“Now, we go and answer to my People…”

I am tired, but not bone-weary anymore. It seems that when the ward broke, so did the energy-sapping blackness that would overtake me every time I did anything that called on my true self’s power. I am not craving protein as much, either, it seems. I sit and look into the fire. Father is sitting on the other side and I get up to go sit by him.

He smiles at me and says, “You have turned into the beautiful daughter that I knew you would be. How are you feeling, Brooke?” I smile at him…it has been quite some time since anyone called me by the English version of my name. I say, “Tired…but strangely energized, as well.” He nods and says, “There is much you will have to learn about yourself in the coming months… Drakyre will know you exist by now…and you must be prepared.”

I look at him and ask, “Drakyre?” He looks at me intently and says, “He was once human; he called himself Drake Valkyre because he claimed to be a descendent of the Valkyrie. Over time, his name has been shortened and contracted; he is now known only as Drakyre.” I nod and say, “Aunt Lothi has told me a bit about him… He bound himself to a demon spirit and is slowly taking over the outer realm?”

Father nods and says, “And he won’t stop there… We have to get the elves and the Humans back together…if we are to have a chance to hold him back. We would need for the dwarves to join us to even have a chance of defeating him; something I am not sure can be done—getting the dwarves to join us, I mean.”

I listen to the fire crackle a few moments and let what he said sink in. Then I look back over at him and ask in a small voice, “Father, Aunt Lothi said something that I don’t understand. She said that you were the ’missing’ king of the humans… Then, Mother said that I was bound to the ward nearly a hundred years ago—yet that I am the equivalent of a three hundred year old Elf—or a sixteen year old human. All of that makes no sense… I mean, how could you be that old…even if I could figure it all out…?”

He laughs and says, “Trying to figure out elven timelines will drive you crazy, Brooke. Your Mother also cast a ward on me…and we have existed in a time warp of sorts for the past hundred years. For all the human world, I have been missing… It was made known, however, that I was still alive and will return to take my rightful place. I am afraid that some of my relatives have been running the kingdom and it is in quite a mess. It is high time that I get back and set things straight.”

He strokes his bright red beard and looks at me for a bit before he continues, “As for your age… Let’s just say for now that the mix of your Mother’s ward, your Elven heritage, and some unique attributes of my family line have come together to produce the girl that you are at this moment in time. It is very complicated, but it is also exactly as it should be.”

At that moment, Aunt Lothi strides into the clearing with two male Elf escorts. I jump up and hug her before she has a chance to say anything. She holds me at arm’s length after we hug and says, “Nelle? Is that really you? Of course it is! My—you have grown!” She smiles and looks over my shoulder—her smile fades. I sense my Mother behind me and step aside. Mother says, “Hello, Lothiriel. Thank you for looking after my daughter.”

Aunt Lothi has a shocked look on her face. Then she scowls and asks, “That is what you have to say to me after just disappearing? I did not even know you had a daughter. Let alone one from a human father. That goes against your own law!” Mother quietly keeps her calm and says, “Yes, that is what I have to say, first--because it is the most important thing to me. Later, when I explain myself in full, you will come to understand that it is also very important for us all.”

Aunt Lothi looks a little taken back…then thoughtful…then she comes over and hugs Mother. She asks, “Where have you been, Ainathiel? There was no sign of you anywhere. It was as if you had disappeared from the face of Mother Earth. It is good to have you back!”
We all sit down by the fire after Aunt Lothi and Miri are introduced to my Father; it turns out they, of course, knew of him, but had never actually met him. Then Mother starts telling the story that we all have been craving to know…

We all sit, enthralled, by my Mother‘s story. She explains that it all started with a visit to sacred Oak… “Nelle, you don’t know this, yet, but it is the Queen’s duty to communicate with the sacred Oak in the middle of the forest. It is the largest and oldest tree in the forest—and has a connection to all of our spirits in the Queendom. It acts as a filter for our souls—cleansing them and purifying us. You will have just celebrated the Elven Day of Thanks? That is in celebration of the Oak. Its deep roots and connection to Mother Earth is what allows it to do so. It is the Queen’s duty to see to the health of the Oak.”

I sit there wide-eyed and listen. This is not news to anyone in the group, but me—but I am really grateful that Mother explains it to me. She continues, “My last visit to the Oak was shocking…there is a poison deep in the ground—where the deepest and oldest roots of the Oak go for nourishment. It is flowing in from the outer realm…and is the doing of Drakyre. So far, the Oak has been able to resist the poison, but its defenses are weakening as the poison grows stronger… It sent me to the Ancient Forest for advice.”

Aunt Lothi and Miri both gasp at that. Aunt Lothi says, “It did not tell me…” Miri says, “The Ancient Forest? And you went alone?” Mother nods and says, “Yes. It was my duty as Queen—I did not want to endanger anyone else. Lothiriel, it did not let you know, because there was nothing for you to do. Nothing you could do.”

She looks at me, knowing I don’t understand, and says, “Nelle, the Ancient Forest is a very large forest in the human realm that is made up of thousands of Sequoia Trees. They are millennia old and know of things that no other beings connected to Mother Earth can. They are also very difficult to communicate with…their minds are so vast… Elves have been known to get lost in the vastness…literally losing their minds… It was a risk I had to take…”

I shudder at the thought. Mother continues, “The other thing about the Sequoias…for them time is completely fluid. It can be difficult to divine what they say—it could be from the past, present, or future—or a mix of all, or none. Anyways, I set protective wards to hide myself and made my way to the Ancient Forest. The Oak had told me to visit with a very specific Sequoia… It took me some time to find it, but it was good I did… It is better at communicating…less confusing…than most.”

She pauses to take a sip of fermented fruit nectar and then continues, “I learned from the Sequoia that the Earth could be saved from the effects of the poison…the flow could be stopped. For this to happen, two special individuals are key… Two Elf-human Halflings… One that is also of mixed Darkness and Light—and one that is of mixed royal heritage…of both Elven and human royalty…”

There are gasps all around the fire…

I wake up to Miri’s insistent shaking and her whispering in my ear, “Nelle. Nelle… Nelle! Wake up! We are getting ready to leave… I wipe the sleep from my eyes and sit up. I groan, “What did we get? Two hours of sleep?” Miri nods and says, “Yes. That is plenty for an Elf. Get up! Here is some melon…” I groan and say, “But I am only half Elf…” I take the melon and quickly swallow it. Surprisingly, I am quickly wide awake, though, and ready to go.

We are in less of a hurry going back to the castle than we had been coming to my parent’s rescue. I walk between my parents and revisit the last part of Mother’s story, “So, Mother. After you got the information from the Sequoia, how did you convince Father to…well…, you know…?” Father laughs and says, “She was very convincing. She waltzed right into my castle, asked for an audience, and outlined her proposal… In reality it was a proposal… At first, our union was one of necessity… Over time, it has become much, much more…” He looks over at her fondly and she returns the look.

I muse, “And Mother, you realized that the Black Witch was the first of the Halflings mentioned…the only Halfling in existence. One that just so happened to meet the other criteria… But, that the second had to be your child… Yours…and Father’s…?” She smiles and nods, as she says, “Yes, it was the only solution that fit what the Sequoia foretold. It took quite some convincing—but, eventually, your Father saw the light.” She giggles and squeezes my hand.

I shake my head, still confused, and ask, “So…I still don’t understand what Vanmoriel and I have to do with any of this…” Mother shakes her head and says, “The Sequoia wasn’t clear on that either…at least not to me. All I know is that you are part of the key to opening relations back up between humans and Elves…and Vanmoriel is the other part. Once humans and Elves work together, the poisonous stream can be stemmed…”

I drop back next to Miri. It is still weird to be the same height as her… I say, “Miri, I don’t understand any of this. Do you?” She shakes her head and says, “No, Nelle. Not really… But, it looks like life is going to be interesting for the next little bit… Now, straighten up, girl! Look proud! You look good in your Mother’s clothes, by the way... You were just lucky she had some extra ones in her pack—or you would be walking into town naked, right now!”

She giggles as the group enters the edge of town…

NOTE: This is the end of the first book. As with all good fantasy tales, it has to be in at least a trilogy, right? If there is interest, I will start posting Book 2, soon. Just let me know!