The tall and ethereal humanoid was soon joined by others as they hauled into the trees. It was only by comparison to the others that I realized my original captor was male. While remarkably human-looking for an alien species there were a number of small differences. They seemed in general both taller and slimmer than most humans, with somewhat less sexual dimorphism. They were almost uniformly beautiful, though not precisely what I would call sexy. Their pointed ears and the glow to their skin gave them a certain exoticness though.
It occurred to me that it might be a good idea to draw my wand and escape. Still, a number of things were dissuading me. For one I wasn't entirely sure I would succeed. Many of them carried bows and looked like they knew how to use them. Also it would be a bit silly to immediately run away from the very thing I'd been searching so hard for. Judging by their use of tools and the complicated sounds they were making they were intelligent creatures that had at least formed tribes if not some larger civilization. Strangely the language sounded oddly familiar, though with the amount of traveling I'd done in recent years that wasn't so strange. I'd heard at least a snippet of dozens of languages and there were only so many sounds out there that could be made.
I moved my estimation of them up a tick as the surprisingly strong creatures carried me deeper into the woods, their foots steady and sure on as they raced along the branches. Soon realizing that some of the trees formed living, elegant houses I was forced into a new perception of their civilization as well. These were not nomadic hunter-gatherers by any means. While I had yet to see any corn-fields I did pick out a few herb gardens as we moved deeper into the tree city.
I wondered what to call them. Fae or faeries tempted me. They no doubt had their own name for themselves but I was impatient to call them something other than creatures and there was no guarantee it would translate into English well anyways. 'Elfs,' I decided. Like tall Santa elfs rather than the ratty-looking house elves of the magical world.
My stomach dropped as they started moving upwards rather than horizontally. The elfs ascended up an endless staircase as I dangled off the edge inside the net. After a seemingly interminable climb we reached a plateau, the elves taking up another rope so that I hung suspended between them as they left the staircase. It kept me too far away from each sentinel to claw them while graciously not dragging me along the ground.
I said ground but it was hard to believe that I was actually touching stone. We were hundreds of feet above the actual ground but they'd actually build a palace up here. It was hard to imagine the care and industry it would take to create such a place. Hard to imagine there were trees in existence that could hold the weight.
When I saw who the arboreal palace was made for I began understand why they made the effort. The elfen queen took my breath away, the golden circlet she wore no match for her hair that shone like captured sunlight. Her eyes were blue and clear like a cloudless sky, hiding just as many wonders. Her face and skin reminded me of polished marble, smooth and as ageless as the Earth. I'd never thought myself attracted to the fairer sex before but she was testing that point sorely.
The budding affection I felt for her soon drowned in an ocean of jealousy as my captors all kneeled before her, dropping me and the net around me to the ground as they did. I'd enjoyed my slow ascension towards being the queen bee of Hogwarts but this elf had just reminded me of what a petty aspiration that was. I recognized a certain part of myself wanted to be her, to have subjects bow to me. Unfortunately not even in my wildest fantasies could I imagine growing up to be so beautiful as she.
Her eyes gazed deep into my own, affixing me to the ground. I felt a buzzing in my mind and then suddenly she reeled back, clutching her head. The elfen guards readied their bows, arrows drawn back and pointed in my direction. Unsure of what just happened I tried to look peaceful. I raised my hands, palms out, but soon realized this might give the wrong impression. My hat had fallen off at some point and combined with my claw-like fingernails and my enforced crouch inside the netting I probably looked like a feral half-animal rather than a peaceful adventurer.
"Calm," she said. Or at least I thought she did. It was still in their lyrical language but while it was likely pure lunacy I increasingly felt I was understanding it. "It was *&^^ *&^* fault." The guards backed off a bit but their bows stayed out.
My mind raced to try and find a way to defuse the situation. Shooting spells would just get me killed but it wasn't like I could talk them down. Even if I magically did understand some of what they were saying that didn't mean I could speak it back to them. Body language had already betrayed me once so I was ill-inclined to try pantomime unless I had to. 'Gift-giving.' That was it, the key to get out of this mess. It was more universal than a white flag or even a nod meaning yes. The rules varied as to what gifts should be given when and why and how but ultimately any intelligent species should recognize it as a show of respect or friendship… or possibly weakness, but it might be good to underplay my strength for the moment.
Reluctantly I drew the only suitable gift I had out of my pocket. The ring would fetch a small (possibly large) fortune on the magical market and I still dearly wanted to study the runes that showed up when it healed me but it was the only thing of value I had on me besides my wand. 'Darn, the polyjuice fell into the river with the broomstick. I need to get out of here fast.' With no more ado I slowly and unthreateningly placed the ring on the floor outside my net and gently pushed it towards the elf queen as far as my arm would stretch.
She acted far more interested in the gift than I would have ever hoped, seemingly unable to take her eyes off of it. It was a bit odd considering she already had an elaborate gold circlet. It was hardly as if it were some unknown metal or fancy airship. Perhaps she was a magic-user as well and could see the enchantment on it? Hopefully she didn't notice the gluttony side effect until she'd gotten nice and fat. No mortal deserved to be so ridiculously beautiful, it just wasn't fair to everyone else.
I noticed that she wasn't the only elf staring at the ring. Every elf in the open-air palace was fixated on that little golden trinket. I rubbed my ears as I heard a whisper in some guttural tongue that seemed have no source. Unable to determine where it was coming from I decided to ignore it and plan my escape while the elfs were distracted. I drew my wand, an idea swiftly coming to mind. "Accio flying broomstick," I said under my breath. Carried by the river it was likely quite some distance away by now but I'd been riding it for hours. Through the familiarity principle that should be enough to summon it even though I'd 'borrowed' it from the school broom closet.
The other elfs seemed more envious than obeisant as their Queen bent and picked up the ring between two graceful. The glow of her skin brightened but her eyes grew darker in comparison, sky-blue turning to the darkness of space. "&*# give this to me freely?" she asked. I nodded, nervous now as I felt magic or something like it pour from her. She'd moved the ring to her palm, tracing the edge of it with one finger.
It was then that I noticed she already wore a ring. It appeared silver, an ornamental flower atop it with clear-white gems as its petals. As I watched the gems swiftly turned dark and cloudy. "Where #$% you find it?" she asked, still speaking that alien but strangely understandable language.
I was saved from answering by the broomstick whistling towards me. A quick severing curse and I was scurrying out of the net. As I grabbed onto the broom with one hand it pulled me the rest of the way out, dragging me over the cobblestones until I started to gain altitude. The elves shrieked and let loose their arrows. "Barrera Maxima!" I shouted back, interlocking hexagonal shields forming a quarter-sphere behind me. The maximum strength spell made me feel like I'd just sprinted a hundred yards but it was worth it as the arrows bounced off it. A few of the six-inch wide hexagons shattered but the majority held until I was well past their maximum range.
A/n This was basically the first scene I thought of when thinking of writing this fic.