I don't own Hilda.

Just a note: the italics are Alfur's narration of the story and the parentheses in the italicized sentences are kind of his little commentary as he tells it.

I had to Google the mythology in this haha

"I believe," Alfur starts softly, "I should start with a story about elves and humans. You know, when we met, I was reminded of this one, just a little."

Hilda smiles softly as Alfur clears his throat, gently narrating the story.

"Our story begins at a time long before humans even knew about the existence of us elves. The setting, a little village settled in a cave beneath a waterfall just beyond a human settlement. It was a peaceful place, idyllic for many generations. But the most important thing, (pardon my forgetfulness)- is our heroine- an elf named Mette. She lived in this village, but was always told to stay away from the humans, told that they were the most dangerous of creatures. They felt obligated to stay behind the falls out of fear. But Mette was a curious and undaunted kind of girl- and for an elf who'd spent a majority of her life living beside a roaring waterfall, her sense of hearing was very on point. She never disregarded a cry for help from any creature- not elf, nor vittra, not even trolls. She had hair of gold and a heart of gold and when she heard a distant cry from outside the waterfall, she leapt at the opportunity to help, despite the warnings of her fellow elves.

...Vaguely reminds me of a certain blue haired girl I know, but-" Alfur giggles when Hilda pokes him with her finger lightly to get him to continue, "Okay, okay, I digress.

"So Mette followed the calls down the river beyond the waterfall, rafting on a leaf past the human village, and after some searching, she managed to find the voice crying for help at the river's end: a myling."

"A myling?" Hilda tilts her head, "What's that?"

"Mylingar are the ghosts of abandoned human children that weren't buried properly in death and thus, unable to pass on," Alfur answers, his tone more solemn regarding the creature in question.

"Aw," Hilda murmurs, "that's so sad... but what about the ghosts in the graveyard? They were buried, so..."

"They were buried. So they are free to rest and come back whenever they want. But mylingar don't have that liberty. They are forced to wander until someone kind finds and buries their remains."

Hilda looks down, her eyes flickering with doubt.

"Mmm... This story better have a happy ending."

"Mette called to the myling, telling them simply to follow her voice, as she, being an elf, was invisible to them. They managed to calm down and listen to her, but they were upset that they couldn't see her (but that was probably for the best, as mylingar are known to latch onto travelers and continuously become heavier until they reached a cemetery. I certainly don't think elves can handle that much...).

"Mette learned that the myling was once a girl named Kristy and she had left the human village one day, went exploring, and accidentally drowned in the river earlier in the month. She had been trying to find someone for ages, was scared and simply wanted to find peace (the poor little thing...). She wasn't seeking any vengeance at all. She was just a lost spirit.

"So what does Mette do? She decides to help, of course! She promises Kristy that she will find her relatives and have her remains taken care of, before returning to the waterfall and her village for the night.

"The other elves were cross when they discovered where Mette had gone, but they did, at the very least, relent when Mette promised (once again) that she would never leave the waterfall ever again if she could just help Kristy.

"At the break of dawn that following morning, Mette set off for the human village, invisible to everyone, of course, but her voice could be heard. She began to ask random humans if they had known Kristy, but most mistook Mette for some kind of ghost and ran away out of panic and fear. Some listened, however, and agreed to help, but the fearful villagers greatly outnumbered the calm ones and they ended up cornering Mette and interrogating her instead.

"Mette, however, was patient throughout the chaos. She shouted for them to stop once, and they all froze in silence.

"'I only came to ask where this child's family is," Mette stated calmly, "Please, she needs you."

"The calmer humans sided with Mette, and Kristy's relatives, a father and a sister, stepped forward, pleading for information on Kristy's whereabouts and finally allowed Mette to explain the circumstances. They were heartbroken when they were lead to the place where Kristy had passed, but they wholeheartedly agreed to give her a proper burial."

Hilda smiled.

"When the deed was done, it was nightfall, and Mette came with stalks of lavender to visit the new grave, only to be greeted by Kristy again, rising from the ground, no longer a myling but a regular ghost. She thanks Mette for what she had done for her, and promises to return the favor before returning to her rest. Mette places the lavender flowers on the grave before she leaves.

"By dawn, the elves discovered that the humans had left messages of gratitude and peace on scraps of paper and were given permission to wander the human village whenever they wished. So the colonies spread fast, Mette was honored as the one responsible, and both elves and humans lived in peace together without fearing each other. And, of course, that meant signing the proper paperwo-"

"Hey! You said there was no paperwork in this story!" Hilda starts, her voice in a joking tone.

"Well, I might have lied a little~ At least it was mentioned only once," Alfur replies innocently, "Besides, that was the end. The end!" He twirls around with a small flourish.

"That's a cute story," Hilda whispers, resting her head in her arms while laughing at Alfur's little spin, "You think the elf king might have heard that one?"

"The king doesn't really grasp the lessons of legends, I don't think. But that's the legend about humans and elves getting along and how we started finding new places to live," the elf looks up at Hilda calmly.

"I liked it," the girl answers, "but I hope I never find a myling. I'd feel so awful for them that I couldn't just leave them alone. They sound like they'd be lonely, if they died with no one else around."

"If you ever found one, I'm sure you'd be the one to help it get to where it needs to go," Alfur blinks slowly, a faraway look on his face.

"What's wrong?"

"The thing about telling stories is that we tell them to each other," Alfur smiles, sitting back down, "so I think it's your turn to tell one to me."

I love Alfur so much omg

I apologize if this story seemed a little fast paced or a little all over the place, I really didn't want to let you all wait too long for this (my other story projects are on hiatus).

I hope that you enjoyed, though.