worked with elaborate patterns. They carried bows and long, thin swords that hung in scabbards at their belts. Keira slowed to a walk and Ariana fell in behind her as they approached the guards.
"Greetings. I am Keira, and this is Squirrel. We have been summoned to the inner rings, to the heart of the tree." Keira bowed her head briefly to the guards while keeping her eyes up and Ariana did the same, remembering at least that much of her etiquette training about formal elven customs. One of the guards pressed his hand to the wood of the tree that made up part of the portal and his eyes took on a faraway look for a moment then his focus snapped back to the two women who stood before him.
"You are expected," he said, nodding politely at Keira then at Ariana.
"Many seasons to you both," Keira said.
"And to you," the guards said, both of them now staring at Ariana.
"Many seasons," Ariana awkwardly repeated the elven greeting as she followed Keira past them.
The guards nodded at her, but continued to stare, and Ariana hurried after the elven woman, feeling more and more self conscious and glad to be away from their searching eyes. Her reprieve did not last long. Inside the portal, there were many more people, all of whom were dressed in much more elaborate clothing than the elves Ariana had seen in the rest of the city and all of whom stared openly at Keira and Ariana as they passed. Compared to the elves in the inner city, the two women were very much out of place in their simple forest garb and Ariana ducked her head, worried that they were also staring at her face, which she knew was covered with ugly scars from where she had been burned. She had not thought about the scars on her face for many days, living out in the forest with Keira, but now, under the eyes of so many people and unable to hide under the hood of the cloak that was tucked inside the satchel, Ariana felt herself shrinking away from them, ashamed at how she must look.
The buildings, if they could be called such, in the inner city were taller than the ones in the rest of the elven city, reaching up to the sky above, which was open and uncovered. The last glow of sunset cast an orange hue among the giant trees, but for some reason, as the light finally fade, it did not grow dark in the city. The white stones that intertwined with the branches seemed to glow with a gentle, white light that illuminated the city.
Ahead, at the center of the circle of trees that surrounded the inner city was a structure that seemed familiar to Ariana, though it was as different as the dwellings in the elven city compared to the houses that lined the streets of Maramyr. She knew immediately that it must be the palace, for it resembled her own palace, with its high walls and its many spires, as though it had been built in a similar fashion even though it was distinctively different, similar to the way cousins or siblings might closely resemble one another, yet still be entirely different. Ariana also noticed that, unlike the other buildings in the forest, the palace was made entirely of stone, the same white stone that illuminated the forest. It was beautiful and majestic and, as Keira led her up to its gate, Ariana felt unsure of herself, of whether she should even be in such a place.
CHAPTER THREE
"What is wrong with him?" Zachary asked. He sat on a stool at the edge of the bed and stared at the young man who lay, barely conscious, inside the room at the inn. The mage had left his bottle of sweetwater downstairs in the tavern and he wished he had brought it with him, but he knew it would not help. The countless bottles he had consumed barely scratched the surface of his power, sometimes making his body wobble and his words run together, but leaving his thoughts unaffected, which made his drinking something of a futile pursuit. He had taken to drinking to numb himself, to escape from the pain of the world and the things that had haunted him for so many
"Greetings. I am Keira, and this is Squirrel. We have been summoned to the inner rings, to the heart of the tree." Keira bowed her head briefly to the guards while keeping her eyes up and Ariana did the same, remembering at least that much of her etiquette training about formal elven customs. One of the guards pressed his hand to the wood of the tree that made up part of the portal and his eyes took on a faraway look for a moment then his focus snapped back to the two women who stood before him.
"You are expected," he said, nodding politely at Keira then at Ariana.
"Many seasons to you both," Keira said.
"And to you," the guards said, both of them now staring at Ariana.
"Many seasons," Ariana awkwardly repeated the elven greeting as she followed Keira past them.
The guards nodded at her, but continued to stare, and Ariana hurried after the elven woman, feeling more and more self conscious and glad to be away from their searching eyes. Her reprieve did not last long. Inside the portal, there were many more people, all of whom were dressed in much more elaborate clothing than the elves Ariana had seen in the rest of the city and all of whom stared openly at Keira and Ariana as they passed. Compared to the elves in the inner city, the two women were very much out of place in their simple forest garb and Ariana ducked her head, worried that they were also staring at her face, which she knew was covered with ugly scars from where she had been burned. She had not thought about the scars on her face for many days, living out in the forest with Keira, but now, under the eyes of so many people and unable to hide under the hood of the cloak that was tucked inside the satchel, Ariana felt herself shrinking away from them, ashamed at how she must look.
The buildings, if they could be called such, in the inner city were taller than the ones in the rest of the elven city, reaching up to the sky above, which was open and uncovered. The last glow of sunset cast an orange hue among the giant trees, but for some reason, as the light finally fade, it did not grow dark in the city. The white stones that intertwined with the branches seemed to glow with a gentle, white light that illuminated the city.
Ahead, at the center of the circle of trees that surrounded the inner city was a structure that seemed familiar to Ariana, though it was as different as the dwellings in the elven city compared to the houses that lined the streets of Maramyr. She knew immediately that it must be the palace, for it resembled her own palace, with its high walls and its many spires, as though it had been built in a similar fashion even though it was distinctively different, similar to the way cousins or siblings might closely resemble one another, yet still be entirely different. Ariana also noticed that, unlike the other buildings in the forest, the palace was made entirely of stone, the same white stone that illuminated the forest. It was beautiful and majestic and, as Keira led her up to its gate, Ariana felt unsure of herself, of whether she should even be in such a place.
CHAPTER THREE
"What is wrong with him?" Zachary asked. He sat on a stool at the edge of the bed and stared at the young man who lay, barely conscious, inside the room at the inn. The mage had left his bottle of sweetwater downstairs in the tavern and he wished he had brought it with him, but he knew it would not help. The countless bottles he had consumed barely scratched the surface of his power, sometimes making his body wobble and his words run together, but leaving his thoughts unaffected, which made his drinking something of a futile pursuit. He had taken to drinking to numb himself, to escape from the pain of the world and the things that had haunted him for so many
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