The Stone of Salazara (Book 1 of Saga of the Stones)

Chapter 5

 "How did you do that?" I asked, as we ran out into the woods. "As he said, I'm a witch. I just used a little charm on the arrow to cut his in two."

"Why was I not told you were a witch?" I asked Jem. "And that you're royal?" I said to Matt.

"You didn't know I was a witch because I hardly remember I am in the first place."

"And you didn't know I was a prince because I don't like the fact that I am," Said Matt. He glanced behind us. "I think we lost him."

"Thank goodness!" said Jem, stopping to rest against a tree. "What time is it?"

"Noonish," I panted, looking at the sky through the trees. "Maybe we should rest."

I noticed that Matt was staring into the woods. He sighed. "Too late"

I was about to ask what he meant by that, when he pulled Jem and I closer to him, just as half a dozen elves appeared from out of nowhere, bows drawn.

Now, to clear things up, these elves were not the short, mischievous ones in fairy tales that like to kidnap children and all that. These were tall, fair people, with perfect complexions, perfect hair, pointed ears, and a reputation for being handsome or beautiful. The ones surrounding us all had golden glows, except for one. His glow was silver, and he radiated a feeling of... well, my first thought was, Oh fudge! We're in trouble!

The silver glowing elf had golden hair, as did two of his companions. The other two had reddish brown hair, and one had black hair, but they were still the same kind of elf as the others. One of them, a female, spoke to the silver elf in a language I didn't understand. The silver elf nodded, and the female elf and two of her comrades vanished into the trees.

He turned to us again. He lowered his bow, but the other two elves kept theirs raised.

"What are three mortals doing here?" He asked.

"We were being followed in Croome, and made an escape out into the woods. We didn't realize we had gotten onto Elf grounds."

"Hmm." The elf rubbed his chin thoughtfully. In a flash, he had grabbed the map out of Matt's belt, and was reading it. His eyes widened. He glanced at Matt, then said something in Elvish to his comrades. They pushed us along, following the silver glowing elf.

After an hour of walking, we met up with the elves that had left us earlier, but now they were accompanied by another dozen elves. The silver elf shouted something to them, and then they started escorting us too.

Soon, we arrived at a bridge, with no railings, that crossed a river in a chasm, which was a good fifty feet deep. I tried my best not to look down.

As we crossed the bridge, I looked up, and probably nearly fell over. I saw Matt and Jem staring at the sight in front of us too.

We were standing at the base of a huge silver tree. And when I say huge, I mean HUGE. COLOSSAL! It went up about seventy feet, and had thick branches extending from all around the top. The leaves on the tree were made of emeralds, and......oh it was too beautiful to describe.

The elves led us in a huge door made of gold. The first room we entered was a throne room. On one end, sat two large thrones, each made o f silver, designed to look like leaves. Out of a side door came two people who could only have been the king and queen of the realm.

The man, King Lotholian, I guessed, was tall, and quite handsome. He wore a certain type of tiara-like-crown that only elf men could pull off, and his robes were made of the finest silk. His wife, Queen Lothliona, was just as fair. She wore the same type of tiara that the king did, and her robes were made of the exact same silk. Both their glows were silver, and I realized who the silver elf who had escorted us here was. After what the dwarf had said, there couldn't be any doubt.

It was Prince Levilan.

He approached the king and queen, bowing, and saying something in elvish. He stood and showed them the map.

The king studied the map, then Matt, then smiled. "Welcome, Prince Mattophew."

Prince Levilan looked shocked. Apparently he hadn't been expecting the disheveled mortal man to be a fellow prince.

Matt bowed back to the king, and Jem motioned for me to curtsy.

"You seem surprised," the king said.

Matt straightened. "I was just surprised that you knew I was a prince."

"Ah. When most people would say you look like your uncle, I disagree. I say you look like your mother, and your grandfather, King Magin. I knew your grandfather well. It was a sad day when he died, and your kingdom was left without an heir," explained the king. He turned to his son, and said something in elvish. Prince Levilan looked annoyed, but he nodded and walked out the side door his parents had just came through.

He turned back to us. "What is it you need here?"
"King, we have come to ask that you lend us a ship, with a small crew, to sail out to the shipwreck where The Stone might be. We know that you have the best docks in these parts. We were hoping you would help us so that my uncle cannot get his hands on The Stone of Salazara."

The king considered. "I see no reason why not. Massadonic does need to be stopped before he gets this stone. In three days time, I shall send you off with a boat and crew."

"And," Queen Lothliona added, "we shall send our son Levilan with you. He needs something to do."

"In the meantime, you are welcome to stay here. We will give you rooms, and hot baths to cleanse you from your long journey."

"Thank you, your majesties," Matt said, bowing again.

We were led by another elf to three small guest rooms right beside each other. We each received a hot bath, fresh clothes, and the most comfortable blankets on our beds imaginable.

Dinner was served that night in the great hall of the tree. The king and queen sat on two thrones at the end of the table, and Prince Levilan sat to one side. There was an empty chair across from him, but we didn't ask them who's it was.

Prince Levilan was as unhappy to be eating with us, as we were that he had to be there. He avoided our gaze as much as possible, but one time he caught mine.

As it had done with the dragon, Isabelle, and Matt as Kansans, my eyes zoned out. I saw several scenes. One, was Prince Levilan and a female elf yelling at another elf, who looked slightly older, but there was no doubt he was his brother. The next scene, was of a house, and in an upstairs window was a girl with black hair, and a very faint brown strip. Isabelle? I thought. I realized that Prince Levilan looked like the elf from the vision I had experienced with Isabelle. Another scene, which I guessed was the future, since it seemed blurry and unsure, showed Prince Levilan and a girl in a net strung over a room of goblins. His immortal glow seemed dim, and I wondered why.

As suddenly as they had appeared, they were gone, and I was left with Prince Levilan glaring at me. He rolled his eyes and looked away.

I really needed to talk to someone about these visions.

Aside from that, one of the things I really liked about the meal was the goblets. You could just ask it for the drink you wanted, and boom! It was there. I asked it for sweet tea, and it was the most delicious I had ever tasted.