A/N: Hey all! Chapter 8 is here!~ This one is a bit shorter then the last few, but it's not too short. :)
I hope you all enjoy this chapter; I know I had fun writing it!
Story:
Chapter 8: Running with the elves.
My hands gripped tightly onto the violet spike in front of me as Nyte somersaulted through the air. The whipping air stung my eyes and wrapped my hair around me in a furious frenzy. As soon as Nyte stopped his somersaulting and glided through the air I started laughing.
"I'm glad you are enjoying this so much." Nyte hurred to me. He laughed slightly and then soared higher into the sky.
"This is truly amazing. I can't believe you get to do this all the time." My thoughts faded towards the end as Nyte did another flip through the air.
The night was already starting to approach, and I couldn't possibly comprehend that we had been flying for so long. As soon as our little nap was over we set off together, and that was well before noon. It felt as though only an hour of glorious time had gone by but in reality it was quite a few hours.
It was amazing; watching as Dylan and Jak faded into the distance, as the ground started to shrink, and the clouds got closer. As we got higher and higher I could see farther out into the land. Once it started closing in on nightfall we could start to see the great forest we were headed too. Nyte estimated that we would be able to reach the forest by nightfall the next day. This excited me.
After a few more aerial loops Nyte dove almost straight for the ground. Excitement filled my body as we closed in on the ground and just as it seemed as though we were going to crash Nyte pulled sharply up and was able to just barely avoid hitting the ground. Circling around the ground, he was able to come to a screeching halt. He stretched his wings one last time, and then folded them in so I was able to jump off of his back after undoing the straps of the saddle.
Just as my feet touched the ground Dylan and Jak came to a halt right in front of me. Jak had been a few steps ahead of Dylan but when he saw us he slowed down just enough so that when they stopped he was a few paces behind Dylan.
"How was your first day of flying?" Dylan beamed. It was weird, ever since we had reached Leona Lake he had, for the most part, been more happy and upbeat. His spirits rose even higher after I had seen Jak for the first time, and now they seemed to be even higher. It was unbelievable how happy he was now compared to how gloomy he was when I first met him not even two months ago.
"It was amazing! I can't believe I've missed out on it until now. I'd like to fly with Nyte all the time!" I spun in a circle out of excitement but quickly stopped for it was making me dizzy.
"Humph. Like it or not, you're running with us tomorrow." Jak growled as Dylan went around gathering wood to make into a fire; there was an odd amount of wood about for us being in the middle of the desert. Jak's cold attitude bugged me a bit but I knew that he was hiding how he truly felt, so I just shrugged it off.
"Why can't I fly with Nyte tomorrow?" I asked as I planted myself firmly on the ground next to Nyte and began to run my fingers through the sand. It was warm on the top and cooler underneath.
"We have things to discuss before we reach Du Weldenvarden. And before you suggest it, no, we cannot discuss them tonight. After dinner, there is something else we must do. For the time being, rest, eat, and shut up." Before Jak was able to turn away from us Nyte growled at him, "Fear not dragon, I mean no harm by my words."
"You are a foolish elf, both young and stupid. You should learn some proper manners. Avoid treading too deeply into the pool of fire." Nyte's words both awed and confused me. He held so much knowledge for being such a young creature.
"Nyte, Jak means no harm. But, I do agree. He should learn some proper manners. But, as you said, he is young, and so are the rest of us. With youth comes ignorance, with age comes wisdom; for the most part, we have yet to receive that wisdom. Now, let us eat. Dragon, will you hunt tonight?" Dylan had successfully finished building the fire and was in the process of handing me a bread roll with some berries.
"Hunt I shall. It has been a while since I ate. Take care of Kyra while I'm gone. Do not let Jak bully her too much. Though I understand the need for what he is planning." He then turned his attention to me, "And you, take care and be strong."
"Nyte, what are you talking about? You know, sometimes you just make no sense at all." Even though I did want to understand what he was talking about, I knew he wasn't going to tell me. "Hmm, well, I guess I'll find out soon enough, huh? Go eat."
"See you soon." And then he was off, and all was quiet while we ate; Dylan sat next to me while Jak was on the other side of the fire.
Jak finished eating before both Dylan and I and was up and about picking up random sticks as he walked around the camp. He threw many of them into the fire, but kept a few in his hands. By the time I finished eating he had two long sticks almost the same size and width.
"Catch." He muttered while tossing one at me. Instinctively I grabbed it with my left hand as it came dangerously close to hitting my face.
"Why'd you go and do that?" I stood up while I asked, for he had motioned me to stand with his hand.
"I'm going to give you a little bit of practice before we reach Ellesméra and you go through your real training. You may be strong do to your elvin blood and dragon rider abilities but you are inexperienced. You will have to fight, and right now you are as good as worthless. Now spar with me." He now stood across from me, baring the stick as though it were a sword.
"Wha-?" But before I could finish my question Jak had charged forward, smacked the stick out of my hand and had his less then an inch away from my throat. All his movements were fluid; they ran together smoothly as though it was almost a dance and every movement was predetermined.
"There is no time for talk while in battle." In another swift movement he had spun around behind me, wrapped his free arm around my throat and forced me to my knees. "Were this a real fight you would be long dead by now." Before I could react he was gone and then standing in front of me again. I gasped for air as he spoke again, "You must be ready to fight at any time, ready to hold your ground. Now stand and defend yourself."
He backed a few steps away while he waited for me to stand and pick up the stick. As soon as I was fully standing and had the stick in my hands Jak charged at me again, but this time I was expecting him and was able to parry his blow. Our sticks remained in contact for a second, though it seemed like time had stopped during that mere second. Jak's face was less then a foot away from mine and for the first time since he escaped a faint smile touched his lips.
"Good." His voice was but a whisper and as it ended so did the seemingly halted time. Jak spun around me and there was a loud crack as his stick smacked across the whole of my back. Dylan jumped up at the sight of it, but I ignored him and swung around to parry another blow from Jak.
We continued fighting like this, for what seemed like nearly an hour. I was able to stand my ground fairly well against him; I parried many blows, and even landed a few of my own. At one point he commented about me being left handed, "It's been a long time since I've come across another lefty." It was only then that I realized that Jak too was left handed. Though, I quickly came to regret realizing it just then, for Jak caught me off guard because of it and landed another sharp blow to my back, in the same spot as the first time.
This was not the first time that I had fought like this, nor was this the first time that I had my back wounded so. The spot on my back hurt, but it was nothing compared to what I had gone through in the past. Just a few years ago I had started sparring with Jason in much the same manor, though he wasn't much of a challenge for me and soon he grew tired of being beaten on. After that I sought out others to challenge, those much older than Jason and me. As Jak jumped back and swung his wooden stick at me from the side a memory flashed through my mind:
My hands were covered in sweat, with a small amount of blood oozing from my fingers. It was hard to breath, and it didn't seem like this fight was going to end anytime soon. It had already been well over an hour since the fight started and the both of us were sure to have many bruises by now, and maybe even a broken rib or two. I looked up at my opponent, who had backed off for the time being.
He was big, which only made sense since he was well over ten years older then I. I let a small smile cross my face as I realized that the man was angry. Of course he was angry, who wouldn't be? I mean, how often is it that a grown man can barely hold his ground against a thirteen year old girl? Of course, if I really wanted to I could overpower him and end this fight, but it was too fun to end it like that.
Taking one more deep breath I charged forward and swung the makeshift wooden sword that I held in my left hand and smacked it into his wooden sword. Grinning now I slid back and charged at him once more, this time putting more force into the swing, and gripping the sword with both hands. This one last blow snapped the top off of the guys' wooden sword and sent him skidding a few feet back.
This was the end of the fight, and everyone knew it as they started to crowd around us even more. The teenage boys that had been watching quickly surrounded me and started to offer me help. I ignored them and quickly pushed my way out of the crowd and up to Jason and Mia, who were waiting patiently for me while leaning against a tree. "I don't get why you like to spar so much, but it does seem pretty cool." Mia said while pushing off the tree and wrapping her arms around me.
I smiled and dropped the wooden sword, and returned the hug. "What else is there to do here? Since I'm strong, why not try to learn how to fight? Right, Jason?" My voice was only slightly ragged, which made Jason smile.
"I guess that seems about right. Maybe one day all this fake fighting will come in handy. Who knows, someday you may actually have to defend yourself for real? It'd be cool if this little bit of training helped to save your life somehow." Jason laughed and walked over to us, and wrapped his arms around me as soon as Mia let go. His embrace was nice and warm, and it was almost as though it was giving me energy.
Jason leaned his head closer and whispered into my ear, "Sis, if you ever leave this place…if you ever leave me, try to take care of yourself. I just know that someday you will be the one to leave here, just promise that you'll never forget me, and no matter what, don't die." Those words were etched into my head that very day.
I shook my head side to side as I brought my thoughts back into reality. That memory was from almost three years ago; how could Jason have possibly known that I was going to be leaving like this? Is this why he let me go so easily? Either way the memory, coupled with another flash from the ghostly dream from almost two weeks ago, brought a slight tear to my eye.
It must have been obvious that I was lost in my own thoughts for Jak had stopped mid attack and was just staring at me with a bewildered expression on his face. "You…have a broth-er?" His words were slightly broken.
"Huh?" It took me a minute to realize what he was talking about. But how did he know of Jason? I hadn't even really told Dylan about Jason yet, so how did Jak know, and why was he asking now?
"You don't realize what you just did, do you?" Jak asked, and I just shook my head while I looked at him. "Somehow you just projected that memory straight into my head, and I saw it all just as you did. I'm not sure how you managed to do that. I mean, I have tight walls around my mind right now that makes it hard for even a full grown elf to infiltrate my mind. Plus you weren't even trying to; you were just remembering something, and even when someone tries to force a memory onto someone it doesn't happen like that. What's more is that it was only me that received your memory; Dylan is utterly confused right now."
"Confused as hell. What are you two talking about?" Dylan frowned as he sat by the fire, just watching us. He had obviously given up on trying to stop Jak from hurting me too much during the fight and gone back to just watching.
"Do I have to use simple words, Dylan? She somehow projected one of her memories straight into my head without trying to. Hmm, I guess I was wrong about you being completely inexperienced. It seems as though you have sparred like this for quiet some time now, though you've never sparred this seriously before or with such a tough opponent."
"Now, Kyra, who is this Jason you call your brother? Is he truly your brother? What is going on? And, who is Mia? You almost started crying at the very memory of her." Did I really? I know my body was wracked with emotion and I wanted to cry, but was it really that obvious? Or maybe he was mistaken by me almost crying over the memory of the dream; of the memory of Jason.
"Jason is not my real brother. He is more of a foster brother, for his mom was the one who cared for me all these years. We grew up as brother and sister even though there is no real kinship between us. And if you don't know of Mia then Dylan didn't explain things like I thought he did. Mia was my best friend, but she was killed by Murtagh less then two months ago. I'll explain anything else you want me to tomorrow. For now, can we get back to training?" I could feel it; the light in my eyes had dulled and there was no emotion on my face. I was almost lifeless. Just by talking about the death of my best friend put me in such a mood, even after all this time. There was also Jason – ever since I had that dream every time I think or talk about Jason I get a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Nodding, Jak regained his stance and charged at me again. This time I was able to stop his attack thrust him backwards and attack him. My stick slammed into his left side, then swung around and chopped down on his right shoulder. Rolling around him I was able to get the back of his head just as he got a clean shot at my right side.
*Crack* I fell to my knees, panting heavily, and clutching my now broken stick. Jak had his hands on his knees and was staring at me wide eyed; his stick was now in multiple pieces scattered on the ground around him. "Incredible. When you empty your mind and really focus your speed and power increases exponentially, and even your tactics seem better. You truly are something else, Kyra." Even though Jak was exhausted he was full of excitement, and seeing him so energetic and happy brought a smile to my face.
"Kyra, that was amazing!" Dylan shouted while bounding over and helping me up. "You managed to overpower Jak, a full elf! How did you do that?"
"I…don't know." I gasped slightly and my head began to pound again. The end of the fight was really strange. How did I manage to move so fast, and break his stick into so many pieces? Why was my heart racing so much, and how come the pain that I know filled my body wasn't there?
"Like I said, she sure is something else." Jak had a smile on his face when he stood up; an absolutely stunning smile. "Though, I'm pretty rusty after spending three months down in that cell. I'm sure you won't be able to do it again."
The smile on Jak's face was not unlike Dylans smile, but it wasn't quite the same either. Their faces were so similar that of course their smiles would be similar as well, but Jak's was more graceful and serine. It made my heart happy to see him actually smile. While he smiled the pain that always glowed in his eyes dimmed immensely. "Pfft. Rusty, eh? That just sounds like an excuse to me." I laughed lightly as I spoke.
"Little flower, you did well. I am very proud of you. Though, this is only the beginning of what is to come."
"Nyte!" I was happy that Nyte had returned, and patiently stared up into the sky as I awaited his decent. "You think I'm just using it as an excuse? Want me to beat that thought out of your head?!" Jak growled and leaped towards me, but there was still a faint smile on his face.
Dylan moved between us and caught Jak before he reached me, sending them both tumbling to the ground. They rolled for a few feet, and their movements made it seem as though they were almost wrestling. When the swift movements ended Jak was sitting on top of Dylan's back, pulling Dylan's arm up between his shoulder blades. "You know that I'm stronger and faster then you Dylan. Never once have you beaten me at a wrestling game, or at a game of tag for that matter."
Laughing, Dylan commented, "I know, I know. But, it's been so long since I've been able to play with you, and you gave me such a perfect opening, so I took that chance and had some fun. There's nothing wrong with that."
"Wow you two sure look silly." Nyte's voice boomed through our heads as he circled into a landing. "At least everyone's lightened up and having some fun. Though, it is rather late, so why don't we all get some sleep?"
"That sounds good to me!" Ignoring the two boys that were still wresting on the ground I bounced over to Nyte and leaned against him as he curled up into his sleeping position. As I pulled out the blanket from my bag I watched Dylan and Jak stop their playing and do the same. This time both of the elves decided to sleep closer to me. It seemed, for the time being, that Jak had warmed up to me. Just from one little spar, and one shared memory, he seemed to be much kinder towards me, much more accepting. I sincerely hoped that things would stay this way, for I was not looking forward to a grumpy Jak again. I also hoped that he would continue to smile; it was such a wonderful smile.
The night was short, but it was enough to rest. When I had laid down to sleep the aches and pains from the nights sparring finally started to creep into me. It was weird that only then did the pains come to me. But, when morning came, most of the pains were gone, besides a small sore spot on my back.
We moved quickly in the early morning light; gathering up our stuff and removing all traces of the fire. As soon as Nyte took off into the air we took off running; Jak leading the way and Dylan and I off to either of his sides and just slightly behind him.
"Kyra, Jak has a lot to talk about today. He also has a lot of questions for you. You don't have to answer them if you don't want to, but would you please answer as many as you can? And, Jak wants your permission to talk to you through your thoughts, like we are now. He may seem rude sometimes, but he knows that it is wrong to invade someone's mind without permission."
"Very honorable. Yes, he has my permission, and I will answer his questions to the best of my ability." It was quiet while I waited for Dylan to inform Jak that it was okay to 'talk' to me.
A slight pressure pushed on my head as Jak's mind collided with my own. "Kyra…first things first; I want to know all of what happened with Mia, and all that happened with Murtagh." His 'voice' seemed weary and strange, as though he was unsure of talking to me in this manor. Though, as time went on he grew more use to it. "Also…I'd like to apologize for my behavior when we first met. It was uncalled for. I was a bit upset, and very untrusting. It was due to trust that I was imprisoned in the first place. So, I am truly sorry."
"It's understandable. Besides, I've already forgiven you." After that I began explaining everything to Jak. First I started with how good of friends Mia and I were, then our adventure into the spine and finding Nyte's egg. And after that, how I had heard Mia's scream from so far away, and ran to her aid just in time to see the black dragon disappear into the sky and to hear Mia's last words. I told him how I carried Mia all the way to her home, how her mother accused me of her murder, and how the guards tried to arrest me. Next I told him how I ran and eventually ran straight into Dylan, and briefly explained my time spent with Dylan in the spine. Lastly I explained in full detail what had happened when I met Murtagh face to face on that fateful day.
Throughout my explanation Jak asked many questions, and I answered all of them, to his surprise. After my explanation Jak continued to ask questions, all focusing on aspects of my life. The first half of the day was spent like thus; Jak asking questions, me answering them and Dylan just quietly listening to the whole thing.
As the day grew on Jak's questions died down. Just as the great forest of Du Weldenvarden was clearly visible from the ground and seemingly not that far away, Jak switched the topic of our discussion. "While in Du Weldenvarden we must be careful. We will see other elves from time to time, so while we travel you will travel with your hood up, Kyra. Also, Nyte will not be permitted to fly into Du Weldenvarden, and must walk like the rest of us. He will have to travel a different route then us and hide as much as possible. If we reach the edge of the forest by tonight, then it should only take us one more day to get to Ellesméra. We are going much faster then I thought."
"Why will Nyte have to hide, as well as myself? Are the elves not worth trusting?"
"They are more trustworthy then humans. But, we do not want to cause too much of an uproar yet. We must wait until you meet with Queen Islanzadí. She is the only ruler of the elves, so it is only proper that a new dragon rider is first brought to her. Also, you will be an important guest either way."
"Hmm, I just thought of something. Nyte, he is the last living Dragon other then the kings, huh? That fact makes him feel lonely…makes me feel lonely."
"Ah, not quite. You see, the king held three dragon eggs after the fall of the dragons and their riders. A red one, a blue one, and a green one. Long ago one of our best men, and I mean a member of the Varden not an elf, was able to break into Galbatorix's realm and steal away just one of the eggs; the blue one. I heard that a few months before I was captured the egg bearer was ambushed, but she was able to send the egg into safety, where it hatched for a young man. I have heard countless tales of this person, and by the sounds of them he is on our side. He was even in Dras-Leona right after I was captured."
"Hmm, yes, I have heard a few of the tales, now that I think about it. Let's only hope that they are true. Wouldn't it be amazing if the other new dragon rider is already in Ellesméra? I'd love to meet him and his dragon."
"Yes, yes." Jak's voice seemed slightly irritated now, "For now there are more pressing things that we need to talk about. You need to know what awaits you in Ellesméra, the proper way to do things, more of the ancient language, and mostly, more about who you are, and who your father was."
"My father? I've been trying to get Dylan to tell me about him for ages, but he won't tell me much at all. It's rather annoying; I don't even know his name."
"He had good reasons for keeping it secret, and you will learn about him later today. For now, we will start with the more basic things."
Jak was now the one to speak, and I the one to ask questions, and still Dylan was left just to listen. The rest of the day we spent talking about many things, a lot of which I couldn't fully understand. One thing was for sure; I was very thankful that Dylan had taught me the proper greeting in the elven language long ago. It was one less thing that I had to learn. By the time we reached the edge of Du Weldenvarden it was night fall, and my head was ready to explode from everything I learned. Stuff from how normal elves act, to how to talk to the queen, and so on and so forth.
"Ah, little flower, it seems as though you have had a long day. At times I was tempted to join in on the conversation, but that would have been rather rude. Although, I should eat Jak where he stands for prodding so deeply into such private matters, especially when we know none of his secrets." Nyte growled as he landed in the camp and padded up to me.
We all knew that Nyte's threat was empty; not only did quickly lie on the ground, but he also rolled over, much like a cat, so that most of his stomach was showing. Slowly, he let his tongue roll out of his mouth and hang there. "I was only barely able to keep up with what you guys were talking about later on though. The winds were strong when I flew too high into the sky. I am tired now, and shall sleep. I suggest everyone gets to sleep here soon, so as not to wake me."
"You are silly Nyte. Sleep well, and we'll try not to be too noisy." I patted his exposed stomach, and then sat down and enjoyed another dinner of a plain bread roll and a few berries.
Once dinner was done Jak tossed me another stick, but this time he didn't have to explain to me what he was doing, or even initiate the start of the fight. Before he was able to speak the words, I had charged forward, and smacked my stick against his. Thus was the start of the fight. For the first half of the fight, I was only barely able to defend against Jak's moves, and after he knocked the stick out of my hand, I decided to try and clear my mind like I had the night before.
It took some time, but once my mind was clear, and face void of emotion, we resumed the battle, which lasted for nearly an hour again. Throughout the fight I gained many whacks to the head, back, shoulders and thighs, but Jak gained just as many. Once again the fight ended with Jaks stick broken into many pieces, and mine just in two. But this time I was able to stay standing, and Jak had fallen to his knees.
"Fine, I agree that you do have some skill. It is rather remarkable, the way you move in battle. Like I said yesterday, you sure are something else. Now sleep so we may rise early in the morning." Jak grinned, patted me softly on the shoulder, and started making his bead next to where Dylan had his already laid out.
As I laid down the aches and pains crept into my body yet again, but they weren't nearly as bad as I thought they'd be. And, yet again, when morning came the pains were almost completely gone. The sun was barely showing on the horizon when we awoke, but it was still light enough for us to get a move on.
"So, Nyte, you understand that you must enter Du Weldenvarden by walking, yes? Good. Also, since we still have so long in the day, we will be able to reach Ellesméra before nightfall. This means that you will have to hide for a good portion of the day and then fly as fast as you can to meet up with us before we reach Ellesméra," said Dylan, "Do you think you can do it?"
"Of course I can do it! There is no need to worry, foolish elf. Move swiftly, for I will as well." Nyte walked up to the edge of the forest and eased his way in between two trees. Sighing, we followed him into the great forest.
Just a few paces into the forest we stopped and all of us put our cloaks on and hoods up while Nyte ventured on into the forest. "Don't get lost, Nyte."
"I will not get lost, Kyra. I am a dragon, and we dragons have a great sense of direction." Nyte growled as he slinked out of sight. "Let's just hope that the two idiots leading you know exactly where they are going."
"Play nice, Nyte. You're going to have to learn how to behave once we reach Ellesméra." I laughed at the thought.
"Please. I will behave just fine once we reach Ellesméra. You have naught to worry about. I only misbehave around those two because, like I said, they are idiots. Now, go and have some fun, and try not to catch their idiotism."
As Nyte and his stream of insults that never reached Dylan and Jak disappeared into the forest we started to get a move on ourselves. The forest was thick, unlike any forest I had ever seen. When I looked up towards the sky all I could see was thick branches covered in green leaves with maybe a sliver of the sky showing here or there.
The ground was treacherous for it was covered in many tree roots, small dips and up rises with many different plants sprawled across it. Many times we had to leap through the air to avoid particularly treacherous ground, but every time we made it just fine. Just a few hours after we started traveling we passed by a small group of elves. Only a few of them actually stopped to look at us, and the rest acted as though there was nothing to see.
We pasted by more elves after that, but by noon we stopped seeing them altogether. It was just about noon when I noticed that the trees were starting to get taller and wider. As the day grew on, it also grew quieter.
At first, our day had started out with much conversation between the three of us. But it slowed to a quiet halt when both Dylan and Jak became too excited for words. It was obvious that they were both very happy to be returning home after so long. These thoughts made me long for the home I left back in Kuasta. No, it made me realize that I no longer have a home. Jason would forever stay my brother, but he and Anne were no longer my family, and I knew that I could never go back there and call it home after what had happened.
Maybe someday I'd be able to go back and visit. Spend a few hours with Jason, and pay my respects to Mia. That was a possibility, if I lived long enough to be able to return to there. But never would I be able to live there, and call that place my home again. When I left, it was the start of a new life, and this is that life. Maybe somewhere I will be able to find a new home…maybe that home will be here in Du Weldenvarden.
Thinking of the task at hand yet again, I was able to keep my thoughts a little more in line. An hour or so before dusk was to fall we stopped in a small-almost-clearing. Shortly after we stopped Nyte appeared at the edge of our little 'clearing'.
"We will now proceed at a slower pace for we are not far from the guardian. Let's go." Jak announced as he walked on into the forest. Dylan followed closely behind him, and then I followed with Nyte right behind me.
Not long after we continued walking an elf appeared before us, with a bright ray of light showering down on him through the tops of the trees. He was wearing flowing robes, and a circlet of silver rested on his head. His face was old, serene and noble.
Both Jak and Dylan flipped their hoods off and bowed slightly to the elf before us.
"Kyra," muttered Dylan, "Show him your left palm." Taking off the glove on my left hand, I held my hand, palm out so that the elf could see the gedwëy ignasia that was scarred into my hand. The elf smiled lightly, closed his eyes and spread his arms in welcome.
"Let us be on our way." Jak said. Carefully we walked around the man, who I now realized was Gilderien the Wise that Jak had spoken of the day before. As soon as we were all past him he clasped his hands together and vanished and the light that had illuminated him ceased to exist.
A short while later the forest thinned and breaks appeared in the canopy, allowing more light to shower down on us. We stopped underneath two burled trees that leaned against one another. The ground before us was covered in thick patches of flowers, from pink roses to lilies, while hordes of bumblebees flocked about them. To the right a stream chuckled behind a row of bushes. At first it seemed just like a clearing but slowly I was able to see paths hidden among the bushes and trees as well as buildings that grew directly out of the trees in marvelous manners.
Slowly elves began to poor into the central way as they realized that we were no threat. Most of them wore silvery hair, and not a single woman had their hair tied up. All of the elves possessed a delicate, ethereal beauty that made them seem flawless. They all wore rustic tunics of green and brown, fringed with dusky colors of orange and gold. They truly are the fair folk. I couldn't help but to think this to myself. Elves had always been nicknamed the fair folk, and now it made perfect sense.
As one, the elves bowed from the waist. Then they smiled and laughed with pure happiness as the pushed a little closer to us. Dylan reached back and pulled my hood down so my face was clearly visible. The elves cheered with joy as they saw my face and advanced forward yet again.
Jak and Dylan walked forward and Nyte and I quickly followed. The elves parted for us, and ended up looping around so we were encircled by them. One elf started singing in the ancient language, and soon enough others joined in on her merriment. The song was beautiful, but I could not understand but a hand full of words from it.
The elves continued to follow our group and danced and leaped around us in a carefree manor. We followed a cobblestone path that looped among the hollyhocks, houses and trees and eventually over a stream.
"Welcome, to our great city of Ellesméra." Dylan laughed as he slowed down to walk by my side. I only nodded and smiled, and reached out to Nyte with my thoughts, "This is such a wonderful place, is it not? I could truly live here in peace."
"Yes, such a wonderful, peaceful place. But I can't help but to wonder how the queen will react to us."
"Well, I guess we are about to find out." And at that the path we were following ended at a net of roots that formed steps. At the top of the stairs was a door embedded within a wall of saplings. As we stopped in front of them the doors swung open to reveal a great hall of trees, where the ceiling was made of branches melded together. Along each wall sat twelve chairs, and in each of the chairs sat elf lords and ladies.
Their faces were smooth and unmarked by age as their keen eyes stared at us with excitement and their body's leaned forward. Unlike the other elves, they had swords belted to their waists and circlets placed upon their heads. At the very end of the room sat Queen Islanzadí upon a throne of knotted roots. A brilliant white raven perched on a curved rod that sat to the queens left.
We advanced forward and a few feet before the queen we stopped and, one by one, bowed to the queen. Even Nyte lowered his head in a bow to the queen of the elves. As we bowed the white raven furiously flapped his wings and soared over our heads while screaming, "Aiedail!" I looked up slightly to see the raven land in front of me. My heart almost shattered at the sound of my mothers name coming from the raven.
End of Chapter 8! ((Up next: Chapter 9: What it means to be a Dragon Rider))