The Edge; Engelse versie

Part 7

They walked through the gate to another world. Jane, Sky, Robin and Alexa walked behind Mr Hale with a puzzled expression. After they had walked through the gate, they came into a completely different world. The four of them looked around them and saw nothing but a vast valley. Through the pale moonlight, everything looked calm and peaceful. "How can this be hidden in our world?" asked Alexa. She walked beside Jane and had been looking around her the whole time. Mr. Hale looked at her with a smile. "If you believe in the unreal, then everything becomes true," Jane replied. "Indeed Jane," said Mr. Hale. "But for now everything seems quiet here," he continued. "We must hurry before they come out..." "Zé?!" asked Sky anxiously. "The Evil Elves," replied Mr. Hale, but winked at Alexa and Jane. "Just follow me, and the elves won't be able to do anything." "Yes, come everyone," Sky said with a little fear in his voice. He walked towards Mr. Hale and started walking so close to him that he didn't even notice Mr. Hale stop. Sky bumped into Mr. Hale and took a step back, "Sorry..." Alexa turned her eyes slightly. "This will be your new residence," Mr. Hale said to them and pointed to the small house in front of them. "Do we have to stay in that?" asked Alexa startled. "Girls," said Robin in a hushed voice, but everyone heard and looked at him. "I'm sorry," he said to them, "but haven't you ever read any books or anything about the history of the Elves?" He looked at them. No one answered, but then Jane remembered something: "This is one of the houses that change at will!" "Cool!" exclaimed Alexa, but Sky stood open-mouthed looking at Jane. "Huh!" "There are some certain hidden lands in the world where Elves rule. They make homes and make sure the lands are maintained. Elves are not the fairies we know from fairy tales and myths. There are many different kinds; empathic Elves, Elves with magic, Elves who cannot lie, Elves with a different skin colour such as blue, purple or pink; Wood Elves, Sea Elves, and many more..." Jane stopped for a moment and looked at Sam. " Are you an elf too?" she asked him. Mr. Hale looked at her calmly. "No, so," said Robin. "He's not an Elf." "And how can you be so sure?" Mr. Hale asked him defiantly. "You don't have pointy ears," Sky replied. He had come to stand between Alexa and Robin. Alexa kicked his foot, causing him to immediately shut up. "That's not the reason," Jane said and looked at Robin. "You came to get us and had to say a spell to get in," Robin said. Mr Hale looked at him with a smile. "Well noted," Mr. Hale replied. "But enough about the fact that I am not an Elf. There are more important things at the moment..." "Like going inside," Sky interrupted him. "Can we please get inside as soon as possible!" Alexa started to laugh, but Sky continued to look at Mr. Hale with a saddened expression. "Yes, good Sky," Alexa said to him and turned her eyes. "Good break indeed, Sky," Mr. Hale said as seriously as possible, but he had to try very hard not to laugh. He opened the door and walked in. Sky ran directly after him and bumped into Mr. Hale again. "Sky can you please stay a few paces behind me? Thank you," said Mr. Hale. Sky took a step back and looked around. Robin, Jane and Alexa had come to stand next to Sky. "Wow," Robin said smothered. "Wow indeed," said Alexa. "This is the best time of my life!" She looked around her and saw a thousand different things. They had stepped into an entrance hall where a giant chandelier hung. The light from the chandelier shone all over the hall. In front of them was a wide staircase that led to a landing. It looked just like a castle. Alexa could already imagine herself walking down it wearing a wide dress. There were two cupboards next to the expensive one. On one cabinet were two vases with flowers. The other cabinet was full of figurines of all kinds of different people. Alexa looked more closely at the cupboard and saw that they were figurines representing elves. She turned around and looked where Jane had gone. Jane had walked over to a showcase and was looking intently at its contents. Alexa walked up to her and stood next to her. "These all look like medals and cups," Jane said as she stood beside her. In the cabinet hung five medals, each with a name on it. "These were rewards from the previous teams," Mr Hale told them. He had come to stand beside Alexa and was looking at the display case with a sad expression. "Strong groups and especially good friends." He turned and walked up the stairs. "May I have your attention for a moment?" asked Mr. Hale. "You will have plenty of things to look at and explore tomorrow, but I think now is mostly the time to go to sleep." He looked at the four of them. Sky stood with his shoulder against one of the pillars on the stairs and yawned loudly. "I think that's a good idea." "Good," Mr. Hale said. "Will you follow me to the bedrooms?" "Yes," Jane said immediately and walked over to Mr. Hale. "Mr. Hale, can I ask you something?" asked Robin to Mr. Hale. "If you call me Sam, yes?" he replied. "Okay... Were you also one of the members of a previous team, Sam?" "Yes," said Sam, "but that's for another time. You guys should really get some sleep." Alexa yawned at the same time as Sky. Sam continued walking upstairs. He opened a door that led to a long corridor. He walked to the second door and stood for a moment. "This is the meeting room where we will discuss everything." Sam opened the door and revealed a circular room. In the middle of the room was a round table. When everyone had looked into the room, Sam closed the door again. he turned back around and walked on to the end of the corridor. "Are all these rooms unused?" asked Jane. There were more than six doors in the corridor that they had walked past. "Yes and no," replied Sam, "I'll make it clear tomorrow which rooms you're allowed to enter and which you're not. But since you asked, the third and fifth rooms are two rooms where you are strictly forbidden." "Why?" asked Sky curiously. "Because it's my bedroom and Doctor Smith's room," Sam replied just as a door opened. A woman with short brown hair down to her shoulders walked out of the fifth door. She wasn't that tall, but you could tell she had a lot of say. "Ah, the new youngsters have arrived," the woman said. "Violette, this is Sky, Alexa, Jane and Robin," Sam said with a smile and said to the four, "Boys, this is Doctor Smith." "Say Violette, please," said Doctor Smith with friendly smile. "Hello," said Jane. "Good, do you want to go to the bedrooms or not?" asked Sam. "Yes," said Sky with a yawn. Sam opened the door at the end of the corridor, revealing an open space. Sky, Robin, Jane and Alexa walked in. The room had two openings. One on the left and one on the right. "The left side are the bedrooms for the girls and the right side is for the boys," Sam said as he stepped into the hall behind them. He pointed to the two doors on either side of the hall. "On the doors in the corridor your names are written. That is how you will find the right room. I'll let you go now and say 'sleep well'." Sam turned and walked away, but in the doorway he remained standing and turned back around. "Oh, and before I forget, tomorrow morning you are expected in the meeting room." He walked out, leaving the four behind. Sky was the first to say anything, "Sleep well, surely?" "Yeah, sleep well," Alexa said. They both walked to the two corridors and disappeared from sight. Robin and Jane were left alone. "Did you have something to ask?" asked Robin suddenly. "Me?" asked Jane startled. "No... you?" Robin looked at her genuinely but said nothing. Jane looked away from him and started to turn around. She didn't think Robin was going to say anything more, so she walked away. "Jane?" said Robin suddenly. She turned around and looked Robin straight in the eyes. "Yes?" Robin had walked up behind her and was now standing close to her that she almost didn't dare breathe. "Is there anything?" she asked breathlessly. "Sleep well," Robin said shortly. He turned and walked away. Jane stood with her arms by her body, dead still. When she had her breath under control again, she turned and walked to her room.