Chapter Three
"Blair..."
Blair was back in the cabin, the night Salan was killed. In his Wild Elf form, he was sitting on the beige-colored sofa. He stood up, his hands reached out for her. So many emotions were flowing through her body, Blair wasn't sure which one to pick. She could only smile, her one love was standing in front of her.
Blair only moved toward him, her fingers brushing on the tips of his fingers. She blinked, and her hands went straight through him. Blair began to deny the situation in front of her. Her jaws grind, "No, no, no! Salan." His expression turned serious. "My dearest, Blair. I am with you through dreams and spirits. There is something coming, you must stand on guard and call upon my weapon to guide you on your way." Blair shook her head, objecting to her beloved's request.
"I can't. If I do, then - it's just going to bring up what happened." Salan approached Blair, resting his hand on her cheek, wiping a peeking tear from her eyes. "It's not fair... why can you touch me, but I can't touch you?" "My love. Blair, I am with you. My spirit is with you; call upon my arrows and bow, when you feel threatened. It will be me, protecting you."
~~~~~~
Blair slowly regains consciousness, waking up, her vision catching the grey walls and white medical cabinets nailed on the wall. Moving her eyes to the opposite side is a nurse, sitting on a wheeled stool. Blair groaned, getting the attention of the nurse; she had boy cut style and dark brunette coloring. She had also light tan skin. Her face is wrinkled, her brown eyes show that she's tired, yet, she smiled with relief. "Miss Nelson, thank goodness you're awake. Do you remember what happened?" Blair slowly sat up, holding her head in her hands, shaking her head no. "You passed out." The nurse explained; Blair turned her attention to the nurse with a puzzled expression. "I passed out?"
"Chris Zenderman brought you in here." The last name Zenderman belonged to Blair's partner, Chris. A light knock caught the females' attention. The brown wood door opened, and Ian stepped inside. He was worried, but he didn't show it with his facial expressions. Blair knew her supervisor for just a hair over five years, she knows when Ian was troubled. It wasn't often, but genuine. Hell, it was a genuine gesture when he would like his employees to be off the last week of December for Christmas and New Year and birthdays. Hey, Blair. How are you doing?"
"I'm... okay." Blair rest her hands on her lap, her eyes staring down at her superior. "Ian, we need to talk about that email; now," Blair said, with a stern expression. Ian said nothing, he just gave her one nod.
~~~~~~
In Marcus' office, there were three windows behind him, the desk is dark oak color with a shining glow to it, and many bookshelves with books and binders tucked away. Marcus sits at his desk with Blair sitting on a chair in front of him. Marcus was on the force for thirty-five years. He had light brown side-swept hair, he was on the average body type. Some of the agents could imagine how vigourous his workout routines were during his younger days, considering he was involved with the Roswell Investigations, chasing down mythical creatures that were more than just extraterrestrial beings. His blue eyes surveyed Blair; he can tell she is nervous.
Ian's leaning on Marcus' desk. It became uncomfortable for Blair; no one was talking. She takes the bull by the horns and begins the conversation. "This means, of course, about the Tenth Division and my previous connection to it. Look. I can explain - " "Explain it well, so we can understand. What exactly did Freya mean Wild Elf?" Ian asked, exasperated; Marcus raised his hand, attempting to calm Ian down. He understood when secrets could not be shared.
Blair sighed, "When I was sixteen, I met a Wild Elf named Salan. He disguised himself as a human for two years. I graduated high school and that's when he revealed himself to me as an Elf. He ran away from home because he was to be a soldier for a royal prince and that was something that he didn't want to do. He declared his love for me. I loved him too. He wanted to marry me." Blair revealed the ring resting on her pinky finger; the same Salan proposed to her on his dying breath. "He also said if I were in trouble, to call upon his weapons, inside the ring." Marcus could not get away from the thought of a human falling in love with a nonhuman. "You loved a nonhuman?" Marcus asked in surprise. Of the questions Marcus could bring up, this was the first question he had to ask. Blair wasn't thrilled about sharing her love interests; if it was the ring or his weapons, that would be another story. To this day, she still doesn't know how to summon it.
"Yes; I did love Salan. Somehow, I felt like that was a mistake. That's when the Division of the Tenth came and they appointed me to be Salan's Guardian. We denied the offer for life protection in exchange that we would work for the Division of the Tenth. But... five years ago - six months before you offered me the job here, Salan was murdered by another being. He mentioned being cautious of the Woodland Elves and their Prince. I think one of the elves was ordered by the Prince to kill Salan." Marcus clears his throat. "Miss Nelson, this background of yours makes sense to me now. They... have a Woodland Elf in custody at a facility in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He was captured by the Division of the Tenth's squad. Freya can't seem to get him to speak. She met with one of her associates, Xan," Blair's eyes widen at that name, "He was the one that requested Freya to get a hold of me to get in contact with you and take a transfer out there." Blair shook her head.
"Xan, he was "I think you should go." Marcus says. Blair furrows her brows at him.
"No way, I don't want anything to do with The Division of the Tenth again." Ian crosses his arms,
"The creature they captured is a Woodland Elf. He may know something about Salan's murder." That wasn't a bad idea from Ian.
"That means I'm transferring to the Division of the Tenth."
"For now. Once your work is completed, we will bring you back here to Washington, DC." Ian says. What's there to lose? Her family is all the way in Rhode Island. Plus, she can finally get some answers if he had some part in Salan's murder. She nods her head.
"Alright..."
~~~~~~
Blair packs all of her important notes from her desk and puts it in a white cardboard box. Chris walks towards her.
"So, you'll be leaving us?" Blair scoffs at him.
"Just for a few months. I'm not sure exactly what I'm even going to do."
"Do you want me to ask if I can go with you?" She shakes her head.
"No. It's okay. I actually prefer it."
~~~~~~
Blair reaches home and packs all of her clothes and her necessities. She sits on her bed and looks at the picture of her and Salan. Her hand shakes as she finally can see the Woodland Elf that may have played a part in her love's murder.
~~~~~~
Blair wakes up at 4:30am in the morning and starts her drive to Santa Fe, New Mexico. She knows that she will have to stop at a hotel as the drive is a full day and four hours. The ride was a lonely one for Blair.
The whole time Blair was on the road, she kept thinking on what kind of people she is going to meet. While a meet and greet scenario is a strong trait of Blair's, this time she really is not in a partying mood. She listens to a radio station that plays the hit song from the Backstreet Boys where she lip syncs the song "Bye, Bye, Bye." Not a second has gone by where she isn't preparing herself for what kind of Elf she will meet, let alone what they could be capable of.
~~~~~~
Around 6:00pm, Blair makes her stop for the night at Memphis, Tennessee where she checks herself in at the Big Cypress Lodge and makes a plan to leave the next morning.
After checking in, she steps in her room and drops her bags off that contain her clothes and toilette necessities. The Front Desk Clerk mentioned to her in addition to her stay that there is a Third Floor Lobby and Bar Area, which just opened up an hour ago. Blair takes this into consideration and she heads upstairs to the third floor where the area is a wood, cabin style with a light oak coloring on the floor and the fireplace is covered with bricks giving a nice cabin cozy feeling. She pulls out her phone and notices that no one from the office has sent her any emails relating to her previous cases; Ian and Marcus must have the others taking care of her files.
On cue, her phone gives a notification and it's Chris from the office that wishes her well and for her to hurry up with her case and come back to D.C. She could only smile at his text. She puts her phone away and stares into the fire thinking about Salan that day he died. No words come from Blair. Only her memories replay in her mind. Some of the guests in the lobby only stare at the poor girl, thinking on how lonely she must be or how sad she looks. So much is on Blair's mind. So much pain and suffering.
She can't wait to interrogate the Elf that the Division of the Tenth has captured. As maybe, just maybe she can put the past of her heartbreak's pain behind her once and for all.