𝓞𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝓗𝐮𝗺𝐚𝐧

Chapter #10 - Joley

Chapter #10 - Joley

Although Enigma and Flu had said something about not using sedatives, it seemed they made Joley lose consciousness the old-fashioned way— having her hit her head really, really hard.

The spot where she'd banged it still ached. But now that she was finally awake, she could get a good look at where they'd taken her.

It was shockingly charming.

She was inside a room, with quaint lights lining the walls and a couple books stacked in the corner. Simple, but it wasn't prison-ish. More like it was designed by a minimalist. What caught her eyes, though, was the small black swan carved into one of the walls.

An idea of where she was formed inside Joley's mind.

When the Black Swan had begun working with the Council and general public, becoming less and less of a secretive organization (though they always seemed to maintain an element of mystery), many of its hideouts were abandoned. The people who took her must've been using one of those old refuges.

Not that any of that mattered. After overhearing Flu and Enigma, she had been hoping that wherever they took her, her parents— and the other missing people— would be there too.

The room was empty as ever.

That is, until a flicker of purple light began to come in from the small window— the only opening in the whole room to the outside world, clearly meant so people with specific crystals can leap inside.

Joley tensed, not exactly expecting a baby alicorn. She was shocked by who appeared.

"TALIA!!!"

They rushed towards each other— two girls from different worlds, embracing arm in arm. When they pulled apart, Talia was talking at a billion miles per hour.

"OhmygodI'msogladyou'reokaywhathappenedyouwon'tbelieve—"

"Huh? Start from the beginning."

Talia looked like she wasn't sure where to start, so Joley suggested, "How did you get here?"

She held up a violet gem and said, "This was on my mom's wedding ring. I held it up to the light and it ended up being a leaping crystal. I'm... not sure what that means." She paused. "How did you get here?"

"Well, since my parents were still missing, I was at my friends' house. When I was alone in the hallway to do a dare, these two people grabbed me and, well, leaped me to this hideout. They even talked about probing my memories, though I'm not sure if they did it." It was her turn to stop and think. "I think... I think they were the same people who took everyone else— they just put everybody in different places. Also..."

"They were the ones who...y'know... my dad."

"...Yeah." There was one thing Joley didn't get, though: "But... why? Why would they take these seemingly random elves— though it seems all of them were involved with the HRP somehow. But still, why? And why kill an innocent man?"

Talia grimaced. "I'm starting to wonder if Dad was really all that innocent. Innocent people don't have magic light traveling devices ingrained in their wife's wedding ring."

"Maybe he wanted you to have it."

The same loud silence as before came among them for a second, but then both girls' heads suddenly perked up. Joley was sure they had just realized the same thing.

The other jewels in the wedding ring must lead to the other hideouts.

The other places where the missing people were hidden.

"I need to get that ring again," Talia announced, and Joley was surprised to find she was smiling. "I may only be human, but I think we can save everyone."

Aaaaaaand, that's the end of part 1!!! Sorry for the kinda-cliffhanger! LOL. I'd love constructive criticism, or just praise in general.

Thanks to TheEssayElf for giving me the idea to call it the Human Reinstatement Program, and Ella The Blue Elephant on Fandom for suggesting the name Mistmeare for an elvin home.