I am still trying to provide some reading pleasure during difficult times, so here is another free short story for you all this week. Enjoy! “Elf Tales Do Come True”
By Sheri Velarde Fairy tales hardly ever come true for quiet girls. That’s why Nola always strived to stand out in a crowd. Sure, she was an elf and maybe she didn’t want an actual “fairy” tale, but she certainly didn’t want to be overlooked simply because she was not a pure blood. Why should pure bloods have all the fun and glory? She was just as smart, tough, and powerful as almost any other elf out there. All she yearned for was a chance to prove her worth. It seemed unlikely that she would get that chance to show her true qualities though, for as soon as she came of age she was placed in the servitude ranks, meant to serve the royals but never be equal to them. The way Zanna, the crown princess and highest ranking enforcer elf, and her chosen friends pranced around you would have thought their excrement didn’t smell. Well she cleaned their privies and knew better, they were just like her, but stuck up. Zanna and her second in command, Kalan, were the worst; they acted like she didn’t exist even if she happened to be standing right in front of them. What she wouldn’t give to get some respect from them and to wipe the smugness from their faces. After two hundred years of being treated as an inferior, her chance finally came, but not in a way that she would have ever expected. The royals were going on an expedition to the rain forest in the human realm and as this was to be a large party, they required some servant elves to come along. Of course she was expected to stay behind at camp and never join in the fun, but at least it got her out of the castle. The human realm fascinated her and she enjoyed it often when she had time off from her duties, so the thought of exploring the exotic part of that realm thrilled her. Of course the beginning of the journey went as she expected; Zanna, Kalan and the other “chosen” acted as if she weren’t there and only spoke to her if they needed something done. Ama, the Queen, however went along on this trip to search for medicinal plants and she had always been kinder than her daughter to those who served her. She treated all elves and creatures with respect, so Nola was thrilled when the Queen asked her specifically to attend her on her tasks while away. Little did she know that would be a true turning point in her life. While the “warriors” were off proving how great they were, Ama and Nola wandered in search of rare plants. The forest seemed quiet and peaceful and Ama brought her own sereneness to her surroundings. While a nice change of pace for her life, Nola expected nothing exciting to happen. She was lost in her own thoughts when the Queen spoke, so she missed whatever had been said. “I’m so sorry your highness, could you please repeat that?” Nola hoped she had not offended the Queen. “Please, call me Ama. I only wished to get to know you better. You are always so quiet and reserved, I want to know the elf behind the sheltered exterior. One so young should not be so sad.” Ama looked at her expectedly, kindness shining in her eyes. Before she could stop to think, the truth began to spill from her mouth. “I have no desire to be a serving elf. I want to be a warrior, I was top of my class in everything back in the academy, yet Zanna looked at me as if I were inferior because I am not a pure blood.” She clapped her hands to her mouth in fear. How could she have insulted the Queen’s very daughter in front of her? She had no idea what kind of punishment she should expect for such an infraction. Ama instead gave her a sad smile. “My daughter often places too much importance on blood. She must either learn to become more humble or I fear it will be her downfall. I can arrange for you to change ranks if you would like. I hate seeing a sole so miserable.” “You would do that for me? I’m just a servant. How would Zanna react?” Nola didn’t know if she should dare hope for a change in her station. Could it ever be possible for her dream of being a warrior to come true? “I am still Queen and Zanna will respect my appointment. Is it something that you wish for me to do?” “Yes, my heart desires nothing more.” Nola answered. Nola felt happier than she could ever remember while they continued their search for rare plants. She amused herself thinking of the horrified look on Zanna’s face when her mother forced her to recognize Nola as an equal. It took all the self-control she had to not start laughing at her own musings. She needed to keep it together, she didn’t want to make Ama doubt her sanity before she made her dreams a reality. She became so lost in her own daydreams that she didn’t notice when the Queen moved out of sight, it wasn’t until she heard a scream that she realized something was amiss. “Your majesty, are you alright?” She called, running in the direction of the noise and hoping that she wasn’t too late. She couldn’t let her fondest wish crash and burn before it even came into fruition. She drew the dagger she always kept hidden in her boot and slowed her pace when she saw movement up ahead. There was definitely someone or something other than herself and Ama out there in the forest. Nola stopped making noise and inched closer to Ama. She could hear some soft muttering and tried to make out the words. “No… Why are you… You can’t…” She could only catch bits and pieces of what Ama was saying to her assailant and all she could hear was a low, muffled rumble from the attacker, enough to let her know that she as dealing with a man. Be he elf or human she did not know. As she got closer she could see Ama on the ground, kneeling awkwardly as if she were injured. A form covered head to toe in a black robe stood before her, brandishing a spear. If only she had the weapons of the elves, a bow and arrow, she could take care of this right now. Instead she had to chance getting closer in order to deal with the threat. She only hoped she could get the jump and not put the Queen in anymore danger. Luck and fate must have been on her side, for the hooded menace seemed to be paying her no attention. All of his focus was on the Queen. Ama did however see Nola sneaking towards her assailant and tried to distract him even more. “You will never get away with this. My daughter and all of her top fighters are here in the forest, there will be no escaping them.” The man laughed. “Your precious daughter is far away from here and she only left a mere servant elf to protect you. Makes you wonder how much she really cares about her mother, doesn’t it? No matter. I will not even be in this dimension when she finally finds you. Now give me the key, I know you always carry it on you. Hand it over and I promise to make your death quick.” “You don’t know as much as you seem to think. Do you not think our halls aren’t protected by more than keys? You will never get through and be able to steal our riches, key or no key.” Ama stood, defiant and distracting at the same time. “Fool, it’s not your riches I am after, it is your power.” He drew a knife of his own and moved towards the Queen. In position and out of time, Nola pounced. She caught the man unprepared, jumping on his back and placing her dagger to his throat. “Drop the knife or I’ll slit you ear to ear.” He dropped his weapon and Ama quickly grabbed it. Nola however didn’t budge, she was ready to kill if need be. “Now would you care to explain why you tried to kill the Queen? And let’s just take this hood off and see who you are.” Not moving her blade from his neck she ripped his hood off so that at least Ama could see the face of who had tried to attack her. Ama let out a gasp. “No! Kraven? Zanna and Kalan said you were dead!” “More like the chosen two left me for dead!” He spat. “Couldn’t be bothered to save a lesser elf, or have him take some of their glory either. That’s why I came after you, if I could get to the scepter of power I could make them pay for nearly killing me. They would have to serve me! I could ruin them!” Kraven laughed, the sound of a crazed man with nothing to lose. Ama lowered the knife she held, sorrow seeping into her face. “Kraven, I am sorry that you must have suffered greatly being left behind, but surely you know that there is no way for you to control the scepter of power. Not even Zanna has proven herself worthy of that, only Bael and myself can touch it. You would be destroyed even attempting to lift it.” “I am already destroyed! Your Zanna saw to that! Do you have any idea what the humans did to me? The experiments I was subjected to? Not once did I give away our secrets. Not only that but I escaped and destroyed all those who had studied me and all of their records. I protected the realms! I am worthy! Worthier than your heartless daughter!” He laughed again and the sound chilled Nola to the core. With no warning Kraven flung himself forward with Nola still on his back. Instinctively Ama raised the knife in her hands and not only did Nola’s dagger dig deep into his neck, but he impaled himself as well, his blood gushing out over Ama’s hands. He still laughed even as he died, “Now my blood is on your hands as much as on your daughter’s. May it bring a curse upon your family.” A few more gurgling sounds and then he finally laid still. Nola jumped off his back and rushed to the Queen. “Your Highness, are you alright? Were you hurt?” Ama shook her head, but she still looked shaken none the less, “I am fine. This poor soul. What he must have suffered. I knew him, such a good elf and soldier. Zanna told me he was lost, killed on a mission here in the human realm. That must have been seven or eight years ago. Something terrible must have happened to him to turn him into what we just saw, someone with no care for themselves or others.” “His mind was gone. Only thoughts of revenge remained. In a way I understand that.” Nola answered, busying herself cleaning off the Queen. “Yes, so can I. We must summon Zanna here. She has to see him with her own eyes and then I will ask for the explanation of this.” The Queen concentrated, clearly contacting her daughter telepathically. She then turned back to Nola, “I must thank you for saving my life Nola. If not for you Kraven would have killed me on his death quest for revenge. Now I am really pleased to offer you a warrior position among our ranks.” Just then Zanna walked in out of nowhere, traveling between dimensions to reach them sooner. She must have caught the last part of their exchange for she laughed. “A serving elf elevated to warrior? What madness had taken you mother?” “Nola saved my life. I also hear that she was top of her classes in warrior skills yet you passed her over because of her lineage. But that is not why I have called you here Zanna. Kraven just tried to kill me and Nola fought bravely to stop him. You told me Kraven had been killed, did you not?” Nola had never seen the Queen look so scary. Even the always unflappable Zanna cowered from the power radiating from her mother. “Kraven? But that’s impossible. He was shot several times, beyond our healing capabilities. We hated to leave him, but…” she trailed off as her eyes wandered to Kraven’s lifeless face, still frozen in a silent but malevolent laugh. “No, I don’t understand.” For once her confidence and bravado were gone. “He was mad, that much was clear, but as you can see until very recently very much alive. He said humans had captured him and that he had been subjected to tests and tortures for years. He blamed you for leaving him behind and his hate corrupted his mind. Can you please explain to me how you left him for dead? How could you leave an elf in the hands of the humans all these years? How could you leave a member of your team without being certain that he was indeed dead? Not only did Kraven suffer a fate worse than death, but you also risked the exposure of our kind and the magical realm to humans! How could you be so careless Zanna?” Anger radiated from the usually calm Ama. Nola stepped back, scared and happy all at once, seeing Zanna tremble gave her a feeling of satisfaction. “I told you, he was shot too many times. We thought there would be no hope of survival. We had entered a human medical facility where it was rumored they had elf DNA. We were caught, Kraven protected our backs while we gathered what we came for, we did not think he survived. He should have died and his body would have returned to the magical realm…” The unflappable Zanna actually shed a tear and kneeled before her mother. “Forgive me. What I did was inexcusable as a leader and as an elf.” “Yes, it was. Your pride will be your downfall Zanna unless you learn some humility. You must return to the facility where Kraven was taken, make sure there is no evidence of our kind left there for humans to study. I will go speak with Kraven’s family. They deserve to know the truth of what happened to him.” Ama turned as if to leave, but thought better of it. “And Nola will go with you. You will treat her as an equal or I will know about it. I will be watching you very closely Zanna. Remember your position is a place of honor, one that can be taken away. I know you thirst to rule the realms yourself one day, but until you prove that you are indeed worthy of the trust and magic that comes with that responsibility you will do as I say.” Eyes downcast Zanna answered. “Yes mother.” Ama turned towards Nola, “I ask you to be my point of contact on this investigation Nola. Consider it your first assignment as a warrior and law enforcement elf.” “Yes your majesty.” Nola nodded. “Zanna, I expect you to act befitting someone in your position. You are a leader and that does not make you better than those you command. Take that to heart from here on out, learning humility and to value others is the biggest lesson for you yet to learn.” Zanna nodded and then Ama disappeared, entering the magical realm. Kraven’s body had already disappeared. Nola was left alone in the forest with Zanna. She expected attitude and disdain now that the Queen had left. What she got instead was shocking. “Thank you got saving my mother. I fear that I misjudged you when you were ready to be placed Nola. Forgive me, I fear my mother is right and I have let pride and the idea of blood purity cloud my judgment for far too long. I need to change but I am not sure I even know how.” Nola didn’t know what to say. An apology from Zanna? Something in her softened ever so slightly towards the elf she had hated for so long. “I went from being a servant to a hero and warrior elf in a matter of moments, so anything is possible if you just have confidence in yourself.” Zanna smiled. “You do not have to be kind to me, I know how I have treated you in the past.” “Yes and I despised you up until now. However your mother’s kindness to me and the way hate twisted a fellow elf has taught me forgiveness and to let go of old hurts. Learn from this Zanna and then none of this will be in vain.” “You are right. You know Nola, I think you are going to make an excellent warrior elf.” “I know.” Nola smiled, her new life was already starting off on the right foot.
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AuthorAuthor, artist, jewelry maker and all around creative person. I write in many genres and have a lot of fun doing so. Please take a look around and enjoy! Archives
January 2022
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