Ballerina Interrupted

The Queen of the Elves ran into the nursery, her heavy sword held securely in one hand. “Naneh?” her daughter’s infant blue eyes looked up at the Queen with fear as she stood in her crib dressed in her nightgown; her tiny hands clutching her favorite grey, stuffed rabbit. Without a word the Queen rushed over, scooped up her daughter into her arms and went to the wall where she found the lever for the secret door. As her hand reached for the elegant candle sconce, an arrow embedded itself deep into the violet wall, just mere inches away from the Queen’s palm. She gasped and turned to see a masked fae dressed in black getting ready to release another arrow, straight into the precious bundle that she carried. Their attacker suddenly let his archery fall as his mouth gagged open before they fell forward.  The King took his sword out of the dead fae in one swift motion. “Behind you!” The Queen yelled just as a group of masked fae came in. Most of them attacked the King while two stalked towards the Queen, their eyes zeroed in on the Princess. “No!” The King yelled. The Queen backed up against the wall, sword deftly held out while her other arm tightly gripped on to their daughter who whimpered and wrapped her small, chubby arms around the Queen’s neck in a tight hold. One of them lunged and the Queen caught his blade with hers and their swords loudly clanged. She whirled and brought her sword above her head, preventing the other’s blade from hitting its mark. She made sure she kept her back slightly turned in so as to shield her daughter away from harm while her other arm deftly protected them with her blade that glowed as the old magic within awoke to help deliver each lethal stroke. In an instant, the Queen threw herself to the right, painfully slamming her shoulder against the bureau as she barely escaped from being impaled. She breathed heavily, ignoring the graze wound on her side that was beginning to softly bleed. “Give us the child and we shall walk away.” one of them sneered as he taunted her with his blade. The Queen’s eyes narrowed. “Never. You will not touch her!” She screamed, this time lunging to pierce her blade but it was caught. She let out a gasp of surprise and pain when her head was viciously pulled back and the Queen choked back a cry. “Naneh!” her daughter began to cry out. The King appeared behind the fae in an instant. His sword cleanly sliced through the neck before he furiously shoved the fae away from his Queen. Once she was free, the Queen brought her daughter’s face up to her lips and whispered words of comfort and assurance while she kissed her tipped nose. “Get her out of here!” The King yelled as he dealt with the other fae. Dropping her sword, the Queen ran to the sconce, pulled it down and quickly slipped inside. She turned and looked to her King, her love. “You have to go without me!” he panted. Parring with the other fairy, the King met their sword with his own. In two strokes, the King had knocked their sword away and run him through. “I cannot leave you!” The Queen cried out. The King rushed over and grabbed her shoulders. “You have too. Go! I will follow once I make sure no one will come after you,” he said just as the sound of glass shattering and heavy footsteps running up the hallways sounded, along with cries of surprise followed by agony from their people dying as they fought to their very last breath to protect the royal family and their only heir. Terrathelle was being overrun. No one had been prepared for this dark, imminent attack. The King pushed his Queen inside the dark tunnel and met his daughter’s frightened eyes. “Adah,” she reached out for him. He leaned down and tenderly kissed her forehead. He breathed in her precious scent that always reminded him of the rare, crescent flowers. “Adah will be back soon my mehl.” He straightened and tensed as the room became flooded with more masked fae. The King straightened the sconce and the door closed. The Queen cried out as she caught her King turn away and face the oncoming battle.   “Aaadaah!” their daughter sobbed. Stumbling back, the Queen tightly cradled her daughter against her chest before running into the belly of the winding tunnels. Her green eyes glowed brightly to help her see through the darkness. When the palace had been built and the tunnels made with incantations, the Queen had prayed that they would never have a use for them for she knew that if she ever found herself in there, it would mean that she would be running for her life. The Queen turned and looked back when she heard loud echoing voices and swords clanging. She let out a sob when she realized that they had made it inside and were close on her heels. Urging her feet to go faster, the Queen kept her eyes straight ahead. When the tunnel came to a split, offering three ways to keep going, the Queen did not hesitate as she took the left. “We are almost there,” she breathed. Her foot caught on the edge of her gown and she tripped. While falling, the Queen twisted so she landed on her back. All was silent except for her thunderous heart beating rapidly as she listened for the enemy. They must have taken a wrong turn and were lost but who knew how long this gift of time would last. Sitting up, the Queen cradled her daughter while one hand slipped into the pocket of her gown and pulled out a necklace that held a small, yet very powerful emerald. Quickly placing the necklace over her daughter’s head, the Queen began to fight back the tears that were threatening to choke her. “Naneth and Adah love you. And we need you to be our strong little girl. Can you do that?” She cupped her daughter’s chin and lovingly gazed into her beautiful eyes which welled up with more tears. Bringing her stuffed rabbit up to her rosy cheek, she nodded. The Queen smiled. “I have to go back and help your Adah, but you will be safe my Änor.” Before her inner strength failed her, the Queen hugged her daughter, burying her face into her soft neck. Closing her eyes and letting the tears finally fall, the Queen began to whisper the incantation. When she finished, the necklace began to glow and soon it was encasing her daughter in its light. Her daughter lifted her small head and turned to look at her with round eyes. “Naneh…” big fat tears plopped onto her plump cheeks as her hands fastened tightly around her mother’s chest. “Mehl, my mehl. I love you!” the Queen cried out.  The light instantly grew until the Queen could no longer see her daughter’s small form. And then, the light winked out and vanished, leaving the Queen sitting alone in the darkness. She bitterly wept, ignoring the oncoming footfalls. Her daughter was gone, but safe. It had worked. The emerald had taken the only heir to Terrathelle and hidden her away in the mortal realm.