We all screamed at the top of our voice. We fell on the ground when we started to run; we tried to crawl backward.

“No, no! Don’t run! We’re not goin’ to hurt you,” the voice said.

Nathan, Tricia and I slowly turned our heads and looked to their direction. We were still lying backwards with our hands on the ground. We saw two small human look alike with pointed ears, white skin and round face with green eyes wearing stocking caps.

Nathan asked, “Who are you?”

“We are people from the Elfin City under the ruling of King Elfemier. I am elvish Voltaire; this is elvish Shadrach.”

“It’s nice to meet you elvish Vol . . .?”Nathan stammered

“elvish Voltaire,”

Nathan scratched his head and said, “Yeah, that’s it; Voltaire and Shadrach.”

“What do you want from us?” I asked.

“Our Prince Elcho wanted you to come to our city,” Shadrach replied.

“But we don’t know him,” Tricia answered.

Nathan butted in, “Is he cute?” showing his usual mischievous smile.

“Hey Nathan, stop it!” I said while covering his mouth with my right hand. “Where were we?” I looked back towards the two elvish. “Oh yeah, my friend was right. We don’t know him. Just tell your Prince . . . uuhhmm, well, maybe it was a mistake.”

Nathan and Tricia were holding their hands together as I turned towards them. I stood up, grabbed my things and said, “Guys, we need to go; still got to find our way.”

“No, no, no! It isn’t a mistake Shaina!” Voltaire shouted; his hands stretched and touched my backpack.
I was surprised; he called me by my name. We never introduced ourselves to them. I turned my head and asked him, “How did you know my name?”

“Prince Elcho saw you years ago. He sent us to take you to our city. Shaina, this isn’t a mistake. It is part of your destiny,” Voltaire said.

“My what?” I yelled but a little bit confused. I felt my eyebrows pucker together.

Voltaire continued, “This is your destiny. In our world, you are our Princess Emerald.”

“Are you nuts?” I answered. Then I turned to Tricia and said, “This is just a dream; pinch me in my face, Trish.”

Shadrach said, “No, this is not a dream. Come with us so that you’ll see our world. If you don’t like it then we’ll bring you home.”

Nathan, Tricia and I looked at each other; then we tightly hold our hands – now mystified and scared. Then Tricia asked, “What if we’ll not come with you?”

“You can’t; those who have seen the light must live with us for some time before they can go back to their world. Or else, you’ll never wake up from your deep sleep in the forest,” Shadrach replied.

“You mean this is a dream except this is actually not a dream but for real?” asked Nathan; his voice was low and quivering. He was snuggling his backpack at his chest.

“Sometimes it may seem impossible; but if you look beyond what normal eyes can see, eventually, you’ll find the true reality,” Voltaire answered.

Then a voice shouted, “Oh, don’t believe them!”

We were startled as we positioned ourselves back to back to each other. We looked around and saw another unknown figure sitting on a branch of a tree. He looked weird. He was small with large pointy ears, but with dark brown furry skin and a flat-leaf shaped nose. He had a clawed feet and head of a bat, but the body of an elf. Its eyes bulged out from his bat-like head. His hands were like a fusion of a bat and elf. He was holding something that’s bleeding.

It’s somewhat like a squirrel, I thought; it’s disgusting. I felt my stomach was trembling.

“Don’t believe them. Come with me and I’ll show you the real paradise,” the dark bat-elf said.

Voltaire and Shadrach stood in front of us, raised their sword and then looked up at the bat-elf. Then Shadrach shouted, “Back off Dark Nebiolo! Stay away from them or else . . .”

“Okay, okay, I was just kiddin’. Want some?” he said, throwing his leftover squirrel in front of us.

“Aaahhh . . . !” We screamed as we moved back a little.

“See yah ‘round . . . hahaha . . .,” he flapped his wings and disappeared quickly, but the echo of his laughter could still be heard.

“Ugh, what is he?” muttered Nathan.

“That was Dark Nebiolo,” Elvish Voltaire began to tell them the story. “During the old times, the dark elvishes were considered as the servants of the light elvishes. Darkelfar was one of our elvish servants. Unknowingly, he had been viciously . . .”

“Wait, wait. Stop it!” I butted in; then I looked straight at the two white elvish; took a deep breath and exclaimed, “Okay, we’ll come with you, but you need to let us go after we meet your so-called Prince. Is that a deal?”

Without a word, Voltaire and Shadrach looked at each other; then they waved their right hands high, a light flashed from a hump on the ground and they all disappeared.

**********

At the Elfin City, King Elfemier was sitting at his throne while talking to Chief Hetzler as his right hand.

Prince Elcho entered the palace, quickly walked towards King Elfemier and bowed down in front of him; then he said, “My Father King Elfemier, my two servants elvish Voltaire and elvish Shadrach are now coming with three visitors from the Earth world.”

“Who are these visitors?” asked King Elfemier.

“My heart desire one of the lady as my future princess, and the other two are her friends,”

“Hhhmmm . . . then who would she be?”

“Her name is Shaina in her earthly word; but in our world, she will be known as Princess Emerald, which means bright as a gemstone,”

“May she live up to her name. But remember my son, love is a great risk in your life that is worth trying for,” King Elfemier said as he stood up and tapped Prince Elcho’s shoulder. Then he continued, “But when you love someone, do not expect anything in return; it will make you unhappy,”

“Yes Father, I’ll remember that,” he said. “I will bring her to you once they arrived, but as of now, I’d like to ask your blessing to prepare a special dinner for their coming,” he added.

“May it be done as you wish,”

Then Prince Elcho smiled, gave his father a hug and then gently bent. He clapped his hands and gave orders to the elvish maidservants to prepare a grand dinner for his guests. He once again glanced to his father, looking happy and left.

Then King Elfemier ordered Chief Hetzler to watch Prince Elcho and his lady.

“Chief Hetzler, be sure to watch over my son and his lady. Report it to me as soon as they arrive.”

“I will your Majesty,”

“Now go and instruct our elvish soldiers to guard every gate in the palace.”

“It will be done as you say,” Chief Hetzler answered, bowed gently and left.

I don’t want my son to suffer the same way I did, he thought. He placed both hands on his forehead, massaged it a little, closed his eyes, and sighed.

**********

I made the sign of the cross when the light flashed. We disappeared and all of sudden we’re in the land of nowhere. Nathan, Tricia and I were clamping together. I can’t believe this was happening. All I’ve heard about elves were stories from snow white and the seven dwarves and the Christmas elves of Santa Clause from North pole.

I can’t believe what my eyes saw – it’s an enchanting garden full of beautiful red roses and flowers that I don’t even know its name. There was a beautiful fountain at the center. I was speechless with my eyes opened wide, mesmerized of the lovely scenery. Then I noticed Nathan and Tricia’s eyes were also amazed by its beauty. They started to touch the flowers and roam around like kids in the garden. Tricia was no longer limping. Maybe it was true; maybe we are really in a dream of reality in another world. Yes, a journey to the other world.

“Hey, wait!” I cried. “Where are we?”

Voltaire and Shadrach took off their caps, gently bowed and said, “You are in our land our dear Princess Emerald, the Elfin City.”

“Oh c’mon, I told you I’m not your princess,”

Voltaire held my hands, closed his eyes and uttered something I didn’t understand. Then it seemed like magic; my clothes changed suddenly from a rugged dirty shirt and pants to a beautiful light pink and blue lace gown. I was surprised; my body felt frozen. I looked at the two elvishes and then turned to Nathan and Tricia. They were all looking at me with their eyes open wide; their hands were covering their mouth.

Nathan broke the silence and said, “Oh my goodness! Shaina, you look lovely!”

I saw Tricia nodding her head, too. I felt my cheeks turned red, and both my hands were also covering my mouth. It was like a dream in a fairytale land of nowhere; a princess met her prince and they live happily ever after. And I thought to myself, but then who would be my prince?

I felt somebody was pulling my dress; it was elvish Shadrach. “Our princess, we have to go. Prince Elcho is waiting for you,” he said.

“But wait!” cried Nathan. “What about us?”

Voltaire, without a word, raised his hands and pointed it towards Nathan then Tricia. Their clothes also changed; Nathan was in black pants, white and green buttoned shirt with a stocking cap like an elf; while Tricia was in a lovely light green and white short gown.

“We have to go,” Voltaire declared. “We can’t let our prince wait for us.”

**********

Meanwhile, Dark Nebiolo flew back to Rotundus Underlandia. He reported immediately the news to their King Darkelfar and Queen Hemaphylla about the two elvishes and three humans at the Hancock hillside.

“That couldn’t be!” bawled King Darkelfar. He stood up from his throne and began walking back and forth.

“Stop walking,” cried Queen Hemaphylla, and she made a squeaky sound of a bat.

Then he faced the queen and said, “I just couldn’t believe it,”

She touched his shoulders to console him, and said, “We’ll find a way to stop them.”

“There must be a way to stop them,” he said irritably. His faced was beginning to turn red. “We must stop them fast,” he added, shaking his head.

“So we must act now,” the queen replied. She stretched and flapped her wings; this is a signal that hunting will soon begin. Then a creaky sound echoed and filled the cave.

“Prince Elcho is the successor of the Elfin City. If he and this human being will be married, it will make them a lot wiser and stronger than our clan,” King Darkelfar began to speak his thoughts.

He turned to Dark Nebiolo and ordered him to capture the girl he was talking about. “Go back and make sure that you bring that girl with you,” he declared, pointing to their cave exit.

“As you wish, my King Darkelfar,” Dark Nebiolo replied. He then flapped his wings, flew out of the cave and made a squeaky sound to call the other bat-elves.

**********

The elvishes of the Elfin City assembled at the palace for a banquet. There were loud music; both their male and female could be seen dancing all over the place. Males were wearing black pants, white and green or blue buttoned shirt with a stocking cap; while females were either in a pretty light green, yellow orange or pale red and white short gown. There was a long table filled with food, drinks and colorful decorations. The place was well lighted that it looked so bright and festive.

Who might be their prince? I began to ask myself. We were standing at the entrance door feeling unnoticed by the crowd. Voltaire and Shadrach were in front of us; while Nathan was at my right and Tricia was at my left.

Suddenly, the music and dancing stopped; a loud trumpet began to sound and a voice announced, “My fellow elvishes and guests, let us welcome our King Elfemier and Prince Elcho.”

Everybody bowed down gently, rose up and clapped their hands. I noticed Nathan, Tricia and our two elvish friends were also clapping their hands. I saw an older elvish wearing a crown and a young man in an elegant outfit entered. The older one sat on the throne; then the younger one bowed down in front of him, looked straight and walked towards our direction. I was fascinated by his good looks that I felt my body went numbed again.

Then I felt Voltaire and Shadrach hold my hands and led me to walk towards the prince. I looked down at the two elvishes; they were smiling and nodding their heads. I felt my legs started walking to meet my Prince Elcho at the center. Everything seemed so quiet that even a drop of a needle can make a sound. I felt my eyes were stuck looking through his eyes, too. He took my hands; then I heard a clap and soft music started to play. He placed his hands at my hips, and I positioned my hands on his shoulders facing each other. We danced gently to the music. I felt like my whole world stopped, and there was only the two of us at that moment.

“Don’t they look lovely?” All of a sudden I heard a remark from the crowd.

I didn’t notice the time, but it seemed like hours before I began wondering, oh dear he looks familiar. At the back of my mind it was as if we have met before. On the spur of that moment I stopped, pushed him at his chest, moved back a little, and said to him, “You’re the guy riding in the horse. Oh gosh, how come I didn’t recognize you?”

He didn’t say a word, but he continued to look me straight in the eyes and smiled.

“But . . . but how come you don’t look like an elf?” I asked.

“It’s a long story, but for now, come with me and I’ll introduce you to my father King Elfemier,”

“Wait, I have my two friends with me: Nathan and Tricia,” I said pointing towards them.

Prince Elcho clapped his hands, and our two elvish friends ushered them. He squeezed gently my right hand and once in a while glanced at each other as we walked towards his father.

As we reached his throne, we bowed down together and Prince Elcho said, “My father King Elfemier, this is Shaina, the one I’m telling you to be my Princess Emerald.”

With my head still down, I thought, say what? Your Princess Emerald? Then I heard King Elfemier said, “Rise so that I may recognize you.”

Prince Elcho and I stood up; I tilted my head and looked towards their king. I didn’t know what to say; but before I fall into an embarrassing moment, I heard him whispered to us, “hhhmmm . . . my son, you have chosen a fine young lady to be your princess.”

“Thank you your highness,” I answered softly. I glanced at Prince Elcho looking at me with a smile on his face.

King Elfemier clapped his hands and declared, “My son Prince Elcho has invited his lady and her friends in our palace. Let us welcome them with delight. So let the celebration begin!”

Again, music started to play and the elvish began to dance at the center. Some elvish maidservants began to serve food and drinks. I noticed Nathan and Tricia were also dancing with an elvish partner. Prince Elcho and I had a long evening. He introduced me to his other elvish relatives and toured me in their palace. I smiled and glanced at him once in a while. I felt my face blushes every time he squeezes my hand; I hope he didn’t notice it. I took a deep breath and thought, this must be a dream fairytale.

It was almost midnight when the crowd started to disperse. Unexpectedly, I heard a commotion from the elvishes; then I saw several dark bat-elves flying around the ceiling fan, while Tricia was kicking her feet and yelling, “Let me go! Damn’t!”

“I – I think,” I mumbled. “I’ve seen something like that before.”

Then I saw the main entrance door opened, and Nathan came running towards us looking horrified. He was screaming, “Help! Somebody, please! Help us!”

The dark bat-elves were all squeaking that it filled the room with a loud tormenting noise hurting my ears.

“That’s Dark Nebiolo!” Elvish Voltaire hollered, pointing to one of the dark bat-elf.

Dark Nebiolo squealed, “Hello again my princess.” He was flapping his wings while moving back and forth towards me.

Prince Elcho shoved me with his arms moving me behind his back. He shouted in a firm voice, “Stay away from her, Dark Nebiolo!” He positioned himself and gripped his sword ready to fight. “What do you want?” he asked.

Then an army of elvishes stood in front of Prince Elcho with their armor and sword ready. I was terrified; my heart started beating fast. Nathan stood beside me, holding my arms.

“Oh c’mon! We don’t mean any harm. We want only to borrow the princess,” Dark Nebiolo answered and laughed with a shrill.

“You’re crazy! Put her down!” Prince Elcho commanded, pointing to Tricia.

Dark Nebiolo pointed at me and shrieked, “Come and save your friend or else, she’ll die! hahaha. . .!” He flapped his wings, signaled something to his troop and left.

“Wait!” I cried and spluttered. I wanted to chase them, but my body was numbed. “Tricia, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault,” I just whispered. Then I fell on my knees and blubbered, “I can’t forgive myself if something bad happened to her.” I shook my head, closed my eyes and continued to cry.

I felt somebody squeezes my hand; it was Nathan, and he too was crying. Then I heard Prince Elcho said, “Don’t worry Shaina; we’ll get Tricia back.” He held both of my shoulders, helped me stand and uttered, “I promised; we’ll get her back.”

I looked at him, nod my head and hoped everything will go back to normal.

**********

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 03.12.2011

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This e-book is part of the Bookrix fundraising project for the benefit of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) - http://www.aspca.org/about-us/about-the-aspca.aspx .