Derina: The Frozen City

Lost Ones Found

Lora and Nerel stepped up the the beautiful front door, but before they got a chance to knock, the door swung open on silent hinges. In front of them stood a tall gentle looking elf with long brown hair braided down his back, and bright green eyes that seem to pierce your soul and read your thoughts. He wore simple but elegant clothing, a white shirt with gold trimmed edges, and woven into the fabric making elaborate designs. he wore simple black pants and shoes, and an elegant sword hung at his waist. he radiated warmth and wisdom, even though he didn't look a day over 30. a gold earing holding a pearl hung from one of his long pointed ears, and a matching gold necklace hung from his neck, a beautiful luminescent pearl held in the claws of an owl. a smile spread across his face when he saw them, "Nerel, your back, I was beginning to worry." he said, his voice soft and kind but undoubtfully strong, his eyes shifted to Lora and he bowed his head slightly. "welcome, Lora, its nice to finally see you again, though I must say," he looked back at Nerel quizzically, "I did not expect you for another couple week, and with vastly different company." before Lora could reply, Nerel cut in. "I ran into her in the woods, she was quite a mess when I found her, it seems she had no prior knowledge of Derina before arriving here. its probably best that we take this inside before any explanations though, Lora didn't exactly come prepared for this weather, and I wouldn't turn down a nice warm drink either." Paxton laughs, "yes of course, come on in, take a seat in the sunroom and I will have some tea made." he steps aside and extends his arm welcoming them in. Nerel walked in without a seconds hesitation, and after a moment, Lora followed. once inside, She takes a moment to take in her surroundings, her breath catches at the beauty of the place. they stood and a beautiful marble entry hall, with beautiful gold trim accenting the door ways on both sides and in front of them. the doors to their left and right seemed to lead to the first two towers. beautiful paintings hung on the walls, depicting marvelous landscapes and portraits, many of them reminded Lora of her own painting back home, and her heart ached. she looked away and followed Nerel into the room beyond the door in front of them. they were in a wonderous glass sun room overlooking a breath taking garden filled with lush towering trees, cobblestone pathways weaving between flower beds filled with luminous blooming plants and floral of every color. two large glass doors stood open to a stone patio before the garden with a few elegant tables and chairs set about. Lora sighed as a warm breeze filled the room, coming from the garden through the doors. she could hear birds chirping, and what sounded like water from somewhere in the garden, hidden by the dense vegetation. Lora sat in one of the many comfy white armchairs surrounding a table,  but Nerel continued on into the garden, slowly walking around seemingly lost in thought. Lora wondered how this wonderful garden could exist in this cold dark world, so bursting with color and sound.

"Beautiful isn't it." she heard Paxton say from somewhere behind her, he was so quiet the she hadn't heard him enter the room. "that garden has been here since long before I was born, when this tower was given to the knowledge mage line by the royal family, the three mages worked together to create this serene ever lasting haven. I doubt that they knew that one day, it would be all that is left of our once beautiful world." 

He set a tray in front of her, which held a tea set and a large plate of small triangular sandwiches. "I figured you must be hungry, my kitchen staff is working on a nice dinner, but it wont be done for a while, so I thought these would suffice for now." he said, gesturing to the plate, then he proceeded to pour three cups of tea, dropping a sugar cube in each. Lora picked up a sandwich and began nibbling on it. she was starving, having not eaten since breakfast early that morning, but she was wary of elven food, not sure how different it was from human food. the sandwich was light and sweet with a slight tang, almost like a cucumber, but not quite. whatever it was, Lora loved it. "good , right?" Paxton asked and Lora nodded, still to overwhelmed to say anything. just then Nerel came wandering in from the garden.  "don't worry Lora, he's harmless, even if he seems strangely..." he paused for a moment, "well informed." he finishes with a chuckle. Paxton picked up a cup and saucer and held it out to Nerel. "well, it is my job to know things." Paxton said with a smile, then he turned to Lora. "Don't let that boy fool you, he's definitely not harmless." he added with a wink. Lora watched their playful exchange quietly, finding it rather comforting. Paxton hands her a cup of tea and Nerel takes a seat next to her. after adding some cream to his tea, Paxton took a seat across from them. 

"I am assuming Nerel told you who I am before you got here, so I felt its best to skip that. I am curious, Nerel, how did you come across my niece in the middle of the forest?" Paxton prompted. Lora was relieved that she was not asked to explain anything first, she was still getting used to her surrounding and she didn't know quite how to explain what happened. "It was strange actually," Nerel started, Lora looked at him and his eyebrows were furrowed. " I was in the forest hunting when a stray daemon attacked me. As I was fighting it off, Lora had made a sound, distracting the daemon. She was under a fallen tree, all cut up and bruised, I had no idea who she was at first, I killed the daemon and helped her up. She already knew my name, but didn't go into detail on how. The strangest part was, there had been no sign of anyone in the area, she was a mess, she had obviously been running from something, and yet she left no trace of where she had come from. I think that was one of the main things that tipped me off about who she was, other than her obvious attraction to the color purple." he said, giving Lora a pointed look. "then I took her to the river, taught her some tips on her magic and told her some of our history so she didn't feel so lost. she's a quick learner, you would be proud of her." Lora felt her face flush, but Nerel continued, "she made a warm bath in the river and a change of cloths, it was remarkable really." he explained and looked at her with a encouraging smile. "after that, well, I brought her here." Paxton was nodding, his face not giving away any of his thoughts. he turned to Lora, "I'm glad you were lucky enough to come across Nerel and not one of the daemon." he said sincerely. 

"honestly, I am as well. Nerel help me so much, I don't know what I would have done with out him." Lora said returning Nerel's smile. 

Paxton took a sip of his tea, and then turned his attention to Lora alone. "if you don't mind me asking, how exactly did you end up here, and why are your protectors not with you?"

Lora took a moment to collect her thoughts, and then she dived in, telling them the entire story. 

                                                                                ***

by the time Amanda and james reached the city gates, the sky had already begun to bear the signs of dusk. Beautiful streaks of purple, pink, orange, and red cover the horizon, the city  reflected the colors of the sunset, giving the illusion of being on fire. They slowed down once inside the gate, as to not draw to much attention. It had been so long since they had set foot there. The last time they had seen Las Narith they were only 2 years old, but they remember every bit of it. Amanda led the way to her fathers house without hesitation, as if she lived here her whole like. james walked silently beside her, staring longingly at the castle ahead. sometimes he wish he didn't remember the wide sweeping halls, the beautiful indoor gardens, the many massive rooms, and his family. his parents, who were killed by Safield. and his younger brother, who was only a year old when he was taken into hiding somewhere on Derina, when james left for earth. even now, he still could not understand why his brother was unable to join them. suddenly Amanda's voice rang out, "my fathers place should be just around the corner." james could have sworn he heard something in her voice, and her pace slowed just barely. james looked at her. she didn't seem scared or worried, her face was a perfect mask, just like any warrior. "are you nervous Amanda?" he asked her, quietly, almost as if he thought she might run from the question. she stayed quiet for a moment, James could now see the knowledge tower not far down the road. just when he thought he would never know her answer, she looked back at him, her eyes filled with fear. " honestly James, yes, what if I am not what he expects me to be? and what if he is not what I remember? time can change people..." she falls silent and continues on, after a a few moments they are in from of Paxton's home, Amanda reaches out to open the door but James grabs her hand and gives it a squeeze. " he is your father Amanda, he's going to love you." he smiles at her gently, and after a split seconds hesitation, she returns it. he lets go of her hand and she proceeds to open the door. as they stepped into the entrance hall, Paxton appeared from beyond a door way across from them, a door in which Amanda knew contained the sunroom and garden beyond it. Amanda froze as her father approached, he looked exactly the same as he did the day she left, and he was smiling. Amanda fought back the tears she felt threatening to surface. Paxton's voice rung out in the empty room " amaryllis, my daughter, how nice it is to see you again, you have grown up so well." he said, seemingly unable to hide the pain in his voice. He approached them, it seemed like he wanted to embrace them, but decided against it. he turned to james,  "Prince Jandar, its nice to see you as well." james shifted his weight from one foot to the other anxiously. "Actually, I go by james now, it was the name given to me when I went to earth." Paxton nodded, "I understand I will be sure to remember that." he turned to Amanda, "is there a different name you would prefer as well?" she was silent for a moment before replying, "actually yes, I go by Amanda." Paxton nodded, "understood, now if you would like we could take this into the sunroom, I have company I'm sure you would like to see." he turned away but before he got a chance to move more than a few steps james spoke up. "Actually, we don't have much time, Lora is missing..." before james could finish, a familiar laughter rung out, coming from the sunroom. james and Amanda looked at each other for a split second before than ran passed Paxton into the room beyond. there she sat, their best friend Lora, laughing, and sitting next to a dark haired elf that they did not recognize. the elven boy stopped talking and looked at them curiously as they entered. Lora confused by his sudden silence turned around. as soon as her eyes fell on the two of them, the biggest smile spread across her face. she jumped up and ran to give them a hung. the two of them accepted her affection without hesitation, glad beyond words that she was ok. Lora let go and started talking to fast for them to calm down. the elf boy, who had gotten up and was walking towards them, laughed. "Lora, your getting ahead of yourself, why don't you let them sit down before you start hounding them." Lora looked at the boy and backed up. " right sorry guys, i got a little over excited there, i missed you guys quite a bit." james smiled, "we could tell," james turned to the boy, tall, with dank shoulder length hair, and blue eyes. for some reason he seemed familiar, but he had no idea who he was. he hated that Lora already seemed to trust him. he reached out his hand, "I'm james, nice to meet you." he said curtly. the boy reached out his own hand, "Nerel, nice to meet y..." suddenly it was like a bomb went off, Amanda grabbed Lora and pushed her behind her. james' hand turned and grabbed one of his swords from his hip and swung it up till the blade rested against Nerel's neck in one fluid motion. Nerel stood there in shock, his hand still extended to shake james' own hand. Amanda stood, her bow loaded and ready to send an arrow flying into Nerel's heart at the slightest sign of danger. Lora cried out and tried to grab james' arm, but he easily held her back. "What are you doing james!" she yelled. "He saved my life!" 

James shook his head but didn't look at her. " he just wants you to think that, trust me, he's a monster." Lora tried to argue, behind them she could hear Paxton approaching the room. he freezes at the door when notices what's happening. anger fills his voice as her says, "what is going on here?" james doesn't look away from Nerel, his face if filled with anger and hatred. "this monster, is Nerel, son of Safield, the traitor who destroyed this world." Nerel's face hardens as he looks at Lora, who stares at him in disbelief.