"Come here, kids!" Renee called.
A large group of children bustled over to her.
"Story time?" Lisa asked hopefully, giving Renee puppy dog eyes.
Renee laughed. "Yep, story time!"
"Yay!" Lisa cried, smiling happily.
"Melanie, Daniel, come here!" Renee said suddenly.
Everybody turned to see Melanie and Daniel whispering in the far corner of the play area.
"MELANIE!" Renee said loudly. "DANIEL!"
The two children jumped, turned around, blushed, and hurried over. When they sat down at the back of the group Daniel whispered something to Melanie who grinned and nodded.
"Now then, what story would you children like to hear?" Renee asked, frowning at Melanie and Daniel.
"Can we hear the one about King Huor and Queen Ránëwén,"Lisa asked quietly.
Renee smiled. "Of course."
"You always want to listen to that story!" Darek exclaimed loudly.
Lisa turned a deep shade of puce.
"Maybe Lisa has a connection to that story…" Renee said quietly, then gasped and covered her mouth quickly.
"What?" Melanie asked loudly. "How would Lisa have a connection to a story that's not true and took place hundreds of years ago?"
"Now, you don't know that it was hundreds of years ago, or that it's not true," Renee answered mysteriously, a twinkle in her eye.
"What do you mean?" Melanie asked suspiciously.
Renee shook her head. "Forget I ever said that. Now, I'll begin the story…
"Long ago, when there were things such as elves and wizards, the king and queen of Turgon, a mighty Elvish kingdom. The king and queen's names were King Huor and Queen Itarildë and they had three daughters named Anaranë, Mélánië, and Arelisá. They also had a handsome son named Findaráto.
"King Huor was mighty, fair, and intelligent. He led many hunts, and fought in many wars. He was respected by all his people. King Huor had dirty blonde hair and blue eyes.
"Queen Itarildë was fair and young. She had strawberry blonde hair and bright green eyes. She was kind and helpful, and made as many decisions as King Huor. She enjoyed reading and writing novels.
"Now, the children were far different. Findaráto was the oldest at age fourteen. Next in line was Anaranë, fourteen, Mélánië, twelve, and Arelisá, ten. Findaráto and Anaranë were fraternal twins.
"Findaráto was loud and brave, and left the castle to ride through the countryside often. He had dirty blonde hair that fell casually around his face. His eyes were blue.
"Anaranë was mature, innocent, and ladylike, the heir to the throne. She was frail and small, but very beautiful, with strawberry blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. She also helped her parents make decisions.
"Mélánië was the troublemaker. She had long, flaming red hair and bright green eyes. She owned a unicorn and rode her through the wilderness, encountering animals which she took home to take care of. She also enjoyed playing pranks on her siblings and the maids. Mélánië was very courageous, like her older brother Findaráto, and often caught the spiders, toads, frogs, and salamanders that Anaranë and Arelisá were afraid of.
"The youngest, Arelisá, was tiny and skinny, almost an exact replica of Anaranë, except that she had dirty blonde hair instead of light blonde hair. Her eyes were the same sparkling blue as Anaranë's. Arelisá was innocent, the baby of the family. She always got her way and was looked out by her family. She enjoyed reading and drawing, and listening to her mother tell stories."
Suddenly, Phaedra interrupted Renee. "You know, I just realized something."
"Yes?" Renee asked, turning to Phaedra.
"Phae, be quiet, I want to hear the story!" Lisa said, turning her big blue eyes to Renee. "Please continue."
"No, I think that's enough for today," Renee said, sighing and standing up.
Lisa stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. "Pwease?" she asked in her most babyish voice.
Renee smiled. "No, not today I'm afraid."
"I wanted to say something!" Phaedra exclaimed, annoyed.
"Oh! I'm sorry, dear, go on," Renee answered.
"Well, I was going to point out that the characters in the story seem just like Dar-"
"No, time for bed," Renee said, cutting Phaedra off. She sent the children upstairs, muttering to herself.
"Do you think Renee's hiding something from us?" Marie asked as the kids brushed their teeth.
"Obviously!" Melanie replied.
Marie blushed.
"Don't be so snappy, Melanie," Ana said, frowning at Melanie.
Melanie made a face at her.
"Melanie, come here," Daniel whispered.
Melanie turned to see Daniel by the top of the stairs. She rushed over to him. "What?" she asked quietly. Daniel put a finger to his mouth, indicating for her to be quiet. "Listen," was all he said.
Melanie and Daniel sat at the top of the stairs, straining their ears to listen to the voices speaking at the bottom of the stairs.
"It's Renee and Damien," Melanie whispered, recognizing the voices.
Daniel nodded in agreement. "What are they talking about?"
Melanie shrugged. "Keep listening."
"I think they're beginning to remember," Renee told Damien quietly. She obviously didn't want to be heard.
"What? They…No, the king and queen said they wouldn't…" Damien replied.
"Well, Ana's leaving soon, anyway, why shouldn't they begin to remember?" Renee asked.
Damien groaned. "Renee, they aren't supposed to remember, you remember what the king and queen explained to us!"
Renee sighed. "I know, I know, I know better than you. I've been wondering, how are we going to sneak Ana and Derek away without the other children noticing? You know they will! And then we'll have not kept our promise and will be punished, plus, they will demand to know everything."
"I understand, but we'll have to try," Damien replied.
Melanie turned to Daniel. "Ana and Derek are…leaving?" she asked in horror.
"Shush…I think I heard something upstairs," Damien said suddenly.
"I have a hunch it's Melanie and Daniel, and I bet you they were listening!" Renee cried.
Daniel turned to Melanie, his eyes wide open, and the two sprinted to the bathroom, where Lisa and Aaron were finishing their teeth.
"What were you doing?" Aaron asked quietly as Renee and Damien appeared at the top of the stairs.
"Tell you later," Daniel replied, putting toothpaste on his brush.
"Daniel! Melanie! Were you two listening?" Damien asked in a dangerous voice.
"No," Daniel replied, brushing his molars.
"Oh really?" Damien asked, stepping into the bathroom.
"Yes really," Melanie replied, not flinching, and managing to keep a straight face.
Damien sighed and turned to Renee. "You can't get anything out of these two," he said, indicating to Melanie and Daniel. "I shouldn't have tried."
Renee laughed. "Good night Melanie, Daniel, Aaron, Lisa," she said, smiling at them.
"Good night, Renee!" the foursome called back.
~*~
"Mel, you awake?" a voice whispered quietly in the childrens' bedroom.
"Yep," Melanie replied. "Is that Dan?"
"Yeah," Daniel replied.
"Okay, just checking, wanna go spy on Renee and Damien?"
"Duh."
Melanie and Daniel got up and crept out of their bedroom and to the top of the stairs. They could hear Damien and Renee talking quietly.
"When will Ariel and Hugh arrive?" they heard Damien ask.
"You mean Itarildë and Huor? In the morning, around eleven o'clock, I think…" Renee replied quietly.
"Will they bring Ana and Derek to attend SilverArrow?" Damien asked.
"Yes, she will," Renee replied.
"And the other children?"
"Melanie, Lisa, Daniel, and Aaron, will, as well."
"What about Brian, Sean, Phaedra, and Marie?"
"Oh, they won't exactly be in the same…place as the others," Renee replied.
"Oh yes, I forgot, only Melanie, Lisa, Dan, and Aaron are el-"
"DAMIEN!" Renee exclaimed softly.
"Sorry," Damien replied. "But I'm right, aren't I? Brian, Sean, Phaedra, and Marie aren't like the others."
"Yes, that's right, and I'd like to stop talking about this because the kids might be listening!"
"Yeah, whatever, but I still don't agree on the king and queen's decision. I think they should know."
"I disagree as well, you know that, but I'm not going to break my promise."
"Yeah…Let's get some sleep," Damien replied, sighing heavily.
Melanie and Daniel heard the two adults begin to head upstairs. "Hurry, get into bed!" Melanie mouthed. She and Daniel rushed into their rooms and crawled under the covers.
"Goodnight, Damien!" they heard Renee say as she shut her door.
"Goodnight, Renee," Damien replied.
Damien poked his head into the kids' room to make sure they were all sleeping. Seeing all the children 'sound asleep,' he left the room, satisfied, and shut the door to his own bedroom.
~*~
"ANA!" Melanie shouted into her friend's ear. She took Ana's shoulders and shook them wildly.
"What?" Ana asked groggily.
"Wake up!" Melanie exclaimed.
"Why?" Ana asked, sitting up slowly. She saw Lisa standing right beside Melanie, her eyes wide in terror. "There are people here," Lisa whispered. "Rich people."
"Daniel and I heard something last night, we heard Damien and Renee talking, we think they're the king and queen of some land, and they're here to take you away!" Melanie explained quickly.
"What?" Ana asked in bewilderment, even though she had heard what Melanie had said perfectly. "No…why would they be here for me?"
"Not just you! They're gonna take Derek away, too!"
"But…why?" Ana asked.
"I dunno! I just heard Damien and Renee talking! I can't explain anything!" Melanie cried. By now all the kids were listening.
"They're taking Ana and I?" Derek asked, gaping at Melanie.
Melanie nodded sadly. "You two are twins, I think that has something to do with it."
"We're what?" Derek asked sharply.
"You're twins," Daniel said, who was standing right beside Derek.
Derek and Ana looked at each other and shook their heads.
"No…no!" Derek replied in horror.
"Yep," Melanie replied, grinning. "Fraternal twins. Daniel and I learned that about a month ago, in case you haven't noticed, we listen in on a lot of Renee and Damien's conversations, so we know things."
"Things you're not supposed to know!" hissed Marie.
"It's not my fault you're too scared to take risks," Melanie replied, shrugging.
Marie scowled at her.
"Ana! Derek! Come down here please!" a voice called, it sounded like Renee's.
"Just you two, alone," they heard Damien add.
Ana and Derek glanced at each other and walked out of the room.
Daniel eyed Melanie as the two left, and she nodded. They crept out of the room and to the top of the stairs, their normal spying location.
"Melanie? What are you doing?" a voice whispered.
Melanie glanced down to see Lisa standing beside her. "I'm listening to what's going on down there," Melanie replied.
"Okay," Lisa said, and she waved her hand at the door to the bedroom for the others to come out, too. The rest of the kids (Phaedra, Marie, Aaron, Sean, and Brian) knelt down beside Lisa, Melanie, and Daniel. The group listened, straining their ears to hear what was going on downstairs.
"Derek, Ana, I'd like you to meet…er…Hugh and Ariel," they heard Renee say.
"Pleased to meet you," Ana said.
"Hey, I'm Derek," greeted Derek.
"Hello Ana, Derek," said a sweet, honey-filled voice.
"Pleasure meeting you," said a deep voice.
The clutter moved their position to the bottom of the stairs, where they could peer around a corner and under a desk to watch what was happening. The two guests were a man and a woman, the man had dark blonde hair and bright blue eyes. The woman had strawberry blonde hair and green eyes. The man's name was obviously Hugh, and the woman was Ariel.
"Ana, Derek, Ariel is my sister," Renee said.
"Excuse me?" Ana asked, trying to act polite.
Renee sighed. "Ariel is my sister, and Hugh is Ariel's husband. Damien here is Hugh's best friend."
"Why haven't you talked about them before, then?" Derek asked.
"I need to tell you something," Renee said after a few moments. She sighed again. "Ana, Derek, these people are your parents."
"WHAT?!" Derek and Ana exclaimed at the same time.
"Ariel is your mother and Hugh is your father," Damien said, trying to explain for Renee.
"We're orphans! That's why we've been living in this orphanage!" Ana cried.
Damien shook his head. "That was just a cover-up. You, and all the other children, are not orphans."
"You're kidding," Derek replied, shaking his head.
"I'm afraid not," Damien answered.
"You've been lying to us!" Ana cried. "You too!" she added, turning to Renee.
"You must understand!" Renee began. "It was to keep you safe!"
"How?" Ana asked, sounding hurt. "You haven't just lied to Derek and I, you've lied to Melanie, Lisa, Phaedra, Marie, Brian, Aaron, Daniel, and Sean, too!"
"They'll learn soon," Damien said. "But you two, being the oldest, naturally learned first."
"These people – your parents – would like to take you to their house, where you will attend a school called SilverArrow."
"I like being home-schooled," Ana said.
"I refuse to leave," Derek replied stubbornly.
"I have something else I need to tell you," Renee said suddenly.
"Why should we believe you? You've lied about everything else!" Derek contradicted.
"Please, just listen," Renee said desperately. "You're not humans, you're-"
"Pardon me?" Ana asked, her eyebrows raised. "How can we not be humans?"
"You're elves," Renee said.
"You've got to be kidding me," Derek said, shaking his head.
"No, I'm not," Renee shot back. "And you're going to leave this 'orphanage' with your real parents and go to an Elvish school. By the way, your parents are the king and queen of the modern kingdom of Turgon."
Derek gaped at her.
Ana blinked and opened her mouth a few times before words came out. "Turgon…story…elves…" was all they could make out.
"Yes, Ariel and Hugh are really Huor and Itarildë, the rulers of Turgon, and you, Derek, are their only son, Findaráto, and Ana is their eldest daughter, Anaranë. You two are fraternal twins."
"But that story occured years ago!" exclaimed Ana.
Renee nodded. "Yes, it did, but on Lisa's first birthday-"
"Wait, what does Lisa have to do with this?" Derek asked.
"Oh, sorry, Melanie and Lisa are the other two daughters, Mélánië and Arelisá," Renee said.
"That's why Ana, Melanie, Lisa, and I seemed so much like the characters in the story!" Derek exclaimed suddenly. "The others and I thought you purposely made them up to be like us."
Renee shook her head. "No, that story is true, just like I told you. But as I was saying, when Lisa had her first birthday, one wizard was not invited to the ceremony. He appeared while the other three wizards (and witches) were presenting gifts to her, just as they had done with Melanie, Ana, and Derek. When the evil sorcerer discovered that he had not been invited, he grew furious. So, as his 'gift' for the baby, he transported the entire kingdom of Turgon into present time."
"Why were you keeping us in this 'orphanage' to keep us safe?" Derek asked.
"Because the sorcerer was transported as well, and he is now searching for both you and the other children in this orphanage, and he is accompanied by other dangerous wizards. To make sure he would not find you, Ariel asked her sister – me – to watch over all of you, and keep you safe, until you were old enough to leave for the Elvish school that was built, SilverArrow."
"Wait, why don't we look like elves?" Ana asked suddenly.
"Because I have been putting a few drops of a potion into the elves in this orphanages' drinks to prevent their ears from becoming pointy and so that they do not remember their past."
"We've been living in here, and been lied to, for about ten years, then, right? Ten years ago the 'evil sorcerer' cast the spell," Derek calculated, doing the math in his head.
"Yes," answered Ariel, who made Ana and Derek jump, as they had expected Damien or Renee to answer.
"We're sorry we had to keep you all in the dark for so long, but it was for your own safety," Hugh explained.
"Now you can come with us and learn magic and begin to speak Elvish!" Ariel said hopefully. "Don't worry, the others will be coming soon."
"Magic?" Derek asked, suddenly persuaded to go with his real parents.
"Elvish?" Ana asked, sounding interested.
"Yes, yes, all of that, and much more," Ariel replied.
"My sister, Alatariel, runs SilverArrow School, and both you and the other children will attend, along with many other kids around your age."
Ana and Derek looked at Renee. "Please go with them?" Renee pleaded. "I'll see you again, don't worry! And you'll see the other kids, too!"
"I think we've persuaded them to go," Damien said. "If that's the case, then there's no time to waste, is there?"