Chapter 18: Others

Hadrese decided to walk to the palace. It was her childhood home. She had left it for a time a century earlier when she had joined with her Life Mate, Dorn and now she was returning, not to visit her Fathers, but as Queen.

Swallowing the shock of the passing of her Fathers and her Ascension, Hadrese walked up the familiar walk. Standing in the middle of the walkway was Twa, the Elemental who had voluntarily sworn himself to her service for as long as she lived. She was amused to see that he was wearing a royal blue cape and some fancy suit of clothing, she spied lace around the neck, before remembering to pay attention when around this Elf as he was slippery and wily.

"Good day to you Twa. How are you today?"

Bowing low, Twa swept his cape back and bowed gracefully at the waist, sweeping his Liege's hand into his and kissing the air above her knuckles. He stepped back and said, "I am well, my Queen, I thank you for asking after my health!"

Hadrese smirked at him and continued walking down the path. Uneasy, Twa followed a step behind his Queen. Keeping quiet was hard, but he had learned to go with his instincts and they were screaming for him to be silent.

Surprised that Twa wasn't chattering a mile a minute, Hadrese walked up the steps to the palace doors, which opened up by magic. She gasped in surprise. They had never opened automatically before, in fact, they had always been hard for her to push open as if telling her she didn't have a place here in her own home.

Shocked rippled through her soul as she stepped over the threshold. The palace was alive. How could that be? Pausing just inside of the doorway, Hadrese, glanced around. It looked the same as it had when she had last visited her Fathers, yet somehow not.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and jumped a little, glancing at Dorn she sighed. "I never thought I would be returning here so quickly. It's the same, yet different. “Can you feel it?"

Looking around the rooms, Dorn said, "I thought someone had opened the doors for us, but no one is here."

Glancing behind Dorn, Hadrese asked, "Did you open the door for me Twa?"

"I am ashamed to say, my Queen, that I did not," Twa looked so sad that Hadrese, laughed.

"If I thought for a minute you meant that sad look, I would actually be moved to feel sorry for you Twa, but we both know what a consummate actor you are."

Twa clutched his hands over his heart and bemoaned, "My Queen you wound me!"

Laughing and shaking her head Hadrese turned and led her family to their rooms. These rooms had been hers while she was a child and she wanted to use them again. "My Queen if I may say," Twa didn't pause, but continued, "You are no longer a child you are a ruler, you need to have different rooms."

"We will move to the royal apartments as soon as they are ready, I cannot move into them until some changes have been made. Until then we will live here."

Twa nodded and looked around the room. Flitting around the room Twa touch this and that covertly watching Hadrese and Dorn.

Sighing Hadrese quietly said, "Thank for your company this afternoon, Twa, however, I am retiring for the evening. Good night."

A beatific smile spread across Twa's face and he bowed and left the room. Hurrying down the hallway, Twa went to the previous sovereign's room. Looking around he realized Hadrese was right too many, living with too many overpowering memories was not right either.

The hair on the back of Twa's neck stood straight up. Spinning around, he saw a pale white being in front of him. Wrapping his magic around him, Twa demanded, "Who the Nine Hells are you? Better yet, what are you?"

"I am Hornpol of the Northern Gnomes. I am here with a message from the Council of High Rulers."

Twa stared at him. He had felt the Others presence, but he discounted that they were worth anything as they had never had contact with his Clans.

"I am Twa of the Elemental Elven Clan," staring back at the Gnome. "You are the reason the door opened by itself and that the palace feels alive."

Hornpol didn't bother to reply to the rhetorical statement. "I need to speak with King Borlan."

Twa drew himself up to his full stature, looking down his nose at the intruder, announced, "How dare you speak the name of He Who Is Gone."

Nodding his head at his error, Hornpol said, "I beg your forgiveness, I was not aware that you do not speak of Those Who Go Before."

Breathing deeply to get control of his magic, Twa let the air out of his lungs and nodded, but didn't speak for a moment.

Hadrese felt the Elements swirl around her. She realized that something was wrong with Twa and traced the magic to him. Using his eyes to look at what had almost made him loose control, she saw a being that she knew was not human.

Using Twa's mouth, she said, "I am Hadrese, Queen of the Elves. State your business and leave before my Elf looses all control!"

Hornpol glanced around wondering when had the Queen come into the room. He saw nothing. Uneasily, he glanced back at the Elf standing in front of him. "I am Hornpol of the Northern Gnomes. I bring a message from the Council of High Rulers."

"Speak the message," demanded Hadrese.

"The Council bids you to join the next session, which is on the eve of the next full moon. You will be teleported to the meeting spot by the High Ruler."

"Why have We not heard of this Council before and how dare they summon an Elf to their presence. Should I accept this invitation I will come when and if I please and not a moment before, do not presume to order Me about. Dismissed."

Hornpol withdrew a sphere from his pocket, pressing a button he waited. Suddenly, the High Ruler appeared beside him and a tall, lithe woman stood directly behind him, watchful, but still, a bodyguard.

Sighing Twa whispered to his Queen that she best appear. She left his mind and instantly appeared beside him.

Hadrese raised an eyebrow at the non-human creature in front of her, "You are in the Courts of the Queen of the Elves. Your messenger was rude and stepped high above his station. We do not interact with the Other races that have made this world their home. We do not answer to you or your High Council. Your messenger has made you persona non grata. I bid you good day."

Bowing at his waist, King Connlan eyed the young Queen, shocked that she had given him the same reason as her ancestor had many millennia before her. He felt Kira and Hornpol's shock that he would show deference to the Elven Queen.

Twa took in the meaning of his Queen’s comments amazed that the Elven Rulers had some interaction with the “Others.” He watched the faces of male and female when the male with the a regal bearing bowed. He whispered in Hadrese's mind, "This is the High King or Ruler. I believe the title is interchangeable."

"King Connlan welcome to the court of the Elves. You honor Us with your presence."

Again the feeling of deja vu crept up his spine. The Queen knew who he was and wondered just how much more she knew.

Smiling Hadrese said, "Please come and sit down for a spell."

Connlan sat on the gold satin chair, opposite of Hadrese, "What is the High Council?"

"It is the head of each ruling House of Other races. The Elves were invited many earth years ago to join, however your race decided to remain separate."

Hadrese didn't respond. She sifted through the memories that had been given to her at her Ascension. She saw that the Elves had been invited, but had refused because the Goddess of All Else gave offense.  She stared back at the High King Connlan as he stared at her. “Will the Goddess of All Else apologize for the offense given?”

Unbelievable! There was no way that this Queen would have known about that breach of etiquette. Aloud Connlan said, “She will.”

Twa whispered in Hadrese’s mind, “Accept if the Goddess of All Else apologizes.”

Hadrese said, “We will join your council on the day that the Goddess of All Else apologizes. We will join as full members of this council, not under anyone guidance or judgment. Furthermore, all the other council members will stay out of Elven business.”

“Wow,” Connlan thought to himself. He was blown away that the young Queen knew the entire problem and succinctly presented the exact same argument that her Ancestor had told him; out loud Connlan said, “Agreed.”

He vanished with his bodyguard; returning to his Palace and sat down in his chair and regarded the rest of the Council. “The Elves will join the Council when the Goddess of All Else apologizes for the offense given eleven centuries ago; furthermore, they will be equals falling under no ones domain. I have said that the Goddess will give apology and the Queen has said that on that day the Elves will join the Council.”

The Goddess of All Else froze and gasped, “How did this new ruler know of this predicament?”

All of the “Other” races that reside in the realm of magic here on Terra Firma have their secrets, we will allow the Elves theirs and this definitely falls under that purview; frankly how she knows isn’t important. I told you all those years ago to apologize now it’s no longer a request it’s an order and you will be banished from these chambers until you do so.”

Immediately magic swirled around the room and the Goddess of All Else was forcibly removed from the room. Connlan’s magic would know when the apology was given and allow the Goddess back into the chamber.

Looking at the other members of the council, he said, “The internal war the Light Elves fought against the Dark Elves have made them a power to contend with and they have earned their position on this Council. Anyone else disagrees please do so now.”

Silence.

Copyrighted. September 2010 by Georgia Lee Jones. All rights reserved. Any copying of this information without the consent of the author is illegal and considered theft.

Chapter 17: Guide

Atlantis du El'a stood between her mates Oberon and Tajor in the Grove of Assembly. Closing her eyes, she struggled with the raw power surging through her veins. She knew that she needed to get her magic under control or lose all control and become Werekin. As she named her greatest fear in her mind, the magic eased somewhat giving her relief and knowledge that the more she feared the harder it was to control the magic.

Startled from her thoughts by the rousing cheer of the crowd, Atlantis glanced around and was surprised that she missed the ceremony of her friends Ascension to Queen-ship. Pushing her magic out in front of her tuning it to a colder breeze she parted the crowd of Elves in front of her and walked forward to stand before her Queen.

"I, Atlantis du El'a Chieftain of the Clan Sky Elf, do solemnly acknowledge a pledge made to He Who Went Before, to guide you and protect you, my Queen Hadrese."

Hadrese stared down at her blue-skinned friend, relative, and now guide, swallowing the lump in her throat, Hadrese replied, "Your vow is so acknowledged and gladly accepted, go in peace."

Atlantis bowed her head and then again at the waist, allowing her forehead to scrape the dais on which the new Queen was standing; gracefully, Atlantis took a step back and melted into the crowd, slowing walking backwards to stand beside her Life Mates.

Other Elves came forward offering advice, help, guidance as appropriate each Clan Chieftain came forward and pledged loyalty to the new Queen and that of their Clans.

Atlantis felt a tickle in her mind and turned to stare at her daughter, who giggled. Atlantis thought to her Wee One, "I have to go to Rowan of the Elementals for training. Be good while I am gone and I'll see you tonight!"

Her daughter bobbed her head up and down and tinkling laughter echoed in the Grove. A transportation orb appeared in front of Atlantis, who touched it and disappeared.

Opening her eyes, Atlantis felt a strong pulse, looking around she noticed only gray walls, but the walls looked like they were alive, gray slightly tinged with red. The room was oval and the ceiling disappeared into inky blackness, darker then anything she had ever seen.

Rowan appeared in the room and he regarded Atlantis and said nothing. Crossing his arms he sent out a stream of elemental magic and allowed it to float beside Atlantis, allowing him to gauge just how much magic she had received in her Gifting. He staggered back. Her magic zinged along the his stream of magic causing a backlash, sending him flying, crashing into the wall and slumping to the ground.

Stunned Atlantis rushed over to Rowan and in a raspy voice said, "Rowan what happened. Are you alright?"

No reply. Swallowing, Atlantis isolated her Sky Elf magic and blew it over the crumpled body in front of her, probing to see if any permanent damage had been done. No indications of anything physically wrong, immediately, Atlantis knew that it was all mental damage that had hurt Rowan.

Slowing she probed into his mind seeking for a way around his walls, nothing, no holes even in shock, she was completely blocked out.

Sighing, Atlantis sat back. She decided not touch him because she didn't yet know all the ways her magic could lash out. In her mind she replayed the connection that zapped Rowen unconsciousness.

Falling into her mind, Atlantis followed the new magic to the well in her mind where it was stored. Using her metaphysical eyes she looked into the cauldron of Elemental magic and studied the swirling patterns trying to sort out what each color meant and maybe how it would affect her use of the magic.

Each Clan had their secrets on how to control their magic, they didn't reveal those secrets to other Elves, not even Life Mates understood how the magic worked, some would pick up techniques on how to find holes in their Mates minds so they could slip in and out of their Mates minds at will, but not how or why their Mates magic worked.

Instinctively, Atlantis knew that the magic she was seeing in her mind had the secrets of each Clan stored into its color-coded streams. The only color that was missing was the Clan Sky Elf, she didn't need to know how her own magic worked so it was missing or was it?

Atlantis closed off all of her innate magic except for a small pinhole, and she gently pushed a speck of Sky Elf magic through the hole and allowed it to interact with the Elemental magic she held within her mind. The roiling mess she saw stopped writhing and began to untangle itself and assemble in an organized circle.

It took Atlantis a little while to figure out that her magic was assembling in the same pattern as the Ascension symbol that was given to the Elven King or Queen except instead of being a burn, this symbol was alive.

Gently Atlantis prodded a stream of Water Elf magic. She heard the gentle roar of the ocean waves crashing into the distant shore. She felt a heartbeat. What was that? Slowly she followed the stream of magic to the source of the heartbeat. It was the Water Clan Chieftain. She was astonished with her findings. In that moment, she knew that she could kill anyone of her fellow clansmen with a single thought. Mentally, she steadied herself and slowly withdrew along the line of magic she had followed back to its origin in her mind.

Swallowing, Atlantis gingerly touched the cord of magic that was of the Forest Elves. She heard the soft buzzing of the forest. She felt Elves and Humans and Others walking on the forest floor; animals burrowing within the arms of Mother Earth. She heard the hallow thumping of a heartbeat, this time she didn't follow it as she knew it would be the Clan's Chieftain.

She plucked at the Air Clans line and was surprised that the name was incorrect, they were called the Zyphers, which literally meant west wind. Why west, wondered Atlantis. She smelled the forest, water, molten rock, earth, pollens from different trees and plants. She could tell which direction the winds were blowing, the temperatures in each air stream. She knew where it would storm next, how much rain would fall, and if lightening would strike the ground.

Her metaphysical eyes rounded in discovery. Each clan was part of the whole and the Elementals held it all together. No wonder you never made an Elemental Elf angry, they could cause floods, earthquakes, ice storms, they could cause strife and catastrophic disasters by pulling on all the magical cords they held within themselves and depending on how violently they pulled would decide the magnitude of the mess they caused.

Atlantis said out loud, "I can never hunt again."

Rowen came to the conscience state to hear Atlantis mutter, "I can never hunt again."

"That would be correct Atlantis du El'a."

Hearing Rowan's pronouncement, Atlantis replied, "I have the Elemental magic controlled, but how do I tie it off so I won't loose control of it again?"

"Find the end of the magic that is still loose, it is only one end, knit it to your magic and you can call on it at anytime just like you can your own Sky magic."

Atlantis didn't rely. She was looking for the magical thread that was dangling from her live Ascension symbol. Little did she know the destiny she was about to assign to herself, but she would find out, and it would not be pretty.

Copyrighted. April 2010 by Georgia Lee Jones. All rights reserved. Any copying of this information without the consent of the author is illegal and considered theft.