The Woodsman and The Elven Princes

Chapter 1

The sound of a horse-drawn carriage filled my ears. I'd already arrived in a town full of rich folks wearing fancy fur coats. The horse neighed as I pulled on its reins. "Stay put, boy!" I patted him and hopped down.

"How much you got there?" the old man asked, walking with a bit of a limp.

"A lot," I replied, loosening my tie and cracking open the old, dusty fabric.

Two beefy guys came and took down the logs that I'd brought. The old man dug into his pocket and started counting his cash. I leaned in close to check out the bills, so I knew what he'd pay me. "This!"

So, I grabbed it and counted one more time before getting onto my horse-drawn carriage. "Thanks, catch ya tomorrow, sir." And with that, I hopped back onto the driver's seat.

My trusty horse-drawn carriage took me out of the city gates as they waved goodbye to me and into the forest. The cool, crisp breeze made me feel relaxed. We gradually went deeper and deeper into the forest, about 30 miles away from the city.

So, an hour passed by...

I set my horse free from the carriage and got him into the stable. I closed the door, grabbed a bunch of grass and let him chill. I returned to the carriage and pulled it up before grabbing an axe and a lantern. I was surrounded by an orange sky as I ventured deep into the forest. All I could see were trees, huge trees that could gobble up people.

"Yo, let me check out which tree is getting the chop," I muttered while scoping out a good target.

I stopped in front of this massive, old tree that was ready to go. The cart stayed put while I swayed my axe back and forth.

The sound of my axe bounced around the quiet forest. I hacked away at the tree until it finally toppled to the ground with a huge rumble.

Birds scattered when the tree started to fall and dust went flying. I tied ropes around it and loaded it up on the cart. I kept on going, cutting down two, three, and more trees until the cart was packed to the brim.

"Ugh!" I groaned while lugging the heavy cart and holding a lantern. "This thing is a beast!" I complained.

It rolled at a snail's pace through the dark forest. The sun had already set by the time the moon and stars came out. The rustling of the leaves, chirping birds, and the wind's whisper were my only companions.

"What the heck?!" I panicked and checked my cart's tire. "No way!"

One of the back tires had gotten stuck in a huge mud hole. "No, no, no, please!" I begged myself and tried to push the cart out of the hole. "Ugh!!"

The cart didn't budge an inch. I was getting so frustrated. I turned around and pushed with all my might to get the cart out of that mud hole.

So I'm walking and BAM! I slip and fall right into the freaking mud. And what do I say? "Sh*t!" of course.

So I get up and brush myself off, and I'm like, "Why does this have to happen now? It's already dark and this stupid carriage won't even work." I give it a good kick and shout, "ARGH!"

So, like, what if I just leave this carriage here and wait for the mud to harden? That's a good idea, right?

Suddenly, a gust of wind hit me and I heard it. It was kinda scary, so I grabbed my lantern and went to check it out.

And then, BAM! A bright light blinded me. I tried to see what was going on, but it was too bright. And then, I saw it. A shadow that looked kinda like a person, but it was shining like crazy.

I was like, "Who the heck is that?" I mean, it didn't look like an alien or a ghost or anything. Maybe it was God?

But then, SNAP! I freaked out and started running back to my carriage. I was like, "No way, man! I don't wanna die right now!"

So I was walking along, minding my own business, when I got this creepy feeling that someone or something was following me. And then I started freaking out, my feet turned into jelly, and I was like, "Oh no! Not today, please! I don't want to die!"

I scrambled behind my carriage and tried to catch my breath. That's when I saw these crazy bright lights getting closer and closer. I tried to hide under the carriage, but it wasn't working. And then the lights started to fade, and this big shadowy figure started coming towards me.

"No way! No way!" I freaked out.

This pale, white, sharp-eared dude with some weird clothes popped up out of nowhere. I jumped a bit, my eyes wide open. "Who the heck are you?"

He stared right at me with his emerald green eyes, didn't even blink. Then he pushed my cart and it went flying meters away from us. I was so shook and ran after it. "What the hell, man?" I cursed.

So I caught up with my ride and looked back. The dude walked away without a care, leaving me by my lonesome. "Yo!" I yelled out.

He kept on walking as I pulled up to my crib and chased after him. He looked back when he heard me and asked, "Where am I at?"

"A forest?" I said.

"Nah, nah! Where the hell am I? This ain't the forest I knew." He spun around.

"So... What's it like? I mean... the forest you knew," I asked with a hint of doubt.

"Loads of fireflies, tons of flowers, a river, and... my home." His face suddenly looked so down.

"I'm confused. Who are you? Where do you come from? And what was that bright light earlier?" I asked a bunch of questions.

So, he didn't seem like he was just goofing around until he answered me with some basic words. "I'm Myrdin, the prince of earth and sky elves.”