Elven Chronicles Book 1: Into the Shadows

Wow, that was quite a ceremony I got a few hours ago. Now, my father, Alia, Elwen, and I are sitting at the largest dining table that I have ever seen. I bet at lest fifty people could sit very comfortably around this table. Okay enough with the table, on to more important matters.

"Kida, how are you enjoying everything?" my father asked me.

"I love it here. Do I get a tour tomorrow?"

"Definately. I will show you everything." Then, he said something to Alia and Elwen in the langauge that I hear in my dreams.

"Father, I hear that langauge in my dreams. A woman comes and says things to me."

They all looked at me with surprise. I wondered if what I had told them was bad.

"What does this woman look like?" Elwen was the first to speak.

"Well, she has grey eyes like mine, wavy waist length hair, and she has a beautiful crown on her head. She looks very powerful and the air is always moving around her. She speaks kindly and smiles at me like she knows something that I don't." They all shared a look after I gave my description.

"It sounds like you are describing the first elven queen. She was the first air bender, and she ruled and started this kingdom. Legend says that she lived in this very castle," my father said. He continued," She only visits those she deems important. She would not visit you if you were not important to her in some way."

I found that interesting and decided too look up more about this elven queen. We all decided that it was time to go to bed, and we would pick up here tomorrow.

The next morning I woke up to Rose gently shaking me. "Come along Princess, you have a very long day ahead of you."

I showered, and she put a nice sea green dress on me, it was much lighter than the other one. She put my hair in a simple braid with some silver strung into it. Rose told me that this is how princesses are supposed to look. After all this preperation, I finally got to eat breakfast.

"Good morning Kida," my Father said. "Are you ready for a little tour after breakfast?"

"Yes."

Once we were finished eating some of the most delicious food I have ever had, he took me to the library. Then he introduced me to an old, intelligent looking man.

"Kida, this is your new teacher, Loran. He will teach you the elven langauge, history, and just about anything else you wish to learn."

We talked with him for a while, and then we moved on to the city. I met everyone in the shops, houses, and on the streets. I found all the elves to be very friendly. Then, I saw some horses and just watched them for a while.

"Soon you will be taught how to ride one of them," my father told me. "Most elves are able to ride them even though we are faster running."

"This is so cool. When can we work on bending? I want to learn all I can because it seems like people expect something out of me."

"You can learn more tomorrow. For now we better return to the castle. You need to meet the Army formally."

We went to the back of the castle, and I watched the men train from some steps. Several came in fround to me to demonstrate their special skills, and I got to watch some advanced bending. One of them noticed my stave and asked, "Princess, why do you carry a stick around?"

Now this made me mad. No one calls my stave a stick.

"Excuse me but this is not a stick it is called a stave. It is a very ancient way of fighting." I told him. By now, the other men have stopped what they are doing and were watching our exchange.

"Excuse me, but it seems like it is just a little stick Princess. Besides, a woman should not fight that much."

Now I was really going. I looked at my father for permission to kick this guy's ass, and he just smiled and nodded his head at me.

"Well, I bet I can kick your ass with it. Why don't you go get your sword and I'll prove it."

A huge "OOOOOO" went up from the surrounding elves and their commanders stopped what they were doing to watch the excitement. The other elves surrounded us and the fight began. I just stood there patiently waiting for him to make the first move. He did. He came in swinging, and I feinted left while swinging my stave up and contacting his non fighting shoulder. Buy the way he grabbed it, I knew it was numb. I had hit the nerve in just the right spot. Then he came in close and almost stabbed me but I ducked and jabbed my stave into his chest knocking the wind out of him. Then I smacked the sword out of his hand, swung my stave over my head and stopped an inch from his throat. If I had hit him, he would have been dead. There was a awed silence around us. Not a single person moved. I leaned down toward my opponent and asked,

"Is it a stick now?"

He looked at me and smiled,"No, Princess, it is a stave, part of an ancient fighting art."

The men cheered and yelled my name. My father intervened and told them all to return to their duties. I helped my opponent up and asked him his name.

"Owen," he replied.

Then he walked away. My father just started laughing.

The next day I dressed in some pants and a nice shirt and left my hair in a braid again. At breakfast the General of the army greeted me and said,
"Well done yesterday. I was quite impressed. We will teach you how to wield a dagger and shoot a bow and arrow sometime."

"Thank you. I would love that."

My father took me behind the gardens into an open area. There was some grass around the circle and a dirt patch in the middle. Elwen met us there.

"Hello Kida. I am going to train you because there are not many air benders around. They cannot train you because you are too powerful, and they are too young to know what you need. We will start with some drills."

My father stepped to the side and let Elwen take over. First he had me close my eyes and feel the space around me. Then I held my hands up and 'grabbed' the air. I felt a pull in my gut and had total control. I felt like I had a second pair of eyes, I could feel everything that was going on around me. My eyes were still closed and I 'saw' the birds overhead, the insects in front of me, the way the breeze blew, and which ways the grass swayed. When I opened my eyes, my father and Elwen just smiled at me.

"Kida you have a power that is unimaginable. I don't know how much you have, but you are going to change things around here. Practice at home, and I will see you soon," Elwen said this and excused himself.

The rest of the day was pretty normal and my father took me home after an early dinner. We arrived home after eight, and my mother and dad were excited to see me home.

"Did you have fun?" my mother asked.

"Yeah. It was awesome. I'll tell you more in the morning, but for now I am exhausted. Good night."
I turned to my father and gave him a hug.

"See you Friday, Kida," he said. "Stay safe."