Here is chapter 9. The story is getting longer than I first had thought. Even if the general storyline is finished the details between the major events seem to live their own life and are growing. Roe and Alexander will meet their destinies sooner or later but it will take longer to get there than I had planned.


Alexander had never seen elves before except at the banquet that was hold to his honour when he was little. Of course he could not remember that. All elves looked like they were the same age with one exception, a young girl about his age. She must be Princess Aliendre he thought. The princess looked steady at him with her large blue eyes and an expression that indicated that she was bored. Alexander thought that she was the most beautiful girl that he’d ever seen.


Aliendre’s bored expression did not change when it was her turn to greet the guest.
“I am pleased to meet you Prince Alexander.” Her voice was soft and graceful but her facial expression did not match her words. There was not a trace of a smile on her lips.



The guards only stayed to get a couple of days rest from the travel before it was time for them to return home. When Roland bowed and said “Goodbye Alexander it was a pleasure to escort you,” he sounded sincere and when he looked at Alexander it was with a respect that hadn’t been there before.

The guards left and Alexander was the only human left. But the elves were friendly and kept him busy. There were always new and interesting things to learn. Alexander worked hard, determined to make a good impression and to improve himself.




The palace garden was magnificent. Pleasant flagrances from colourful flowers filled the air. Bees and butterflies drank from the nectar. Archways, fountains, footpaths and statues added to the beauty. Most fantastic of all was the statue of the elven queen. It was perfect with real clothes and hair.

“I hope that you have settled in and that everything is to your satisfaction.” The friendly voice made Alexander jump because he had thought that he was alone.



“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you Alexander. I was lost in the past. Sometimes we elders forget the present and loose ourselves in past times.”

Now Alexander realised that it was not a statue at all. It was actually the queen herself who had been completely still in the same posture for a long time. He could swear that she hadn’t even blinked.



Despite all new things to explore and learn Alexander felt a bit lonely and missed his friends and family. He had hoped that he and Aliendre would become friends. After all they were the only teenagers here. She did, however, seem to avoid him. He greeted her every time they occasionally met but she answered shortly and did not stop even to exchange a few polite phrases. Usually girls were more than happy to talk with Alexander, but on the other hand he had never met an elven girl before.



To Alexander’s surprise and delight Aliendre approached him one day.

“Would you like to come with me on an excursion?” she asked. There was still not a trace of a smile in her face.



They went by horse to a place close to the palace. All colours were more intense than they were at home in the human kingdom. The grass was greener and there were colourful flowers that Alexander had never seen at home. It looked almost like an enchanted landscape. He said this to Aliendre in an attempt to open a conversation.


“Of course,” she said. The king and queen use their powers too keep this place as we like it.”

Alexander was dumbfounded. He hadn’t really expected magic to be involved although he had known that some of the elves from the oldest families had strong powers. It was one thing to read about magic powers and another thing to see evidence of it.



“Would you like to practice archery with elven bows?” Aliendre said.

“Yes, I would love to.” Alexander had always enjoyed archery. Aliendre provided him with a bow and arrows.



The first arrow hit the target in the bullseye and the next was not very far from it. Alexander found that his results were better than ever. He had never used such a good bow.

“Has this been prepared with magic?” he asked Aliendre. It seamed reasonable that the bow could be enchanted if the landscape was.

“No,” she said as if he was stupid to ask such a question. “We have very skilful craftsmen.”

Alexander shot some more arrows and was satisfied with the result. Aliendre picked up a bow and started to practice on another target and Alexander noted that she was skilled. Obviously she had done this many times before.

“Would you like to compete?” Alexander asked.


Aliendre nodded. Although Alexander couldn’t deny that she was very talented he was satisfied to note that he was better. He was too competitive to consider letting her win just to be polite.

A small wrinkle formed between Aliendre’s brows and her otherwise full lips narrowed to a thin line. “Let’s increase the distance,” she said.

Okay, she’s a bad loser Alexander thought amused and accepted the challenge. He felt confident about his skill with the bow. All the hours of practice had given result and with the elven bow he was better than ever. But when he saw how far away Aliendre had meant he protested.

“I can hardly see the targets there. How am I am supposed to be able to aim?”

Aliendre smiled content. “Do you give up?”

Although Alexander did well Aliendre won this time. I was clear that elves had better vision than humans. Aliendre was not only a bad loser she was also a bad winner. Although Alexander could tell that she tried to hide her content she did not succeed very well.


Alexander picked some flowers nearby.
“These are for the beautiful winner” he said with smile. “I will carry them back home for you.”



To Alexander’s surprise and delight Aliendre’s lips formed bright smile that made her look radiant. For once the imperious princess was amused. “You shouldn’t have picked those flowers,” she said.

“Why, is there a law against picking them?” Alexander looked horrified and threw the flowers on the ground.

“No, there’s no need for a law. No one would be stupid enough to pick them,” Aliendre said with a laugh. “Almost no one” she corrected herself with a look at Alexander. “You will understand very soon what I’m talking about.”

Before Aliendre had finished the sentence Alexander felt how his hands started to twinge and he could see vesicles popping up.

“The flowers have a poisonous sap,” Aliendre said. The tone of compassion in her voice surprised Alexander. “It’s not dangerous but will hurt for a while. You’re lucky though. I have something in my saddle bag that will help.”


She got an ointment and salved Alexander’s hands that started to feel better immediately. Aliendre’s hands were warm and soft.

“It was worth it to see you smile” Alexander said when Aliendre met his eyes for a moment. It seemed to get her out of balance for a short while.

When they rode home Aliendre smiled a little when he joked with her. She told him about the places they passed and asked a couple of questions about his family. In the short ride home they exchanged more words than they had since Alexander came to the light elves.




Alexander smiled. He had known exactly what plants that he had picked. They grew at home also and he was well aware that they would cause a rash. It had been worth it to break the ice between him and Aliendre. An extra bonus was that Aliendre had had a healing salve so he didn’t even have to suffer much. He thought about the softness of Aliendre’s hands. It had been a very good day on the whole.