Guardians: The Last Elder

Chapter 19: The Elfin Kingdom

Throughout the entire walk, my jaw was open. I gaped over the tall trees and the houses in them, the crystal clear waters of the stream, the occasional small waterfall, the small round hills and the soft buzzing noise of insects and crickets. It was paradise. Like, for real.

Abruptly, a soft melody tickled my ears. Hearing the sweet-sour notes, so rich and smooth, I was suddenly reminded of simple, happy times, like when Mom and I would go grocery shopping and I would insist on buying one candy of each flavor, or when Mom baked those chocolate cupcakes with hazelnut frosting, or when she would play Bollywood songs from her playlist and would start dancing. 

I even recalled some of my good friends back from school. I hadn't even had a chance to think about them but now that I was, I realised I terribly missed them. Did they miss me? Did they ever wonder where had I disappeared off to? Ella, Julian, Cristina and all of the others, did they remember me? But that wasn't all. My mind even flooded with the images of my new, unexpected friends. Like, Kace pulling my chair for me in the dining hall with an exaggerated curtsy. Or when Josh had saved me from Cade and somehow, we had ended up shaking hands, becoming friends.

I had come a long way, hadn't I?

"We are here," said one of the elves, breaking me from my happy stupor. I released a sigh. I looked at the others and could see a same content expression on their face. I wondered if the music had some sort of magic in it. In fact, it seemed to have grown louder by now.

I looked above at the towering broad tree looming in front of me. It was, by far, one of the largest with branches spreading out so thickly, it almost formed a wooden floor. Huge navy blue and emerald green leaves were rustling in the wind, almost whispering. There was a long ladder going all the way up to the top of the tree. I hope we don't have to climb it...

"Go ahead, climb the ladder. Lady Melissa awaits above," ordered one of the elves.

Oh well.

"I'll go first," Kace suggested. "It will be better if she sees a familiar face first."

Josh nodded. Kace quickly hold of the ladder and started his ascent. Vanessa followed.

"Ava, you go next. I'll follow. You know, to see you don't fall off, being the klutz that you are."

I would've glared at him if his words weren't true. But sadly, I wasn't the most agile being.

I did go next, carefully holding on to the side and making sure of my foothold before actually putting my full weight. Josh, as promised, did look out for me. For instance, despite my attempts at cautiousness, my feet almost slipped once but Josh's hand crept up to my leg instantly, steadying me. Jitters swept up my leg and being me, I almost lost my footing again. 

As we were climbing up, a flock of birds flew past us. This time, I almost did hurtle down from shock. But Josh, my-knight-in-shining-armor, came to the rescue. However, this time I was too busy admiring the birds to register any jitters. The birds were flying around, squeaking, chirping much too quickly. 

But one particular bird landed right at my arm, its head tilting back and forth rapidly as it gazed at me curiously with large beady eyes. I was pleasantly surprised. It was easily one of the most beautiful birds I've ever seen in my life. The crest of its tiny head was glimmering like a sparkling crown of colored light. The shades of vivid orange adorning her breast were equally brilliant. Its long feathery tail was swaying lightly while its bright yellow wings ruffled as well with the wind. But it suddenly flitted out of my arm and flew with the rest of its kin. I sighed and resumed my ascent.

Finally, we reached to the top of the tree. The floor formed by the thick branches was wide and spacious and surprisingly strong. Leaves grew around, forming almost a thin wall all around. Glowing brass pendants were hanging from the branches above, washing the tree in an almost hypnotic light. There were rows of books kept carefully in the holes formed in the tree trunk. Farther, there was a small orchestra sitting and playing that soft melody near the corner.