The Elf Girl (35 page)

Princess Brielle seemed antsy, as though she were trapped in a cage, wanting to break free. Her eyes darted to and fro, especially at the door. I guessed living in a palace must be difficult for her, because she probably wasn’t able to roam the city as she pleased, at least not without guards at her side.

“It’s lovely to finally meet you,” Queen Taryn said, reaching out her long arms to greet me.

“Thank you for the privilege of meeting you, Queen Taryn,” I said.

I put my hands in hers and we repeated the same gesture I had observed frequently here.

She released my hands and then Addison and Stellan exchanged the same greeting. Princess Brielle stepped forward. She held out her hands and I gave her mine.

“It’s a pleasure,” she said coolly.

Our eyes met, and I had to resist the urge to gasp. Standing before me was the elfen I witnessed drunkenly misbehaving last night outside the tavern. I recognized the intense look in her eyes. I was so shocked that I barely regained my bearings in time to respond.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Princess Brielle,” I said, stammering slightly.

She must have realized that I remembered her inappropriate display, because she winked at me, quick enough for no one else in the room to notice. Then she turned her back to me and sat down without even a glance at Stellan or Addison. Suddenly, meeting the Princess wasn’t so much of a pleasure. After recognizing her from last night and hearing her cool tone, I wasn’t feeling any pity for her now.

“Please sit down, all of you,” Queen Taryn told us with a smile.

I went to the couch across from Queen Taryn and Princess Brielle. Stellan sat on my right and Addison at my left. Stellan’s hand reached for mine as the Queen began to speak.

“We have many important things to discuss, so let’s begin. First, Ramsey must tell us of the two connections she shared with Zora.”

Princess Brielle’s bright green eyes sparked with interest, and instead of keeping her eyes trained on the door, she now watched me with an unreadable gaze.

“Okay,” I agreed nervously.

I took a deep breath and then I began. Even though it was painful, I recalled everything I could remember from both of the connections. I told them of Finn, Wynter, and Lura, and everything that had occurred during my time with Zora. I described how wounded Zora appeared to be, which was the worst part of it all.

Afterward, I learned from Queen Taryn that Finn was a very important fairy to the Element Fairy Realm: a general. He and his followers did the dirty work for King Vortigern, the King of the Element fairies. Female fairies were highly respected in the Realms, so it was far more usual to have fairy queens. King Vortigern was an exception; the only fairy king in the last hundred years at least. I found this to be both humorous and interesting. Fairies were
very
different from humans, who held men high on their pedestals.

While she spoke of the Element fairies with great pity – because up until Vortigern’s reign, they were genuinely good-natured fae – she described Vortigern as soulless and cruel, horrible from the beginning of his rule. He was immortally alluring and hauntingly dangerous. Just the thought of being near him caused me to shiver with cold fear.

Even so, I was grateful to Queen Taryn for sharing so much information with me. I was finally beginning to see the big picture, the whole picture. Since my new home was a Magical Realm at war with another, immensely powerful Fairy Realm, I felt it necessary to have knowledge of my own Realm and my supposed enemy’s, as well as a familiarity of my surroundings. The clouds of confusion that surrounded me began to lift.

“We must decide what to do about Zora,” Queen Taryn said when we were finished chatting.

“Ramsey can find her, Queen Taryn. I know she can,” Addison said.

Queen Taryn nodded. “Yes, I believe so as well. Ramsey, you share a very strong connection with your sister. Do you know where she is?” she asked.

“I’m afraid not, your highness. All I know is that she is in an old room with wooden walls,” I admitted, which didn’t really help our cause.

“We can assume she is in the Element Fairy Realm. Finn would want to keep her there to make it difficult for her to be rescued,” Queen Taryn suggested.

“Are you sure? Wouldn’t he expect us to know that?” Princess Brielle asked, making a valid point.

“Well, she isn’t here, that’s for sure,” Stellan reminded. “Otherwise we would have found her already.”

“Maybe she is in a different Realm, like the Woodland Fairy Realm?” Addison suggested.

“She could be. I tried to use my own power to detect where Zora was taken, but there are strong spells surrounding her. I have no way to get through them. I am guessing that Finn hired a string of Woodland fairies to do his spell work for him,” Queen Taryn added.

I kept quiet for this portion of the conversation. I didn’t know as much about fairies
or
their Realms. I left it to the others to decide.

“I will summon a small group of soldiers for a secret visit to the Element Fairy Realm, and then to the Woodland Fairy Realm, if necessary. They will be ready in two days time,” Queen Taryn decided.

I wanted to scream out that it wasn’t good enough. Zora would die in four nights! That meant two days of searching. It wouldn’t be enough time. Nevertheless, I held my tongue. It wasn’t my place to fight with the Queen. I could only pray that I was wrong.

“In the meantime, I will need Addison with me so I can send messages to summon the soldiers. Stellan, you are not to use your ability anywhere or at any time while you are here. You will be under the care of Thane, the guard whom you met last night.” She saw the look of confusion on Stellan’s face. “I know it seems harsh and an annoyance, but you and your sister are still suspects of disloyalty. I can’t let any of you roam without supervision. Ramsey, I have a guard who will tend to you. You are to remain in the palace. Explore, look around, do whatever you see fit for yourself. But
do not
walk out of my palace doors.”

I nodded. It could have been worse. She could have locked us up in a room until they called upon me to search for Zora. As far as I was concerned, she was being gracious to all three of us, especially to Addison, trusting her to assist with the summoning of the soldiers. “I will not leave, Queen Taryn.”

“Good. Stellan, you are dismissed. Danica will take you to Thane,” Queen Taryn said. “And then return to me, Danica,” she added, “so I can have a word with you.”

“Yes, Queen Taryn,” Danica said.

Stellan and Danica left the room. I watched Stellan leave with a heavy sadness in my heart. I didn’t want to be apart from him. However, I knew the Queen’s word was law. I had to obey her wishes. If that meant keeping me from him, so be it. I didn’t want to get into any kind of trouble here. I had to find my sister. That was the most important thing.

“Addison, please tell Ramsey’s guard she may join us,” Queen Taryn instructed.

Addison nodded and closed her eyes. After a few moments, she said, “The message has been sent. She’ll be here shortly.”

Three minutes later, there was a quick knock at the door.

“Come in,” Queen Taryn invited.

The door opened and in came a dark-haired elfen with large green eyes. She stood very straight and her head was held high. Her hair was pulled back into a knot. She wore the palace guard attire. Her lips were in a tight, serious line. I could tell just by looking at her that she was strong, for an elfen at least. She sure was bodyguard material.

“Ramsey, this is Jacqueline. She is one of my most skilled guards. Her ability is to create walls at any time. She will protect and watch over you. You are both dismissed,” Queen Taryn said, introducing us briefly.

I nodded, said thank you to the Queen and her daughter, waved goodbye to Addison, and followed Jacqueline out of the room. Outside, we exchanged the strange greeting.

“What would you like to do, Ramsey?” she asked.

“Why do elves do that two-handed shake?” I wondered aloud to her.

“I beg your pardon?”

“In the Human Realm, we shake only with one hand. Why is it different here?” I asked.

“Oh, I see,” she said, pausing for a moment afterward to asses my question. “Elves touch both hands in greeting so they can discover each other’s power,” she explained.

“Why?” I asked.

“So there are no surprises. If you are formally meeting someone, you want to trust him or her. When elves join hands, they can identify each other’s ability.”

“How? I couldn’t,” I said, baffled.

“You learn the skill at ability school. Elves must have their power to know what another’s is through the greeting. The same goes for elves who shake hands with others who do not have a power yet. I couldn’t tell what your power is because you haven’t received one.”

“Then why do the gesture?” I wondered.

“It has become a common greeting for all elves, not just those with abilities,” she said.

“Oh, well, thanks for explaining it to me. I was so confused, and every time I wanted to ask, it didn’t seem like the appropriate moment. But I felt like an idiot not knowing exactly what it meant,” I admitted.

“That’s quite all right. Now you know. Do you have any other questions for me?” she wondered.

“So what
am
I allowed to do here?” I asked.

“Tour the palace,” she replied.

“Lead the way then,” I suggested, knowing it was my only option, considering I was basically under palace arrest.

Jacqueline nodded and started walking down the hall. I followed her quickly. It was hard to keep up with her. She walked very fast.

Our first stop was the library. It was the most impressive collection I had ever laid eyes on. The walls were completely covered with books, with four large round tables and a few couches crowding the room for reading and studying. Candles and a fireplace gave the room a bright glow, and the scent of books filled the room. The atmosphere was comforting, and reminded me of the many times I lost myself in the wonder of books.

After spending as long as I could in the library, Jacqueline told me we had to keep moving. The ballroom was next. It was a glorious room with a rich hardwood floor. Chairs to sit on between dances lined the walls and instruments sat on a stage at the back, consisting of a grand piano, a harp, and a few fiddles. Imagining the room filled with dancers and music made me wish I had come to the palace for a ball, instead of the real reason I was here.

Jacqueline also took me through the kitchen for a quick look. It wasn’t fancy at all, a huge change from the rooms I had seen so far. Jacqueline explained that kitchens needn’t be fancy, because only a few elves besides the cooks worked within its walls. I met the head cook, an elf whose power was the ability to move things with his mind. He said that it made retrieving ingredients and cooking multiple dishes incredibly simple. I agreed.

Afterward, we went to the first floor, where I was introduced to the guards who occupied the palace today. I saw Aditi and Wren, and finally understood why they looked so unusual compared to the other guards. Their ability was to shape-shift into birds. Aditi could be a hawk, and Wren could be a small falcon. Now I knew how Gavin had changed into a bird when I was being taken to the capital.

I learned that shape-shifters were a valuable part of the war. They could travel fast and attack from the sky as well as the ground. They explained that all shape-shifters were important in the war. However, Aditi, Wren, and Gavin had been chosen out of hundreds of shape-shifters to be part of the Queen’s guard.

Thane was a shape-shifter as well, but he took the form of a fox, which explained his sly look. The only other shape-shifter was an elf with army-green eyes named Arnold, who we met as well. He took the shape of an eagle. I saw Gabriel again, and asked about his power. I had only seen him for a short amount of time the night before and hadn’t had the chance to ask. Jacqueline told me he could see up to five miles away. He was chosen by the Queen to be her extra set of eyes.

I hadn’t expected a tour of the palace to be so interesting, but after meeting with the guards and learning more about elfin abilities, I wasn’t as disappointed with being unable to leave the castle. I lunched with Jacqueline in the dining hall around noon. Stellan joined me, and as we ate, I told him about the guards I had met. When I asked him what he had done all morning, he only shook his head. He was simply following Thane around as he did various jobs. I felt bad for his lack of adventure, but he told me not to worry. I didn’t like the fact that all three of us were separated during our stay. With Stellan courting me and Addison practically a sister, they were the closest elves I had to family here.

After lunch, I reluctantly hugged him goodbye and went with Jacqueline once again, hoping Stellan would be able to do at least one interesting thing today. Together the elfen guard and I toured the entire palace except for the fourth floor. I was even shown the other guest rooms. My favorite, besides my own, was the blue room. It reminded me of the ocean. Jacqueline informed me that the blue and purple rooms were the favorites of the guests.

“What now?” I asked her once we were done.

Before she could respond, Gabriel approached us and tapped Jacqueline on the shoulder. He handed her a note and then departed without saying a word. Jacqueline opened the folded piece of parchment and her already large eyes widened.

“You are to go to the fourth floor to Lady Cora, Queen Taryn’s sister. She wants to meet with you,” Jacqueline whispered. She looked surprised, as if this was an odd request.

“Is that a good thing?”

“She never asks for visitors,” she informed me grimly.

“Why? Doesn’t she like visitors?”

“I’m afraid the visitors are the elves who don’t enjoy her company very much. Not the other way around.”

“Because of what she did with Elvina and how she started the war,” I guessed.

“Yes. She rarely leaves the palace. Most of the elves in Tarlore are forgiving, but some are not so kind,” she explained.

“It’s terrible that she has to hide away like that.”