Chapter Five: A Fresh and Innocent Mind.

After swimming up through the water Jane and I enter the cave safely, making me know she has done this many times before. I clutch my hands to my chest, trying to keep warm as Jane holds my arm. I hear her press against something above our heads and then before I can comprehend what she is doing a brightness blinds me.

The smell of dirt, leaves, and fresh air comes into my nostrils making me even more confused. I open my eyes to find that we are in fact standing in the forest. My mouth pops open in shock as my head turns to look at Jane. She wrings out her sopping wet shirt like nothing even happened. I take a glance around, see we are on a little hill, and recognize were I am. This must be where I was when I got sucked into the earth, and now only to be popped right back out the next morning.

I don't know what to do with myself now experiencing this for the first time. It was like we just teleported back here as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. I don't comprehend what just happened or how Jane managed to do it so effortlessly. When I was drowning I could have done the same thing but no, instead I have a fear of water now that is going to haunt me more than these other strange events have.

My whole body feels weak and so I look down at myself and make sure I am intact. My knees are shaking but other than that I can't move a muscle. Jane grips my harm tighter so I don't fall off balance and then gives me a second to compose myself before we continue on our way. It takes me a few minutes before I can follow Jane without feeling dizzy and out of breath but still, going through the woods is just as mentally draining as before.

I am completely paranoid one of those men will pop up out of no where and force me back to that wretched place. But so far we haven't come in contact with anybody and I would like to keep it that way. Though I would rather have anything strange happen before one of those men came to take me away again. I do refuse to tell myself we will go unharmed because truthfully anything is possible in a forest like this one, which is why I've begun to trek with a purpose. My ears strain but I force them to do so, keeping focus on any indication that a person or animal will be nearby.

Jane was leading the way until I began to walk ahead of her slightly with no sympathy about her falling behind. She says nothing, probably realizing how I'm extremely in need of getting away from the place I have such atrocious memories of. To anybody else the chirping of the Spring birds here may sound so inviting but for me it's like they are whole different creatures that see every odd phenomenon that occurs here. I've come across some of the most mysterious things here that I worry to find something worse.

Even though we go along a path, one that I would have never recognized if Jane didn't mention it, I still look over my shoulder and keep my eyes peeled. In this short amount of time we have gone far and safely as well. My body has become freezing cold but that's only because of the salt water still dripping down my skin. Suddenly I feel so inclined to ask Jane about the water being so abnormal in a place like this.

The two of us approach a field surrounded by shrubbery and trees as she answers my question, "Well I had never thought about that before, I guess it could be the sea water from home."

I'm about to speak but she adds, "Don't worry, I have spare cloths for the both of us in my trunk."

I look up from the ground finding two cars parked in the back of the field like it was a casual place for them to be. It takes another two or three minutes to get to them, and when we finally do Jane unlocks it with a key she had in her pocket. She pops the trunk and pulls out some cloths, then goes into the backseat to change first. I wait with my back against the trunk as I watch the tops of the trees sway in the breeze.

A sound catches my ears, a small thumping noise against the ground. It is a something I have heard before but can't put a finger on it quite yet. I keep my eyes out for a peculiar sight and almost instantly something out of the corner of my eye startles me. I turn before he can disappear, knowing full well that this white rabbit is the same one I met in these woods before. Without any hesitation I march right up to the pine tree he is hiding behind and meet his gaze.

"You saw me." He says as if he planned for me to see him.

An anger washes over me that I've never felt before...complete betrayal, "Why are you following me and why did you tell me to follow that- that thing? I almost died. You almost killed me!"

"Kill you? Why would I? You're the reason why I'm alive, I could never kill the person that created me."

A pit in my stomach makes me weary. What is he talking about? "What? What do you mean I created you? I most certainly did not! You're going to be wishing that I did drown in that cave after I'm through with you!"

He takes a step backward and chuckles just like a hurt human trying to hide their feelings, "All I did was tell you to follow the spirit and you did. That was your choice."

"But you led me on to think I was being taken some place safe."

"You were, it brought you to your sister."

"She found me... Wait how do you know that?"

"I know who your sister is and she's right there," He points a fluffy paw to the car a few feet behind me. "I told you to follow the spirit and she kept you safe. She knows everything and did what's right for you. She never intended to hurt you."

"Well this spirt almost drowned me."

"You don't understand what I'm saying. The spirit does not kill anyone who comes from Elyria, she can't. And she filled up the gate with water and took you down to Jane. She brought you to your family, just like I knew she would."

"Elyria?" The name rolls so easily off my tongue as if I have said is many times before.

"What?" I hear Jane from behind me, asking through the half open car door.

I spin around and meet her gaze, "Oh, nothing."

"Who are you talking to?"

"Um..." I turn back, moving my eyes to where the rabbit was just standing. Almost right away I step back with astonishment wondering how he has suddenly gone so soon. Seconds later, when I scan across the open field I discover that he is no where to be seen at all. "I was just talking to myself."

After I finish getting dressed and hop in the passenger seat of the car, we are off driving through a clearing in the woods. It doesn't look too great to drive through but Jane does anyway and eventually we get to a gravel path, then a narrow dirt road. I watch out the window with the rabbit on my mind knowing full well that he deserved what I said even if the argument was sort of pointless.

He should've never given me false hope, I wanted to think at the time it was okay to follow the spirit into that dark cave but now I am wondering how I could be so stupid. It was like it was dragging me against my will. I can never be alone in these woods again, because maybe someone would convince me to do something I never intended to.

But now after I have left the white rabbit behind I'm angry at myself for not finding out how he knows Jane and I. That rabbit is definitely more than he seems to be and I want to find out who he really is, because what if he knows too much? What if he will hurt my family? I would tell Jane all of this if I wasn't deathly afraid of her thinking I am crazy.

I take a deep breath thinking that it is all done and over with and we can't go back to see him. My mind wanders as I stare out the window. The trees start to pass by so quickly that a sense of peace washes over me like I have never felt before. The only thing on my mind that still bothers me is leaving the rabbit behind, although maybe he will show up again some day.

I take a peek at Jane for the first time in a very long time. She is such a total stranger in my mind that I am shocked why I allowed myself to go with her. There's no proof she is my sister but what else could I have done? I can't say that I was uncomfortable in her little underground sanctuary. I felt the safest there then anywhere else I have been and so far I haven't had any problems with Jane herself.

I brush my dripping hair from my face and ask a question I've been longing to know since she saved me, "How did you breathe underwater? How could you bring me that far and I am just fine?"

"I knew you'd ask eventually..." Jane takes a long breath and then sighs, "We are not human."

Her words ring in my head, making me wonder if I heard her wrong. But no, my ears are never wrong and so I just wait for something more. It sounds out of context but all she does is wait for my reaction. I guess my initial thought is aliens. What other could it mean? Are we a hybrid between a human and something else? Isn't that impossible?

Thinking longer, the thought of being inhuman would explain a lot. It gives me a reason why I was taken away in the first place and why the men kept me for so long. It is a reason why they convinced me these woods held evil and a reason why there are strange things here as well. Also that explains why Jane has some kind of power were she can breathe under the water.

"We have to go home so everyone will explain the truth about our family." Jane pauses, most likely awaiting a reply from me but I'm just too overwhelmed to say anything. She finally says, "You don't know how hard it's been without you."

I don't want to argue but still say what's on my mind, "At least you weren't alone thinking no one wanted you."

The frown on her face makes her eyes sink, "You being gone tore apart our family more than ever but I hope that when the news spreads of you being back everything will get back to normal. We thought you just got up and left, or that you were dead. But now knowing that you were abducted by someone puts some new thoughts to mind about where our younger sister is." She stops talking, wiping her eyes probably to prevent any tears and then adds, "Ellie, never think there is nobody that cares about you. There were so many people back home looking for you but we never found anything."

Right away I start feeling bad for what I said and now I don't know how to respond to her. A long silence makes me uncomfortable until she continues the conversation, "Let's not talk about this, you will help me find our brother and sister when everything calms down and then we can be a family again."

She is getting slightly demanding as if I knew how to find them when in reality I have no idea what they even look like. Our best bet is that somehow the men have them too, but I don't want to suggest that because I'm terrified she will make me go back to that place.

"Once we get home, our grandparents will most likely send us to see the rest of our family. The four of them live someplace..." She takes a breath, "Well they live someplace kind of different. You really loved it there, even though we had our own... well... problems. Now since you have no memories of when we were little I will not burden you of those thoughts."

I nod, speaking for the first time in a while, "So our family is strange too?"

"Yes we come from a big family line, something I will have to explain to you much later once you know about Elyria."

Out on no where it is as if time has frozen hearing that name once again. Elyria. The spirit does not kill anyone who comes from Elyria. That is what the rabbit said before he left. Is that the place I am from? A whole other planet? I don't think Jane knows how much I have pieced everything together.

I keep my mouth shut, listening to the thoughts running through my brain like a whole other person talking to me. There is a spirit in the woods. A talking rabbit knows more about me than I know about myself. I have a family that is not human. I am not human. My sister can breathe under water. There's a book about a portal in the backseat that gives me the most haunting feeling, as if it came from a whole other world. Elyria is where I am from. It has to be a whole other planet.

For a while the time passes too quickly to comprehend as the sun shines beautifully up in the sky. I watch it peeking through the trees that have just grown new spring leaves. We begin passing houses here and there, making me wonder how many individual people have picture perfect lives, nothing compared to what I have endured. The road has widened but the forest still surrounds us with an internal darkness making me note to myself that I'll never go back again.

Now that the road is smooth and we get further away from where I came from I no longer have a churning in my stomach. I told myself I would be excited to leave, which still I am but now there is a pit in my throat. I guess I could call that nervousness, not from the car ride but what's to come at our destination.

The thought of saying the wrong thing gets to me, and so I don't say a word even when Jane slows the vehicle down and we pull into a long winding driveway. Instantly I get overwhelmed when my eyes fall onto the massive home standing on the most gorgeous piece of land I have ever dreamed of seeing. This is the home where my grandparent's live and where they are missing me from their lives.

I didn't imagine we would be out in the country, but here we are parking in the driveway that belongs to a mansion. This is not where I expected to end up and now it is bringing me new thoughts on what our family is like. I just hope they are everything I've hoped for within the past few years or so. People who are never boring and who are caring enough to do anything for anyone.

Stepping out, and grasping ahold of the book that Jane has suddenly handed me, I admire the home that I used to have memories of. I don't recall anything but standing here makes me know it meant a lot to me to be here. I just don't know what those old thoughts hold and it is something I will never get back.

Being surrounded by wilderness on both sides of the home makes me a bit anxious. My mind wonders, I must have had adventures when I was little in those woods, and in this case they look enchanting and beautiful. Lines of pine trees circle up to the driveway, making it impossible to see the home from the road. Being secluded does have its perks, especially when you are looking over your shoulder worried someone is watching. No people means less worrying for me.

Even the yard is massive like the house standing in front of us with its large windows near the front steps. Instead of going down the sidewalk and up the stairs to the large front door we go the opposite direction. I follow a sidewalk on the right side of the house, finding flower beds to the left, a door and lots of windows next to it.

Before we go inside I snatch a peek of the backyard, seeing a big open field behind it, trees, and rolling hills in the distance. It is quite beautiful, making me realize how high up we really are. Its like I can almost touch the sky with my own hands but before I can look any further Jane instructs me to follow her through the garage.

In the garage I follow Jane up some concrete steps and up into the house with no warning of what I am going to find. I don't even shut the door behind me before Jane is calling out, "Gram, I'm home!"

Right away a woman emerges from down the hall to our right, "Jane? Who have you brought with you? Come in so I can see you both." Her voice is sweet, almost as if she was expecting us this whole time.

Jane reveals me at once, not mentioning a word of anything to the woman I assume is our grandmother. I meet her eyes, finding her staring back at me in complete and udder shock. She has to place her hand on the white trimming of a door to her right so she doesn't collapse of surprise. She tries to speak but trails off saying, "Impossible..."

My eyes move around the hall to the cherry wallpaper, to the doors around me, the light yellow tile floor and eventually Jane. She just stands there speechless just like the rest of us with teary blue eyes. I blink over at my grandmother standing across from me who is as well. I never meant to startle such deep emotions in the both of them like this, I'm just unsure how I should act.

Our grandmother brushes her short blonde hair out of her ocean blue eyes and tucks it behind her small ears, revealing a thin stripe of white in her hair. I notice how she is shorter than I am, even I thought I was very short compared to the few people I have been around these past months. I guess being small runs in the family, though Jane happens to be taller than the both of us by a few inches.

"Maybe we should all sit down," Jane suggests staring her down, who is breathing heavily and spinning what looks to be a wedding ring around her finger. Jane steps past me and takes ahold of her, guiding her back into the room she came out of at the end of the hall.

It is a nice size for a little sunroom, with a couch, armchair, table and chairs, and a big decorative box that holds lots of different kinds of plants. There is a door on the left that goes outside to a large patio, which seems to connect to the back side of the house as well with a deck that overlooks the yard. The whole left side of the room where the door is has windows, that run along the other side of the room as well. They overlook the freshly budding flowerbeds by the side door where Jane and I entered the garage.

All of the windows are open, allowing a warm breeze to rustle my damp hair. I stand in the doorway, watching Jane and my grandmother sitting on the couch until Jane glances at me, causing me to bring my attention down to the floor. It is a white tile, smooth and shiny. I look at my reflection in the floor wondering what I really look like. I am unsure because all I can see is the silhouette of my petite body.

"Ellie please sit." Jane orders softly.

I listen and sit in the armchair across from them where I can see the hall through the doorway. I watch Jane take her shoes off and get comfortable on the couch. I on the other hand don't move a muscle, and keep my head down at the book clutched in my hands.

"Where did you find her?" A soft voice finally asks, "I just don't believe it!" She stares off over my head until tears start streaming down her pink cheeks.

Jane explains exactly how she found me and nothing more, knowing that I must tell the rest. But I don't, instead my grandmother is the one speaking, "You have been gone this long and haven't spoken this whole time?!" She sounds furious. "Why have you not been yourself?"

My lips quiver, "I am not sure what happened to me," I take a breath knowing in all reality that the person I once was no longer exists. "I lost all of my memories."

She jumps, "WHAT? HOW?"

I'm startled and blurt, "I don't have any clue."

Afterwards I keep my mouth plastered shut not having a sentence planned up in my head. When she comes forward and pulls me into a tight hug I declare I've already had too much human interaction in one moment. She stands again, "I'm sorry if I have become too much for you. I could've never expected you to come back to us."

I nod just as Jane starts filling her in on some things she has planned, "I have to tell Ellie about where we come from and who our family members are. Then we can take her there to meet them."

Instantly the thought of going to another planet makes me stiffen even more than usual. I can imagine us in some kind of spaceship flying up through the clouds and into space to a planet the world doesn't know about. A place so beautiful that nobody could ever know anything better than its cities, skies, and creatures that walk its land.

"Elenor, are you ready to know where you come from?" Jane questions me slowly.

I nod, still thinking it is strange being around people and having them call me by my actual name. I try not to wiggle with anticipation but I do end up placing the book down that I just remembered I had and start pulling at my fingers, making them clammy.

"So it starts in the very woods we just came from. The cave that we were in is called the gate..." I have heard somebody say that before. The rabbit maybe? "...which literally is full of a magic that we can not explain. The book in your lap tells a story about the gatekeeper. The woman who lived in my home and protected the gate and the portal."

THE PORTAL?!

I'm quite relieved to hear that we certainly do not fly a spaceship to the land that I come from, but instead go through a portal. I bet it was right there under my nose and I had no idea! I guess the news of who I am and where I come from really is a lot to take in. Jane did warn me but mentally I am not truly prepared to hear the rest.

"She was killed but the portal ended up preserving her soul, which is why the portal has a spirit. The very same one that lead you right to me. She is there to guide somebody who needs help, but only somebody who comes from our world. A place that is on the other side of the portal. Another thing about the portal is that a human can not go through it by themselves because if they try it will kill them."

I remember the rabbit telling me the spirit didn't mean to harm me, now I feel bad for thinking that he had bad intentions for me. He most definitely comes from there so maybe all rabbits talk and he somehow knows us. But still he is more mysterious than anything this far and that is why I will not tell anyone about him.

"Our home planet is called Elyria and is much smaller than Earth. Most places there do not have electricity, no vehicles, no powerlines and telephone lines, nothing as technically advanced as Earth. But it does have many things you could never find here on Earth. Elyria and its creatures are full of magic-"

Suddenly it hits me, "That is how you can breathe underwater? You have powers?"

She nods her head, "All supernatural beings in Elyria have something... well compared to a human, abnormal about them. We fall into one of the most basic types, an Elyrian. Each Elyrian has their own power. Normally one or two kinds dominates a family but we are a very strong family and range in some of the most rarest powers out there."

How is all of this real? I mean we come from a whole other planet, we have special powers, and it seems like magic runs the whole world. Elyria sounds like a frightening yet exciting place to live in. I am not sure if I would like to go there after all that has happened to me recently or if I should jump right into it and find out myself.

"I am what you would call a water elemental." Jane adds.

I stare with disbelief, "So I have powers? What are they?"

Jane shruggs, "It's complicated. You left before your powers came so I do not know."

"Did those men take them away from me?"

"That is one thing no one can ever do. Your own magic is in your DNA, it can not be changed but you can add to it or alter it for a certain amount of time."

I don't really understand what she is trying to say, " What do you mean?"

She looks at me for a long time until our grandmother speaks up softly, "There is magic than can change you..." She thinks for a moment and then continues, "If an Elyrian was bitten by a vampire they would still have the same powers they grew into but they would also develop powers of a vampire."

"They exist?" My voice is sharp.

"Yep, just as much as Elves, Mermaids, Werewolves and so on."

Jane says, "And once and a while you will find someone who is a mix of different creatures."

Now hearing this I am not seeing myself as an alien any longer. It is just like a made up story to me, more surreal than aliens from space. My mind is spinning. How could they just exist, how could we? And humans have no clue that we are real.

"So people just travel between this portal?" I ask holding up the book that I completely forgot about.

"A select few, our family included," Jane answers. "Different creatures have their own thoughts about leaving Elyria, and it depends on where you are from as well. The planet is small but still it is difficult to travel long distance. The only creatures that really go to Earth are the ones who live right by the portal. That kingdom is like the capital of the whole planet, but it isn't much of a populated city as you would assume. Then there are creatures who totally disapprove of other's who have gone to Earth and interacted with humans. They have certain morals, and going to a human world is more than frowned upon."

"We aren't liked are we?" I blurt, feeling more talkative than ever before.

"We have never had problems with being who we are when we visit the capital. It is called Provence of Elyria, but most call it Elyria or The Provence City. When you come through the portal that is where you end up. Most creatures that live there are Elyrian, but you can find all types of creatures there really. Very few kingdoms are populated with all types of species, so that makes the capital even more special than it already is. It does have a lot of vampire as well and some witch folk, the rest are different species of creatures, outcasts, mixes and hybrids. Other kingdoms aren't as nice and forgiving as the Province is."

My understanding of this new world has not gotten any less confusing. I am just in disbelief and excitement all together, "Is that where I was born?"

Jane and our grandmother look at each other instantly, "No." My grandmother answers me.

"So where are we from?"

I watch my grandmother stand and turn away from me, "We do not speak of that place and never will."

"Gram, don't leave." Jane says softly.

My hands unknowingly open up the book and I stare down at it like it is controlling my body. I flip to a page and bring my head down to read it, wondering if maybe this book has something it needs to tell me. Before anything more can happen Jane snatches it away from me saying, "I knew you wouldn't be ready for this book yet."

"It will tell you where we were born, but you can not know. It would ruin your fresh and innocent mind." Our grandmother says right as she steps out the door and goes down the hall.