She started singing, her voice velvety and her fiddle soothing, and then suddenly, I realized I knew the song as well. I could sing along. I was amazed, and soon I was singing along with Addison, our voices blending in one beautiful harmony:
The lonely elf in the forest wood,
Will never sit in the dark.
He likes to sing a little tune,
That keeps the firelight on.
He plays his tune on his fiddle,
And he never stops until morning comes.
He will not sleep by the firelight,
Because that would mean ending his song tonight.
A fairy with her wings of bright,
Flew through the forest to the elf.
She asked him what song he sang,
He told her and she beat her wings.
Before the song could draw to a close, a rustling rang out through the trees. Fear gripped my gut. Had the dryads heard our song? Were we in danger?
Then, something miraculous occurred. Leaves began to float from the trees, gathering around us like a dome of dark green shapes. They twirled to and fro, creating a kind of light show as the glow of the moon shone between the moving cracks. The sight was astonishing. I felt chills as I witnessed magic I had never believed could be possible until now. The wonder of what was occurring left me breathless, but after getting over the initial shock, I realized that we had to continue singing. The dryads wanted us to sing.
I gestured to Addison, and she quickly took the hint. As we resumed the song, the leaves appeared to be swaying in rhythm with our voices:
Sing; sing to my love nearby,
He plays his fiddle and then I cry.
Play; play forevermore,
My love, my elfin sweetheart.
We watched in wonder as the leaves departed, returning to their trees. Moments of silence passed. We were all too stunned to speak. Even Stellan appeared mystified.
“How did you know the song?” Addison finally asked.
“I don’t know. I guess I just remember it from when I was a baby. Some weird sudden realization, I guess.”
Addison smiled, and Stellan was impressed, although he was trying hard not to show it because he was still upset.
“What does the song mean?” I asked Addison.
“It tells of a loving friendship between a fairy and an elf. It was what the Realms were like before the war.”
“It’s beautiful,” I commented.
Stellan grunted and shook his head, obviously frustrated with her for playing the song against his orders.
However, Addison ignored him. “It is,” she replied, “which is probably why the dryads approved.” She shot a glare toward Stellan, as if to rub it in his face that he had been in the wrong. It was a sisterly thing to do. Sighing, Addison began to pack her fiddle away.
“No, don’t stop. Play more,” I urged.
Addison nodded and for a long while, she played her fiddle. Sometimes she would sing, and other times the fiddle would be enough. Stellan refused to join in on any of the songs. I didn’t let this bother me; I was enjoying myself too much. The dryads never reappeared, but I could tell by the rustling of the branches that they enjoyed the entertainment.
As midnight approached, Addison and I agreed it was time to stop and get some rest. Stellan muttered something I didn’t catch and went to his blanket to sleep. I shook my head and lay down on mine. What a fun guy, I thought sarcastically. Couldn’t he ever just stay happy and smile his perfect smile all day long? I wished. His mood swings were getting annoying.
I closed my eyes and tried to clear my head. I didn’t need any bad dreams tonight.
***
Fortunately, I was too tired to dream, and slept without any disturbances. I woke up around four to Addison humming as she cooked breakfast on the fire. I noticed Stellan was still sleeping. I stretched and went over to sit with Addison and put my hands in front of the fire to warm them. The morning was nice, but a little chilly.
“Good morning, Ramsey,” she whispered.
“Morning,” I replied.
“Hungry?”
“Oh yeah,” I said. “Is that bacon you’re cooking?” It sure looked like it.
“Bacon? What’s that?” she wondered.
“Never mind,” I said, shaking my head. “What do you call this?” I asked instead.
“Strips of pork,” she told me.
“That’s called bacon in the Human Realm.”
“Interesting,” she said, moving the “bacon” around with a stick.
“So when is Stellan going to put on his happy face again?” I asked.
Addison rolled her eyes. “Who knows? I wish he would, though. It isn’t fair to you. You have enough to worry about.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“It’s only true,” she replied.
I saw Stellan move, and we both ended the conversation. He got up and walked to the stream for a drink. I held my breath as he walked away.
“Do you think he heard us?”
“I hope he did,” Addison said, “because maybe he will get the hint and cheer up.”
I nodded in agreement as I watched him walk back. He still looked tense but better than last night. I could detect the hint of a smile, a sign that he was in a better mood. That was enough for me.
He sat down near me and put his hands in front of the flames the same way I had. Addison told us to watch the fire while she went for a drink. I moved the bacon while Stellan and I sat in silence. Then he gently turned my head and cupped his hands around my face.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly.
“Sorry for what?” I asked.
“I’m sorry for the way I acted before. This whole situation is difficult for me, for all of us. I’m so afraid for you all the time. I’m worried that one little mistake could cost you your life. I hate going through this when we just found…,” his voice trailed off.
“Found what?”
“Each other,” he finished, half-smiling.
I kissed him, reveling in the sweetness of his lips pressed against mine. “I forgive you,” I told him.
Our lips met again, and this time our kisses grew longer and deeper. His hands moved to my waist as he pulled me closer to him, and I ran my fingers through his hair, caught up in the heat of the moment. Pressed tightly against one other, I put everything I had into those kisses, revealing to him just how much he meant to me, even after only a few days of being together. He seemed to be doing the same, pouring out everything he had inside as our lips moved together.
Finally, we parted, both of us breathing heavily from our embrace.
He smiled, so I smiled – my cheeks probably flaming red – and everything was okay again. Sure, our little tiffs were bothersome, but at least it was easy for us to make up. Addison returned to see Stellan’s arm around me – and me smiling like a little kid opening a present on Christmas morning.
“Welcome back, brother,” Addison greeted, eyeing us curiously.
Stellan rolled his eyes and I laughed.
“I think the bacon – I mean, strips of pork – are ready to eat now,” I guessed.
“You’re right. Stellan, could you please take the meat off the rock for us?”
“Afraid you’ll get burned?” he asked.
Addison gave him a long look, but didn’t reply.
“All right,” he said, gingerly taking each piece off and laying it on another rock to cool.
We ate quickly, eager to continue our journey. Addison predicted we would arrive in Tarlore by tomorrow morning if we stopped twice. Once for lunch, and once to sleep. I was pleased we had only another day’s walk ahead of us.
“Did anyone ever tell you about Tarlore, Ramsey?” Addison asked me, after a few hours of walking. She was the first to break the silence in quite a while.
“No,” I answered.
“Stellan, could you do the honors?”
“I would love to.” He cleared his throat and began. “Tarlore wasn’t al
ways called Tarlore. It used to be named Breena.”
“Why was it changed?”
“You see, every city in every Realm, except for the Human Realm of course, was named by fairies.”
“Every Realm was? Why?”
“Why do you think? Because there were more of them, and even today, no one challenges a supreme order from Queen Titania, not even elves. She was one of the reasons the Realms came to be in the first place, because of her powerful magic. The fairies took the naming into their hands even though creating new Realms was the elves’ idea. Fortunately, they soon realized it was wrong to control everything and everyone. So they left the elves alone and paid attention to naming their own Realms. However, after taking so long for every city to receive a name, our Realm just kept the fairy names. Breena is Celtic for ‘fairyland.’ When Taryn became queen, she changed the name right away. She didn’t want her Realm to support fairies if she was at war with them.”
“But we are only at war with Element fairies!”
“That was a good enough excuse for Queen Taryn,” Stellan explained. “She renamed the capital Tarlore, after herself and her husband, who died in the war. His name was King Lore.”
“That’s a powerful first move as queen,” I remarked.
“Yes, it was, but she’s Taryn, powerful and very determined,” Stellan said.
“Sounds scary,” I admitted.
“She’s a little intimidating,” Addison agreed.
“Have you met her?” I asked.
“Yes. She came to our city when the fairies took Zora,” Addison replied.
“Oh.” I looked down, sorry our light conversation had taken a drastic turn.
“Stellan, continue. Tell her what Tarlore is like,” Addison suggested, obviously trying to lighten the mood.
“Tarlore is a wonderful city. The capital lies in a huge valley, surrounded by rolling hills of the brightest green grass you will ever see,” he explained, excitement creeping into his tone. “At the edge lies the Queen’s palace. It’s amazing. I cannot even describe it properly. You’ll have to see it for yourself. But believe me, the capital is probably the utmost best place you will ever visit in the Elf Realm.”
“I can’t wait. But I wish it was just a visit,” I admitted.
“Me too,” Stellan said, and squeezed my hand.
“Me too,” Addison agreed.
Stellan continued to talk about Tarlore for a while after that. Addison piped in every now and then, too. I learned the main reason every elf loved Tarlore: it wasn’t modern one bit. How ironic. In the Human Realm, anything not modern was either mocked or cast aside. Seeing Tarlore would definitely be interesting. Stellan described it as “Renaissance.” I used to go to a Renaissance Fair in the Human Realm. I had always wanted to live in a place like that. I thought Birchwood City was similar, but it sounded like Tarlore would be even more like the fair. While Stellan didn’t describe the palace in detail, he did say that it was almost the same as a castle with some elfin touches. I looked forward to seeing that as well.
We stopped for lunch around noon and then resumed our travels. As we walked, Stellan whistled and Addison hummed a tune. I was too anxious to do anything musically. I was like a little kid. I kept asking Addison how close we were. I knew Zora didn’t have much time left, which meant Addison and Stellan didn’t have much time left either. The closer Zora got to death, the closer they got to prison. I was impatient to reach the capital because I felt useless just walking. I wanted to do something more to find my sister. Tarlore wasn’t coming soon enough.
I was concentrating so hard on my thoughts that I didn’t realize what was going on around us until it was happening for many moments.
I felt the wind pick up, circling rapidly. I knew right away that it wasn’t a normal occurrence. At first I thought it was the dryads again, but quickly dismissed the idea when I realized none of the trees were moving, it was just the air around us. I tightened my grip on Stellan’s hand. I had a bad feeling about this. I saw a shadow moving out of the corner of my eye, and then I felt as if wind was wrapping around me. I gasped and whirled my head around to see what was going on. Nothing was there, but I saw more shadows.
“Oh no,” Stellan whispered.
“What? Stellan, what’s happening?” I cried. “What’s with all the wind?”
“Run,” Addison decided for us.
“Why, what’s going on?” I asked.
“Just do it!” Stellan pulled me forward.
We went into a sprint and ran as fast as we could. I stumbled and tripped, but still Stellan dragged me along. We were all breathing heavily. Elves were not physically fit. Where was Cass when we needed him?
I could feel the shadow, or whatever it was, following us as we ran. I felt the air whisking around behind us. I could even hear the air because it was so strong. As it got closer, I could hear Addison’s cries as we tried picking up the pace. However, it was no use. We couldn’t run any faster. It wasn’t enough.
“Stellan, can you teleport us out of here, or is it too far to Tarlore?” I asked, as I ran blindly through the trees.
“Yes, but I can’t teleport all of us at the same time!” he reminded me harshly.
“Then go with Addison and come back for me,” I suggested.
“No!”
“You have to!” I cried, my breath coming out in short gasps.
“I won’t leave you with that thing!”
“What is it, Stellan?” I finally asked.
“It’s an air fairy,” Addison informed me, her breathing labored.
I gasped and then made up my mind. “Take her, Stellan, please. They want me. Maybe I can stall long enough for you to take her to safety so you can come back for me,” I suggested.
Stellan looked from me to Addison and then nodded.
“I will be right back.” We stopped running. “Sit by this tree.”
“I will,” I promised.
“I….” Stellan looked at me with a deep worry in his eyes.
“Just go,” I told him.
There was no time for tears, remorse, or second thoughts. If we were to survive this, we had to do it fast.
He nodded and took Addison’s hand. Within a second, they were gone. I finally realized what I had done. I had sacrificed myself, but I couldn’t have let Addison stay behind with the risk of being hurt or killed.
I felt the air again before I saw the fairy. It was cold and chilled me to my bones. I wrapped my arms around my chest as I waited anxiously for Stellan. He should be back by now, I thought to myself. Had something terrible happened to him? Had something happened to Addison as well?
Then I saw her. She flew toward me, blonde hair flowing in the wind she created around herself. She wore a flowing white dress that went to her knees. It sparkled like thousands of white diamonds. Her feet were bare. She looked like an angel. If only she was an angel, and not a dangerous enemy.
In another instant, she was right in front of me.
~12~
After Effects
“Ramsey,” she greeted, in a delicate, light voice. I could see how satisfied she was, finally able to reach her catch.
“Yes?” I asked, as I looked up to meet her icy white eyes, trying hard to hide my fear.
“My name is Lura,” she said.
“Okay…hello,” I said, as calmly as I could.
Where was Stellan?
“Do you know why I came for you?” she asked sweetly, although it didn’t sound very convincing to me.
“Sorry, a little new to this Realm. You will have to fill me in,” I told her.
She laughed a bubbly little giggle that made me feel sick. She was my enemy, and she was laughing? What was wrong with her? Was she crazy? Maybe all Element fairies were….
“You’re special, Ramsey. You must know that. We just want to know why,” she explained.
“You mean the Element fairies want to know why, or just Finn?”
“How do you know about Finn?” she asked cro
ssly.
“So you know him?” I probed her.
“Yes, I do. How do you know about him?” she asked.
“A wild guess,” I said sarcastically.
“Look, Ramsey, I don’t want to make things difficult,” she said, glaring at me. Her sweet attitude had vanished in an instant, replaced with annoyance.
“Then leave. That’s a great solution for you right there,” I suggested to her.
“I can’t do that.”
“What are you going to do?” I asked.
“I just want to have a talk with you. That is my only job,” she informed me, clasping her hands together. I wondered if that was the only way she could keep from lashing out at me.
“Then start talking,” I suggested.
“Do you know what your secret is?” she asked.
“How is that any of your business?” I wondered.
She smiled sardonically, her eyes narrowing into slits. “Everything about you is my business, Ramsey.”
“Sure it is,” I said, rolling my eyes and crossing my arms against my chest. Goosebumps pricked my skin. I didn’t know whether it was from fear of her or the bitter cold she radiated, causing the temperate around us to drop several degrees. Most likely it was a combination of both.
“Do you know your secret?” she repeated.
“No,” I told her out flat.
“I can tell you are not lying.”
“Really, you’re that good?” I asked, believing her to be stranger by the minute.
“Yes,” she said. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” I replied, not knowing what else to say in response.
“Do you know where Zora is?” she asked this time.
I thought for a moment and shook my head. It was best not to say anything about my sister, just in case. “No,” I said.
I sort of lied that time.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said.
“How did you know about Finn?” she asked.
Unfortunately, my eyes widened enough for her to notice. How would I explain knowing Finn without telling her about the connection?
The Elf Girl Page 23