Lady Of The Ice And Wood

Chapter 3: Elf boy

Lily sat up, bleary-eyed and hungry. She had been teaching Jack to talk to squirrels in the trees when they had both fallen asleep, exhausted by their efforts. Lily and Jack were both still barely hanging onto the tree they were on, their limbs dangling limply off. 

The sun had begun to set a while ago, painting vivid streaks of pink and orange across the sky. The shadows of the forest crept closer, threatening to swallow up the entire forest. Scared, Lily grabbed Jack's arm and shook it, hissing "Jack, we have to go! The sun is setting and the forest is getting almost too dark to see!"

Jack cracked open one sleep-ridden eye, and muttered, "I'm sleepy."

Lily shook Jack by the shoulders, harder this time. "Jack! You have to wake up! The forest is dangerous after dark, and I don't speak with the animals of the dark! Come on, Jack, please!" Lily rolled Jack off the tree, pulling herself down with him. He landed with a jolt, and finally sat up, rubbing his neck.

"Ouch, jeez Lily, I sleep in the woods all the time..." Before Jack could finish what he was saying, his eyes opened wide, in shock. "Lily, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" He tugged at Lily's arm before she could reply, pointing at a boy bathed in a buttery gold glow. He was unconscious and was lying on his side. Golden blood seeped out of various wounds on his body. Vines and brambles curled protectively over him, pulsing with a strange, golden light.

"What.. who is he? What is he doing in the middle of the forest, unconscious?" Lily muttered.

"I don't know... And why is he glowing? Let's check him out! I wanna glow too!" Before Lily could object, Jack rushed forward and knelt beside the unconscious man. "Hey, Lily! Look, he's also got weird ears like us! Oh, and he's got golden blood too!"

"Jack! Don't touch him! We don't know if he's dangerous or not!" Lily hissed, dragging Jack away from the man.

"Come on, Lily! He's got weird ears like us! Don't you wanna find out more about our ears? Or what we are?" Jack continued quickly, "Maybe there are more of our kind out there! It can't be a coincidence that there are at least three people with the same type of ears!"

Lily pondered this for a moment, wondering if this strange boy could really give them answers. Of course, before she could decide, Jack already had him flung over his shoulder, grinning and ready to go. "Come on, Lily. You did want to get out of the forest. The sooner we bring him to your house and wake him up, the sooner we can get our answers!" Jack confidently marched ahead, leaving Lily to catch up.

Eva was setting two mugs of hot chocolate on the table for Lily and Jack when they told her what happened. Her eyebrows shot up, and she turned to inspect the boy more closely. He looked about seventeen or eighteen, with ashy black-brown hair, sharp, chiselled features, and strong jaw. He radiated beauty and inhuman grace. The gold glow around him didn't fade, seeping the colour out of the room and into him. Even without his pointed ears, he looked distinctly inhuman, something far more deadly, yet far more alluring.

Lily was just about to ask what they should do with the boy when he flung his eyes open and leaped off the sofa he was sitting on so fast she almost didn't catch it. Lily saw that his eyes were different coloured, one gold and one violet.

"Who are you people? What did you do to me?" He growled. His eyes surveyed the room, before resting on Eva. "You" he pointed at Eva, "Why are you here? You should be in Elvicia." His gaze swung around to rest on Lily and Jack, "You two, should also be in Elvicia. What are you doing in the human world?" he asked.

"Human world? Elvicia? What do you mean?" Lily asked, looking over at Eva. "Eva, what is he talking about?"

"Hey! We have the same ears! So tell us all about us!" Jack blurted.

The boy looked strangely at Eva, before slowly asking, "Why don't you know? Are you messing with me, or has Eva here not told you?"

Lily and Jack both stood up and glared at Eva, before simultaneously asking, "What do you mean? What are we?"

The boy gave them a levelled stare, and slowly said, "We're Elves."

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It was before dawn when Lily woke, panting and gasping in her bed. She sat up quickly and surveyed the room. Jack was sprawled on the couch, a soft snore coming from his lips. Eva was no doubt in her room, but the mysterious Elf boy was standing in the living room, eyes scanning over their belongings. He didn't move as Lily walked in the room, but by his rigid stance and the almost indiscernible stiffen in his shoulders, Lily could tell he knew she was in the room. He stayed still as Lily approached him, not turning back to look at her.

"Hey. Um, can I talk to you before everyone wakes up?" Lily asked, hesitantly.

"You already are," he replied indifferently.

Lily twirled a lock of bright red hair nervously, before blurting out, "Can you talk to animals? Or ask plants to help you? Er... Do you ever get cold?"

The boy turned back at her and looked at her strangely. "Of course I can talk to animals and plants. And of course, I feel the cold, if you don't then you're an Ice Elf." He studied her, gold and violet eyes glinting in the slow light of dawn. "I know that your friend on the couch isn't a full Elf. He's a half-blood. But you, you're not a half-blood, yet you're different from a regular Elf." He leaned in close to her, his breath smelling of pine and the woods. "What are you?"

Lily backed up, unsure of what to say. "Isn't that what I came to ask you about?"

"Don't think of hiding it, girl. Because I will know." With that, he turned and stalked out of their door, and into the woods.