Chapter 19

"That...was awful." Maple groaned, bending over and clutching her stomach.

I wasn't much better, even though I'd done it once. Birch had flung us through the trees for so long I had begun to wonder if we'd ever reach. But we did. And I could easily ignore my nausea at the sight of our camp.

It was horrible.

The camp had been ransacked. We were in the tents' area, where the strategy meetings used to take place. Tents were lying on the ground, muddy and torn, boot prints all over them. We gazed ahead, horrified, because without the tents we could see the cottages where the families of the rebels used to live.

There were many others around us, staring with shock at what was once their home.

Birch moved first.

He sprinted ahead, followed by Aiden, and Arden, then Maple and I. Birch stopped at his cottage and glanced back at me. "Be careful. They could have left a trap here."

We nodded, and he cautiously pushed the door, which was hanging on one hinge, open.

I swallowed.

The sofas were overturned. The dining table had fallen sideways on the floor because two of its legs had broken off and were lying on the floor near it. One curtain was torn but hanging. The other was on the floor. The kitchen was a disaster area, with utensils and food everywhere. We turned to the hallway where our rooms had been, and I felt like closing my eyes to avoid looking at the mess.

We went to my room first. I flinched. It was as destroyed as the rest of the house. We moved on quietly, to the other rooms.

We walked through the house but didn't find anything out of the ordinary. If you can call the ruining of a house nothing out of the ordinary. I tried to ignore the flashes of grief that occasionally passed over Aiden's and Arden's faces.

Aiden hid it well, but I could see how disturbed he was. Arden, however, didn't seem able to conceal how he felt. Every time I saw, a pang of sorrow hit me hard.

Once we were out, Birch said "Come with me." We walked back towards the tents, giving me plenty of time to see all the damage. Every house was destroyed like Birch's. I felt so guilty I could hardly breathe.

Because of me, this whole camp had been destroyed, we were refugees in another rebel camp, and elves could have died. It was all my fault. Just then, Aiden passed me. When he was next to me, in that one fraction of a moment he murmured, "It's okay now. Stop thinking about it, it's over."

I stared at him in surprise as he passed ahead. He glanced back once as he passed me, and in his eyes, I saw neither reassurance nor blame. Just acceptance. Then Arden and Maple appeared on either side of me, and he looked back front.

"So, what really happened in the attack?" Arden asked.

"We were just eating when someone knocked on the door. He said that Ivy - the Queen - was attacking. I went with Aiden and your mother, father and sister went another way."

"And you're telling me that you just walked to the next camp, no attacks or anything?" He asked, sounding concerned.

I glanced at both of them once. I thought it was best to remain silent. Arden apparently took this as a no. "What happened?"

"Ivy," I answered. He nodded slowly. Maple glanced at me once, guiltily, before looking away.

By then, we had reached a large tent. Birch and Aiden walked in and came out with weapons and - staffs.

"We don't have enough weapons in the other camps?" Arden asked. Aiden dumped some staffs in my arms and went back in for more.

Birch shook his head. "We're lucky the soldiers didn't find these - we hid them safely. We need as much as possible."

"How are staffs weapons?" Maple asked, Aiden shoving some into her hands as well.

"I'll show you when we reach the other camp. Take a deep breath - we're going back now."

Once we reached the camp, we dropped off the staffs, the weapons, but kept one for each of us.

"So, what do we use these for?" Arden asked, shifting it in his hands.

"We never used these before, because you didn't need them. This kind of staff is very difficult to make - we infuse the Forest's magic in them. They support us with more difficult things. It becomes easier to use the Forest," Birch said.

"The Queen doesn't have them?" Aiden asked.

Birch shook his head. "No. Only we know how to use them - we hid them from the Queen."

"So, what do we do?" Arden asked.

"Close your eyes and try to connect with the Forest. Try to feel it." Birch said. Aiden raised an eyebrow but closed his eyes. I sighed and closed my eyes too.

The staff helped.

As I closed my eyes, everything grew silent. I could hear every rustle of every leaf, the wind flowing through, even the bubbling of a nearby creek. I could even hear the breathing of my fellow elves.

My own breathing slowed, and I could feel the staff grounding me, connecting me to the Forest, closer than I had ever been. A ripple spread through me, and a voice resounded in my head.

Elvina.

Nalvia?

A figure formed in front of me, though I had my eyes closed. It was so ethereal I knew I'd forget it the moment I opened my eyes. Golden light shimmered and twisted beneath my closed eyelids, forming a figure of which I could barely make out the face. She was eternally beautiful.

Yes.

The answer flew back immediately.

What - what's happening? How is this happening?

You are the Princess. The closest elf to me. You are my chosen one. I cannot show you much - all my power cannot be with you. But, look.

Her figure dissipated, and a scene appeared in front of my eyes.

A wedding.

And not just any wedding. My parents' wedding. I looked closer and saw Ivy and my father.

They were in a small glade, the ground covered with cherry blossom petals, elves standing in silence as Ivy and my father stood under the white dogwood trees, clasping each other's hands.

My father looked dashing, red hair, vibrant like mine and his soft brown eyes full of love for his almost-wife. Ivy, though I hated to praise her, looked absolutely radiant.

I didn't understand why. She had seemed to hate my father so much that we always thought she had been forced into marriage.

But there she was, smiling up at my father like he was her whole world. He wore a dark green suit, gold strands woven into the fabric. The traditional attire for elf grooms, plus a gold crown on his head, marking him the Prince.

He had been crowned King after his wedding. Ivy looked beautiful, years younger in a long white gown, the train to the side. Green leaf designs shimmered on the gauzy fabric. The veil on her black head had been pushed to the back, a flower wreath on her hair.

I looked at the audience. There were many elves, some Council members like Sir Sorrel. At the very front rows, four elves caught my eyes, two on either side. Wearing crowns, two old elves holding hands.

I gasped, recognizing them.

My father's parents.

Cypress and Malus Elowen. My grandfather, the old king, his dark red hair graying, but his eyes clearly shining with pride at his son's wedding. Holding his hand, the former Queen, Cypress Elowen, her eyes looking watery.

On the other side, Ivy's parents. Magnolia and Oren Salix. They were crying freely but looked overjoyed.

My four grandparents watched proudly as my parents took their vows and completed the proper rituals. I watched as the priest handed first my father a silver ring, who slipped it onto my mother's finger, staring into her eyes the whole time, and then she did the same.

At the end, a wall of dirt rose up and covered my parents, melting away and revealing them in a passionate kiss. The watching elves broke out in applause, and finally they separated, smiling shyly at each other.

They turned to the priest, who moved aside as the King and Queen, Malus and Cypress Elowen, stepped up. Solemnly, Cypress reached up and placed a silver tiara on Ivy's head. It shone brightly amidst the dark strands of her hair.

Magnolia and Oren rushed up as well, and much hugging and crying took place. Ivy and my father only had eyes for each other, and in the glances they stole, I could see what this moment meant for them.

I gasped as the vision faded, taking it all in. That scene was nothing I could ever have expected.

They loved each other.

There was no doubt about it. My father, clearly, loved her. And she wasn't that good of an actress. There was only love and devotion in the way they looked at each other, finally a married couple. I could sense how long they had been waiting for this moment. They were only each other's.

So what had gone wrong?

Why had Ivy ended up killing the husband she plainly adored and seven daughters she had had with him? Why had she turned to Branch, even before his death? What had happened between them?

You must understand.

Nalvia's voice flew through my head again as the scene dissipated into darkness.

What is this? Why are you showing me?

I received no response. I felt the urge to open my eyes, so I slowly raised my eyelids, still trying to process everything I had seen, a million questions flying through my head.

Birch and Aiden were watching us, but Maple and Arden still had their eyes closed. As I watched, they opened their eyes. "You're so pale, Elvina, what's happened?" Maple asked, looking concerned. This obviously brought everyone's eyes to me.

"Uh - nothing. Just...cold, I suppose." I managed to say.

A cold draft blew through just then, and they nodded. "Did it help?" Birch asked.

Arden nodded. "Can we use them more?"

"Of course. It's about time for you to begin using them in training, anyhow. Come inside now."

The boys went into the house, but Maple hung back. "What's wrong, El?" She asked. I shook my head dully before going inside. I was too preoccupied to talk/

Images from my parents' wedding swirled through my head, leaving only confusion and a dull certainty beneath it all - I'd got this all wrong.

Something was strange. I felt like I didn't know what actually had happened. Up till now, I'd been absolutely clear - my mother had been forced into marriage, she had taken her revenge by murdering my father, and, for good measure, his children, and was with who she really loved - Branch.

But now? I wasn't quite so sure. What had happened to take my parents from that sunlit wedding to this? How had two elves, deeply in love, become separated and...one of them ended up killing the other?

Fighting was a part of every marriage, I knew, but this was not just that. Something had happened. And I needed to figure out what. I had to tell someone, to clear my mind, to hear some explanation, but who wouldn't tell anyone else or be very surprised. Someone who was naturally suspicious.

And only one person I knew was that.

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