Some interesting information: Through time, the elves became Elemental spirits of the land, sea, and forest, who are sometimes portrayed as small to tall, good-natured creatures with brown and pale skin and delicate features. Iron does not kill elves, but it can injure them. They adore gifts of quartz crystal, pearl, moonstone, and silver.

Gray Elves: Not choosing to associate with any other magickal beings, they live in isolated meadowland. Gray elves have either silver hair and amber eyes, or pale, golden hair and violet eyes. They are very intelligent and extremely rare.

A/N: Last chapter.... Maybe I'll continue to put more chapters up as time goes by. Maybe.

"When I touch that flower, I am touching infinity. It existed long before there were human beings on this earth and will continue to exist for millions of years to come. Through the flower, I talk to the Infinite, which is only a silent force. This is not a physical contact. It is not the earthquake, wind, or fire. It is the invisible world. It is that small voice that calls up the elves."

Journey: Entering Elf Land

From my garden, I walk down the earthen path toward a magnificent ash tree. Its many branches stretch out like arms, in the chill of the late afternoon sun. As I move closer, I see that the base of the tree is about 30 ft. around. I walk past a bed of lavender and the sweet fragrance fills my senses, sending me back in time to when I was a young girl playing in my Nana's garden. I take another deep breath and continue on.

The brittle leaves covering the ground beneath the ash crunch and crackle as I walk under the canopy of the massive tree. I sit down between two gnarled roots, sinuously growing out from the base of the tree. Nestled against the trunk, I watch the shadows of the branches and leaves dance upon the ground. Like the ever-changing ash tree, the shadows have no permanent pattern. The shadows dance over my skin and I merge with them. The play of shadows shows me the essence of the ash. Supple strands of light and darkness weave in the wings of the wind, their canorous voices merging into one.

Immersed in the whispering shadows, my eyes travel from the ash to the ground. I focus on my surroundings and notice a large circle of wild mushrooms in the grass directly to the left of the massive tree. Within the circle, a clump of brightly colored marigolds grow. Their orange and gold heads bob slightly, to and fro, in the gentle wind. I think, 'How strange. This is the wrong time of year for marigolds to be blooming.'

I gasp as the earth within the mushroom circle suddenly begins to crack and spread apart. The yawning chasm in the ground continues to expand and break away until the entire circle is a deep hole. Recovering from my initial surprise and fright. I stand with my hand resting against the ash tree and I crane my head to look down the gaping crack.

I hesitate and move closer, more out of curiosity than caution. As I look down the opening, I see a path descending into the depths, leading to a land beyond.

As if being guided by an unseen hand, I enter the hole. Instead of being surrounded by darkness as I first expected, the underground cave is illuminated with a crepuscular light whose source emanates somewhere behind the distant shadows that stand before me. For the first 90 feet, two sheer granite walls stretch out on either side of the narrow earthen path. Soon the walls give away to a grassy meadow covered with wildflowers of every color. As I move closer to the source of light, I see that the tall distant shadows are actually two giant oaks, standing side by side, about 9 feet apart. They form the gate to the enchanting land of the elves.

I glide through the oak gate and a blinding golden light forces me to shade my eyes as I look around at dozens of exquisite earthen house crowned with the forests branches as roofs. My eyes adjust to the light, and I notice the finely crafted houses dotting the perimeter of a bright golden circle in the center of the town. The circle is covered with golden bricks that appear to be the source of the brilliant streaming light.

I notice a procession of tall people riding beautiful black and white Clydesdales approaching. The people wear green hooded cloaks and their features are soft and pleasing to the eye. The braided manes of the huge horses hang with tiny sliver bells that twinkle as the procession moves closer. In front rides a young women with luminous skin, emerald green eyes, and long, flowing midnight dark hair. Behind the young women rides a red-haired, green-eyed man playing a small flute. The melody from the delicate elf flute, intermingles with the sound of silver bells, creates an enchanting symphony of sound.

The young women smiles as they ride by and the young man nodes his head as his long fingers continue to press down on the holes of the sweet playing flute.

I follow the procession through the village. Everywhere around me the elf folk celebrate, dancing, arms linked, singing ancient songs. Their beautiful voices join together in a perfect cadence.

I watch the singing and dancing for a long time, but eventually close my eyes and drift to sleep. When I wake up, I find myself, once again, under the massive ash tree where my adventure began. I look at the Elf Ring in the grass. To my amazement there are now twice as many marigolds blooming as there were before. I touch the blossoms gently for a few minutes, smiling and remembering the enchanting land of the elves. As the afternoon light dims and the air grows colder, I stand up, stretch my body, and follow the earthen path back to my garden.

This chapter was mainly about how Iva got her certain smell. Again, last chapter.

Nekio-chan