Roses and Thorns ~ The Tale of Roses and Thorns 1.

Ivelle found herself in the library, holding an old book with foxed papers. "The history of the Sanctuary" she read the cover. Sanctuary was the name of this world. The librarian Illeron gave her this book, when she told him that she wanted to learn more about their history. It was written by an elf, named Baradhyl. He was the oldest elf (he was around 6000 years old).According to Illeron this is the most accurate and authentic history book in the whole Sancturay.... and the only one that was written in English. And indeed, she learned a lot. For example that there were six kingdoms and a city-state. She had already knew about two: Abonwan and Etalia. The other four were Drauri, Gwolla, Etealind and Nendawin. Drauri was the home of the dragons, Gwolla was the kingdom of the dwarves, the fairies lived in Etealind and Nendawin... well it was a very dark place. The dark elves and their king lived there with their allies. Although many said that the Dark King was dead, there were rumors that he was still alive and waiting for the right time to attack the other kingdoms. The city-state was called Lorlea, and it was the home of the sorcerers and sorceresses. Children and adults who had magic went there from the three kingdoms (Etalia, Abonwan and Drauri) to live and study there. The other creatures like the centaurs, the goblins or the nymphs lived mostly in Abonwan with the humans.

"I see, you found the library. " Ivelle turned around to see Cirillo standing behind her.

"Yes. I wanted to know more about your history and culture. "

"Really? "

"Yeah, after all, I'll live here too... "

"So, you'll stay? " his voice was cheerful and a smile appeared on his face.

"Yes. "

"That's great, but I hope you know that it won't be easy... I mean, you'll have to learn a lot. "

" I thought... " she took a minute to think "But, I'd like to stay. "

"Great. Then, meet me tomorrow morning, I will introduce you to your tutor. "

" My tutor? " she raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, your tutor. You can't learn everything by yourself... On a second thought, you could, but it would be harder and it would take longer...much longer... "

" Okay, then tomorrow " she smiled.

"Tomorrow." Cirillo smiled and wawed her goodbye.

Ivelle was left alone in the library. She looked out the window: it was already dark outside. "I guess I should go back to my room. " she closed the book and put it back to its place. The library was empty, and silent.

"You can keep the book if you would like to. " she winced and turned around " Sorry I didn't mean to scare you. "

"Illeron. No problem, I was just deep in thoughts, and didn't hear you coming. "

"Well, that is not surprising. Elves can walk very silently." He smiled "As I've just said you can take the book. Just be sure to bring it back after you finished it. "

"Okay, thank you. "

"Your welcome. " he bowed and disappeared into the library. Ivelle took the book off the shelf and went back to her room... although she got lost... twice... but at last she found her room. She had a bath and went to sleep. She was really looking forward to the next day. She fell asleep, and for the first time after months she had a good sleep.

She met Cirillo in the curtyard. Next to Cirillo stood a high, brown haired elf. His skin was darker than Cirillo's Ivelle could tell that he had been working on the sun.

"So, Ivelle. This is Pádraig. Your tutor."

"Nice to meet you. I heard a lot about you. "

"All good, I hope. " she smiled.

"Of course. "

"Pádraig is our best warrior and his knowledge about the kingdoms and the Other World is priceless. " explained Cirillo "Well, I'll leave you two alone. Have a nice day. " he noded to Pádraig and left.

"Your father was a great friend of mine. You resemble him. "

"Do you know what happened to him? "

"Yes." he took a deep breath " I was there. We fought with the army of Erebos. "

"Erebos...the Dark King, right?"

"Right. It was our last battle. Erebos tried to escape, but your father went after him and... stopped him. He gave his life to save the world. "

"Oh... "

"Your father is a hero." he gave Ivelle a weak smile.

"Thank you, for telling me this. I barely know anything about him."

"Not a problem. If you have any questions, just feel free to ask."

"Thank you. "

"And now, please follow me. Let's get started."

Pádraig took her to the library. They sat down to a table and Illerion gave them books about history, culture and language, since Ivelle had to learn latin.

"Do you have anything specific in mind that you want to hear about?" he asked.

"Yes. Could you tell me about, the war?"

"You mean the one between the Kingdoms and the Dark elves?"

"Yes."

"Sure." he opened a book and handed it to Ivelle.

He pointed at a picture. It portraied two elves: a tall light skinned and haired one and a tall light skinned and black haired one. She recognised Allerick the king. She examined the other one. His eyes were dark and his clothes were black and red.

"This is Allerick and his brother Erebos."

"His brother?" she was surprised.

"Yes. For nearly a thousand years they lived in peace and agreement. During The Hunt, they helped the mythical creatures escape the Other World together. It was the last time they agreed in something. Their father Aillard died during he helped a fairy family escape. After that it was obvious that Allerick herited the throne, because he was the older brother, however Erebos became jelous. He left Etalia with his followers and established his own kingdom. For a few centuries there were peace, but 25 years ago Erebos and his allies attacked the other Kingdoms. First the weaker ones, then the stronger. They robbed and grinded the habitants of the occupied areas. The fight between the Alliance and the Dark Forces went on for years, until 18 years ago, when we could finaly defeat them. Many died during the war, and not just soldiers: women and children, old and young both gave their lives for a pointless war. But your father killed Erebos, his alliance broke up and the Dark elves went back to Nendawin. That's all. " he took a breath. It was obvious that it was hard for him to speak about it.

" Thank you. "

" I'm just doing my job. " he gave her a week smile" That's enough for today. Let's do something else."

Pádraig led her to the training grounds where he tried to teach her how to fight. In the afternoon she tried to ride a horse. Cirillo was right, it wasn't easy. What's more she started having doubts about her decision. Maybe it was a bad idea to stay there. Maybe she didn't belong there.

After her lessons she went back to her room. She sat down to her bed, and got lost in her doubts and thoughts. She looked out the window. It was raining. The sky was grey and the birds and bird-like creatures disappeared from the sky. A loud knock broke her away from her thoughts.

"Come in." she said.

A tall blonde elf-girl stepped in. In Ivelle's eyes she couldn't be older than 18, however she learned that in this world appearences are deceptive.

"Lady Ivelle." she bowed "I am Muriel. Her Majesty, queen Reyna, sent me to help you learn everything about our decorums and habits."

"Thank you, Muriel, but I'm extremly tired right now. Could we start our lessons tomorrow?"

"Sure, as you wish lady Ivelle."

"Please, just Ivelle."

"As you wish." she bowed "I'll leave you alone now."

The girl left the room. Well it looks like that Ivelle's going to be very busy in the close future. She laied down on the bed and fall asleep.

She was in a forest. The trees were enormous, sunshine was dancing on the huge leaves. Birds were chirping. She had been there before, but when? She heard steps behind her. She hid in a bush and waited. A little boy appered in the distance. She couldn't be older than 10. Wait... she had seen this boy somewhere.... But where? The boy was looking for something, or someone.

"What are you doing here?" A tall man asked him.

And now, she realized. In her dream. Maybe she was dreaming again? Now she paied closer attention to the details. The man was tall, brown haired with green eyes. He had a scar on his face. The boy had the same hair colour, but his eyes were brown. He had freckles on his face. They wore simple clothes, like the cuntrymen in the old movies, set in the middle ages.

"I was looking for you!"

"Go home. It's dangerous out here."

"Please, Dad!"

"Go home, Son." suddenly the man knelt down and dropped down dead. An arrow stood out of his back.

The boy screamed and started to run. Ivelle decided to follow him. They ran through the dense forest until they reached its edge, where the boy suddenly stopped. Ivelle smelled smoke and heard yelling. The air was filled with smoke, and it was hard to breathe. She looked around until she saw a farm. The whole farm, the house, the barn and the stable was on fire. People tried to extinguish the fire, but it was impossible. Soldiers were attacking and killing everyone who tried to escape. She saw a woman. She was tall, with black hair and she was wearing a long black dress. She faced the fire and was calm. She was murmuring something. She was holding a bow. A man came to her. He had long black hair and black clothes like every other soldier.Then the woman turned towards Ivelle, and then...

Ivelle woke up covered in sweat. It was a really strange dream. But, it was just a stupid dream. Yes. It will be better if she goes back to sleep. And this was what she did. She went back to sleep and forgot about the dream. Which was a great mistake.