The Elf Girl (39 page)

Jacqueline informed me that the Princess had spoken with her and that I was to accompany Brielle and Danica to the city. I could see the suspicion in her eyes as I nodded and rose from my seat. After a polite goodbye, I was on my way to Brielle’s quarters. I was thankful Jacqueline trusted me enough to go on my own.

I found myself in Brielle’s “apartment” minutes later. She told me to make myself comfortable and she would be ready in ten minutes. I sat down on one of her plush brown couches and looked around. The room was beautiful. It was full of colors, and I admired how different it was from Lady Cora and Elvina’s. I guessed Brielle wanted the colorful guest rooms even more than Queen Taryn.

The bedspread was a shade of blue with swirls of red and green, with a blue canopy. The curtains were brown and blue, and she had two couches. One was brown and the other green. I looked down at the carpet and I swore I saw every color imaginable. Brielle was more unusual than I thought. Sure, the colors were beautiful, but they were also highly unnatural for any elf, straying away from the traditional colors of simple brown and green.

When she was ready, I asked her about her interesting room. She said she wanted color in her life. The thought of being trapped in a room during the week with no excitement made her want to gag. I laughed when she said it, but then I realized she was serious. Although she sometimes managed to sneak out of the palace, most of the time she was unable to leave.

“Danica is right outside,” she told me. “We should be going.”

“How do you know that?” I asked.

“Just a feeling,” she replied.

“Okay,” I muttered.

Brielle was getting stranger by the minute.

I followed her out the door. Just as she predicted, Danica was waiting for us outside. She led the way down the three flights of stairs and out the castle doors. As we walked over the bridge, I was once again taken aback by the beauty of the palace and what surrounded it. I could see the glistening streams and ponds more clearly in the daylight. When I looked back at the structure, I couldn’t believe I was a guest there. It was the most beautiful place I had ever seen, more spectacular than I had imagined it to be.

When Brielle saw I was lagging behind, she grabbed me by the hand and pulled me forward. Now walking very fast, I didn’t have much time to admire the scenery. However, I did come to one conclusion: Tarlore was amazing! New sights to see beckoned to me from every direction. We passed street venders, markets, and bakeries. Busy elves surrounded us.

The city wasn’t modern, but it was definitely a city. When I pictured Birchwood City, I thought of the nineteenth century. Looking at Tarlore was like going backward to the seventeenth century. Buildings were constructed out of stone or crude wood. Even though the shops and homes were rustic, they were also soothing, pure and natural.

Still dragging me along, Brielle walked around with an air of confidence, looking at things here and there. I wondered when we would try to break away from Danica, who was following close behind us. Brielle said we would leave her at some point. I pushed the thought away and focused on the city. Brielle could decide what to do about Danica on her own.

Twenty minutes later, I saw Thane walking toward us.

“Danica, we have a slight problem,” he said after they embraced.

“What is it?”

“You know how you wanted me to find the wedding invitations and send them off with a few of the shape-shifters? I’m sorry to tell you the invitations have disappeared.”

“How?” Danica cried.

“I have no idea. All I know is I have looked everywhere and they are nowhere to be found!”

I noticed Brielle was smirking. Did she have something to do with this?

“You probably didn’t look hard enough. They need to be sent out today if everyone is to get them in time. I’ll have to come and help you look.”

“What about Princess Brielle and Ramsey?” Thane asked.

“We can take care of ourselves,” Brielle interrupted. “I’ve been to the city numerous times. I can look after Ramsey.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Thane said.

“We’ll be fine, I promise,” Brielle reassured them both.

“We really need those invitations sent out,” Danica admitted.

“Are you sure we can trust them alone?” Thane asked.

“As long as Queen Taryn doesn’t find out, I believe everything will be fine,” Danica said.

“What if she
does
find out?” Thane asked.

“We won’t say a thing to her, Danica,” Brielle promised.

“All right, but remember to be back an hour before dinner, okay?” Danica asked.

“You can trust us!” Brielle called as the two ran off to the palace.

I looked at Brielle, completely stunned. How had she gotten to those wedding invitations? How had she known Thane would come looking for Danica? Moreover, how could they have fallen for her scheme?

“Don’t look at me like that! I told you we would get away, didn’t I? Well, we did.”

“But how did you…the invitations…
how?
” I asked.

“Lock picker, remember? I just went into Thane’s room, took the invitations, and hid them. Don’t worry, they will find them in time. I just placed them in a place I knew Thane wouldn’t check.”

“Where did you put them?” I asked.

“I put them in Danica’s closet. You wouldn’t believe how disgraceful it is! She is quite a slob! I knew Thane wouldn’t have the heart to go through it, so I shoved them to the back,” Brielle said, smiling and obviously very impressed with her skills.

“You really are something, Brielle,” I told her.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” she replied. She smiled and then took my hand.

“What do we do now?” I asked.

“I’m going to show you the best parts of the city!” Brielle cried, pulling me along.

I kept up as best I could, though it was hard to run around so much in the early morning. My nightmare had deprived me of sleep, so I was still tired.

Brielle took me to various venders and shops. I helped her pick out some jewelry and learned she was a jewelry hoarder like Zora. It made me sad for a moment to think of my sister, but then I was whisked away again to another shop. Brielle knew how to keep me distracted. She also knew how to have a great time.

She even took the liberty of buying me a new shoulder bag, among various other accessories. The bag was dark brown with bright green floral designs and a large emerald jewel at the center. Her reasoning: my bag was too old and worn out to be seen in Tarlore.

After refusing her offer for more than fifteen minutes, I gratefully accepted it. I transferred all of my own money, jewelry, and Zora’s journal into my new bag and thanked her countless times. Later at lunch, she asked me about the journal.

“Do you think it will help you find her?” she wondered.

“I don’t know. But I thought I should keep it with me just in case,” I told her.

“Don’t you have any idea where she is?”

“Not really. God knows I wish I did. She has only three nights left,” I said quietly.

“Can’t you connect with her again?”

“The last time it happened I almost died. I was told not to come back. If I did, the Element fairies would probably kill both of us.”

“What about trying to remember details of the previous connections? Is there something you saw that could let you know where she was, anything at all?” Brielle asked.

“Even if there was something, I probably wouldn’t know what it was. I have no idea how to distinguish one Fairy Realm from another.”

“I still think you should try. Maybe think about it later tonight, all right?” she asked.

“Okay,” I agreed uncertainly.

I liked Brielle’s encouragement, but I highly doubted I would figure out Zora’s location just by thinking. Pushing the thoughts aside, I tried to enjoy my lunch with the Princess.

It was four when we finished shopping, and we had to be back at the palace by seven. Brielle said we had one more thing to do before we left. Following her down the dirt roads, she took me to a large wooden building that I recognized as the tavern from the other night. The sign across the front read,
The Hall of Drink and Dance
. I looked at Brielle, confused, and she smiled in return.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“
This
is fun,” she told me.

Inside, the place was filled with elves dancing, laughing, and drinking the late afternoon away. I noticed a large dance floor and a bar at the back. Musicians played on a stage in the middle. Brielle squealed with delight and beckoned me to follow her to the bar. After taking our seats, Brielle asked the bartenders for two glasses of their finest wine.

“Are you allowed to be here?” I asked her.

Brielle looked at me and grinned. “If Queen Taryn knew her daughter spent her evenings drinking and dancing with complete strangers, she would have my head!” She winked. “But even that wouldn’t stop me from having a good time.”

We got our drinks moments later. I looked around and sighed. Who could have known the Princess of the Elf Realm was such a rebel? I certainly hadn’t until today.

“Come on, Ramsey, let’s dance!” She tugged me away from the bar and pushed me onto the dance floor.

At first, I was nervous and didn’t want to participate, but Brielle wouldn’t have it. She taught me a few elfin dances, which I picked up surprisingly fast. It wasn’t long before I was laughing and dancing along with her. My stress melted away for that short time and I felt completely free.

The music was loud and wonderful, and I danced and danced until I couldn’t dance anymore. Brielle even found us a few elf partners. It was nice to be around elves who were so carefree. After numerous songs, dances, and sips of wine, I reminded Brielle of our time arrangement. After one more song, we said goodbye to everyone and headed out the door.

With both of us feeling a little tipsy from the drinks and tired from the dancing, it took us a long while to get back to the palace. The sun was beginning to set as we walked through the city.

“Brielle, I just wanted…to say…thank you,” I said, breathing heavily.

“For what?” she asked, giggling.

“For everything! Today was amazing! I had so much fun.” I coughed and then continued. “I haven’t truly enjoyed myself since I arrived here. I always have my guard up because of Zora. But today…you showed me how great this Realm can be.” I smiled as I staggered just a tad.

“When Zora is safe, you will see just how great
everything
is here. Right now, your eyes are covered, but soon the veil will lift and you will enjoy yourself again. I promise.”

“How do you do it?” I asked.

“Do what?” she wondered.

“You are a princess, your mother is the Queen, and your Realm is at war. That must be so stressful! How do you keep smiling through it all?” I asked.

“What else can I do?” she asked, almost tripping over a few loose stones. “Crying over things that can’t be changed won’t help. Just because I want the war to stop doesn’t mean it will. The most important thing is to keep living no matter how hard life is. That’s what I do.”

“I underestimated you, Brielle,” I admitted.

“Most elves do,” she said, smiling.

Then we both erupted into giggles.

***

It was exactly seven when we crossed the bridge to the palace. Brielle said she would stop by my room before dinner and give me some tea that would help the throbbing ache in my head from drinking so much wine. I thanked her and we parted when we reached the third floor. While she went up the stairs, I went down the hall to my room. I walked inside and was relieved no one was there waiting for me. I wasn’t ready for any surprise intrusions. My head pounded and my legs were wobbly. I was a little unsteady. The room was fuzzy. I was about to change into the red velvet gown that Brielle had picked out for me for dinner, when I suddenly couldn’t stand anymore. I flopped down on the bed and closed my eyes. I wasn’t used to drinking, and it had affected me greatly. I decided I would rest until Brielle brought me the tea.

While I lay on the bed, I remembered what Brielle mentioned to me at lunch. She told me to remember my connections with Zora. Maybe I would figure out where she was if I really thought about them.

I wasn’t optimistic, but it was something to do until Brielle arrived. It could also make me forget about my aching body for a while. I took a few deep breaths and thought about my first connection. The room was musty and dark. The only distinct smell was that of blood. I remembered the woozy feeling I had felt and shuddered. I couldn’t pass out before dinner. I didn’t want Brielle to get in trouble. I also didn’t want Danica to get in trouble for leaving us.

After a few minutes, I decided there was nothing from my first connection that could help find Zora, except for the part about the “Realm,” which I still didn’t understand. I moved on to my last connection.

There hadn’t been any smell of blood in the last one because Zora’s wounds were older. However, I hadn’t observed much with the fairies in the room.

When I thought all was hopeless and that I had better get dressed, something occurred to me. It was like being stuck on problems during a math test. I would think and think, unable to find an answer. Then suddenly the answers would come to me. The same thing had just happened with my thinking about Zora.

I remembered the musty smell. It hadn’t just been a musty smell. Something was familiar about that specific stench.

I concentrated on the odor. I wracked my brain for answers, knowing there was one somewhere. I just had to find it.

Then I realized it reminded me of the tang of animals and the faint scent of hay. I remembered hearing a crunch under my feet when I went over to Zora and then the scratch of the hay when I collapsed to the floor after being one with her. And then I knew.

Zora was being kept in a barn!

I couldn’t believe I hadn’t realized it earlier. The odor was flooding my nostrils now. I could remember it clearly. All of those years riding horses with Dina had paid off. I remembered brushing my horse, Lucy, after spending the day riding. Dina had always complained of that musty smell.