Fantaisie

Blue, cloudless skies stretched above head, holding a bright yellow orb that warmed the world below. The meadow was similar, in a sense, stretching as far as the eye could see with only a few trees and a babbling brook decorating it. Tall grass tickled my bare calves while the aroma of roses and other summery flowers filled my nose. For a long moment, I basked in the glory of the sun and was at peace with the world when I began to realize the oddity of the situation.

To start, I had no recollection of arriving in the fantastic place, surrounded by flowers and buzzing bees. Not only that but I could have sworn it had been evening not long ago. Where was my house? Had I even been in my house? What had happened last night? There was nothing that could be seen from where I sat. Curiosity getting the best of me, I stumbled up in my white night gown and peered around. To my south, there was continuous hilly meadow as was to the west and east. However, turning my head to see behind me, a dense, dark forest breathed. A shiver flew up my spine; there was no way I would be venturing in there.

As I slowly turned my back to the forest, a loud crash and thunder sounded from the sky from somewhere in front of me. In an instant, a wave of air blew over the tall grass and I was sent back by the shock, stumbling backwards and landing on my backside. Moaning, I scanned the skies for whatever produced such an incredible sound and after effect. However, the skies remained open and untainted. The meadow, however, was a different story.

After the boom, a plethora of armored beings on horseback poured out from over the distant hills to my right. At first it was only mere tens, but within seconds there were hundreds and hundreds of silver-coated, sword bearing persons heading in the direction of the sound. While most in the frontline were on horses, I began to notice more and more on foot, carrying shields and spears, and bows and arrows. Curiosity getting the better of me, I crawled low in the grass to get a better look at them. While slow at first, I started moving a bit faster until I was no longer on my knees. In a quiet sprint, I stood and flung myself behind one of the few trees to keep out of sight, while keeping a close eye on the new arrivals.

They seemed normal enough at first glance, almost like humans. Their stature and the way they carried themselves was similar, as well as most of their physical features. That is, except with they’re long, thin, and pointed ears that could just barely be seen sticking out from under a mess of hair. Even if I hadn’t noticed this, the speed in which those on foot were travelling was impossibly agile and quick. Running a hand through my own wavy orange locks, I realized these were no normal humans.

As the last of them ventured over the hills, I removed myself from my hiding place, though never looking away from them: the elves.

“You’re impossible! I can’t believe I let you lead us astray!”

What?

“Astray?” another voice answered. A deep laughter followed. “As if! We’re here, we’re here! See…”

I twirled around, fear spreading through me as two figures emerged from the forest. My eyes instantly focused on their pointed ears visible under short cut brown hair, and they’re flawless tan skin hidden by their own silvery armor. They had to be twins, I decided as the one who had been speaking paused and stared at me with bright emerald eyes. I sucked in a breath as the other followed his partners gaze and grinned.

“Now,” he started, taking a step toward me. My eyes flickered to a wooden jug slung around his waist by a thin rope as he unhooked it and took a swig. He sighed deeply, satisfied. “Who do we have here?” Instinctively, I took a step back.

“Stop!” the other yelled to his assumed twin. “You’re scaring her!” His emerald eyes fell back on me and a comforting smile spread across his lips. He asked, “What are you doing here? This is no place for a little girl.” My face flushed at his comment, for he couldn’t have been even five years my senior. Though the sass in me wished to retort, my lips remained glued together; I did not trust these two. Unfortunately, my silence was not taken lightly.

The elf twin with the jug took a step toward me, causing me to instinctively step back again. “We just want to bring you somewhere…safer,” he cooed, and a shiver ran up my spine. Though my eyes were now locked on him, I could distinctly see the other elf roll his eyes and he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Honestly Beronion…” the other elf referred to his brother, though he was looking me up and down. His eyes momentarily stopped on my face and an emotion I could not read spread across his face. Yanking the back of his brother’s – Beronion, I guessed – armor, he looked away from me and said, “Ber… Isn’t she…?

By the time I felt his eyes back on me, I was already running away from them. My bare feet hit the soft earth as I heard him yelling after me. As my heart thrashed against my chest and my breath came out heavy, I realize those two – those elfin – could outrun me easily. I was by no means athletic and they were obviously trained lieutenants. And with that in mind, despite my previous oath, I made a beeline right into the forest.

So much for not going in there.

Jumping over branches and avoiding rocks and other potentially harmful materials, I ran and ran and ran until the voices of the two elfin men were merely echoes in my mind. Finally, I slowed to a jog, then walk, and then dropped to my knees under an oak tree in a pile of crunchy leaves. Resting my head against the cool bark, I closed my eyes and calmed my breath. My lungs burned and thighs ached from the exercise; I hadn’t worked this hard in a long time. The only activity I liked was swimming.

The forest wasn’t nearly as intimidating as it appeared from the outside; however, it still had an air about it that sent shivers across my body. Unlike outside, the trees’ canopy kept out all but slivers of light, leaving me and everything else inside the forest in almost complete darkness. Without the warmth and dryness of the sun, everything within the forest – the rough bark, dull moss, and crackling leaves – were left damp. While this felt grotesque on my exposed skin, the coolness was refreshing, and again, I found myself leaning back against the tree and shutting my eyes.

A high-pitched kraa reverberated, somewhere above the canopy. Soon, a low guttural rattle followed the caw before all was silent and only the light breeze dared interrupt my slumber.

Behind my eyelids, I tried drawing out a picture and reasoning as to the where, why, and how of this situation: where was I, why was I there, and how did I get here in the first place. Every memory before waking up here was fuzzy, however; the images were of people I did not recognize in places I do not believe I’d been previously. Unless I had possibly falling and achieved amnesia, nothing was adding up as it should. My mind was completely fried of any information, save my name and that I was in a place I didn’t belong. Sighing, I grumbled, “Goodness gracious, Mum’s going to destroy me when I get home…”

“Who is ‘Mum’?”

My eyes flew open and I screeched, leaping up from my spot against the old tree and scurried behind it. In a quick motion, I grasped a broken branch hanging from the tree, and held it out in front of me, expecting to see the elfin duo. However, to my confusion no one stood in front of me. The space was void of any being, human and elf alike. Licking my bottom lip, I stepped out cautiously and peered around to find a body for the voice. The dark branch shook in my nervous hands, still pointed out like a sword ready to strike. As I made a circle around the area, the silence again overtook the dank forest and I dropped my arm to my side. Releasing the branch, I bit my lip and stared off into the woods. Had I only been…?

Suddenly, a rustle sounded from my right. Before I had a chance to react, a dark brown gopher bounced out of the bushes and stared wide-eyed at me. My rigid body calmed and I smiled at the small creature, glad to see something normal as opposed to something, well, abnormal. Crouching down, I held my hand out to the animal with a smile, “Hey little guy! Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you!”

The animal stared at me for a moment, as if it were considering this. Then, I could have sworn it was glaring at me. Before I knew it, the gopher went up on its hind legs and pointed a little finger at me.

“Don’t talk to me like I’m beneath you!” he yelled, in the same voice I’d heard early. “You’re the one waving a stick in the air all threateningly! Why, if I were –”

And everything went black.



Sounds began flooding my ears before my eyes were able to open. Somewhere around me was the sound of boiling water and the crackles of a fire, as well as the almost inaudible sound of something squishing against moist earth. Soon my sense of smell was awakened by the overpowering stench of the wet earth, as well as of something rotting. Unconsciously, I felt myself frowning at the awful odor. Just as I was about to blink my eyes open to see where I could possibly be, and why my bed was so uncomfortable, when two voices rang in my ears and I was reminded on the previous events. I was not where I should be. There were elves and loud noise and scary forest where I was right now. And talking gophers! My mind reeled at the horrifying sight I had beheld, and I soon realized that I must have fainted.

A woman’s voice was the first, screaming, “Look what you’ve done now! You scared the wits out of that poor girl!”

“Me?” a familiar male voice, the talking gopher, retorted. “She was the one waving a stick around like a madman! I thought she was going to try to skewer me! For all we know she could be one of those savages up in the hills! But of course, you have to be all saintly and bring her into our home! What if –”

“She surely doesn’t look like a savage!” the woman cried, and with curiosity getting the best of me, I turned my head in the direction of the bickering and peeked an eye open. Sure enough, two gophers barely the size of two small dogs were the only occupants. Giving the room a once-over, I came under the realization that I was underground. My chest tightened. The female gopher continued, “If anything, if I were to guess from her appearance, I would say she could be a human!”

“A human?” the male gopher laughed, his whole body shaking. “You’re a mad gopher! There’s about as high of a chance of her being one of the High Nobility, or even one of the Valkyrie, as her being a human! You know this just as well as I do!”

“No,” the gopher woman placed her hand on her cheek and shook her tiny head. “She’s definitely a human, I can tell. Too small to be a giant, ears too small and round to be an elf… Oh, but that hair– Oh my!” The animal turned to face me and suddenly her attitude seemed to change before my eyes as she noticed my consciousness. She scurried up to me and I, in fright, sat up and backed away until my back hit the dirt wall. It was then I noticed that I had not been on a bed, but just lying on the dirt floor.

“Oh my, oh my!” she squealed, dancing on her toes. “Dear! Dear, she’s awake! Oh my goodness, it’s a pleasure to meet you honey!” She reached out and grabbed two of my fingers and shook them, a smile evident on her face. The animal continued, “What’s your name? Oh, please excuse my manners, my name is Ida and the grouch over there is Milo. But you can just call me Mrs. Gopher if you want to, if that’s easier to remember. Oh my, this is the first time I’ve ever seen a human! You are a human right? What could you possibly be doing in a place like this, honey?”

The gopher prattled on and as the one-sided conversation stretched, my nerves melted enough so I wasn’t pushing myself further into the wall. Finally, the gopher named Milo, who had been watching the two of us from what I guessed was the kitchenette, yelled up to us, “And you accuse me of scaring the girl? You’re going to give her an anxiety attack if you keep harassing her like that!”

“Oh my!” she cried for the umpteenth time. “I am so, so sorry honey! I… sometimes I just start talking and I don’t know when to stop! Please excuse my behavior! What did you say your name was, sweetie?”

I bit my lip and straightened my back. “I’m Brynn.”

“Brynn!” she cried. “What a gorgeous name! So lovely! Now Brynn, what brings you here? It’s not every day we see a two-legged being walking through this forest! Well, except for those two this morning…” The elves… I thought, holding back a shiver.

Ida peered up at me expectantly and I knew she was awaiting an answer. Clearing my throat, I murmured, “Well, to answer, yes I’m a human. And well… I don’t know why I’m here. I don’t really know where here is to be honest. I just woke up in a meadow place outside of this forest.” Ida frowned, her arms crossed over her chest.

“Well that’s odd!” she pondered, looking me over again. She looked over at her husband, “I told you she was a human!” before peering back at me sadly. Ida continued, “So you’re lost, is that it? Well then… maybe we can help! Where are you from, honey?”

I couldn’t hold back a grin; sure, maybe these were talking animals but if they could at least point me in the right direction that would be unbelievable. Excitement flowing through my veins, I spluttered, “I from...!”

I paused. Where was I from again?

The two gophers looked at me expectantly. Finally, when I hadn’t continued, Milo asked impatiently, “Well? Where ya from kiddo? We may not look like much, but we know our way around the wood!”

I bit my lip. “I…I don’t remember.” The two exchanged a look.

“Not even a name, sweetie?” Sally asked, confusion and pity painting her furry face. My heart was pounding in my chest.

In a voice I could barely hear, I whispered, “Where am I?”

“Telenia Forest, just outside of the Elfin capital of Operia!” Ida answered, as if it were common knowledge. Neither of those areas sounded remotely familiar. Or did they? Now, I wasn’t so sure. My memory seemed even foggier than before. The only thing I was certain about was my name.

I mumbled, “And…where is that? What do you call this whole place?”

Ida smiled. “Vesteria, silly!”

Was I dreaming? Was any of this even real? I didn’t know now, but I was determined to find out.