They Do Exist

They Do Exist (14)

Chapter Fourteen-- "Such Small Hands" -La Dispute

“ Layla”

I rolled over.

“Layla, dear.”

Grandma? I opened my eyes.

My grandma was in front of me, a light surrounding her like a halo. How much I missed her.  Seeing her soft, graying blonde hair and her bright blue eyes that matched my own made me miss her so much more.  She was stunning to say the least. I wish I had half the beauty she had.  One thing about her was different though.  Her ears were long and pointed.  Just like Gabe’s and Alana’s.

It made her strangely unfamiliar to me.

“Layla, listen to me.  Things may seem calm at first, but there’s something big coming.  Something I should have prepared you for, but I’m so so sorry.” Tears started to rim her eyes.

“What are you talking about? Don’t cry. Please.” I wanted to reach out and touch her, but the closer I moved toward her, the farther away she became.

“Layla, you’re gifted. Very gifted, and I never told you this because I wanted to protect you.  But if they find out how gifted you are, they will try to destroy you like they did me. Find the necklace I left for you, and you will be able to keep your gift a secret.”

Her voice started to fade.  “What do you mean I’m gifted!?” I shouted after her.

She said something but I couldn’t hear it, and as I started to run after her, she up and disappeared.

I woke with a startle.  I was vaguely confused as to where I was, then I remembered.

Jerkface aka: Gabe. Palace. Alana. Elves. Guest Room. Meeting the Queen.

I gulped. Ugh. I felt like I hadn’t showered in a month. I got up and opened a door to which I assumed was my bathroom.

It was bright and pretty.  The sun beamed in from a skylight and lit up the room and there was a huge mirror across one side of the bathroom with a long wooden/granite sink underneath it.  The floor was a cream colored tile and the shower could fit at least three people in it.  I won’t be annoying and tell you how amazing it was and what not, because honestly. It’s a castle. I was kind of expecting everything to be super nice.

I fiddled around with random doors that had miscellaneous things in them that I would never use, until I found a closet with clean towels. I grabbed one and quickly turned the shower on. I striped down and did an awkward little dance, shifting my weight between both my feet until I was sure the shower had warmed up. As soon as the shower hit my dirty cuts I flinched. The water was hot and my wounds were incredibly human. I really felt the pain when the giant gash in my wrist stung. I smacked my other hand against my head. Great, I forgot all about it and now everyone has probably already seen it and made horrific unrealistic judgments about me. Here I am in a world that most likely feeds on the weak, and I’m like a piece of meat in front of tons of ravenous lions.  A weak human girl that has no backbone to make her even the least bit intimidating. I started humming mayday parade to get my mind off of all the things threatening to explode in my head, until I was done showering.

I wrapped the towel around me and got out.

“About time.” I jumped and shrieked.

Alana was standing there with a smirk on her face. She laughed at my girly response.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.  Just wanted to tell you to get dressed, you’re probably starving and the queen has made it known that she wants you to eat with her tonight.”