Chapter Sixteen: Transformations

Filior reread the page twice more before handing it back to Eli. He hadn't understood a word of it. "What does it mean?"

"She has some sort of... genetic trait. It requires her to change her form." Eli explained.

"Do I have it?"

"I don't know. I don't know what it is."

Filior stared at Eli, then back to the page. "So... She's going to change form is what it's saying. What form is she going to take?"

The other elf shrugged. "Heavens if I know. All I know is, she needs a trigger to set it off."

"She's a firesnake," said the young prince.

"Filior..." He gave him a scolding look, then added. "She'd be a water dragon."

"She would not."

"Would too."

"Would not!"

"Would too!"

They both were silenced by the librarian hissing at them to be quiet.

"Would not." whispered Filior, running from the library to escape argument.

*~*~*~*

She clasped the chain around her neck. The moment Elorelei put the necklace on, she regretted it. Fire leapt up from inside her body, scorching her from the very marrow of her bones. She was vaguely aware of her own screaming while Legolas looked on, horror-struck.

Something inside melted away and she felt emptier, but the fire had subsided to an uncomfortable heat. Her muscles contracted until her whole body was tensed in some horrible cramp, but they kept cramping, shrinking. She was shrinking. Just as she stopped screaming, she started again. Not from pain, but terror.

Legolas was frozen in place. He knew he needed to run and get someone, but who? Who would know what to do in this situation?

Elorelei curled up into a helpless ball. For a moment, he was shocked at how small she could make herself. Then again, this was a shocking position. The once loud piercing screaming she had reduced to animalistic shrieks. It occurred to the prince to be afraid. Elorelei might not have control over what she was becoming.

What was she becoming? She was getting smaller and her skin was breaking out into small bumps. The bumps grew bigger and rounder, then suddenly, they turned white. He crouched down and looked closer at them. Long white things were protruding through her skin like knives being pushed out from inside. Slowly, they grew out and Legolas had to fight the strong urge he had to throw up as they were stained with ruby red blood and leaking at the lumps they had come from.

All the while, she continued to shrink and shriek helplessly. Then, all at once, the pain was gone. It was like it had never been there. She shivered and heard a gasp from Legolas, but she didn't move just yet. After deciding that laying there wasn't going to help anything, she rolled over. Pushing herself up one wing-

Hold on.... wing?

She opened her mouth to scream again, except instead there was a proud, yellow beak in place of her mouth and she didn't scream, she shrieked.

"Elorelei.... you're a bird," said Legolas stupidly, staring as if someone had numbed his brain.

'Brilliant deduction.' She tried to say, but she only shrieked more. That only made her more frustrated. She waddled on her feathered legs and flapped and jumped awkwardly to get Legolas to say something. 'EXPLAIN! EXPLAIN!' She thought. 'Tell me something!'

He jumped. "I don't know what to tell you! I don't have an explanation! It's just too weird!" He cried.

This got her to stop flapping. 'You can hear me?'

"Y-Yes..." He shuffled uncertainly.

The bird heaved a sigh, which like it was ruffling its feathers. 'Good. What am I?'

"A bird." repeated Legolas, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

The bird squawked and beat its large wings, menacingly. 'What KIND of bird, you empty-headed BLONDE!'

"Mean brunette." He retorted.

"Legolas?" came an amused voice. "Are you fighting with a bird?"

(A/N: Nyah-nyah-nuh-nyah-nyah.)