Just the beginning of a book I'm writing.

Prologue
My breath came quick, my own heart was killing me as it pumped blood through my stomach wound. The gigantic ogre raised its trash-can-lid-sized hands to crush my skull. I knew contact with the huge creature would certainly bring me an early death. But right now, light headed, soaked in blood, and the gray lumpy figure of an ogre blotting out the sun, my chances weren’t looking so good. My arm automatically shot out, my new and improved reflexes taking over, and my slender elven fingers curled around a lump of matted and shaggy fur.
The beasts black eyes were huge and focused right on me. My new eyesight picked out vulnerable spots that would be good on anything else but an ogre. I would have attempted a few but my highly sensitive hearing could hear the venom coursing through its veins. If I could stay alive until the venom reached its heart and back again a few times I could get his stupid claw and be done with this. If only it was that easy. The ogre’s heart beat was slower than most living things and its blood was the consistency of drippy mud. This all happened in half a second.
I twisted my hand ripping out the knot of hair by the roots. The ogre roared, its mottled ashy skin stiffened. It’s rancid breath washed over my face. I swung my foot missing its ugly nose by a centimeter. The ogre loped toward me, I rolled under its legs and leaped onto it’s back.
The creature’s yellowed claw flashed out missing my pointed ear by a hairs width. My hands balled into fists. My magic was already healing me, just one more minute and I would be restored to my former, unharmed, self. I jumped off its itchy back and hit the ground running. I winced as the rebound jolted up my body. My bloody side was still wounded. The magic was almost there. Then it would go numb and I could concentrate on fighting not fleeing. I sucked in air through my teeth, pushing the magic further. My poron skin boots were already worn thin from the dragon saddle and I could feel the hot molten ground beneath the soles. My hands snatched for my bow but the ogres spiked tail swished out and tripped me. I felt my precious bow leave my hand and saw it skitter to the edge of the cliff. It wobbled for a moment and fell off the side. I swallowed the pain. I’d look for it later. Maybe it fell on a ledge.
I could see the heat waves rippling up from the glowing pit. I reached for the elven sword in its hilt but my fingers closed around nothing. I’d forgotten my sword in the fairy forest! I reached for the dagger in my boot. The ogre was just standing there stupidly looking hungry. I could tell its slow pea-brain was deciding if it should move away or eat me. My new found strength propelled the blade straight into the big ugly forehead of the ogre. Victory swelled inside me until I realized that the blade had just glanced off leaving a little scratch that healed immeadiatley. All my weapons were gone. No, there was a dart blower. I reached inside my shirt and pulled it out of its loop of fabric. I had to get the beast to open its mouth. I bet it was stupid enough. I lobbed a pebble at its head and struck it right between the eyes. It roared. This was my chance. I raised the gun to my mouth, and expelled a sharp interval of breath. As soon as the dart left the now hollow cylinder, I knew something was wrong. I watched as the poison sailed through the air.
And missed its target.

Chapter 1
The slow ticking of the clock was torture. It was almost the end of the day and I was too excited to be bothered about time. But apparently the time wasn’t as excited as me. Earlier, when I had opened my locker a note had slipped out.
Alice,
Meet me in the park at eleven’ o’ clock sharp. No excuses. Wear something nice. A dress,, maybe.
The extravagant hand written note had no name signed to it. It sent a thrilling shiver of excitement through me. I would have to sneak out of the house without my parents knowing. In a dress. And probably heels, since I figured this was a boy. The bell rang and I went straight to my car. Okay, the really old mustang wasn’t mine, I shared it with my sister but she never used it. I whipped out my phone, it was only 3:55.
I tapped my toe against the dashboard. Ugh, I had to paint them for tonight, the paint was chipped and peeling. A tap on the window startled me.
“Where on Earth have you all been?! Get in the car! I want to go now!” I chided my friends.
“Woah, Alice, I haven’t seen you this stressed since last month when Annabell tried to trip you in front of Mr. Hoover’s class. Get out, I’m driving today. Oh, and Ro is coming with us. She can sit in the front and Steph, Katherine, you and Ben can sit in the back. Ben? You don’t mind if Alice sits on your lap, do you? Of course not. Anyways Ro, did you hear about Abigail?” Olivia babbled.
Ben and I sighed at each other. It was one of her schemes to push us together. Yeah right. Ben and I had known each other since pre-k and neither of us wanted us to be anything more than best friends. I plopped down on Ben’s legs.
“Oomph!” Ben faked, “Someone needs to lay of the cookies!”
“I do not!” I replied.
“And I suppose you don’t weigh anything over a hundred and ten pounds, babe?” He called me babe just to annoy me. He knew I hated that.
“You’re right for once,”
“Woah! Step up to the microphone and repeat it loud and clear, babe,” he teased.
Olivia was still babbling to Rosalind, “Yeah! I mean really! Now,” her voice turned bitter, “We can let Katherine out first.”
Olivia didn’t care much for Kat. We were almost to her street, actually. Suddenly, we stopped.
“Okay, Katherine, time to get out,” She said.
“But we’re not at my house,” Kat stated, confused.
“But we’re at the end of your street,” Olivia replied.
“But her house is all the way at the end. It’s like a two mile walk,” Steph said.
“Well, she’s got legs. She can do it,” Olivia said as she turned on Stephanie.
Kat gave Steph a meaningful glance and got out of the car. She disappeared as we rounded a corner, kicking pebbles and looking glum.
Olivia started whispering to Rosalind, and all I caught was Kat’s name and a lot of mean words. Olivia continued to think up snide comments about Kat, while every single one was penetrating me like a knife.
Who did she think she is? Coming in here barging into my car, inviting Rosalind, who she knows I don’t like, and kicking Kat out like that. And I know this sounds childish but I’m older than her by like four months. I just turned seventeen. All the rude comments I could think of bubbled up inside me.
“Get out!” I yelled at her, “Get out!”
“M-me?” Olivia stuttered.
“Yes, you! Get out!”
This was the first time I had heard Olivia speechless ever since the beginning of six grade. Which is when I met her, so. She sat still, frozen. I got out of the car, stormed around to the drivers side and wrenched her door open. Her jaw went slack. I snatched her arm and flung her out of the car. She sat there, in the middle of the road, staring at me like I was some all-mighty powerful god that had just told her she was about to get struck by lightning. I climbed in pointed at Rosalind and screamed, “Out!”
Rosalind scrambled out, and stood there. I reached across the seat and pulled the door closed. Then I punched the gas. In the rearview mirror I could see them still in the exact positions that we’d left them in. Dumb-struck, slack jaw, defeated positions.
Ben hopped into the front seat, “You go Alice!”
I flicked him in the head, “You get out too,”
“What did I do?”
“Nothing, we’re at your house,” I rolled my eyes.
“Call me, babe,”
I drove a little bit longer and left Steph at her house. Then I zoomed home in record time.
I took the steps two at a time up to my room. I lied down on my bed and fell asleep. I woke up at 8:32, with the covers pulled around my chin and the light off. Mom must have come in. Then I remembered. I had to be at the park at 11:00!
I jumped out of bed. I opened the third drawer and pulled out a bright red nail polish bottle. Then I pulled out all my make-up. I yanked open my closet doors and picked out a nice little black dinner dress. I layed that out on the bed. I shook up the nail polish and painted as neatly as I could. They looked good seeing as how fast I painted them.
I pulled on my dress and sat down at the vanity. I applied a shimmery red eye shadow and a quick dab of blush on each cheek. I dug out my eyeliner and very artfully shaped my eyes so they looked slanted and almond shaped. Then I put on some lipstick. I looked through my shoes and picked out some three inch bright red pumps. They were a little flashy but the occasion called for it. I pulled up the front sides of my hair loosely in a butterfly clip and left the rest down and wavy.
I looked at myself in the mirror. The outfit looked spunky and sophisticated at the same time. I opened my window, and realized something. How was I supposed to get down? My bedroom was a two story bedroom. I noticed the vines snaking down the side of the house. But I couldn’t do that in heels. Or a tight dinner dress. How on Earth was I going to get down? I took of my heels, threw them on the worn out trampoline and braced myself.
The trampoline was only about eight or ten feet from the side of the house. I could make it from up here. I stepped on the ledge and felt the cold wind buffet me from the east. I took a deep breath and pushed off. I felt myself soaring through the air and I opened my eyes. The trampoline was rushing toward me. I moved my feet a little to miss my heels and landed. The force and hight of my fall bounced me up another fifteen feet, and forward. I landed on the balls of my feet my long wavy chocolate hair draping over my face. I ran back to the trampoline strapped my heels on.
I took a deep cleansing breath when I reached the inside of my car. I started the engine, thank the big guy up there that it wasn’t too loud. I quietly crept down the street and around the corner. Then I was on my way to the park.

I parked in an open space, which was all of the spaces, toward the front. I got out as gracefully as I could. I saw a dark figure sitting on a swing, slowly swaying back and forth. I strutted forward. They heard me approach but waited till I was close. Then he turned. It was Ben! I gasped.
“Ben! What the heck are you doing here? Did you invite me?” I questioned.
“Come on, Alice! I mean,” he swooped off his perch and stood uncomfortably close, “We’ve known each other since forever. We’ve been best friends forever,” and he took another step closer. We were almost touching.
I put a hand on his chest, my blood red nails sparkling against his black jacket, and gently resisted. He didn’t budge, “And I want us to stay that way,”
“Please?” he whispered. A cold hurt glinted in his eyes.
“No,” I said firmly, “I’m sorry,”
“I understand,” he said and turned.
“Wait!” I didn’t want to end our friendship.
He turned around, his eyes hopeful, and rushed toward me. His embrace engulfed me. His lips were about to touch mine when I pushed him away. He must’ve thought I was being playful because he kissed me. A burning rage filled me. I drew back my hand, curled into a fist and when Ben came up I punched him right in the jaw. He staggered and rubbed the stubble on his face.
“Ow! God, your strong for a girl! What the heck have you been doing?!”
I turned and stalked away from him. He came after me catching my hand, “Okay, so we can’t be like that but, please, can’t we be friends?” I yanked my hand out of his grasp without looking back. I clambered into my car and slammed the door. He tapped on my window. I rolled it down slowly and put on my shades, even though it was night. I didn’t want him to see the pain and rage in my eyes.
“I’m sorry! Please don’t be mad at me. I’m really sorry,” I ignored him, starting my engine.
“Wait, please! I’m begging you! I’ve loved you ever since fourth grade. That’s seven years I’ve liked you. Please, don’t go. Be with me,” he pleaded.
I opened my door and stood up, an inch from his face. I felt his breath quicken, and I thought, moron, you think I’m gonna change my mind? I raised my hand like I was going to touch his face. And I did. But I slapped him. A red mark the exact shape of my hand formed on his cheek.
I saw shock, hurt, pain, and despair all cross his face. I felt like a blazing hot empty metal shell. I shut the door, rolled up my window and revved the engine. Then I heard my tires squeal as I punched the gas.
Unlike before, when I was a blazing emotional shell, I felt a sharp anger fill me. I muttered under my breath as I drove, gathering speed.
I was passing an alley when I saw something dart out and a small thump as I hit it. I pressed the brakes and threw the old mustang into reverse. I stopped about three feet from a little white lump in the road. I saw a dark red pool around it. It was a little bunny. Its tiny shape was so small, innocent, and now lifeless because of my carelessness. Its bright white fur was ruined with crimson patches. I felt tears running down my cheeks.
Then it twitched. It’s eyes opened and it jumped up. I gasped in surprise. It started to hop away. When it reached the edge of the road it looked back quizzically, as if to say, aren’t you coming? I quickly followed it into the trees. I lived on the intersection of Chestnut Street and Cherry Street in Nashville, Tennessee so there were plenty of trees around down the street. In fact, the large clump of trees was like a mini forest. It went on for about a mile, mile and a half, two miles. The little pearly white bunny looked back every once and a while to make sure I was following, but I didn’t notice most of the time. I was too busy trying not trip in my heels.
Finally, we came to a clearing, about twenty or thirty minutes from the road. I didn’t know what I was thinking, following the rabbit into the forest. I’d left my phone in the car as I hadn’t anticipated this. Obviously. The white bunny stopped and turned. Its bright green eyes were penetrating, like they were looking into my soul.
Suddenly, it crumpled. The red blotches started to resceed leaving the silvery fur pristine. A shaft of moonlight landed on the small animal, lighting it up. The glowing figure rose and enlongated. It turned into a small child, with glowing red eyes and black hair. It floated about five feet about the grass. Its sweet smile turned into a grimace as it transformed into an older child. It was about ten, a totally different child. This one had the same eyes but had almost orange hair. It stuck out its tongue and changed again into a brunette teen. She scowled. It changed once more. The girl had green eyes, like the rabbit but had beautiful blonde curls. It was natural, you could see, but it was an almost unnatural color. The figure writhed in pain and collapsed on the grass. It continued to convulse. I swallowed my fear and stepped cautiously toward it.
Its head snapped toward me and the twitching began to slow. It happened less often until, about two minutes later, it stopped. The figure stood up as good as new.
“Hi! I’m Melody!” she blurted.
“Are you okay?” I stammered.
According to the faces she’d been making as she squirmed on the ground, I thought she wouldn’t even be able to whisper something, let alone stand up and say stuff cheerfully.
“Of course I’m okay! Why wouldn’t I be? Silly!” I looked over her carefully while she babbled on. She had a striped beanie on, a white tank top with furry white boots, and black skinny jeans on. She had olive colored skin and she was beautiful. Her eyes were a deep mahogany color and her long lashes lied against rosy cheeks. Her thin, naturally pink lips moved fast. She was thin and looked unbearably athletic, so much that it looked impossible for her to stand still. She was wired, you could see her biceps flexing unconsciously, and her calves were huge under her jeans. She paused to take a breath and I butted in.
“What are you?” I blurted out. She had a faint green glow about her. Something inhuman and magical.
“I think I should show you,” she said with a slight twinkle in her eyes.
She reached up and slowly tugged off her bright beanie. Her golden curls cascaded towards her waist and the breeze whisked away a shimmery lock to reveal pointed ears. I gasped. This girl wasn’t human. She was some sort of mythical elf. Then I realized how odd that sounded. She must have used a flesh mold or something. This was a prank.
“Haha very funny. Now who put you up to this?” I asked, my horror pushed aside.
“What do you mean? I came here all by myself. And what’s so funny?” Melody asked.
“You mean… you’re not a prank? Those are your real ears?” I gaped.
“Of course these are my real ears! Do you want to touch them?” She quizzed.
It was odd but if they really were real then maybe she had a culture. I didn’t want to offend her, so hesitantly I replied, “Sure,” drawing out the U-R. Then she flitted closer and leaned in. My hand reached out and lightly ran a finger on the edge of her ear. They sure felt real. I grasped them, not tight but enough to get a teeny grip. I tugged gently. I tugged harder. They stayed where they were.
“Ouch!!” she yelped as I tugged one last time.
“Sorry!” I apologized, “So if you’re a… what exactly are you?”
“I’m an elf! The most regal species in the mythical world. We mythical creatures stick to ourselves normally. We have whole elven cities but they blend in with the trees of forests and such. Would you like to know more?”
“Oh yes!”
And so she began, “Our race was the first form of ‘humans’. We were very powerful people. A lot of the famous people in history have been elves. We elves have a gift for manipulating. They would just manipulate their ears into a more rounded shape like humans. Cleopatra, George Washington, Teddy Roosevelt, the Chang dynasty was full of them. Those are just the more well known among you humans. Our cities are actually the wild places on Earth. Our main kingdom, Quedell, is in the redwood forests of California. We tend to stick to the larger trees. Anyway, our—“
“Excuse me, but you keep saying ‘our’. What do you mean...” I interrupted.
“Oh! I forgot you didn’t know. You of course are like me. You just have been away from your kind so long you have no recollection of us and your skin has lost its tone and your ears have rounded. But we can fix that with a dip in the sacred lagoon of Camille, our most beloved elf. She’ll even baptize you an elf. That’s of course, what your mother will want. Isadora will want you immeadiatley baptized. Speaking of Isadora, I should probably tell you about your background,” She prattled.
“Wait. Mother? But I thought my mom… my mom here in this neighborhood was my real mom.”
“Oh, she thinks she is. Camille mezzed her and her friends when she dropped you off. Your mother really does think she’s your mom. Back to your heritage…” She trailed off when she saw the look on my face. “Don’t worry, the next part will cheer you up hon. You’re royalty. You’re the princess of Quedell. And Isadora is the queen. Your father, Dione, died right after you were born. We think a dragon attacked him. You have five sisters and two brothers, who are twins. The youngest is Elena, she’s four, then Constance, she’s six, then you, then Aubrey, she’s eighteen, the twins, Cory and Cade are twenty-two, then Isis, twenty-four, then Liliane Kate, who’s thirtieth birthday was two days ago. Constance and Isis are adopted. Your next in line for the thrown because Liliane Kate’s already married, and is off in the human world, so are the twins, and Isis is adopted so she can’t and whenever the subject is brought up to Aubrey she ignores you and goes to care for her dragon. You know, I think I talk too much,” she said.
“A few things,” I acknowledged, “First, what’s mezz? Second, Isadora is my mother, right? And third, we have dragons?”
“To answer your last two questions yes and the first is… well… mezz is like making up something and taking out a memory in a humans head and reaplacing it with what you made up. Your mom made up your ‘mom’ having a child two days before. All her memories of the past nine months had been altered to fit in with the baby thing. Cool right? Isadora couldn’t keep you because the trolls were invading and the trolls eat babies. She had to get you somewhere safe and by the time the troll rebellion was over you had already adapted to your new life. But now there’s a prophesy. That involves the ‘human elf’ which is obviously you,”
“So you want me to just drop everything and run off to this Quedell with you?” I asked.
“Yes,” Melody confirmed cheerfully.
I know I really didn’t have a choice. Melody had a look of determination to her, and that look had ‘you’re coming with me whether you like it or not’ written all over it.
“Fine,” I agreed. I didn’t have anything to lose. I certainly wasn’t going to have a happy life after OIivia tells everyone what I did to her and Ro. And Ben probably wasn’t too happy with me either.
Melody grinned hugely and pulled a small lumpy package out of her jean pocket. She tossed it towards me and nodded towards the trees, “Proper elven clothes you need to be in them for when you enter Quedell and I don’t intend on stopping long enough for you to change on the way.
I opened it and a long flowing silk gown flutterd to the ground. I struggled out of my dinner dress and heels and slipped on the water colored dress. It was shades of green and blue and it was beautiful.
“Wow. It’s beautiful,” I breathed.
“I know you’re thinking about shoes,” Melody said as she changed into her own flaming red one, “but elves don’t wear shoes. We don’t like to not have contact with nature. We love the soil and the treetops.”