Keeper Of Peace

Chapter Six - Holding Court

The trees were alive, she realized, as she was following Solas to wherever they were going. They were bustling with sounds, singing birds and rustling leaves, oozing the very essence of... wholeness. She felt at home in this place, it was gorgeous.

The Elves they met on their way were, too. Tall, slender people clad in delicately embroidered fabrics, long hair woven into pretty braids, and with freaking pointy ears. Few of them were visibly carrying weapons, but they all moved with a sharp grace that clearly belied their deadliness.
Catherine was gaping. Which was completely understandable if you looked at it from the outside. Because, well, Elves. Solas, however, seemed to think it was funny. And he was not very successful in hiding his grin.

Catherine was astounded how young he looked. Almost two hundred years under his belt - and yet he was practically skipping, looking up in the air, every rustling leaf seemed to catch his attention. She found herself almost jealous that he had managed to retain so much of his youthfulness. On the other hand she couldn't help but wonder if maybe it was different for elves, maybe they grew up much slower than humans did. He did look like he was in the middle of his teenage years physically, so maybe that was true for his mental state as well?

Also, who was his mother? He'd said she was important, but that wasn't exactly specific. Was she some kind of advisor-person? What counted as important in an elvish society? Coming to think of it, what was an elvish society like? From what Solas had said it didn't exactly sound democratic, if nobody paid his words heed just because he was young. On top of that, she'd been told that her position as this Keeper-person was inherited. Which led her to the conclusion that she likely was dealing with a monarchy. Catherine shook herself. She would probably not get along well in a society where your place in life was determined by your birth status. That was just rubbish.

All those thoughts were wiped from her mind, however, when she laid eyes upon the first building. Only it wasn't really a building, it was part of the tree, seemed to have grown out of it at some point, up in the branches, like a tree house. A tree house that was an integral part of the live tree, complete with bark and moss.

She only realized she'd stopped dead in her tracks when Solas carefuly poked her in the shoulder.

"I really don't mean to rain on your parade," he said, "but you shouldn't stare like that, not at private houses. You never know what anyone would take offense in. Especially the Sylvans."

"Sylvans?" she'd heard that before some time, but she couldn't remember where.

"Sylvan Elves, you know?" Solas didn't look too sure whether she actually did know. And, of course, he was right.

"Sorry, no. I don't." It was getting a bit ridiculous to always apologize for not knowing something any other person would be admitted to a psychiatric ward for believing in. But she still felt like it was the smart thing to do, appeasing people. Or Elves, in this case. Sweet Lord.

"I really wish you would've listened to Nathaniel. Because you need this information and we don't really have the time for me to explain anything. You're attracting an awful lot of attention."

That made her quickly scan her surroundings, and indeed: The Elves were staring at her just like she'd been staring at them. There weren't many of them, they seemed to be just outside some sort of settlement, but what few were there were elegantly trying to sneak as many glances as possible without it being too obvious.

And then she noticed a difference. Because while some of the Elves stood much taller than a normal human would, with very long, sleek ears and hair so blonde it was almost white, there were others that had a much more average height, and their hair was reddish like the guard's, their ears smaller, but still pointy. Their clothing didn't seem quite as exquisite as that of the blond ones, a lot more functional. Catherine feelt irritation rise up in her.