The Other Side

by Alan Hotchkiss

  As soon as he passed through the doorway it became really dark, to the point where he was almost walking blind. 'Keep going,' giggled the girl who had come in behind him. Stumbling a little, Finn took another few steps before the first lady came into sight. She was standing in an area that appeared to have a little more light. As Finn approached her, he realised that they had now entered a room of sorts, square in shape and two of the walls had tiny little flickering lanterns hanging on them, providing a little light to the dim room. As the girl entered, Finn heard what sounded like the first main doorway closing, which for all Finn could see, left them stuck in a dark box with nowhere to go other than the way they just come in from.

  The girl must have noticed the puzzled look on Finn’s face as smiling she said, 'Don’t worry, this is just similar to what you would call an elevator.' As she said this, the older woman unhooked one of the small lanterns from the wall then held it up to the adjacent wall, on which Finn could now see had lots of different looking symbols etched into it, none that Finn had ever seen before. The lady once again brushed her hand over one of the symbols which, just as the doorway had done, lit up a sparkling blue and almost instantly Finn felt his stomach leave him as the strange room lurched upwards quickly. Taking him by surprise Finn stumbled forward a little causing him to bump into the girl. 'Sorry,' said Finn, slightly embarrassed. 'That’s okay,' said the girl smiling once again at him. As she did so, Finn noticed how pretty she was. She was about the same height as Finn with long dark hair, smooth olive skin and mysterious beautiful eyes. The fact that her ears were pointy actually didn’t seem to bother Finn as he gazed at her. Just then, she looked up at Finn and as they caught each other’s gaze, the girl’s eye’s flashed an amazing blue for a split second.

  Finn opened his mouth to say something about her eyes lighting up when suddenly the room in which they were travelling up the large tree came to an abrupt halt, again causing Finn to stumble. The older lady smirking, shook her head and walked forwards into the dark. 'Follow me please,' she said. Composing himself Finn looked at the pretty girl again, however her eyes were staring down at the ground this time. He quickly decided against questioning her at that moment and instead followed the older lady who had now opened another doorway which cast light into the short dark tunnel.

  As Finn exited the doorway of the tree lift, his breath was taken away with the view that greeted him. He walked onto a wooden walkway which was about six foot wide out from the tree and ended in a waist-high wooden railing. Looking left and right, the walkway went both ways as far as the eye could see, around the massive tree they had just travelled through, then split off into many different bridges that linked up to other trees. Along the routes were many wooden houses of various shapes and sizes and even some of the trees appeared to have light coming out of them from window-shaped holes cut into the trunks. But the real breathtaking view came from looking out over the edge of the safety railing. They were now what seemed like miles away from the ground, high up in the tops of the giant trees that filled this enchanted forest. Below them were walkways at different levels up the trees that sprawled for miles and miles, and with the thick treetops blocking out the sunshine the main light came from the thousands of little lanterns that lined the trees and houses. It made for a spectacular view. Many creatures filled the sky too, flying around the trees and walkways — birds mostly, although many looked far different to the ones Finn used to see back home; and also what appeared to be large types of brightly coloured butterflies.

  As some of the creatures flew nearby, Finn noticed that many of their wing tips appeared to sparkle that same amazing blue colour that had lit up the doorways and some people’s eyes. 'It’s a beautiful view isn’t it?' said the pretty girl as she joined Finn at the edge of the walkway. 'It sure is' said Finn turning to look at the girl. 'Amazing' he gasped looking at her pretty face. The girl chuckled and looked out at the view, leaving Finn to go a little red in the cheeks.

  'I’m Tala, by the way,' said the girl, turning to look at Finn once again.

  'I’m Finn,' he replied.

  The girl laughed again, 'I know,' said Tala. 'Everyone knows that.'

  Puzzled by her comment, Finn replied 'How…? Why does everyone know who I am?'

  A brusque cough interrupted their conversation. Looking around, Finn saw it had come from the older lady that had been escorting them. 'Please Finn come this way,' she said gesturing towards a bridge part of the walkway that led away from the tree. 'There will be time to look around and ask questions later, but for now we must do as the Queen commands.'

  After a quick look back at Tala, only to see her now staring at the ground with a sheepish look upon her face, Finn sighed loudly then walked towards the older lady. As they began crossing a bridge that was about fifty yards long, taking them from the giant tree they had travelled up, across to another large-looking tree, Finn looked over the edge again and noticed that they were so high you could barely make out objects on the ground. 'I hope these bridges are safe,' he thought to himself. However, after a few minutes they safely reached the other side without any bother. The older lady led them around the new tree a little until they came to a doorway built in the tree itself. The lady opened the door, turned to Finn and said 'Please come in,' before she headed through the door into the tree. Taking a quick glance around at Tala behind him, Finn then followed the lady and walked through the door.

  Finn paused just inside the entrance to the tree house and gazed around the room. Although there wasn’t a great deal to it, it definitely gave off a nice warm cosy feeling. There were lots of small lanterns hanging all over the room providing light. At the opposite end from where Finn was standing lay a large sized bed, covered in shiny, blue silk sheets. To his left lay a large basin type object that Finn guessed must be a bath but wondered at the same time where on earth the water would come from to fill it, being as high from the ground as they were. Next to that was a small fireplace with a little fire burning away, which seemed crazy given that they were in the middle of a big tree, however the fire appeared to be staying contained within the fire place and the smoke was being funnelled away through some sort of chimney within the tree walls. To his right there was a large wooden table with four chairs around it and on it was a large spread of food. There were several plates of sandwiches, two whole cakes that were covered with what looked like icing sugar and frosting, and a plate of what looked like piping hot chicken wings. As Finn could see the steam drifting off them the smell in the room made his stomach growl loudly, reminding him that with all that had happened he had forgotten how long it had been since he had eaten something.

  'Hungry I take it?' said the older lady smiling. Near drooling at the lovely aroma, Finn merely nodded back at her. 'Come in then,' said the lady motioning for Finn to come over to the table. Needing no encouragement he headed over and sat down as the lady had pulled out a seat for him. 'Tuck in' she said. Finn grabbed one of the chicken wings and started to eat away.

  'Mmmmm' he thought as it tasted as good as it smelled. Tala appeared at his side.

  'Would you like a drink with that?' she said holding a large jug.

  'Yes please,' replied Finn trying not to spit any food out at the same time as his mouth was crammed full. Tala began pouring out a red liquid from the jug into a goblet that lay on the table. When she finished pouring, Finn, feeling awful thirsty now, picked up the goblet and took a long drink of the liquid. It tasted like some sort of berry juice. 'Not bad' thought Finn as he put the goblet back on the table and helped himself to a sandwich.

  'Eat as much as you want then try to get some rest Finn' said the older lady. 'We will return in a few hours after you’ve rested and take you to see the Queen.'

  'Okay' said Finn nodding his head, unable to think of anything else to say. With that, the lady turned and headed out the door, Tala in tow behind. As Tala was leaving through the door she turned and smiling, gave Finn a little wave. Finn watching them leave suddenly felt a little w
arm glow as she waved and broke into a large smile himself. As the door closed behind Tala and the older lady, Finn turned his attention back to feast that lay in front of him and for the next twenty minutes or so he stuffed himself with food and berry juice until he was ready to burst.

  Pushing away from the table he stood up and began to slowly pace round the room. There wasn’t a great deal to look at though. As he reached the large basin-like object he thought was a bath, he began looking around it — as there were no visible taps for the water to travel through, yet there was a small hole in the bottom of the tub with a wooden plug lying next to it. So it must fill with water somehow, he thought. He glanced up at the wall that was about a foot away from the bath and saw that there was a strange symbol embedded into the wood, much like the ones he had seen when travelling in the tree lift. He held his hand up and touched the symbol, which lit up the same sparkling shade of blue he had seen elsewhere. Then, just below the symbol, a shape the size of a shovel-head lit up too and started to slowly lower away from the wall until the tip of it reached just over the bath edge, where it came to a halt.

  A small rushing noise started to echo down from within the wall and then water suddenly appeared out of a hole in the wall and flowed down over the shovel shape and into the bath. Laughing to himself, Finn leant over the bath and touched the symbol once more which again lit up. From within the wall came some grinding noises and the water slowed to a trickle before stopping altogether, at which point the shovel-shaped flap lifted up and sank back into the wall, leaving no trace of anything at all. 'Well that’s different,' Finn thought as he wandered over towards the bed. Feeling rather exhausted with all he had been through, Finn decided he would have a seat on the bed but there was no way he could possibly go to sleep with everything that had happened playing over in his head and most of all, he hoped his brother was alright. Max had told him that he would be okay, but nevertheless Finn wasn’t convinced. After all, he wasn’t really sure what was going on at all. 'Maybe I’ll just lie down for a bit and think things over,' he told himself as he lay back onto the silk sheets. 'Wow, this is the comfiest bed ever,' he thought, before making a promise to himself that he would try to find out what had happened to his brother when he met the Fairy Queen again. The thought sent a shiver down his body as he remembered her ice cold stare from earlier. He then thought about his pretty escort Tala, and with that nice thought in his head he slowly drifted off into a deep sleep.

  Chapter 12

  Eric had followed Doogard for what seemed like a long time through a labyrinth of concrete corridors, stairwells and large rooms, all the time rising higher into the castle. It had given Eric the impression that the actual size of the whole castle must be enormous. They hadn’t talked much during the journey as Doogard didn’t appear to be much in the mood for it after his confrontation with Riezgar, so Eric had just followed along in silence, taking in his strange surroundings. At least it was a lot warmer in the castle thought Eric. They had passed many of Doogard’s people along the way, with some different reactions, many would come to a halt, stand tall and still, then beat their chest with their right fist and say something that resembled the noise of a loud grunt but must in actual fact be some kind of greeting. Others however, would pass by and merely nod at Doogard whilst generally looking rather unfriendly and threatening. Not that it seemed to bother Doogard who strode confidently and merely returned either gesture in kind. Either way, nobody walked past without acknowledging him in some way or another.

  However, after greeting Doogard every single person would then glare at Eric, making him feel even more uncomfortable than he already was. Eventually, nearing the end of another long corridor, they approached a large double door that two guardsmen stood in front of. Each had large swords hanging from their black leathery belts and held long silver spears. They were both dressed the same, in a kind of battle-ready armour and had helmets on which sent a shiver down Eric’s spine, as they made the guards appear like horrible monsters, ready to pounce and attack you. So life-like it was freaky, thought Eric. The only thing that gave it away as a helmet were the small spaces on the front for the eyes and mouth.

  'The king is waiting for you Doogard,' boomed one of the guards, whilst the other one half turned and opened one of the double doors and motioned for them to enter.

  Doogard stopped and turned to Eric. Resting his hand on his shoulder he said, 'Just answer honestly boy and you’ll be fine…okay?' The words hardly boosted Eric’s already diminished confidence and all he could muster was a meek nod in return. With that Doogard looked up, nodded to the guards, then entered the doorway ahead. Eric looked up at the guards, both of whom were now staring right back with those grotesque, evil-looking helmets. Definitely not a very welcoming sight he thought and headed off through the door after Doogard.

  Chapter 13

  'BOOM…BOOM…..BOOM' Finn awoke suddenly from the deep slumber he was in and sat up on the bed. 'What was that,’ he thought, struggling to come to. He glanced around the room, initially taken by surprise with his surroundings. He had momentarily forgotten where he was and all that had happened. However that didn’t last long as he quickly regained his senses.

  'BOOM…BOOM…BOOM' rattled the door again. Finn rubbed his face and shook his head in an effort to fully wake himself, then got off the bed and made his way over to door. Turning the handle slowly he opened the door.

  ‘Sorry boy, did I wake ye?’ It was Max.

  ‘No….well…yeah, I guess but it’s okay, come in,’ said Finn.

  ‘Tala and her mum will be back soon to take you to see the Queen, but I just thought I’d pop in and see how you were?’ said Max as he crouched slightly to get his large frame under the door.

  ‘I’m okay…I think,’ said Finn. ‘How long was I sleeping for?’

  ‘You’ve been out for about seven or eight hours,’ said Max.

  ‘What!……Really?’ replied Finn looking surprised.

  ‘Yeah, the suns will have taken it out of you, that’s why travelling at mid-day is generally avoided if possible,’ replied Max. ‘Your gran is okay by the way,’ he continued. ‘I thought you’d like to know that at least.’

  ‘Yeah definitely, thanks…erm…how do you know that though? asked Finn.

  ‘I returned to earth through the portal to make sure the elves had left her unharmed, which they had,’ replied Max. He then looked around the room as if checking for something, before pulling an envelope out from within the leather satchel he carried on his belt. ‘Here take this Finn, it’s from your gran. Read it carefully then destroy it, okay? It’s important that you do that, as we don’t want this letter falling into the wrong hands,’ said Max rather sternly.

  ‘Okay,’ said a bemused looking Finn as his eyes darted down to the letter he had taken from Max’s grasp.

  ‘I’ll leave you now to read the letter, but be quick, as Tala and her mother won’t be long okay, and remember to destroy it once you’ve read it,’ said Max as he strode towards the door. As he reached it, he turned to face Finn once again. ‘One more thing Finn, when you speak to the Queen again, keep it to yourself about my friendship with your gran as we were never supposed to become friends. How that came about is a story I do not have time to explain just now, but I will sometime soon. But for now it is safer if it is kept our secret, okay?’

  ‘Yeah okay,’ said Finn, nodding once again, and with that Max opened the door and left.

  Not knowing quite what to make of what Max had said, Finn turned his attention to the letter from his gran. He ripped open the grubby looking white envelope, took out the letter contained inside, unfolded it and began reading.

  Dear Finn,

  I am so sorry I never explained things to you and Eric before today. I falsely believed I was protecting you both by keeping you in the dark about everything. There is just so much to tell, I never knew where to begin and whether you would even believe me as it would have seemed so ridiculous. You certainly must know a few things now,
however there is still much that you need to learn and until then please trust no one other than Max. There are many on the other side who will not be who they appear to be — remember this. If your brother is where I think he is, he will be fine for now, but we will need to find a way to get to him soon. I must go now so be safe and stay strong and I will be in touch as soon as I can.

  Love Gran

  Xx

  P.S. Be wary of Queen Venera, she is very powerful and very deceitful. Also remember you must destroy this letter as soon as you have read it.

  ‘Jeez…what the hell did that mean,’ thought Finn, starting to feel a little angry as well as confused. He wished someone would just tell him exactly what was going on. Finn walked over to the small fireplace and stared into the flames for a few moments, pondering over the letter. Then with one last glance at it he dropped the letter into the flames and within seconds it had almost completely turned to ash. Which was just as well, as right at that moment someone knocked on the door again.

  Chapter 14

  Eric found himself standing before the Elf King in a large chamber that was a high as it was long. It was held up by large concrete pillars that lined either side, twenty of them in all and standing between each pillar was another guard in full uniform and all wearing the same, black, grotesque-looking helmets. It made for a very long and uncomfortable walk down the chamber for Eric, feeling like a million eyes were upon him watching his every move. His nerves were now at the point of making him feel nauseous, however he managed to hold it together and make it to the other side of the chamber where he now stood before a set of concrete steps. The steps then led up to a large, jet -black throne that appeared to be constructed of some kind of very smooth material like marble. For the most part it was just constructed in the shape of a large armchair, however along the top, carved into the marble-like material were three rows of differing faces, all staring down with very mean, unforgiving looks that overall, gave the throne a rather intimidating look. They however, were at least just faces carved into rock, but sitting upon the throne was another large elven man staring down at Eric, whose face was very real and also very mean and scary-looking. Eric was now looking at the Elf King.