<strong>Near the Bridge of Eldin, watching strangers</strong><br/><br/>Her travels from the forest had been quiet, peaceful. She had been entranced by the world around her, so many new sights and sounds and smells to explore. She had a had a hard time keeping herself focused, and it had only been the voices of the spirits in the back of her mind that kept her on track. The castle in the distance had become visible after the first week of travelling, and she had been surprised that the place she felt she needed to go would be so small. But no matter how long she walked she never seemed to get any closer to it, and she was confused. Still, she knew that she needed to go there, so she would. It had taken her awhile to realize that, contrary to her initial impression, the castle must actually be enormous. So many of the things in the fields she had assumed to be small had turned out to be quite large as she got closer, so perhaps the same was true of the castle.<br/><br/>Crossing the bridge, she had heard voices on the wind. At first she had thought it was the voices of the forest, but as she walked the voices became clearer, more distinct, and she realized that there must be people nearby. As she left the gate at the far end of the bridge she saw a man lying on the ground, with a girl and another man standing over him. Mael ducked back, trying to stay out of sight. She wasn't sure she was ready to talk to people, especially ones with weapons like theirs. She couldn't hear them clearly, and moved closer while trying to stay hidden. She wanted to hear what they were saying, curiosity overcoming her fear.