Chapter 7: Meeting in the Night
The next night the girls waited until midnight to set out. They were sure that no one was awake to follow them or even suspect anything. They traveled in the dark until they were certain no one from Enedloss could see them. After walking the familiar path they quickly came upon the city. The once busy streets were dark and deserted. The dimly lit corners gave everything a haunting feel.
"I never knew how creepy this place was at night." Whispered Firre.
"So where exactly do we find this story teller?" asked Lira.
"He lives and works in the archives. Anything there is to know is there and hopefully so are our answers." Said Trinity as she led the way.
Moving silently through the city they came to a large cottage slightly out of the way of the center of the city. Trinity led the others to the back entrance and there she knocked on the door. No answer came. She knocked harder this time and a muffled answer came.
"Who's there?" it said.
"Travelers looking for an answer." Trinity answered back. The door opened and Rinel stood in the doorway.
"Hmm." He surveyed the visitors at his door. His face was hard and unreadable but then it softened. It seemed his visitors passed the test. "Come in. Perhaps I can help with whatever it is you need."
The girls slowly walked through the door, not without giving questioning looks at Rinel. He led them through a couple hallways and waved them into a large room with a blazing fire in the hearth. By the fire were some chairs and a little ways behind them were some tables with stacks of paper and bottles upon bottles of ink. The walls were covered with shelves and every one of them was filled with books. From the top of the ceiling to the bottom of the floor was nothing but books. It seemed that the entire history of the world was written down and kept in this one room.
"Now, what is it that you want to know?" Rinel asked seating himself in one of the chair.
"What do you know about an elf named Nelia?" Trinity asked.
Rinel got up and walked to on of the walls, muttering to himself throughout his search. Finally he pulled a book from the very bottom. It was quite thin and extremely dusty. He sat and on of the tables and lit a few candles before motioning to the girls to join him.
"Where should I begin?" he asked.
"Start where she came here. I want to know about the murder she committed." Answered Trinity.
"Let's see, here it is. Nelia was sent on an errand from the Council of Enedloss to discover information of the rumor of an elf uprising. She was here for ten years. In those ten years she married a mortal named Illien who had a son from a pervious marriage. In the last two years of her stay she found out Illien's brother Aerol wanted the king to make peace with the elves thereby revealing the location of Enedloss and she killed him. After the murder she disappeared not to be seen again."
"But why would she kill Aerol if he wanted to make peace with the elves. It doesn't make sense." Lira said.
Rinel flipped through the book and then turned to the very back. He then got up again and walked over to a different shelf and pulled a thicker book. He turned to a specific place and read. "Here is a writing of Illien during Nelia's visit. We have a plan. Nelia has decided to murder Aerol because of the peace talks he is starting. This cannot happen because if it does these two nations together would be too powerful, not to mention the union of other elf and mortal nations. The word of the rebel cause has not yet spread but if Aerol is killed it will catch like wild fire. We must remind men everywhere of why we kept the elves at bay in the first place. It was that elf-witch Luinare who took the prince away and forced him to turn against his city. They are evil creatures and must be wiped off this Earth! Although Nelia is an elf, she is different. She is in an elvish league that has joined with the rangers. They are rebels like us and want to kill the ones that have given them this evil reputation. After she kills Aerol I told her to hide away for a while until I give the signal to return. But what I must do is get my son to join with us; he will make a valuable asset in the final war in years to come. If I make Nelia out to be an enemy, he will surely join. All that there is left to do is wait for the perfect moment for the uprising."
"I still don't get it. Nelia is a rebel elf that turned against her own people and they are just waiting for a sign to attack us?" Firre said, even more confused.
"You see dear girls, Illien is the product of years of hatred toward elves. See, in the time of Luinare and Nevelion, elves were said to be evil creatures because they were suspected of witchcraft. Of course, elves have magic that mortals don't understand so that's how it started. When a mortal does not understand something it immediately becomes evil and if one person can get a few more people to believe it, then it becomes true in a way. That is why that battle happened, because of a misunderstanding. Men thought elves were evil and elves began to think men were barbaric and the kind of people who only want power and riches. They were driven by these ideas until they just exploded with anger and fought each other. That is why you must hide and live in fear."
"Wait, why did you say that?" Trinity said suspiciously.
"Say what?"
"That we must hide and live in fear. You said it as though you thought we are elves ourselves."
Rinel sighed. "It must be because you are half elven. You don't even recognize one of your own kind." He then tucked back his shoulder length hair and revealed his pointed ears. "Girls, I am an elf like you but unlike you I am a full blooded elf. I have seen this whole prejudice start. I was there the day Luinare met Nevelion. I was there when the first man cried to the people about elvish magic. I was there when the battle broke out and here I am watching three young girls trying to undo this hatred."
"So, from a man who has seen it all, do you have any advice?" asked Firre.
"Yes, I do. The attack of the rebels will happen sooner than you think. Because of the love you have for three of these rebels, you can join together and stop it. It is said that everyone is born with a certain fate and I believe that the fate of the six of you is to finally bring understanding to this world of hate. Now be off with you! And reveal this to no one, is that clear?"
The girls nodded their heads in agreement as Rinel pushed them out the door.
"That was odd. I wonder why he made us leave so suddenly." Lira said.
Then the girls paused, they could hear something in the distance. They looked around but saw nothing. Listening once more, they heard the sounds getting closer and looked in the direction of the sound. Firre drew in her breath and looked panicked all of a sudden.
"Rangers." Whispered Trinity. "Run!"
They ran as fast as they could but the sounds of the ranger's horses were close behind. Lira was ahead of the others and did not slow her pace. That is, until she heard the cries of her friends long behind her.
