Chapter 2: The Sacrifice

The short elf with the necklace is standing on the beach of a pond, bright blue skies sing above, beautiful white clouds move across them. The sun peaks around and sprouts light, then the waters of the pond glisten and sparkle. The elf skips and dances with many other elven children. Her mother sits on a rock smiling at her and her father stands in the background with other elves who are starting a beach fire. Then the sands sprout, her mother shakes and grabs both sides of the rock to avoid falling off. The water swirls then jumps and the elf with the necklace falls down. There is a loud banging sound; crashing and smashing. It rings out with the sound of metal on metal. It clashes and crunches the elf’s ears. The pond has faded away and the elf squints as the bars of the cage slowly blur into clear view. There is a troll banging on the cage with a metal pipe to wake all of the elves up. It is mid afternoon, her hand wipes across her eyes slowly and she blinks twice. The cage opens and the bowl of mush is heaved through the air. It hits the ground with a thud and some of the mush slops out hitting a few elves, landing on their clothes or faces. They all scamper and crawl towards the bowl. The elf with the necklace stretches a bit and then joins them. As she approaches the bowl, there is an uneven tune of tongues lapping and lips smacking. Then her eyes find the taller elf who is putting both her arms in, drawing them out then slurping it out of her cupped hands, and finally licking her arms clean. Next to her sits her companion the stuffed saber tiger. The elf with the necklace kneels down; they had become close in the months since they exchanged their valuables. However, they have never spoken one word to each other. None of the elves have ever spoken a word to each other.

After the meal the two elves sit together close to the front of the bars. They toss the saber tiger back and forth and play with it. As the hours pass they stop tossing it and walk around the cage looking out into the village and straining their eyes to see into the forest. There is the stone in the center, surrounded by huts. There is a giant hut and many small huts. There is a pit, filled with vicious looking dogs. They are dogs with teeth that always seem to be bared or sticking out slightly. There are bloodstains on the teeth, and marks from fighting on different areas of their bodies. On the edge of the huts there are many trees that go on for miles. One elven boy starts to make funny faces at another and several elves start laughing. Other elves faces turn grim, lips move to one solid line, and a few hide under their blankets. There is a loud clanking against the metal of the cage. “Cut out wit dat noise!” yells an angry troll. “I don’t wanna be hearin’ a single sound outa here!” “If I be hearin’ it, I gonna come in and be beatin’ all of ya!” The elven boys sit down. Their eyebrows and eyelids lower down with them, they were the ones who started the commotion but there are no sounds allowed, no talking, laughing or fun. The two elven girls had to be careful while playing with the saber tiger and never talked for any reason.

The sun sets again and the moon slides up above the towering trees. There hasn’t been an elf taken from the cage for quite sometime. It is hard to tell how many days have passed and the elves try not to count. It only adds to the horrifying anticipation. Heavy footsteps pound in the far edge of the village. The clanking of metal and the squeak of leather on leather enters the elven children’s ears. They all sit up, in frozen wide-eyed positions. The cage door swings open. The elven girl with the saber is grabbed. She screams with one hand stretched out towards the elf with the necklace. Her other hand clenches the saber’s paw tightly. The elf with the necklace sprints forward but is greeted by the bottom of a large boot that sends her tumbling to the ground. The guards carry the elf through the crowd towards the stone. They dance and chant and sing jubilantly. The elves do not dance though, they sit or stand in silence. Many of them are no longer interested in standing by the bars and looking out. Knowing full well what is happening. Another elf will disappear. Another empty blanket and vanished friend. The elf with the necklace stands until the dancing and singing stops. Now there is only chanting and she sags to the ground. Her head slides to the left and most of the elves are no longer awake. A few are playing with different items. Hand crafted combs from sticks, other valuables that they have brought, like the stuffed saber tiger and the necklace. The elf looks down at her friend’s necklace and the elven child lying in its parent’s arms, as if it is sleeping. On this night she wouldn’t sleep but she would wait, as deep into the night as possible, to see what happened to her friend. Liquid drips from the corners of her lower eye lashes and hit the metal. Sliding across the man, the woman and the child. They sit in a heart-shaped amulet. Perhaps now the elves would all vanish besides the ones imprisoned in silver. They would remain around her neck forever – or for as long as she had one that is.

The elf slides her head up, blinking the world back into focus. She must have fallen asleep. Her head darts around like a bird zooming between trees. All of the elves are sleeping; there are no trolls around. But there comes one now! The elf slides to her side and closes her eyes. The troll soft padding stops, then pads some more. One of the elf’s eyes opens a small sliver, watching the guard closely. For almost an hour she watches him pace again and again and her eyes follow his exact route and pattern. Twice around the inner circle, then around the edge of the huts in a counterclockwise pattern. Returning to the main circle. Once again he paces twice around the inner circle. Then he makes his way around the edge of the huts in a clockwise pattern. He repeats this over and over. When he begins his route around the outer edge, the elf pops up and presses herself up against the bars. She tries different locations. One of them has to be small enough to squeeze through. She pushes and pushes, turning her body into different angles to fit exactly right. Finally, a pop! She has made it out. Her hands shake and her knees too! She is outside! Her eyes shoot around the inner circle. There is no sign of her friend. There is the stone. There is a blanket on the stone. There is the ground around the stone. Down there is something! The stuffed saber tiger! Quick and soft footsteps pound the ground as she sprints her way up to her old stuffed animal. Then she hears other footsteps coming. She wheels around and ducks beside the rock with her back towards the biggest hut. The guard comes and gradually plods his way around the inner circle. As he marches his way around, the elf sneaks and creeps a long with him, but the whole while staying on the opposite side of the stone. Finally he has finished his two circuits around the inner circle and heads around the camp again.

The elf’s knees go from relaxed to stiff and she hops up. Her eyes are darting around the circle again. They gaze down at her old toy, the possession of her old friend. Her lips press against its nose, then she puts the stuffed animal under her armpit and grasps the edge of the stone. Both of her legs kick backwards as she heaves herself up onto the stone. There are mounds and outlines beneath the blanket. One of her hands moves towards the top of the blanket and her fingers shake side to side, even faster than when she left the cage. Gripping the blanket tightly she pulls it back and immediately falls backwards. It is her friend but something is very different. She is lifeless but staring straight back at the elf with the necklace! Glassy eyes stare from a body shriveled like a grape that had turned from its normal shape into a raisin in the sun. The elf trembles so much that she falls off of the stone! Crash! “What dat noise?” rings out in the distance. “Dat be da tiga!” comes a shrill voice. The elf huddles in a ball behind the stone, her hands clasped together and eyes looking upwards. The troll runs up to the stone and his eyes find the blanket first. “So ya got caught bout ta have a meal? Where ya at tiga?” The troll slides the blanket back over the elf’s deflated corpse. He whips around heading towards the elf hidden behind the stone. The elf’s hand shoots forward and grabs the stuffed animal, then making a backwards crawling motion she skitters away. The whole while the troll runs towards her, thinking he has found the tiger. “Come on tiga, I know ya dere! I not be afraid ya anymore! Come out and lez fight wan ta wan!” The elf increases her pace and tries to get as close as she can to the troll. She arrives right behind the troll and when she is positioned and aligned with the cage she wheels around and does a tiptoe sprint and slides deep into the grass. She crawls as close to the ground as the ground itself. Elbows sliding in and out of the soil between the grass, feet sliding back and forth and knees pushing her forward. She lifts her head and peers towards the tip of the grass, searching for the cage. Then her head darts back down. She is close but what happened to the troll? He stopped talking too. She ignores that fact and continues but as her back hunches up and she goes to one knee a giant hand grabs her shirt from behind and twists it into a ball around its knuckles. “What ya doin’ out here elf? Ya volunteer ta be da next sacrifice?” Wheezing laughter comes out of the trolls gaping mouth. He opens the cage and throws her down. Then he kicks her in the back and she slams face first into the cage’s floor. She lifts her head back up in a daze and is hit by another great thud. “Stay down an take ya nasty animal wit ya! Ya like ta be friends wit da beasts doncha? Ya dirty disgustin’ elfes, just like da animals!” He slams the gate and then remains there with his eyes slanting and twitching around the cage. Perhaps looking for a weak point that was snuck out of. Finally he grunts: “Elfen magic, disgustin’,” and turns about face and marches back to his route.

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