Unknown Darkness (Dominions Book 2)

Chapter 1: Elle

ONE WEEK LATER

Elle placed her face into her hands and let out a silent groan. She moved her fingers along the top of her head until her fingers interlaced with her hair. She sat there listened to the conversation, well she wouldn't call it a conversation. Conversations are productive. This meeting was more of an argument.

And not even a good one at that.

The Magical Creatures Alliance, or the MCA, was a place where creatures from all over the realms band together in an alliance to overthrow the evil country of Conventry. Elle compared it to the United Nations of the magical world. The only issue is that none of them liked each other.  All of the realms had issues with each other in one way or another, and what should be meetings of productivity quickly turn into insults and the occasional magic spell being hurled across the table.  So Elle reckoned it was exactly like the United Nations. Just with a little more pizazz.

Not to mention the idea of some of these creatures were merely the thing of fairy tales in Elle's mind. She never pictured she would one day stand in a room with a group of elves, minotaurs, dwarves, fairies, and from what she gathered some form of sea people that resembled mermaids called Aquins.

None of them looked how fairy tales describe them. The fairies, while being some of the most beautiful people Elle had ever seen, are made up of both men and women. They're normal size, and Elle hasn't seen any wings coming from any of them. Though, she imagines they could produce them if wanted. The Aquins were interesting. When they first come into the hall they're soaked from the sea, their hands and feet are always flippers, and as they dry, they turn to look like normal humans. Elle wouldn't be able to pick them out of a lineup unless she sprayed them with a water gun.

The elves were also surprising. The only thing Hollywood got incorrect was the fact that they are short creatures that sit around and bake cookies all day. They're average-sized people. The only thing that gave them away is the pointy ears. They have a strong sense of magic and can produce very potent warrior weapons that they often used against the dwarves, who, unlike the elves, Hollywood got exactly correct. They're short stubby creatures with warts anywhere and everywhere on their face. They have bald patches, and their hair is never longer than a few strands.

Being the daughter of a politician, if there was one thing Elle knew how to read was a room. The elves and the dwarves were constantly at each other's throats. Insults such as "wart nose" and "pointy ears" were as good as talking ill of someone's mother in their world. The Aquins and the minotaurs don't get along because the minotaur's "epic parties" often lead to pollution entering the Aquin kingdom, and from what she gathered, the fairies just didn't like any of them because they weren't fairies.

There was one thing that all of them had in common though.

None of them cared for the humans.

"Listen here you pointy-eared disgrace!" A dwarf holler from across the table. Her voice echoed in the lavish room of the counsel. It was a huge circular room adorned with gold. Everything from the floor to the walls was decorated with the highest luxury. The counsel sat behind desks that were formed in a circular shape. Each realm had its own table with a few benches for audiences from their realms to come to watch the discussions. A flag adorning the realm the creatures come from sat behind them. "We will no longer tolerate your insolence!"

The elf puffed her chest out and gasped at the dwarf's word. A fireball appeared in her hand, and she quickly hurled it across the room. Before it reached the dwarves' table, Asher threw a vale of water to extinguish the deadly ball. He's had to play fire extinguisher on more than a few occasions since coming onto the counsel. The elf gasped and sat back in her seat.