Ivory

The sun was barely peeking over the horizon when Ayla came to wake me for my journey to meet the goddess. I guess Carter wasn't joking when he said first light. I dragged my feet through the snow, following Ayla to the stables. The morning was chilly, but it didn't faze me in the slightest. I felt it was because I was an elf and this was my natural habitat.

Still, I wrapped my arms around myself and wrapped the wolly shall Ayla gave me tightly around me. The forest that was always around us swayed in the wind. Birds welcomed the sunrise as they woke up, singing their songs. There was a peaceful ambiance in the place. It felt like home. I could almost taste the hot cocoa my mother brewed every morning and the smell of my father's cologne as he got ready for work. The sound of the crackling fire with the large pot filled with whatever magical goodness my mother always seemed to whip up.

The smell of manure and hay burst the little bubble I had created as we reached the wooden building. Its large barn doors were ajar and a warm light was emanating from it. Fear pierced my heart as I was back in front of my home, the door ajar and the eerie stillness in the air. My breath lodged in my throat and I took a step back. No, not again.

I could feel my heart pounding in my head as I reached for the door handle, but I couldn't grasp it. My mind wouldn't let me. The menacing growls of the white and black wolves that killed them echoed in my mind. The flash of snarling, sharp teeth, the clicks of their claws on the wooden floor and the painful howl that tore through my heart haunted me. This couldn't be happening! Not again. Please! My mother's scream pierced through the air and I felt like I was about to faint.

I tried desperately to pull myself back into the warmth of the memory I was having just before, but I was rooted in place. Stuck in my waking nightmare.

"Ivory?" Ayla's voice cut through my nightmare. Her hands gripped my shaking shoulders and her face showed worry. "Are you okay hun?"

My eyes burned as everything came back into focus. I felt the cold brass of the long handle in my hand and the wind carried the scent of the stables. Was it over? My ramming heart calmed as I registered I was not, in fact, back in the human world, about to see my parents' bodies again. I had a feeling that nightmare would haunt me for a long time.

My head pounded from the massive headache that I had. I shouldn't have drank so much last night. The last thing I remembered was crying into Xavier's nice suit and then I woke up in my bed at Ayla's. My heart skipped a beat at the thought of Xavier. He showed such genuine kindness towards me last night. I wondered what was going through his head. I hoped I did nothing embarrassing. The last thing I needed was more awkwardness between us.

We entered the barn and my eyes widened at the magnificent beasts that were lined up for us to ride. These were the Engi Xavier mentioned last night. Huge elk-like beasts with long antlers and white marbled fur. They were beautiful.

"Good morning." Xavier smiled at me as he heaved a thick saddle onto the back of an Engi. I shuffled closer to the creature, ignoring Xavier. There was only one thing on my mind. His enormous nose sniffed my outstretched hand and then huffed, rustling my mess of hair. I ran my hands over his fur, which, from a distance, looked coarse, but it was surprisingly soft.

"What's his name?" I asked.

"Eli, and this one is Sugar, his mate." Xavier pointed to the one in the other open stall. She was slightly smaller than Eli and had a gray speckling of spots on her hind end.

"Wait... so both genders have antlers? How do you tell them apart?" The deer on earth were easy to tell the males and females apart because only the males had antlers.

Xavier chuckled, "well, besides the obvious? The females are smaller and often have patterns on their fur."

Carver entered just then, his face set and his eyes bleary from the early morning. I knew just how he felt. Serves him right for making us wake up at this god awful hour. A man with sandy blonde hair and green eyes entered behind him. He gave me a warm smile as he set his bag on the back of Sugar. He then stripped. My eyes widened, and I spun around.

"What the hell?!" I said.

"Goddess! Hayden, go do that in the empty stall!" Xavier yelled.

"What?!" confusion passed over his face as Xavier pushed him into a stall.

Xavier leaned in to whisper in Hayden's ear. His face turned a shade of pink as he took in whatever Xavier told him. He gave me a sheepish smile and apologized. I wondered what he had told him? Why would he strip, anyway?

"Quiet down, please." Carver grumbled and pinched the bridge of his nose. "We sent word of your arrival last night.They should be expecting you. It's a day's journey to Ena Alari. I'm sending Hayden with you as an extra guard. Our scouts have reported the nymphs and witches have been getting bolder and restless. Keep to the main roads."

Witches? Xavier did not mention those last night. Judging by the drain of color on his face, they were not fun. Hayden's groan pulled my attention from Carver, and I watched in fascination and horror as his bones snapped. His limbs shortened and brown fur rippled across his skin. His face scrunched and his nose and mouth morphed into a snout. He disappeared below the half wall and my heart raced. Was he okay? Was this normal?

A light brown wolf with green eyes came trotting out and sat. I was dumbstruck. I guess this was the reason he had to get naked. Such a weird thing, but I guess I wouldn't want my clothes shredding every day. I had seen the shift before, but that was from far away. Up close, it sounded painful. I turned to Xavier.

"Are you going to shift too?" I kind of hoped he wouldn't. Wolves made me nervous. Even though I knew Hayden was probably a really nice guy, his wolf set me on edge. I didn't think I could handle having two wolves along on this journey. Though I couldn't help my curiosity about what Xavier's wolf might look like.

Xavier jumped at the mention of him shifting, and he chuckled. "I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable. I know how you feel about us."

I felt bad. My initial reaction to their race had been unfair. Xavier probably thought I hated him and I ddn't want that. He couldn't help what he was. "Are you sure? I wouldn't mind." I lied.

He gave me a sad smile and nodded. "I'm sure. This is a long journey. I don't want you getting lonely. We wouldn't be able to talk along the way if I shifted."

A blush crept onto my face.

Carver cleared his throat, reminding us he was still there. "you should get going. The day is slipping away from us."

I rolled my eyes. The day had barely started. Turning to Eli, I froze. I didn't know the first thing about riding. I knew humans rode horses, even raced them. But I had never gotten the chance. I remembered once asking my mother for a pony and she just shook her head and told me it was too much responsibility.

"Would you like some help to mount? Have you ever ridden a horse before?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Mother never let me leave the mountainside. The only horses I've seen were pictures."

Xavier moved to stand beside me and cupped his hand together. "What you're going to do is take your left foot and put it in my palms and then push yourself up and swing your right leg up and over. I'll help lift you."

I did as he said and put my foot in his gloved hands. He gave me an encouraging smile, and I pushed up. My leg wobbled as Xavier lifted my foot and I swung the other over the Engi. Gravity pulled me down onto the saddle as my chest slammed against the creature's side. The wind got knocked out of me, and I let out an audible oof.

"Are you okay?" he laughed.

Shifting my hips and planting my feet into the holds of the saddle, I sat up and smiled, triumphant. "Yeah, I'm okay."

The Engi shifted under me and huffed. I stroked his neck to calm him down, though from his steady heartbeat it was more of an attempt to calm the butterflies in my stomach. Only just getting my barrings in a new place and now traveling to a new town. I wonder what awaited me. These elves were strangers to me. At least on earth, I knew a little from reading the history books and stories my father brought home for me. But I got the impression that the history here wasn't solely documented in one or two books.

Xavier fixed a saddle onto Sugar and gracefully mounted her. He held up the leather strap that hung loosely from her snout. "These are called the reins. they help to guide the Engi. You won't need to worry about that too much, as Eli will follow me and Sugar. But If something happens and you need to get away. Squeezing your legs and then giving him a light kick will spur him into a steady canter, lead him with your body and gently pull on the reins in the direction you need him to go. You can also talk to him, verbally express what you need. The Engi are highly intelligent creatures. He knows the way home and will get you to safety."

*Eli blew air through his nose and nodded his head as if responding to Xavier's statement. He was such a beautiful creature. I could feel the power emanating from him. It made me feel safe. I relaxed against the saddle as much as I could and put my feet in the loops on the side like Xavier did. It wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, but it was something I could get used to. I felt so tall.

"You should get going. Time is slipping away from us," Carver said as he opened the barn doors wide. The cold wind whistled and snow blew over the wooden floors. Eli shook his head and stomped his hoof. As if excited to get out of the barn. Ayla, who I had forgotten was even here, came up to me and grabbed my hand.

"Be safe." she breathed. The rest left unsaid. I was all she had left in this world. The only thing to remind her of her sister and best friend. In a way, she was the same for me. A piece of my mother and father left behind to help me through my grieving. It may not seem like it, but I was glad to have been brought here. Though I missed my home... I would have been all alone. At least here I had people—family I could turn to. Even if I had only known them for a little while.

Carver tapped Xavier's leg and then slapped both the Engi's hides, spurring them. Hayden ran ahead of us and I followed just behind Xavier. We ran in a steady trot through the still sleeping village. The sun had lifted a bit more into the sky and an array of colors splattered in waves of pinks, blues and yellows.

It wasn't long before we had gone past the border of the village and the forests engulfed us. We slowed to an even pace. The Engi huffed and flicked their small tails. Hayden stopped to drink from the lake that stretched for miles along the path. It made me wonder what laid on the other side of it. Was there another village? Just how big was this world?

The lake looked beautiful in the early morning rays. Golden light refracted off the icy surface. A bird flew low across the surface, likely looking for a fish for breakfast. At the thought, I felt my stomach growl and from the look from Xavier it was louder than I thought it was.

He gave me a warm smile. "did Ayla not feed you this morning?" he asked

A sheepish grin spread across my face. "she did... but I guess it wasn't enough."

He laughed and reached into his shoulder bag. "Here." he tossed a colorful yellow and red fruit. Like the ones I had seen at Mrs. Drake's stall.

It looked like an apple. I bit into it and moaned. It tasted like an apple but was way juicier and crisper than the ones I had on earth. A red blush crept on my cheeks. "Sorry." I mumbled between bites.

"No, I get it. Earth had a lot of great foods. But the produce and meat could never match the ones here. The fruit is richer, the vegetables are crisper, and the meat is heartier. I'm not sure why."

I nodded. "My mother always complained about how many preservatives and chemicals they added to the foods my father brought home from the store. We stopped buying from them and found a local farmer to get our food from. Meals got better after that. But not by much,"

His smile grew, and he laughed. "You're right. Hayden said, 'The food sounds gross and doesn't understand how we survived so long there.'"

Confusion pinched my brows. "Hayden spoke? How?"

Wolves possess a telepathic connection. We can communicate in our minds. It helps us work better as a team in wolf form and when around enemies, it keeps our secrets and plans safe from anyone listening in," he explained.

"Fascinating." I looked down at my hands gripping the reins. My blue skin shimmered against the sunlight. "Is there anything special about elves? Besides magic?" I asked.

Xavier cocked his head and squinted, "hmmm, I think the only thing that makes you different from other Elves besides the way you look is you are impervious to the cold."

I noticed that. When I lived on earth, the winters never bothered me, though I still wore coats and scarves. I could feel the cold, but it never hurt me. "There are other species of Elves?" I asked.

Xavier's brows narrowed. "Species? You mean races?"

"I suppose."

"Well, yes there are. They mainly live in forests, though I heard once traveling in Belmor there was one that lived in the desert along with a dragon race."

My heart raced and my eyes widened. "Dragons? Like Ghallan'din?"

Xavier laughed at my excitement, "well not exactly. Ghallan'din is more ethereal. The Dragons I speak of are like us shifters. They shift from human to dragon."

"Wow, that's amazing. I would love to shift into a dragon and fly. It would be so freeing."

"Yeah, it would be."

"What about your race? Are there other wolf shifters?" I asked.

His smile fell and his shoulders slumped. "No... I don't think so."

"Why not? I'm sure there are some hiding somewhere. This world is enormous, is it not?"

"Yes, but if there are, they're not like us."

"How so?"

"We were humans first. The goddess, she cursed us."

My heart dropped into my stomach. cursed them? For what reason? The more I heard about this goddess, the more I didn't like her. How could these people worship her like they do? I saw the shrines and candles around the village. She seemed so elusive, yet so involved. Contradictive almost. She killed my parents, yet spared me. She cursed the wolves, yet they worshiped her. I had read about human religion on earth. There were very many, yet the gods seemed more like a myth and no one could agree on anything.

The way the people talked about the gods and goddesses made them seem more real. Actual beings with great knowledge and power. It made me nervous just thinking about it. I would meet this so-called goddess soon. What would she do with me? Would she finish the job? Would I get the answers I seek? Like why she killed my parents. If there even was a good reason to. I doubt it.

Xavier had stayed quiet after the mention of the curse. It seemed to make him sad. But the way he talked about his wolf that night at the bar seemed like he enjoyed being a wolf shifter. I guess you could accept and love what you are... even if the way you came to be was filled with hardship. I wonder how long ago they had been cursed.

©2024 Jessica Powell. All Rights Reserved

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