✧The Earthe of the Elves✧

8

Mia's POV

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My dads favorite color was green.

Since he left when I was so young, I only have a few vivid memories of him. One is this.

We're walking down the path behind our house leading to the river. Just us.

"It's so pretty," I had said in that little kid voice I used to have. My dad smiled at me with the biggest smile, the kindest eyes.

"That's why my favorite color is green. It reminds me of nature, how beautiful the natural world is, the one untouched by us." His eyes got far away then, like he was thinking really deep.

"Life is so beautiful, we never want to take little moments like this for granted. You're going to grow up with this safe place in your backyard, Mia. Stay connected with nature, it's where we came from and where we will end up."

At the time I had just nodded, only grasping the idea that his favorite color was green and I thought that was cool. Now, as the memory plays out in my dreams, I understand that he meant so much more. It makes me wonder what his life was like before me and mom.

And why someone with such kind eyes would leave his little girl.

-

Consciousness slowly spreads through my body. I stretch, keeping my eyes closed. Just another minute, then I'll get up.

I doze off again.

Sleep finally fades out of my system, leaving me laying in my bed with my eyes closed, loving how soft and silky the sheets feel as I stretch out, sighing into my pillow. Hopefully mom made her classic buttermilk pancakes, I'm really in the mood for those right about now.

My room is still dark when I sit up, due to the curtains covering the windows-

Wait.

For a fleeting second, I had forgotten that this was real. For a second all of yesterdays events seemed like a long, painful dream. Like the adventure I so desperately craved back home had come true in the form of a dream.

Well, it's not a dream I guess. And this adventure is a hell of a lot scarier than the books make it seem. Instead of the tidal wave of memories that should come crashing through my brain, the events of yesterday seem to sink in gently, like my brain used all night to sort things out- now I'm just aware of how sorted all my thoughts are. I feel more at peace with yesterday, so that's good.

The wooden floor is actually a bit warm when I touch my feet to it, pushing myself off of the mattress that I just want to lie in all day. My eyes are still foggy from sleep, so I rub them gently with the collar of my tank top. Going to open the curtains to the windows, I groan as my feet hurt with each step I take. Hopefully this is only a morning thing. Grabbing onto the wool curtains I pull them open. My eyes immediately squint at the light that floods my room, and it takes a moment before I can pry an eye open and look outside.

It looks like I'm about two stories up, high enough to be able to see everyone strolling around the paths for... A while. If I had to guess, I would say I can see at least a mile under the treeline. Which is crazy. I should not be able to see that far, especially considering the ground is foggy as snow falls lazily to the ground. It's a beautiful sight though. Seeing all the trees in daytime is just as pretty as seeing them at night, and this time I can see everything clearer, including all the people walking around. It reminds me of those little winter wonderland villages you buy at the store and set up. Except there are huge trees instead of ceramic cottages.

After a surprisingly nice, hot shower, I brush out my  lightening hair, not even grumbling at my ears, which have gotten even pointier than they were yesterday. Pointy ears is on my 'shit I don't have time or energy to worry about right now' list.