The Elf Girl (15 page)

I noted that it was the perfect combination of old and new.

***

The city bank was probably the largest building in Birchwood. It was made of stone and had a large wooden door with a brass handle. It reminded me of an abandoned mansion. However, no forms of the word “abandoned” came to mind as we went inside.

A large chandelier brightly lit the inside of the bank. Multiple wooden and cushioned couches surrounded a large three hundred and sixty degree round fireplace, making the building surprisingly warm. The back of the building had counters. I guessed this was where I could make my withdrawals. To the right side was a wall of what looked like security deposit boxes, where elves could keep important belongings and money. The left wall housed a large safe. It was less modern than a human bank, but I still knew it was a bank just by looking around.

I hesitantly followed Stellan to one of the counters, not knowing exactly what to do. Everything in the Elf Realm had some kind of difference from the Human Realm, and I was still unused to it. Behind the counter was a dark-haired elfen with leaf-green eyes. She was wearing a brown dress with a rose pinned to the front. She smiled and greeted us with a hello.

“What can I do for you two today?” she asked.

Before I could speak, Stellan was already answering for me, which I found
extremely
aggravating.

“We need a withdrawal from Ramsey’s account.” He nodded to me.

The women took a second to look me over and nodded. “Yes, right away. That’s right; you’re Alanna’s daughter, correct?”

“Who’s daughter?”

“Your mother,” Stellan whispered to me.

I bit my lip and nodded. “Yes,” I said, angry at myself for already forgetting my mother’s name.

“Such a shame that she left with your father,” she remarked.

I nodded again. I didn’t want to start any small talk with her, especially on the subject of my mysterious parents. Parents I knew nothing about. She probably knew more about them than I did. It was an awkward situation.

“How much would you like to withdraw?” she asked in a sweet tone.

This time I was able to answer for myself.

“Ten gold coins, please,” I requested.

Stellan gave me another one of his looks, but I ignored it. I didn’t want to have to come back here too often. Five hundred dollars would be fine for now, just in case.

“Of course, one moment, please.” She smiled and then left to get the coins.

“Going shopping?” Stellan asked.

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” I said.

He grinned, and I had to grin back. It was hard to be mad at Stellan. One smile from him and I forgot everything.

The elfen came back a couple seconds later, holding ten gold coins. She counted them for me and then put them into a red satin pouch.

“Here you are. Come again,” she said, handing me the bag.

I smiled, took the bag, and tied the string handle to my wrist.

“Thanks,” Stellan and I said at once.

As we walked out of the bank, a pale-haired elfen stopped us on the way. Her green eyes shone with excitement upon seeing me, making me wonder who she was and why she seemed so happy to see me.

“Hello, Ramsey. I’m Ashlyn,” she introduced, taking both of my hands in hers.

“Uh, hi,” I replied. I retracted my hands. Was it just me, or were elf handshakes totally bizarre?

Ashlyn smiled at me warmly. “I know it must seem strange, me just coming up and talking to you. But I have heard so much about you, and I wanted to meet you.”

“What have you heard about me?” I asked, interested to learn the city gossip.

“Oh, just how…
special
you are.”

“Special?” I asked, and looked over at Stellan. He stayed as still as stone. I realized he wouldn’t be helping me with this at all. I was on my own.

“Yes, you know, special. I mean, your parents took you into the Human Realm. There had to be an important reason. No elf or elfen goes to the Human Realm anymore without a good reason. Not since the war began. And of course your secret is special,” she said.

“Oh, I see. Well, I don’t know why I am special or what my
secret
is. Apparently, only Zora knows….”

“I’m so sorry about Zora. We go to school together…I mean, we
went
to school together.” Ashlyn blushed, obviously embarrassed by her mistake. “She was such a nice elfen and we were very close friends.” Suddenly, her eyes lit up. “Oh, and speaking of school, I’m going to be very late if I don’t get going. Hope to see you again soon, Ramsey.” She waved, turned, and sped out of the building before I could even reply.

I stood motionless as she left. Her fast-paced talking and peppy attitude had stunned me. I wasn’t used to so much good cheer around me. In the Human Realm, the only cheery person I knew was Carmen.

“She’s…”

“Animated?” Stellan guessed.

“Oh yeah,” I said with emphasis, “but she’s nice. I can tell she means well. But I didn’t like how she talked about Zora in the past tense…I mean, not a very good boost of optimism for me, the one who is supposed to find her,” I said.

“I get what you mean, but you have to understand that Zora has been gone for a long time, and until now there was no hope of ever bringing her home. But now you’re here.”

I nodded, contemplating his words. They were the most interesting and sincere phrases of the day from him. I wondered if he was finally going back to normal, whatever that was.

Lately, I was never sure what constituted as normal.

Sighing, I followed Stellan, who was already making his way toward the exit. Outside, the bustle of elves caught me by surprise. I wasn’t used to being around creatures I once thought were fictional. It would be a while before I grew accustomed to the change.

“That is probably going to happen to you a lot,” Stellan commented as we walked away from the bank.

“What?” I asked, admiring the scene of two elfin children playing in the street. Even though this Realm was in the midst of a war, things seemed so carefree. I could see how it would be hard for elves here to remember what was actually going on in the Realm. Zora’s kidnapping must have really surprised them.

“The elves will want to introduce themselves to you. Your being special has everyone in the city interested. You see, not much happens in this town. We aren’t close to the capital, so the war doesn’t affect us directly. Your coming home is the biggest thing that’s happened since…well, since Zora was taken.”

I sighed. “Whatever. At least they won’t make fun of my ears.” I grinned.

I was happy that I caused him to grin, too. I wasn’t going to let him do all the mesmerizing, if that’s what it was.

Stellan was still being distant and I didn’t know why. However, as long as he behaved civilly, I was fine with it. Besides, people hadn’t acted very normal around me in the Human Realm because of my strange looks, so Stellan acting this way was already an improvement.

“So what do
you
do all day?” I asked him as we walked.

I didn’t know exactly where we were going. I desperately yearned to return to the bookstore, but I decided it could wait for now. I wanted to figure out why Stellan’s mood had changed so drastically from the day before, and to see if he would warm up to me again so that I could safely call him my friend. Or if I was lucky, something more….

But thinking that way was crazy. Sure, I had a special secret and a mysterious past, but that didn’t make me the most eligible elfen in Birchwood City. To think that way would be delusional.

“Work,” he replied.

“Where do you work?” I wondered, trying to keep the conversation going.

“
The Birchwood City Restaurant
.”

“A very original name,” I commented.

“I think so,” he said, a hint of a smile playing across his lips.

“So when do you work?” I asked.

“My shift starts at nine and goes until five,” he told me.

I giggled, and he gave me another one of his looks. That was going to get old very quickly.

“In the Human Realm, a workday is called a
nine to five
. It’s just ironic, that’s all,” I explained.

“Right,” he said, still giving me a questioning look. I needed to think about what I said before I spoke. Things were different here; expressions and sayings were not the same as in the Human Realm. I would have to be careful, or I could confuse or offend someone easily. “I have to go,” he said suddenly, before I even had a chance to respond.

“But it’s only seven,” I pointed out to him.

“I have some errands to do,” he said.

“What is with you and Addison going on so many errands?” I asked him.

“She said she had to go on errands?”

“Yes. She said she had a few errands to do before school started,” I told him.

“I should have guessed she would say that. And I should have thought of something else to say….” He sighed. “Now I have a problem.”

Stellan looked down at the ground and shifted his weight nervously.

“I would say so,” I replied, looking at him expectantly.

“I…,” he trailed off.

“So what are you two really up to?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You should truthfully just ask Addison about that,” he suggested.

Then he smiled, and a second later disappeared into thin air, leaving me with my mouth hanging open and feeling more confused than ever before.

~6~
Lunch Date

Since I couldn’t exactly follow Stellan after he “teleported,” I walked until I found the jeweler we had passed on the way to the bank. I didn’t have much to do today, especially with Addison and Stellan acting so weird, so I decided to get to know the city a bit more. If Birchwood City was going to be my permanent dwelling, I should know my surroundings. This would help me blend in with the culture and feel comfortable in the Elf Realm. The jeweler would be a good first stop.

I stepped through the door to look around. The store sparkled with jewels of all shapes, colors, and sizes. The pieces were beautiful, more striking than anything I had seen in the Human Realm, another reason I already loved it here. Everything seemed to be magnified in some way, which I noticed even on my first day.

As I browsed, I wondered what I was going to say to the sales clerk when he or she appeared. I decided after coming into the store that I would talk about Zora to anyone who worked there. Her jewelry was of high quality, probably from this store. I guessed she must have bought jewelry often, considering how much she had in her drawer. Maybe the more I found out about my sister, the better chance I would have of finding her.

Okay, so I didn’t exactly know how talking to a jewelry sales clerk was going to help me rescue my fairy-captured sister, but it was worth a shot. I had to start somewhere. I didn’t have any other leads to go on.

I was startled out of my thoughts when I saw the sales clerk finally appear behind the counter. He looked young, about my age. However, he could be one hundred and two for all I knew. I walked over to the counter and smiled at him. The elf was pale-haired and had eyes so pale green they were almost white. He was handsome and appeared to be someone who would be a great host at a party, very welcoming.

“Hello,” I greeted, trying to hide the shyness I usually expressed to others.

I wanted to seem more outgoing here. I wanted to start over now that I wasn’t being made fun of all the time, now that I had a real purpose. I had a lot of work to do, but I felt confident that I could overcome my social awkwardness and be the elfen I was born to be.

Yeah, that line was cheesy, but I tried not to pay attention to that fact. Motivation and cheesy slogans just went together.

“Hello,” he replied warmly.

I took a deep breath. “I have to ask you something, sir, before I say anything else,” I told him.

“All right, go ahead,” he encouraged.

“How old are you? I don’t mean to be rude; I would just like to know, for personal reasons….” I was too curious to pass up the chance to ask. I smiled awkwardly.
What a great way to break the ice,
I thought sarcastically.

He laughed and smiled back at me. Elves and their teeth…. Their smiles were completely mesmerizing. I wondered if I smiled like that. I hoped so.

“Twenty-five just last year,” he said.

I giggled and shook my head. “So, you’re twenty-six then?”

“You got it. What else can I do for you?”

“I wanted to talk to someone who knew my sister, Zora. Did you ever sell any jewelry to her?”

“I’m sorry about your sister, uh...and I’m sorry again,” he said sympathetically. “I’m afraid I don’t know your name.”

“I’m Ramsey,” I told him. “And, thank you. You are the first elf I’ve seen who hasn’t stared me down because of my past. It’s been a little weird to deal with, even for an elfen who was stared at constantly in the Human Realm.”

“I’m Aaron, and I am not one to pry into anyone’s business, unlike many elves in this city seem to be doing these days,” he explained.

“I appreciate that a lot. I understand why everyone is so interested. I mean, I’m an elfen from the Human Realm, and it seems that I have a very mysterious past. But it’s still weird, especially since I have no idea what I’m doing here yet,” I told him.

“I’m sure you will find your place sooner or later. This is where you belong,” he said.

I smiled. “Thanks,” I told him honestly. “So have you sold to Zora before?”

“Seeing as it’s just me in here, I would have to say, yes.”

“You work here by yourself?”

“I own this shop. It’s been in my family for a long time,” he explained.

“Well, you must have great business, especially since my sister had so much jewelry in her drawer,” I said. “Can you tell me anything about her?”

“Sure,” he agreed. “What would you like to know?”

I thought about it for a moment.

“First, how often did she come here?” I asked. Then the questions came pouring out like a waterfall. “Did you have conversations with her? What did you think of her?”