An Elf's Tale

Prologue

I was never one for adventures. I was one for reading and writing, studying and learning; never did I think in a million years I would go on an adventure others would have died to go on. One that would shape my future, and that of the world around me; one that would change me forever.
I was just your average person, going about, oblivious to the things around me; never seeing the big picture. Life revolved around schoolwork and good grades. I had a very selfish perspective of life, and often failed to realize that there was an entire world apart from me, and that I wasn't the center of it all. But then again, so did most people on Earth.

I never did anything interesting in the first 17 years of my life. Of course, I did have talents and hobbies, and I often put them to great use, but nothing interesting happened to me. Life was the same every day. I worked and studied, drew and played music, repeat. But I was just fine with that. Like I said, I was never one for adventure. Change wasn't my thing.

So why was I here? How did I end up in such a place that practically spells adventure? How was it that I happened to be in the right place at the right time? I feel I may never know. These questions used to enter my mind all the time, but not anymore. I've accepted it now. I guess that once you've seen the things I have, anything seems possible, and you learn not to question anything anymore.
So this is my adventure. One that follows a journey of friendship and hope, and one that will follow me forever.

It all began in a little town in New York…

Chapter 1

"GET UP!" I heard, followed by a banging on the door that, based on the cracking noises it was now beginning to make, threatened to be thrown off its hinges.
I groaned and rolled over after checking the ungodly hour at which I was being woken up. 4:30 A.M. Yay for me. Burying my face in the pillow, I silently seethed at having to get up this early.

I'm not sure why I had to get up that early every morning. In fact, I hadn't really though much of it until now. I didn't do much of anything in the mornings. But, oh well I suppose. Haven't got to worry about that any more have I?
I was planning on taking a walk into town that day. I figured it'd do me good to get out of the house and see some friends. Maybe it'd clear my head a bit. Boy, if I only knew...

It was a small town, hardly even noticeable if you weren't looking for it. Nothing much happened there for it contained little more than a gas station and town store. Everyone in the town knew each other. It was a very close knit community.

The people were very quiet but every once in in a blue moon a traveler would pass through. They were always easy to spot. They knew nothing of our little town and more often than not were very obnoxious; or at least they were to the simpletons that inhabited the town. They could never get enough pictures. I've always hated tourists; something about them just irks me. I lived on the outskirts of this town, quite frankly in the middle of nowhere. My land was located in the middle of a rather vast, thick, forest.

The house itself was relatively small. I lived there with my mother, father, and my younger brother. My family was a typical family; father a construction worker, mother a nurse, brother an idiot. We didn't make much money, but that was the same with pretty every family those days. It was a nice and quiet life there you know, being isolated and all.

However, while you may be thinking we lived in complete and utter isolation with no contact to the outside world, that wasn't completely true. I of course went to school, and had friends. Ok, well I had like three. But we were close. You could say that my best friend was Austin. We were practically the same person save for him being a guy and I a girl.

I will admit at times it could be frustrating being so far away from the center of town, but we learned to deal with it. We provided for ourselves. But anyways, back to my 'oh so fateful walk' that morning.

I donned my coat and gloves seeing as how it was the start of fall, and in those parts of New York, it was already frigid outside this time of year.
I stepped past the threshold of the front door and blew out a long sigh as the cold wind bit at my face. Damn it was cold. Just then realizing it would have been smart to have brought a scarf and hat; I inwardly shrugged and took off nonetheless. I wouldn't be gone for too long... or so I had thought.

It was a very brisk morning, even more so than usual, serving as a dreadful reminder to the lengthy, harsh winter to come. Snow had yet to fall as September had only just begun, but the frigid air sure made up for it. The wind howled around me as I bowed my head and walked at a rather normal pace down the street, hands shoved deep into my coat pockets.

At this early hour in the morning there was hardly anyone up, so the walk was peaceful and it left me to my thoughts. I thought back over the past few weeks. I had been having this overwhelming feeling of disappointment in a sense that I hadn't really done anything with my life. It was rather silly given I was only 17 but I still couldn't shake the feeling. I never went anywhere or saw anything. I never did crazy things with my friends. I never ever went to parties or any social gatherings for that matter. I wasn't bored by any means; it was just that I felt I needed to do something interesting. Something people would recognize me for. Like I said, it was a silly thought.

This past week had marked the beginning of my senior year in high school. It was both an exciting and mellow notion to think about. Going to such a small school was going to make the whole "saying goodbye" happenstance at the end of the year that much harder. However, I couldn't wait to actually be able to start my life with college and all that crazy stuff that you really don't think much of until your senior year.

My friends were probably some of the best people in my life. The ones who understand you, who actually know you. They were going to make my senior year worth it ten times over. I knew that once I left high school, I wouldn't have to worry about leaving them, as we would always stay friends, and that was a comfortable thought.

I caught myself grinning like an idiot when I returned from my bout of thinking. I also found myself in a place I hadn't recognized. That was strange. I had taken that route to town at least 400 times. I knew it better than anyone else. How on earth had I ended up here? And what a curious place; a forest. A very dense forest. But these weren't my woods, in fact I had never seen them before in my life. I took in my surroundings and realized I hadn't even been following a trail. Surly I would have noticed if I had wandered off somewhere, entranced by my thoughts or not. I was surrounded by darkness, which was odd since it couldn't have been any later than 6AM. I looked to the sky in search of the sun, but found that a majority of the sky was covered by the trees' over growth. That's when I felt myself being pelted in the face with something. Rain. The wind had stopped, and it was beginning to rain, quite a contrast from the weather earlier. My confusion only continued to grow as I noted the nature of the trees around me. They were unlike any I had seen before, and I knew my fair share of trees. They were tall. Very tall. A rather uncommon trait for trees in northern New York. They were very dense with leaves, which also possessed a pattern and shape I had yet to ever see. My confusion turned to fear, and my fear to terror.

You know that feeling you get when you think you are being watched? Yeah, me too. A chill passed through me, and I didn't have time to question anything more as I felt something solid connecting with the back of my skull. A split second of sharp pain, and then blackness.