CORRUPTED FILE [Lumina Chronicles Past Drafts]

Level Twenty-One: I Cross The Line And Pay For It

I spent the first hour of the party being led around the room by Faye and Serpina as they introduced me to member after member of the Abandoned Order, most of which I forgot the names of instantly.

"This gentleman here is Nikko, he's an elf." Faye said, gesturing to the extremely tall man with long white hair, white eyes, and pointed ears.

"Um... hello," I said politely, waving up at him. He was a good three feet taller than me, and everyone else in the room!

He nodded with a blank expression, not saying anything.

I glanced over at Faye, not entirely sure how to respond, but she just smiled brightly and patted his arm, "Thanks for coming, Nik, it means a lot." She chirped, then pushed me along. "He's blind," She informed me once we were out of earshot, her expression grave. "It happened back when we were young, I don't remember how. He's a very nice man once you get to know him."

Next she led me to a girl with fiery orange hair, who was apparently very comfortable with herself. "Hi!" the girl exclaimed, throwing her arms around me in a tight hug, which I returned stiffly. "I always love meeting new friends. Especially humans! What's your name?" She asked, her coppery eyes bright.

"Maggie," I replied, keeping my eyes on the floor.

"Oh, well I'm Inari," She announced, fluffing her curly orange hair and winking, "That means Fox."

"Cool," I nodded, feeling extremely awkward.

"I'm going to introduce her to the others now," Faye laughed to Inari. "Maggie's never met a shape-shifter before and she's probably a bit uncomfortable."

"I can be a lot to handle," Inari nodded, smiling slyly.

"She's not wearing any clothing." I hissed to Faye as she pushed me toward the next person.

"Indeed she's not," Faye replied nonchalantly.

"She is in a crowded place, completely naked!" I stressed, just in case Faye missed my point. "You don't see anything wrong with that?"

"I'm just happy she's in human form for once," Faye stated with a shrug, "It's a shape shifter thing."

"Okay then," I nodded. So far, Kindle, Faye, and Serpina were the most normal members of the Abandoned Order. That was a terrifying thought.

"Here's the last person I want you to meet; my close friend Emrys." Faye said, leading me to the corner of the room where there was literally a tree growing from the floor. "She's a bit of a wallflower," Faye whispered.

"She's a tree," I stated. I was beginning to think that this 'meet the members' thing was just an elaborate prank. Faye shot me a tiny glare and elbowed me. "Ow!"

"She's a dryad, and be nice," Faye replied, "I said she's shy. If you were shy and meeting someone for the first time, how would you feel if that person looked at you and said," Faye looked at me and mimicked my skepticism, "She's a human."

"Okay, I get it," I sighed. I looked over at the tree and, though it felt odd, apologized, "I'm sorry if I insulted you... Emrys."

"It's okay, I hear it a lot." The tree— Emrys whispered in reply. Her voice was so quiet I could barely hear her.

I blinked, surprised to have gotten a response at all.

"I should be the one apologizing to you, Magdalyn." Emrys murmured, and I had to lean in closer to hear. "I was in the forest that day, the day you first came here. It's my job to guard the castle from intruders, I told the king and queen you and your friend were out there."