Hybrid - CHAPTER 1 & 2

Chapter 1

The meadow was a beautiful memory of our childhood. Its sweet honey smells of wild flowers and grasses were like my own personal aphrodisiac. I stood at the bottom of it, under the shade of the assortment of lush leafy trees that were behind me and alongside the edges of the stream. I hadn’t actually turned to check that was in fact what was behind me. I didn’t need to. I knew this place better than I knew myself.
As I walked up bank through the long grasses I could see the top of a house beyond the tall, dark green hedges that lay to my left. I’d been in that house more times than I could ever remember.
The white washed wall made it look like it was glowing in the hot sun, showing me a view of just the one small window. I vaguely wondered why it was hot and sunny in mid January, but put it to the back of my mind. I couldn’t see if anybody was stood in the window because of the eye-watering gleam that was reflecting off the glass, but it didn’t bother me because the person whom that room belonged to wasn’t there.
The sad thing was he hadn’t been there for almost a year now and after all this time I was still having trouble making my heart accept I would probably never see him again. Thinking of that just made it ache and feel heavy in my chest. I needed to suck it up and find a distraction from this train of thought because I could feel the hot tingle in my eyes that comes before my tears.
Deciding that paddling through the stream would be a good option I turned to make my way back down, only just realising I was already barefoot and wearing nothing but a plain white cotton dress. Huh? When did I buy this? It must have been a hell of a long time ago and defiantly an impulse buy cause it wasn’t something I’d usually be caught dead in!
It was very simple, a straight neckline with spaghetti straps that tied together over my shoulders. Funny, I can’t remember putting it on this morning. Maybe I have some bizarre case of memory loss coming on? Oh well, it was a couple inches above the knee and adding that with the bare feet meant at least I had no need to pause on my way down to take off shoes or roll up jeans.
While I was having this little memory episode or whatever the heck it was, I heard the familiar little ‘splosh’ the water in the stream makes when you throw small stones in it. Realising I wasn’t alone I snapped my head up from gawking at my attire and squinted through the sunlight to see who was there. Oh. My. God.
He was there! I couldn’t believe it! After all this time I still loved him as much as that terrible day last year when he’d left my life, well, all our lives really.
The sunlight caught the golden flecks that ran through his haphazard light brown hair. It made me want to stroke my hands through it. He was stood on the furthest bank of the stream, facing me, giving me one of his carefree smiles. I felt a familiar heat rising as I remembered the feel of his full, soft lips on mine. His olive skin had tanned up nicely in the good weather we were having, and the fact he was wearing nothing but a pair of light blue surf shorts gave me the opportunity to have a good look at his physic. Man he looked good! He certainly hadn’t been slacking in his time of absence. It was all still there. The sturdy chest, beautifully toned abs, and that sandy trail that led from his navel to, well, you know.
“So you gonna come kiss me or you gonna stand there staring at me all day? And what’s with the dress?” He winked at me, and I couldn’t wait one moment longer to be over there with him and gazing up into those striking green eyes.
I set off down the bank in the fastest sprint of my life. Only something was wrong. I didn’t seem to be getting anywhere fast, and the harder I tried the worse it got. Aww shit, this was one of those I’m - running - but - I’ll - never - reach - my - destination dreams.
“Nina, Nina, wake up! You’re going to be late for class. Again!”
Trust Keli to land me back into the real world with a thud. I groaned in protest of being disturbed while sleeping off lasts nights booze in my warm and soft, if also mightily small, dorm room bed. “Keli, you already know I’m not going to class. It’s been one-year today since Taylor disappeared and I’m going to our spot before meeting up with the rest of you guys later at the house.”
She sighed and looked down at me. “Look, I know you really miss him hun, and I feel for you, I really do, but you can’t go on like this. You gotta start functioning and get out of this zombie thing. Maybe you should, erm, think about seeing somebody.”
I felt a bubble of anger building up inside me. “I don’t want to see anybody else,” I said through clenched teeth.
“I didn’t mean a guy, I meant you should think about seeing somebody professionally,” she said in that soft gentle voice she always used when she could tell I was going to loose my temper.
Not that it helped though. As what she actually meant sunk in the bubble burst. “You want me to see a shrink?” I snapped at her.
Keli let out another sigh, though this time it’s tone had changed from sadness to impatience. I watched her close her eyes briefly and I knew that she was taking a moment so that she didn’t snap back. Kneeling down beside my bed so that she was level to my face, I took the moment to actually look at her properly for the first time in the last year.
With her little brown doe eyes framed by the latest designer glasses she always splashed out on, combined with her small button nose and cherub smile, Keli really had a kind and pretty face. Her thick dark brown curls sat nicely on the top of her shoulders, and I found myself wondering why I hadn’t noticed her hair had grown. Oh wait, I knew why. Cause as always Keli was right and I had actually been going around on autopilot for a long time now.
“Don’t be cross with me hun. You’re my best friend and I love you. I just want my Nina back and though I’ve tried everything I can think of since Taylor left nothings worked. Nobody’s going to force you to do anything you don’t want to do. I was just making a suggestion, that’s all.”
This time it was my turn to sigh, but mine was because I hated it when I behaved like a brat. “Look, I love you too, and I’m real sorry for snapping. I know you’re worried and you only mean to help. Tell you what, after the guys and us have had dinner with Taylor’s family this afternoon we’ll come back here and get our glad rags on. A night on the town, some of those god-awful sambucca’s you’re so fond of, and have a moan about how there’s no fit blokes who aren’t either with a bird or gay will do us good.”
A huge grin made it’s way across her face. There’s nothing that girl loved more than girly nights up town. Even if just the two of us went out, where we lived was such a small city that there’d be plenty of people out we knew.
That’s what we got for going to the local university but we didn’t really mind. If we wanted to go further a field there was a pretty good coach service in town and the prices suited our pockets to a tee. Well, my pockets at least. Keli came from a more affluent family than me so it was rare she had to think of the pennies. I wasn’t jealous of that fact though cause she always treated me when I was broke, which was nearly half the time.
“Well you know I’m defiantly up for town. Much better than you sat in this room alone drinking nasty cider till you pass out.” She gave a disapproving nod towards the empty bottles on the floor at the foot of my bed.
Her frown quickly turned upside down though, and she reached for a plastic carrier bag on the floor next to the head of her bed. “Hey, you’ll never guess what I bought yesterday,” she said as she gave my a sly wink. I groaned. I had a pretty bloody good idea of what she’d bought, and sure enough, out she pulled a pen sparkly enough to make your eyes bleed.
“Keli, seriously dude, how many friggin’ pens do you need? How much did you spend on this one, a grand?” This girl had a serious pen fetish going on. This particular masterpiece was a fountain pen, and its entire casing was covered in petty pink crystals. I didn’t need to ask if they were real crystals, this was Keli we were talking about so of course they were.
“It was a bargain, only cost me thirty five quid.” She looked at me smugly, like a thirty-five pound fountain pen was the steal of the century.
“Dude I love ya to bits but you are seriously mental! I think it’s you that needs to see the professional, not me!” I couldn’t help but smile at her sweet little face though. I knew what pen shopping meant to her, as weird as it was. I got the exact same glassy eyed look whenever I walked into my local Waterstones. Books were my biggest expense in life, and I loved each and every one I bought like they were my offspring. I never leant them out, I never creased the spine, and always kept the covers and pages immaculate and stain free.
Keli glanced at her watch. It was a little silver number, with each of its links shaped to look like pieces of a jigsaw. Its tiny face had only the hands with no numbers, surrounded by a circle of diamonds (real, of course!). She grimaced. “Look, I’ve really gotta shoot cause I’ll be late for class so I’ll see you at Taylor’s at three. Loves ya.”
By class she meant her teacher-training course. It made me wish I was younger so that I could be her pupil. Her patience and warmth combined with her intelligence and wit was a combination for an excellent teacher. I always knew from the moment I met Keli whatever she set her heart on doing she was going to be more than good at it.
She bent over to give me a peck on the cheek, then made a speedy exit out the room, slipping her thin waterproof slate grey coat over a simple long sleeved white tee, blue jeans and grey pumps combo as she walked. You could bet your life on it that even though the items were simple, every one of them would be designer with excellent tailoring and clean lines. I could never get away with making an outfit that simple look good. It was all to do with the natural confidence that radiated off her. Girl could wear a bin liner and it’d look like it was the latest in classic style. Jammy cow.
I threw back my duvet and jumped out of bed, turning round to actually bother to straighten it up for once. When I was done I took a step back to look at the bedding set Taylor had bought me. He’d picked it up as a surprise one day after having to listen to me moan several times. I’d needed to buy a few single sets cause I was going to have to give up my precious double bed at home for what was a glorified camp bed in my dorm room. It really was in good taste for a guy. Duck egg blue with a print of gold peacock feathers splattered on it. Simple memories like that warmed my heart. Well, for a split second. Then I’d remember he was missing and that’d be me back on my downer.
Releasing a frustrated growl I snatched up my toiletries bag and a couple towels that sat on the top of my drawers at the end of my bed, accidentally kicking the empty cider bottles, and left the room. Our room was at the end of the hallway so I only had to turn right and pass one door on either side of me, which were also dorm rooms, till I reached the girls communal bathroom on my right.
Nobody was in there this morning. They’d already left to either attend morning lectures, hang out with friends, or god only knows what else they needed to do. I smiled. I liked to be alone to relax as the hot water beat down on my skin. Nothing worse than some random trying to make polite conversation while your scrubbing your butt!
The whole room was one big wet room. You know the kind, boring plain white tiled walls, industrial grey none slip floor that dips in the middle so any excess water goes down the little grid there. And lets not forget the oh - so - not flattering lighting supplied by the long strip lights attached to the square grey ceiling tiles. On the left hand wall was a row of plain white sinks with small rectangular mirrors screwed to the wall above them. Opposite them were the usual toilet stalls, and pushed against the wall to my right were a couple bins and full-length mirrors. On the wall furthest away was the small arch that leads to the showers.
I made my way through the arch to be greeted by the same dowdy décor. The only difference between these two rooms was that this one was a smaller rectangular shape, with shower cubicles opposite me. There were also shelves to put your stuff on where I stood.
I dumped my toiletries bag on one of the shelves and quickly pulled off my grey long sleeved pyjama top, and my grey and pink striped bottoms. After folding them up and placing them on the shelf, I unzipped my bag. I thought my bag was cute, pink with cream spots and heart shaped. I fished out my body wash and shampoo and jumped into the cubicle nearest to me.
This was when the first strange thing happened. After putting my stuff on the small wire shelf that hung over the cubicle wall I reached for the knob to start the water. Before my hand even made contact with it, it suddenly turned like it had a mind of it’s own, and the water came shooting out of the showerhead.  I let out a small squeak of surprise and jumped back onto the cubicle wall, my heart pounding in my chest. What the? Was there a ghost? I told myself not to be so stupid. Everybody knows there’s no such thing. It must have been pressure in the pipe or some other rational explanation.
I giggled at my overreaction and my heart calmed down to it’s usual pace. Stepping under the hot blast of water, I felt instantly relaxed. After making sure my hair was thoroughly wet through I stepped from under the jet and grabbed my shampoo. I put plenty on and gave my scalp a good rub, creating a honey-scented froth. With that done, I got my body wash and scrubbed myself thoroughly, enjoying the release of the pomegranate and cranberry smell. I popped myself back under the shower and took my time rinsing off. Once that was done I reached back over to turn the water off, and this time there was no crazy knob turning of it’s own accord.
After drying myself I put my pyjamas back on, stuffed my things in my bag, and went back into the adjoining room to stand in front of one of the sinks.
My reflection showed a girl I hardly recognised. While brushing away last nights stale cider from my breath I noticed how sallow my skin looked. I’m usually pretty pale but jeez, I looked nasty, especially with the dark circles under my sapphire coloured eyes. The jet-black straight hair that was now halfway down my back had been pulled into a towel turban so it wouldn’t get my top all wet. Defiantly a makeup day, and with that decided I headed back to my room.
Between my bed and Kelly’s was a small desk that we’d placed a vanity mirror on top of, and instead of using it for essays and such it’s sole use was for primping and preening. I took my hair out of my home made turban to dry off while I plucked my coal coloured brows into the arch shape I thought complimented my face best and got to work on my makeup. By the time I was done I had brown smoky eyes and a soft pink lip, and I’d transformed my death pallor skin so that it looked clear with a slight peach tone to my cheek. Apart from the eyes, only a chick would tell exactly how much makeup I’d got on.
Seeing as I would be getting dressed up that night I opted to keep it casual for the day. I popped my head out of the little window above the desk to check how cold it was; thankfully it was a dry day in Stoke On Trent and there was only the slightest chill. Made a change from the usual wet and cold days that dominated January in our little part of middle England.
I pulled on my black cowl neck knitted dress, a pair of black tights, and my black knitted ugg boots. I loved my dress. It had a small cable knit pattern and three quarter length sleeves so I could wear my stack of small, thin gold bracelets on my left wrist.
Although I was only five foot three and a size ten I was lucky enough to have been blessed with shapely legs and a nice curve to my hips and bum, though I was in a constant battle with my belly, which always had a little tubbiness to it. On the downside I had large boobs, which looked too heavy on my small frame and got me unwelcome attention from the opposite sex at times. It also meant anything that you couldn’t wear a bra with was a no go, and that made summer clothing a minefield for me. And then there was the horrible tendency to get a zit at the most inopportune of times, usually in a ridiculous place like right between my eyebrows or the centre of my chin.
To finish my ensemble off I decided on earrings. I had two holes in each ear lobe, so I popped in a pair of small gold hoops in the first holes and a pair of gold studs in the second.
Satisfied with my appearance when I made a quick final check in the mirror, grabbed my gold shoulder bag and headed out the door to make my way to the place that had been so special to Taylor and me.



I was back by the stream I’d dreamt about earlier. I’d thought it would of given me some happiness to be there and remind me of some good times of Taylor and me. I was so wrong. It only emphasized the loneliness I felt with his absence.
Taylor and I had known each other since our first day of primary school and become instant friends, best friends. We went everywhere and did everything together. When we moved up to high school, he started hanging out with the guys more, and I did the same with the girls. Despite that we still made time to hang out together regularly. I couldn’t tell you exactly when the feelings of friendship became something more, but it did none the less and on my fifteenth birthday we became a couple.
Yeah we squabbled like teenagers do, sometimes over the most ridiculous things. Made vows how we were done with each other and no longer even friends. But we always gravitated back towards each other. Despite the rows we sometimes had, for the most part we were deliriously happy. Taylor was everything to me and my every breath was for him.
Then one horrible day last year, January seventh, he vanished, and the best thing in my life was gone.
We were two weeks off both my twentieth birthday and the anniversary of five years as a couple. I felt like my soul had shattered.
Nobody knew where he could have gone. He’d said nothing about going away nor had he shown any signs of being unhappy with his life in Stoke On Trent. Nothing of his had been missing. Nobody had seen him and nobody had reported seeing him since his disappearance. There was not one single clue as to why or where he’d gone. And as for the suspicion of foul play, there was no evidence to suggest that. The police had put him down as a runaway; we all knew better, that somebody would have had to take him to make him leave us.
I picked up a tiny pebble and threw it into the stream as hard as I could out of sheer frustration. That’s when the second bizarre occurrence of the day happened. As soon as the pebble hit the water, it literally parted, allowing it to sink into the wet mud in a spot that should have been under the cover of water. Then the waterless spot slowly closed in on itself, taking the quick running stream back to its usual, normal, appearance.
I scrambled backwards away from the water as quick as I could. I could hear my heartbeat banging frantically in my ears as my panic stricken eyes looked in every direction I could, searching for some sign of danger.
Ok, I’m obviously having some sort of episode. I’ve been stressed and depressed for a long time; surely it’s just a simple case of me finally losing the plot. I had images of men in white coats coming to hurl me in the back of the paddy wagon. A giggle of hysteria passed my lips. I had to get a grip, and fast.
And all too soon came the final, weirdest happening of the day. It changed my life forever.



Chapter 2

The noise of the stream started to surge from its gentle lapping sound, increasing until it sounded like angry swells smashing against the face of a cliff. It was deafening. It began to rise up from the spot where I’d thrown the pebble, creating the outline of a person. Before my very eyes, the dull shimmering outline began to fill itself in, until standing before me was a young man of about my age. A gasp left my mouth as I recognised the person stood before me. It was Taylor.
That’s it Nina, you’ve finally lost it. Time to get to the nearest psychiatric ward and get yourself admitted! I squeezed my eyes as tightly shut as I could, taking deep breaths to steady myself. I could feel myself shaking uncontrollably. I opened my eyes. And he was still there.
Taylor crouched in the water, his beautiful moss green eyes full of concern. Very, very slowly, he reached out his hand. “Nina, it’s me, I’m really here. Don’t be afraid of me babe. You know I’d never hurt you.”
I slowly started to pick myself off the ground, not taking my eyes off him for one second for fear that he’d disappear if I did. “It’s really you, isn’t it?” I gasped.
“Yeah baby it’s me. I’m going to walk over to you real slow ok? Don’t run away from me, please.”
I was confused. “Why would I run from you Taylor?” Then shock subsided to anger. “Where the hell have you been? Do you know what you’ve put us through? Do you know what you’ve put me through? I love you, we all do, and you just take off and leave? Oh my god why am I even talking to you? I know you can’t really be here. For god’s sake I just watched to appear out of water, which is impossible!”
“Nina, you need to calm down, you’re not going crazy. What you just saw is real. There’s so much you don’t know. I’ve missed you so much and we’ve had to work so hard to come and get you babe. We don’t have much time though.”
I raised my hand to cut him off his train of speech. “Who’s we? What do you mean we haven’t much time? If what I just saw is real, then how did you do that?” I paused to look at him. He looked just the same as he’d done the last time I’d seen him, the same way as I’d seen him in my dream as well. But now he was wearing the strangest clothing I’d ever seen, and there wasn’t much of that. All six two of him was naked apart from what looked like butter coloured leather trousers that were tied at the waist with what seemed to be a dark brown string of more leather. “Taylor, what the hell are you wearing? When did you start wearing leather trousers?”
As I’d been talking he’d been step by step edging forward, and now he was stood right in front of me. I wanted to touch him but I had the terrifying thought that if I did my hand would go right through him.
Instead it was him that touched me. Steadily he put his palm to my cheek and began to stroke it with his thumb. He felt so warm, so solid. It was then it dawned on me this was real, and he was really there. I threw my arms around his waist and buried my face into his chest. I began to cry, loud sobs escaping, each one taking some of the pain I’d been holding in my heart since he’d left.
He stroked my head, running his fingers through my long raven hair in the way he knew soothed me. “Come on now babes chill. It’s ok. Everything’s going to be ok. We’ll never be apart again I promise you, but it took a lot of energy and magic to get me here. There are people that will be getting pretty exhausted round about now so I need you to trust me and we gotta shift our butts ok?”
I looked up at him. I just couldn’t get my head round what he was saying, and to be truthful I wasn’t really listening either. I was too involved with just feeling him standing there. Instead I just stood there like an idiot and nodded my head. “Ok, where we going?”
His big easy going smile spread across his face and he suddenly became real excited. “Oh Nina you’re going to love this! I need you to come stand in the water with me ok? I need you to shut your eyes real tight and hold your breath when I say. No matter what don’t open your eyes or try to take another breath till I say it’s ok. Understand?”
Had he lost his damn mind? What the heck was he up to? Never mind. I’d humour him for a couple minutes and then I was dragging his butt up to the house to his parents. “Ok, I understand.”
With no further word he prised me off him, took me by the hand, and practically frog marched me down into the water without stopping to even let me take my tights and boots of. Great, now I was going to have to walk up to the house and later on go back to my dorm with soggy feet.
Still holding my hand Taylor kept his head straightforward. He closed his eyes and muttered something I couldn’t quite hear. I felt movement around my ankles and looked down to see the water in the stream was no longer clear, leaving a view of the dirt and stones below. Now it was grey and cloudy, and it looked like it had silver flecks glowing in it. If that wasn’t enough to make me realise something was amiss, there was also the fact it was not longer running its speedy course. It was swirling madly in every direction, like there were loads of spoons stirring it around. Then Taylor interrupted my train of thought.
“Ok Nina, squeeze your eyes tight and take a breath. Once you’ve done that grip my hand tight as you can. I don’t want you getting lost on me now,” he chuckled to himself at this last part like he’d said something amusing, but I didn’t get the joke.
With my eyes closed and a big gasp of breath in my lungs I squeezed his hand with as much strength as I could muster. Suddenly, it felt like I was immersed in the water, its icy coldness almost making me let out my precious air. Just as my body was getting over the shock of temperature the water started to pull me away from Taylor. I wanted to open my eyes so I could see him, so I could see what was going on, but he’d given me strict instructions not to. In amidst this mental battle of doing what he’d told me to and doing what my instincts were telling me to do, we were getting tossed and turned everywhere. It felt like I was a measure of liquor in a cocktail shaker. In fact, I was starting to feel like I was going to puke.
Just then I was jolted to the spot, and the water began to settle. Was a good thing too cause I couldn’t see me being able to hold my breath much longer. My lungs were starting to burn. I felt my self slowly coming out of the water, and once my face was clear I couldn’t stop myself. I gasped for air.
It was like I’d breathed in pain in its purest form, making my chest and throat feel red raw as soon as I inhaled. I cried out in shock, causing me to open my eyes. They instantly burned; burning to the point that I thought something must surely be eating away at my retinas. I couldn’t see a single thing. I started to panic, and panic caused me to hyperventilate. I vaguely remember hearing voices, and then the lights were well and truly out.



The first thing that came back to me was a horrible feeling of soreness in my throat. My chest ached with each intake of air. And even though they were closed, my eyes felt itchy. I was lying down on something, a bed, I guessed, cause it was soft and I was covered with something that was keeping me nice and toasty. Probably a duvet, I thought.
I heard footsteps slapping on what I assumed had to be a tiled surface and I rolled onto my side in the direction the sound was coming from, all the while trying to open my eyes to see who was approaching. I gathered I must be in hospital. Taylor had obviously been a vivid fantasy and I was, finally, in the nut house after practically drowning myself. The footsteps grew progressively louder till they came to a stop in front of me. I looked up, and after taking a few seconds for my vision to clear, I saw the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my short twenty years on this earth.
She beamed at me; a genuine smile that made it’s way to her dazzling bright blue eyes. They must be contacts. Nobody has eyes that blue.
“You’ve finally come round I see. How wonderful it is to have you here with us Nina, we’ve been waiting for you for such a long time now. We feared we wouldn’t have enough magic left to be able to get you and Taylor back from your world. I’m just thankful the gods granted us the strength that we asked for to get you to Dianthia.”
I frowned at her, my mind still groggy. “Dianthia?”
A little frown of her own appeared on her perfect face, and I noticed she had the most radiant porcelain skin. “Didn’t Taylor tell you what was happening?”
Oh what a relief, I’m not crazy! I really did see Taylor and he’s really back! “No,” I croaked. “He said there was no time to explain. I haven’t the slightest clue where I am. I remember seeing Taylor in the meadow, then we were in the water, and now I’m here in hospital.”
The woman leaned forward and gently kissed me on the forehead, taking me my surprise and surrounding me in a curtain of her long platinum blonde ringlets. “My darling Nina, you are not in a hospital. You are in the bedchamber we prepared for you many years ago. In fact, since the day of your birth we knew you would be coming here. We have been trying all your life to find the right magic’s to cast and the right people to cast that magic to get you here. To reach into another world is almost impossibly hard, and to take something or somebody out of that world is even harder.”
I raised my hand to stop her train of speech, my throat far too sore to talk. But I had questions and I needed answers, so I needed to get over it and deal with it. “Ok, so tell me if I’ve got this right. Since I was born you’ve been trying to get me here for some reason or the other, and here is another world called Dianthia?”
Blondie blinded me with another stunning smile and actually clapped her hands together! “Yes Nina, that’s exactly right!”
I nodded my head briefly as I thought about what was first priority in the mass of questions I wanted to fire at her. I decided on Taylor. “So if you were trying so hard to get me here, why did you bring Taylor here?”
The woman suddenly looked sheepish. Well, I thought she was a woman as opposed to a girl, but it was extremely hard to pin point her actual age. There were no visible signs of any aging, such as wrinkles. But there seemed to be an aura of age and wisdom. It was pretty hard to explain.
“On this day last year, we managed to break through into your world. We sent our best warrior, Cutter, as we had no idea of your world and what threats may have been present. Our shaman, Brianna, knew you were in your meadow, but unfortunately we didn’t know how long it would take to break through the portal for the first time.
By the time Cutter appeared you had left, and Taylor was there instead. He took one look at Cutter in his amour with his sword drawn, and thought he was a threat In a misguided attempt of bravery, thinking our warrior would hurt the people in his homestead, he grabbed Cutter as he was attempting to come back through the portal. And that is how Taylor came to be in Dianthia.”
It was typical Taylor, always trying to protect everybody he loved. I had mixed emotions of love for him for his bravery, and anger at him for his stupidity.
The vision of beauty gave me a moment to absorb this flood of information and then continued. “Once we’ve got you all cleaned up I will take you to our King and Queen in the throne room where everything will be explained to you better. By the way, my name is Celeste. I was the princesses’ handmaiden. And now that she has left us, I am yours.” She shot me another dazzling smile and threw back my bedding. “Come now, lets get a move on.”
I sat up and rubbed my itchy eyes. It was then that I realised, to my horror, that I didn’t have a stitch on. I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment and started to desperately claw at the bedding to retain a bit of pride. Celeste laughed. Her laugh was soft and high-pitched, though not at all unpleasant. “Oh Nina don’t be shy of me. Who do you think undressed you? Your human body is not much different to us female elves, so you hold no mysteries.”
That little statement shocked me so much that I dropped the bedding; completely forgetting I was nude. I felt my eyes bulging out of their sockets. “You’re an - an, elf?”
“Why yes, my darling child,” and with that, she pulled back her soft mane to reveal two tiny, but pointed, ears.
I giggled. “Oh Celeste, they’re real cute.” I quickly smothered that giggle with my hand when I realised Celeste herself didn’t seem too amused.
She sniffed and narrowed her eyes at me. “I can assure you there is nothing cute about elves. We are a strong and fearless people. Our King is a great leader who enforces strict rules for the greater good and anybody who wants to be part of our Kingdom who deviates from these rules will be punished severely.”
Man this chick was uptight! Celeste had gone from sunshine smiles to elf militant in two seconds flat. I had the horrible suspicion that things around here weren’t going to be all they seemed. “I’m really sorry; I didn’t mean to offend you in anyway. I must be in shock that’s all, and I just lost control for a sec.”
And there she was, back to Miss Smiley. Never mind Miss Smiley, more like Miss Unstable! “It’s ok Nina. You had quite a shock yesterday, and you know nothing of elves. You will soon learn the ways of our people. Although it is highly unusual for us to have humans in our kingdom, you are very special to us. The Kingdom of Dianthia will be your home for as long as your heart so wishes it.”
“Thanks. That means a lot to me Celeste. Apart from Taylor, I haven’t got any friends or family in this world, so I’d be looking at a pretty lonely time without your kindness.” Then something clicked. “Hey, did you say yesterday?”
“Your most welcome my Nina, and yes, you got here yesterday, but you made the mistake of taking a breath and opening your eyes. The magic in the transportable waters is highly concentrated, and you found out first hand what happens when it enters the body. Our shaman knew it would be uncomfortable for you, but Brianna wasn’t aware that it would knock you into unconsciousness for such a period of time. Now come on through to your bathing room and let’s get you cleaned up. You can’t appear before the King and Queen as you are.”
Celeste took me by the hand and guided me through my bedchamber to an open archway that led to my very own bathing room. I noticed that her hand was very soft and warm.
The bathing room was a large circular room and so, so beautiful. Its floor was a tile mosaic, making a design of a navy sea running around the outer rim of the circular floor, the rest of it a dazzling gold. With gold tiles that continued up the walls, and an enormous crystal chandelier that glistened in the light, it was simply breathtaking. I was pleased to notice that even in this other world they still had electricity. In the centre of the round room was a huge white marble bathtub, raised off the floor by four golden feet. The tub was already filled, with ruby red rose petals floating on top of the water, creating a flowery carpet. “Oh Celeste this is so pretty!”
Celeste bobbed her head at me, a smug grin on her face. “I’m very glad you approve my Nina, now get yourself washed up. In the meantime I’ll prepare your garments and when you come out I’ll fix your hair.”
She had started to turn away when I asked her my next question. “Hey Celeste, will I get to wear clothes like yours?” She was wearing a soft lavender toga with a belt of what looked like golden rope that hung down at one side to her knee. The toga hung over her left shoulder and wrapped across her breasts, and it hung just millimetres above the floor, allowing a glimpse of bare feet. Well, bare apart from the little glimpses of gold toe ring and lavender toenails, Get in, they have toe polish!
Celeste shook her head. “No, I am a servant and you are an honoured guest. Your gowns will be beautiful, not plain like mine.”
“Your gowns aren’t plain, they’re beautiful. I was hoping I’d get to dress up in something so pretty.”
She blushed and looked at the floor, for the first time looking venerable. “Well I am flattered that you think my robes are beautiful. In this world they are considered plain for an elf.”
I snorted. “Well, I think you look beautiful in them, and anybody who thinks they’re plain is a dumb ass!”
She looked up and smiled at me. “You know what Nina, I think you and me are going to be great friends. Now come on my girl, time is of the essence.” And on that note she made a quick turn and walked, no, glided would be a better word, out of the room.



After what must have been the most relaxing bath of my life, I made my way back into my bedchamber. It really was luxurious, and far better than both my dorm room and my own room at home. Opposite the archway the entire wall was made of glass, with a lead scroll design all over the panes. In the centre were French doors with golden handles that opened up onto the grounds beyond, but I couldn’t yet see what the view was as it was so dark outside. Instead of the dingy looking blinds that covered my dorm window, in this room were deep purple drapes that Celeste was just unhooking so that nobody would be able to see in.
Pushed up to the left hand wall was the biggest four-poster bed I had ever seen in my life. It was black and made out of wrought iron, and had voiles the same colour as the drapes hung from it, creating a hazy curtain around the bed. I could see Taylor and I having some fun it that!
Next to the bed and nearer to me was another archway, which from where I was standing I could see was a walk in wardrobe. That made me more excited than the bed! I could hardly wait till I had five minutes spare to rummage around in that bad boy!
By the bathroom archway was a large mahogany bookcase (this room was getting better and better), and an enormous black wrought iron full-length mirror, the frame being the same scroll design as the lead on the windows.
Opposite the bed were huge mahogany double doors with what looked like real gold handles, and a deep purple screen with the black scroll design on. A huge gold and crystal chandelier finished the room. I was in bedroom heaven. With walls the same shimmering gold as the mosaic tiles on the floor, it was like this room had been made for me. Well, according to Celeste, it had!
She waited patiently while I stood there in my towel and turban taking everything in. I knew my jaw had dropped and I must look like I was catching flies but I didn’t care. She pointed to the screen in the corner, which had a deep red garment hung over it. “Your dress Nina. Please put it on now so I can check that it fits correctly.”
I walked round behind the screen and took off my towels. Picking up the dress, I noticed it was made of silk. I quickly pulled it over my head and went to stand in front of the mirror, where Celeste tied it up at the back for me.
Like her toga, it went over my left shoulder and cut just above the line of my cleavage. It fitted to me like a second skin and made me hope whatever knickers she gave me weren’t going to create VPL (Visible Panty Lines). It was a little long though, so its skirt was hanging on the floor slightly, and it had a split up the front that went quite high up my thigh. As I turned to look at the back it showed a vast amount of leg, and I hoped that there was actually going to be knickers in this world, or else I wasn’t going to leave a lot to the imagination.
The back of the dress was like how a corset ties up, and it had a small train lying along the floor. No wonder the material wasn’t patterned or had any beading. With such a design it didn’t need anything else going on.
“Do you like it?” Celeste asked, almost whispering.
“I love it. I think it must be the most stunning thing I’ve ever worn!”
“Good, now come with me into your dressing room. There is a vanity table with a stool in there where you can sit while I arrange your hair. I didn’t want to do it before you dressed as the gown has to go over your head.”
She took my hand and led me through the archway to the left hand side of my bed. The gold mosaic flooring continued on into here, and there was a small version of the chandeliers that hung in my bedchamber and bathroom. You couldn’t see the walls for racks of clothes, shoes, and drawers. In the centre of the room was the vanity table and stool. It was huge! Everything in this room was kitted in the same mahogany as the bedroom, and I knew I was going to have many a fun hour in here.
I sat my butt on the stool, and went into a trance as Celeste began on my hair and makeup. She seemed to recognise me as one of those people who goes into a mini coma when I get pampered, so she left me in peace while she got to work. It was some time before she spoke.
“We’re all done Nina, if you’d like to open your eyes and let me know what you think.”
I open my eyes and gasped. Is that really me? She’d pulled my hair up so it all sat on top of the back of my head in what looked like a giant donut with cascades of curls flowing down from its centre. Entwined in the donut was a golden tread with caught the light to give flashes of colour throughout. The front was simply parted at one side and the rest just swept up to the donut.
My eyes had no eyeshadow, just a line of black eyeliner that she’d professionally smudged to give a little smoke to my eye and a coat of mascara. My lips however, were painted to match the colour of the gown I wore.
Celeste had even put my jewellery on. I had a short necklace on; it was thick and looked like a solid gold piece of rope. It was the most expensive thing that I’d ever worn, I knew that much. She had removed the hoops from my ears, replacing them with simple drop earrings, and left the studs in. My bracelets had been returned to their spot on my left wrist, and on my middle finger on my right hand was a gold ring that was identical to the necklace. “Celeste, thank you so much, I’ve never felt so glamorous.”
“You flatter my skills Nina, I like it. Now all you have to do is pop these shoes on so that the length of the gown is correct.”
I wondered if all elves spoke the way she did and smiled to myself at the thought of one of them having a strong accent, Scouse maybe, or even Geordie.
The shoes I’d been given were a pair of strappy high-heeled sandals. They had long leather strings at the ankle that had to be criss-crossed around the leg till they reached under the knee and tied together. They were the same gold as the thread wrapped up in my hair.
“Right then Celeste, I’m ready when you are.” I beamed at her.
“Ok then my Nina, let’s make our way to the throne room.”
I followed her back through my room and out through the double doors into the corridor. The corridor was completely white; white mosaic tiled floors, white washed walls. Its only splash of colour was the gold lantern style lights that hung from hooks in the walls, and the mahogany double doors that were at regular intervals on each side. We went through the double doors at the opposite end from my room and entered a courtyard.
It was pretty simple; big sand coloured slabs with a huge three-tied fountain in the middle and flowerbeds in each corner, creating a path both around and through the courtyard. We entered from the west, and turned to the North. I had only a short walk till we reached the top of the yard, and the biggest doors I’d ever seen.
They were the same mahogany as all the other doors I’d encountered, only massive. Gold scrolls were inlaid into the huge wooden doors, and two gigantic gold hoops hung from them. Either side of the doors were the most beautiful specimens of man I’d ever seen. Or should I say Elf I’d ever seen, for stood before me was my first glimpse at Elf men. Little did I know at the time, but it was one of these men that would let slip something that was about to break my heart all over again.