A/N: Happy Halloween to everybody! ^^ Well, here is the next installment of More than Meets the Eye. Right now I'm handing out candy, and Lij is dressed up in a Halloween mask. I would also like to say that the booth for receiving hedgehog names is now closed. In the next chapter, I'll post the five names that I liked the most, and you guys get to vote on its name!

And now, the moment you've been waiting for...

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Chapter Ten: Stories in the Hidden Glen

"Hurry up, this way!" giggled Nessa as she dragged Meryl down the hall. For such a small being, Nessa had a lot of strength. Dae followed, always a step behind, even with his injured leg.

"Where are you taking me?" laughed Meryl. "I thought that I was going to meet your friends."

"You are. I am taking you to our secret place." The elfling led Meryl out of the Homely House, and into the forest. The birds had resumed singing since her walk, or maybe they had been singing the whole time and Meryl never really paid attention. In fact, she was remembering how Nessa had come to her room while she was still asleep, and had woken her up to take her to meet the others. Meryl had tried to get her to leave, but Nessa wouldn't take no for an answer. Now a crabby Meryl was trudging through the forest.

"How much longer will it take?" she asked.

"Not much."

"Will you at least let me go?"

Nessa released her grip on Meryl's hand. "Sorry."

Meryl flexed her hand by opening and closing it. She glanced down at Nessa as they continued walking. "You've got a grip, you know that?"

The elfling giggled and said, "Come on. Hurry up."

Meryl followed Nessa down a path. Trees grew high overhead, and once in a while, a leaf would drift slowly down to the earth. Meryl took a deep breath, and welcomed the peace that pushed away the feeling of chaos in her life. She quietly followed Nessa, with Dae at her side. She glanced down at her Labrador who calmly stared back up at her.

"Good boy," she whispered, and rubbed the top of his head. His tail wagged and they continued on.

At one point Nessa turned off of the path and went into the bushes. "Meryl! This way."

Meryl was hesitant, but followed the elfling into the forest. "Nessa, could you slow down a bit?" she called, looking behind herself. "I think Dae will have a little trouble walking through here."

"Of course." Nessa slowed her pace to a stop, letting Meryl and Dae catch up. When they did, she smiled brightly and said, "It is not much further. Do not worry Dae." She rubbed the top of his head. Meryl felt like laughing when she noticed that Dae was only half of Nessa's height.

"Exactly how old are you?" she asked the elfling on an impulse.

Nessa drew herself up to full height. "I am forty-three and a half years old."

Meryl's jaw dropped. {Holy crap!} she thought. {She's twice as old as I am!}

"What?" Nessa's forehead wrinkled. "What is wrong?"

"Forty-three?" questioned Meryl. When Nessa nodded, she said. "I'm only eighteen."

"Eighteen?" Nessa's eyes grew wide. "But- But you are taller than me!"

Meryl gave a half smile. "I guess it's because I'm human, and you're not."

"Eighteen years old... You would be a toddler in Elvish years!"

Meryl grimaced. "Don't remind me." She quickly changed the subject. "Come on, lead the way."

Nessa began walking again. "What do you mean, 'Don't remind me?'"

"Nothing."

"We are friends, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So, why cannot you tell me?"

"Because I don't want to."

"But friends are supposed to keep each other's secrets."

"So?"

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

Nessa's lower lip quivered. "Why cannot you tell me though?"

Meryl sighed. "I already told you. I don't want to."

Nessa shrugged a sight that Meryl wasn't used to. Since when do Elves shrug? "Oh well. You will tell me sooner or later. Anyways, we are here."

"Where's here?" Meryl looked around. They stood at the base of a large cliff. Ivy climbed up the rocky face. They were near the borders of the valley in which Rivendell was. "But we're just next to a cliff."

Nessa giggled. "No! We are not, silly." She stepped forward and pushed some of the ivy to the side. Meryl's eyes grew wide and she gave a small gasp. The ivy only covered a tunnel, not the side of the cliff! Nessa stepped inside and motioned with her head for Meryl to follow her.

With Dae at her side, the human girl quietly followed. The ivy fell back into place behind them; covering the entrance once more. It was dark inside the tunnel, and yet Meryl could still see. Maybe that was because there was a light towards the end of the tunnel.

{How silly,} thought Meryl. {A light at the end of the tunnel.}

She followed Nessa down the tunnel until they came to the end. It turned out that the light was actually being blocked. Ivy covered the exit as well as the entrance. Nessa pushed the ivy aside and said, "After you, my lady."

"Please don't call me lady," growled Meryl as she stepped outside. She blinked in the sunlight, blinded for only a moment. When her vision cleared, she was so awed, she couldn't speak.

Bright green grass, speckled with unidentified white flowers, covered a clearing like a velvet-green carpet. Sunlight streamed in through gaps in the surrounding trees. Songbirds sang merrily amidst the leafy branches. A waterfall was only a hundred feet away, pouring crystal-clear water into a glittering pool, surrounding by large boulder. Lily pads floated quietly in the water.

Meryl quietly made her way to one of the boulders and stuck her bare feet into the water. The coolness of the water shocked her skin, but she kept her feet submerged. Gradually her feet got used to the water, and soon she was splashing them about. Dae came over and settled himself behind her back.

"What are you doing?" came Nessa's voice as the elfling came over and sat next to Meryl.

Meryl shrugged. "I don't know. Just having fun, I guess."

"You look silly," the elfling informed her.

The teenage girl grinned. "Oh well."

Meryl heard laughing in the trees behind herself. She fought the urge to glance wildly around, knowing that the laughter came from Nessa's friends. Dae, however, raised his head and growled a warning.

"Nessa," a voice called, "since when is it alright to let others into our secret place? You were the one who said that nobody else should ever set eyes here."

"And if I remember correctly, you were also the one who swore us to secrecy, saying that we should never tell another living soul," added another voice.

"And now you break the rules, that you yourself set, by bringing somebody in our secret place," said a third voice. "A human, in fact."

Nessa whirled around. "May I introduce the Lady Meryl to you three?" she said in a loud voice. She turned to Meryl and winked. "My lady, those disrespectful Elves hidden among the trees are usually my friends."

"A pleasure meeting you," Meryl called into the trees, with a wink back at Nessa.

There was a gasp from the trees. "That is Lady Meryl?"

Meryl turned around and caught a glimpse of two wide black eyes, that belonged to a coal-black haired elfling, among the leaves of a large oak trees. "Who wants to know?" she asked casually.

The elfling leaped out of the tree and quickly dipped into a curtsey. "My Lady, I apologize. I did not know that it was you." Her voice told Meryl that she was the first one that had spoken.

The other two Elves dropped from their sitting positions and quickly bowed. One had hair the same shade of auburn as Nessa's, while the other had chestnut-brown hair. Both had brown eyes, although they were not the same shade.

"Forgive us my lady," said the one who had the chestnut-brown hair. He and his friend rose. "We did not recognize you."

"No offense taken," replied Meryl.

"May I introduce my friends?" said Nessa. She waved a hand towards the female elfling who curtseyed again. "That is Gilraen, one of my best friends in the entire world-" She pointed to the elfling with the auburn hair. "-That is my twin brother Mahtan. He is a bit of an idiot-" Her brother glared at her, but she pretended not to see. She gestured to the last elfling. "-and this is Golradir. He is my brother's best friend."

Meryl smiled. "Pleased to meet you all. You already know me, and this is my dog, Dae." She glanced down at the black Lab and scratched his head.

Gilraen hesitantly crept forward and began petting him. Dae closed his eyes and if he was human, he would have smiled. She giggled and said, "He is so soft!"

The boys came over and began petting Dae also. The dog's tail thumped against the forest floor.

"What brings you here my lady?" questioned Mahtan, looking up from petting Dae.

The teenage girl waved a hand. "Stop there. If you have made my acquaintance, that officially means that you do not call me a lady. You hear?"

Gilraen looked confused. "I do not understand your logic," she stated.

"It means that if you're going to be my friends, you do not refer to me as your lady. You call me by my first name." Meryl smiled.

Nessa quickly changed the subject, seeing that her friends were confused. "How about we give Meryl a tour?"

"Yes, please," Meryl said earnestly. "I would love to see your special spot."

Golradir nodded. "I guess that is alright." He glanced over at Mahtan, who nodded. Mahtan in turn looked at Gilraen, who nodded also.

Nessa grinned. "Follow me."

The four young Elves led Meryl throughout the glen. They showed her everything, from the boulders that they had claimed for themselves, to the fairly large treehouse, that they had made themselves, that resided among the branches of the largest tree. They showed her that behind the waterfall, there was a cave in which they stored their possessions.

The three other elflings warmed up to Meryl quickly. They weren't hesitant to tell her almost everything about each other. She learned that Gilraen was the best shot among the elflings when it came to using a bow, and that Mahtan was one of the quickest sprinters. She also found out that Golradir loved to sing, and with true interest she asked him to sing a song for her. Shyly he sang the Song of Lebennin, starting very softly at first, but growing stronger as the song went on. His clear voice resonated all through the glen.

Meryl was awed by the time he finished, but she didn't let it on. "So this is the famed voice of the Elves," she teased. "I've heard many stories about how beautiful their songs are."

Golradir blushed and ducked his head. "I would not say that."

"Golradir, do not be so modest!" scolded Gilraen. She turned to Meryl. "When Lord Elrond last had a large banquet, he had Golradir sing for the guests." she sighed. "I would give anything to have his voice."

"Anything?" The teenage girl glanced around the glen. "You know, that kind of reminds me of a story. But it's a little flipped around than what you said."

Nessa perked up at those words. "What kind of story?" she asked.

"How about we go into the treehouse, and I tell it to you?"

The four young Elves nodded enthusiastically. They quickly ran to the tree and climbed up the rope ladder. Meryl followed, with Dae limping behind her. She glanced down at her dog when they reached the base of the tree.

"You stay," she told him. "You wouldn't be able to get up the ladder. Lie down."

The dog stiffly obeyed, carefully laying down. Meryl smiled. "Stay."

"Meryl," came Nessa's voice, "hurry up!"

"Be careful climbing up the ladder," added Mahtan. "The rope is not the best, and it can give you slivers."

"I will!" Meryl called back. She began climbing up the rope ladder with a grin on her face. It took a while for her to climb up, mainly because of her cast. Finally, she had reached the platform that led inside the treehouse.

Already, the four elflings had made themselves comfortable. Mahtan was sitting on a cushion on the floor, leaning against the wall. Nessa and Gilraen seemed to have claimed the couch, for they reclined smugly among the dark green cushions. Golradir was sitting on a wooden chair, throwing glares at Gilraen. Another wooden chair, with a large dark blue cushion, was left untouched. Meryl figured that it was for her.

"What's up with you?" Meryl asked Golradir.

"He is just mad because Gilraen took his seat," piped up Nessa, a hint of amusement in her voice.

"Pushed him out of his seat is more like it," Mahtan corrected his twin. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Tell you what," Meryl said, "Golradir, you can take my chair. It looks way too soft for me." She grinned. "I like harder chairs."

He glanced up at her. "Really?"

She smiled. He looked so innocent. Even for an Elf. "Go ahead."

He was on the chair in a flash. He quickly settled himself down and threw a Look, as if to say, "Don't even try to take this chair too." Nessa and Gilraen giggled.

"Okay," Meryl said as she eased back into her chair. "This story is about a mermaid--"

"About a what?" interrupted Gilraen.

"A mermaid," Meryl replied. Seeing the elflings' blank faces, she began explaining. "Um, let's see. A mermaid is a creature that is part fish, and part human. It's pretty much a human body, but instead of legs they have a fish's tail."

After a few silent moments, Nessa nodded. "I think I can see what you're talking about."

Meryl smiled faintly. "That's good. Anyways, this is a story about a mermaid named Ariel..."

She proceeded on telling them the story, about how Ariel fell in love with a human named Prince Eric, and gave up her voice just to be with him. She told about the wicked sea witch, Ursula, and about Ariel's friends Flounder and Scuttle. Many times, the elflings would interrupt her with questions. She would stop and explain, and then continue on with the story. When she had finished, the four were enraptured.

"I liked that story," said Gilraen.

Mahtan nearly nodded in agreement before he caught himself. He frowned. "That was a girl's story," he said.

Meryl cocked an eyebrow. "Oh really? You want to hear a boy's sort of story?"

Both Mahtan and Golradir nodded. Nessa rolled her eyes.

Meryl continued. "And when I say boy's story, you want sword fights and adventure?"

The two elflings nodded enthusiastically. Even Nessa and Gilraen seemed interested.

"Do you know of such a story?" Golradir asked earnestly.

Meryl nodded, and then grinned. "But you have to wait until tomorrow," she said wickedly.

The elflings' faces fell. "But that is not fair!" they protested in unison.

"You said that you were going to tell a boy's story!" exclaimed Mahtan.

"No I didn't," Meryl replied. "I only asked if you wanted to hear a boy's story."

Nessa stuck out her tongue. Meryl couldn't help thinking how silly it looked for her, considering that she was an Elf.

"Careful with that tongue of your," she advised. "You never know who will come along and bite it."

With large eyes, the elfling quickly withdrew her tongue. Meryl tried not to smile, but failed. Score one for Andrew for using that comment on his little sister countless times.

The smile disappeared from her face. Andrew would have loved to know that his witty comments were being used.

{No!} her mind cried. {Don't think about home. Don't forget your promises!}

Meryl suddenly remembered where she was, and what she had been doing. She glanced wildly around. How could she have been so stupid?

"Is there something wrong?" Nessa asked.

Meryl's gaze rested on the young Elf. How could she forget her promises like that? She had almost allowed herself to get close to them! "I-- I have to go," she stammered as she stood up.

She hurried towards the door, ignoring the protests from the four younger Elves, and went on the platform. She lowered herself onto the rope ladder and began climbing down.

When she was a fourth of the way down, a splinter of the coarse rope stuck into her palm. At that sharp stab of pain, she lifted her hands.

And before she realized what she had done, she started to fall.

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A/N: And that wraps up another chapter of More than Meets the Eye. Be sure to review! ^^ I really appreciate it when you do.