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"My dear lady, I assure you, we are not amassing forces to invade or despoil your realm!" the mayor huffed as his somewhat rotund armored form followed his lithe visitor into the town outskirts. After them came the mayor's personal bodyguards, all wearing identically styled armor emblazoned with the town crest.

 

Princess Alathea Thuariel barely even acknowledged the human delegation. Her elegant elven features were framed by her carefully braided long golden locks, held back by a tiara, whereas her curvy body was dressed in the garb of a ranger of her kingdom, although more ornate and flamboyant. On her back a quiver of silver-shafted arrows bounced, and her bow was still held firmly in one gloved hand.

 

"Then tell me the purpose of this giant contraption" she snapped, as the group cleared the sides of a house to behold the large device that rested on the edge of town. Pulled by a team of oxen, the large wheeled frame held a huge spiral-like cone set with jagged edges, and a multitude of machinery in the form of pulleys and ropes cobwebbed the interior of the frame.

 

"If you would just stop and listen... milady!" the mayor stopped and set his hands on his chest in an authoritative way. "This is our new earthborer. It's set to make our mining operation outside town more efficient. And, I will add, this mining is well within our rights as signed by the charter of my predecessor!"

 

The elven princess studied the device with her cold blue eyes. Up close, it seemed less like a siege weapon than it had when glimpsed by the elven spies of her father. "I... may have been mistaken about the device" she said with resignation, loathing admitting error in front of humans. "But that still does not explain your increase in production!"

 

"Oh, that" the mayor chuckled. "You refer to our armorsmiths working day and night some time ago... yes, about that. I'll explain over a nice drink."

 

***

 

Alathea strode around the small town, studying the human structures and residents going about their daily lives. She was not sure she believed the mayor, but now that she was actually taking the time to visit the town in daylight, it all seemed to fit. Certainly, she could think of no good reason why everyone... everyone... in this human settlement had chosen to adopt a suit of armor of some kind. The only residents she had seen without a similar costume were some children here and there (but not all children) and some who were clearly visiting and as unused to the atmosphere as she was.

 

As she walked down the dirt road to the town square, two human women passed her carrying various farm produce in baskets. Both wore form-fitting leather suits, here and there fitted with metal studs and plates. Their faces were plain, unsculpted faceplates, like metal masks set in a leather helmet. As she passed them, she heard them whispering and it was only by their voices she guessed that they were middle-aged. As the women vanished around a corner behind her, a cart pulled by a mule, loaded to the brim with hay, rumbled by going the opposite direction, and Alathea got a brief glimpse of a lanky driver wearing a full-body armored suit. Well, whatever reasons these humans had for their odd behavior, Alathea had seen enough. She would return to her kingdom tomorrow, and report to her father that the humans didn't seem to be-

 

"Oh I'm so sorry!"

 

The impact barely even unbalanced the nimble elf ranger, but the human who had slammed into her by exiting a doorway much too fast had fallen to the ground. Alathea turned and saw a slender human woman, fully clad in the by-now expected armored outfit. She had a dyed black leather undersuit that clung tightly to her form, over which she had tall boots and long gloves made from lamellar metal plates. Similar, molded plates covered her groin and bosom, and a pair of molded shoulderpads affixed the getup at her shoulders. Her helmet was elegant, with a faceplate molded with a thin but attractive face but no molded hair or other frills. Her armor carried engraved designs here and there, resembling books, scrolls and quills. The armored figure was already up on her knees and picking up scattered books and scrolls from the ground with surprisingly nimble fingers.

 

"It's quite alright..." Alathea found her gaze lingering a little too long on the slender, armored form before leaning down to help her pick up her scattered belongings.

 

"Thank you" came the voice of the girl, as with all the townsfolk slightly metallic. She was about as tall as Alathea, but lacked the curves and fit shape of the elf, but still carried herself with some poise. "I'm Erika Marsch, house Zinder." She extended a gloved hand.

 

Alathea shook it. "Alathea Thuariel, youngest princess of the Gray Forest, ranger-captain."

 

Erika gasped, and almost dropped one of her books. "A p-princess... and an elf... oh milady, I'm so so-"

"No no, please don't make a spectacle. I'm here as a ranger, not nobility" the elf quickly dismissed. She found herself using much kinder words than she'd initially chosen, and didn't know why. "Are you a scribe, lady Marsch?"

 

The human girl looked taken aback at the cordial treatment. "Scribe? Yes, of sorts. I run the bookshop here and I also work as record-keeper at the town hall. I... like books you see?" She gave a nervous laugh.

 

To her surprise, Alathea chuckled. "Well I hope none of your precious volumes were damaged?"

 

"No. No, not at all. And really, it was all my fault, I..."

 

"As I said, don't mention it."

 

"Oh. Oh no. I'm late. I'm sorry m'lady, but I really must go." The girl turned around and quickly locked the door of the bookstore behind her, gave a surprisingly agile bow, then hurried down the street. Alathea found herself looking after her. "I hope to see you again, m'lady!"

 

Suddenly Alathea hoped so too.

 

***

 

Alathea found herself lingering in town for another day. She sent a message back to her father and his advisors that the humans seemed to pose no threat, but she was investigating their odd clothing habits further. Which was true, in a sense. She had chosen to do so by asking the record-keeper Erika to meet her at the human woman's bookstore. As the afternoon sun sank slowly outside, Alathea surveyed the cramped store, filled with dusty volumes lumped into bulging shelves, stacks of manuscripts and rolls of parchment. Erika was sitting at her desk, writing with a thin quill in an extremely flowery handwriting, which was surprising since she was as usual wearing her full armor.

 

"You adapt quickly" Erika said, having noticed the elf woman staring at her. "It's part of the process. You start out feeling like you're sealed inside a coffin, and by the end you feel like it's your own skin."

 

"Isn't it... unsettling?" Alathea asked. She felt a shiver run down her spine when she discussed the odd armoring "curse" (as the humans called it). To her it was repulsive to not feel the sun on her skin, the grass under her feet and the wind in her hair. The idea reminded her of a living death.

 

"Not at all. Do you feel unsettled when you wear your ranger outfit?"

 

"No, of course not, but-"

 

"It's the same for us, when you get used to it."

 

"I still find it hard to believe that your town has voluntarily embraced this... this ... unnatural state." Alathea said in an acrid tone.

 

Erika shrugged and folded the parchment she had been writing on up, and rose to her feet. Her suit creaked slightly as she did. "It was an accident at first, but once the cause of spread was determined it slowed down. But by then most of us had already been afflicted, so those that remained either chose to join the cursed so they could be with their loved ones, or left for other villages and towns"

 

"But why not spend more time searching for a cure?" the elf sighed. She felt this discussion was going nowhere. The girl was clearly befuddled by her state, as was every other resident of the town.

 

"Why? We feel more at home this way than we did before. More alive. And it has many benefits. You get faster, stronger,  more resiliant to injury."

 

"And imprisoned for eternity" Alathea sneered.

 

Erika walked up to the elf, standing very close so the ranger could see her metal and leather features clearly. "Do you pity me, Alathea Thuariel? Because I don't need your pity."

 

Alathea found the question stinging a bit in her stomach. She didn't want Erika's feelings to be hurt. The human was quite nice, and quite helpful. She shook her head. "No. I'm just trying to understand, milady."

 

Erika nodded. "I suppose it does seem odd to a free child of the forest like you. Maybe if you stayed here a bit, and saw the town on your own, saw the everyday life, talked to the people... maybe then you'd start to understand that we mean no harm."

 

Alathea had almost forgotten the excuse she had used to validate staying. She nodded. "I suppose that is true. But I would need a guide, someone who knew more of the human culture than I."

 

Erika nodded, and Alathea knew she smiled under her helmet. "You found your guide, princess."

 

***

 

The following few weeks were like a whirlwind of emotion for the elven ranger. While her kind usually were slow and methodical, not to mention carrying a healthy disrespect for the younger races, Alathea found herself quickly coming to like these humans. Well, especially one human. When she followed Erika around, she felt her heart fluttering as her oddly garbed companion spoke passionately about this or that landmark, or introduced the elf to this or that local. Alathea felt her disdain for the humans soften quickly, and turn into respect.  Erika didn't know that the ranger already knew that the humans were no threat, so she did her best to speak passionately in defense or her people, her thin, mousy voice growing strong whenever she spoke of lore or history.  Alathea found herself enjoying Erika's company, then loving it. She felt her heart flutter stronger each time she looked at this brave, withdrawn human girl, so unlike herself.

 

And it seemed as if Erika was slowly returning the affection.

 

Erika couldn't cook well, so Alathea took to preparing sumptuous meals for them, soon growing used to Erika's mask opening and closing smoothly to allow her to eat. They slowly began doing things not related to Alathea's supposed mission, visiting areas for their sheer beauty. Alathea took Erika to see the sunset from a nearby mountain, Erika showed the elf the simple appeal of the natural spring outside town. Romance between elf and human was not strictly forbidden, though certainly frowned upon, and Alathea had never considered it even remotely possible that she would fall prey to that lure. And yet here she was, falling in love with a woman whose face she had never seen. But the elf princess slowly started to believe that she could see Erika's inner beauty radiate through her armored form like the sun hidden by a veil.

 

It had been a struggle to admit her feelings, but expressing them was even harder. It was a slow, arduous process, filled with misunderstandings and mistakes. But eventually, as their third week together began, Erika seemed to understand fully what her elven friend meant. She was in love with her, impossibly, incredibly. And that is why Erika told her friend that they needed to talk that weekend. And Alathea quickly understood by the humans tone that this was something serious.

 

***

 

"You can't stay here" Erika said plainly as they finished up the delicious supper that Alathea had prepared.

 

"Why?" the elf said, clearly surprised. She had been ready for her human friend to say she didn't feel the same way, but not this. Perhaps it was a more subtle way to tell her how she felt, by saying their people couldn't be together.

 

"Because of this" Erika said, gesturing at her armored form, the lanterns making her dull steel plates gleam softly. "Because of the curse."

 

"I don't understand."

 

"Remember what I told you about when the curse first spread? That people chose between staying and submitting to it or leaving to start anew?" The elf nodded, and the scribe continued. "It's because of accidents. You know how the curse spreads. You must see one of the cursed victims face clearly and without obstruction for a longer time. We were afraid that those that stayed who would not subject themselves... who didn't WANT to subject themselves... would do so by accident, and it would cause them pain."

 

"But doesn't the curse make you comfortable with your state?" the elf asked, nibbling a remaining piece of cooked chicken.

 

"To a degree. But if for some it becomes a horror, a painful, smothering condition. It doesn't happen all the time, but when it does it's more common among those that get afflicted accidentally."

 

Alathea mused over this quietly for a bit as Erika sipped some red wine through the sculpted lips of her faceplate. "So you mean that if you let people who aren't cursed live here..."

 

"They may see someone by accident when they're cleaning or... doing other private things."

 

"But if I can't stay, then you can leave. Come with me, Erika. I... I feel for you. I want to be with you." Alathea found her voice breaking at the thought of leaving her newfound friend's side.

 

Erika slumped in her chair, facing her lap. "I... I can't, Alathea. My life is here. I want to be a record-keeper. I want to help people preserve their history, and learn. I want to see the joy of children learning to read the stories of our fathers, and the joys of the old on finding something they'd long forgotten. And my friends, my family..."

 

Alathea felt a knot form in her stomach, an icy claw that wrenched her guts. She would have to return alone to her lonely, unloved position as youngest princess of her kingdom, forever stalking the woods alone or with dour, grim-faced other rangers... She felt her lip quiver, and barely knew how to respond to it since she had not cried since she was a small girl. What use was her strength, her courage, her determination, if there was nobody to share it with? How could she even compare her life to this brave young woman who was willing to live with this curse to share herself to generously with her people?

 

And then, an idea. A dark, dangerous idea. It was like a serpent, suddenly slithering into view into her mind, and now looming to poise. She looked down into her empty plate.

 

"Thea? What's wrong?" Erika asked, using the pet name only she had ever spoken.

 

"I... If I... Erika, if I shared your condition.... could I stay?"

 

"Shared my... what? No! Thea, no! You're free! You're a free child of the stars. You cannot even suggest-"

 

"But I am!" Alathea gasped, rising. "I love the forest, I love the stars, I love song and music... but I want to share it with you, Erika Marsch. With you and nobody else, 'til death tears us apart."

 

Erika slumped back in her chair, her facemask suddenly impassive. "...Thea..."

 

"Let me see your face, Erika. Please. I want to be here, with you. My father may hate me for it, my siblings may despise me, but I'm willing to bear that. Let me share your curse, and your life."

 

"I can't. Not to you" Erika whispered, looking away.

 

The elf walked up and softly took the scribe's hands in hers, squeezing them. "Look at me. Please." Erika slowly turned to gaze at the elven ranger, and Alathea for the first time thought she saw a blink of green deep inside the eyeholes of Erika's mask. "This is my choice. I have been considering it for weeks. It's no spur of the moment, no rash decision. I knew even before you spoke that you wouldn't leave with me. You're brave, and strong. That's why I love you."

 

"...love..." Erika mouthed.

 

"I'm ready. I want this." Alathea stood up to her full height.

 

Erika rose slowly to hers, looking at her friend... her love. "Are you sure? There is no turning back."

 

"I'm sure." Alathea said, all doubts fleeing her heart.

 

With slow, gentle fingers, Erika reached up to undo the heavy clasps holding her helmet together, and slowly... slowly removed the sculpted faceplate.

 

"Just like the sun..." Alathea smiled.

 

***

 

Two weeks later, they again climbed the mountain outside the village in the dying light of the sinking crimson sun. Erika reached the summit first, looking out over the forest canopy sprawling beneath her and heard the echoing roar of the waterfall plummeting deep into the canyon below. As she looked down the path to make sure her companion hadn't had an accident, Erika saw a shape working her way up the path. The adaption process had been a bit slow, but had finally turned a corner. Perhaps the differences in elves and humans were to blame. Erika gave a slight smile.

 

"Hurry up, slowpoke!" she yelled with a giggle. In a way, this entire chain of events had brought the young record-keeper out of her own shell (so to speak), and she felt more confident and outgoing than she ever had.

 

Cresting the ridge, Alathea Thuariel strode up into the warm red light of the setting sun. From head to toe the elven princess was covered in very meticulously crafted, lightweight armor, highly polished so it gleamed in the evening sun. Carefully overlapping plates bearing leaf designs covered her body, gently delineating her shapely thighs and bosom yet having no extraneous hooks or edges so she could move quickly through undergrowth or even swim. Her elegant gauntlets bore slightly pointed fingers and her feet bore articulated toes with similar nails fit for climbing and running. The royal oak leaf seals of her kingdom shone from the engraved, elegant plating, and once again Alathea felt relief that her father had (despite everything) understood her decision. Her face was replicated in the slender faceplate of her helmet, which opened into a stream of metallic hair, articulated as well to move with her like a shower of pure gold. It had been a long, difficult journey, but now the armor had become like a second skin... no, like her own skin. She no longer could even fathom taking it off outside of absolute necessity.

 

And as the smaller hand of Erika wove into hers, she also could not imagine ever leaving her chosen companion's side. Sitting down next to eachother in the soft grass as the sun kept sinking towards the tree-filled horizon, two gauntleted hands held eachother tight, and two armored figures leaned closer, their shadows growing longer and longer on the ground.

 

Had the curse claimed another victim, or had the blessing saved another soul?

 

Alathea and Erika didn't care which.