Into Dragon's Fire (Book 1)

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I had been so lost in my thoughts, that when I caught something move out of the corner of my eyes, I nearly fell off the Elk. " What was-"

" Shh" The king said, and I frowned before looking behind us toward the five elves trailing us. I was told there would be more watching from the trees, but no matter how much I looked I hadn't seen anyone. It was then that I saw the movement again, my eyes widened; it was a spider. A very large spider, about the size of a small elephant.

I turned back around, the color draining from my face. I swear, if I ever get back and tell Peter about this, he'll probably laugh at me, and never let me live it down. Especially, because of who he is. I squeezed my eyes shut trying to bury my fear, unintentionally also burying my head in the king's cloak.

When I managed to look up, we were nearing the edge of the trees, it was here that we stopped and the rest of our party made themselves known by soundlessly dropping from the trees. They bowed their heads and made sweeping motion with their hands as we passed, and the king returned it with a slight bow of his head.

Once we were passed the trees, the king pushed his elk into a near sprint, forcing me to once again grab onto his cloak. The sun had long since disappeared, casting the entire world in shadow. After a few miles of running, my eyelids drooped, but I forced them open. As if sensing how tired I was, our pace slowed to a quick trot. " Rest. I will wake you if something happens." The king said, and I frowned tiredly, but didn't protest as I leaned forward to rest against him, my eyes slipping closed.

I awoke to someone shifting me and frowned through the darkness. " I apologize for waking you. We have reached our destination."

" That's okay." I muttered sleepily, drifting back off, only to snap awake to find the sun shining through a balcony a few feet away. I glanced around as I awoke, before placing my feet on the floor. My shoes, cloak, and tunic had been removed, leaving me in the white shirt and dark colored pants. My hair hung freely down my back, somehow not as tangled as I thought it would be. I stifled a yawn, before standing and moving to the balcony in wonder.

What I saw made me wonder if I was still dreaming.

The balcony overlooked a large waterfall, which the town below was built into. It looked peaceful. Had I had grown up anywhere else, I might have felt more at home, but the quiet made me want to scream just for the silence to be filled.

" Beautiful, isn't it?" A voice said, startling me from my thoughts and I turned to find a dark-haired elf standing in the doorway. " Um, yes." I nodded, politely. He studied me, before moving to stand beside me at the balcony.

" You were asleep when you arrived. It's strange to see Thranduil care for someone like he did you." He said and I looked away, my hand going to where the bandaged cut on my arm was. " I highly doubt that." I muttered.

" He refused to let anyone else carry you. Perhaps, your doubts are misplaced. " He suggested, and I looked over in surprise, to see the hint of a smile on his face but it was gone just as quick as he bowed his head slightly. 

" Forgive me, I am Elrond, Lord of Rivendall."

" Alicia Stevens, Trespasser of New York." I said in return, but he apparently didn't get my joke.

" Someone will be up to escort you once you're ready." He told me, leaving without another word, and I let out a sigh before leaning against the railing.

I'm such an idiot. Nice going, Alice.

*******

I had changed out of the shirt and dark colored pants, and into one of the dresses that Meriel had packed for me. It looked a lot like the other one, but this one was a dark grey color and was to be worn over the white shirt; I had also re-braided my hair. As I followed the elf toward where I was supposed to be meeting Thranduil and the white council, I became very aware that someone was yelling.

Luckily, it was in another language. 

I glanced over at my escort but found that he had made a run for it, the coward.

I peeked around the doorway wide-eyed to find a deep a discussion (argument) between two elderly men, one in white and one in grey. Elrond stood off to the side with Thranduil and a very beautiful elven women, while the two elderly men argued across a table, getting louder and louder by the second. I was debating whether or not to make a run for it like my escort had, when the women spoke turning to look at where I was hiding. " We have awaited your arrival, Alicia Stevens."

The two elderly men went silent as they glanced toward me, and the desire to flee back to my room and hide grew because of how small I felt. " Come now, it's not polite to linger in doorways, child." The one in grey called out, he sounded kind, a big difference compared to before.

 Swallowing my fear, I stepped further into the room, a frown on my face as the elderly man in grey motioned to the third chair at the table, placing me between him and the one in white, who scowled at me as If I were a bug he wanted to squish. Once seated, the women stepped closer, her eyes boring into me as she were looking directly at my soul.

" Thranduil tells us that you trespassed upon his kingdom, claiming not to have known how you got there, or where you were. Explain." The one in white said.

" I can't." I admitted, shaking my head. " Not because I don't want to, I just can't. " My voice was quiet as I stared down at the tabletop. " It's difficult to explain, because not even I know how it happened. One moment, I was on the side of the road, trying to help someone and then we were somewhere else, that's the easiest way to explain it, I guess"

" We?"

" I brought the person I was trying to help with me somehow, she probably didn't see anything anyway, she was unconscious.

" We were not informed that there was another." The one in white said, and I bit my lip. " She was killed when Thranduil's kin found us. " I explained, using the term that Meriel had used to describe her people.

" Lord Thranduil informed us that you claim to come from land known as New York." The one in grey in said, and I nodded. " It's more of a city that takes up islands and is divided into five sections we call boroughs. Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, The Bronx, and Staten Island. I'm from Queens." I explained.

" Do each have a king? Or are they separate." Elrond asked, curious, and I blew at a strand of hair that had come loose before I let out a small laugh. " There are no kings, not where I'm from." I explained shaking my head. " There are kings, just not in New York, and not in the sense that you have here."

" Ridiculous." Thranduil scoffed, turning away, and I glared at him.

The group exchanged a look before the Elven women asked. " What day is it?

Confusion crossed my face, but I answered her. " April 23, 2012."