Sapphire Fire

Prologue

     A small clock on the fireplace mantle let out a quiet chime as the minute hand and the hour hand aligned on top of the twelve.  It wasn't too cold outside, but a butler had lit the fire anyways knowing any troubled sleepers would enjoy the extra warmth if they happened upon the room it was in.  The moon shone brightly in the night sky, not quite full but very close.  The two creatures that were presently in the warm study were well aware of the approach of the full moon, despite the heavy black curtains drawn over all the windows in the room.  Their blood was well aware.  Their elfin blood was filled to the brim with magic on the nights of the full moon.  It was then that it reached its maximum.  But elves were not the only creatures of the realm.  There were still some humans in this realm.  There were also many rumors of another species.  A secret, ancient species.  The sapphirians.

     "What do you know about sapphirians?" the boy leaning up against the edge of the fireplace bricks asked quietly, nervously staring down into the fire.

     The girl sitting on the couch on the other side of the fireplace quickly glanced up at the boy's shadow covered face.  She could vaguely make out his features and saw him run a hand through his black hair.  She broke out of her stupor with a start.

     "Sapphirians?!" she shouted, so alarmed by the mention of them that she had shot up from the couch without even realizing it.  She was surprised because she knew they were not part of his school studies.  In fact, they weren't part of anyone's school studies.  They hadn't been for at least a hundred years.

     He whipped his head up away from the fire to face her.  His wide eyes pierced straight through her as he hurriedly put a finger to his lips.  He turned away from her, eyes gliding around the room to make sure no one had snuck in to see what the commotion was about.  Once he was reassured of the emptiness of the room, he motioned for her to take her seat.  After debating a moment, she reclaimed the couch, while he followed suit on the couch across from it.  She stared at him until he finally looked up at her.

     "Yes, sapphirians.  What do you know about them?"

     He felt he had to know.  He had to learn as much about them as he could before he left.

     "Well..." she quickly lowered her voice at the sharp look he gave her and picked up something off of the couch.  She tapped her fingers on the book she now held in her hands as she contemplated her answer.  How much could she tell him without giving her secrets away?  How much would be too much?

     "Well," she began again, discarding the book and playing with the bottom of her sleep shirt instead, "they are healers that use a different kind of magic than elves do.  Nobody really knows where their magic comes from, only that they don't have much of it."

     She trailed off as she noticed his eager eyes shining like the light from the fire.

     "What else?" he questioned excitedly, sitting on the edge of his seat.  His pale skin reflected the dancing flames in the fireplace as he leaned forward a little bit more.

     She sighed, feeling slightly uncomfortable with the intensity of his stare.  She racked her mind for something that could possibly be included in the ancient texts in the palace library as she intentionally avoided his eyes.  She hadn't even read them.

     "Their saliva is healing.  They would mix it with a special balm to put on flesh woun-"

     "What is the balm made of?" he interrupted.

     The girl sighed again, slightly irritated with being interrupted, but slightly amused with his extreme interest.

     "Oh, you know, leaves and creams and of course some secret ingredients."  She chuckled a little bit.  "I'm not entirely sure."

     A hush fell over the room when she finished.  The only sound was the crackling of the fire until the boy decided to break the silence with another quiet question.

     "What happened to them?"

     She shrugged.

     "Nobody has seen one for hundreds of years.  Some people are starting to say they are just a rumor created by the light elves."

     She had to restrain herself from snorting at that, even as she spoke it.  Unlike creatures from other realms, elves were not classified by good and evil.  Instead, they were classified by the color of their eyes.  Green for the woodland elves.  Blue for the light elves.  Black for the dark elves and gold for the ever-elusive sky elves.  The girl quieted her voice even further as she placed her elbows on her knees and leaned forward.

     "Some people hold on to the belief that they are still out there."  Her eyes slowly drifted over to him.  "Somewhere."  His eyes met hers and she quickly looked away.  "Why do you ask?"

     "What do you think?  Do you think they are still out there?" he asked in a hushed whisper, completely ignoring her question.

     She looked straight into his icy blue eyes before averting her gaze so he wouldn't see the guilt on her face.  Staring intently at the bricks that made up the front of the fireplace, she finally gave him her answer.

     "I'm not sure, Jesse.  I'm really not sure."

     She spoke the words so quietly he might have thought he'd imagined them if he hadn't been looking directly at her when she spoke them.  He couldn't help but stare at the half of her face he could currently see.  She had finally said his name.