A.N. After midnight and instrumental folk music all the way! No really, that is where this story is coming from. It is my personal cure to writer's block and it has yet to fail. And yes, I will claim rights to that. Try it if you don't believe me that it works. (Put Peter Ostroushko into Pandora for good music.) I promised a shorter authors note so I will end it here. R&R!

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters that have appeared in the Inheritance Cycle or anything else recognizable from the series. However, the storyline is completely mine.

–Solembum is calling me an indolent and acerbating excuse for a human being for putting this off so long after promising h to tell my story, and though I admire his word choice, it was still hurtful and terribly rude. Besides, the cat spends his day sleeping. Filthy hypocrite. He is calling me off right now. I suppose we should move on with the story.–

The next morning I walked to Vanir's house and knocked on the door before moving behind the edge of the doorway and out of sight from the door. Vanir opened it and looked around, confused. As he was about to close the door, I jumped out and he started before grinning widely at me. "Do you like climbing trees?" I asked with a mischievous grin.

He stared at me and nodded slightly as if unsure why I was asking him this. All elves occasionally went into the branches of the massive trees of Du Weldenvarden, but I was positive none had ever climbed higher than I. "Well, come on then." I laughed, running off towards the forest. He followed at my heels, a slow grin spreading over his face as we ra. I knew exactly where I was taking him. After the Menoa tree, this was the largest tree I had ever discovered in Du Weldenvarden.

"That one." I pointed as he admired the pine. "I have been to the very top." I said, bursting with pride at remembrance of the feat.

"That is impossible." His voice was half disbelief and half amazement as he stared up at the massive tree. I smirked. It always amused me how enthralled the elves were with trees and this one was magnificent, even in my eyes.

"Things are only impossible until they're not." I quipped, grinning as he paused to think about what I had just said. "Come on. I'll race you." Without waiting for his answer, I scrambled up the tree, much like a gangly human squirrel. By the time he had reached the first branch, I was fifty feet higher. Despite his elven heritage and physical advantage, experience proved a much more useful tool in what we were doing. It may have been a bit unfair, as I knew all the footholds and the easiest path for the particular tree, but he didn't need to know that.

I climbed until I reached a wide branch several hundred feet above the ground and that had a clear view over all the other treetops. I waited for him, and eventually he pulled himself onto the branch as well. "It's amazing." He said, staring over the trees.

I grinned. "It is like the ocean, but green and made of trees. See, the wind even makes waves here." For a while we both sat silentl, watching the breeze ripple across the trees. "Now that I showed you my secret place, you have to share one of your secrets with me." The idea had just come to me as I spoke it, but the elf noticed nothing, thinking it a fair bargain.

The boy bent close in my ear and whispered. "I know how we can sneak into the gardens by Tialdarí Hall. I have done it once before."

"But if we were to ask, they would let us in."

He frowned and then smiled again. "But my way is more fun."

I considered him for a while and then nodded. "When can we go?"

"How about now? I bet I can beat you down. You got a head start the first time." While I was still looking over the rippling treetops, he was already partway down the tree, leaping from branch to branch as if he were not a few hundred feet above the ground. I still caught up quickly, descending with blatant disregard for safety, my only thought being that of victory.

With a triumphant cry, I prepared to jump the last fifteen feet to the ground and glanced up to see Vanir still seventy feet high. As I watched, the branch he jumped too broke underneath him. Vanir's feet scrambled for purchase as the branch dropped. I called out, but was unable to do anything. As he was about to catch the branch, his head slammed against the bark and I watched in horror as his eyes closed and he tumbled unconscious toward the ground.

Unable to move, I watched Vanir falling to his death. At the last moment, instinct took over. "Kodthr!" I shouted and he seemed to begin falling more slowly, but I was too late and he slammed into the ground with a terrible crack. The next moment, I was hit with a wave of exhaustion which threatened to knock me from my tree branch, but I clambered down the trunk and stumbled to my friend's side before kneeling. He was unconscious and bleeding. It seemed as if many of his bones were broken from the deformed shape of his body on the ground.

He was dying. Vanilor! I called out to my father's dragon as I gave in to my exhaustion.

–My first display of magic would have been astounding for an elf, and for a human, it was unprecedented. It would be impressive for a highly trained spellcaster, but at that moment, I don't think I even registered the fact that yes, it was magic I used.–

A hand was gently brushing my cheek and I opened my eyes to find myself in my mother's arms. She looked extremely worried, but smiled when I woke. I, however, was not about to be put off. "Vanir?" I asked weakly, forcing myself to stand and running to where a group was crowded around. My head spun at the sudden movement and I was astounded by my own weakness. They hadn't moved Vanir from the mossy ground he had fallen to. His mother was crying as his father held her, and they tried to reassure each other.

I pushed through the healers and knelt beside him. One of the women made an attempt to move me, but I ignored her. It seemed like hours of them working over my friend before a tall male healer spoke. "He will live, but we cannot heal him completely yet. It will be a couple days before he will be strong enough to walk." I began to cry and as they lifted him away, my father had to take me in her arms to hold me back.

The elven queen, Islanzadí, walked over and I hastily raised my fingers to my lips and spoke the ritual greeting. She replied in a cold voice and I flinched. "What happened? Vanilor brought us here to find both of you unconscious and Vanir near death. What did you do? Was this one of your stunts?"

I tried to hide in my mother's arms, but the queen's eyes still pierced me.

–The elf queen has always scared me. Still does as a matter of fact and I am not ashamed to admit it. If anyone tells you they are not at least a little bit afraid of her, they have either never met her, or are a liar. I am pretty sure that even her daughter is afraid of her. But, anyway. –

Evandar stepped forward and knelt in front of me. "Do you trust me, child?" I looked up at him. I liked the king. I nodded slowly and met his eyes. "Good. Now none of us will hurt you. I promise. No matter what has happened here. Now, will you tell me what has transpired?"

Doing my best to focus only on him and not his mate, I told him about meeting Vanir and us going to climb the tree we were near. I said as we were descending, a branch broke and Vanir fell. Evandar accepted this and looked up to see the stub of the broken branch. Upon seeing this, he raised his eyebrows.

"What else, Meira? How did he not die?"

I could not help a faint smile despite my tremendous worry for my friend. "I saw him fall from the first branch and I caught him with magic."

Evander's eyes widened and he looked at me. "You caught him with magic? From that height?"

"I will show you the memory if you would allow me."

He nodded and I relayed the memory of seeing Vanir fall and using magic before climbing down from the tree. Evander nodded and looked up to my parents. "Take her to get some rest. She deserves it. And after that, we will find her a teacher for magic."

I fell asleep as my father carried me to our massive tree house.

Yeah… sorry about the lateness, but we went on vacation and then family randomly showed up to stay at our house and my mom wouldn't let me use my laptop. I wrote this in half an hour so; it may be out of character or choppy. Next chapter contains an elf whose personality and quirkiness rival Angela's. Anyway, for a quicker update, review! A random review number has been chosen. The person who leaves that review will have a chapter dedicated to them. Anyone who guesses the number may help create a name for a n awesome character. But only if it's your first guess. On your marks… Get set… REVIEW!

Dr. Vladmir- Thanks!

Draco Lucis- I am glad you enjoyed it. (LOL) I did program it so if I hit [CTRL ' vowel], it makes an accent mark. It already did that on Word, but not on FanFiction or Facebook so I changed it. Yeah! How many High School girls can do that? And as to having her take a break, I was planning on maybe some comments to Solembum, or a conversation with said werecat, to drop hints at where she is.

- I suppose being like Angela is good? I don't mind being a bit crazy. Life is more interesting that way.

Witchy Pixie- You were (Word is telling me to change that to 'you was'… Now when would that EVER be correct as a subject-verb phrase) the first person to add this to your favorites and you were the tenth review. Yay!

SimplySupreme-Thank you. And your school is already started? That is really early. I don't start until after Labor Day.

Princess Arya- I'm glad you enjoyed it.