The Elf Girl

by Grabo, Markelle

  “Don’t you have any idea where she is?”

  “Not really. God knows I wish I did. She has only three nights left,” I said quietly.

  “Can’t you connect with her again?”

  “The last time it happened I almost died. I was told not to come back. If I did, the Element fairies would probably kill both of us.”

  “What about trying to remember details of the previous connections? Is there something you saw that could let you know where she was, anything at all?” Brielle asked.

  “Even if there was something, I probably wouldn’t know what it was. I have no idea how to distinguish one Fairy Realm from another.”

  “I still think you should try. Maybe think about it later tonight, all right?” she asked.

  “Okay,” I agreed uncertainly.

  I liked Brielle’s encouragement, but I highly doubted I would figure out Zora’s location just by thinking. Pushing the thoughts aside, I tried to enjoy my lunch with the Princess.

  It was four when we finished shopping, and we had to be back at the palace by seven. Brielle said we had one more thing to do before we left. Following her down the dirt roads, she took me to a large wooden building that I recognized as the tavern from the other night. The sign across the front read, The Hall of Drink and Dance. I looked at Brielle, confused, and she smiled in return.

  “What’s this?” I asked.

  “This is fun,” she told me.

  Inside, the place was filled with elves dancing, laughing, and drinking the late afternoon away. I noticed a large dance floor and a bar at the back. Musicians played on a stage in the middle. Brielle squealed with delight and beckoned me to follow her to the bar. After taking our seats, Brielle asked the bartenders for two glasses of their finest wine.

  “Are you allowed to be here?” I asked her.

  Brielle looked at me and grinned. “If Queen Taryn knew her daughter spent her evenings drinking and dancing with complete strangers, she would have my head!” She winked. “But even that wouldn’t stop me from having a good time.”

  We got our drinks moments later. I looked around and sighed. Who could have known the Princess of the Elf Realm was such a rebel? I certainly hadn’t until today.

  “Come on, Ramsey, let’s dance!” She tugged me away from the bar and pushed me onto the dance floor.

  At first, I was nervous and didn’t want to participate, but Brielle wouldn’t have it. She taught me a few elfin dances, which I picked up surprisingly fast. It wasn’t long before I was laughing and dancing along with her. My stress melted away for that short time and I felt completely free.

  The music was loud and wonderful, and I danced and danced until I couldn’t dance anymore. Brielle even found us a few elf partners. It was nice to be around elves who were so carefree. After numerous songs, dances, and sips of wine, I reminded Brielle of our time arrangement. After one more song, we said goodbye to everyone and headed out the door.

  With both of us feeling a little tipsy from the drinks and tired from the dancing, it took us a long while to get back to the palace. The sun was beginning to set as we walked through the city.

  “Brielle, I just wanted…to say…thank you,” I said, breathing heavily.

  “For what?” she asked, giggling.

  “For everything! Today was amazing! I had so much fun.” I coughed and then continued. “I haven’t truly enjoyed myself since I arrived here. I always have my guard up because of Zora. But today…you showed me how great this Realm can be.” I smiled as I staggered just a tad.

  “When Zora is safe, you will see just how great everything is here. Right now, your eyes are covered, but soon the veil will lift and you will enjoy yourself again. I promise.”

  “How do you do it?” I asked.

  “Do what?” she wondered.

  “You are a princess, your mother is the Queen, and your Realm is at war. That must be so stressful! How do you keep smiling through it all?” I asked.

  “What else can I do?” she asked, almost tripping over a few loose stones. “Crying over things that can’t be changed won’t help. Just because I want the war to stop doesn’t mean it will. The most important thing is to keep living no matter how hard life is. That’s what I do.”

  “I underestimated you, Brielle,” I admitted.

  “Most elves do,” she said, smiling.

  Then we both erupted into giggles.

  ***

  It was exactly seven when we crossed the bridge to the palace. Brielle said she would stop by my room before dinner and give me some tea that would help the throbbing ache in my head from drinking so much wine. I thanked her and we parted when we reached the third floor. While she went up the stairs, I went down the hall to my room. I walked inside and was relieved no one was there waiting for me. I wasn’t ready for any surprise intrusions. My head pounded and my legs were wobbly. I was a little unsteady. The room was fuzzy. I was about to change into the red velvet gown that Brielle had picked out for me for dinner, when I suddenly couldn’t stand anymore. I flopped down on the bed and closed my eyes. I wasn’t used to drinking, and it had affected me greatly. I decided I would rest until Brielle brought me the tea.

  While I lay on the bed, I remembered what Brielle mentioned to me at lunch. She told me to remember my connections with Zora. Maybe I would figure out where she was if I really thought about them.

  I wasn’t optimistic, but it was something to do until Brielle arrived. It could also make me forget about my aching body for a while. I took a few deep breaths and thought about my first connection. The room was musty and dark. The only distinct smell was that of blood. I remembered the woozy feeling I had felt and shuddered. I couldn’t pass out before dinner. I didn’t want Brielle to get in trouble. I also didn’t want Danica to get in trouble for leaving us.

  After a few minutes, I decided there was nothing from my first connection that could help find Zora, except for the part about the “Realm,” which I still didn’t understand. I moved on to my last connection.

  There hadn’t been any smell of blood in the last one because Zora’s wounds were older. However, I hadn’t observed much with the fairies in the room.

  When I thought all was hopeless and that I had better get dressed, something occurred to me. It was like being stuck on problems during a math test. I would think and think, unable to find an answer. Then suddenly the answers would come to me. The same thing had just happened with my thinking about Zora.

  I remembered the musty smell. It hadn’t just been a musty smell. Something was familiar about that specific stench.

  I concentrated on the odor. I wracked my brain for answers, knowing there was one somewhere. I just had to find it.

  Then I realized it reminded me of the tang of animals and the faint scent of hay. I remembered hearing a crunch under my feet when I went over to Zora and then the scratch of the hay when I collapsed to the floor after being one with her. And then I knew.

  Zora was being kept in a barn!

  I couldn’t believe I hadn’t realized it earlier. The odor was flooding my nostrils now. I could remember it clearly. All of those years riding horses with Dina had paid off. I remembered brushing my horse, Lucy, after spending the day riding. Dina had always complained of that musty smell.

  Everything fit together like puzzle pieces after that. Everyone believed Zora was in a Fairy Realm. No one would have ever thought anything different. However, Zora was not in the Fairy Realm, that I knew for sure. I knew what Zora had been trying to tell me. Her mention of the “not in the…Realm” finally made sense. She was trying to tell me she wasn’t in a Fairy Realm, the Element Fairy Realm, specifically. But I knew where she really was.

  Zora was in the Human Realm!

  I jumped from the bed, all of my dizziness and aching now gone from my body. I knew where Zora was. Her time was running out and I had to act quickly. I ran to my shoulder bag and took out Zora’s journal. I put my cross necklace on for luck and quickly prayed I would have enough strength
for what I was planning to do. I scribbled a few words on an unused piece of paper in the journal. I left it open on the table beside my bed. I hoped the right elf would find it.

  I knew I would need some kind of weapon. I put my shoulder bag over my head and started opening drawers and cabinets, but there was nothing I could use. Dismayed and disappointed, I realized I would just have to take my chances. Maybe I could find something on the way out of the palace.

  Getting out of the palace was the tricky part. I hoped Jacqueline wouldn’t want to start her guard duty again so soon. I opened the door and ran out of the room, colliding right into Brielle. The pot of tea she was holding flew into the air with some of it spilling onto the carpet. With catlike reflexes, Brielle caught the handle as it fell to the ground.

  “Ramsey, what do you think you are doing?” she yelled. She held out her hand and helped me up.

  “I don’t have time to explain. I have to leave the palace,” I said quickly.

  “What? Why?” she asked.

  “I know where Zora is,” I blurted out.

  “You know where Zora is?” she asked.

  “There’s no time. I have to get out of here.”

  I tried to run past her, but she grabbed my arm with her free hand. “Not without me you’re not. Now tell me where she is,” Brielle demanded.

  “Why do you even want to come?” I wondered.

  “For the same reason I wanted to spend time with you today,” she explained. “You’re not like the others, judging me because I’d rather have fun than sit all prim and proper all the time. You’re different.”

  “Why does everyone keep saying that?”

  “Because it’s true,” she said, shrugging her shoulders.

  “You can’t come to the Human Realm with me, Brielle!” I cried. My hand flew over my mouth. I had just told her where Zora was.

  Brielle grinned. “Oh yes I am! You can’t fight Element fairies without help.”

  “But you are a princess!” I protested.

  “That doesn’t matter. Surely by now you must have figured out that I’m not just an ordinary royal.” I grimaced, realizing the truth in her words. “Why do you have to go alone anyway?”

  “I don’t really have proof that she’s in the Human Realm. It’s just a feeling, but a strong one. It would take too long for me to explain my reasoning to Queen Taryn, and the soldiers won’t be here until tomorrow morning. I have to do this now,” I said.

  “Then you have no choice. I’m coming and that’s that,” she decided.

  I sighed. I knew I had to let her come. Otherwise, she would tell the Queen. Then the guards would stop me, and I wouldn’t reach Zora in time.

  “Fine, do you have any weapons?” I asked.

  “No, but we can get some. Drink this tea and follow me. It will help clear your mind.”

  I gulped the scorching hot liquid and followed Brielle down the stairs. She took me to a room that smelled heavily of smoke. It was faintly lit by firelight. I could see swords and other weapons hanging from the walls and lying in piles on the ground.

  “What is this place?” I asked.

  “It’s the palace’s weapon room. The guards store extra swords and daggers here,” Brielle explained. “Do you know how to use a sword?”

  “No. I grew up in the Human Realm, remember? Kids there learned how to play baseball, not fight with weapons,” I said.

  Brielle gave me a strange look and then shrugged. “Then you will just carry a dagger. Anyone can use a knife,” she said.

  Brielle picked up a five-inch dagger and placed it into a sheath. She handed it to me, then found a sword for herself. We attached our weapons to belts and tied them around our waists. I noticed Brielle hadn’t bothered changing for dinner either.

  “Why didn’t you change?” I asked.

  “I…I had a feeling.”

  “You had a feeling?”

  “Yes,” she said. “I had a feeling you would remember something about Zora.”

  “And just how do these feelings come about?”

  “They just do,” she said.

  Before I could question her further, she took my hand and pulled me out the door. After shutting it quietly, we both tiptoed through the halls. I was surprised we didn’t see any guards. I remembered what time it was and then understood. Everyone was preparing for dinner.

  “Are there guards outside?” I asked.

  “There should be, but not many are on duty at this time,” she said.

  She pointed to a room emitting music and laughter. I nodded and continued to follow.

  “And even if they were, we could take them,” she added.

  Not knowing how to respond to that, I simply followed her out the palace doors.

  ***

  The night air was chilly as we left the palace and stepped onto the bridge. About halfway across, Brielle let go of my hand and climbed onto the railing.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “You need to get to the Human Realm, right?”

  “Yes,” I replied.

  “Then we need a body of water to make an elf circle,” Brielle reminded me.

  “I’m sorry, I almost forgot.”

  “How else were we going to get to Zora?” she asked.

  “You’re right. Let’s go,” I agreed.

  I waited for her to jump down from the bridge and onto a tiny strip of land. Then I climbed onto the railing, prayed I wouldn’t break my neck, and jumped. I landed unsteadily but without injury.

  “How do we know this will take us to the barn where Zora is being held?” I asked.

  “We don’t,” Brielle admitted.

  “What if we are nowhere near it?” I wondered.

  “In the Elf Realm, nothing is a coincidence. There is a reason you figured out where she was being held here, now. She will be somewhere nearby. And if not, we will walk until we find her. Just trust me.”

  “I trust you,” I told her, knowing I had no other choice.

  “Then let’s dance again,” she suggested.

  “Doesn’t it have to be midnight to go into the Human Realm?” I asked.

  “No, not in Tarlore. Queen Taryn put restrictions everywhere except in this city. She wanted unlimited access just in case we had to make a quick escape.”

  “Make a quick escape from what?”

  “From the Element fairies, of course. If they attacked the city, we would hide in the Human Realm. I can explain in more detail when we are not in the process of saving your sister. Hurry now; the sooner we get out of here, the less chance we have getting caught by the guards,” Brielle told me.

  She took a step forward and began the elf circle dance. I joined her a second later, and together we made a perfect, flattened portal.

  With one deep breath, we joined hands and stepped into the circle, vanishing from the capital city Tarlore, from the Queen, from Stellan and Addison, from the guards, and from the Elf Realm.

  ~18~

  Sisters

  The bright morning light blinded us as we appeared in the Human Realm. The twelve-hour difference between the Elf Realm and this Realm meant it was eight the next morning here. I rubbed my eyes and took a look around.

  We stood in a large open field that seemed to stretch on for miles. I could hear grasshoppers chirping and bees buzzing, and felt the beginning of a hot, humid day. Wildflowers swayed in the breeze. The landscape was gorgeous. However, I wasn’t here for the scenery.

  Where was the barn? Would we be able to find it?

  “Let’s start walking,” I suggested. Brielle nodded and we began.

  We walked for miles under the blazing sun. Sweat trickled down my face as we trudged through the field. But no matter how far we traveled, we didn’t spot any signs of a barn.

  Noon passed and our stomachs grumbled with hunger. I fished through my shoulder bag and withdrew the ripe fruit from the Birchwood City orchard. Brielle thanked me and stuffed the fruit into her mouth. We ate as we walked. The heat was exha
usting, especially with our heavy clothes. In the Elf Realm, it was considerably cooler, yet still a comfortable temperature. Here, we were baking. I transferred my dagger to my shoulder bag so I could loosen my belt and allow air into my shirt and onto my hot skin.

  Hours passed as we traveled further. Our toughest challenge began when we reached the base of an incredible hill. Looking up, I almost cried. How would we climb this hill in our exhausted condition? My head still throbbed and my legs ached from our adventures in the city the day before. Brielle didn’t seem any better.

  But sitting atop the hill was what motivated us. Even with the blinding sun, I could make out the shape of a farm. Sitting next to a silo was an immense wooden barn.

  “Brielle, I think that’s it!” I cried, pointing to the hill.

  The Princess nodded. “It’s worth a try. Let’s get moving.”

  The sun was setting when we finally reached the top. Brielle and I hugged and sighed with relief.

  “Let’s rest for a moment before going in. We need strength,” Brielle suggested.

  We ate the rest of the fruit and lay for a while on the grass. After walking for so long, we were both completely drained. We knew we couldn’t continue so soon. We meant to rest for just a moment, but I should have realized those kinds of plans didn’t always work out. Because before we could stop ourselves, we fell asleep.

  ***

  My eyes flew open to pitch darkness. I swore and felt around for Brielle. When my hands found her arm, I jarred her awake.

  “Brielle, wake up!” I whispered. “We fell asleep and we have to get moving!”

  I heard Brielle groan and sit up. “What time is it?” she asked. She was obviously too tired to tell the time herself.

  “It’s almost ten,” I informed her.

  “What? That means we slept for almost four hours!”

  “Keep your voice down!” I scolded. “We are lucky we weren’t caught out here.” I grabbed her hand and pulled her up. “Come on, we have to find Zora.”

  Brielle nodded. We had a bit more energy because of our nap, so we ran as quickly and quietly as possible to the barn.