Autumn of Elves

by Joanne Vruno

“She was severely beaten and left near your old village. Fortunately, her sisters came here looking for her. With their concerns for Alvit’s safety, I transported her here. She told us her story after we healed her. A band of elves shredded her cloak of feathers, beat her and left her to die.”

  “Who would do such an awful thing?” asked an elf.

  “At first we thought rock elves, but after hearing about a group from your village being exiled we weren’t sure.” Eyes glared at Koppor. “Koppor had nothing to do with the attacks. It was Fredek,” I said.

  “Last night we set a trap for Fredek and his band of twelve elves,” I continued. “My tomtes were the bait. In fact, they were also the masterminds of the trap. They set up a camp down around the bend. My grandmother and I waited to see what would happen. After midnight, Fredek and his elves attacked. We,” I said, pointing to my grandmother and myself, “sent them away. They’ll never again be part of this village.”

  All the elves started speaking at once, trying to process what I had just told them. Grandma and I waited for them to settle down. Silence came when a flock of birds arrived carrying a group of elves led by Dolph.

  “I see you already started,” Dolph smiled at us. “By the expressions I’m seeing, you told them about Fredek. Have you said anything more?”

  “No, just what Fredek did and that he’s gone,” I said.

  “Can I have everyone’s attention?” he said, turning toward the crowd. “I am Dolph, one of the lead elves from the other village. Most of you have met my wife, Silver, Koppor’s sister, when you arrived. Some of you met me the other day when I came for a visit. As you can see, I came with members of your village.” A loud applause began as the lost elves climbed off the birds who brought them. Some ran up to hug their friends. Tears were flowing on many faces. It was a very special moment to watch. The only elf not celebrating was Koppor, who looked nervous.

  It took awhile before Dolph could speak again. “What happened in this village is now going to be mended. The life of a light elf is to care for all living things and all nature. It’s not to harm any creature. Beck is the one who spoke up against Fredek. He showed his strength and courage that day. He stood his ground and never stopped standing up for what a light elf represents. Because of that, he is now your new male lead elf!”

  Applause filled the air as Beck stood in front of his new village.

  “Every village needs two lead elves that stand strong for our purpose. Koppor, you broke your responsibilities and endangered this village. You can no longer be lead elf of any colony. But we won’t send you away. We believe you regret your actions. You’ll have to live with yourself. We ask this colony to show true compassion and forgive you. You’ll still be a member, but won’t lead. Koppor, you’ll have no control over others. Will you agree to this?” asked Dolph.

  “Yes,” replied Koppor with tears in her eyes, “I’m so sorry I went along with Fredek. I regretted it, and if we hadn’t lost our guardian, I was going to bring all of you back. Please forgive me. I’ll work hard to regain your respect. I promise I will.”

  Beck approached her and gave her a hug. That motion by itself spoke more than any words.

  Dolph said, “Still, every colony needs two elves to lead it. I was told of a wonderful elf who stayed calm in a world of danger and encouraged all to stay strong. She always held on to hope. That elf is what we need in every village. We’ve chosen Agda, Beck’s wife, as the other lead elf.”

  Again, the village erupted in approval.

  Soon there was celebration everywhere. Dolph looked at Grandma and me as he said, “This is a good day for this village. Aly, your colony is going to flourish now.”

  “I think you’re right,” I said. “Now I won’t hesitate coming to visit them. I was nervous before with Fredek.”

  Both Grandma and Dolph smiled at that.

  Beck and Agda came over to us and gave each of us a hug. “Thank you for all you’ve done. You not only saved us from the wilderness, you have made our village whole again. We both promise we’ll never disappoint any of you and this village will live with true light elf tradition.”

  I hugged them both at the same time. “I’m so happy I get to work with you two. I know we’re going to become family in time. You have so much to teach me about elf life and I’ll let you know about the powers I hold to keep all of the village safe. Just know I’m still in training.” I took Grandma’s hand. “I think we’ll leave you to your celebration. We have some waiting for news of how everything worked out here.”

  “Your village is hidden from others now,” Grandma said, flashing her amulet towards the sky.

  “Beck,” said Agda, “I know we’ll be fine with these three close by. Aly, visit often. We need to get to know each other. I heard such praises of you from Silver and Dolph. I can’t wait until we become as close as you are with them.” She gave me another hug.

  Dolph climbed on the bird that brought him and soon was heading upwards toward his village, followed by the flock of the other birds.

  As we watched him fly away Grandma looked at me and asked, “Are you ready to leave?”

  I nodded. We poofed back to Grandma’s house. Soon we had Emily, Lina, and Berg questioning us about all the events at the village. When we were done telling them everything, I slipped out into the back yard. I knew the yard was still being protected with the three swan maidens still present. I called for Lunt and his wife, Alma, to join us. I then sat down and told Alvit about our trap and how we sent Fredek and his band of elves to the very same lake where they had left her.

  “So they knew why they were caught,” said Alvit with a smile. “I still cannot believe it was Fredek.”

  “Somehow he turned against light elves ways and harmed others instead of healing. We knew we couldn’t send him to King Klas, so we thought this was the best route. He can never hurt you again unless you return to that lake region.”

  “That is something I’ll never do!” said Alvit.

  What happens to the village now?” asked Olrun.

  I began telling the story about the exiled elves, before I took them to the happy conclusion for the village.

  “We’ll stop on our way home and inform King Klas of all that’s happened. I think this may be our goodbye day. I feel strong enough to leave in the morning,” said Alvit. “Lunt, Alma, thank you for sharing your yard with us. Lunt, thank you also for helping trap Fredek and his band.”

  Lunt turned pink. He said, “It’s been an honor to host three such magnificent swans. I never in a million years imagined I’d have the chance to meet one of you, and here I am with three of you. I have heard the stories all my life about the lovely swan maidens. Now I can add my own story of how I met you three.”

  Alma chuckled. “He’s been star struck since you three arrived.”

  “I have not,” said Lunt.

  I couldn’t hold back my laughter and neither could Alma. Lunt just looked at us shaking his head.

  Emily came out with Grandma and announced, “Aly, Mom and Dad will be here in an hour. They just called.”

  “Sweet Miss Emily, it is time then to say our goodbyes. We’re flying home in the morning. You’ve been such a delight. We hope to see you and your sister here again in the future,” said Svanhit, who had taken a special liking to Emily as Alvit was healing. They had spent hours talking about where the swans lived and the swan’s powers. Svanhit even showed Emily how they transformed into beautiful women.

  Emily, sobbing, ran to Svanhit and gave her a hug. “I’m going to miss you. Someday I want to visit Murkwood and meet your families.”

  “We’d welcome you and Alice and Aly with open arms in our human form and with wing hugs like this in our swan form,” said Svanhit, her wing wrapped around Emily.

  Emily started giggling, wrapped in the wing.

  It was hard to
leave the three swan maidens, but we needed to get ready for our parents’ arrival. This was one time I wished we could have more time to spend in the creature world, but the human world was calling us

  Twenty-five

  My life seemed to return to some normalcy with the new lead elves in control and the swan maidens off to Murkwood. With my hockey schedule, I only visited the elf village on Monday afternoons before Mom arrived home. I knew Emily was in good hands when she came home alone. Elsa and Enar were always there to greet her.

  Walking home from school on a Monday I realized I had not seen Koppor in the village for a while. I quickly, poofed myself to the village to see where she had been. Agda greeted me with a warm smile as soon as I saw her and said, “Aly, I need to show you something. Come with me.” I followed Agda far into the woods, away from the village. I was very curious where she was taking me. When we reached the top of a wooded hill she looked at me and said, “Look.”

  It was as though Agda read my mind wondering about Koppor. As I looked down the hill, I saw a band of elves very busy loading the last of the cones from under the pine trees onto a wooden wagon. One of the elves was Koppor. They hauled the pinecones down the ravine to a barren area where no plants nor even grass grew and then one by one Koppor chanted her magical words, kissed each cone with an elf blessing, extracted the seeds and planted them in the ground. She took every cone off the wagon and repeated her actions, always with the kiss before shaking out the seeds and planting them. Her face glowed with pride. In fact, she seemed to radiate light as she worked.

  Agda whispered to me as we sat on the hill, “Koppor has found her elf magic. When she was a lead elf she never used it, and it stayed bottled up inside of her. I have only witnessed an elf glow like that once, when I was young. My father told me only one powerful elf in a generation contains such power that all nature will automatically twinkle when healed by an extreme healer. Koppor makes the plants twinkle.”

  I watched the scene before me. No other elves were planting, only Koppor. The rest stared in awe of her abilities.

  “Agda, why didn’t her powers appear earlier?” I asked while I watched Koppor.

  “She was trained to be a warrior from a very young age. She was never given the opportunity. She was in the king’s army, then assigned a lead elf. Her position was to oversee all the village and she was never given a chance to heal nature or plant. The first day she went out with a healing crew, they noticed her magic was stronger. We then thought she’d be better creating plants. Every seed she’s planting will flourish. Her touch will make them grow strong next spring. You can also see by her glow that she’s happy, happy with what she’s doing and what she’s become.”

  “Silver needs to see this. Would you mind if I bring her here now?” I asked.

  “I think it’d be good for her to know the goodness in her sister. I was with Silver when she was torn apart thinking what her sister had done. Go ahead and bring her here.”

  I knew if she was the only lead elf in the village I could not transport her. Our magic seemed to know. I still tried in hopes she would arrive and by the last words I repeated she appeared.

  “Aly, why did you summon me?” asked Silver, looking puzzled. It was the first time I had transported her.

  I pointed down to where Koppor was. “Look.”

  Silver watched her sister plant pine seed after pine seed. “She’s glowing. Does that mean she’s a magical one?” asked Silver, looking into Agda’s face.

  “It seems so. She said nobody gave her the opportunity to try different positions. She was from a warrior family and so was just trained that way.” said Agda.

  “Our father was a tough master. We started training young, shortly after we learned to walk and run,” Silver said. “Koppor never had a chance to try working with nature. All these years she had a job not meant for her. No wonder she couldn’t stand up to Fredek. He must have frightened her as our father did. She followed orders, but the training was hard on her while it came naturally to me. She wasn’t meant to be a warrior.” Silver’s face filled with love for her sister. Her anger melted away, replaced with pride. She suddenly raced down the hill. My eyes started to tear up when they embraced. Koppor looked up at Agda and me on the hill and smiled.

  “Thank you, Agda,” I said. “You helped heal two sisters today. You and Beck helped Koppor find her true self. You two are worthy of being lead elves. We’re all fortunate to have you watching over this village.”

  Silver stayed at the village but I had to return home soon before my mom got there. Besides, Silver didn’t need my help to get home. Asa had appeared in a tree close by. The loyalty of that hawk was very strong.

  Agda and I had enough time to make it back to the village before I had to leave. Every elf I saw seemed more cheerful. The village truly had a new life. I was proud this was my village to protect.

  I quickly gave Agda a hug and thanked her once more before I returned home.

  As I arrived in my room I quickly called for Emily and the twins. They were all three in the basement so I joined them and gave them the news about Koppor.

  Emily said, “I never thought I’d feel sorry for her after what she did, but I kind of do. Imagine living a life not of your choosing because your father told you to. She really was not a strong elf. No wonder Fredek could make her do things she didn’t want to. I’m glad she found her place in the village. I can’t wait until my powers are known and I can go to both villages and meet all these elves. How much longer do I need to stay hidden?”

  “I don’t know, Emily. I’m sorry. I can’t imagine it will be too long. You already have two powers. The rest could arrive anytime,” I said with a smile but felt nervous about where Emily might be when transporting arrived.

  “I’m off to tell your grandma and my parents the news on Koppor,” said Enar. He disappeared just as the back door opened.

  “Girls, can you help carry in groceries?” Mom called from the kitchen.

  Emily and I ran up the steps to help.

  Later, after supper, when Emily and I were cleaning up after dinner, she looked at me and asked, “Aly, do you think we’ll ever be separated for a long time?”

  “I hope not. Let’s make a pact today to always live within driving distance of each other, all right?”

  “All right.” said Emily.

  Twenty-six

  November arrived and so did a rival hockey game. In the final game last spring I scored the winning goal in a breakaway, which at the time I thought was achieved by my magic. As the teams warmed up on the ice I knew from the looks I received by the opposing team that I was a target. They had plans to be on me with every move.

  I was in the first line to go out on the ice. I was playing right wing, one of my favorite positions. Every chance I had for the puck resulted in getting me banged up against the boards by two players from the other team. I was glad when there was a line switch. My coach came up to me to make sure I was all right. I nodded.

  As I sat down on the bench, I quickly ran my hand over my shoulder and hip to heal the bruises I knew were forming. I wasn’t going to let their enforcers stop me. I had an idea. I leaned over to the other wing, Molly, and the center, Rachel. “They’re going to be on me all night,” I told them. “One of you needs to stay in shooting position. ­Whoever gets the puck, we’ll send it to the one by the net. I’ll try to look like I’m going for it, and they’ll try to stop me. Hopefully, that’ll give you two time for a shot.”

  They both agreed it was worth a try.

  As we entered the ice I soon had two girls guarding my every move. Nobody was on Molly, and she was right in position. The puck came to me, and I shot it down the ice with all my force right before I was tripped and against the boards. I went down hard. I fell, in complete pain. I knew I couldn’t get up. My coach and Dad ran onto the ice. The game stopped. I heard someo
ne say an ambulance was coming. All I could feel was the sharp pain in my leg. I couldn’t calm myself enough to heal it. Grandma wasn’t at the game. I would just have to endure the injury.

  I was soon in the ambulance and off to St. John’s Hospital. I screamed when they took my skate off and removed my pads. Dad and Emily were by my side, “We need to get her into x-rays,” the doctor said. “My guess is it’s a break in her tibia.”

  I was soon rolled down the hallway on a bed to x-ray. They took four pictures of my leg. As they moved it, I noticed the pain had subsided a bit.

  “Is it broken?” I asked the technician who took the pictures.

  “I’m not at liberty to say,” he told me. “The radiologist will let the doctor know. All I’ll tell you is it’s not as bad as I thought it’d be, from what the nurse who brought you in indicated.”

  I was wheeled back into the emergency room wing and into the room where Dad and Emily waited for me.

  “How are you feeling, Aly? Is there still lots of pain?” asked Emily.

  “It still hurts.”

  A nurse came in and gave me some pain medication as we waited. She also turned on the TV and gave me a remote control so I could pick what to watch.

  About a half hour later the doctor came and showed us the x-rays. “I was really surprised by this, but there are no breaks. I would have sworn her tibia was broken by the odd way her leg was sitting. You’re very lucky, Aly. It’s just bad sprain, not broken bones. Sometimes these sprains take almost as long to heal as a break. You’re also going to have lots of bruising and swelling in that area.”

  The doctor called in a nurse, who filled out a prescription for us to reduce swelling and help with the pain. She then told Dad we needed to keep my leg elevated and to ice it. As the doctor left, the nurse showed us how to put on the splint to hold my leg straight. They measured me for a pair of crutches and showed me how to use them. An hour later I was discharged and rolled out in a wheelchair.