I wasn’t hungry, but I forced myself to eat something. I knew I needed the nourishment, no matter how bad I felt about Stellan. Breakfast passed quickly. I was ready to return to my room when I saw Addison approaching. I smiled as she walked over to me.
“We’re leaving at noon,” she said.
“So soon?” I asked, taken aback.
“Queen Taryn says it’s for the best. She is expecting a great deal of company from around the Realm in three days for the summer, and they need to prepare.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
“Meet us on the bridge at noon,” she confirmed.
“All right, see you then,” I told her.
I watched Addison go and then joined Zora and Brielle, just in time to avoid Stellan’s gaze as he walked by.
“We are leaving at noon, Zora. We need to meet Addison on the bridge.”
“No! You can’t go so soon!” Brielle shouted in protest.
“Queen Taryn has guests arriving in three days. She needs our rooms for them,” I explained.
“Oh, yes, I remember now. I’m sorry we are making you leave,” Brielle apologized.
“Don’t be. We need to get home anyway,” I told her.
“Yes, I miss Birchwood City too much to stay away any longer,” Zora agreed.
I nodded. “But let’s not talk about leaving for another couple of hours or so, okay?”
Brielle and Zora agreed, so we put leaving out of our minds. Brielle told us she had a surprise and dragged us up to her room.
Once inside, she brought out two large baskets with shiny green bows. She handed one to each of us and sat down on her brown couch. They were very heavy. We stared at them for a moment, not sure of what to say.
“Open them!” she cried.
“Brielle, you didn’t have to,” I protested.
“Just open them,” she demanded.
I sighed. “Fine.”
I sat down and pulled the bow off the top of the basket. Then I carefully took off the lid and peered inside. Sitting delicately in a nest of dried grass was a large egg. It was silver with blue spots. The blue spots shone like jewels. It took me a minute to realize they were jewels. They were sapphires! I placed my hand over the egg; it felt warm to the touch. My mouth hanging open, I looked up at Brielle, who was grinning from pointy ear to pointy ear.
“Is this what I think it is?” I asked.
“It depends on what you think it is,” she said sweetly.
“How did you have the time?”
“I have my ways,” she explained.
By now, Zora had opened hers as well. I scooted over to her and looked inside her basket. She also had a very large egg. This one was also silver but had red spots. Zora’s egg was decorated with rubies.
“Brielle…oh my,” Zora exclaimed.
“Am I right, Zora? Are we looking at dragon eggs here?” I asked.
“Yes,” Brielle and Zora both said.
I squealed with joy and clapped my hands, careful not to drop the basket.
“Brielle, how did you get these?” Zora asked.
“Like I said, a princess has her ways.”
“Are you saying that when these eggs hatch, we will have baby dragons?” I was still trying to put things together.
“They won’t be babies very long, that’s for sure. I hope you have a big open field for them to live,” Brielle said.
“Oh, we do, but, Brielle, this is too generous. Dragons are so rare,” Zora reminded her.
“It’s all right, truly. You need something to remember me by anyway. They’re orphans. Both mothers were killed in the war.”
“That’s too bad,” I said, momentarily saddened by the thought. I felt better when I realized this was a chance for Zora and me to give them the love they deserved. “So how big are we talking here?” I asked, still admiring the beauty of my egg as it sparkled in the light. “And when are they going to hatch?”
“They get big, as in very big. The humans didn’t get the size wrong in their fantasy books. Dragon eggs take about two to three years to hatch. These will probably hatch by the end of summer or the beginning of fall.”
“Wow, dragons by fall. Amazing,” I whispered.
I couldn’t believe I was going to have my own dragon! It almost didn’t seem real.
“How do we take care of them? I have read only a little on dragons,” Zora said.
“Don’t worry, Zora; you have no idea how easy it is. I have a dragon myself, but he is off on a holiday at the moment.” Brielle giggled. “Just make sure they have plenty of room and enough food. Eventually they will just fly off and find their own meals, though, so make sure to tell them not to feast on any farms that provide food for the elves in your city. You must set rules right away.”
“Can we communicate with them?” I asked.
“Sort of,” she replied, “dragons are highly intelligent. They can pick up almost any language. Common is like a second nature to them. Be glad we don’t speak our own elfin language anymore like we did when our Realm was first created. That would be tough for a baby dragon to learn. At first, you won’t be able to understand the dragons. You will be able to pick up some of their body language and noises, but it takes years to fully understand Dragon Tongue. Their language is a lot more complicated and advanced than ours.”
“So they can understand us, but we can’t understand them?” Zora clarified.
“Yes. Personally, I think the system works well. I wouldn’t want to hear my dragon discuss plans to disobey me!”
We laughed and hugged Brielle, repeating “thank you” numerous times. I was so happy with my new dragon egg I nearly forgot about Stellan. I sighed and rubbed my dragon egg gently. I couldn’t wait until the end of summer.
Finally, things were looking up a bit.
~21~
Wise Goodbyes
I pushed the door open and walked down the stairs of the palace, clutching my dragon egg basket, my shoulder bag slung around my neck. Carefully setting down both the bag and the basket, I leaned my arms onto the bridge railing and looked out across the water. It was a little after eleven, and I was early for our departure, but I hadn’t wanted to remain inside the palace any longer. I didn’t want to risk seeing him until it was absolutely necessary.
The crystal clear water beneath me was beautiful and completely mesmerizing. I watched the water sparkle and dance as it bobbed over stones and helped tiny fish swim along the streams. The water’s gurgling soothed me. I closed my eyes and just listened to the calming sounds.
“This truly is a wonderful place,” a voice said beside me.
Left to my own thoughts, I hadn’t noticed the Queen join me until she spoke. My eyes flew open.
“Hello, Queen Taryn,” I replied.
“You’re out here quite early. You missed my formal farewell to your friends.”
“I’m sorry. I just needed some time to think before we left,” I admitted.
“I see. I thought your troubles were over. Sure, there is still your secret to think about, but that will be dealt with in due time. You rescued your sister, saved your friends from prison, made many new friends, and you are leaving with a dragon egg,” she pointed out.
“Yes, those problems are solved and I leave here today with many things to be thankful for. But I now have a new problem I hadn’t expected.”
“How so?” she asked.
“It’s a long story,” I said.
“We have time.”
“I don’t know…,” I trailed off.
“Trust me,” she said, “I’ll only listen.”
I nodded, and told her everything about Stellan and me. I told her about how much we seemed to care about each other. Then I told her what had happened in the barn. It felt good to tell someone who hadn’t been there, someone who could just listen and not be affected. She didn’t know Stellan, not really, so it was easier for me to speak about him. When I was finished, I had fresh tears clouding my vision. Queen Taryn was silent for a moment
and looked at me intently.
“I can’t tell you how to fix your problems or how to feel. However, I can tell you one thing. Remember that your power is a very special gift. You have the ability to see things others can’t. You can tell when someone is lying or telling the truth. I know your first experience was an unhappy one, but you will have many more that will turn out differently.”
“I hope so.”
“Why don’t you try it on me?” she suggested.
“What? Oh no, I couldn’t possibly. You are the Queen. It wouldn’t be right for me to know about your whole life.”
“If it will help you, Ramsey, then it won’t matter to me. Here, take my hands,” Queen Taryn said.
She put her hands out to me and nodded in encouragement.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Yes. Go ahead.”
I bit my lower lip and slowly reached my hands out and placed them over hers. A large, bright flash of color hit me, then the pictures started to form.
I saw Queen Taryn’s birth and childhood, when she was Princess Taryn. I saw the love in her parents’ eyes as they watched her grow. I saw her live a beautiful life in the palace. A few of the pictures were sad. Her parents’ deaths, the war, and the death of her husband, the King. However, most of the images were happy. The most wonderful memory was of Brielle’s birth. I could see Queen Taryn’s love for her daughter as I watched the Princess grow. Even among the turmoil and sadness, Queen Taryn truly enjoyed living and being the Elf Realm’s leader.
The pictures ended, and I was left smiling in the darkness behind my eyes. I opened them and released my hands from hers.
“Thank you,” I said quietly.
“See? Your power can show brilliant things as well. It’s also very informative. Before seeing those memories would you have guessed that I liked to ride bareback on a horse?”
I smiled. “Never.”
“Then you have learned something about your queen, haven’t you?” she asked.
“Yes,” I admitted.
“I have to find Princess Brielle so we can see you and your friends off from the palace. Excuse me for just one moment,” she explained.
“Wait!” I called as she turned to leave.
“Yes?”
“I remembered what your power was when I saw your memories,” I told her.
“How I know what others are doing even when I am not around them?”
I nodded. “You knew when Brielle and I went after Zora. Why did you let us go?” I asked.
“I let you go because I believed in you.”
I was taken aback. The Queen of the Elf Realm believed in me, even though I was only a confused elfen from the Human Realm.
“I don’t know what your secret is, Ramsey. But I do know you are special to this Realm. Whatever you may need to do to help us in the future, I trust you.”
I was speechless as she walked away. Before opening the palace door, she turned to me one last time.
“And that also means I know about Brielle’s wild lifestyle.”
“I’m not sure she realizes you know,” I said.
Queen Taryn smiled wryly. “Well, she thought she could use her topaz gem to hide. When she uses it, it blocks others elves’ powers. My power is stronger. I’m far older and more experienced than my young daughter.”
“I have to admit, your daughter’s power is very confusing and strange to me.”
“That’s Brielle for you,” she said. She laughed and then vanished into the palace.
Smiling, I turned back to the water. I liked Queen Taryn very much. She was real. She wasn’t a high-and-mighty royal. She was like any other elfen, just with a little more power. More importantly, she understood her daughter and allowed her to make her own decisions. If only Brielle knew that I wasn’t the only one different in this Realm….
I waited on the bridge until I heard the palace doors open once again. Out came the high guard, Queen Taryn, Brielle, Lady Cora, Addison, Zora, and…Stellan. I took another look and realized Thane and Aditi were missing, as well as Eder and Elvina. I wondered where they were. I picked up my shoulder bag and made sure my dragon egg basket was still safely by my side.
The guards lined up in a row outside the palace. Queen Taryn stood in front of them with Brielle and Lady Cora. Addison and Zora walked over to join me with Stellan lagging slowly behind. We stood facing Queen Taryn as she began to speak.
“It is time to bid you farewell. We have admired your courage and enjoyed your company. Now, you must return home, and we must prepare for our summer guests. We will always remember your time here.”
I wished I could have spoken with Eder before leaving, but my problems with Stellan had distracted me. Now, I desperately wished to converse with him. He had told me to wait until I found Zora to worry about anything else. I had found Zora, so now I felt I had the right to get some answers.
But there was no time left for that now. We were leaving, and he wasn’t present. I would just have to take his advice and let things happen when they were meant to.
Before the royal entourage retreated into the palace, Danica walked over to me.
“Here,” she said, handing me a white card decorated with green and brown flowers. “I would like you to attend my wedding in July. Your sister may come too, along with anyone else you care to bring. I don’t want this to be the end of our friendship. I would like it if we got to know each other better, without me having to protect you.” She smiled. “You truly are a special elfen.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, suddenly unable to raise my voice any higher.
My vision grew blurry once again. We were truly leaving Tarlore. I wouldn’t see anyone here until July. It seemed like a lifetime ago that I was in the Human Realm. How long would it feel like before I was able to return to Tarlore?
Danica squeezed my hand, then left me. I put the card in my shoulder bag.
“Goodbye, my friends, I wish you well on your journey,” the Queen said.
With a wave, she turned and went back into the palace. Brielle had started to follow, and then at the last second she turned around and ran over to us. When she reached where I was standing, she hugged me tightly.
“See you at the wedding,” she said. I could tell she was trying to hold back tears.
“Wouldn’t miss it,” I replied, my voice cracking.
I watched her go into the palace, tears streaming down my cheeks. She was a wonderful friend, no matter how strange. The guards and Lady Cora followed Brielle. I turned to Zora, and was about to say something about leaving when the palace doors swung open again. I turned to see who else was running back for a goodbye and gasped. It wasn’t for a goodbye at all.
Instead, it was Thane and Aditi, pulling a very resistant Lura toward us. She looked refreshed from her healing the previous night, but was still dressed in her own clothes, splattered with blood. Her blonde hair looked unruly and tangled. Yet her face showed the same cruelty and cold beauty it had before, and her smile was still dangerous. We waited silently as they passed. As they crossed the bridge, Lura turned to face me.
“You think this is over, elfen? It’s not. You will not live to see your next birthday, no matter what power you now possess, no matter what secret you hold within you. Tell your little plaything he had better watch your back, because Finn will come after you. Don’t underestimate him. Don’t ever think you are safe,” she spat.
Thane angrily pushed Lura forward into a waiting carriage that read Prison on the side. The horse pulling it went into a gallop, and Lura was gone. Thane and Aditi walked passed us without a word, and retreated into the palace.
I was left shaking with anger and fear. I knew Lura had called Stellan my “plaything” just to anger me. She had been in the barn when I confronted him.
The fear came from her warning. No matter how much I hated to admit it, I knew what she said was true. Finn would be back. He was still out there. I just had no idea when he would come.
My frown quickl
y turned into a smile when I saw a large golden dragon soaring overhead. I sighed and gazed at the sky as we walked through the busy streets. Soon, I would have a dragon as well. I thought about what it would be like to watch my own dragon flying up in the sky.
It was a great way to bid farewell to Tarlore.
~22~
Decisions, Decisions
The journey back to Birchwood City was long, tiring, and mostly silent. I spoke only when addressed directly, and I refused to be anywhere near Stellan as we walked. The only ones who talked frequently were Addison and Zora. Being best friends, they used the journey to catch up on lost time. They laughed and giggled about school and friends, but became serious when Zora described her life as a prisoner.
I tried to ignore most of their chatting. I didn’t want to laugh with them. I didn’t want any more excuses to cry. I just wanted the trip back to pass quickly so I could be home. Then I would sort out my problems with Stellan. Now was not the time. I hadn’t decided what I would do about the situation yet.
The trip took three days and two nights. Addison tried to lighten the mood by singing and playing her fiddle, but she was the only one who sang. Zora couldn’t, because we would all pass out, and neither Stellan nor I was in the mood. I enjoyed the music even so. It was pleasant and comforting as I lay awake at night, trying my best to fall asleep. Zora still refused to try my idea of singing me to sleep.
On the last day of our trip, Stellan tried to talk to me more than once. He would tap me on the shoulder, but I would just walk faster. I was afraid to talk to him because I didn’t know what I would say. But after about the fifth time, I finally responded.
“What, Stellan?” I asked in annoyance.
“Can we talk?” he asked.
I shook my head. “I need a bit more time.”
“All right, how much time?”
“I don’t know,” I told him.
“Ramsey, please,” he begged.
“This isn’t easy for me, Stellan,” I told him.
“I know.”
“I don’t think you do,” I retorted.
I locked my eyes onto his. He looked down. “How much time?” he repeated.
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