Underground

Chapter One

Two Elders stood gazing down at the young infant playing with her feet, while the proud parents sat in the chairs nearby and talked among themselves. The Elders appeared to be identical with the same bright green eyes, straight noses, and long pointed ears. Their wrinkles also matched, as well as the silvery fine hair that reached the small of their backs. If it weren't for the long beard that Jacin wore, the others would not be able to tell them apart. Jacin leaned to his brother's side and whispered, "She looks like her mother, doesn't she." His brother grinned, the wrinkles crinkling. The baby girl giggled in her crib, starring at the two strange faces looking back at her. Her silver eyes held curiosity as she continued to reach for her little toes.

"Shall we tell them?" the shaven-faced twin, Angelo, asked, glancing at his brother.

His twin shrugged, burdened with the knowledge of what he must tell. Taking that as approval, Angelo walked towards the couple sitting on the couch. The woman had fair skin and midnight colored hair that reached her hips. Her brown eyes twinkled when she looked back at her child, her red lips stretched in a smile when she heard the giggles coming from the crib. She held the hand of a tall proud man with reddish blonde hair to his neck. His nose was crooked from the battles he's fought and his eyes that his daughter shared had a scar running down from the left eye down to his jaw line, yet this seemed to emphasize his looks. They both shared the slender pointed ears and slanted eyes of the Elven race.

"King, she will not be like other children. The magic surrounding her is powerful; we cannot remove it. Whether it will be a blessing or a curse, we do not know." Angelo said quietly.

"Is there anything we can do?" Queen Ireth asked, her eyes gazing hopefully at the Elder.

"There is, but there is no way to know if it will work." Jacin answered as he made his way over from the crib to stand beside his brother.

"Well, what is it?" The King asked impatiently, standing up from his chair. He began pacing around the room while running his hands through his hair. "If there is any way to save our daughter, please, tell us and we'll do anything."

"We recommend sending her to live with the Dragons." Jacin said.

"Why the Dragons?" The Queen interrupted.

"They can be trusted with the secret. It is forbidden to speak of classified information to any who have no permission in their culture; the punishments are severe. With their complicated underground cities, any who wish to use her will have trouble finding her. It is the perfect solution."

"Except for one tiny detail," the Queen added, "she is not a dragon."

"Ah, yes." Angelo interjected, "You see, what outsiders do not know, dragons have two appearances. The ferocious giant lizard with wings and the Saval. It's quite interesting, actually, they appear similar to that of Elves, but they have a stronger build such as the giants and they keep their fangs."

Angelo and Jacin waited while the parents digested the information they gave them. After several moments, the King came to a conclusion. "How long do we have?" he said slowly.

"Till tomorrow." The brothers said in unison.

"When will we see her again?"

"When the time is right." Jacin answered after several moments.

Angelo shot him an accusing look when the Royals were distracted. His twin only shrugged and fiddled with his beard. "We will leave you and come at noon tomorrow. Pack whatever personal belonging you wish to leave her." Gesturing for his brother to follow, Jacin bowed and left through the open door. Once they were a safe distance away from the nursery, Angelo stopped his brother.

"Why didn't you tell them the rest?" He accused.

"They are losing their only child, anymore and we would've crushed them with misery."

"So what, we never tell them and let them figure it out on their own?"

Jacin sighed and gazed out the nearby window. "When we were passed the role of Elder, did you ever imagine it would be this much of a burden?" he asked, changing the topic.

"Don't change the subject."

"Fine."

"When do we tell them?"

"We don't. It would be cruel to tell them that they will never see their child again."

"They have the right to know."

"What good will come out of it, brother?" Jacin countered, pointing a long finger at his identical twin.

"Will we tell them of the battle?" Angelo asked after a long pause.

"Yes, but no more. What we can tell them, however, is that their child will be a great hero if she chooses the right path."

"And if she follows the wrong one?"

"Then the world we live in will truly be lost."