Fire On Fire
Chapter nine - Castle of the elves

I swallowed past the lump in my throat as Ace and I continued walking.

He hadn't answered my question, he'd just given me a death glare and continued walking. Now I was freaking out. Maybe he just hated the place that much...? I shook my head.

I cant deny the possibility that this man could be very dangerous.

His silence left me alone to stew in my own thoughts. The more I tried to unravel, the more everything tangled up.

He was headed somewhere that's for sure. And elves are real. Mermaids too. Keep your thoughts short Ava. Mermaids are real. Elves too.

Now I'm just going in circles.

We slowed down as we neared a dirt path. We must've been close to the castle.

We waited until it was dark enough. Which wasn't that long, night fell fast in this world? Mental note.

Now, shielded by the night's darkness. We crept through the village without getting noticed.

I gasped as I took in the view.

It was beautiful, decorated with lush leaves and trees, the village seemed completely one with nature.

Little lanterns hung outside intricately designed tree houses. The roads were bustling with life even though it was so late.

Children giggling, elders talking, men drinking and laughing. Although this was the kingdom of the elves the elves themselves, didn't seem as magical as the ones they spoke about in story books or movies.

The only thing all those fairy tales got right was their pointy ears, otherwise they were as normal as ever.

Still, it felt surreal watching them. The idea that these beings and many others like them existed just beyond a mirror felt surreal.

"It's beautiful..." I whispered as I stared up at the tree houses from behind a dark corner. Ace grumbled.

"Don't be fooled" he said softly, a sad look passing through his eyes but it didn't stay there for long.

It was gone just as soon as it came.

That was the first thing he'd said in HOURS. I chose not to prod and I just hummed in response.

We walked up to the palace and my jaw dropped.

The village was nothing compared to it. It was surrounded by waterfountains, birds sang beautiful songs as they danced around the fountains and statues. Nature was everywhere, the fresh smell of grass and dirt filled my nose. I breathed in slowly, feeling my heart open, I felt...happy.

For just this once, I wasn't feeling suffocated by everything happening or everything that happened.

I giggled and turned to Ace, to see if he was feeling it too. He was gazing down at me, his eyes soft and caring.

I blushed and turned my head away. He placed a finger under my chin, gently tugging my face up to look at him.

"You should smile more" he said softly, I let out a tiny breath, something in the air shifted and I heard him growl.

He cleared his throat, dropping his hand. He turned the other way.

"We should get going, the sooner the better" he said firmly and started walking toward the castle.

I stood there for a minute, stunned. What was that...?

As we entered the castle a realization dawned on me. I'm going home and I'll never see Ace ever again...

Everything will be back to normal.... This mini adventure will be over...

What would happen to me? Would I just go back and pretend nothing ever happened? Pretend that I didn't know creatures like elves and mermaids existed?

Ace seemed to have noticed the look of dismay on my face.

"Don't worry they're having the festival of the moon, no one will even know we're here"

"Wait what about guards-" he smirked and pushed the big wooden doors open before I could finish my sentence properly.

As we walked through the halls that were only lit by a few candles flickering in the evening breeze, I couldn't help but let my eyes drift over to his face. His expression was unreadable, but the light of the candles illuminated a fire in his eyes.

My heart burned and my belly somersaulted.

Quickly, almost too quickly, we reached two huge double doors and I assumed this was where we parted. Ace turned to look at me, smiled, then PATTED ME ON THE BACK ???

"Take care kid" he said smirking. KID??!! What was this guy playing at here ??? first he basically kisses me and acts all cute and hot and now he's calling me kid ?? I scoffed and offered a sarcastic smile as I pushed the doors open. Whatever, it was never gonna work anyway. What was I even thinking?

"I'm 23 if you really wanna know" I said as I walked through the doors. I gasped for what seemed to be the millionth time today.

This place was full of surprises.

I took in my surroundings, mirrors of all shapes, sizes, heights and designs decorated the entire room.

I turned to look at Ace and found him watching me. This was it.

I offered him a small smile just as I stepped through the first mirror I saw.

Mistake.

This is a mistake Ava.

The words repeated in my mind as I extended my foot toward the mirror. A blue light illuminated my foot. I turned around to look toward Ace.

Maybe this is a mistake.... I thought to myself but he was already gone.

A pair of icy hands closed around my waist and wrenched me away from my only ticket home. OH COME ON. UN-FUCKING-BELIEVABLE, were my last thoughts before everything went dark.

He's your destiny Ava, you can't run away from him. He's fuel to your fire.

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