✧The Earthe of the Elves✧

3 & 4 - Knox

When I reappear right where I was on Earth before, I know not to sit and ponder this new information. This is serious. Whoever Mia is, she'll need all the help she can get. Especially if she's half human and apparently, by what my mother told me before I left in rapid fire elvish, that Mia doesn't even know anything magic exists. Let alone elves. The Cin are dangerous, and they must want her for a reason if they're traveling here to get her.

Disregarding the rules of Earth checkups, I sprint into the street in broad daylight, looking down the road. I breathe a sigh of relief when I see the green sign reading 'Redwood street.' I immediately sprint down the street, searching for the right address . When I spot Mia's house a flare of panic spikes through me at the sight of her open doorway, with the door on the floor in front of it. The Cin are already here.

With new adrenaline-fueled energy inside me, I take off into the house, barely pausing to place the note my mother gave me on the kitchen table before yanking open the sliding door leading to the backyard. As I suspect by the crunch of snow coming from outside, the Cin are already outside. I spot a flash of black disappear over a small hill in a path through a wood. My eyes scan Mia's backyard, stopping at a snow pile that has two leg holes in it, along with a path through it to the backyard, and when I see the open window above the snowbank my tactic-trained mind immediately knows what happened. That means Mia is running to the river.

Luckily for me Earthe is an exact parallel of Earth geography-wise, so I know where to transport as I throw down my stone, reappearing near the river. I'm behind a tree, the last one before clearing out to a snowy valley until it drops off into the river. I easily think of a solution of how to get to Earthe with Mia. I just have to fight off the Cin, and throw my stone into the river.

Traveling in Earthe is simple, but transporting between Earthe and Earth is more difficult. My mom can do it easily, since she's the Queen and very powerful. But, for more normal folk like me, to transport to different worlds we need to throw our stone into some energy source. Whether that's heat energy like fire, man made energy like fuel, or, in this case, water energy. The biggest one I can find happens to be right in front of me.

Labored breathing and yelling snaps me out of my thoughts. I see a figure crouched down behind a thick set of brambles, and the two Cin beyond, who are currently scanning the valley. I know they'll see Mia in a few seconds- if they don't hear her first. I can easily hear her, and if I try hard enough I can even hear her heart beating rapidly. She's faced away from me, so I walk silently on top of the snow towards her. I know from experience that if something is hiding, trying to talk to it is not the best idea. She could scream and completely blow the few seconds we have of cover. Plus, I use my knowledge and senses to pick up how scared Mia is. Even without looking at her face, I can tell. I can tell she's tense by the way her tightened muscles look under her jacket and pants. I can hear how hard she's breathing. I can also see the Cin, who are starting to sense her as well. I have to act now and tell her I'm not a threat. So I step up to the crouched girl and reach my hand around to put over her mouth, praying she doesn't scream. I could use a few more seconds to gather my thoughts and get Mia away.

She doesn't scream, thank the gods, but she does whirl around, making enough noise that I'm positive the Cin see her, even through the thick bushes. The girl- Mia- shoves my hand away, facing me with pathetic-looking raised fists and wide, terrified eyes. I have to give her credit, she's still ready to put up a fight even though she's scared out of her mind. I hold my hands up to show I'm not going to hurt her, and take my first look at this half-blood.

The first thing I notice is her ears, which are starting to get pointy. Probably as elf-like as her ears will get- just a small point. Her hair is dark golden, with blonde streaks. She looks my age, a few inches shorter than me, and a similar build to myself- she looks athletic enough. Her eyes are startlingly bright green, and her face is also startling. I've never been this close to a human before, it almost shocks me. Her skin isn't perfectly smooth like elves- she has a few faint freckles, what some elves would call imperfections. I think they're cool. Her eyelashes are long and dark, and her cheeks are rosy from the cold. She's different than any elf I've seen. Overall, she looks.... Scared. Confused. But strong. I see a glint of determination in her eyes, just barely. She's scared, but not ready to give up. That says a lot already. I can see Jacob in her face, but she looks different, too. Something that gives me pause.

Focus.

I don't have time, nor the desire, to think about any of that. Because Mia doesn't belong where I'm taking her. I can't think too hard about any of this, except getting her away from the Cin, who are now creeping up, about to strike.

And the least I can do for King Jacob is protect his fragile, half-elf daughter. At any cost.

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Awww throwback to baby Mia:,)

I'm only doing a couple Knox chapters btw, but if I'm every bored and miss this book I'll come back and add more, so keep an eye out/ turn on your notifs!

- A