The Queen of the Elves

Chapter 2

Bernard and Richie were misfits. They weren’t completely human, and it showed. They weren’t completely elf, and that, though it wouldn’t be obvious to us, showed as well. That's what happens when you're a halfling. Richie was older than Bernard by a few months and shorter by about an inch. Bernard was tall and thin, with shaggy, floppy, wavy hair. Richie on the other hand was short and more muscular, with military-short hair and the beginnings of whiskers. They could do things that humans couldn't do, that all elves could do, like disappear, but they had also been given special elfin gifts by their fathers that were solely theirs. Only a rare few elves had them. Richie could look into someone's eyes and make them pass out. He could also shut off a person's mind, where they don't know what's happening and just kind of stand there. He was also very talented with a sword. Bernard had a cross-bow. He liked it better than a regular bow because almost all elves were able to use a bow. Besides that Bernard had an opposite talent from Richie’s: he could look at a person and awaken their soul. He could also simply awaken them from slumber. It only took once glance. His talent at first had seemed to make people feel good, but as he got older the things awakened in souls became darker and darker and he began to wonder if there was good left.

Caroline didn't understand what was happening, she was staring at the teacher and the teacher was looking directly at her, but he didn't do anything. There she was being abducted by two teenagers who had never really seemed in their right minds anyway, and there Mr. Carter stood staring at her and Richie and Bernard, smiling and continuing on like everything was perfectly normal.

Richie's hat tasted like metal, or home-grown lettuce: it was really bitter… and gross. She kept trying to get it out of her mouth, but it just wouldn't budge. She could climb trees, and carry stuff, and could hold up her own weight, she had never really thought of herself as weak, but no one had ever tried to overpower her. Now she knew: she could struggle all she wanted, she could struggle until she passed out from fatigue and Richie would still be stronger than her. Well, she knew that, and she knew it was hopeless, but she certainly wasn't going to let him get away with this without some struggle. He should at least have to exert a little energy, her life cost at least that.

She saw Mason going into the train car that they had just left and wondered if he was looking for her, or just his backpack. She wished for him to look and see her. He would do something, unlike that nit-wit teacher; Mason would at least try to help.

"Mason!" she thought beseechingly, "Oh Mason, turn around!"

To her utter amazement and pure joy he turned his head and she saw his eyes widen. He stared at her for a minute, and then looked at the teacher. She pulled at Richie to try to keep Mason in her view, but Richie pulled harder and led her around the front of the train. What would Mason do?

Mason didn't know what to do. Somehow Caroline and the two boys had become invisible to the humans. They were taking Caroline somewhere against her will and it was his job to protect her. But could he take on two half elves who had been trained in the art of weaponry? Yes, Mason knew what they were. In fact he had known before they had. Mason had a gift too, but he wasn't an elf.

He didn’t think he could take them both on, but he couldn't let Caroline be taken either, so he did the next best thing to rescuing her: he followed them. Mason could be very sneaky and if he didn't want to be observed then you wouldn't even know he was there. He followed the little group with great cunning and kept up with them easily. He could see them clearly, for even though he wasn't an elf, he wasn't human either. The powder they had used was to cloak them only from human eyes.

Bernard didn't sense anything, nothing at all, but Richie had the ominous feeling one gets when being followed. He couldn't seem to shake it, but he did shake Caroline. She squirmed and writhed fiercely for such a little thing, but he easily held her. He shook her in an attempt to silence her: they might be invisible, but they could still be heard. As soon as a human noticed the noise something happened. Richie didn't know what, but he knew it was terrible. So he shook her, only slightly, and she ceased her noise.