Project Raven

Chapter 3

Can you hear me Charlotte? A voice called in my head. I slowly opened my eyes to Mr. Forkle's bloated body, glad to see worry disappear from his face. "How long was I out?" I asked groggily, unprepared for his answer. "Twenty hours, Killian said the first transition should take a lot out of you, but I did not expect you to be out for that long." "Twenty four hours!" I shouted "oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shout, I'm feeling really weird right now" a confusing sensation flew through my body, I couldn't really understand the meaning of it. "You manifested as an empath." He explained "I helped give it a little push, but overall, once you turned back into an elf your body started doing it's thing." He called someone outside the door, " You're welcome to come in now" and then turned back to me. "Elwin is going to do a check up on you, but before he starts, we're going to check whether or not you are allergic to limbium." I froze at the name. Sophie was deathly allergic to limbium, a common ingredient in many Elvin medicines. As a drop of the silvery liquid dropped onto my tongue, I felt it swell and bristle, my throat closing off and breathing felt impossible. After what felt like eternity, but was probably a few seconds, liquid was pushed into my mouth, an antidote, opening my airways and letting air flow into my lungs. The air feel so good and refreshing, and my dry throat felt good as new once I chugged down a bottle of youth.

"I'm so sorry," whispered Mr. Forkle, the worried crease back in the furrow between his eyebrows. "I thought you're reaction would be much less severe than Sophie's. I was hoping that you would not be allergic at all but it turns out you reacted to one drop as much as she would react to ten!" I tuned him out as he continued to worriedly babble, Elwin flashing colored lights around my body. I popped out of my daze as he addressed me. "I realized that I haven't actually introduced myself," he said with a wide smile "I'm Elwin, and through the books that Mr. Forkle told me about I'm pretty sure you know that you can trust me with practically any injury you want to throw at me." He gave me a wink as I returned a shy smile. I did know him through the books. His cheerful smile assured me that I was going to be just fine, and the animals on his shirt were just as crazy as I would have expected.

He handed me a list of paper with a list of elixir names scribbled on it. "Just the normal" he assured me with a bright smile "this is just about what I made Sophie drink the first few weeks she was in the lost cities." He explained, "and since you lived in the forbidden cities a few years longer than Sophie did, the list is a bit longer. I also want you to drink at least two bottles of youth a day for two months, just to clean out your system." He finished with a wink. "How about I give these to Grady and Edaline, so that They can have them ready after the councillors meet you." I couldn't speak. I still couldn't process what was happening to me.

I knew when coming here that I would have to prove to members of the council that I belong in Foxfire, and that I would have a new adoptive family in the lost cities. I just couldn't believe it. "So I'm staying with Edaline, Grady, and Sophie?" I asked, watching panic fill Mr. Forkle's eyes as he noticed that he didn't tell me before. "Yes, Grady and Edaline told me that they would love you to join the family, and Sophie agreed with them, telling us that she was the only one who knows how it feels like to... you know" he finished awkwardly. I could almost feel the pity he was sending towards me. How it feels like to be a lab experiment. But at the end, he was right, and I was glad to have a friend on my side. I smiled, and he continued, "The gnomes already started building another floor to Havenfield, but it should take another week, Alden and Della welcome you to stay at their house until your room at Havenfield is ready. They even invited Sophie, Keefe, Tam, Linh, and Marella for a sleepover, so you won't be lonely." He said, a smile crawling across my face. I was excited to finally actually get to know the people I knew so well through the books.

Mr. Forkle opened the door and called Biana. Once he told her that she was to elf-ify me, because "If she is an elf, she has to look like it" I knew I was in for the infamous Biana makeover. A crazy outfit and an outrageous hairdo later (which, by the way, I made her change and simplify), I looked into her full - sized mirror. I took in a breath. I couldn't believe what I saw in the mirror. This was the first time I saw myself as an elf. I wore the classic Elvin boots, black leggings, a maroon tunic and a royal purple cape, but my eyes were what made my heart skip a beat. I had purple tinted periwinkle eyes sprinkled with specks of purple, I had to close my eyes and open them again, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. "The cape really brings out your eyes, don't you think?" Biana asked with a grin, hardly surprised by my purple eyes, she had probably become accustomed to odd eye colors by hanging out with Sophie for so long. Mr. Forkle entered the room and told me that the councillors we're ready for me. I was one hundred percent sure though, that I was not ready for them. In a trance, I took his hand, and walked to a closed door. I knew that once I stepped inside, I would set my fate, and I hoped I would make a good first impression for at least a few members of the council.