Free The Elf Girl by Markelle Grabo Page A

gave me a weird look. I realized the Elf Realm probably didn’t have that kind of stuff.
    “Um, there you go then,” she said hesitantly. “Saying goodbye is out of the question. As you might have read, elves aren’t very strong physically, so if they said you couldn’t go, neither of us would be able to do much about it. We may be light on our feet, but we aren’t vampires.” She actually laughed.
    “Don’t tell me those are real too,” I said, narrowing my eyes.
    She shrugged. “I don’t really know. I’ve never met one.”
    I sighed. This magic stuff wasn’t going to be easy to comprehend, even if I had sort of believed in it already. It was different now that I knew it was real.
    “Ready?”
    I nodded, but didn’t move. I had to think for a few more minutes. I needed just a little more time. I was afraid of the risk and the danger of what lay ahead. I was about to leave behind everything I knew to begin again. I was moving away from an isolated life toward the unknown. The consequences of my decision wouldn’t be clear for some time.
    This wasn’t going to be easy. When I first went to Addison, I had thought everything would be solved with a few simple words. I was dead wrong. I knew now that what lay ahead of me wasn’t going to be all sunshine and flowers. I wouldn’t even be reunited with my elfin parents.
    Regardless, a fire inside me pushed me forward to do this. No matter how difficult, I still wanted to be where I belonged. If it took saving my sister and leaving this life behind, so be it. I had to find my place, even if it wasn’t in this world.
    “Come on, we need to leave before midnight, or we will have to wait another day,” Addison said, tugging at my hand.
    I got up, but didn’t let her move me any farther. “Why?” I asked.
    “The Realm is open only during the first minute of midnight. We have to be at the right spot so we don’t miss our chance.”
    “That’s odd.”
    “It’s just a fluke in magic.”
    “What?”
    “Come on,” she said, without answering my question. I nodded and followed quickly. Maybe she wasn’t ready to give me all the answers I wanted yet because there were so many questions, but that would have to come soon. I was placing all my trust in her. I needed something in return. Like more information.
    “Are we walking?” I asked.
    “Yes. We don’t have cars in our Realm. It’s not that we can’t. We just choose not to. Elves don’t like technology.”
    I nodded, not too disappointed. I wasn’t a huge fan of technology. I mean, I liked my laptop, but I could do without it.
    “Do you have cell phones?”
    “No, no technology at all. Not even those things… televisions .” She said the word slowly, as if struggling with the pronunciation. “We’ve seen how your world has changed with technology. We don’t want that to happen to our Realm. We are modern, in some ways more than others, but have never wanted to damage our Realm with gas guzzling cars and noisy electronics.”
    “How do you know so much about the Human Realm, Addison? I mean, if there are not many others out there like me, how could you know?” I asked.
    “Oh, the leaders of the Elf Realm, our kings and queens, periodically send scouts to the Human Realm, just to see what’s going on. We can’t completely ignore this Realm, Ramsey. It’s too risky. We have to make sure that no human has found out about us, because we are sort of in hiding. Humans and elves don’t mix very well.”
    “I see. That’s actually pretty smart, the no-technology thing. But you are still in a war, so there is some damage to the Elf Realm, isn’t there?” I pointed out.
    “The war has nothing to do with the way we live,” she snapped.
    I could tell I had upset her. Whatever this war was about, it was definitely a serious and touchy subject for my new elfen friend.
    “I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” I apologized.
    “You will soon enough.”
    We walked in silence for a while longer, and