Gia

An elf enters the room, ears sharp enough to cut through glass.

 

Gia rested her pale hand against the silky wooden door, her fingers long and perfect. They could have been the fingers of a pianist, but Gia had never had the patience to learn the instrument.  She moved with the grace of a dancer as she gently pushed open the door, which emitted a soft squeal, and entered the room.

The room was as pale as Gia’s milky skin, the plush carpet giving off the appearance of undisturbed snow, and was filled with ordinary people. Humans. All of them different sizes and shapes and colours, from the corpse-like pallor of a portly older man in the corner to the rich darkness of the elfin-figured young lady near the window. Of course, she wasn’t an elf. Her ears, uncovered by her tied-back hair, were perfectly rounded. Human.

Gia unconsciously touched the pointed tip of one of her ears. It was sharp enough to cut glass. She knew it was perfectly plausible to do, since she had tried it once when she was very young. Then, she was had only been seventeen years of age. That was twenty years ago when she had still been a small child. The elves lived long lives, and took a long time to reach maturity. For human standards, Gia would have only appeared seventeen now when she was in truth thirty-seven. Still an adolescent in the eyes of the elves.

One young man sitting on a white, completely unblemished couch touched his own ear. It was hidden behind long, dark hair. Gia’s hair was white-blonde, not an uncommon colour among the elves. She smiled at the young man, who stood with grace that made Gia die a little inside. She would never be that graceful.

“Hello, Gia,” said the young man as he approached her. “I have been waiting for you. My name is Pem.”

Gia smiled shyly as she always did when meeting a male elf. “Hi.”

Pem took Gia’s hand in one of his, which was infinitely more beautiful. “Come in, Gia. Sit with me.” Pem led her to the couch. Gia felt clumsy and awkward beside him. How did he walk like every move was perfectly choreographed in a dance?

Gia sat down, concentrating on matching Pem’s motion. She failed miserably. Pem sat with her, his dark brown eyes open and friendly as they stared into Gia’s pale silver. Someone coughed, a wheezing cough of a dying man, and it broke Gia’s absorption. They were not among elves, she remembered. They were among humans, who were so fragile and fallible that it would not have been a surprise if one of them had dropped dead right then.

“Mortality will claim all of us one day,” Pem whispered in her ear. “This is what I have brought you here to teach you. We are not good at accepting our own frailty like humans are.”

Gia sighed. Pem must have been one of the Gifted Ones, who were born with innate magical abilities. Only a Gifted One could carry such wisdom at such a young age. He was only slightly older than Gia was. Pem’s status as a Gifted One also explained his beauty, how it even outshone that of Gia. Gia’s only advantage given to her was her remarkable good looks as she was incredibly fair even by elven standards. Yet, she had a gut feeling that Pem had something more to tell her.

“Gia,” he said softly. “We have been watching you for a long time, waiting for you to blossom and join us. You are nearly ready. Soon you will become a Gifted One.”

Gia blinked. “But how can you tell?”

Pem chuckled. “My brother’s gift is determining the potential of others. He was very impressed by you, as am I.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.” Pem smiled a heartbreakingly beautiful smile. “Even to me, the signs are obvious. You are particularly perceptive to the world around you. There’s no exact way to tell how your gifts will manifest themselves, but I think you might become a Reader.”

“What’s a Reader?” Gia asked. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Someone was watching her. She twisted around in her seat and the older man she had noticed before quickly averted his eyes.

“I suppose that answers my question,” said Pem. “You sense things. Different elves sense different things, but we will find out in time.”

“Oh. Okay.” Gia still felt edgy. “Something doesn’t feel right.”

Pem looked around and his eyes grew black for a moment. “You’re right. This place isn’t safe.” Even the leafy green ferns outside the window suddenly seemed ominous. Pem pulled Gia to her feet and rushed her out the door. The door slammed shut behind them as they escaped from a danger unknown.

Author's Note

The picture is not mine, as is the case with all the pictures I've used for my stories thus far...except for my Writer's Block piece.

Reviews

[Twilight]

This was a pleasure to read. To make it even better, why not add a little background information? Also, your paragraphs could be longer. At present, it reads slightly like a theatrical or TV script.

More detailed descriptions of the key characters, would also help to make this more interesting for the reader. As another reviewer has suggested, it would be nice if you added to this piece! It may be worth submitting to the "Beyond Fantasy" Group on this site (of which I am also a member), for others to read, share or review?

I noticed that you have another piece which references writer's block. That may be worth including in my own Group, "Twilight's Disciples"? Keep reading, writing, sharing and reviewing, Ann Elise!

[Will McLeod]

Well-written and I hope you write more of it. I had some difficulty visualizing the scene because of uncertaintly about the size of the elves. The word "elf" by itself brings to my mind a creature maybe three feet tall, or even a few inches tall. But I got the sense that these elves are human-sized, like Tolkien's elves. For me, something at the start to establish that they're human-sized would help (if they are). Maybe, for many people now, familiarity with Tolkien's elves has caused people to stop thinking of elves as small, in which case it wouldn't be necessary. If so, that's an interesting change in people's imaginations.

[ATG]

This was a great read. I would love to read more. I'm glad to hear this idea became a novel idea. I hope to read it one day.

[Coyote Poetry]

The story was amazing. You left me with a open ending. What did they run from? Gia had great power. Few could create fear in her. Complete story was very good. You made wish to read more. A excellent story.
Coyote

[Larry Dyson]

An evolving female heroine ..in prepubesant form ..a female warrior like My own Ladies of Hawk Dragon..with your permission i would love to borrow the characters and the plot for one of My stories..?Please read ..my collections and chapters? I would love your reviews..ty, Sir /nitsuki1

[Emily]

i like this story! and im so happy to have a fantasy story that isnt about vampires or werewolves submitted in my contest! Not that I dont love them but it gets repetitive. It also helps that ive always beem fascinated by elves. lol the only the I disliked was that it wasnt longer!

[angelina neves]

Lovely!

[Lluvia]

I enjoyed this story. I loved the interaction between the two elves and definitely would love to read more, as they both sound interesting!

[Luke Masters]

Well done. I particularly enjoyed the interaction between the two elves and would definitely have an interest in learning more about them. My only observation personally is that I would have liked more of a time and place setting, so that I could identify the world a little better. Is it set within the standard fantasy elf backdrop of some medieval and magical world, or are we witnessing a scene from a contemporary setting - are these elves walking among us now? If confronted, are these elves going to pull a gun or a sword? I couldn't tell from the descriptions when and where we were, but some of the references made me feel like it may have been closer to the contemporary setting than the medieval - such as the reference to a pianist or being sharp enough to cut glass. Just a thought. Otherwise, I liked it and again, I particularly liked the suspense built between the elves in relation to who and what they are. Thanks for a good read.

[deeps]

Kind of suspenseful in a way.I enjoyed this write alot. I thought it all read very well. You have wonderful imagery going on. Wonderful detail as well. This is a wonderful write I liked this. This would be more wonderful if you had more. It's a great write as it is though.