DragonHeart

23: Remi

"You know her?" I muttered under my breath to Nick.

I brushed hair that wasn't there off of my shoulders. It was weird having about eight inches of hair chopped off.

Nick nodded, "Do you know Natalie? I used to hang out with her at lunch, you may have seen her around the halls." She whispered back.

I vaguely remembered a girl who looked like this walking through the halls at my school, except that girl did not have pointed ears, and I'd never seen her in a lilac dress.

"May I explain, mother?" Natalie asked the Queen.

Nick's mouth fell open. "Wait, Natalie, you're an elf?! What?! I thought you were moving to Gomoria..."

Natalie looked to Queen Aster for permission to speak.

The Queen nodded.

"My name is Aspen, actually," she said.

"Yes, I would like us all to introduce ourselves," Queen Aster said, "I take it that some of us haven't been properly acquainted. I am Queen Aster of the Elves and these are my children, Aspen and Oak," she pointed at the boy on her right and the girl on her left.

"I'm Hazel," Hazel said, "And this is Remi and Nicholina."

The Queen looked a little surprised at our names, but she recovered quickly. "Well," she said, "we're glad that we can help you, but I must say that you are lucky we let you in. We have a treaty with the Zorg, we do not normally allow humans or dragons into Dorian."

"Who's side are the Elves really on?" I demanded.

The Queen looked truly confused at the question. "Side?" She asked, "If you mean between the Dragons and Zorg, then I must remind you that we are neutral, we have a treaty with the Zorg that dictates peace."

"Are you kidding?!" I burst out, "The Dragons could have won the war a long time ago if the Elves had bothered to help! Also, you haven't kicked us out yet."

"Rem," Hazel warned, "This is a Queen we're talking to."

"No, It's alright," Queen Aster said, "She has a right to ask. We do not believe in the Zorg's way of ruling, but we will not oppose them. We think that humans should be neutral as well, it would be better for them, but no, they are stubborn and cant see the greater picture."

"But you speak human," I said, confused.

"Indeed," said the Queen, "We learned the human tongue in the war and the Zorg and Dwarves did as well. I suppose it is useful, but when talking to one another, we normally use Elfieish. Your human language is crude and confusing in many ways."

"But I still don't get it!" I said, "You could have helped the Dragons and won! You could still help the Dragons and win! There would be peace then!"

"No," said the Queen, her voice rising, "Ruin and carnage would be all that would be left of Eisildor. Too many innocents would die, too much collateral damage would be done. There wouldn't be a place to bring peace to."

"So you let the dragons be hunted and killed? You let the Zorg destroy families and homes while you sit here in peace and harmony, forging treaties with murderers?"

"No," The Queen said, as serene as ever, "It is too dangerous and we don't have enough of our race as it is. In the last battle, we lost our King. We would lose too many. It is better to stay safe, hidden, and not be involved."

"The King?" Hazel asked, "What- what happened?"

The Queen fidgeted with one of her rings, losing her regal stance entirely. Her son, Oak, who had been still until then went white as a sheet.