The Elf Girl (8 page)

Nevertheless, something inside of me told me I had to try. I had to try to save Zora. Deep inside, I had a sudden, ferocious need to find her and protect her for a change, like a calling.

“When your sister was taken, we found a note.”

“She was taken? Taken by whom?”

“I can’t give you all the details here, but our Realm is embroiled in a war. It’s our Realm against a Fairy Realm,” she revealed.

“Wait, fairies? Fairies truly exist?”

“Yes, they do. Why wouldn’t they? After all, you are an elfen, or have you forgotten already? Magic is real, Ramsey.”

“Yeah, I just wish it had come to me sooner,” I muttered, propping up my arms to rest my chin on my palms.

Addison gave me a pained look. “I’m sorry about…your situation here.”

I sighed. “Let’s not talk about it. I want to know more about this war, about my sister.”

“All right. Well, don’t ask me how the war started; it’s not important right now. It would take too long for me to explain in such a short amount of time. Since its beginning, the majority of the war has been fought in remote parts of our Realm. Common village elves were untouched by the destruction and violence until just recently, when fairies started raiding our towns and cities. Three months ago, fairies that invaded our town took your sister. All she left behind was her note.”

“What did the note say?”

“Find my sister and you’ll find me.”

“That’s it?”

“That and the area you lived in, Wisconsin. I can’t believe I actually found you. You could have been sent to any other place by now.”

“I’m glad you found me, too. Life hasn’t been easy for me.”

“I can imagine. For whatever reason your parents needed to bring you here, I know for sure it was a good one. Bringing you here was a tremendous risk. They would never have done this to you if they hadn’t needed to. I was afraid you wouldn’t fit in.”

“Well, you were right,” I said bitterly.

“Don’t blame your parents. They always loved you, Ramsey.”

“I wish I’d known that.”

“Yes, I do, too,” she said sympathetically.

We sat in silence for a while. I had to take a moment to understand everything. I, Ramsey Wilder, was an elfen, a female elf. I was an elfen with a hidden secret and a clouded past. My real parents hadn’t been seen in eleven years, and my sister had been captured by fairies. Why did they take her? I had no idea. Addison didn’t know either. All I knew was that I had a secret that had so far doomed me to a life with judgmental humans. I thought that finally getting some answers would better my situation. Instead, I was just an even bigger – and confused –
freak
.

“So what happens now?” I finally asked. “Now that I know, now that you have tracked me down, what comes next?”

“You decide.”

“What are my options?”

“Stay here with your human family and live as an outsider, or come to the Realm and help us find your sister. It’s your choice, really, although I advise you to think carefully about it. I can’t force you, but you have to understand that you will never fit in here. You will always be different, even more so than in the Elf Realm where your secret will set you a bit apart. If you decide not to come with me, I will leave you alone and never return. I lied about going to school here, so I can leave at any time. I only showed up when I needed to talk to you and because I needed to wait until you figured things out. I had to approach you carefully so that I wouldn’t scare you off.”

“Scare me off?” I laughed. “You sort of did.”

Addison sighed. “I have been told that I can be a little intimidating and strange at times. But it’s who I am.”

I smiled. “I like that.”

“What?”

“The confidence and strength you have, and how comfortable you are with yourself. I wish I had those qualities,” I admitted.

“You do, Ramsey. You just haven’t been able to show them yet.” She paused. “Anyway, if you want to come, then we must leave very soon.”

“I’ll come with you,” I blurted quickly.

“Are you sure? You will probably never see your human family again, or your friend, Carmen.”

“How do you know about Carmen?”

“I know a lot about you, Ramsey. Remember that I came here to find you. I had to do research. I just have to say how annoying and confusing your computer system is. It drives me crazy.”

“Don’t worry, you aren’t the first,” I told her.

I thought about how much Carmen and I had been through. I would miss her, probably even more than I would miss Dina, but I had to do this. I had to go home. I had to find my real sister. I couldn’t hide any longer. I couldn’t escape who I was. I had to find out more. I had to learn and experience
more
. I had to do this.

“If I come with you, will I learn more about this war? Will I get more answers?”

“Queen Taryn will tell you everything, I’m sure.”

“Queen Taryn?”

“Yes, our Realm still has kings and queens, lords and ladies, and more. Queen Taryn has been our queen and sole ruler for sixteen years, ever since her husband died in battle. We will eventually need to speak with her. Zora’s kidnapping spread around the Realm quickly; it’s not often that a common elf without a royal background of some kind ends up a hostage. And there is the obvious connection between the kidnapping and
you
. Many elves in the Realm know about your family because of what your parents did and because of your secret. You are more famous than you know in our Realm.”

“How strange; I’m famous in a world I know nothing about, not the one I have lived in all my life.”

Addison only shrugged, as if she didn’t know how to respond. I wouldn’t have either. I was only voicing my thoughts.

“Okay then, I’ve made up my mind. Let’s go,” I decided.

“And you are sure about this?”

“Yes. If, as you say, I am the only one who can find Zora, I have to go with you. And…I want to be with others like me, elves,” I told her as confidently as I could.

I was nervous. I was about to put my life in the hands of a girl who told me I was an elfen. It was risky. If she were lying, what would really be in store for me?

However, Addison’s smile comforted and encouraged me. She obviously believed I could find my sister. She believed in me, and I found myself believing in her as well. I would use her belief in me to gain strength and confidence. I would use her support, because I didn’t have any for myself just yet.

“Okay, follow me,” she instructed.

“So I can’t say goodbye to anyone?”

“No, it is too much of a risk. They may not let you leave, let alone believe your story. You didn’t even believe it at first. What do you think they would say if you told them that you were an elfen?”

“They would probably ask me if I was on some kind of drug.”

Addison gave me a weird look. I realized the Elf Realm probably didn’t have that kind of stuff.

“Um, there you go then,” she said hesitantly. “Saying goodbye is out of the question. As you might have read, elves aren’t very strong physically, so if they said you couldn’t go, neither of us would be able to do much about it. We may be light on our feet, but we aren’t vampires.” She actually laughed.

“Don’t tell me those are real too,” I said, narrowing my eyes.

She shrugged. “I don’t really know. I’ve never met one.”

I sighed. This magic stuff wasn’t going to be easy to comprehend, even if I
had
sort of believed in it already. It was different now that I knew it was real.

“Ready?”

I nodded, but didn’t move. I had to think for a few more minutes. I needed just a little more time. I was afraid of the risk and the danger of what lay ahead. I was about to leave behind everything I knew to begin again. I was moving away from an isolated life toward the unknown. The consequences of my decision wouldn’t be clear for some time.

This wasn’t going to be easy. When I first went to Addison, I had thought everything would be solved with a few simple words. I was dead wrong. I knew now that what lay ahead of me wasn’t going to be all sunshine and flowers. I wouldn’t even be reunited with my elfin parents.

Regardless, a fire inside me pushed me forward to do this. No matter how difficult, I still wanted to be where I belonged. If it took saving my sister and leaving this life behind, so be it. I had to find my place, even if it wasn’t in this world.

“Come on, we need to leave before midnight, or we will have to wait another day,” Addison said, tugging at my hand.

I got up, but didn’t let her move me any farther. “Why?” I asked.

“The Realm is open only during the first minute of midnight. We have to be at the right spot so we don’t miss our chance.”

“That’s odd.”

“It’s just a fluke in magic.”

“What?”

“Come on,” she said, without answering my question. I nodded and followed quickly. Maybe she wasn’t ready to give me all the answers I wanted yet because there were so many questions, but that would have to come soon. I was placing all my trust in her. I needed something in return. Like more information.

“Are we walking?” I asked.

“Yes. We don’t have cars in our Realm. It’s not that we can’t. We just choose not to. Elves don’t like technology.”

I nodded, not too disappointed. I wasn’t a huge fan of technology. I mean, I liked my laptop, but I could do without it.

“Do you have cell phones?”

“No, no technology at all. Not even those things…
televisions
.” She said the word slowly, as if struggling with the pronunciation. “We’ve seen how your world has changed with technology. We don’t want that to happen to our Realm. We are modern, in some ways more than others, but have never wanted to damage our Realm with gas guzzling cars and noisy electronics.”

“How do you know so much about the Human Realm, Addison? I mean, if there are not many others out there like me, how could you know?” I asked.

“Oh, the leaders of the Elf Realm, our kings and queens, periodically send scouts to the Human Realm, just to see what’s going on. We can’t completely ignore this Realm, Ramsey. It’s too risky. We have to make sure that no human has found out about us, because we are sort of in hiding. Humans and elves don’t mix very well.”

“I see. That’s actually pretty smart, the no-technology thing. But you are still in a war, so there is
some
damage to the Elf Realm, isn’t there?” I pointed out.

“The war has nothing to do with the way we live,” she snapped.

I could tell I had upset her. Whatever this war was about, it was definitely a serious and touchy subject for my new elfen friend.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” I apologized.

“You will soon enough.”

We walked in silence for a while longer, and then I had to ask more questions. I was sick of being confused.

“Why did you come and find me?”

“I came because I owed it to your sister. She is my best friend and she helped our family a lot. She is like a sister to me. When she was taken, I was devastated. I felt like it was my duty to find you. Besides, I thought if anyone could bring you back, it should be someone who knew Zora. I thought it would make things easier if you heard the news from me.”

“You are a good friend, Addison. Thank you for being there for my sister when I couldn’t.”

“It’s not your fault, Ramsey.”

“Yes, it is. If I weren’t so different, I would have been there for her. My parents wouldn’t have taken me here. I could have helped her, or maybe she wouldn’t have been taken at all.”

“You will help her, just in a different way,” she assured me.

“Do you think the fairies took her because of me, because of my secret?”

Addison sighed. “Yes.”

We didn’t talk again after that. I didn’t want to hear any more. It was too difficult. When we reached my house, I thanked God that my parents had decided to go out tonight. The house looked deserted, leaving me the perfect opportunity to pack without anyone seeing.

“How much do I bring with me?” I asked.

“Bring as little as possible, and remember, no technology.”

“Okay,” I said.

I opened the door with my key and rushed upstairs. In my room, I grabbed the backpack I used for trips. I stripped from my dress and decided to pack it. Maybe they dressed medieval there. I still didn’t know much about the Elf Realm or its culture. I would have to see it when I got there.

I quickly changed into jeans, my favorite green t-shirt, and my black hooded sweatshirt. Then I slipped on my most comfortable tennis shoes.

In my bag, I added a family photo, a picture of Carmen and me, the black ballet flats I had worn to the ball, and
The Mysterious Guide to Fantasy.
I also kept on the necklace with my name on it and my silver cross. I had all that I needed.

I was ready to go. I couldn’t believe how frightened I felt.

I had to leave
something
for my parents, Dina, and Carmen. I didn’t want to tell them where I was going, because they would never believe me, but I wanted to tell them how much I loved them and that I would be all right. I just wanted to make things easier for them to understand.

I decided to quickly email Carmen and leave letters for my family. In each letter, I said only that I was going to my birth home. I thanked my parents for taking care of me and that I loved them. I told Dina to be careful as she grew up and that I loved having her as a sister. I told Carmen how much she had meant to me over the years and that I would always miss her. I left Dina’s note on her pillow and my parents’ on their pillows.

After sending the email to Carmen, I ran downstairs to join Addison, who was waiting just outside.

“Ready?” she asked, obviously ready to go herself.

“Yes.” Still, I was fighting tears.

I couldn’t believe I was really going to leave. I was leaving my whole life behind and a new one would follow. I hoped I was ready.

“It’s not too much farther from here. Just follow me,” she said.

I nodded and locked the door, shoving the key under the welcome mat. I hoped my parents wouldn’t be out too late. I thought of Dina and felt bad that she was alone. She was probably looking for me right now. The dance ended at midnight and it was eleven fifty.