Orchid

A Half-Blood

As soon as Maeve gives the welcoming thing, I relax a little.

"Everyone out!" Nira commands. "I need to see her alone to check for injuries."

Maeve pauses and looks at her. "But I'm your apprentice!"

"Out," Nira says plainly, her hand going to her waist, fingers inching toward her knife.

The twins pout, but they and Fatespeaker and Farseer exit out of the cave.

Nira pays full attention to me. "Now, answer my question." She's pretty and cuts a striking figure, but no one can doubt her fighting skills. I would be a fool to cross her.

"My name's not Jade Santos," I say.

She nods, as if she expected that. "Of course."

"It's Orchid Evergreen."

Now Nira looks surprised. "Orchid? Like in the prophecy?" she asks softly.

"Yes."

Nira paces around, looking distressed. "Now we, the elves, have hold of the Orchid! If the Dark elves learn of it, they'll kill you for sure, even though their mistress wants you alive."

"Dark elves? There are such things? I thought elves were supposed to be friends of the fairies, singing to the birds and combing their hair by the water." Kaylen isn't a good example.

Nira rolls her eyes. "No. When Lycaeon broke the orb-that horrible witch-the elves split up. One side was loyal to her and were the Dark elves. One side remained loyal to Shira, our rightful ruler and were called the Light elves. I belong to Light, and so do the elves you just met." I start to protest about Kaylen, but she stops me with a open palm held in front of her in a stop sign. "I know, Kaylen doesn't like you very much because you are a human and yet, you found your way to our sacred tree. Usually, only elves can see the magical tree, but you are different."

"I'm a Warrior."

"I concluded that," Nira says patiently. "And your point?"

"Continue."

 "And like I said, Kaylen doesn't like you very much. She wanted to kill you for intruding, but her sister, Maeve, convinced her otherwise. Maeve also convinced our queen, Kc, to let you in. You will have an audience with her later, at sunset, the Light elves's sacred time."

 "Is she nice?" I ask anxiously. I wouldn't want another person to meet me and declare me better as dead, like Kaylen.

  Nira laughs, though not harshly. "If opinions have a say in anything, I'd say yes. She's been a kind, honest, and fair ruler since she was on the throne at twelve. She's fourteen now."

 "I'm guessing that age has nothing to do with the royals."

 Nira shakes her head. "Nope. It's all about bloodline. Like, in ancient Egypt, King Tut was only ten-ish when he was put at the throne."

 I remember Lycaeon talking about her husbands. "How old is Lycaeon, and how come she looks like a teenager?"

 "She was born since the beginning of time--when the great nebula opened and formed the Sun, the moon, and the stars. They warred much, until they had a child each: Solara..." She catches my questioning gaze. "And no, not the Earth elementalist Solara. That's her namesake. Solara was the daughter of the Sun, Lunaria was the daughter of the Moon, and Stella was the daughter of the stars. Solara, Lunaria, and Stella were gentle and kind, and were beautiful maidens in their own way. But they were all radiant. 

 "Solara met Lunaria as the Sun and the Moon fought and clashed with each other for dominance. The two became friends quickly and made peace. Then they met Stella, and the same happened, and peace was so good their mothers made peace too and gave birth to many other children. The planets were formed soon.