And I am back again.
Two months later
Wendy stretched her arms up high, as she walked through the forest.
It really did look magical in the summer.
It was her birthday, so she had been allowed to explore the forest.
She laughed to herself.
She was not going to explore the forest.
Something moved at the edge of her vision.
She smiled.
Well … at least not alone.
The blue eyes glittering in the sunshine.
The elven queen smiled and leaned her head to one side.
You seemed to be glowing... her voice echoed around Wendy.
She smiled and blushed. Her hair getting loose from her ponytail.
The elven queen suddenly stood right in front of her.
Your hair is so … beautiful...
The magical creature studied the long hair lock that shined in the sun.
It was an odd contrast the fiery red against the elven queen's pale hand.
Wendy was enchanted by her being so close.
"You know..." She said after a while. "It is my birthday today."
The elven seemed puzzled. She then looked to the clear sky.
A breeze passed through the trees whispering to the two of them.
Ahh... the elven queen smiled content and leaned in. Their noses almost touched. Then this is a day for celebration...
Wendy returned the smile.
She had gotten used to her majesty's oddities.
"I am 13 years old now."
The elven queen's sigh echoed through the trees.
She put the long lock of hair behind Wendy's ear and stepped back.
With a smile, she turned around and started walking away.
"Where are you going?" Wendy asked confused.
The elven turned back around in an elegant motion and held out her hand to Wendy.
To the celebration … of course...
Whispers filled the air, as they went deeper and deeper into the forest.
Wendy had no idea how the elven queen got over the fallen trees in their path while still looking so elegant.
Wendy? It was hard to hear the queen's voice from the other whispers, who questioned what Wendy was doing here.
"Yes..." Wendy said and glanced around to try and find the source of the whispers.
A wilting flower can be very beautiful … though I myself prefer an ever-young...
Wendy furrowed her brows, but then she understood.
"There is nothing I can do about it." She said.
The soft sound of the elven queen's giggle flowed around her.
I can though...
Wendy smiled to herself.
For an elven, the elven queen was fun to talk to.
Then something occurred to Wendy.
"Do you have a name?"
The last word was echoed by the whispers.
Despite what Wendy thought, the elven did not react much.
She stepped over a stream crossing their path and leaned her head to the side.
I had once … though I have forgotten it...
Wendy snorted at the response. "How can you forget your name?"
The elven queen's eyes peered at her over her shoulder with a smile.
You have forgotten arrows before...
Wendy smiled.
That was true.
"But what should I call you then? You call me by my name."
The elven queen slowly turned to her and they stopped walking.
Just like you are Wendy the hunter … I am the queen of elvens...
Wendy cocked her head to the side for a moment. "Then I will call you your majesty."
The deep eyes studied her. Then the queen lifted a finger to her lip.
Your majesty … I do believe I like that … you may call me 'your majesty'...
Wendy tried to hide her giggle behind a hand.
Now come… the elven queen reached out her hand. The celebration is just past these trees...
Wendy did not see anything in the clearing, but her majesty just smiled.
Come out now... her soft voice echoed. It is a time of celebration...
As if by a stroke of magic creatures of all kinds appeared through the trees.
There were men with antlers and hooves, green children, pale elvens dressed in leaves and vines, and others whose skin was black as shadow and sparkling stars. Beautiful women danced into the clearing with loosely fitted dresses and deep holes in their backs, while tiny little fairies fluttered around Wendy.
She was awestruck, as one creature looked more enchanting than the last.
Her majesty pulled her by the hands into the middle of the clearing, as the most beautiful music Wendy had ever heard started playing.
The magical creatures danced around her smiling and friendly, as the elven queen raised the knitted-together hands over their hands in a dance Wendy had never tried before.
She could not help but laugh.
Her majesty seemed to glow in the sunlight.
These are my people my little hunter … She spun Wendy around. They have watched you from afar … now they see just how beautiful you are...
Wendy blushed and suddenly the elven queen let go of her.
She stumbled and a girl with beautiful wings caught her and lifted her slightly off the ground, as she spun her around.
From there almost every creature in the clearing stepped forward to dance with her.
She giggled at the green child who was enticed by her skin color and watched her feet carefully as a man with hooves danced with her.
She ended up spinning around in a circle dance with blonde elven girls.
We only ever dance like this under the purple night sky... One of them sighed content as they continued to dance.
"The purple night sky?" Wendy asked. She couldn't see, which of them was talking. Her head was spinning.
The queen is holding this celebration because you fascinate her the most … little hunter … it sounded like it was the same one who spoke again.
Tiny bells rang out in the clearing and the dancers halted.
Two long tables filled with delicious-looking food had appeared and everyone gathered around them.
A little green boy came to Wendy, as she looked on in awe, handed her a golden plate of food, and let her to the shade of a big tree, where the elven queen was sitting.
She smiled as she sat down. "Thank you."
The elven queen smiled at her and then looked at the elven folk sitting in the clearing.
A celebration always brings joy...
Wendy followed her gaze.
"Do you think they like me?" She asked.
Her Majesty turned to her again.
You are dear to me and to them too...
Wendy furrowed her brows as she picked a berry in a funny color.
She could not understand why magical beings would like her just because of the elven queen.
"One of them said something about a purple night sky, does that really happen?" She asked and studied the odd berry.
Yes … another celebration … where we reminisce...
The elven queen looked sad.
Wendy was about to eat the berry when she realized what she was doing.
Her majesty's endless eyes watched her every move.
She put the berry down.
"Why are you so fascinated with me?"
The beautiful being leaned her head to the side.
There are so many reasons … and yet there are none...
There was quiet a moment.
You were the first of your kind that has spoken to me … in very long... the queen continued. You are also very beautiful when you hunt … your kind always is when you fight to survive...
Wendy blushed.
"You know, this is the second-best gift today." She said and smiled at the thought of what her mother had told her. "My mother said she is pregnant."
The elven queen's eyes sparkled at her.
There is going to be a baby...?
Wendy nodded with a smile.
Will you bring them here? Her voice echoed again, and it seemed like all the elven folk was looking at her for confirmation.
"Someday..." She said and shrugged.
The queen smiled gently and content.
Then someday I hope you will stay...
As she stepped out of the forest, she realized that it was the afternoon already.
She ran the rest of the way to the kitchen door.
Her mother just smiled from the fireplace.
"Did you have fun, my sweet?" She asked.
"Yes..." She said. "Do you need any help?"
Her mother laughed.
"Not at the moment. The soup is simmering the fires are going and there is not a lot to do before dinner time..."
She opened her arms at her daughter, and Wendy stepped closer.
Her mother caressed her face and hair gently. "When did you get so big...?"
Her voice was soft and caring with just a hint of sadness.
She hugged the big child.
"I still remember the first time I held you."
Wendy smiled. "I am 13 summers old, mother, not 20."
Her mother shook with laughter. "Indeed, you should get up and get changed, there are a few people coming this evening..."
Before Wendy could ask, her grandmother stepped into the kitchen.
"There you are," She smiled and then turned to her daughter-in-law. "I maybe thought you were taking away."
Wendy snorted but managed to stop herself from telling them about the elven queen.
She did not want to tell her mother at least.
She did not believe in fairies or elven folk.
Wendy blushed as the weaver complimented her on how tall she was and told her to come to visit to take out her riding clothes a little.
"Wendy!" one of the farmers, Blackstone called.
She went over there with a practiced smile and took the empty mugs from his hand.
One of the travelers looked at her, as she passed his table.
"She really provides for the inn? All by herself?"
She looked to her father – who was sitting at the same table – who proudly smiled at her.
"Yes, she is a natural hunter..."
"A girl hunter." The traveler laughed to himself.
She and Edward kept going back and forth with beer after people finished their food and sat and chatted, but then the blacksmith waved her over his mug was still full.
"I wanted to give you this." He said and held up a necklace.
Wendy smiled politely and took it.
"Is it a birthday gift?" She asked and touched the bent piece of shiny metal attached to the braided thread.
The blacksmith's wife nodded towards the fireplace, where Eva was entertaining their two children and Arthur.
"We had a really hard winter," the dark-haired woman explained. "If you did not hunt, your father would not be able to give us so much food."
Wendy blushed again and went to show Eva her birthday gift.
She had never gotten a necklace before.
When she showed the other children her new treasure, Eva's eyes grew big.
"It is shiny." She said and tried to grab it.
Their grandmother laughed from her rocking chair. "Are you not a little changeling?"
"What is a changeling?" The blacksmith's son, Alan, asked.
"A fairy child raised by us mortals," The old woman said as she rocked back and forth. "They act rather strange and like shiny things." and added when Eva looked at her with big eyes. "Do not worry my little one. I know for sure you are not elven kind. I watched you in the cradle myself."
"Va!" Arthur said and pulled at Eva's skirt.
Eva's eyes lit up again.
"We have a gift for you too!" She exclaimed and turned to Arthur.
Slowly and carefully the 5-year-old pulled the one-year-old to his tiny feet and stepped backward to let the toddler take his first step.
Shakely and almost being pulled forward Arthur put one foot in front of the other.
Wendy giggled with joy and pulled her brother into a hug. "What a good boy you are."
Arthur mumbled and buried his face in her dress. He was tried.
"So…" Jacob's wife said. Her eyes followed the young redheaded girl, as she served refilled mugs of beer. "Do you mean to have your daughter provide for the inn forever?"
Wendy made a face at the woman.
"Of course not," Her father said and hugged her as she put a mug down in front of him. "She will help us run the inn in the near future."
Wendy smiled and went to join the other children in one of her grandmother's storytelling.
"She will have to learn to read and write then, arithmetic too." Jacob's wife said.
Wendy stopped and turned back to the table.
"We will teach her in time…" Her father said and drank from his mug.
"Well," Jacob said and put an arm around his Wife. "Beth does know a lot of … these things."
Her father was quiet for a moment, while Wendy waited for him to refuse.
"It would have to be over the winter…"
That is one more chapter done.
Tell me what you think :)