it.

Though she knew she had yet to be spotted, fear made her fingers curl around the base of her sword which was already slick with her sweat. The acrid heat of the fires raging further down the main street warmed her flesh and made her anxiety all the worse.

Her shop was in the direction of the fire, no doubt already consumed by a wall of flame.

Elizabeth huffed out a sharp breath. Of course her shop would already be raided. It was a jewel shop. No doubt they had hit it first next to the town hall that doubled as the towns bank and treasury.

One day was all it took in her keeping for the thing to burn to the ground. Her father would be furious. At least she didn't have to worry about her father.

Still, she couldn't sit here forever. Her friends were out there somewhere.

Mustering up as much courage as she could, she began to duck and weave through the tangle of small shops as she tried to avoid as many of the raiding creatures as she could.

There were fewer of them than she though, only a group of twenty or so that she could see. Most were taking turns throwing valuables into one of three carts, two of which were already reaching max capacity. Only two or three of them were set up as guards and lookouts, decked out in shabby leather armor that hung loose and baggy on their tiny bodies.

Avoiding them was trickier than Elizabeth had anticipated. Their beady little eyes roved over the surrounding buildings with a weariness that told her this wasn't their first raid on an unsuspecting village.

Only when she found herself rolling around the side of the old fishery did she finally allow herself a small breath.

Not a soul, living that is, was around those things so she knew she was supposed to be headed in the direction of the fires. Eric's house was in that direction.

The streets were barren as she raced by, not a human nor goblin in sight. No doubt they didn't want to spread out and risk being picked off, so Elizabeth could at least not have to worry about risking her life taking on one of the little creatures.

As she went she watched as buildings that had been standing longer than many of them were alive crumbled to the ground under the raging force of the fires. Many families lineages and incomes would be lost today, and many would starve in the coming winters because of this.

Surviving the raid would only be the first of many battles to come for some.

She reached down and clutched the bag of coin tucked at her side, knowing it was now her one and only lifeline in the coming winter. At least she was lucky enough to have that

As soon as Eric's manor came into sight she could spot the smoke rising from it's rafters. Anxiousness worried a hole in her belly, fear at having been too late.

As she drew closer she spotted two figures out front, one over the top of the other in what looked like a struggle. Elizabeth knew who it was in an instant.

Mary Sue had her back to the ground and her arms pushing away at one of the skinny pale creatures, struggling with all her might against it's hold. Silver glinted in the glow of the fire, alerting her to the dagger held over the heart of her friend.