The Elysian Valley: Kenna

2

"Help!" I screamed while running towards Brooklynn's unmoving form.

I slapped her in the face. "Come on Brook, wake up already! You can't get all freaky like that and then pass out on me. What am I supposed to do?"

 While I'm breaking down, all the other girls rush into the room asking what happened; however, I don't hear them while I'm in the middle of my breakdown.

Suddenly my head is flung to the side. "Did you just slap me?" 

Rolling her eyes, Alma answers, "Well, you were having a breakdown, and no one knew what to do since you wouldn't answer us. Now, will you please get it together and tell us what the hell happened to Brooklynn?"

Realizing that Alma was right, I quickly explain how I found Brook. "It was the strangest thing that I have ever seen. She was cloudy eyed and wouldn't respond to me, then she started saying this strange rhyme. Once she finished, she just passed out."

"Maybe we should call a doctor?" Solana suggested.

 "We can NOT call a doctor! How are we supposed to explain what happened to her? They will most likely take us to a mental facility, and we will never escape," growled Zola.

"Will you guys just chill? She's coming out of it already. Hey Brooklynn, how are you feeling, sweetheart?" Alma asked.

We all spun around to find Brook looking up at us, seeming confused. "Why am I laying on the floor, and what are you guys doing in my room?” she questioned.

 "Do you not remember what happened?" I asked.

Brook just shook her head at me. Sitting on the floor beside her, I quickly explain the situation. "Does any of that ring a bell?"

With her face scrunched up. "A bit of it does. yeah. Something about the five daughters being led to the s*******r. But that makes no sense. Sure there are five of us, but we are not related and if I am suddenly getting visions or whatever, I would imagine that they would somehow involve me, right?" 

Nodding my head at her response, I quickly agree.

"That's true. Maybe it was just all the stress from the day and something strange happened that doesn't involve us. Like it is a one time incident. I say we all go to our rooms and get some rest, then we can think about this with refreshed minds tomorrow." Everyone quickly agreed with me and then we went our separate ways.

Soon enough, I made it to my bedroom and showered, thinking about all that had happened today. I finally escaped the hellhole I called home, am starting a fresh life in a new place, and then what happened with Brook. I'm really worried about her. Sure I am close with all the girls, but Brook and I were the closest to each other. I know I told her that the vision was just a one off, but I do not really believe that. I've always known there was something unique about the five of us, that's why we get along so well and managed to survive what we did. I just do not know what it is that makes us unique. Once done in the shower, I brush my teeth and head to bed. Laying on my mattress, I find that it is so soft, almost like I am laying on a cloud. Even with all the worries in my head, I cannot seem to prevent myself from falling into a deep slumber. 

Waking up, I find myself lying in a field of grass the color of emeralds. Standing up, I look down at my clothing. I found I was no longer wearing my pajamas but a dress that was dark purple and strapless that went down to my mid thighs and then had a black lace overlay that went to my knees in the front and down to my calves in the back. There were also lace sleeves on the dress that ended with a point in the middle of my hands. I absolutely love this dress and wish I owned it. I know that I must be dreaming right now. How else would I have managed to end up in a magical looking field?

Walking out of the field, I head into the forest with trees that stand as tall as skyscrapers, but the leaves were something that I had never seen before on a tree. Each tree had a different color of leaves from pink, to purple, to green, any color imaginable. The trees were grouped together by their colorings. I noticed almost the same as you would find in flowers.

Suddenly, I was shoved up against one of the trees. "Why are you in my forest?" a voice growled out.

I couldn't bring myself to look into the eyes of the man that was holding me against my will, but I did look everywhere else. I noticed that my captor had platinum blonde hair which hung down his back. He towered over me ,which wasn't hard considering I was only a little over five feet. He must be about six feet and two or three inches. He was not overly bulky but extremely lean and muscular. He had a body like a swimmer or a runner. What truly shocked me though were his ears. All people have different types of ears, but this man’s ears were extremely pointed, and the only thing I could think when seeing them was this man is not human. He looks like what I imagine an elf would. In one of his ears he wore an earring with the symbol of fire in silver.

"I did not know I was trespassing, sir. I actually don't know where I am."

"What foolish lies are you telling me, female? You cannot enter the royal forest without knowing that you did so. Now tell me the truth, why are you here?"

"I'm not lying, sir. I honestly don't know! I went to sleep in my bed in my home of Celestia and once I woke up, I was here. I know I am dreaming, sir, because this place and you cannot be real. Do you know how I can leave?"

"If what you say is true, then you are special and are meant to one day find your soulmate among my people and come live with us."

I shivered when I heard him state that I would find my soul among his kind. Isn't that what Brook said while she was having her premonition, that we needed to find our soulmate?

"Sir, I highly doubt that my soulmate is in an imaginary forest," I huffed.

He let out a laugh that caused me to look up and when I did, I saw the most amazing blue eyes that simply sucked me in. They weren't exactly blue, they were a purple hue with the outside being a deep purple, and they became lighter nearly lilac closer to the pupil. His eyes widened when they met mine, and he smiled. "You will definitely find your soulmate among my people, little one, because I am you soulmate."

"Are you kidding me? My soul is inside my body where it belongs, not with some fantasy elf I met in a dreamland."

"This is not a dreamland, little one. This is the royal forest of the elven nation of Thennor. It is my kingdom, and you shall become my queen."

"I will be the queen of nothing. I'm going to find a way to wake up and leave this strange place to hopefully never come back."

"You will NOT leave me!" he shouted, grabbing ahold of my arms and beginning to shake me. 

I woke up to someone shaking me and noticed Brook. "Ugh, what do you want? I am trying to sleep."

"We have to get up and ready for orientation, Kenna. I am not going to be late simply because you feel like being a lazy bones."

Huffing, I sat up in bed. "Fine you win, I'll leave my nice comfy bed and go to this orientation which is probably going to be dumb. By the way, how are you feeling this morning?"

"I remember a little bit more about what I said, but I am still confused and none of it really makes sense to me."

"I think you should write down all the stuff you remember about your trance, and maybe we can figure it out with the help of our library."

"That is an excellent idea. Wait! What library?"

"I forgot with everything going on yesterday that there is a library on the other side of the staircase up here. It's pretty awesome, to be honest."

Smiling and shaking her head, Brook answered, "Of course you are the first one of us to find the hidden library in the house. You are such a nerd."

"Never say that to me, Brook! I'm not a nerd. I just like to be well informed." 

"Whatever, just get ready. We have to get to the school."

"Alright Brook, just give me fifteen minutes." With that, Brook left the room, and I got out of bed quickly, heading to my closet to pick out an outfit. I chose a pair of black skinny jeans, a grey off the shoulder top and some black converses. I pulled my hair up in a ponytail and swiped on some lip gloss. Looking in the mirror, I decided it doesn't get much better than this and left my room.

Once I got downstairs, I put some toast into the toaster and made myself a glass of chocolate milk. "That is not very healthy," Solana informed me while eating her egg white omelette.

"I know it isn’t, but I woke up late, and Brook wants to leave in a few minutes, so I don't have time to cook."

"Well, here, just take half of mine. It's already ten in the morning, so we will be having lunch pretty quickly. I won't starve if I don't eat all of it."

"Well, I will take half of your omelette, and you can have one of my slices of toast. It will even it out just a little bit at least."

"Fair enough, Kenna, but we had better hurry. You know how Brook gets."

"Of course I know how Brook gets. Usually I'm the one making sure everyone is ready so we avoid one of her meltdowns." I laughed.

Brook rushed into the kitchen. "It is time to leave, ladies. We have orientation, and I do not want to be late! We are going to college, and we need to make the best first impression that we can considering our upbringing!"

"Wow Brook, just chill out." Zola started giving her a death glare.

"No one besides us knows our past, and it should stay that way, am I understood? We finally have a chance to become what we have always dreamed of, and people knowing our past will just hold us back,” Brook demanded, staring us all into submission. 

Alma was nodding her head. "I fully agree with Zola on this. We need to keep our past a secret ladies If people found out, it could ruin us."

We all looked at each other and then started nodding, knowing that what they said made sense. Once that was decided, we ran all out of the house to make sure that we would make it on time.

Once we got to the school, I couldn't stop my jaw from dropping in amazement at the sight before me. There were seven different buildings laid out away from the main hall, which is where I assumed orientation would be held. It looked like they formed a star with the main building in the center. All the buildings were brick and looked as if they were each miniature castle you would see in Scotland. Wishing that I could get this orientation over with already, I quickly got out of the car. "I want to get this over with, so hurry up!"

"Geez Kenna, going to orientation is not going to kill you. You are the most school hating nerd that I have ever known."

"What did I tell you about calling me a nerd, Brook?" I scowled at her.

"You know what, never mind. Let’s just go already,” I huffed.

We walked into the main building to find all the walls to be beige and a hallway branching off with a sign that read “orientation this way”. We followed the signs and found an empty meeting room that had been set up with drinks and snacks while a lot of other students our age were mingling with each other. Looking around, Brook scoffed, "I thought this was an orientation, not a social hour." 

Alma laughed. "Come on Brook, live a little. Get to know some people and make new friends.”

Scowling Zola stated, "We do not need new friends, we have a bond that no one else ever will. You shouldn't try to mess with that!"

Suddenly, Solana's head popped up from looking at the floor. "I think that branching out would be good. I mean, all of you are like sisters to me, but I want to have more than five friends whom I have known since I was three years old."

"Are you kidding me? You want to make new friends? Suddenly we get to this new school and the rest of us aren't good enough for you, Solana? Well, just screw you! I  thought we were family but here you are ready to drop all of us just for a little change. I am leaving now. Good luck finding your new friends, Solana." Zola hissed furiously before marching back outside and leaving us all staring at her back.

"I just wanted to make new friends. I would never leave you guys behind like she is suggesting." 

I was feeling a bit defeated about the way things are turning out. "I know, Solana, but I kind of agree with her."

I grimaced as she looked at me with betrayal. "What do you mean, Kenna?"

"I just mean we have only been here for twenty four hours, and you are already talking about ditching us. We grew up together. We have a shared past no one but us will understand, and you are acting like our bond is one of the worst things in the world to have, like we are somehow holding you back by knowing you."

"I never meant it that way. I just think having more than four friends would be nice. I would never want out of our family, and I would never replace you but someday, we will meet amazing men and get married and have children, and I think that in order for that to happen, we have to branch out," Solana stated softly.

Hearing a sigh, I look over to Alma. "I understand what you are saying, and I agree, but you have to do things like this slowly. It has always been us against the world. You can't just change that within twenty four hours."

"I understand, I think I just jumped the g*n a little."

Shaking my head, I look at the others. "We should go find Zola and head home. This did not turn out the way we wanted. It wasn't even an orientation. What a waste of time," I mumbled while shaking my head.