Interviewing some Dark Elves
1646 Words
So... things just took a strange turn in this case. Zed was born a dark elf? And if Dark Elves live underground, then what was he doing up here?
“So, what do you guys know about Dark Elves?” I asked them “You say that they’re really dangerous?”
“They are,” Hazel nodded “They’re not afraid to kill anyone who gets in their way. But most of all, they really don’t like humans.”
Oh... crap. My ring just turned orange and all of the hairs on my back and arms just stood up.
“You say they live underground?” I questioned while trying to stay calm.
“Yes,” Aria nodded “But they can come out up here if they want.”
“So how will I know if an elf is a light one or a dark one without having to check out their strange birthmark?”
“My guess is that your ring will tell you. And if you ever do come across a dark elf, you better make sure you’re wearing that clover charm.”
I had almost forgotten about that. Thankfully, I had it around my neck so I hadn’t lost it.
“So, what’s a dark elf doing up here?” I asked while glancing at the body “Wouldn’t you guys have noticed there was a dark elf in the palace?”
“We would have” Aria admitted “But apparently, Dark Elves are known to live up here with us if they want. Lately, a lot of the Dark Elves have been escaping their underground homes to come to live up here and join us.”
“What?” I tilted my head.
“I know, it’s weird but, I guess some of them aren’t always born to be dark. Usually, if we spot a dark elf up here, our elf powers can immediately tell that they’re not one of us. But we think that when a dark elf decides to join us up here, our elf powers don’t work on them.”
“Explain elf powers.”
“Remember when you asked me if I could read your mind because I always seem to know what you’re thinking?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, we actually are telepathic.”
“So you can read minds?” I gasped.
“No,” she shook her head with a giggle “We can’t exactly read minds, but we can always tell what someone is thinking by their body language and facial features. I mean, humans can too, but you can say we’re much better at it. Besides, all elves are born with that ability so they can already master it at a young age.”
“Wow,” I remarked impressed “So can you tell what I’m thinking right now?”
“Hm...” she began to study me while tapping her chin “Right now you’re thinking about testing my elf abilities. And even though I would like to show you them, we should really get back to focusing on the body.”
My eyes widen, she was actually correct. A bit scary, but cool.
“You’re right,” I pointed as we turned back to Zed’s body “So, we can conclude that Zed was born a dark elf but left his home to join the elves up here.”
“And that would mean his brother and niece are also Dark Elves” Dale put in.
“Have they already been contacted?” I asked.
“Yes,” the elf officer spoke, “They should be here soon.”
“Excellent. In the meantime, what did you and the other... what are you guys called here? Officers? Police elves?”
“You can call us Rangers.”
“Rangers” I echoed “That sounds much better. So what did you and the other rangers find on the body?”
“Everything we found is put on this table” he showed us the long table behind him as we followed him to it “His clothes are right here along with any contents we could find on him.”
Next to the b****y clothes were some glass test plates containing the contents found on the body, and there wasn’t much.
“Check it out” Hazel suddenly spoke while picking a test plate “Some more hay pieces.”
“So he was definitely in a barn” Aria concluded, “Or near one at least. I suggest we search the palace barn for any more clues. And perhaps Dale’s farm too since it’s the closest one to the palace.”
“Oh great,” Dale grunted, “If I find signs of murder on my farm, now everyone will really think I did it.”
“Relax, Dale” Aria assured “Everyone knows you’re right-handed. You’re fine.”
“For now” he frowned.
Hazel then picked up another of the test plates and held it up.
“Got some soil” she observed, “Most likely from the garden here.”
“And...” I picked up the last test plate “Some flower petals.”
“Let me see that” Aria ordered as I showed her the petals, “I think these are poppy petals, we do have them in the garden.”
“So, all of these contents here don’t really help much besides for the hay” Dale stated, “The soil and petals prove he was in the garden today because, well, he’s a gardener, but what about the hay?”
“You tell me, Dale” Aria replied, “You work on the farm here, have you ever seen him around the farm before?”
“If I did, I would’ve said something. Although, we can ask the other farmers if they’ve seen him.”
“Good idea. In the meantime-” she turned to the elf ranger “You better get started on the autopsy. Let us know right away when you have the results.”
He gave a nod just as there was a knock at the door as another of the elf rangers peeked in.
“Your Highness” he spoke, “The brother and niece are here.”
__________
We met up with Zed’s older brother and his 12-year-old niece in the same empty classroom where we spoke with Flint. I noticed that neither of them was shedding tears, but they both had a look of sorrow on their faces. Perhaps Zed wasn’t that close with them, but since he was still part of their family, I can see why they felt they should express their grief in a different way.
“Thank you both for coming.” Aria was the first to speak as she pulled up a chair in front of the desk “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“Thanks” the brother mumbled.
“Someone seriously killed him with an ax?” the niece asked.
“I’m afraid so” Aria nodded sadly as the niece gave a cringe.
“Who would do such a thing?” she demanded.
“That’s what we’re trying to find out,” she replied as she turned to me “This is Jesse, our new hero. He’s going to help us solve this case.”
She then got up from the chair and allowed me to sit in it as I took a deep breath while facing the father and daughter.
“So,” I began to the brother “You’re Zed’s older brother, right?”
“Yes,” he nodded, “Name’s Ryker, and this is my daughter, Sienna.”
“Sienna? Like the place in Italy?”
“Exactly.”
“Oh, that’s so cool” I grinned, “I’ve always wanted to go to Italy. I heard it’s really pretty over there. I’ve always wanted to try their pizzas and pasta.”
“Hm-mm” Aria suddenly coughed.
“Oh,” I cleared my thoughts about Italy “Right. Um uh, before I begin, I just wanted to say that we know about... the um, mark on Zed’s body.”
“We had a feeling” Ryker muttered.
“So you guys are really born Dark Elves?”
“We are,” he nodded “We were born in the Unseelie colony, and even though it’s in our blood, we just felt we weren’t made to be a part of the colony. My wife then passed away when Sienna was just 5, so we along with Zed decided to leave to come up here for a fresh start, and we’ve been here ever since.”
“We haven’t caused any trouble, I swear” Sienna suddenly put in.
“That’s good to know.” I chuckled before turning back to her dad “So tell me everything you know about Zed.”
“Well, he was a nice guy, always helping out. He came to work here a few years ago, but we never really kept in touch unless it was a special occasion.”
“He always seemed to keep to himself” Sienna added “We never really knew much about him when he moved here. Like we never knew his favorite things, if you know what I mean.”
“I do know what you mean,” I replied, “That was practically me all through my school years when I kept to myself to avoid the mean people... it didn’t work by the way.”
... I don’t know why I just told them that. Sometimes I tend to blabber about myself and I don’t even know I’m doing it. It’s one of the many flaws I have.
“So,” I continued, hoping to put their minds off of what I said “Judging by what I’ve heard about him, he was well-liked, but tends to keep to himself. Now uh, do any of you know if there’s anyone who might have wanted to harm him or wanted him dead?”
“Not that we know of” Ryker shrugged.
“What about King Grady?” Aria put in.
“Who?” I raised an eyebrow.
“He’s the king of the Dark Elves.”
“They have a king too?” I gasped.
“Yep,” Hazel nodded with her arms crossed “And he’s the worst out of all of them.”
“Damn,” I breathed with my eyes widen “And to think I wanted to travel to the center of the earth one time.”
“I don’t think it’s him” Ryker suddenly said, “Whenever someone decides to leave the Unseelie clan, he just lets them go, he never bothers to bring them back.”
“You sure about that?” Aria queried.
“I heard him say it before. Trust me, it wasn’t him.”
“Okay then,” I spoke, “And you can’t think of anyone else who would want him dead?”
“Sorry” he replied sadly.
“Okay,” I sighed “Um when was the last time you saw your brother?”
“A few months ago, he came over to celebrate Sienna’s birthday. After that, we haven’t spoken to each other.”
“When you last saw him, did you notice anything suspicious about him?”
“No,” he shook his head, “He seemed normal to me.”
“Very well then. I’ll let you guys go. If you remember anything else please let us know.”
They nodded as we allowed them to leave the room. It wasn’t really a lot of information, but from what I know after studying criminology is that there’s always a secret that’s waiting to be unmasked.
- Writer
