“Thank you.” I hurried after her, stumbling slightly, flushed as I was with the emotional upheaval I’d suffered today. I turned once and glanced behind. The Elf King’s eyes stalked me as I made my way from the throne room, a hunger lacing his glare.
My stomach tightened, and I yelped at the unguarded expression of the king. Why had he turned Lila, his maiden, away when he had such hunger in his eyes? I knew it wasn’t for my baking, nor, I think, for my body. This was a deeper hunger. A need. An expectation that I must fulfill.
The King expected something of me and I had no clue what it was.
What would happen to me if I failed?
6
THE FIRST TASK
The hallway was of elegantly carved alabaster stone. Massive white gemstones glowed from within deeply set alcoves lining the way. The sight of the glowing gemstones filled me with awe. They seemed as if they were lit with fire from within, but of course these gemstones offered no heat. The elves had magic, of course. I knew this, but seeing something as unattainable as magic used for something as simple as offering light had me both unsettled and amazed.
But not all magic was shining gemlights and transformation. I’d heard of the Bitner’s farm, of the darkness that spread there. Sam had said something had broken through from The Falls. If I knew one thing, it was that the darkness had come from the land of the elves. I’d need to keep on high alert in this strange new land of magic and riddles with a people I knew next to nothing about.
Rafia led me through a maze of gilded hallways, stairs, and alcoves. Many of the doors had intricate carvings of trees, flowers, birds and various unique objects. I tried to make sense of the individualized doors when, at last, Rafia led me to a veryplain wooden door. It had only a single rune on its facade, right above the bejeweled bronze handle.
This door—a shudder wracked through me—was the door to my new prison. The finality of a different living space beside my own home, my own room, well, it broke something within me.
“You’ll get it carved to your liking in time, Miss.” Rafia noticed my gaze, probably thinking I was sad about how plain it was. She opened the door and nodded to the room beyond. “This will be your home, Miss Noelle, for as long as you live among us.”
“And if I desire to go back to the human lands?” I asked petulantly, not daring to look within.
“It can only be done if the king wills it, Miss.” Rafia’s magenta eyes were on the ground.
Which had never happened in the history of the world, so I was thinking I’d be better off asking the herbs in my garden if they’d mind being chopped up for dinner.
Rafia pushed open the door fully, revealing the stunning room beyond. Large white arches lined the bright ceiling, taller than my bakery back home. A single bed, the size of my entire bedroom back home, sat in the center of the stately space covered in silks and linens finer than any I’d ever seen. Hand-painted flowers decorated the walls in pops of pinks and greens. Curving walnut furniture lined the walls, awaiting fancy gowns and underclothes that would never fill them.
I pushed into the room, jaw on the floor. All this for a lowly human baker?
“It’s…” My throat closed up around the words beautiful, magical, incredible, otherworldly. Yes, they all described the room, but the beauty was soured like spoiled milk. Mother. Daisy. The thought of them threatened to swallow me whole. I ran out to the large balcony beyond the bedroom and pulled in some deep breaths.
A deep orange sunset reflected from the balconies that lined the entire side of the castle, leading at least five stories down to the grounds and twenty up above where I stood. Below, perfectly manicured trails led twisting paths through the bright foliage. Fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers of every color bloomed and grew, though the air held a mild autumn chill. How did they grow summer squash, tomatoes, strawberries at the end of an autumn turned winter?
The answer was obvious. Magic.
I’d climbed the hills surrounding my village, but save the ride through the cliffs this morning, I’d never seen the world from this high of a vantage.
Awe filled me. Not only were the grounds large, intricate and well-cared for, but the homes beyond, though not of human-make, looked peaceful and delicate. There was a whole world out there I’d never dared dream of, and I could see it whenever I wished. But it came at a cost I was not willing to pay. I would never see my mother and sister again.
Tears rimmed my eyes, and I wiped them on the sleeve of my green velvet dress, the dress my mother slipped over my head just this afternoon.
“Do you find the room to your liking, miss?” Rafia asked from across the room. I jumped as I sniffed back my emotions, remembering I was not alone. But the tears welled to the surface with every shallow breath.
Rafia placed my trunk on a bench by the dresser and began to unpack my things into a more permanent place in the forest green wardrobe.
“Oh, sorry. I’ll do that.” I jumped from the balcony and made my way to Rafia.
“No miss,” Rafia shook her head. “Please allow me to serve you.”
She handled my very plain clothes as if they were grand gowns worn by a fine lady. My stomach tightened with unease. Her servant smock was of finer make than some of my best dresses. I shook my head. I’d never need grand dresses here, just ones that felt comfortable as I kneaded dough and painted frostings. That was all I was sent here to do, after all.
“Your personal chamber is through there.” Rafia nodded to another door beside a large tapestry of intricate flowers and fruits.
Through it, I found a full marble bathroom complete with a claw-foot tub that would have no trouble fitting my entire family. Mother would love this place. Daisy would already have paints in her hands, eager to add to the flowers on the walls.
And I would never see them again.
