Eternal Bond: A Shapeshifter's Salvation For An Elf

Chapter 1

   Our story takes place in the little village of Silver Thorn. It's summer time, so the land is green and full of life. In the town there is a bakery that has been run by the same family for ages, 'Sweeties' is the name of it, named after the original owner Ron Sweets, now passed down to his children. Next to the bakery, there is the 'Book Store', while not filled with books, there are plenty to choose from. Across the way from the bakery and the library is the Liquid Luxe, a pub/housing building, run by Madame Craine. All along the streets there were carts for vendors to sell their goods. From fresh fruits and vegetables, to jewelry, perfumes, and other rare found items. While Silver Thorn is a small village, they get many travelers that pass through and sell their goods until they move on to the next village.  

   The biggest building in the village is the town hall, this is where all the members of the village that work to help keep it afloat gather and discuss important topics to better the village and its people. Next to the hall there are houses, not big ones, but big enough for small families to live comfortably in.  The house all the way at the end, is the only one with a chimney on the side, and that is the house where the Ripley family lives, Susan, Emma and Will. The house had two bedrooms, a gathering room where they would eat and work on their homework, there was a room off to the back with a bathtub and a toilet, and towards the front of the house was a large kitchen. Plants and herbs were strung up to dry, creating a very floral aroma that carried throughout the house, a wood burning stove was along one wall with a cast iron cauldron sitting on top waiting to be used. Next to the stove is a cabinet that is lined with different dishes and empty bottles for tinctures and oils. In the center of the kitchen is an island counter with different books and journals as well as crumbs from herbs scattered around from someone recently working there. 

   The first person to wake up was the mother of the home, Susan Ripley. The Ripley's were one of the families that founded Silver Thorn, so Susan has always been respected by the members of the village. At 54 years old, she still has her slim figure along with her gentle and welcoming aura. Her face still looking youthful, with minimal wrinkles to show her age and big blue eyes, the only indicator that she was older was her long gray hair. Susan, upon waking, walked into the kitchen and grabbed the kettle to fill with water to make her some hot tea before starting breakfast. The house is quiet, with the soft sound of metal clinging from moving things around to prepare food. Not long after she puts biscuits in to cook and starts up the bacon and eggs, is she accompanied by little Will who was still wiping the sleep from his eyes. Will is 13 years old stands 5 feet tall, brown fluffy hair with bright blue eyes like Susan as well as a tan complexion from being in the sun. He walks into the gathering room and sits at the table, a sleepy look on his face, he sits there and lets out a little cough. 

   "Good morning Will." his mother said from the kitchen. "Breakfast will be ready soon, would you like something to drink for your dry throat?" she asked while grabbing for a cup from the cabinet. 

   Shaking his head yes as he covers his mouth to cough again, "Yes please momma." 

   She takes him over a glass of water, and sets it on the table beside him, then walks back in to the kitchen to finish making food. A noise from the back of the house is heard, and in walks Emma to the gathering room. She walks over and sits next to Will, messing with his hair and smiling at him. 

   Emma was 25 years old and stood five feet two inches tall. She was beautiful with pale skin that had a blush around her nose and cheeks, long light brown hair that had a natural curl to it, green eyes that glistened like emeralds and smooth skin that gave her a doll like appearance. Emma was different from all the others in the village, even though everyone treated her no different. When Emma was only a baby, maybe a few weeks old, she was found swaddled in silk laying next to a tree stump, by Susan Ripley, and the moment she seen Emma, she knew that she needed to take her home and take care of her. You see, Emma was an elf, and her ears made that very clear to everyone of what she was, but because of who her adopted mother was, Emma was treated like all the other children of the village as she grew up and it allowed her to excel in her studies of plant medicine.