Hello reader! When I published Forgotten Secrets, I said in the authors note that I had another story. This is it.

I published a forum called: Keeper of the Lost Cities Role Play. I would LOVE AND BE SUPER EXCITED AND GRATEFUL IF YOU WENT AND JOINED IT! Yeah, I'm pretty antsy to start Role Playing...

Story Time!

Chapter 1

Brooke curled up in the overstuffed chair, reading her book. Her only source of comfort, and safe house. Where she could escape to and forget about the world around her.

When Brooke had been only a baby, she'd been left on the door step of the New York City orphanage. By the fact Brooke was already talking, everyone knew she was different. While living there, Brooke read all the books contained in the orphanages small library. The books she liked best were the ones where the orphans ran away. At age five, Brooke tested it out. In the middle of the night, she sneaked through an open window, and left the huge building. For a few days, Brooke scavenged for loose change, and eventually reaped enough for a bus fare. By that time, the police were looking for her, forcing Brooke to change her appearance. She cut her blonde hair to her chin, and cut some bangs. After Brooke arrived in Manhattan, where the bus took her, she set out to find somewhere to stay. The option she liked best was the library. And Brooke had been there ever since. One other important event occurred the night she first slept in the library. That night, Brooke fell asleep like usual, but in the morning, awoke to the sound of voices. Well, electronicy voices. Brooke had peeled outside of the box she'd slept in, and saw a man, grabbing a mop. His lips weren't moving, yet she could hear his voice saying:

Work ends at 12:00 today, I'll meet up with Jessie for lunch...

When the man called for an assistant, the voices collided, and Brooke winced. She'd beared that burden ever since.

The dictionary Brooke had been reading slipped to the floor. As she bent to pick it up, Brooke noticed there were no more voices around. She peeked around a shelf, and noticed a white board with a hasty scrawl scribbled on it.

Story time: Fiona's Luck. Ages 3-9 welcome.

So that's where everyone was. Brooke ducked behind the shelf, when a woman and her little boy walked in.

"There's the story time, Billy." She said, in a cheerful tone, but her mental voice screamed: This is going to be bo-oring.

Brooke was concentrating so hard on fighting the migraine, she didn't notice the two teenagers advancing torward her. Not until one spoke did Brooke turn around.

"Excuse me?"

Brooke jumped and scrambled for something to say.

"The story time is over there." Brooke said, instantly facepalming mentally. Idiot, they probably weren't going to that. She scanned them both, wondering who they were. One was a girl, with mid-torso length blonde hair and big, golden flecked brown eyes. She was beautiful, even in ripped jeans, and a plain light gray t-shirt. The boy standing on her right was adorable and handsome, with his dark wavy hair, and impossibly teal eyes. Even his teal shirt and black pants were neatly pressed.

The girl laughed.

"Aren't you supposed to be in there though?" She asked. Brooke shrugged.

"I've already read that book anyway. I'm working on the dictionary right now." Brooke said. The teenagers shared a look.

"Do you come here often?" The boy questioned.

"I guess." Brooke mumbled.

"Do you live around here?" asked the girl.

"Why should you care? I'm not supposed to talk to stra-" Brooke was cut off by thousands of voices hitting her head. Story time was over. Brooke sat down, wincing and clutching her head. Then she remembered the teenagers. Slowly, Brooke pulled her hands down.

"I better go." Brooke said, standing up. The girl took her hand. Not in a 'I'm going to take you away type thing'. More of a gentle touch. A touch Brooke had never felt before. That's what made her stay.

"I know what it feels like, to be seven, people don't believe that you really do hear thoughts, and can't shut them out. I was there too. In fact, I had to bear it till I was twelve." The girl said.

"What do you mean? I don't have any family." Brooke replied.

"Oh, I'm sorry. So why are you here?" The girl asked.

"I... I live here." Brooke whispered. The girls face softened.

"Well, when I was twelve, Fitz found me. He's a Telepath too. And he was different because I couldn't hear his thoughts broadcasting about. Their there, you just can't hear them, unless you really try. It's like this for all Elves." The girl said, pointing to the guy behind her. Brooke realized she couldn't hear their thoughts.

"What do you mean, Elves?" Brooke asked, shakily.

"Brooke, this might be hard to believe, but you aren't human. Only Elves have special abilities. Only Elves don't have their thoughts broadcasted. Only Elves are naturally beautiful. Brooke, you're an Elf too. Just like Fitz and I." The girl said. The boy nodded. Brooke's eyes watered a bit. She wasn't human. Of course she was! Everyone knew Elves weren't real! But it just seemed to fit. All the reasons why she wasn't normal, and weird to others.

"I... I think I already believe you." Brooke said slowly. And she meant it. The girl smiled.

"I'm Sophie Foster, and that's Fitz Vacker." Sophie said.

"I'm Brooke Gates." Brooke said. Sophie stood up, and stared at Fitz a few moments.

"What are you doing?" Brooke asked.

"It's a Telepathic thing." Fitz said, speaking for once. He had a crisper accent than Sophie. It wasn't British, but it was something else.

"We can communicate by sending messages to each other through our brains." Sophie explained. Brooke's face lit up.

"So I can do that too?" Brooke asked. Sophie laughed and nodded.

"Brooke, how would you like to come live in the Lost Cities?" Fitz asked.

"What are the Lost Cities?" she asked.

"It's where the Elves live." Fitz explained.

"You would come live with me, and I could tell you the whole story on how I found out." Sophie said.

"How do I know your telling the truth? What if you are some spy that's trying to lock me up and run tests on me?" Brooke asked, suddenly scared. Sophie hugged her.

"That's not what we're going to do. If you think we're going to take you away and run weird tests on you, once we arrive, you can punch Fitz." Sophie said.

"Why me?" Fitz moaned. Brooke giggled. Sophie took Brooke's hand, as Fitz pulled out a wand. It refracted a light beam on the floor, when he locked the crystal on top into place.

"What's that?" Brooke asked.

"It's a leaping crystal. We're going to hitch a ride on a beam of light to Everglen, Fitz's home. Now, I'm going to put this on your wrist." Sophie explained, clasping a black bracelet with pink crystals weaves into an intricate design.

"How is that possible?" Brooke asked. Sophie shrugged.

"I guess we just can."

"What's the fancy bracelet for?" Brooke asked.

"In the leap, your body has to break down into thousands of pieces. This bracelet, called a neuxus, helps you hold your body together. Once you reach a certain level where your concentration is strong enough to hold you together in the leap, you can take it off, like Fitz and I." Sophie said.

"How do I know when my concentration is ready?" asked Brooke.

"When the light is fully green. Now, no more questions till later." Sophie replied. Brooke took Sophie's hand, and she took Fitz's. Together, they stepped into the light, and let it carry her away.

Please review, and don't forget to check out my forum!

-Lemma