Chapter One Two Dwarves, Different Lives

The sky was bright and filled with light as I ran from tree to tree with ease. The Elden Trees grew to new highs as my elven people walked along their bridges. The building was made of white marble and had golden roofs that reach to the sky. But to me, it was difficult as I was shorter than any elf. They were close to six feet tall as I was only four foot five. It was weird as they treated me like one of their own, but I knew I was different. Strength was my strong suit as I had to work to keep up with the others in speed.

The times being here was nice as we would take care of the forest and fight armies of monsters who wanted it gone. There was nothing better than to live a life of freedom and peace, but everything comes to an end at some point. The sightings of the undead were worrisome as they take everything out in their path. Zombies, vampires, and even mummy-like creatures like to kill without a thought of their destruction. A war with them was going to happen as Miravie's land becomes corrupted. Dwarves didn't care about the elves, humans, orcs, and dragons as they had their plans to worry about. So, we elves took the time to fight and to protect, but it was becoming worst by the day.

"Alva," a voice called out to me, "your father wants to speak with you."

"Okay Ada," I replied as I grabbed my sword from the floor, heading to the door. Ada had been my best friend for years as we fought the undead. She would have my back with magic as I did the same with a sword and bow. Lately, she seemed to be infatuated with finding the love of her life and starting a family of her own. The thought of settling down made me shiver as no one here wanted to be with me. I was shorter and barely understood who I was inside. But there was one elf that would make my heart jump for joy and that was my father's guard, Calen Goldstream, a strong warrior with the passion to help others. He treated me differently and sometimes it was cold and not wanting me around. So, I took my time to grow stronger in the hopes that he would like me even a little bit.

When I got to the throne room made from white stone and gold as he sat in a chair made of branches from the Elden Tree. He seemed upset about something as I got closer. My Father and mother cared about me very much as their child passed away years ago. They told me that I was their blessing, but a part of me knew that was something more about me. I asked Father if they could point my ears like the others and teach me how to fight like them. He always seemed to agree with it but seemed to be worried about something else as I grew into a woman.

"Father?" I said with a worried look in my eye, "You called for me?"

"Yes," he replied, "I need you, Ada, and Calen to speak to the dwarves. We are in direr need of help as the undead passed through our lands."

"Sir, are you sure she could handle such a trip," Calen snapped as he couldn't stand to be around me. I didn't understand why I was treated awful by him, but all I did was look at the ground.

"She is the best we have for this mission," my father replied, "They might agree with her more than us."

"Agree with me?" I questioned

"You have a way with people," he answered, "You know how Calen is with dwarves. The hate we have with them since the great war has always been there."

"Of course, Father," I answered, "We should leave as soon as we can."

"That's my little flower," he replied, "but the trip is going to be long and hard. So, pack a couple of months of supplies and ready your horses."

Father seemed to always have a way with words with me as I would always agree with him. Calen seemed to be upset with what was going on, but I didn't mind it as much. Ada was already in the stable with our horses ready for the trip. We would have to cross our lands and then climb the mountains to reach the dwarven city of Montwar. It was known for its fine metals and gems, but the people had a way of making weapons and armor. It should take us about two months to reach the city, but we would have to deal with the undead on the way.

"Ada!" I said with a smile, "You got everything ready before I got to tell you."

"Your father asked me to," she smiled as two horses were ready to set foot on our trip.

"Why only two?" I asked

"It was all they could spare for us," Calen sneered, "So one of us is stuck with you till we get to the city."

"Rude," I muttered under my breath, "am I riding with you, Ada?"

"I'll be taking the horse with the supplies," she answered, "so you are stuck riding with Calen the whole trip."

"Great," he and I both groaned as we got on the horses. Couldn't Father have gotten me a pony or something to ride on? Calen will most likely complain about me on the trip, and I didn't want to hear about it. I liked him, but he could get on my nerves sometimes. When we got on our horses and headed for the gate it seemed like saying goodbye to my home. The idea of being away from home made me feel safe and was pulling my heart.

Calen stayed silent for a good while as Ada lead us through the forest of tall trees. I was worried about it as we didn't make it very far before we made camp near a river. I remember hearing about there being vampires around the area as they killed some of the nearby unicorns and deer. It pained me to see some of the dead animals in the past, but now, we could become their meal. Ada had a fire settle and started as Calen tied the horses to a nearby tree. I set the cloth tents for the night and even worked on making stew for us to eat. Calen and Ada didn't like meat and that goes for a lot of elves, but I didn't mind the taste.

"Ada," I said softly

"Yeah?" she replied

"Do you think I could hang around the river for a while?" I asked

"Sure," she replied, "I'll keep an eye on the stew."

I smiled as I walked towards the water, looking at it made me wonder who I was inside. I wasn't liked by many at home as Ada, my mother, and my father seemed to be the only ones that cared about me. I didn't feel happy as I should. The thought of going to a city of dwarves and fighting a battle against the undead made me sigh. I wanted to disappear from this world as no one wanted me here. Calen seemed to want me gone and the same for others at home.

I looked up at the sky to see it was starting to turn dark, but I didn't head back. I sat there wondering who I was and if this trip was for Father to get rid of me. Grabbing a rock and throwing it into the water as it skipped a few times. Doing this made me think about what to do. I had to keep acting like I was happy to keep Ada from worrying about me. I knew that Calen wouldn't care as it became more normal to me. The feeling of a mask was all I could do to hide the fact that I wasn't happy.

The sounds of footsteps made me stop thinking as I got up from my spot. It was completely dark as I turned to see about heading back, but I was stopped. A hand caught me by the hair as I grabbed my blade from my side. I looked to see what it was as it wasn't Ada or Calen, but a vampire from the area. He seemed to think of me as an easy meal as I fought back for my life. A part of me was panicked as it felt like I did this before. Tears fell as I pulled away holding my sword in hand as I waited for him to attack first. I was worried about there being others in the forest as they could attack the others.

"What's wrong little lamb," he said with a laugh, "You're not worried about your little friends, are you?"

I shivered at the thought of something happening to them. He seemed to take this as a chance to attack as it was a sign of weakness. I readied myself as he came crashing to my blade. Thrown to the ground with my blade to its neck as he tried to bite into me. I pushed with all strength I had, it didn't move an inch but stopped moving altogether with the sound of a thump. I looked up to see an arrow planted in its heart as it screamed in pain, becoming a pile of dust on the ground. Calen was standing there with his bow drawn and a face of anger towards me.

"Where the hell were you," he growled

"By the river," I said

"Almost a vampire's snack," he answered as he walked towards me. Checking to make sure I wasn't bitten or wounded in some way. My cheeks became hot as I looked over at him with a confused look. His long blonde hair flowed over his eyes, but it made me want to look at him more. His green eyes and combat skills made my heart soar, but it ended with him pulling me back to camp. Ada sat there with two bowls of stew as she was ready to read one of her spell books. She had long brown hair with blue eyes of the sea but cared for me no matter what happens.

"You found her," she said with a smile

"Next time you do it," Calen answered as he grabbed the bowl and sat around the fire. I did the same but sat with Ada as she read her book. I wondered what spell she wanted to know about and if she could teach me a thing or two. Then again, I was thinking about going to bed as there was nothing I could do.

"I'm going to bed," I said to them both as I headed inside one of the two tents. I was sleeping in the same tent as Ada. Her bag was already laying on her bed roll inside. I just lay there, listening to them talk.

"You should be nicer to her," Ada said with what seemed to be a frown.

"Don't understand why the king keeps her around," Calen snapped

"She's like a daughter to him," she replied

"More like a replacement," he answered, "You know that he'll leave her behind."

"I don't think that's going to happen," she sighed, "He seems to care about her very much. He sent her on this mission with us to get the dwarves on our side."

"I see it as he wants to get rid of her with someone her size." he answered as I heard his tent being opened, "I heard that Theoden asked to court you."

"I rejected his offer," she replied, "he is not the one for me."

I didn't hear anything else as I finally closed my eyes, getting a little bit of sleep. The thoughts of my father wanting me gone stayed in my head till the morning. Ada woke me with a smile as we packed up for another long day on the road. The trip soon became days and then weeks till the two months were finally up. The city was made of stone and could be seen from a mile away. The sounds of their forges rang through the air. The closer we got the smell of smoke and food made me feel like I was at home.

"Halt!" a voice called out. I looked up to see a man or was it a woman on a tower looking down at us? Their beard was full and long and they held an axe in hand as they got closer to us. I was confused as I was around the same size as them. We climbed off our horses and held up our hands as they looked at us.

"You there!" they called to me. "Why are you with these elves?"

"We came from the south," I said, "Eldenwood."

"That didn't answer my question," They snapped

"Sorry sir…" I replied looking at the ground.

"I'm a woman," they replied, "but it seemed like you look like them, but the same size as us dwarves."

"I've been raised by elves my whole life," I answered, "but the more important matter is that I need to talk to your king."

"If you follow our rules and keep an eye on your friends," she replied with hatred.

I nodded as we walked into the walls of the dwarf's keep. It was different than what I thought it would look like. Their homes were made of stone and metal but also looked elegant at the same time. The dwarven women looked at us as we walked to the castle and laughed at the sight of me being a beardless woman. The thought of it was still in her mind as we made it to the throne room. Their king, Dori, sat there watching us walk inside with his hammer by his side.

"What does a Dwarf and two Elves want from the king?" Dori said with a boom of his voice.

"We wanted to talk about the Undead problem," I answered.

"It seems so," he answered, "but it seemed that you were raised differently than your kind here."

"Kind?" I questioned

"You walked in with my daughter. You look and smelled like you were raised by elves." he sighed

"Father," the woman said with a cold tone, "how do we know that she is a dwarf and not some sort of half-breed?"

"Dovna," he warned, "you couldn't forget about the necklace around her neck."

I looked at my necklace as my father told me it was important for me to keep it on at all costs. The metal was bright as a star and the crest of a hammer and shield on their home banner had the very same one on it. I didn't understand why it was so important as Dovna looked at me in shock. It was like she saw a ghost as she walked towards me.

"What's going on?" Calen questioned Ada

"Seems that her father didn't speak much about her past," she replied back

"So, you're her daughter," Dovna spoke as she hugged me tightly.

"What?" I questioned as the king brought me to a wall. A tree of new and old from their family, but he pointed to one name. Aila.

"She was your mother," he answered "and you belong here with the rest of your family. She left years ago with her lover. It have seem that she had you around the same time as Dovna was born. She might not be here, but it seemed that fate brought you home at last."

"Home…" I said in shock as I looked back at Calen and Ada. They didn't seem to be shocked like I was, but the idea of what they said the night before made me think. The idea of my Father wanting me gone was more likely than I thought. "If we stay for a couple of days. Can we talk about the undead problem?"

"Of course," he answered as we were told to have rooms for us to stay in. Dovna lead me off from the others and took me down a stone hall fill with stone-carved artwork. She told me that my friends would be staying at a nearby tavern for a while and that I should stay in a castle. The sounds were all new to me as I watch her open the door to a room with a large bed and everything a dwarf would need. Armor, weapons, freshly baked bread to snack on as you write and read. It felt like I made it home at last or at least feels that way.

"You should be safe here," Dovna said.

"What do I do now?" I questioned.

"Learn to live like a dwarf," she replied.

"You could at least shave," I answered with a laugh.

"Shave?" she questioned

"You know get rid of the beard and show your beauty," I answered, "that goes with any other hair on the body."

"You're a strange one," she replied

"Won't know till you try," I sighed as I grabbed a knife and headed toward the bath. She watched as I grabbed soap and water but shocked her as I used the knife to cut the hair off my legs, arms, and face. A part of me knew that I started something and was going to spread quickly. All I knew was that she left quickly. I was soon alone in my room once again to think about what to do next.