The Elf Girl (17 page)

2. Speak to others about Zora

3. Find out what the heck was going on with Stellan

4. See what Addison was up to

5. Get the Stranger’s beautiful eyes out of my head

6. See Aaron again and buy some jewelry

7. OPEN THE TRUNK!

8. Find my sister….

The last one was obvious, but I felt it needed to be there. It was then I remembered the book on locks at the bookstore and quickly added it to the list. That book could possibly help me with number seven on my list: opening the trunk. Hopefully I wouldn’t have anymore strange encounters with the Stranger so I could actually
go
inside
the store this time. With my list written, I was fully organized and ready to go.

After a quick look in the mirror, just to make sure I looked presentable, I left the house. After only one day, the city already seemed familiar to me. I felt out of place at times, but that wasn’t because of where I was. It was because of the lack of information I had about my new situation. I wasn’t used to being an elfen. In time, I would grow accustomed to all of the changes this new life entailed. Other than that, the surroundings called to me. Maybe it was because I had spent so much time sightseeing already. Perhaps my elfen nature was returning. Whatever the reason, the city felt like home. I realized I would be happy to live here for the rest of my life…if I was able to.

I strolled along the streets, admiring the scenery and townsfolk. It felt good to walk from place to place. It felt right. I didn’t miss the busy cars and traffic lights. Many times, I passed elves on magnificent looking horses. The elves riding them appeared confident and content. I wondered if it would take just one horse to make me feel that way. I didn’t know for sure.

I loved animals, because they didn’t judge me for what I couldn’t control. Animals didn’t look at my pointy ears or care who my birth parents were or what they had done.

Horses were especially wonderful creatures. I wasn’t very keen on taking care of them, but I sure loved to ride them. When I was seven, Dina and I went to a horse ranch a few hours from where we lived. There, we rode the horses and brushed their manes until darkness fell, when our parents wanted us in bed. We returned every summer after that because we loved it so much. Even Dina stayed out of the malls long enough to spend time with the horses. Those times at the stables were when we truly connected as sisters. I fought back tears. That would never happen between us again. I had a new sister I had to connect with, if I ever had the chance to find her. Thinking of how I would never see Dina again made finding Zora even more important. I felt that I owed it to Dina. I had left her, and I wanted to make sure my leaving was worth it. It wouldn’t be unless I found Zora.

I found myself wondering whether or not I would have been brought back to the Elf Realm if Zora hadn’t been taken, but I swiftly realized that I didn’t want to know the answer to that question. I didn’t want to keep thinking about the possibility that no one truly cared about my well-being, and that they really cared only for Zora. I definitely didn’t want to cry about it either, so I shoved the depressing thoughts out of my mind. Luckily, remembering the Stranger made the hurt melt away, replacing my sorrow with peace. However, I had a feeling that peace would be short lived, for I had finally reached the restaurant where Stellan worked.
How will the elf act this time?
I wondered.

The restaurant screamed one word to me as I stood before it. That one word was,
weird
. It was oval-shaped and green, and looked like a giant egg. The door to the restaurant was also egg-shaped, brown with a large oval-shaped handle.

I opened the door and stepped through the entrance. I felt a lot better inside the restaurant than outside. It looked
almost
normal. The main area had a high ceiling and oval tables with elves eating and chatting the afternoon away. I looked at the carpets and wasn’t surprised at the design. Several brown and green ovals overlapped each other in various places. The only feature that wasn’t oval-shaped was the bar that ran along the outline of the restaurant. That was a circle, not an oval.
Big difference
, I thought sarcastically to myself. I walked up to the host elf and asked for Stellan. He told me Stellan would come out soon, but that he was just finishing some things in the kitchen. The host instructed me to take a seat at the bar and wait.

“I’ll be with you in just a moment,” the bartender told me as I sat down.

He came back only seconds later. We both smiled as we recognized each other.

“So you work here too, huh?” I asked.

Cass nodded. “Yes, I met Addison here. She was meeting Stellan and he introduced me to her.”

“That’s so sweet. I always love chance meetings,” I remarked, drawing invisible circles on the bar with my fingertips. The smudges appeared to be more like ovals than circles, proving that the atmosphere of this restaurant was already having an effect on me.

“What?” he asked, looking perplexed.

“When meetings are just by chance,” I said, confused as to why I even had to explain myself.

It bothered me sometimes how simple human words often confused the elves I encountered. I found myself having to explain myself more than I would have liked. After all, I was the one who should be asking questions. I was the new elfen in town with a weird past and even weirder present. I sighed. It was difficult being the new kid, but just thinking about starting over made me giddy with excitement. This was a great opportunity; a chance to reinvent myself and decide my own future, unlike in the Human Realm, where everyone had labeled me from the very beginning. It was my turn to create the image and reputation I would now portray to the world. My frustration quickly changed to enthusiasm.

“Oh, I see what you mean. So, can I get you anything?” Cass asked.

“I don’t know. What kinds of drinks are served here?”

“Well, we have juice and water. We also have wine.”

“How will I choose?” I laughed.

“We don’t have a huge variety. This place may look a bit modern, but it’s still a Magical Realm. Elf magic does all sorts of great things, but it doesn’t really affect drinks, so in that department we are still stuck in the olden days.”

I laughed. “So there aren’t any elves with the ability to create new beverages?”

“Not that I know of,” he said with a witty expression. “So how about it, want anything?”

“Do you have cranberry juice?”

“Yes, we do,” he said, so exuberantly that I had to laugh again. I was beginning to like Cass more each time I encountered him.

“Okay, then I’ll try it.”

“Coming right up,” he said. He grabbed a glass and poured in the juice. Then he handed it to me.

“Thanks.” I sipped it slowly, enjoying the taste. It was sweeter than I remembered, not as bitter. Maybe magic didn’t affect the drinks here, but they were still better than ones from the Human Realm, probably more natural. I doubted that elves knew anything about juice concentrate.

“Why is this place shaped so weirdly?” I asked, speaking my thoughts aloud.

“Oh, yes, I guess it is awfully strange. The owner has a very creative mind. He wanted to build something that would stand out.”

“Mission accomplished,” I said.

“And he does own a bunch of pet chickens, which explains the egg shape.”

“You can’t be serious,” I told him.

He laughed. “No, I’m kidding. Honestly, I have no idea why this place is so bizarre. I just work here.”

I nodded, still smiling and feeling oddly comfortable with the elf that only hours ago had walked into my house in the middle of the night without knocking.

“So how long have you been…courting Addison?” The word for dating still seemed funny to me.

“Actually, for over a year, and it’s been great.”

“I’m glad,” I said genuinely. “Do you think you will marry her?” I asked, propping my elbows on the bar counter and resting my head on my hands.

“What?” he asked, appearing to be a little bewildered.

“Will you ever marry her?”

“I’m only seventeen.”

“I didn’t say you should
now
. You could wait a few years.”

“You don’t understand this place very well,” he inferred, putting it as more of a statement than a question.

“I guess not,” I admitted. “It seems like I can’t go a few hours without getting confused about something.”

“Well, elves can get married anytime after they finish their ability school. But it hardly ever happens right away, or even ever.”

“Why?”

“We are basically immortal. We have all the time in the world. Marriage isn’t a huge thing, not for many immortal creatures. I mean, why rush it if we can live forever? What would be the point? Sure, once in a while you’ll find an elfin couple that still goes by the old Human Realm traditions, but very rarely. And in the Fairy Realms, the only marriages between fairies are those of kings and queens.”

“How odd,” I commented.

“Well, that’s immortality for you,” he said.

“So marriage…isn’t a big thing?”

“Nope, it’s not a major concern at all,” he replied simply.

“So you don’t think you will marry Addison in the future?”

“It’s not probable,” he admitted. “I’m happy with the way things are and so is she. Marriage won’t change that.”

“Does anyone ever get married here?”

“Uh…Well…I don’t know anyone in Birchwood who is. The Queen – Queen Taryn – she was married once, but that’s because she is royal. Some of her guards, both elf and elfen, marry because it assures their place together. As long as they are married, they can both work in the same place and avoid separation. Those are the only marriages I can think of. Common elves can be married, and like I said, some do, but I don’t know any.”

“That’s interesting.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Things are just so different here, that’s all. In the Human Realm, marriage is a big deal. Well, for most people, that is. Mostly it’s a religious thing. Marriage is just…normal.”

“Is there something wrong with the way we live?” he asked, sounding slightly defensive.

“No, not at all! I’m simply not used to it. I’m sorry if I offended you,” I apologized. “I’m trying my best to get used to being here.”

“Oh, it’s all right. I was only confused because…well, you seem to ask a lot of questions that I haven’t ever had to think about or answer before,” he said.

“Sorry,” I apologized. “I have been asking so many since I got here that I don’t know when to stop.”

He grinned. “It’s okay. You’ll understand everything eventually.” Then he left to make drinks for other elves who had approached the bar.

Sitting alone, I realized I had a
lot
to learn about this place. I hoped Cass was right, and that eventually I would understand.

***

I was finishing my juice when I noticed Stellan walk out of the kitchen. He smiled when he saw me, and I had to smile back. I was pretty weak around this guy. His smile broke me down. I couldn’t be cold with him when he did that, even though his strange behavior still bothered me.

He motioned for me to follow him without saying anything and led me to a table. I hoped he was back to being himself.

“Sit,” he ordered.

“Uh, okay,” I replied.

I sat down and looked up at him. I was waiting for him to say a second word, or anything. He didn’t. I wasn’t going to stay if he wasn’t going to talk to me. I started to get up. His hand landed on my shoulder, as if he had been expecting me to try to leave.

“What am I doing here, Stellan?” I asked, slowly removing his hand.

“Would you like to have lunch with me?”

“Isn’t that why I am here in the first place?”

“Yes, but I didn’t really give you much of a choice, since I had Addison tell you to meet me here.” He smiled, a little shyly. “So, do you want to or not?” he asked.

Should I really accept? He was acting so differently from yesterday. I was prepared to say no. My mind screamed it, but I found myself saying…

“Sure.”

I wanted to punch myself in the face.

He smiled, another brilliant Stellan-the-Elf smile, and sat down. He handed me a menu and I took it. Our hands touched. I withdrew mine swiftly. I hadn’t meant to be cold to him, but it was hard not to be. I didn’t understand him.

“Aren’t you supposed to be working?” I asked.

“I’m on a lunch break.”

We didn’t say any more because a server came over to take our drink order. I asked for water and Stellan asked for the same.

“So what kind of food do elves eat for lunch?” I wondered aloud to him.

“We eat the type of food from what humans call the Renaissance Period.”

I looked at the menu and an uneasy feeling settled in my stomach. The food here was strange to me. Sure, there was chicken and turkey, but also pigeon, rabbit, quail, pheasant, and venison. No one hunted in my family, so we weren’t big meat eaters. Also, after Dina became a vegetarian to keep a good figure, our family catered to her and our meat intake went way down. It wasn’t just the meat that was different though. Even the names of other dishes seemed complicated and foreign. I took the simple route and ordered a salad. I guessed seeing the look on my face as I looked through the menu made Stellan order the same. I bet he didn’t want me freaking out over what he would have ordered, like a pigeon with its head still on and its beady little eyes staring creepily as it was eaten.
Gross
.

We didn’t talk while we ate. It wasn’t a surprise that Stellan was being weird again, but it made me feel disappointed. I had hoped for the attitude he had the day before, when he had held my hand all the way to Birchwood City. What was the point of this lunch?

When the bill came, Stellan paid before I could stop him.

“Well, thanks for lunch,” I said unenthusiastically.

“You’re welcome.”

I got up to leave and this time he didn’t stop me. Instead, he caught up to me as I was walking down the street.