Nick: A Winter's Tale

Chapter Four: The Keepers of the Forest

Nick slowly got to his feet, clutching his head as the pain of having fallen finally overpowered the adrenaline. As his vision unblurred, he saw who had spoken; it was a man, sat with his legs crossed casually, in a seat across the room from the bed. His hair was a deep oaken brown and seemed rough, his eyes were a sharp green and his skin was the same colour as the numerous pine trees that populated the region.

"Who are you?" Nick asked. To his relief, this stranger answered.

"I am Lu'cian," he said. He was softly spoken, though his voice seemed to carry with it an echo of authority. His voice was strangely familiar. He continued, "I'm one of the wood elves that govern this region"

"You're... an elf?" Nick repeated, an air of disbelief in his voice, "I thought elves were fairytales."

"As we'd expect you to believe," Lu'cian replied, "Believe me, you've earned a great privilege being allowed into our village. But seeing as you saved me and my daughter..."

"That was you?" Nick interrupted, "In the forest with those... things?"

"Indeed," said Lu'cian, stoking the fireplace as though all of this was normal, "You did me a great service in returning my daughter to me. I couldn't simply abandon you, despite the grumblings of Ar'gin."

"Who?" asked Nick. He was in over his head already, he assumed it couldn't get much worse.

"The village elder," Lu'cian replied, "She decrees our laws and protects our home. She feared bringing you here would threaten our safety, but I was able to convince her otherwise when I told her of your actions."

"Thank you, I suppose," said Nick. He noticed a small, circular window near the bed, and he peered through. He caught a glimpse of what seemed to be a ring of small huts carved into small mounds, buried in snow, almost perfectly disguised with the environment of the snowy forest around it. He was certainly not in Hilldale any more.

In the clearing around which these underground dwellings were situated, he could see more elves tending to chores and jobs, though he couldn't quite make out their unique details from the small view he had.

"Come," said Lu'cian, "We have much to talk about."

Lu'cian led him through the living quarters of his home, where Nick spotted the small girl he'd rescued the night before. She waved at him with a cheerful smile, which Nick returned. Even in a situation of questioning his own reality, Nick liked to see he had made someone happy.

"This is Ara," Lu'cian introduced his daughter.

"Hello, Ara," said Nick softly, "My name's Nicholas. Everyone calls me Nick."

"Nick," said Lu'cian, "I do apologise, in all the excitement its occurred to me I never asked your name."

"Oh, its okay," said Nick awkwardly. Ara greeted him before going back to what she was been doing before; weaving together strands of twine to make a small toy. At this point, Nick turned and noticed a large standing mirror across the room, where he saw himself. Except, he was different than he remembered.

His auburn hair had changed to a pure, almost sparkling white, his skin was noticeably paler and his eyes were a bright, stark shade of icy blue.

"Come along, Nick," said Lu'cian, "We have much to discuss."

After he broke free of his stunned silence by the mirror, Nick followed Lu'cian outside into the clearing that seemed to make up the village's square. As he emerged, he heard the murmuring and saw as the other elves pointed and whispered to one another. It seemed to them, he was the unusual one. He surmised that if one elf found their way into Hilldale, they too would point and stare.