SCOLD

CHAPTER 3: SCOLD

The day following our birthday party, Shawn and I talked more about med school and what he might specialize in. Right now, it's general surgery, but I feel he'll find something farther into school and change. Jason is a general surgery doctor; Shawn is possibly following in his footsteps. When/if that happens, I'm not sure where I'll be. Could be in Scold's world far away. I found myself staring out the window some nights wondering what Scold looked like and the surrounding world. Days turned into weeks and I was on edge every day about the Scold guards coming to get me. I wish there was a way to contact Piltos so he could give me a better timeframe. I feared being taken so badly, I hired a bodyguard to escort me to and from work or anywhere else I went. No one questioned me because they knew the circumstances. I've even tried thinking of places I could go to find the mystery portal here in Burlington. I was unsuccessful in all locations I went to.

I got so distracted with work and Christmas coming up that when two fully armoured elven men approached me as I came outside the diner after my shift, I had no words. I had no words because I had no way of defending myself or getting away. I had the choice to go back inside and get my co-worker to call my family but the looks they gave me made me feel like I didn't have the option anymore. Should I scream? Should I faint? I didn't know what to do or say but the guard did.

"Genevieve Vanburg?" the first guard asked. The elven armour suited these men. They were taller. One had long blonde hair in a ponytail and the other had short curly blonde hair. Both bright blue eyes. I felt out of place because I had brown hair and green eyes. Probably took after my birth mother more than my birth father. As far as I knew my father was elven; a well-known one and easy to kill apparently.

"Can I help you?" I replied pretending not to know what was going to happen. The short-haired elf approached me waved his hand near my face and everything went black. When I woke up, I was dizzy and delusional. It took a few moments for me to realize I was in a van. I lay there, waiting for someone to say something or acknowledge I was awake. No one else was in here with me. Not too long later, a man opened the side door and waved for me to get out.

"I'm Piltos, guardian of the elves," he said after closing the van door behind me. I didn't say anything just followed the man. We walked into a large building through the front doors and then walked out the back door, staying on the steps. From the steps, I saw a massive field with training courses and people fighting each other. The edge of the field was walled up maybe twenty feet high, with a single door straight ahead of me on the far end.

Piltos reached into his right pocket and blew a whistle, but before he did, he said,

"Plug your ears." I did. Then he blew as hard as he could. Seconds later, people came piling through a small gate. They hurried to go into groups. Ten groups. There were ten different SPN races here. Damn.

"The whistle is for emergencies only Piltos," a girl said. Long blond hair, medium-sized body, tan-coloured skin, and bright blue eyes. Is she an elf too?

"Yes, I know, but I thought this could be an emergency," indicating me. "SPNs, I'd like you to meet our newest recruit, Genevieve. Can anyone guess what she is?" he asked. My ears were hidden under my hair, so it wasn't obvious. There was silence for a few seconds, then another girl said,

"Mind Tricks." I shook my head slowly. Then a man stepped forward. Tall. Larger build, brown hair like me, and blue eyes. Oh, thank goodness.

"She's an Elf," he said smiling. This man hadn't kept his eyes off me. I guessed that he was an Elf as well and that's why he chose elf.

"How did you figure that, Terence," Piltos asked.

"Because of the way she shook her head," he replied not breaking eye contact with me.