Summer of Elves

by Joanne Vruno

  “I couldn’t have done that. I’m not even sure what happened. I never thought of anything along those lines. Who would? What person would tell trees to attack? It couldn’t have been me!”

  “Aly, remember when I told you your third power would arrive when you need it, when you were in trouble? The third power is the protection by nature. Plants and animals may come to your defense when you really need them. It’ll be unknown to you how or what will be there to help, but something always shows. Nature will always come forward to protect the guardian of the light elves!” declared Grandma.

  Silver chimed in to explain further. “Your safety is our safety, and our safety means nature’s safety. We’re all dependent on each other. If one element of this triangle is destroyed, the other two will, in time, also be eliminated. You protect the existence of the elves. Without you we’d be vulnerable to humans, dwarves, trolls, rock elves, and a variety of others. The light elves protect the earth. We’re here to ensure waterways can still flourish and support life. We also replant to keep various types of vegetation going. With the human population increasing, it’s hard to achieve, but we do our best. Plants give all of us life. Plants keep the air clean enough to breathe, supply food to feed us, and protect the planet from global warming,” said Silver. “It’s only in times of extreme crisis that nature steps in, but it does happen occasionally.”

  “But I’m not in control of it. Nature does it on its own, right?”

  “Right, but we call it your power because it is called upon when a guardian feels there’s a threat to her life. Nature only takes action like that to protect a guardian,” said Grandma.

  “What does the tree do with the dwarf?” I tried imaging what would happen to that creature but couldn’t come up with an answer.

  Lunt stepped up to reply, “It is gruesome and unique in its own way. The tree engulfs the creature and basically petrifies it. It absorbs all its liquid and the creature becomes a stump. Have you ever noticed trees with odd growths on them? A stump of a branch, or a bubble-shaped formation coming out of the trunk? That is where the creature stays as it becomes petrified, as it is encased inside the tree.”

  I cringed at the thought of it, but then thought of what that dwarf might have done to me. Somehow my thoughts of gruesomeness turned into thankfulness for the trees.

  Chica’s eyes opened, and she lifted her head to glance around. I gave her a big hug and received a lick on my cheek in return. Tears of joy flowed down my face at that moment, and when I looked up, I saw expressions of happiness from all in the room.

  “All is going to be fine now, so I’m going to take my leave. Dolph will be eagerly awaiting my report. He’s become quite attached to you, Aly,” Silver said as she smiled at me.

  Grandma walked Silver out through the back door to the yard. As soon as the door shut, Lunt chuckled and said, “She smiled! I think you’ve finally won Silver over. I believe she likes you.”

  The room filled with laughter. I wasn’t completely convinced of that, but at least I thought she had accepted me.

  Soon the tomtes, Lina and Berg, and Lunt, the gnome, went back to their guarding positions and only Grandma, Chica, and I were left in the room. Grandma said, “Aly, as much as I’d like to have you stay with me tonight, I think you should go home. Your parents might already be wondering where you went off to. I think the best explanation is for us to say you hiked here with Chica, that we visited while you two had a drink of water, and that Chica got really worn out coming up the big hill on Upper Afton Road. Keep Chica near you for observation, and ask if she can sleep with you tonight. I know you and Emily take turns with which room Chica sleeps in. She should be fine, but you can quickly fix any symptoms if they appear.”

  I agreed with Grandma and was glad it was already my night to have Chica.

  Chapter 24

  By suppertime Chica looked like she was back to normal. She ate her dog food without any trouble and wanted to go out into the back yard to play. Luckily, my family was preoccupied and did not notice my concern for our dog. While I was gone they had decided to paint Emily’s room the next weekend and had gone to Menards to pick out several cards with different paint colors. They were busy holding them up and judging how they would go with the carpet in her room. How simple the task of picking out at wall color seemed to me, yet it was a tough choice for my mom and Emily to agree on. It made me reflect on all the choices I had made today. My family had no idea what my life had become. How ordinary worrying about the right color to paint on a wall for a few years seemed insignificant compared to battling a dwarf for the life of a pet. What would they do if they knew exactly what I had gone through today or if they had a chance to witness any of my powers? Answers would never be known. In a way it seemed sad to me—my family would never know the true me. Just the human part, not the magical part.

  Emily came running up to me and grabbed my hand as she ordered, “Aly, you need to come with me and let me know which color to choose, the light purple or the medium one?” I laughed at her request and followed her to her bedroom. I looked at both colors and chose the lighter one. The medium shade of purple was way too strong, but then I wasn’t a big fan of purple like my little sister was. I could tell my answer was not what she had hoped.

  Mom stepped in right then and suggested we paint one wall the medium purple and the others the lighter shade. Emily jumped at that suggestion. The purple dilemma had been solved. Ordinary but fun, I laughed to myself.

  It was nice to be part of the family tonight. They were something constant in my life, and even though I had changed, I cherished every one of them. I had been at Grandma’s so much lately, I actually missed this side of my life. I guess I consider this my normal world and the other my very abnormal world. I couldn’t get the evilness of the dwarf out of my mind. What in its background could have turned him so angry? I also wondered what his family had been like. He had to have had a family unit of some kind to raise him in his younger years. Trolls stay with other trolls. Are dwarfs always solo? I realized today I had just begun learning the characteristics of these creatures, and I needed to know so much more about them. I needed to learn the history of all these creatures, even the light elves.

  Mom interrupted my thoughts just then: “Aly, what color would you like your room? We might as well paint both bedrooms.”

  I laughed. “I haven’t even thought about it . . . maybe blue.”

  “Well, put on your shoes, and we’ll let you check out the different blues. We’ll pick up the paint for your sister’s now that she’s chosen her colors.”

  I quickly slipped on my shoes and followed Mom out to the car. A ordinary life is good, I thought to myself as I relaxed in the car. A much more enjoyable lifestyle than battling a dwarf.

  At the store, I felt like part of the human world again. They had so many shades of blue, I had a difficult time choosing the one I wanted. I finally decided on a pale aqua blue. It made me think of the lakes up north, which reminded me our family vacation was approaching. This year we were going to spend a week up in the Boundary Waters, canoeing and camping. Summer was slipping away so quickly . . . it was almost August and I hadn’t gone swimming once at a beach or had a sleepover with a friend. In fact, besides the mall with Lily and hockey, I hadn’t even seen my friends more than a few times. Every aspect of this summer had been changed. All of my normal summer routines had been broken. It hadn’t even felt like vacation with all the training.

  “Aly, what blue have you decided on?” Mom asked.

  I was so deep in thought I never even heard her approach. I quickly held out the card and replied, “I thought this one. What do you think?”

  “Perfect! It’ll go nicely with your carpet and bedspread. You’re so much easier to shop with than Emily. We had to bring fifteen cards home for her to consider. I guess it’s her artistic side,” chuckled Mom.

  Emily ha
d always been the free-spirited one in our family. She entertained us constantly with her fun and unique way of looking at things. As sisters we were quite different in personality but we still had fun together. I loved sports, music, and being outdoors while Emily loved crafts, dancing, and creating her own shows. She was a natural entertainer. I could definitely picture her grabbing all the purple colors and having to examine them all.

  Soon we were back in the car with all the paint and supplies, heading home. It was one of the first times Mom and I had done anything together, just the two of us all summer. I realized that when she started asking me questions.

  “So, Aly, how do you like working for Grandma?”

  “It’s fun. We spend lots of time just talking. I think she sometimes gets lonely living alone, and she teaches me things about her past and how to make Swedish pancakes. I feel like I know her better now. I like that.” It was hard to answer the question casually. I sometimes felt guilty not sharing my real life with Mom as I always had done before.

  “You and Grandma have always had similar person­alities. I figured you two would bond even more.”

  “We have, but I’m realizing today I’ve missed hanging out with you, Dad, and Emily too. This summer has been so busy, and it’s almost gone now. I guess this is what life with a job is like.”

  “If you want, I can talk to Grandma and ask her if she would mind if you worked fewer days?”

  “No, Grandma needs me, and we’re going on vacation soon. I’ll have my summertime then. I don’t want Grandma to think I don’t like working for her because I do.” I needed as much time as possible with Grandma, with school just around the corner. I definitely had to get in as much training as possible. I just wanted to let Mom know I missed her also. I didn’t expect her to think of taking away days with Grandma.

  “All right, if you say so. I just don’t want you to feel forced to work for her at all.”

  “Oh, I definitely don’t feel forced to help her out, Mom. Grandma’s an interesting person, and I’m really learning many things about my heritage.” Was I ever I learning about my heritage! More than my Dad had ever been told—the family’s secret magical traits!

  Shortly after we got home, I let everyone know I was exhausted and called Chica and went to my bedroom. It felt like this had been the longest day in my life so far. The dwarf episode had taken more out of me than I knew, and even though it was still in my thoughts, I had no trouble falling into a deep sleep.

  Chapter 25

  My mind went straight to the dwarf from yesterday when I woke up. Part of me wanted to go see the tree to make sure the dwarf was still trapped in it. His hatred for humans could only lead to more harm for others. It was probably good he was not around anymore. I still could not help feeling responsible for his demise. It bothered me. This wasn’t something I could easily forget like one could when swatting a bug. The dwarf was more like a human. In fact if he hadn’t been so angry and hadn’t had so many weapons, he could have easily passed for a very short filthy human. I needed to know more about dwarves. I wanted to find out where the anger came from. Some­where in their past they had to have been very mistreated. I wondered if it could ever be healed.

  Grandma hadn’t given me much information on dwarves, which made me think she didn’t have much. I knew Silver and Dolph would know more, but I wouldn’t see them until tomorrow, and I wanted answers today.

  I pulled out the Norse Mythology book and started rereading it. All it said was that dwarves lived in mountain caves and were known to be miners. They were sought after by everyone for their expertise in making fine weapons. A dwarf blade was considered impossible to defeat due to the magic instilled into the metal. Both the Norse gods and giants paid dwarves to make them their finest weapons. Dwarves were quite wealthy, not only from mining the best metals and making fine weaponry, but also for the number of gems they found. They seemed to be held in high esteem for both reasons.

  Then I read about how both gods and giants were known to threaten dwarf families to get what they wanted. Both the Norse gods and giants were bullies in these stories. It was a wonder any of the mythical creatures wanted to be associated with them, except maybe for protection. The more stories I read, the more disgust I felt.

  I started to see why trolls wanted to blend into the human world and stay away from other mythical creatures. They wouldn’t be needed by either the gods or the giants if they were thought of as human. Mixing in with humans made then unnoticed in public. Unlike the dwarves who were in constant need, trolls were left alone.

  I could see why the dwarves and rock elves got along. They needed to, living in such close proximity to each other. I wasn’t sure why the rock elves worked for the giants or the light elves worked for the Norse gods. It was a good arrangement for the giants and gods, but what was the benefit for the elves?

  As I read more, I realized each group of elves was treated like royalty in its domain. I also learned of other creatures I hadn’t focused on before because I had skimmed the book. There were many very ominous creatures that both the gods and giants went up against to protect their territories. I figured I’d probably have chosen to live under a protector in those situations also.

  As I kept reading I never came across a reason why a dwarf should hate humans. The only thing I could guess was it might have been due to battles between the rock elves and the light elves. Light elves, after all, were known to live with humans.

  Elsa and Enar came to check on me to see how I was doing after yesterday’s battle. I told them about my confusion with regard to the dwarf’s hatred. They had no insight on it, just that for all their one-hundred-some years, dwarves had been known for their anger.

  I knew I had to wait to ask someone else about dwarves, so I went to see what my family was doing. Everyone was busy getting ready to paint. I jumped in to help and spent the rest of the day helping move Emily’s furniture away from the walls and taking down pictures. My parents to started taping around the floor boards and windows. Mom was going to start painting the walls tomorrow, once Dad got the ceilings painted. The day went by quickly with all the busyness.

  Chapter 26

  I was pleased to find out when I arrived at Grandma’s that I’ be working with Dolph. Instead of having me going to the woods, everyone decided I’d be more comfortable working on my skills at Grandma’s house. I was thankful for their concern because I wasn’t sure how I’d feel in the woods. As I reflected back to Saturday, I surprised myself by not being as shook up as I had been with the trolls in the mall. I figured out it was because the trolls were still out there, whereas I knew what had happened to the dwarf. I did ask Grandma if there was any way a creature could escape a tree. She told me not to worry, that he was gone forever.

  Dolph arrived and announced that the day would be spent covering dwarf characteristics. I was happy with his choice of lessons. Nobody except Enar and Elsa knew of my curiosity about dwarf traits, but I figured that after Saturday they knew I needed more information.

  Dolph started with the history of how all mythical creatures had lived together in peace a long time ago. Each type of mythical creature had its own special quality, and in the case of dwarves, it was their expertise as blacksmiths. They could mold metal with perfection.

  “So they weren’t always angry? They actually got along with the other creatures?”

  Dolph chuckled at my question. “Aly, there was a time when everyone got along and then, just like it is in societies now, power and greed took over. The giants and gods decided they both wanted to rule the land. With their size and physical strength, they both controlled the rest of the mythical creatures. These creatures decided either to assist or just stand back and let the gods and giants fight it out to determine who would be the supreme rulers. After all, none of us could challenge them physically, though some of us learned to influence them mentally. So we all dispersed to wh
ere we felt the safest.

  “Trolls chose to live among humans, dwarves moved into the mountains where they could find the metals they wanted, and dragons scattered to unpopulated lands in the forests and mountain regions. Humans, who were fearful of giants because occasionally a giant was known to eat them, decided to have the gods protect them. The elves at first wanted to stay neutral, until one day a small band chose to break off from the rest of the elves and go live with the giants. When they left, it was out of pure greed for the material things the giants promised them. In the elf world our life purpose is never to live for wealth of material things, but to live for the wealth of knowledge of how to serve the land. When they broke with our beliefs and our way of life, we turned into two separate bands: light elves and rock elves. The giants had their elves live out in the mountains among the huge rocks that bordered the giants’ homes, which is how they came to be called rock elves.

  “The light elves, on the other hand, never served the gods. We chose to keep to ourselves until lands were destroyed by the giants and animals were killed in massive fires. At that point we knew we needed to work with the gods to try to protect and care for the land together. We were kept busy mending what the giants had destroyed over many years. Soon an alliance—or you could say a friendship—formed between the light elves and the gods. We let the gods know of anything we overheard while we were out healing the woods, mountainsides, and valleys. The giants’ strategic plans were known by the gods before they were put in motion, and the gods in turn protected us from the giants or creatures associated with the giants’ attacks.

  “The destruction caused by the giants and gods in battle was almost too much for any of us to handle. We were so focused on repairing the damage we didn’t see what happened in the final battle. The day they all disappeared started with a terrible battle. The rumbling could be heard all over the land. Then suddenly complete silence fell. Not one creature in the area witnessed how it happened, but whatever it was changed everyone’s world. The gods and the giants no longer existed. After so many years of living near a battle zone, we now could all live in peace, or so we thought.