The Silver Elvish Journey

"What is this place?"

"You know, I have never asked," she replied.

"It's beautiful."

"Yes, isn't it? Sometimes I just like to sit here and..." she paused, "And think."

I looked at the elf. She was sitting cross-legged on a fallen tree, her long dark hair cascading over her shoulders as if it were ocean waves. Her face was so serene, so full of life, even when she wasn't speaking. It was as if she were smiling silently. Her eyes were closed and her lips were parted slightly, as if she were about to speak again. I couldn't help staring at her. She didn't seem to mind. I sat down beside her and we watched the water for a few minutes in silence before she spoke again.

"I've been thinking about my adventure," she said, turning towards me with a smile on her lips.

"What adventure?" I asked playfully as I sat back against the bark of the tree. Our arms brushed against each other and our hands accidentally touched briefly before being withdrawn quickly by both of us – mine first, hers second. She smiled at me and we both turned back towards the water again. We sat in happy silence for another minute before Silver spoke up again: "My adventure to find you! You know, your family had been looking for you for quite some time..." She trailed off after that sentence and turned towards me again; this time an embarrassed blush crept across her cheeks, spreading from her cheeks to her ears to her neckline until all of her skin had turned a deep red colour that reminded me of the apples that grew on trees during autumn. Her embarrassment was contagious and I couldn't help blushing too; after all, it wasn't everyday that you met a real live elf!

*

The sun began to set over the surface of the river and Silver stood up abruptly, brushing dirt off of her skirt with swift movements of her hands. "Well, I should be going now; it's getting late," she said, looking at the sky, which had turned purple in colour, with streaks of orange and pink beginning to show itself above us. The sun seemed larger than usual; a magnificent orange ball that hung eerily from the sky above us like a giant firework waiting to explode into bright colours and sounds. The wind blew gently through my hair as Silver walked away from me, leaving me sitting alone beneath the tree watching the sun begin its descent into darkness over the horizon – it was as if someone had switched it off for a few hours before switching it back on again later in the evening when it began to shine brightly once more; no one ever said elves weren't magical creatures!

Silver ran through the woods ahead of me once more, nimbly avoiding all obstacles while I lumbered along behind her trying not to trip over roots or branches that lay in my path between the trees. My heart pounded within my chest like thunder within an approaching storm; without warning, she stopped suddenly and waited for me to catch up with her before taking my hand in hers once more and running with me towards... home? Well, wherever she lived certainly looked like home; we stepped out onto what seemed like a small island surrounded by water on all sides except for one side where there was dry land leading up towards what appeared to be a castle made entirely out of ice! The castle stood alone upon a large black rock protruding far out into the water on which hundreds upon hundreds of elves danced around singing loudly together as they waved their hands in unison above their heads or clapped them together excitedly under their chins – how could anything so enchanting be real?!

As if reading my thoughts, Silver whispered: "This is where we live!" As she spoke, various elves noticed us standing there upon their island and stared curiously at us – but instead of questioning why an elf would bring an outsider into their world, they simply smiled cheerfully at us both before continuing with whatever it was they were doing earlier: dancing, waving their hands around high in the air or clapping them together giddily whilst singing songs so beautiful that they could make angels weep tears of joy! Silver led me through them until we reached another entrance leading inside; opening the door revealed an entire village hidden underground full of even more elves living peacefully amongst themselves within these wonderful ice structures! As soon as we stepped inside everyone stopped doing what they were doing and slowly turned towards us both until we were surrounded by dozens upon dozens of curious pairs of eyes... eyes that made me feel uncomfortable because they seemed much too good at seeing right through me – especially those penetrating blue eyes belonging to someone standing at the front who seemed strangely familiar... why does he look so familiar? But then suddenly everything went black as two individuals threw something around my head covering my eyes completely. I heard various whispers surrounding me saying things like "Is this him? Is this him? Have you found him?" But most