The Elmen

Part 1 Nothing Ever Changes- Chapter 10 The Dark Forest

That night things were a lot less tense then they had been. That old friendly air there had once been was back, the guys were cracking jokes that made me laugh so hard I was crying. While we were laughing Andrew was consulting with his companions. He told them about everything and how he thought he knew who we were, he could not be sure though. So he said nothing to us until he had talked to his father, the king.

The next morning we woke up earlier than normal because Andrew wanted to get through the dark forest before night fall. He would not tell us why exactly, but he would tell us that it was a very dark, bad place that you did not want to spend the night in. He was right, the dark forest was not only dark, but cold and creepy as well.

As we passed through the only talking was done at lunch. There Andrew told us the story of how the dark forest was created.

"Many years ago, before any one of us was born there was a wizard who turned bad. He wanted to control the world. He almost succeeded, but King Charles defeated him, unfortunately his mark had been left. This forest is that mark, and it is said to be the most evil place in the world," with that Andrew got up and told us we needed to get moving. We continued on till darkness had almost overcome us. We had barely gotten out of the forest when nightfall finally came.

The next day we finished the last part of our journey before we reached the land of the elves. This journey was much more peaceful and happy. We laughed and chatted the entire way. Andrew told us all about the elves and what it was like to live with them. We also learned some of the elfish ways. In return we told him all about the school and all we had learned there. That day at lunch we showed them what we knew. They were very impressed and were surprised that we knew so much. We were sitting down for a break before continuing on when I noticed Andrew had gone to sit under a tree by himself. I walked over there to see what he was doing when I saw apiece if paper in his hand.

"Whatcha lookin at?" I asked him as I walked up.

"Oh nothing much, just a picture of me and my family from when I was little," he said. I could tell it was something just by looking at him.

"Who are they?" I asked pointing to two little kids in the picture.

"That is my little brother and sister," he said as tears started to build up in his eyes.

"Do they live with the elves too?"

"No, they went missing right after this picture was taken almost 11 years ago," he said as his eyes started to water.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay, we should be going," he said wanting to change the subject. With that we continued on our journey to the land of the elves.

That night was spent celebrating, for we were at the edge of the elfish lands and we would be in King Jordan's court by tomorrow evening. We joked and goofed off for our journey was almost over.

As we spent the night laughing I could not help but look at Sam's face. It would light up when he laughed and it was a very pleasant sight. We told stories of our many adventures. My favorite stories were the ones that Andrew told us about his family. I kept thinking that somehow I knew what he was talking about, like I had been there, but I didn't think it possible. Before we knew it, it was time for bed. As Sam and I lay down in our tent we discussed our journey.

"This has been so much fun, I have learned so much, about you and other things," he said as he played with my hair.

"I couldn't agree more," I said.

"I wonder where we are going to live when we get there?"

"I don't know, I would like to try and find out who my family is, if I even have one."

"That would be nice for you, I think my dad lives somewhere in the land of the elves. Maybe if I find my dad but you can't find your family then you could live with us. I just hope we don't end up being too far apart. I just found you, and I can't afford to lose you." He then gently kissed me good night and we drifted off to sleep.

The next morning we woke up early so we could see the land of the elves in its full glory and my, it was glorious. The beaches had sand as white as snow, the ocean as blue as the sky, the mountains that we saw were snow covered with white fluff. As we grew closer to King Jordan's court the scenery began to change. We passed through farm lands were people came out to see who was passing through their town. When they saw Andrew they acted like they were the most blessed people in the world. When we asked him why he said it was not important and that we would find out soon enough. We then went back out to the coast; there we ate lunch. While we were eating lunch Andrew asked us how we liked the elfish country.

"I like it a lot," I replied as I looked around me.

"Me too, I feel peaceful," said Will.

"It's defiantly nice not having to look over our shoulders all the time," laughed Tom.

"I think that's the biggest perk of all," I laughed back.

"I feel like I've been here before," said Sam as he looked around.

"A lot of people say that. This place is so majestic, anyone is lucky to see it," Andrew smiled.

We then continued on our journey. Before we reached King Jordan's court we passed through the most beautiful forest, the trees were greener and taller then any other trees I had ever seen. Once we had passed through the forest we saw the castle of King Jordan. It was huge, the walls made out of stone with towers standing taller then anything I had ever seen.

"It's amazing, I know," said Andrew. "Wait till you see the inside it is even more amazing." He was right. We rode into a big courtyard where we dismounted our horses and they were taken from us by elves to be cared for. Andrew then led us in to a great hall. There were grand staircases leading to several different places. As he took us down a hallway we saw several paintings and suites of armor. The palace was huge, I was glad I didn't live there because there was no way I would ever find my way around. He then led us in to a grand room that must have been the throne room. There we saw a man standing in the back talking to another man who looked very important. The first man noticed us.

"Your majesty," he said with a surprised look on his face. The king then turned around. He was rather handsome with his red hair and dark green eyes.

"Oh my," was all the king said.

"Father, while we were out checking the tunnel these four teenagers came out. We fallowed them for a few days and then approached them. We learned that they might be some of the missing children taken away by Mr. Jones and their mothers," said Andrew with great respect.

"What are your names, how old are you how long have you been at the school, what do you remember from your life before and do you have siblings?" the King asked us urgently.

"My name is Lucinda Ann, I am 16, I have lived at the school for 11 years, no, yes, Will," I said.

"My name is William, I am 17, I have lived at the school for 11 years, no, yes, Lucy," said Will.

"My name is Thomas, I am 17, I have lived at the school for 11 years, no, no," said Tom.

"My name is Samuel, I am 16, I have lived at the school for 2 weeks, yes, I lived with my mom till she died when I was six, I then lived with my grandparents, no," said Sam.

"Well Sam, Will, Tom, and Lucy, I bet you are tiered from your journey, why don't you follow Luke to your rooms," said the king as he indicated to a man standing in a corner. I could tell he had some thinking to do so I did not hesitate to fallow Luke.