CAPTIVE by the Prince

Chapter Fourteen

They emerged from the woods and were now at the entrance of a small clearing. The clearing was surrounded by large emerald crystals that gave off a soft glow of light. In the middle of the clearing was a very large tree with leaves of gold and pear-shaped silver fruit. The tree stood on a heap of earth, its large roots rose above the ground and interweaved with the rest, forming a mound that served as a sort of dais for the imposing tree.

Ana felt Ivan getting off the horse, and she didn't even make a protest when his hands encircled her waist and helped her get down. She didn't even mind that he was standing behind her so close and his hands were still on her waist, his lips brushing her ear.

No. She didn't notice anything at all since her eyes were mesmerized by the sight of the large tree that seemed to glow. She could even feel the magic that pulsated from the tree. Even though the sky was almost obscured by the surrounding trees, streaks of light reached the clearing that touched the crystals around them, which acted as prisms and refracted the light, scattering it around the clearing.

"It's beautiful," she whispered. It was a splendid sight for Ana. She had never seen something like this before. It looked... magical.

"It is quite lovely," Ivan breathed a whisper in her ear, and oddly enough, it made Ana feel as though it was not the surrounding he was referring to that was lovely.

"Why did you bring me here?" she asked when Ivan held her hand and led her to the tree. They stood underneath the wide umbrella of branches and leaves.

"This, my dear, is a place where our deity dwells."

"Deity? You mean a god?" When Ivan gave her a nod, she continued, "So this is like a sacred ground? Are you sure we should be here? I mean, I don't want to be on a deity's bad side and have him accused me of trespassing."

Ivan gave a soft chuckle. "It's perfectly fine, my dear. We often come here to worship the deity's wisdom and seek guidance."

Ana eyed the place curiously, the crystals still glowing. "So, this is why it's called the forest of emerald magic? Because of the crystals?"

"I see you've been listening to your lady's maid stories." Ana gave Ivan a sheepish smile. "Our people associate emeralds with healing magic. Its color symbolizes our root power, which is earth and the magic to heal." He lifted his hand and placed his palm on the tree. "We believe that the deity dwells in this forest and her magic protects us all in Elfiro. Emerald is her favorite stone."

"Her? Your deity's a female?"

"Yes."

"Oh. You know back in our place, we do have legends about someone similar to her. They usually reside inside a forest. We call them diwata. So, I guess we do have the same legends, huh?"

"Some of the legends in the human world are true. And some of those legends are actually based on events here in our realm. You see, a long time ago, we encantos often use the portal to go to the human world. We were fascinated with that world. We were awed those humans could survive without a trace of magic in their blood." He led Ana to a large, elevated root and assisted her to sit on top of it. "So, I guess you could say that we have made some influence in your legends."

Ana chuckled. "Well, when I was a kid, I really thought that elves were tiny little people who live inside a mound of earth who creates shoes for fun and help Santa makes his gift for the nice kids."

"Oh really?"

"Yes. I never knew you elves were big and tall and so..." Ana eyed Ivan's wide chest, bit her lower lip, and whispered, "...manly."

"What?"

"What?"

"You were saying something. I did not hear it."