Saved Twice

He was late.
Was it just her memory playing tricks on her? No, it couldn't be... Livia was sure that he said he'd manage to come this time... but the meeting was supposed to be two days ago.
Her family wasn't going to be away for much longer and... she wanted to see her knight. Even if she refused to even think about it... she started to feel scared. Scared that he wouldn't come, that he'd forgotten about her... that something happened to him.
Not that there was much that could even as much as put a dent in someone like him, even less block him from coming over and she knew it very well. Knew that her worries were stupid but also knew that she couldn't take it anymore.
Even as she prepared to set out Livia could hear the knight's voice reproaching her for the stupid decision... heading out to the other side of the border was surely not a bright idea but... she didn't care about bright at the moment.
If something other than the fear and need in her were in control she'd notice the foolishness of heading into Regalia... a lone human was going to be killed by any of the locals on sight. But right now only unlikely images of the knight laying wounded in the woods played in her head and made Livia decide that after all hers was the right choice.
The rest of her still tried to remind her that she was going on a suicide mission to go check on a Faron that was surely not needing a human to protect him but it was a useless struggle. Livia knew she owed him her life and wasn't going to back down now.

Despite all her considerable resolve, Livia was now starting to reconsider her idea... heading into the forest had been a bad move and now she was truly noticing the mistake she made in the first place.
It was cold and full of strange noises, surely made by equally strange critters, and... well there were trolls in the forest, and maybe also dragons and...
Livia felt shivers going down her spine as a different kind of fear started to set in, one that made her think straighter and reminded her that, while Zev was probably really fine and it was just her exaggerating stuff, she was in real danger... and both she and the knight weren't going to be happy about something in the forest eating her...
Right now she remembered that time... when she asked why there were no guards on the border with Regalia... 'Because the woods are nasty enough to swallow any human trying to pass through' that was what awaited her, for sure.
It was time for a strategic retreat before something found her and decided she looked yummy enough... getting killed here was not going to help anyone after all...
But as soon as Livia turned around she heard a thumping noise very close to her... affording a glance at her back revealed a crude spear pointed in the ground just behind her, if not for the first step backward that she took she'd have the weapon lodged in her ribs at the moment. She paled and felt yet a different shade of fear, one that came with having something hostile so close nearby, that moment of uncertainty between running and just being frozen with panic... then an odd sound, guttural and loud came from a nearby bush, surely a call of some kind, and a goblin jumped out of it charging straight for her.
That at least made the decision easier. Running. Running like the wind.
Panic could wait for later.
If there was a later.
Not a very reassuring thought... but one that did fuel her will to run very, very fast.
As Livia sped through the trees she could hear other goblins answering to the call of the first one, each and every one of them focused on the hunt, growls and screams coming from all around as the tribe divided to try and circle her.
If they ever managed to do that it was surely going to be bye-bye life... the thought was urging Livia to try and see if it was possible to run at more than top speed.
This... was even worse than that troll, those were big and brawny, sure, but at least she could have hoped to find a hole in the ground to hide into, something too small for the bulk monster. But goblins... goblins were fast and nimble and not any less deadly. Even because there was a whole pack of them after her.
Hell... I didn't last two hours in this damned forest... Should have known better, really. But despite the heavy thoughts and the idea of not making it starting to make their way in Livia's head she was not going to give up.
As long as she had energy to run, she'd strive to get even another single second of life.

The week had started off terribly. While it was true that he liked most kinds of cold, common cold wasn't on the list.
It might not seem that bad a thing to have and there sure was worse out there... but having a cold, for someone who was used to trust his nose as much if not more than his eyes, really was a crippling blow. He couldn't think straight, hardly stand straight and was always on edge while he had a cold.
Surely not the most appropriate way for him to present himself to the miss... and also not the best condition in which to get on the road. If not the weakened senses, then surely the cranky mood could call for some casualties.
So the cold forced him to delay the departure by a whole day, having to wait for the accursed thing to pass.
After two days he just gave up and decided to tackle the trip no matter what... else he would just arrive so late that he'd have to meet the girl's family, and besides the cold did start to wane in any case... Not that he'd have any problem with that, really... maybe it would also explain them why they always found all those big footprints around their house when they returned from a trip... and why Livia was always so eager to be brave and look after the house all alone.
But then again they probably wouldn't have understood... humans tended not to think straight when mythicals were involved. Especially Farons and dragons.
Might be the whole 'eating people' business... yeah, that was most likely it.
And parents would freak out badly if they knew that their daughter already got eaten more than once...
All in all it would be better to avoid such meeting for a very long time.
According to his calculations he still had time before they returned back home in any case, so nothing to worry about since he was already deep into the woods... or well... deep could have been the wrong word since trees weren't that tall... in the middle of the woods was more like it. No matter the wording, the point was that he could see the farm in the distance... just a little further to the border now.
He could only hope that the girl won't be too harsh on him for being late.

To tell the truth, she was really hoping that Zev would pop out of nowhere to save her once again. But apparently that was just wishful thinking... she was out of breath by now and also out of hope.
Livia leaned heavily against a large oak to try and get some wind back into her, eyes scanning the surroundings frantically in search of a way out, a sign of salvation... and instead there were only goblins around her, the hungry beasts slowly closing in on her, no longer even caring to be swift as they knew they got her cornered and were now just toying with her, probably getting a good kick out of her fear, beady and cruel eyes set on her from all directions looking at her with dire need probably trying to decide where they should start eating, which limb would taste better...
She wanted to plead but knew it wouldn't make a difference, not with goblins... but what else remained?
She was out of energy, out of wit and surely out of luck... maybe also common sense was running pretty low or she wouldn't even be in that situation to begin with.
“N-no... stay away!” she cried hopelessly as a first goblin finally decided to close in on her... it was only a few feet away when it stopped to look away from her and up towards the treetops, the same movement soon mirrored by the whole hunting pack.
Livia didn't truly understand what was going on... but it seemed like her chance to get away. She took a couple of slow, careful steps away from the tree when she felt it, a trembling running through the ground, a small quake that in these parts of the world usually meant that something big was on the move rather than a more normal natural disaster... It really was just one thing after the other with her today.
So she did have to risk a look as well, if only to check if she was in for a worse fate than the goblins, her head tilting to see what the goblins were staring at... only to see a familiar figure with shaggy silvery lock and a scruffy beard... so maybe she was going to be alright in the end? But the giant didn't seem to have noticed what was happening at all, too focused on going to the farm.
Livia took a deep breath and called for him as loud as she could, feeling a smug grin coming to her lips as she surveyed the goblins around her, now panicking as the huge Faron came closer.

Hearing the cry of distress coming from not that far Zev cursed his cold once more, it was enough to glance down to see a scene that he should have been able to smell from a mile away... goblins usually stank enough to be found through scent alone. So either they were some strangely clean tribe or his nose was still out of commission.
Not that it was the time for speculations... he recognized the voice calling for him and knowing that Livia was surrounded by goblins truly didn't set him in his most pleasant mood.
He went forward with purposefully ponderous steps shaking the earth beneath his feet, a low, growly snarl reverberating from his throat and chest into a clear menace... goblins didn't even deserve a true roar, really.
Most of the buggers were wise enough to just take the hint and run after his first few steps, others remained frozen in terror and left only when he started to bend over to reach for Livia, one particularly stupid one tried to grab the human before running away, probably hoping to get some take-away food, but reconsidered after having been flicked away by gigantic fingers.
“We must stop meeting like this, Livia.” he then commented under his breath with a soft smile.
The goblins scurried off and he did nothing to stop them... in hunting a human they were only doing what they were supposed to do, no way they could know that she was off limits... and while they could make for rather tasty treats, despite the grim smell that they gave off, goblin wasn't what he had in mind for today... his mouth was already expecting something way better.
“Zev! I'm so glad you're here, I... I... Thank you.” it was clear in Livia's voice that she already thought she was done for... and it truly had been a close call.
“Did you doubt your knight would be here in time, miss?” he asked with a proud smirk, a hand lowered to the ground a clear invitation for the human.
“No! Or rather... you were late. But still came in time to save me, I'll give you that.” Livia didn't wait a second before climbing on his palm, she was used to it by now and knew that he wouldn't hurt her.
“Of course I was here at the right moment... Care to tell me what you were doing in the forest, though? Not a place for humans this one...” despite having some reproach building up in it, Zev's voice was still rather warm and comforting.
“I was coming for you, what else? Two days late... do you have any idea how worried I was?” the human crossed her arms and pouted up at him, the expression deepening into a frown as he started to laugh “Well, fine. I won't lose sleep over you anytime soon, you big brute.”
“I'd reconsider those words if I were you, miss. You slipped past the border and I'm a knight... you should try to win me over with sweet talk, not calling me names. You know what happens to humans who come to Regalia, do you?” the playful smirk flourishing on his lips after the mock hurt in his voice made her understand well enough what was going to follow...
But Livia still decided to give it a try “Hmm... they get a warm hug and free cake?” she suggested, looking hopefully up into the giant's jade-green eyes.
“Mmm... not exactly. But you got pretty close. Warmth and free snacks are in the deal after all.” Zev purred with content. That was the kind of taste Zev had promised his mouth... and it wouldn't be chivalrous to go back on a promise like that.
“Oh, man... should have known it would end up like that...” Livia sighed at those words.
“Yeah, you should have.” he said cheerfully before shifting to being serious in less than a second, raising the human to look at her straight in the eyes “Still... you must never do something that reckless again, okay? This time you were lucky but... a minute later and you would have been goblin chow.”
“I... I knew you would come for me so...” she squirmed uneasily under that close scrutiny but felt that Zev was seriously concerned about her “Fine, I won't do it again. No sneaking in Regalia like that again. I'm sorry...”
“Good girl.” Zev smiled again and gently patted Livia on the head with a finger, being pretty sure that the human wasn't willing to go through something like that again any time soon...
“So that's it? Lecture and pat on the head? And I thought you were going to eat me for trespassing, sir knight.” she sighed in relief.
“Oh, I was going to wait for a more proper moment... didn't want to seem anything less than a gentleman. But if you insist thus, my lady...” the Faron happily licked his lips as the purring returned to him.
“Me and my big mouth...” Livia cursed under her breath... it was mostly for show by now though.
“Speaking of big mouths, I'd take that cue...” Zev grinned and then opened his mouth wider, ready to take his compensation for the service given.

Being a knight did have its sweet moments, he couldn't deny that.