Free Mira's View by Erin Elliott

branches to the sky. Galena felt
very small as she looked at this beautiful creation and realized
just how feeble her attempts seemed now.
    “I can see why you would want this kept a
secret,” Elenio said, gazing at the miraculous sight. “This must be
the last of the old elf buildings. Or other cities and towns have
done a great job keeping theirs secret too.”
    “It is the last,” Naradin replied serenely.
“We have sent our elves all throughout Tomiro to see if any other
buildings survived Rau’s destruction, but they did not. As I
mentioned before, we normally do not allow guests to see this, but
your coming was foretold to us by one of our own. He knows of your
quest, but refused to share many details with us. He simply told us
that it is of great importance to help in any way that we can.
Although, I do not understand the reasoning behind this decision, I
do not go against Pangora.”
    “Is Pangora the elf who saw us coming?” Tark
asked, his eyebrows shooting up somewhere near his hairline at this
news.
    Naradin simply nodded, a serene look still on
his face. He continued to smile at them in turn, but Galena could
see tightness around his eyes, betraying his anxiety.
    “May we speak to Pangora? He may have
information for us that could help us toward our final
destination,” Elenio asked.
    “He has requested a meeting with you as well
once you are rested and fed. He would like to meet with you
tomorrow morning if you are willing,” Naradin said, bowing his head
to them once more.
    “We are,” Galena answered, still gazing at
the beautiful home. She could hardly wait to see the inside of it,
even though she knew she should be more worried about this stranger
who seemed to know her and what her little group had set off to
accomplish.
    Galena stared up at the tree with wide eyes.
This was clearly designed to be a house for a very wealthy elf or
several elves. The details that had been grown around the windows
and door were delicate and beautiful. It looked as if roses and
vines had been carved into the actual wood. Upon closer inspection
though, you could see that the wood had been untouched by any
whittler’s knife. It was remarkable.
    “May we go in?” she asked, looking forward to
seeing the inside.
    Naradin, nodded while motioning them toward
the house. “One of the elves will come for you when it is time for
the feast.” He bowed respectfully, as they went through the door
into the wonderful creation.
    Galena sucked in a breath as she stepped
through the doorway. If she had thought the outside was something
to look at, it was nothing compared to the inside. They were in a
vast circular room that was clearly used as the common area as well
as dinning, and a place to prepare food. A grand table was grown
directly from the floor. All around the edge were more of the tiny,
detailed carvings depicting various roses and flowery vines. It had
ten, wonderfully crafted chairs, surrounding the table, although
they looked as if they been grown and then cut away from the trunk,
so they could be moved with ease. A sitting area surrounded one of
the beautifully placed windows. The chairs looked much like the
ones around the eating table with the exception that they were
wider and covered in comfortable looking pillows. All of this was
wondrous to behold, but it was the winding staircase in the middle
of the room, that held their attention.
    “Would you look at that,” Elenio breathed.
“Imagine living in a place like this. Only being held back by your
imagination.”
    “I didn’t know how beautiful everything could
be. Or the amount of details you could grow into wood,” Tark said,
looking up the staircase and into the hole in the ceiling. “Do you
think you could add details like this in your buildings?”
    “I don’t know, I never thought to try,”
Galena admitted. She stood at the foot of the stairs looking up as
well. “Shall we?”
    Tark nodded in reply as Elenio continued to
stare at their