In the land of Edria, there was a wondrous Queen named Ophelia. Ophelia was clever, witty and wonderfully smart, making her a suitable ruler for creating happiness amongst her kingdom. Her favourite form of happiness was music in any form, a whistle from the birds or the pitter patter of distant horses. She had always longed for one of the greatest musicians to play for her personal leisure and at every party and wedding she was to grace. She had sent out a request to her kingdom: “Any who have god-graced fingers, and an instrument of the greatest symphony, heed my request and play for my sober ears.” Two people of the kingdom had arrived and declared themselves the best musicians in all of the land. One, Callahan, a bard of the most renowned inn within Edria and another, Olivia, an artist from a distant land in search of ways to apply her musical talents. They each shared generous words before their entrance into the Queen’s palace; however, these words became glares of spite when knowing that they had entered for the same reason. The Queen had watched them - 4 - kneel down in harmony and had been pleased with their mannerly postures. She had simply asked them of their abilities. “My Queen, I am a humble bard of your kingdom’s finest inn. I have been to a number of establishments before and have been told that music hath begged me to play it each and every time.” said Callahan. “I am a distant traveller, looking for a home that can satisfy my exotic sounds with great ears and a larger mind. Queen of Edria, I have been born into a family of music that creates the finest instruments, and as music as my child, I will do everything to uphold that name.” continued Olivia. The Queen appreciated the loyalty to their heritage and wanted nothing more but to grant them both a position in the palace. However, she was a smart Queen that knew a capable human when she sees one; or two in this case. “These may be the ones…” the Queen whispered to herself. “You are both capable of this position and are both loyal and passionate in your arts. Therefore, in order for me to choose the one of greatest potential, I must embark you both on a quest.” They were both intrigued by this and held their heads high while keeping their posture strong and respectful. “To the edges of the Eastern Holds, Lies a gift from the God, Hermes. A pair of gloves woven from gold, That can subtle the crashing seas. Makes fingers swift for an artist’s need, - 5 - To play music so sentimental, But to use this power you will see, Inside of its glorious chapel” Both artists had heard of this rhyme and had seen such a tale as a myth. But they knew that the Queen would not lie. So, they gracefully took their leave and shared their glares once more. But before they had reached the last step of the castle, the Queen had given them a map and yelled to them one final demand. “You are to arrive there and back with each other. If you do not return in three weeks time, I will search for you. Should I find one of you, I will know one or the other is nearby.” They had left the palace together and once they did, they had decided to show their true emotions towards each other. “I do not take kindly to working with a woman on such a long journey. You best not slow me down.” said Callahan. “And I do not take kindly to working with such a fool blinded by a prejudice. You will watch what you say, for you know nothing of who I am. I will try my best to keep my words to my mind if that suits the occasion, but you will do the same.” replied Olivia sharply. Callahan was surprised to see such a small woman defend herself with such a vigor. With this, they agreed to nod to the offer and began their journey to retrieve the golden gloves of Hermes. They had set out for their journey with their bard instruments and the few bits of coin they had with them at the time, ensuring the need for some produce from the market. They had decided they would stop by a vendor on their way out of the kingdom. - 6 - “Fresh vegetables here! The freshest vegetables from the finest crop yields!” It was Callahan's childhood friend and favourite merchant, Aldemar. “Aldemar! How is the yield this year? Fine, I hope.” “Wonderful, good friend, as long as you’re buying,” he said with a great smile. “Do the strings on your father’s lute sound just as good as I remember them to?” “Indeed, they do, and hopefully better than the last time you had listened. It’s been some time now.” “Sadly, yes. I’ve been so busy with the crops this year, I’ve seem to have forgotten to vis-” His sentence trailed off as Aldemar noticed Olivia pacing behind Callahan impatiently. “Have you brought a wife with you, Callahan? She seems to look at you with quite a spite.” “No friend, I’m afraid she’s just a bit too square; she’s been glaring at me like that since this morning, you see?” Aldemar had seen her halt her steps and sigh deeply. They had clearly whispered a bit too loudly and had caught the ear of Olivia. She had now been beside Callahan, ready to complete the transaction herself. “If you two are too busy slandering, I can buy the three weeks of produce myself and we can be on our way. I don’t wish to be with him any longer than I have to.” Aldemar had chuckled and shot a smile at Callahan with a bit of surprise. Olivia had recognized the same complexion on Callahan's face at the gates of the palace. “I truly do apologize milady, I do not wish to have a quarrel with such a wonderfully independent woman. Besides, he truly is a little dense sometimes, isn’t he?” Callahan returned his statement with an eye roll. However, Olivia had shown a bit of humour when she had gently smiled with Aldemar. “Here, I will prepare a travel basket for 20 coins and it will be enough for the both of you on such a journey.” “Of course, thank you,” Olivia said. She had begun to reach into her pocket, but while doing so, she questions the quantity of the - 7 - currency that now lay in her palm. Her thoughts were right to correct her. “I do apologize, but I have a mere 17 gold. Are you willing to bargain?” she had asked. “The prices of these products have not changed since my grandfather had started the farm. They are not changing now, I’m afraid. Callahan, you know this as well so do not ask as a friend.” Callahan had brushed off the remark and had already possessed a solution. “Liv, I have 15 coins. We can pay ten and ten and split the produce evenly and the problem will be solved.” There was a strange silence that came from the gaze of Olivia in the moments following his sentence. “What did you just call me?” asked Olivia, her blood pressure raising. “Um… Liv.” Another silence followed. She was beginning to lose her patience already. “I only need the three. That will do from you,” she said stubbornly. Callahan did not wish to argue. “Of course, madam,” he said sarcastically. Aldemar had taken the coins from Olivia and had awaited Callahan's payment as well. His friend had begun to whisper to him. “Take ten from me, and I will return the seven to my partner.” “What? Why would you-” “She does not need to waste her coin to make me look like a fool. Just do it, Aldemar. She tries my patience and the sun still sits low from this morning.” “Friend, you make yourself look like a fool. Be polite to her, will you? She’ll end up eating all of your food while you are left for the wolves.” He said with a grin. Callahan was becoming a little more annoyed rather than amused. - 8 - Aldemar did as he was asked, wished them luck on the journey ahead, and Callahan had pocketed his extra seven coins. They then shared their goodbyes individually and continued on their way. Once out of earshot of Aldemar, Olivia had spoken to Callahan with an infuriating tone. “Don’t let me hear you call me Liv again, understood? We are partners, not friends. So, do not act otherwise.” This time, Callahan had shown a face of fear rather than surprise. He was sure she could penetrate his skin with one of their carrots in her rage, ensuring that they would most certainly be the finest carrots in Aldemar’s yield. With their transaction complete and their produce gathered, they had taken their travelling produce as well as their personal equipment with them to the border of the kingdom, where their travelling horses were waiting. Before they had mounted their horses, Callahan had swallowed his pride and returned Olivia’s coins. “I apologize if I had offended you at the palace or the vendor and, as much as it troubles me, I must thank you for offering all of your coin for supplies.” “We are partners; and like you said, as much as it troubles me, I must act like it. Even if you do think less of me. But, I will gladly take my coins back.” She had paused a moment before saying thank you. “There is no need to spend all of your coins on me. Not because I think less of you, but because we are partners.” He had paused for a moment. “I can agree with Aldemar when he says I may sound like a fool at times and am quick to judge, but I do wish to treat you as an old partner and refuse to argue over something as small as a few coins or produce. You must know I only want this to be finished as quickly as possible and that peace is what I desire, just like my music expresses.” Her expression lightened slightly throughout his speech. - 9 - “I will be the judge of that.” She said this with a tone that somehow comforted him. He could tell she had truly heard him and understood, even before he finished rambling. They continued their journey to find the mythic gloves and what were feelings of disgust and spite turned to reasonable trust and tolerance for each other’s actions. 

With their new mindsets, they then marched off on their trusty steeds, onward towards their objective with several questionable jokes from Callahan, in an attempt to lighten the mood.  Once they had crossed a vast amount of land and were past the  regions they were familiar with, they began referring to their  resources. With the map they had been given, they were bewildered  to see that the chapel was far from civilization.  “I had heard that the chapel was a place of wonder, a  landmark of the most gorgeous city. Why has it been located out in  the pines?” starts Callahan.  “It may seem interesting to you, but my gorgeous home  was located in such an area as well. The limbs of the earth would  reach above our heads and provide comfort and safety to our folks.  The tale may not be as tall as I had thought.” She enjoyed  reminiscing over home and the wonders that came along with it. Her  spirits were uplifted, as were her cheeks.  “‘'Tis late to hearken, late to smile, but better late than  never’”    - 11 -  “I’m sorry?” she said with confusion.  “I said it is good to finally see your teeth. Maybe you will  keep those contagious and license me to see them again, yes?” She  had begun to blush.  “If you continue with the cheap jokes the entire venture, I  would tell you not to keep your hopes up,” she said stubbornly.  Callahan had laughed about her steadfast attitude and had  continued to tell her of his thoughts.  “Well, I had personally thought that it would be taken by  civilization by now. It is a truly old tale and there have been many  of those that have searched for the chapel and its treasure. I had  never known where it was myself, only because I never took an  interest; however, I had figured that it was obvious to others as to  where it would be; Kings, Queens, Scholars... why no one has been  able to retrieve the gloves is beyond me.”  “Some of the adventurers back home tell us it is a matter of  greed and worthiness. Luckily, I know that I am more than worthy.  An artist better than me would have to be Hermes himself,” She  boasted tenaciously. Callahan laughed until salt dripped from his  eyes. “Ha, and you act as if you have no humor!”  “It is true!” She bellowed. Callahan had composed himself  to counter what she had said so proudly.  “With a hubris that strong, I doubt your modesty would  benefit us during our journey; that is certainly true.”  “It is not hubris, you fool. It is confidence-”  “-or bravado.” finished Callahan with a smirk. Her eyes  began to pierce through his words alone, forcing an apology once  again. “Will you take some time to breathe? I was only pulling your tail.” She sat silently irritated, then pulled out her respective instrument, and raised it to her lips. “What are you doing? What is  that?”  “It’s my flageolet. A woodwind instrument.” Callahan sat  and stared confused, beginning to question her intelligence.    - 12 -    “That stick is an instrument? If that’s what you play in your  homeland, I feel sorry that you have not heard true music.”  “Why don’t you listen before you tell me how it sounds?”  Callahan had grunted at the remark and looked forward once more,  saying nothing in response. He acted as though he wasn’t listening,  but he could swear that when she had played her music, the trees  danced a little and lavender scents cascaded from the other end of  the wooden rod. He had never thought the whistling of the wind  could be harnessed into a form that not only shook the leaves of trees but could weaken the heart of his own being. He was truly astonished.  “Now, what was it you said about true music?” “Why have I never heard that before?” said Callahan,  hiding his excitement.  “It’s because I made it myself. My family most likely made  that lute of yours as well.” Callahan was then dumbfounded to hear  that her hands alone made such an instrument. He looked twice at  the lute that lay in the satchel on his horse and had seen it as if it had  transformed, considering her words.  “I know what music is, so do not correct me. I may be  foreign and very much a stranger, but music isn’t limited to one  kingdom, friend. Just because it is different, doesn’t mean it should  be shut out” She ended her statement strong; however, she was  unsure if Callahan had absorbed what she had really said.  “Did you just call me friend?”  “Yes... in sarcasm.”  “I will take what I can get.” They both looked at each other,  enjoyed the small encounter they had, and returned their heads to  the road onward. They shared their smiles as their steeds continued  along the path to the Gloves of Hermes.

After their long and exhausting journey to the land of the treasure, they had finally reached the treeline of what seemed to be the lushest forest that any being could have ever laid their eyes upon. With no paths in sight, they remain in a stalemate. “So… where do we go now? Are we here?” asked Callahan. “I’m in the same situation as you… I’m afraid I know just as much.” Olivia responded, scanning for an entrance. “Would you know what we’re looking for?” continued Callahan. “I’m not sure…” she replied, still looking for a path. They removed themselves from their horses, tied them to one of the trees at the edge of the forest and began walking up and down the tree line in search of a way through the woods. The trees towered them a thousand times over, and they were limited to about a few meters of sight into the thicket. - 14 - “I would think that this is where most people would have turned back.” “It would seem as much, I can’t see even a shred of light within the forest. Look at the leaves at the peek of the trees.” Callahan and Olivia’s necks were at a disorienting 90 degrees as they looked at the giant leaves of the trees. The colour of the leaves resembled a very dark, but deep, indigo and seemed to offer no lust when in the reflection of the bright afternoon. It would surely be pitch black for anyone inside the forest, at any time of day. “I’m sure the lushness of those leaves has something to do with the lack of light.” said Olivia. They continued to sit and admire their existence. “They look rather…” Olivia had paused to think of the word. “Ominous?” Callahan finished. “Yes, exactly that… ominous.” As they continued past the shadow of leaves, their footsteps quickly became ruts in the soil surrounding the grove of timber. They had decided to return to their steeds after a long search for an opening in the bush, but once they had reached their initial approach, Callahan had noticed that his lute had fallen from the satchel on his horse to the pasty dirt. He raced towards it, as if it were drawing its last breath. “What are you doing out of your satchel, Segovia?” Olivia had recollected herself after hearing his sentence a few leaps behind Callahan and continued to question him on the relationship between him and his lute. “Did you… did you just call it ‘Segoria’?” A shock of embarrassment made Callahan jump like a shot of adrenaline. He froze for a moment to think of what to say and returned to his confident state in the fraction of a second. “Excuse you,” he returned, clearly offended. “Her name is Segovia.” he claimed, holding his chin high. “She’s been a member of my family for generations. I don’t need a fall from a horse to end - 15 - her long life…” Callahan had gotten quieter with every word that was cast from his mouth as he watched Olivia struggle to hold her laughter. “Never in my life have I heard someone name their instrument!” She said aloud. She laughed until her stomach became tight, and her ribs felt sore. “Don’t you have any sentiment?” Callahan heckled. She began to laugh even harder. He became offended, but rather than being mad, he felt a knot in his throat that urged a strong sorrow. Callahan had lost his original posture and replaced it with a more embarrassed disposition. He tried ignoring Olivia as he wiped the dirt off his lute with a genuine and gentle touch, but he couldn’t help feeling foolish. If Olivia had known the true nature of the name of his lute, she would have heeded her merriment. He eventually composed himself while Olivia had finished squeezing out her last few giggles. “That was quite the laugh, I must admit. That sure lightened the mood.” said Olivia, her teeth still shining through her face. Callahan was still inspecting Segovia for any injuries. Olivia quickly became discomforted when she realized that Callahan hadn’t spoken. She began to feel guilty for laughing so full heartedly. “Callahan… is your lute alright?” She said carefully. “I don’t know,” said Callahan coldly, raising himself from the ground. “Just give me a moment.” “Are you sure everything’s-” her sentence was interrupted by the strum of a chord on Callahan’s lute and the thundering of humongous idle leaves, shaking throughout the entire forest. Their hearts stopped, afraid that they were in danger. He had begun to step back slowly from the trees, hoping the trees wouldn’t fall on top of the two of them. “What in the world…” said Callahan. “Did you see anything move?” he asked, feeling anxious. He had clearly forgotten about Olivia’s reaction to his lute “Maybe it was a tree that had fallen, but in all honesty, I couldn’t tell you.” She replied. “I’ve never seen trees like this and - 16 - they are surely different than any other. Truly one of a kind…” Olivia’s eyes trailed off and caught a glimpse of the new leaves on the trees. Their shade of purple had clearly brightened and had possessed a faint glimmer at the tips of every velvet blanket. “Callahan look at the leaves!” They both gazed up at the new lustre that was given by the peaks of the trees. The sky had turned purple with the new shade. “What a strange thing. I’ve lived in the forest for most of my life. Why haven’t I seen these before?” They gazed at the peaks with confusion and wonder. Callahan’s eyes had wandered down into a small split in the forest. A split in the trees had begun to grow. “Olivia, when did the trees move?” “What?” she responded, looking for the new opening in the forest. The roots of the trees were beginning to look uplifted from the ground, while the trunks and branches had indicated a shift in purpose. They seemed like the beginning of a path. “Remarkable…” said Olivia aloud. More moments of stillness passed before Callahan had begun speaking. “I don’t know about this. Let’s just go back to the horses and-“ “What makes you think I’m going back to the kingdom? I haven’t come all this way to face one challenge and leave.” Her expression became serious and passionate. Callahan was beginning to get annoyed. “Don’t interrupt me.” He said firmly. His tone became frighteningly strong, he was clearly angered by her audacity. Silence was present in the next few moments. Olivia’s gaze had met his eyes but they also caught a glimpse of Segovia in the same moment. Part of her felt as if Segovia was a living being. Another told her it was simply carved lumber and strings. Callahan felt he had to break the silence. “We should take the horses and find a safer way through.” Olivia was now present, listening to his voice. - 17 - “Even if we could find a way through the forest, we would be grounded in the pitch black in a matter of minutes.” She had sighed at the sensible and sound logic and had apologized for interrupting him so aggressively. “It’s alright, it was just much ruder than required.” replied Callahan. She had noticed that Callahan’s laughing charm had dissipated and began to feel strangely uncomfortable once more, knowing that her remarks may have had something to do with his low energy. “Alright. Well, let’s return to the horses and scout around again until we find something useful. I’ll follow your lead.” “Just get to your horse while I inspect my lute.” She paused for a minute, began walking, and spun around to say her last statement. “You mean Segovia?” asked Olivia. He stared at her for a few longs flashes, expecting to see a smirk on her lips. Rather it was more of a sympathetic expression. He wasn’t sure if he liked that response either. “Yeah… Segovia.” He said with a depressing smile. Olivia took her pang of guilt with a refreshing sigh and returned to the horses at the edge of the forest. Callahan had strummed another chord and the trees thundered once again, but more violently. The roots holding their horses had become detached from the soil and their loyal steeds had galloped from the towering forest’s thunder storm. Olivia had begun whistling and hollering at them before they could get too far away, while Callahan had looked at Segovia with a dumbfounded realization. Olivia had returned with the horses a half hour later to find Callahan, standing in a rut from earlier, gazing at the trees. “What happened? What are you looking at?” “It’s Segovia.” he said, still dismayed. “What? What about your… Segovia?” “She’s making the trees dance…” Olivia had laughed for a few moments but began to look at Callahan nervously, - 18 - wondering if her hurtful comments from before had taken his sanity as well as his junky humour. “Callahan… are you feeling alright? What in the world are you talking about?” “Just watch” said Callahan, keeping his forceful gaze fixed on the trees. “Callahan, the trees don’t-” Callahan had interrupted her once more by plucking a string on Segovia’s torso. Suddenly, one of the branches had clenched and winded itself onto another tree, removing more obstructions from the crude passage. Olivia now shared the same expression as Callahan and was bewildered to see nature so responsive to a bard and his lute. “What did you do?” “I don’t know, I was just tuning, and I had noticed that the trees were… dancing.” He paused for a moment. “I don’t know how else to describe it.” “I haven’t a clue either but look at the path. It’s much wider now.” The trail that lay before them had indeed grown in width and was clearly a few meters longer than before. They looked hard into the forest, over the path, afraid that the forest might swallow them up if they were to even dare step foot on the dismal sage-like grass. They hadn’t realized it, but they were beginning to lean into the forest while performing their inspections of the trail. Callahan had stepped back and was ready to try something of his own. “Olivia, you need to step back for a minute. I’m going to… play the forest a song.” “Excuse me?” She replied. “I need you to back up for a second.” He didn’t want to repeat himself; he knew it sounded strange. She began to look at him suspiciously. “What do you plan on-” Callahan had cut her off to remind her of what she had said moments ago. - 19 - “What happened to following my lead?” Olivia gave a sudden eye-roll in his response and removed herself from the path without saying a word. Once Olivia was clear of the hole in the forest, Callahan had composed himself for what could happen and took a strong sturdy pose. Olivia had watched him change his stance towards the trees, almost making her nervous. Callahan placed a thumb on the first string of Segovia’s torso and followed through with a strong hardy strum that echoed throughout the forest and through the hollows of Olivia’s eardrums. There was a moment of silence following the caress across Segovia’s torso. Without warning, a thundering movement from the trees had erupted. The path had widened about a foot and finally came to a halt. The roots were once again protruding from the soil and the branches continued to twitch as the strum continued to travel throughout the forest. Callahan’s spine shivered. He played another strum, and another, and another, until the continuous strums became a simple modest song. The trees pulsed with action, moving a foot with every strum in the acoustics of Segovia. Olivia had watched Callahan split the forest in two with such a soulful song that her eyes had seen the passion that Callahan had preached about back in the kingdom. Olivia had caught a glimpse of a grand smile on Callahan’s face. She had laughed at herself, feeling uplifted. "'Tis late to hearken, late to smile, but better late than," never she thought to herself.