Excerpt
Elly
A Fantasy Fiction Story by Amber Lea Starfire, ©2007
... 'Into the keeping … protectors …' The words sunk into her, a reservoir of sadness weighing her down. Why did I go? Why did I have to see and report what I'd seen? Elly moaned inwardly. It felt like everything she'd ever cherished – home, family, freedom – had all been ripped from her in one untimely moment.
As if reading her thoughts, Endert said softly, "Elly, what you saw would have happened whether or not you had been in the meadow. It is to the greater good that everything happened as it did. Your sighting and telling has saved us."
Sobered and reassured, Elly resolved to be brave, to do everything she was told, and to make her Queen Aunt proud. She quailed slightly, however, when they entered the Great Hall and she saw her protectors for the first time. She had assumed they would be Aegles. They were Antworts – creatures strong, true, and loyal to the Aegles, but black and hideous. They had shiny outer shells, four16-faceted eyes, and a smell which vaguely resembled rotted cabbage. They also had an annoying habit of constantly twitching their antennae. Elly looked to Endert for support.
Endert, however, formally bowed to Elly and said, "Princess Elly, may you be strong, your journey brief, and your return glorious and happy." He lifted his eyes only once, meeting her miserable gaze with a compassion that touched her deeply.
"I am at the service of the Queen," he said. Then he turned and left the room without looking back.
The Antworts buzzed slightly and though Elly did not understand their language, their tone was sympathetic. One of the Antworts gently retrieved Elly's sack from her grasp with two of his 16 arms. Or legs. Elly wasn't sure. The other Antwort wrapped two pairs of those arms around her in a loose, but secure, hold. Elly shuddered slightly, and took a deep breath to steady herself, trying not to make a face at the Antwort's smell. The Antworts spread their wings, which emerged from under their hard shelled backs. The wings were as wide as the Antworts were tall and surprisingly thin, like parchment, but tinted in delicate pastels. Elly looked in wonder at those wings. Buzzing lightly, the Antworts lifted Elly and her small bag of belongings into the sky. ...