Chapter 57: A LITTLE TO KNOW

I have been knocking at her door for a while now, but she wasn't responding. Is she avoiding me? Did I do anything wrong last night?

“Siofra! Siofra, it's me. Open up." I called out for her, but yet there was no response from her. I was beginning to get anxious. What if she collapsed?

“Siofra!!!” I banged on the door really hard, but there was no response. It felt off, so I rushed down to get a spare key for the room.

When I returned, I didn't waste much time opening the door and rushing inside in search of her. Her room was empty, and so was the bathroom.

If she isn't here, then where could she have gone?

Alda's POV

I groaned in pain when my body collided with the hard ground. Siofra, on the other side, landed with her feet like it was just a piece of cake.

“Yes, we are here.” She said it in excitement.

“Yeah, now can you help me up?”

“Oh, sorry. Grab my hand,” she said, offering me her hand, which I took, and she helped me up to my feet. 

“I'm confused; I'm not seeing any houses; all I see are trees, or do elves live in trees?”

“Very funny, Alda. Very funny. The portal brought us back to the same place I was when I entered your realm.”

“Does that mean we still have a long way to go before getting to Álfheimr?” I asked her, but she seemed so distracted as her ears pointed out like they heard something.

And just like I thought, she heard something since Siofra placed her index finger on her lips, indicating I should be quiet. 

“What?” I asked her in a whisper.

“Someone is here,” she replied, and that got me scared. What if it was a wild animal? We are, after all, in the woods.

“Should we run?” I asked her.

“What? Hell no, we need to know who that is. No one must know you are a human in an elf kingdom or you would be arrested.” She said, and my eyes widened in shock.

“And you had me follow you here dressed like a human.” I stared at her unbelievably.

“Ha ha ha, we were both in a haste, so why don't we keep low for today?” 

“You do know that we will both start sharing pain as well. If I die, you die. If I live, same with you.”

“Shh, you are going to get us exposed.” I rolled my eyes at her when I noticed she was just avoiding having that conversation with me.

“I will go check that side out while you do the same with the other side.”

“Can't we just go find your grandmother and leave whoever is poking around to sort his or her way out?”

“No, I was careless with my body, and I lost it. I'm not planning on letting you do the same with yours.”

I opened my mouth to say something to her, but my eyes widened when I saw the grass behind her moving. At first, I thought it was a rabbit until it stood up and I realised it was the size of a human or maybe an elf.

Siofra, on the other hand, noticed how tensed I was and turned. She backed away immediately, and that left me more tense. The person standing in front of us had grass covering its body.

“Show yourself!” Siofra demanded, but the funny fact is that she has forgotten that no one can see her.

“Aaah, I don't think whoever is there can hear you; remember, you are invisible to others except for me.” I reminded her, and she glared at me.

“I want my powers back. She took my babies; I'm not going to go easy on her if I ever get my powers back.”

Siofra and I stared at each other as the person hiding behind the grass ranted out. From the voice I heard, I could hear the femininity.

"Hello,” I said, trying to get her attention.

“Whose there? Please help me out of these stupid grasses. I am stuck.” 

“Oh, okay” 

“Where are you going?” Siofra asked, grabbing my hand as she stopped me from getting close to the lady.

“To help her, she needs our help, or is it my help? Anyone just needs to help her.”

“And what if she is harmful?” 

“I don't think so; just let me help her.”

"Fine, but I'm coming with you. If she tries anything stupid, then I'm not going to go easy on her,” Siofra said as she pushed me behind her, taking the lead.

I shook my head at how dramatic she was before following after her.

“Are you still there?” The lady asked.

“Yes, just hold still.” I grabbed the grass as I pulled, trying to get it off her, but like she said, it was stuck. What type of plant is this?

“It's not coming off,” I said to the lady. She groaned in frustration before she joined me in trying to get the grass off her, but instead it kept wrapping more around her.

“What type of grass is this?” I asked, amazed.

“It's a sea weed, and I don't think it will come off without fire. Do you think you can make a fire?” She asked. I stared at Siofra, waiting for her to give me an answer.

“What? Why are you staring at me like that?” She asked.

“You heard her; we need to make a fire, but I don't know what can be used. Since this is your realm, you should know better than me, so help.”

“Fine, come with me. There is this plant I know that is called a fire plant. I think it can get the seaweed away.”

“Fire plant?” I asked.

“Yes, find a fire plant; it can scare the seaweeds away. How on earth did I forget about that?” The lady said,.

“How do I know this fire plant?” I asked.

“It is usually brown like a dead leaf, but it grows a yellowish flower; it should be found around here,” the lady replied, and I turned towards Siofra only to find her glaring at me.

“What?” I asked her.

“And you had to ask her. I told you about the fire plant, so I should know what it looks like,” she said, sounding annoyed.

“Okay, please show me the fire plant and how to use it,” I said to her with a smile on my face.

“I would have loved to, but I can't see. This seaweed is clinging to me so badly.” The lady replied, thinking I was talking to her. I raised my eyebrows at Siofra, who shook her head continuously before dragging me by the hand to find the plant.

We found it not too far away from us, but when I reached out to take it, Siofra stopped me.

“What?”

“It has a side effect. If you take it without a proper sacrifice, you will seize existence.” She said it with all seriousness. My eyes widened in shock as I drew my hands away from the plant.

“I was joking. You should have seen your face; you looked scared. I'm guessing someone is finally adding meaning to her second chance.” I glared at her.

“Not funny, Siofra; this is not time for jokes,” I said to her, and I took the plant out of its root before returning it to the lady.

“Did you find it?” she asked.

“Yes, now tell me how to use it.”

“Just rub it against the seaweeds; it will melt it,” Siofra said before standing besides me.

“Who said that?” The lady asked. I was surprised, and so was Siofra. 

“Said what?” I asked.

“I thought I heard someone say something, or am I beginning to hear voices?” There was panic visible in her voice.

“Just relax; I will get you out in no time." I started rubbing the fire plant against the seaweeds, and it melted away. It didn't take much time to get those weeds away from her.

“Oh God, thank you so much. You saved my life,” she said, finally facing me. The elf in front of me had beautiful sea-blue eyes. I thought Siofra said elves have only one eye colour, and that is green. I turned towards her with questioning eyes, but she was also confused.

The lady was an elf, but her eyes didn't say so. And she was very beautiful; she looked like a goddess.

“Who is the lady behind you?” She asked me, and there again I was stunned.

“There is no one behind me,” I replied.

“I don't think so; there is an elf standing behind you, though it seems more like she lost something that made her depend on you." She can see Siofra.

Siofra's POV 

“You can see me?” I asked, approaching her as I waved my hand in front of her.

“Yes, and you are the second voice I have been hearing, I presume.” 

“How is this possible? Who are you, and why are your eyes different?” I asked, looking at her up close.

“Her eyes are also different, and she also doesn't look like an elf, so why are you giving me that look?” She asked. She started combing her hair with her fingers. The slime from the seaweeds didn't do good to her dress.

“But how can you see me?”

“Fine, you really want to know? I am Almaruda, the elf goddess of the sea.” She said, her chin raised high with pride. I laughed, because it was funny.

“Are you laughing?” She asked, looking pissed.

“Yes, how can you make a joke like that? You, Almaruda, don't think that is impossible. She is the elf goddess of water who can't leave the ocean.”

"Well, that used to be a thing for me until I was visited by an evil elf princess who had the black stone in her possession, and she also took my power, which left me without the ability to breathe underwater!” She said it without even taking a break.

“Wait, did you just say an elf princess possessed the power of the black stone?” I asked in panic.

“Yes, and you also left the part where she took my powers and my babies.” She added.

“What's going on? What is she talking about?” Alda asked.

“I think we are in big trouble. The vision that was shown to us might be coming to pass.”