Chapter 5

It was the sound of the bedroom door opening that woke Kate from a light doze as she sat up and scraped the hair back from her face.

An elf stepped into the room. Well, of course it was an elf what else would it be? But it wasn't Aduil, Lindolir, or one of the guards. It was an erell—an elf maiden—Kate hadn't seen before, with sleek, shiny red hair tied back in intricate braids, big, bright anime eyes and a light dusting of freckles across her nose. Holding a silver tray laden with dishes, she paused just past the doorway and regarded Kate with a curious stare before she nodded slightly and moved further into the room, leaving the door open to the watchful eyes of the guards behind her.

That was a little unsettling, so Kate focused on the erell instead, though that wasn't much better. She seemed to watch Kate with a wary gaze out of the corner of her eye as she passed on her way to the table, and again as she headed back to the door.

Kate called out a soft thanks just as the erell slipped out of the room, closing the door behind her with only a quick backward glance. It didn't matter that she wouldn't be able to understand—there was no excuse to be rude to the wait-staff. Even if they were rudely staring at you.

What was that about, anyway? Did she really look that strange? It was true, of course, that the Meadowood elves tended to be reclusive, but they had to have seen humans before. She really shouldn't be that much of a spectacle. Besides, apart from the ethereal beauty they all seemed to possess, and the pointy ears, she didn't look that different from them.

Maybe it was the clothes, she reflected as she made her way to the table to inspect the tray, blue jeans and a Nirvana t-shirt were pretty out of place here.

The dishes the elf had left behind were of a simple, yet lyrical design. Nature themed, Kate noted with a smile, though if she had given it any thought, she would have expected nothing less. A large plate with delicate vines painted around the rim held a heap of salad at the center, and a couple of heavenly smelling rolls sat on a smaller, similarly decorated plate, with a few of pats of butter in a tiny bowl off to the side. Next to the plates stood a glass, quite a bit fancier than the one she had been using before, with a delicate stem and curvy lines etched into the bowl like vines reaching for the sun. The fading light falling through the windows glinted off the glass, landing on a set of shiny silver cutlery cleverly shaped to look like twigs and leaves twisted and molded into use as knives and forks.

It was almost too lovely to use, Kate thought, but her grumbling stomach firmly disagreed.

And it looked safe enough to eat. With the exception of various vegetables, sausages and waybread which she remembered from the stories, she had no idea what they ate in this world, and it occurred to her that, with her likely vast difference in physiology, she might not be able to process the same things elves could. They were immortal, after all—to age and disease, anyway—so for all Kate knew, they could eat things like hemlock and poison ivy and just think it a nice snack. Those greens were definitely lettuce, though, and the vegetables were recognizable, so she figured they were probably a safe bet, and she settled in to eat.

She was a bit disappointed by the visible lack of any dressing on or around the salad and expected to find it bland as she took a small, experimental bite, but the surprising burst of flavor was anything but. The taste wasn't so different from any salad she could find back home, with carrots and radishes and sweet-peas in the pod, but it was so much more rich and full, the flawless mingling of flavors amplified to a delectable degree. As she greedily gobbled it up, glad there was no one there to see her, Kate half wondered if the elves had even bothered to invent salad dressing when they already had this perfection to work with.

When she got to the rolls, she actually groaned in pleasure. Warm and soft and perfectly flakey, they must have been fresh from the oven, and with the delightfully salty butter melting into every little crevice, ohhh! Kate thought if she were ever to be sentenced to execution—and as she was apparently a prisoner for some reason, that might not be completely outside the realm of possibility—she might be cool with it if she could have more of those rolls as her last meal.

When her meal was finished, Kate sat back with a small, satisfied burp and sipped from her water glass like a fine wine.

"You know, I could get used to this," she murmured.

If you ignored the guards at the door, and the fact that she still had no clue how she had gotten there or what her next move should be, what she was left with was a room nicer than any hotel she'd ever stayed in, with a relaxing forest view and wonderful room service. If it had Wi-Fi and a tv, it would be perfect.

Well, communicating with the locals was still a problem, but with Aduil's help, she could figure it out. Probably.

Kate sat in quiet contemplation as the last warm rays of the setting sun faded from sight, replaced by a soft, cool glow so gradually that it took her some time to notice. Raising an eyebrow, she twisted in her seat to find the source of the light emanating from a cluster of quartz-like crystal mounted above the bed.

"Huh. Automatic lighting. Cool."

Draining her glass, she set it aside and moved to get a better look at the thing. The light dimmed as she approached until she stood right next to it, its glow as weak as a dollar store flashlight. Interesting. There weren't any sensors that she could see, but then, that made sense. That kind of tech was probably just a bit beyond what even the elves could produce.

Kate reached out to touch the crystal, a faint tingle tickling its way up her arm the closer she got until, just before she could make contact, the light winked out entirely.

It blinked back on when she dropped her hand and grew stronger as she stepped back, brighter and brighter the farther she went until the room blazed as brilliantly as a white-hot summer day while she stood with her back pressed to the farthest wall.

"Magic!" she whispered with a grin, then burst into a fit of giggles. Because, maybe it was magic, but it was still just a light, and here she was acting about as sophisticated as a sixteenth-century farmer discovering electric lights and flicking the switch on and off with astonished glee. Thank goodness there was no one around to see her.

Kate shook her head, but couldn't shake the grin as she made her way back to the bed.

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Aduil showed up just as Kate's breakfast dishes were being cleared away the next morning. He walked right in—rude—nodded a greeting to the elf carrying the tray—less rude—and made his way to join Kate at the table where she was lingering over a delightful berry juice she'd been given with breakfast.

"Maedh bollo, Kate," he said with a smile as he sat. "In ordh teil maedh."

Well, he seemed to be in a better mood today.

"Maedh, bollo, Aduil," Kate repeated hesitantly, taking a shot at its meaning. "Good morning?"

His smile grew, deep and genuine as he copied, "Good morning."

Well, that's what it meant now, to Kate anyway.

"In ielle e erian peledhren ete dwaen," he started as he poured himself a glass of water from the refilled ewer. His expression turned chagrined as he continued, "Inernia 'tawin' tifen uvimaenn pedh ecaell te, ora tecmenn erian dwael leb sedaul."

She liked listening to him talk, Kate decided, Elvish really was a beautiful language. But then, she suspected Aduil could make even Klingon sound pretty with his rich, deep voice and soft, lyrical tones.

He tapped a finger on his glass a few times, eyes narrowed in thought, before he stood and gestured for her to follow suit. Were they going somewhere? Ooh, was she finally going to get to see the rest of this place?

Once she was standing, he said, "Avé daul," and sat back down again. Kate just stared at him in confusion for a second before it clicked.

"Language lessons, right," she said, brightening as she realized, "And I even know that one, it was in the movie. Avé daul, sit down." She firmly planted herself back in her seat.

"Erie! Sit down." He said, then pointed up and down, saying, "Om. Daul."

Kate grinned and copied his actions. "Om – up, daul – down."

"Erie, erie!" He grinned too, before continuing on with more words simple enough for Kate to piece together.

And so the morning passed, with Aduil teaching Kate more useful things than the day before, such as I, me, mine and you and yours, and come, go, and stay, and when the elf who'd cleared away breakfast came back with lunch, please and thank you, as well as food and eat.

Aduil ended up learning from Kate as much as she did from him, as she repeated the words in English whenever she wasn't sure of the meaning—which was often—even though, logically, she knew saying, 'You? Te is you?' wouldn't mean much to him, but she couldn't quite help it. A little miming seemed to bridge the gap, though.

Sometime after lunch, Aduil looked like he'd had a brainstorm, or maybe he'd forgotten something, because he excused himself and took off, but soon returned with a few books in hand. Beautifully bound, and clearly hand drawn, they looked like children's books, something akin to Doctor Seuss's 'hop on pop' and 'one fish two fish, red fish blue fish'. A little less silly—unfortunately—but presenting similar concepts.

Kate felt a bit ridiculous when Aduil pulled his chair near hers at the table and started reading to her, but she took it in stride, and it really was helpful. When they had finished with the first book, Kate stood, grinning with an idea as Aduil watched her curiously.

He wanted to go childish? She could go childish.

After straightening her clothes and clearing her throat, as if readying herself for a grand performance, she opened her mouth and sang 'head, shoulders, knees and toes', doing all the actions that went along with it. She wasn't exactly sure how she had expected Aduil to react, but it certainly wasn't with the fascinated delight that lit his features moments before he rose and joined her, switching the English words for Elvish.

He was grinning ear to ear, while Kate tried not to laugh at how inane they must look when, facing each other, they both bent down to touch their toes and knocked heads. It hurt, but she couldn't help a burst of laughter, especially when she saw the elf's shocked expression.

He shook his head and let out a soft chuckle of his own, rubbing lightly at his sore spot.

They wisely stick to the books after that, and though it was slow going, it was still surprisingly fun and they were making decent progress when, late in the day, Aduil sat back and stretched, pausing briefly to give Kate a thoughtful look before he rose and made his way to the door.

"Para," he said, then, holding out a hand, made two fingers of the other walk across it.

That one was easy. By the way he'd reacted the day before, she had a feeling he'd never seen mime, but he was really getting the hang of it.

"Para, walk." She stood and strode over to him.

"Erie." He gave her a small smile, then drew a long breath and said slowly, "Iras te para e min?"

It took her a second to decipher the complete sentence.

"You… want me to go for a walk with you?" she asked. "Te, para, min?"

"Erie." He nodded.

"I'd love to!" She grinned. "Uh, I mean, erie!"

The same guards from the day before were still stationed right outside, but Aduil must have had some kind of authority over them because they didn't so much as blink as he led her past. Try and stop me now, suckers, she thought, but kept her mouth clamped shut because sticking her tongue out at them seemed like a bad idea.

She barely noticed when they fell into step behind her as she followed Aduil down the wide, well-appointed corridor, too busy taking in the exquisite paintings and tapestries warming the walls, and crystal lamps like the one in her room, clinging to the high ceilings, casting a bright and cheery glow over all who passed beneath.

There was no more denying it, even if she had wanted to. This was Taleria. This was the Northern Palace of the Meadowood elves, built into the side of a massive hill, renowned even among the Tolar—albeit begrudgingly—for its deep fortifications cleverly hidden behind elegant stonework designs. This was the place she had spent endless hours daydreaming about with Aurora, her best friend since third grade, and pretending to visit together, even long after they were subjectively too old for such nonsense.

It was real. It was real and Kate was there, and she could've burst from excitement, it was just as she had always imagined, and she couldn't wait to explore it all.

Just beyond the palace, she knew, lay a sprawling village with shops and pubs and fountains and gardens and who knew what else, and, oh, she longed to wander those streets and discover every hidden joy. But she doubted Aduil intended to take her that far, so she would take what she could get.

And that wasn't nothing.

Everywhere she looked as they traversed the maze of corridors were touches of elegance and opulence and other synonyms for fancy, from the sinuous wooden railings polished to a shine and carved to look like flowered vines snaking down a curved staircase, to the marble statues so lifelike, she almost expected to see them move as she passed. Everything, even the smell, sweet and summery like berries and wildflowers permeating every hall, whispered luxury. Because, of course, screaming it would have been gauche.

Though they passed few others on their stroll, distant laughter and faint music drifted in from somewhere up ahead and had Kate been on her own, she would have let the joyful sounds pull her in, but Aduil chose a different path. Kate didn't bother to hide her disappointment, but Aduil, if he noticed, made no comment, only continued on around a corner to where a wide set of double doors stood open, bathed in the golden glow of the late afternoon sun. Kate followed as he stepped through without hesitation, only to stop short and gape at what lay on the other side.

Kate had thought the halls were impressive, but this? Oh, this was something else.

Rolling down from the door where she stood, a path of packed earth meandered off into the distance, weaving around bright verdant trees and past flowers, so many flowers, in bunches and beds, poking out of bushes and climbing on vines, from hydrangeas to posies to verbena and everything in between, growing wild and free, filling most every open space. Somewhere nearby a burbling brook sounded, lending its tune to the birdsong floating through the air, accompanied by the chittering of hidden squirrels and the buzzing of dragonflies of unusual size as they flitted here and there, hovering over the brilliant blooms or investigating a ripe fruit dangling from one of the trees.

One of the dragonflies buzzed up to Kate and hovered in front of her nose, sunlight glinting off its opalescent body, then took off again as quickly as it had come, and all she could do was stare in awe.

This… this was no carefully cultivated, meticulously manicured garden like she could find back home, this was organised confusion, elegance and madness in perfect harmony, and it was breath-taking.

"Kate?"

She tore her gaze from the magnificence around her to find Aduil watching her with a tilted head and the faintest ghost of a smile playing on his lips.

"This is… Aduil, this…" She shook her head, trying again to take it all in. "I don't have the words. Thank you for bringing me here, Aduil. Annonte."

He nodded. "Taluin," he said, waving her forward.

Kate slowly followed the elf further into the garden, or glade, or enchanted forest, whatever it was; it seemed to go on forever, and that was fine with her—she wasn't sure she could ever get enough of it. Aduil, to his credit, didn't seem to mind her sedate pace, just slowed his stride to match hers, and he didn't get annoyed or impatient with her, even when they only made it two steps before Kate backtracked to investigate something she hadn't noticed before. In fact, he seemed to enjoy making the discovery with her, like when you're watching a favorite movie with someone who hasn't seen it yet and it's almost like you get to see it for the first time again, through their eyes.

The guards trailed them at a respectful distance as they wandered deeper into the expansive garden, teaching each other the words for all the plants they saw. Though, Kate didn't have names for all of them, as there were many things she had never seen before, like the plant Aduil called a 'Carathil', a small bush with indigo buds that glowed faintly when he cupped his hands around them.

It was when he crouched to show her a plant that looked like nothing more than a small stick protruding from the ground until he snapped his fingers, calling bright orange buds to fold out of the stem and bloom like the rising of the sun, that Kate was struck by a sudden realization.

This was it.

This was what she had been longing for all those times she dreamed of running away to Taleria, or any other fantasy world. All the quests and epic battles and saving the world from evil were fantastic and important and she loved them, but this? This was the soft moments in between. This was the peaceful beauty she could never seem to find at home.

This was what made the dangers of the world bearable.

This was what made her want to stay.

But it was what she saw as the sun sank below the treetops and they turned to head back in that reminded her why she couldn't.

"Snowdrops!" Kate exclaimed, rushing to the patch of flowers growing in concentric circles of gradient colors, from the darkest purple pansies ringing the edge to red dwarf zinnias to the palest pink primroses, with snowdrops of the brightest white shining like a spotlight at the center. She crouched and closed her eyes briefly as she breathed deep of the heady mingled scents, letting it out in a happy sigh before turning to Aduil.

"They're my mom's favorite flower," she explained, forgetting for a moment he couldn't understand. "She would love this so much, I wish I could show it to her. She…"

And that's when her heart dropped.

Mom. How could I forget about mom?

What did she think when Kate hadn't shown up for lunch? When she had texted a reminder, as she always did, and had gotten no response? When her calls only went to voicemail and the guys at work said she never showed up? When she'd gone to Kate's apartment and found the broken mess she'd left behind?

Kate slowly rose, wrapping her arms around herself. She stared down at the flowers, not really seeing them. All she could see was her mom, growing more and more desperate as the hours ticked into days, plastering the streets with missing posters, handing them out and begging for help from anyone who would listen.

Her mom, marching into the police station, demanding answers and finding none, losing her cool and screaming at the cops to do something, anything.

Her mom, trudging home defeated, staring at the phone and willing it to ring.

Her mom, curled up, crying. Terrified.

Alone.

"Kate?" Aduil spoke softly.

He lightly touched her shoulder, and she turned away, pulling out of his reach. She had to get home, how the hell was she going to get home?

"Maltif caeg? Nimm taute dalthe tel athîr?"

She shook her head at the ground as he circled around to face her. When he ducked his head to meet her eyes, the kindness she saw there, the compassion, it broke her fragile control.

"I-I have to go," she whispered as hot, heavy tears forced their way out. "I h-have to go home, Aduil, how d-do I go h-home?"

He tilted his head in question, but she just shook hers again, covering her face as she heaved ugly sobs, because he couldn't understand, of course he couldn't, how the hell was she going to get home when she couldn't even talk to anyone?

She had never felt so alone.

"Paen iras armaedh," he soothed, stepping back and carefully pulling her hand down to hold in both of his. "Paen iras armaedh, taluin, paen iras armaedh."

She let him lead her out of the garden and by the time they made it back to her room, Kate's tears were spent and so was she. She sank onto the bed and buried her face in her hands, cold, exhausted, and empty. All she wanted at that moment was to crawl under the blankets and sleep. Just sleep. Sleep, and wake up at home where everything was okay.

"Kate?"

She peeked out through her fingers to find Aduil crouched in front of her, holding out a glass of water with a small, hopeful smile.

"Annonte," she murmured, accepting the kindness. She really wasn't thirsty, but he was watching her with a worried look, so she took a sip for his sake. She set the glass aside on the bedside table before turning back to the elf.

"I'm okay now," she said. "Uh, min maedh."

"Inem maedh," he softly corrected. "Ilte leril? Daute buil…" He trailed off, looking around briefly before turning back to her with a helpless little shrug.

Oh. He was trying to take care of her.

It was sweet, really, but he clearly had no idea what to do, and she just wanted him to go so she could abandon consciousness and all the problems that came with it, even if only for a while.

"No, uh, nai. Min—Inem maedh," she repeated. "Really, I'm okay. I just- "

She sighed and glanced longingly at the pillow, hoping he would understand because she didn't think she had the energy to piece together any more elvish sentences, even with how astoundingly amazing she was doing with it so far.

He followed her gaze and nodded as he stood, looking somewhat relieved.

"In ernia. Alenad, bain. Niren maedh," he said, and with that, he left her alone to bury herself in the bed.

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Translations

Erell - Elf Maiden

"Maedh bollo," - Good Morning

"In ordh teil maedh." - I trust you are well.

"In ielle e erian peledhren ete dwaen," - I wish to try speaking with you again.

"Inernia 'tawin' tifen uvimaenn pedh ecaell te, ora tecmenn erian dwael leb sedaul." - I understand 'bed' was not a useful word to teach you, so let us try something new this day.

"Avé daul," - Sit down,

"Erie!" - Yes!

"Om. Daul." - Up. Down.

"Erie, erie!" - Yes, yes!

"Para," - Walk,

"Iras te para e min?" - Will you walk with me?

"Te, para, min?" - You, walk, me?

Annonte." - Thank you.

"Taluin." - Come.

"Maltif caeg? Nimm taute dalthe tel athîr?" - What is wrong? Why do you hide your face?

"Paen iras armaedh," - All will be well,

"Paen iras armaedh, taluin, paen iras armaedh." - All will be well, come, all will be well.

"Annonte," - Thank you

min maedh." - Me well.

"Inem maedh," - I am well,

"Ilte leril? Daute buil…" - Are you certain? Do you need…

nai. Min—Inem maedh," - no. Me—I am well,

"In ernia. Alenad, bain. Niren maedh," - I understand. Until tomorrow, then. Sleep well,