Lena was running through the forest. She moved with urgency. Pursuing someone, or fleeing from something... She wasn't sure. She leaped over fallen branches, rocks, and roots. She dodged between tree trunks, ducking under branches. Sunlight filtered through the forest, dappling the ground in light and shadow. From the angle of the shadows of trees, Lena knew that it was late afternoon.

Up ahead the trees seemed to be thinning. The ground sloped down slightly and Lena saw a lake through the trees. She raced out of the treeline, reaching the shore of the lake, then stopped and looked around. The shore directly in front of her was littered with stones of various sizes. There was a boulder about ten feet away from the shore that jutted out of the water. On it stood a figure who watched Lena as she approached.

Instinctively, Lena knew that this was who she had been following. Despite the fact that Lena had not seen her, and the woman seemed as though she had been standing on the boulder for quite some time. Her clothes were dry, despite standing on the rock in the lake, for example. Lena knew that the figure had always been a short distance in front of her, just out of sight. How she knew this, she had no idea.

"Come, child", The figure spoke. Despite having called Lena 'child', the woman didn't look much older than Lena herself. Lena slowly walked to the edge of the lake, then stopped and hesitated. The figure moved so quickly, Lena wasn't even sure what had happened, but suddenly, she was at Lena's side.

"Walk with me.", She said as she began to stroll casually down the shore of the lake. Lena gaped for a moment before hurrying to catch up.

"I have much to tell you, but first... you must be worthy of the knowledge", The woman led Lena around the lake and came to a stop in front of a tree. Its trunk was vast, its branches were thick. It looked out of place among the other narrower trees in the forest. The mysterious woman looked out of place as well, although Lena wasn't sure exactly where she would look in place...

She was tall and thin. She had long auburn hair that was parted on one side. That side cascaded down the side of her face and fell nearly to her knees. The remainder of her hair was braided in thin braids that fell over her shoulder. Her face was delicately thin, and her eyes were startlingly green.

She was dressed in a long gown of rich forest green that emphasized her eyes. The sleeves fell past her hands, and she held herself with an air of authority.

"Does this tree look familiar?"

Lena shook her head slowly, not really understanding what was happening.

"I'm sure you will remember. You have much to learn, Lena.", The woman smiled slightly.

Lena's mouth fell open.

"H-How do you know my name? Who are you?"

There was silence between them for a long moment. The woman completely ignored Lena's first question.

"Remember this. The one the legend foretells... is the one who wears black armor.", She turned and began to walk away, then turned back to look at Lena over her shoulder. "You may call me... Enigma."

Hello! Thank you for reading my story! What did you think so far? I would love to hear your thoughts! Please comment and vote if you enjoyed this story! Also, my story The Sea's Lost Song just reached 1000 reads today, so if you like my writing style, feel free to check that out!