Empath of the Forbidden Cities

Chapter 3

 Keefe couldn't talk.

Couldn't move.

How did they know he was an elf?

Waves of fear washed over Keefe.

She saw the recognition of that in Keefe's eyes, and she held her hands up, showing that she meant no harm.

"Don't worry if you are. We are too." She swept her hand to indicate the others in the group. Keefe didn't know what to make of the sudden turn of events. He had never heard of other elves being in the Forbidden Cities. It was in the name. The Forbidden Cities.

At that moment Keefe became unstuck.

"I never realized other elves were here."

Thelia nodded.

"We're not really surprised," Facet interjected, "Those in the Lost Cities either don't remember us, or they don't care enough to go looking." Keefe was stunned. His friends would always- and probably were already- searching for him. He couldn't believe that the Lost Cities just... gave up on them.

"They wouldn't be able to find us if they tried." Oracle continued. "Thelia has already set up some pretty epic illusions around the place."Keefe looked back at her. "You're a shade? Or a flasher I guess?"

Thelia shook her head.

"It's kinda... complicated. I'll explain if it becomes relevant."

Keefe really wanted to know, but they didn't press him about anything, so why should he be any different? He decided not to ask, and Thelia already promised to tell him if she ever needed to anyway.

Thelia cleared her throat, then stuck out her hand as an invite. "Do you want me to show you where your room is?" Keefe nodded his agreement, and she led him down a different hallway in the library.

"How big is this place?" Keefe asked. It seemed to go on for ages. Thelia shrugged. "We found it a few years back, and we never really bothered to explore the whole place at once, so there are probably a bunch of hallways and rooms we don't know about." They turned a corner. "It's crazy how different elvin and human architecture are." Thelia breathed. Keefe was puzzled. "What do you mean?" Thelia paused, then continued, "Well, they don't use jewels to build, and their houses are always so miniscule compared to the ones in the Lost Cities. I know my old house looked nothing like this." Keefe wanted to ask her what it was like, but then Thelia led him through a door, presumably into his new room.

There were high ceilings, almost the size of an atrium, and there were a few flowered vines draping across the walls. But the most stunning part was the stained glass window. It was large, almost half the room's size. Keefe had seen a few pieces of stained glass on certain human buildings, but he never saw what they looked like from the inside. The moonlight filtered through, turning the floor into a pale ombre of color.

"I'm going to get going." Thelia explained, then she walked out of the room, leaving Keefe alone. Keefe layed down on the bed, and thought about how much his situation had changed in the past few hours. He made a mental list in his mind.

Have a Place to Stay, Check.

Find Other Elves, Check.

Eat a Decent Piece of Food, Check.

He still wished 'Went Back to the Lost Cities' was on that list, but that was a box that was never going to be filled.

Based on his current state, Keefe assumed sleep would be impossible. Maybe he should explore, try to find something to do.

He left his room, scanning the walls of the hallway. He walked for a while, not really sure where he was going, and not really caring. He stopped in the middle of an intersection. He hoped he would hear someone down one of the halls, alerting him to which path he should take, but the silence felt almost suffocating. He descerned he probably wouldn't find anyone, and decided to double back and go back to his room.

He turned to go back, then he realized... he didn't remember which path he took. He'd gotten turned around at the intersection, and didn't know how to get back to his room. Keefe knew that if he went down a random path, he would probably only get more lost, but he didn't have any other options, so he took the path to his right and followed it. He decided that he would count to one thousand, and if he found nothing familiar or nobody found him, then he would go back to the intersection and take another path.

At seven-hundred thirty nine, he froze. He could hear something but wasn't sure what it was. He picked up his pace, and ended up running into the clearing that the hallway led to. The wind swirled around the space, brushing up against what was making the sound.

Wind chimes.

Hundreds of them.

They were hanging from the trees, some metal, some wood, and there were a few that were even made out of crystal. The wind blew again, igniting the bell-like tinkling.

"I see you've found the Tuned Clearing."

Keefe whipped around to see another girl, younger than him. Seeing his expression, she immediately said, "Oh, I didn't mean to scare you! I move pretty quietly, so I've seen a few startled faces in my time." She talked fast, and Keefe chuckled at the young girl's energy.

"What are you doing out here?" The girl questioned. She had moved forward and was now standing behind him. She had tan skin and black hair, with teal eyes, and the tips of her hair were dyed bright green. Keefe shrugged. "I left my room earlier and don't know the way back..." The girl smiled, in an understanding sort of way. "Yeah, I've been there. When I first came it took me two months to memorize the layout—I'm Bloom by the way." He nodded. "Keefe."

He turned towards her. "Are you an elf as well?" She shook her head. "I'm no elf, but everyone always says that I have an aptitude for any and all kinds of plants."

That explained the nickname. Keefe was ready to reply when the wind picked up. After that he couldn't reply if he tried.

He was speechless.

The millions of chimes started tinkling, filling the air with a melody that somehow both felt random and synchronized. The bushes and trees swayed as well, and it almost seemed like those sounds seamlessly flowed into song. He only half heard Bloom say that she would lead him back to his room.

As he collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep, he swore he still heard the chimes ringing in his mind.