Page 19 of Lady Elinor’s Elf

Elinor’s heart was in her throat as she did her best to present her amazing discoveries in a way that would seem believable.

She desperately hoped Caleb wouldn’t laugh at her and dismiss her story as a flight of fantasy. But he hadn’t seen the look on Bronwen’s face, or the deep agony in her eyes as she spoke of the loss the Tylwyth Teg, the Ellyllon, her people, had suffered.

He did seem to be thinking, and that was a good thing.

Finally, he spoke. “Well then. Many strange things have happened to us, haven’t they?” He managed a small grin. “Glowing books. Peculiar dogs…”

He smiled at Carrádog and ruffled his ears. “I cannot say I accept all this easily, Elinor, but I will not ignore it.” He smiled at her look of relief. If nothing else, that convinced him that she believed it all. “So what do we do now?”

She nodded. “Thank you, Caleb. For not throwing me out on my ear.” Standing, she held out her hand. “We must go and find the book.”

“Then let us by all means do so.”

He took her hand and relished the warmth that blossomed between their palms. It was rare for him to feel this…this intensely about anything or anyone, but she’d come into his life and turned everything upside down. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I left it on that little table over there,” he nodded to the corner by the window.

“I see it.” Her hand trembled a little in his, and he squeezed it, reassuring her.

The volume looked the same, perfectly normal now, no ethereal glow, just a book on a flat surface in front of a window, with the sun shining outside.

Carrádog had padded along behind them, obviously intent upon being present for whatever might occur.

“All right then. Do we sit?” Caleb raised his eyebrows at Elinor.

“Yes, I think we should.”

They took their seats across from each other, and the dog sat himself down between them, his attention on the book.

“Caleb,” she whispered quietly. “Look at him. Carrádog. He knows….”

“That’s more than I do,” he grumbled. “What is going to happen, Elinor?”

“I have no idea. But I know where we have to start.” She opened the book and placed the paper beside it. “Now, there are instructions written on this paper, in the language of the elves. All we have to do is to work them out, and follow them, using the book.”

“Oh. Is that all?”

She shot him a look that should have fried his boots.

“Sorry.”

“I have the translation from Bronwen. But it didn’t make a lot of sense. So I thought that between the two of us we could solve the puzzle and then do whatever it tells us to do.”

“Should I tell Deryn to postpone dinner?” He grinned at her. “This may take some time, you know.”

“Not unless you stop making a jest of this, Caleb. It’s most serious.”

“Sorry again.” He sighed. “Right…you say you managed to interpret the writings on the paper?”

“I did. The first Latin word is Celata , which means secrets.”

“If I may…I think it has more of a connotation toward concealing, or hiding?”

“Probably, yes. I did not study Latin, so I will accept that. However, in this context? The next bit is definitely a secret.”

“All right. Go ahead.”

“The Elvish text contains instructions in the form of a puzzle. It is up to us to solve that puzzle before anything else.”

“And you and Bronwen have done this part already?” Caleb mentally crossed his fingers, since he was not very good at puzzles.

“Yes, we have.” She pulled another sheet of paper from her pocket. “I wrote this down before coming here. I wanted to make absolutely sure I got it right.”

“Good. Go ahead then, please.”

In spite of his reluctance to accept everything he’d heard as factual, he leant forward and listened as she carefully read the translation.

“ The words must be spoken by the one who holds the Earth—and the one who carries the Sight .”

Silence greeted Elinor’s words for a few moments, as Caleb tried to make sense of them. “Would you be the one who carries the sight, d’you think?”

She nodded. “Yes, I think so. I can see Bronwen and, through her, her world. And, following that theme, you are the one who holds the earth. You are the owner of the Tylwyth Teg lands.”

“Oh. Oh, right.”

“Now all we have to do is find the words, of course. And there is a clue as to how we do that.”

“Thank God,” he said fervently. “What is it?”

“The last line of the translation…” She held up the paper. “It says, Where my words begin, take the first. Where my words end, take the last .”

“Ah.” Caleb sighed. “Is there any clue about how to solve the clue? I’m terrible at this, Elinor, I’ll confess…”

“Woof” added Carrádog.

“See? Even my dog knows.”

Elinor chuckled. “Never fear. I’ve been trying to solve this since I read it, and I think there are a few things we can try.”

“All right. What’s the first one?”

“Well, we could take the very first words in the book, and the very last words. Perhaps the sentence. That would make more sense, I think.”

Caleb, doubting that anything could make sense at this point, merely nodded. “I have paper and a pen here, just a moment…”

Elinor focussed, turning the pages from the front to the back of the book several times. Then she shook her head. “No, that doesn’t work at all. Maybe we could try…”

Thirty frustrating minutes later, Caleb held up his hand. “A moment.” He frowned. “What if…what if they’re talking about the chapters ? The first word…where the words begin…and the last word, which is where the words end?”

She paused, thinking. “It’s worth trying.”

It took another half an hour, since there were sections within chapters, footnotes, and a lot of other things that were probably designed to be incredibly confusing to someone like Caleb, who loathed puzzles to start with.

But eventually the words began to make sense, to form lines and rhythms that could easily be some sort of incantation.

“That’s it then,” sighed Elinor, putting her pen down carefully, and wiping her ink-stained fingers on her skirt.

Caleb rolled his eyes, but refrained from pointing out the damage she’d just done to the fabric. “Let’s see what we have?”

She passed him the sheet they’d used for their solutions, and the last was clearly in the form of a poem, or a chant.

“Definitely has relevance,” Caleb stared at the words.

“I’m still not convinced that this will restore Tylwyth Teg to the elves, but I’m certainly willing to give it a try.

” He looked up. “We don’t have to do this under a full moon or a new moon, or on some odd Tuesday after All Saint’s Day, do we? ”

Elinor managed a tired laugh. “No, Caleb. We just have to hold hands and say it.”

A slight whimper sounded from the floor.

“It can’t hurt to have Carrádog be part of it as well, perhaps?” He glanced down at the thump of a tail on the carpet.

“Of course.” Elinor reached down and gave him a much-appreciated ear-ruffle. “He’s the one who pretty much started this whole thing, the glow, my fainting spell, his arrival…in some order or other. It seems like years ago now, doesn’t it?”

Aware that the sun was a good deal lower on the horizon, Caleb nodded. “All right. Let’s do it before it gets dark, and your family sends out search parties for you.”

Elinor grinned. “Caleb, you had a message sent to the Park, telling my parents where I am, which I much appreciated, by the way. So the worst you can expect is that they will descend on you here, and interrogate you most thoroughly to find out what’s going on.”

He sighed. “I hope that doesn’t happen, because they’d never believe me.”

“Good point.”

*~~*~~*

The library filled with late afternoon light, softening as the sun dappled the treetops in preparation for the dusk to come.

Caleb and Elinor had decided to move to the couch, with the book between them, and Carrádog sitting on the floor directly in front of it.

He had chosen that spot himself, and neither of the humans were about to argue with him, since this was all strange and unpredictable, so why not let a dog select his own place?

“Do we say it together? Or a line each? If so, how do we know which line each of us should speak? And do we say it loudly? Or whisper?”

“Caleb,” soothed Elinor. “We will speak these words together, with one hand on the book and linking our free hands as we recite.” She smiled at him. “The worst thing that can happen? Nothing at all. And it will all have been for naught.”

“I don’t want it to be for naught.” He realised as soon as he said it that he meant it.

“I want this to succeed, because if it does, I will always have the knowledge that I helped do something unique and magical.” He looked at her.

“With a magical woman that I’m pretty certain I’m going to propose to in the not-too-distant future. ”

She sucked in a ragged breath. “Let’s see if it works, Caleb, and then I’ll be better able to focus on what you just said to me.” She squeezed his hand. “And I think that woman might just say yes…”

“Oh,” he swallowed.

“Now, Caleb. Now.”

They each laid a hand on the book, and at that instant Carrádog touched his nose to it as well.

And it started to glow.

“The words, speak the words…” Elinor’s eyes were wide.

So they began, quietly at first, then catching the other’s rhythm and blending their voices.

By hearth and heart, by root and sky

We call the light that cannot die.

From shadowed halls and silent glen,

Come home, fair folk, to life again .

The sound of their words faded, and for a few moments there was complete silence. Not a leaf swayed outside, and those inside barely moved. It was as if the world held its breath for an instant.

Then Carrádog shifted, the book’s glow faded, and the silence was broken by one loud, musical trill from some kind of bird.

Elinor remained still, her hand clasped in Caleb’s, and felt the odd sensation of their hearts beating in tandem.

“Do you feel it?” she whispered. “Our heartbeats…”

“Yes,” he breathed. “I feel it…beating together …”

Something soft brushed Elinor’s cheek, and she closed her eyes. “Oh,” she whispered.

“It’s as if something breathed on me,” murmured Caleb. “What’s happening?”

“Maybe,” she gripped his hand firmly. “Maybe the land sighed. Maybe it is breathing again…and I can hear…”

“Music. Harps, bells…” Caleb sucked in air, and he too closed his eyes. “God, Elinor, what have we done?”

“Exactly what you were supposed to, dear ones.”

The strong male voice echoed around the room, and Caleb’s eyes snapped open as Elinor let out a tiny squeak.

A man knelt beside the table, elegant, slender in a shining black robe, and with ears that revealed his identity. Long and pointed, they curved elegantly against his head.

“You’re…you’re an elf…” choked Caleb weakly.

“I am, indeed, lad. Well spotted.” The handsome face grinned. “And to be quite truthful, ’tis glad I am to be back to myself. Those ear rubs of yours were getting a bit hard on these…” He touched the points.

“Carrádog?” whispered Elinor, glancing around for a dog that was no longer there.

“You’re jesting,” said Caleb. “You can’t be…”

“Oh yes, I can. And I was. But now, thanks to the two of you, I can be myself once more.” He rose to his feet and bowed. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Aelwyn, and once, long ago, my kind and I dwelt in this place.”

“Tylwyth Teg,” breathed Elinor. “Ellyllon. Like Bronwen.”

“Exactly so, child. Although I’ll admit to being a mite older than your Bronwen.”

“I think I’m having a very strange dream.” Caleb shook his head. “None of this can be real. Can it?”

“Real is what you think it is, lad. But now, thanks to your curiosity, your desire to learn and solve puzzles, and above all your kind hearts that made it possible for you to right a terrible wrong… I can bring my people home.”

The words rang through the silence in the room, and it seemed as if the golden sunset filled the air with light and colour.

Caleb swallowed. “Um, do I have to give you Tylwyth Teg Abbey?”

“No, Caleb…” Aelwyn burst out laughing. “Of course not. Although I appreciate you asking. Not many would have, I can assure you.”

“But where will you live, then?” Elinor managed the question, although her cheeks were still pale with shock.

“We’ll be living in our homes once more. But in a place you cannot see or hear. A world we made for ourselves so long ago, that was taken from us so cruelly.”

“But in the general area, though, yes? I would be sad were I never to see Bronwen again.”

“Ah yes. Bronwen.” Aelwyn grinned. “You’ll still see her now and again, little one. I can assure you of that.”

“Are you related to her, then?” Elinor asked, her head tipped to one side.

“I am indeed,” he replied, still grinning. “She’s my wife.”

And that announcement pretty much finished Elinor completely. Her mouth dropped open, and she flopped back against the couch cushions, convinced she’d heard everything.

But the surprises didn’t end there…