Through the Portal

The next day, at breakfast, the elven lord, Aelfric, announced that they would have a celebration that night, in honor of Katherine’s visit. She felt a little awkward, but she smiled and thanked him, as was appropriate.

“They seem excited to have you here,” William commented. She had been invited to sit at Aelfric’s table, but had elected to sit with their group, telling him they were her responsibility, so she needed to stay with them.

She nodded, still looking rather embarrassed. “It’s nice, sometimes, but all the attention can be a little uncomfortable.” She glanced at the elven lord. “A night of festivities might be good, though. It could be a relaxing break from all the stress that we’ve been going through.” She looked at them. “I know you all could use a break.” She smiled at William. “Especially, since you’ve been taking lessons from Valda.”

He nodded and looked at her. “You took lessons from her, too, right? Someone mentioned that.”

“I did.” Katherine cocked her head. “Did Galen give you the orange drink?”

“Yes and it helped me a lot.” William paused. “Do you know what’s in it?”

“Yes.” She thought for a moment. “But it’s not really important. It’s probably best not to think too much on it.”

He frowned at her, not liking that answer. “Why does everybody keep telling me that?”

Katherine shrugged and smiled at Josie. “I hear you’ve been a big help to Alesia.”

Josie nodded. “I’m really good at cleaning.”

“I’m sure you are.” Her voice was filled with amusement. She was clearly fond of the girl. Anyone could see that. She looked around at the group as they finished their meals. “Well, I hope to see you all at the party, tonight. In the meantime, make the most of your last day here.” She stood and headed back to her hut, prepared to squeeze in a little more rest, knowing she would need her strength for what lay ahead.

That afternoon, William had his last lesson with Valda, since she was expected to attend the festivities and wouldn’t be able to work with him in the evening. They sparred and he managed to hold his own for several minutes. She still got the upper hand, but she didn’t bother knocking him down. “You’ve improved a lot in just a few days.” She let her sword hand fall to her side. “However, you will need to keep practicing during your travels if you ever want to be able to win a fight.”

William nodded his understanding. “I will do my best to keep up with my training.”

“You can ask Katherine to practice with you,” Valda suggested. “She is a capable swordswoman.”

“So I’ve seen.” He remembered their spar back at the children’s apartment. It seemed like a lifetime ago to William. He looked at his teacher. “Do you know anything about the Blue Palace?”

“It’s supposed to be the safest place in Mirra. The whole city is surrounded by an indestructible wall, which is constantly guarded. The palace, itself, is also said to be indestructible. Thus far, no one has proven that idea wrong.” Valda shrugged. “At any rate, I’ve never visited the place, myself, so I only know what I hear.”

“Right.” William sighed. “I guess I’ll find out more about it, soon enough.”

“Send me a letter to let me know how it is,” she told him. “Also, be sure to include details on how much you’ve progressed in your training. It had better be quite a bit if you don’t want me to come and show you what I can do with a real sword.”

He smiled. “I will. I promise.” That seemed to satisfy her and they headed back to the village to get ready for the party.

“That looks quite good,” Pene commented, as she looked over the design Henry had added to the shirt he’d made, “Does it represent something?”

“It’s the sun,” he told her. At her blank look, he added, “Something from my world. It provides light, during the day.”

She nodded her understanding. “It would have to be very bright. I think your world must be quite interesting.”

Henry shrugged. “It’s actually rather dull compared to Mirra.”

“I think any world seems mundane to those who live in it,” she replied, with a smile. “You have to leave what you know to discover something more interesting to you.”

He thought about that and nodded, seeing the point. “Do you think it would be alright if I wore this tonight?”

“I see no reason why not.” Pene looked it over, again. “It seems festive, enough.”

Meredith hit the swinging target, a few times, smiling at how fast she had progressed.

“You still have a long way to go,” Theron told her. “However, I wouldn’t mind having you watch my back in a fight.”

“Thanks.” She unstrung her bow and set it down, looking at it, longingly, since she knew she would be unlikely to return and practice with it, again.

“Well, we had best head back and get ready,” he said. “We wouldn’t want to risk insulting anybody by being late.”

“Is that an insult?”

Theron nodded. “Especially when we have such an honored guest. I doubt our lady would make a fuss, but everyone else would consider us rude.”

Meredith frowned. “That doesn’t make much sense.”

“People rarely do.” He smiled. “Well, I will see you, tonight. I look forward to seeing how you look dressed up.” He headed back to the village.

It was a few minutes after he left that the meaning of his words hit her. She wondered where she was going to find a dress suitable for a party. The elves had provided her with everyday clothes, but she wasn’t sure they would have something dressy for her to wear.

However, her fears proved to be ill-founded, since, as soon as she got to her hut, Meredith found a red dress with gold trimming. The cut and design made it look far more elegant than what she was wearing and she couldn’t wait to try it on.

“I see you found your dress.” Alesia stood in the doorway. “I’ve prepared a bath and I was hoping you might let me do your hair, since it will be my last opportunity.

Meredith smiled and nodded, feeling grateful beyond words.

“Are you going to the party, tonight?” Jake asked of his teacher as they were cleaning up.

Galen nodded. “I would never miss an opportunity to honor our lady. Besides, the festivities are likely to be quite fun.”

“I’ve never been to an elf festival, before,” Jake commented, realizing he was stating the obvious.

Galen just smiled. “Well, it should be an experience for you, then.” He nodded towards the door. “You’d best be off to get ready. It would be rude to be late.”

Jake nodded and headed out the door, wondering what the party would be like.

It was held in a big clearing, not far from the village. In the center of the clearing, there was what looked like a bonfire, except the flames were as colorful as the lights in the sky and it didn’t feel warm. The elves danced around them, some in pairs and some alone. A few elves played music on various wind and string instruments.

“Well, look at you,” William commented as he saw Henry, wearing his new shirt. “You’ll make me jealous, dressing like that.” He and Jake had been given identical gold-trimmed, red tunics and dark pants. They looked nice, but not nearly as festive as the sun design on Henry’s shirt.

He just smiled. “I guess you should have taken up sewing, then.” He looked William over. “What did you do to your hair?”

The older boy, reflexively, ran a hand through it. It was still thick, but not nearly as shaggy as it had been. As he was heading to the hut, Alesia had caught him and talked him into letting her fix it up. “It was getting in my eyes. Shut up.”

“It wasn’t an insult,” Henry assured him. “You look very pretty.”

“Like a doll,” Jake added.

“That’s it.” William went for them, but the twins ran away. He started to chase them down, but stopped when he caught sight of Katherine.

She was standing to the side, wearing a red dress with a layer of gold lace, which shimmered as the light was reflected off of it. Her hair was done up with gold flowers woven in and her curls framed her face. She smiled as she caught sight of him. “Don’t you look dashing, tonight.”

“Thank you.” He returned the smile, easily. “You look beautiful.” He swore he saw a faint blush, but it could have been a trick of the light.

“Thank you.” She looked to the twins, who had stopped, a safe distance away. “Why were you chasing them?”

He paused, having trouble remembering as he stared at her. “It wasn’t important.”

Katherine nodded and looked back at him. “Well, you have come over here. Are you going to ask me to dance?”

He looked away, uncomfortably. “I’m not much of a dancer.” He glanced around. “I would think you’d have guys lining up to ask you to dance.”

Katherine sighed. “It seems they are all too uncertain to do so. I am considered very important, so people tend to get nervous around me, even elves.” She grabbed his hand. “But this is my party and I intend to dance.” She dragged him to a clear space and curtseyed.

He gave a clumsy bow, assuming that was what she expected. He let her take his hands and guide him through some simple steps.

Tristan stood to the side, keeping an eye on the pair, with a frown.

“She seems to be having fun,” Aelfric commented, coming to stand beside him.

“That was the point of this party, wasn’t it?”

“Indeed, it was.” The elven lord looked at him. “It would be nice if you could find a way to have fun, as well.”

“I am content as I am,” Tristan replied, never looking away from Katherine.

“Well, perhaps you can have the next dance.” Aelfric walked away, not giving him a chance to argue.

Katherine smiled as she watched William. “It will be easier if you don’t stare at your feet the whole time.”

He looked up at her, knowing he was blushing. “Sorry.” He cleared his throat and nodded towards the bonfire-that-wasn’t-a-bonfire. “What makes the light like that?”

She glanced over, as though she had hardly notice it. “Magic.”

She looked back to him and William, briefly, wondered if she was teasing him. However, it wasn’t so unlikely in this world. He searched her face for any indication of a jest, but found none. “It looks like the lights in the sky.”

She nodded. “Those are magic, as well. It’s what provides light, in this realm. Even the lantern in my room was set aglow using magic.”

He stared at her, surprised by the answer. “There must be a lot of magic in Mirra, then.”

“Yes.” Katherine smiled. “Everything that lives and breathes, here, radiates magic. Of course, only certain people can harness it. The elves have nature magic, which allows them to make the trees grow however they want and make the wind blow. Of course, that magic only allows them to control, not create.”

“What kind of magic do you use?” he asked, remembering the sheer power they’d seen when she fought the shadow wyrm.

“That is the power of the guardians.” She took a moment to consider how to word it. “We can harness any kind of magic, like when I used the magic from the stream to fuel a warding spell. Unlike most creatures, we can even harness our own life force, which makes us very powerful, but drains our energy. We’re immortal and can recover, but it takes time.”

William nodded, starting to understand, a little. “Can you do anything else?”

“Of course.” She smiled and leaned closer. “But you’re going to have to work harder to learn anything else from me.” She spun away from him.

William smiled and followed her, taking her hands, again. “Give me some time and I’ll get your secrets out of you.”

“And how do you intend to do that?”

Before he could answer, Tristan came out of nowhere and shoved them aside. He raised his sword to block one that had been heading toward them. The movement was so fast, it took William a moment to process it. In the meantime, Tristan began fighting off an elf who seemed intent on reaching William with his sword.

The elf looked pale and, at first, William thought his eyes were hidden in a shadow, then he realized they had turned black. He managed to get close to the boy and brought the blade down. William, reflexively, raise an arm to protect himself and he felt the sword biting into his flesh. Tristan managed to get between them, again, and pushed the other elf back with his sword. Several elves rushed to help and, before long, they had the black-eyed one restrained.

It seemed to be over, but he, somehow, managed to break free of them. He fought the elves, fervently, kicking and slicing like he was mad. He turned back to William and the boy thought his life was over for a second, then a blade came through the elf’s body. He screamed and black smoke poured from his mouth, dissipating into the dark sky. The blade was withdrawn and the elf collapsed on the ground, revealing Valda behind him, still holding the bloodied sword. She was wearing an elegant dress, but William wouldn’t have dared to tell her she looked pretty, even if he had full use of his facilities, which he didn’t.

“You killed him.” Tristan’s voice was accusatory.

Valda turned on him. “He was already dead. Didn’t you see his eyes? If I hadn’t stepped in and helped you, half these people would be dead.”

“I was handling it just fine. I didn’t need your help.”

While they were arguing, Galen sent Jake to fetch his medical supplies from his hut and the boy ran off. The healer had seen how many injuries there were and knew there was no point in trying to get them all back to the hut.

“Enough.” Aelfric came over, silencing Tristan and Valda. “You each acted as you thought was best and we will not fault either of you.” He looked at the dead elf. “His eyes were black, meaning he was possessed by a dark creature. Does anyone know how that happened?”

“I’m afraid I do.” The healer stepped forward, looking guilty. “He came to my hut a few days ago, having been bitten by a serpent. I thought it was just a normal creature that had acted out of fear because of the recent attacks and I treated it as a typical wound.”

Aelfric nodded his understanding. “It was an honest mistake, which I am sure you will not make again.”

Jake heard some of what was said as he returned with a bag of emergency medical supplies.

Galen smiled at him. “Thank you, Jacob.” He looked to Aelfric. “I am sorry my inaction caused so much trouble. I will do my best to avoid such mistakes in the future.”

Aelfric nodded again, seeming to be satisfied. “For now, just deal with the damage done.” He walked away, leaving the healer to his work.

Galen knelt beside an elf that had been knocked unconscious and began trying to determine the severity of the injury.

Jake knelt beside him. “What happened? That guy seemed fine when he left that day.”

Galen nodded. “They usually do, if you treat the injury. If they die quickly, they immediately become possessed by the darkness. If the wound is treated, as his was, it takes a few days for the venom of the creature to seep into their hearts and kill them, thus taking possession.”

Jake frowned. “Did we ever stand a chance of saving him?”

Galen sighed and shook his head. “We gave him a few extra days. That’s as much as the possessed can hope for, really.” He looked at Jake. “Try not to let it trouble you. This was the dark sorcerer’s fault, alright?”

Jake nodded, still unhappy. “I’ll go check on someone else.” He grabbed some bandages and walked over to an elf that had been cut up, a bit.

Galen managed to get his patient awake and determine he was going to live. The healer then turned to William. “I should probably have a look at your arm, next.”

William stared at him, blankly, then down to his arm, having been too shocked to feel the pain when it was cut. However, he felt it, now. He held his arm out for examination, dumbly.

Galen looked it over. “It’s fairly deep, but you’re going to be okay. No arteries were hit, as far as I can tell. It just needs to be cleaned and bandaged.” He reached for his supplies. “Roll your sleeve up for me, please.” When he turned back to William and saw the boy had not obeyed, he assumed it was because of the shock and attempted to push the sleeve up, himself.

William put a hand on Galen’s to stop him. “I’ll be fine.”

“You won’t be fine if I don’t treat it.” Galen sighed. “I need to bandage this or you’ll lose more blood. Now, please, cooperate, so I can move on to the others.”

“I’ll bandage it, then,” William replied, his eyes fixed on the elf’s hand, which was still on his arm. “I’m sure I can handle it.”

Galen shook his head. “If it were your leg, maybe, but you can’t bandage your own arm. It takes two hands.”

“I could help you,” Katherine offered, wondering if that might make him more comfortable.

“I’m fine,” William insisted, not looking at either of them.

After looking at him, Katherine sighed. “You don’t want your sleeve rolled up, do you?” He didn’t answer, but she nodded, as if he had. “Nobody but Galen will look, okay?” She turned away, as if to prove it. “You just have to get it over with.”

William seemed about to argue further, but, instead, he sighed and pushed the sleeve up, just enough to reveal the gash. He looked away, as though he didn’t want to see his own arm.

Galen wiped away the blood and paused as he looked at the arm. It was covered in old scars, many of which he couldn’t guess the cause of, but he said nothing. Instead, he quickly bandaged the arm and walked away, allowing William to pull his sleeve back down, which he did, without hesitation, not wanting anyone else to see.