Chapter 2: Heart of Stone

"So where are we going Lia?" Luna asked slightly pulling the hood of her cloak so it further obscured her face while watching Lia hop and skip her way along the dirt path with her arms spread out and her black hair flowing ever so carelessly with the early morning breeze. She was always so High Spirited and never much cared what people thought of her, Luna often ended up thinking if only she was more like Lia, instead she opted to hide away using her cloak to hide her Wolf Ears and Tail from a world that would judge her a curse for something she had no say in.

In response to her question Lia spun around on her heel her arms falling behind her back and a very familiar smile on her face. "I overheard some people talking in the inn, apparently there is a Mountain at the end of the forest near here and at the top of it there is supposed to be a statue lying at the edge of the cliff and this statue is said to have a sword driven straight thru its heart" 

Luna listened to Lia tell her tale with a sparkle in her Emerald Eyes but felt only Confusion, "Wait so you burst into my room this morning like you had found a Dragon's Hidden Treasure because you heard about a single sword that someone stabbed into a statue someone else made on a Mountain Side?"

Lia Giggled slightly "tut, tut, tut" she said while closing her eyes and moving her finger from side to side, A big smile still on her face. "You didn't let me finish Luna, for it is said that none can remove the blade from its resting place no matter what they do, no matter how strong they are they cannot lift the blade, Apparently not even Magic has any effect."

Luna was suddenly much more intrigued by Lia's Tale and this sudden light in her eyes did not go unnoticed by Lia. 

"Oh Have i now appealed to your wolfy sense of curiosity Luna?" Lia took a step closer and lowerd her head so she could better see Luna's face.  Luna did her best to hide it but she couldn't help but smile back at Lia and give her a playful push away.

Lia laughed as she began to walk backwards so she could still look at Luna "Who knows Luna maybe when we get there i could be the one to draw the sword of legend."

Luna raised her head slightly "You really think you can do it" she said unsure as to whether Lia was joking or being serious, after all Lia was never one to shy away from a new challenge. 

Lia raised her arms and struck a pose tensing her bicep muscles as if she was a bodybuilder posing in-front of a mirror. "Are you kidding Luna? with these guns that sword has no chance of defeating me" 

Both girls began laughing, so lost in their own world Luna didn't even realize that Lia was about to walk backwards into someone who had appeared on the trail and with a small inevitable thud Lia's back collided with the mysterious person. 

"Ow ow ow" Lia said while slightly rubbing the back of her head "well that will teach me to not watch where i walk" Luna noticed as the figure Lia knocked into slowly turned around that the figure was a Man, A big man he was at least a foot taller than both herself and Lia and he had a large chest and  muscle definition, Luna was sure he had to have some physically demanding work, 'Maybe a Blacksmith" she thought. 

"I am so sorry" Lia said with a rare hint of Embarrassment that Luna was not used to hearing. Lia dropped her head into a bow to show she was sincerely sorry but Luna saw this mans face, he had long black shoulder length hair that was un-kept, he wore a black leather shirt and blue trousers with black boots, his face was contorted into a scowl that seemed to remain plastered on his face even as Lia apologized. 

"Watch where you going Elf" he said with a gruff masculine voice. "Just because your kind posses a natural beauty doesn't mean you can get away with whatever you like" The Man never took his eyes off Lia even tho she was still bowing in apology "Well most of you posses beauty anyway" he said while laughing horribly.

Luna felt a sudden surge of emotion and a hidden strength and confidence she didn't know she even possessed.

Luna took a deep breath "HEY! My friend apologized to you so you have no right to treat her like that, so what if she is an Elf?  Lia's head shot back up and she quickly turned to look at Luna after hearing her surprising outburst.

The mans gaze moved swiftly from Lia and were know homed and locked onto Luna's, neither of them said anything for a few seconds but with every moment that Luna looked into this man's dark brown eyes she felt that hidden strength and confidence deteriorate rapidly.

The Man burst out into a horrible laugh again bringing one hand up and running it thru his hair "Look at this boys the little mouse wants to roar like a Dragon"

Luna clenched her teeth slightly, she felt her heart begin to beat faster and faster and her hands began to tremble slightly, Luna was never one for violence or confrontation and much preferred to avoid such situations as best she could but she could also never stand by idle while someone disrespects her best friend.

'Wait Boys, he said boys why?' As if fate was reading her mind, her question was answered as two more figures stepped out from behind the big man currently blocking their path. The Man to the right was almost as tall as the man they bumped into but no nearly as muscular, he had a brown rugged leather outfit on, his hair was brown and much shorter than the Big Man's hair but also just as messy and unkept. The Other Man however was much smaller about the same height as Lia and Herself, he had a similar rugged leather outfit on however his black hair was much cleaner and more looked after than his comrades but Luna noticed he also had what appeared to be a rusty steel dagger strapped to his belt. 

"Well you have to admire her courage boss" the boy with the dagger said smiling at Luna

"Too bad a big mouth only get's one so far" the other boy said laughing in a tone almost as horrible as their 'Boss's' "So what should we do with them?" he asked while his dropped down and back up again as if he was scanning Lia and Luna.

"Hmmmmmm" The big man brought a hand up and began to stroke his chin "Well these two ladies need to be taught a lesson and must pay the toll for their disrespect" The Man stopped stroking his chin "So ladies we are going to relieve you of your valuables then you will be free to go and reflect on this poor behavior. he said with a sly sick smile and an evil chuckle.

Lia watched her opponents The Big Man and the Boy to the right were closing in on her slowly, 'They don't have weapons? then how good are they in hand to hand combat' Lost in thought and coming up with a plan of action Lia didn't notice that the boy to the left of his boss didn't actually go for her as well instead he had made a bee-line for Luna and had close in on her very fast.

"LUNA!" Lia shouted and attempted to spin around but felt a large hand grab her should and press down hard in a crushing grip.

Luna heard Lia shout and clenched her fists as she saw the boy with the dagger approaching her in a fast walk, 'Ok ok calm down Luna you got this, you have your claws, if you have too go for his eyes and blind him so you can get to Lia and get out of here' Luna's hands began to shake even more than before as the boy took more and more steps towards her, 'Who are you kidding Luna? Go for the eyes, yeah right you have never been in a fight before, you have barely hurt a fly in your entire life, there is no way you can win this' 

Luna was so busy with her mental battle that she hadn't realized her attacker had closed the distance and had drawn his dagger and was only a step away now.

Luna watched as her attacker raised his dagger and she shut her eyes and waited for the inevitable but... there was nothing no pain instead she felt her hood being slowly removed, her attack had used his dagger to lift up her hood. 

"Well, well,well we have ourselves a Demi-Human" he said with an evil smirk.