The
Diary of Miss Aidyn Hall, elf friend
August
6
“They Fascinate Me!”
I didn’t want Apple Blossom to get soaked
again, so I let her use one of my rain shells. It was much too big for her to
wear, so I had to wrap it around her like a blanket. She didn’t protest, and in
fact she seemed to like being wrapped up so snugly in the warm jacket. “I wish
we had clothes as warm as this,” she said, snuggling against it. “Even our
winter pelts aren’t quite so warm.”
I had to carry her, and when I picked her up
she wrapped her arms around my shoulder and pressed her head against me. It was
a wonderful feeling to be so trusted and loved. “Will we see anymore humans?”
she asked a little nervously.
“I can’t promise that we won’t,” I said
truthfully, “but I can promise that they won’t hurt you.”
But we didn’t see anybody as we made
our way to the magnolia archway. As I waded through the mud that packed against
my boots, I realized that no one in their right mind would be out here. Even the Grand Elder Guardian had taken shelter
from the pouring rain, but I could see the other guardians watching us from
under leaves and thick patches of brush. As we made our way through to the Greenwood
Someone was waiting for us on the
other side of the bridge. My heart skipped a beat—I was terrified that it would
turn out to be one of the palace servants, or a courtier, or Apple Blossom’s
nursemaid (she did still have one, even at ten), or even the queen herself. It
was hard to see through the rain, but when we got a little closer I saw that it
was only Raindrop.
“Hey there,” I said, giving her a
little wave. “What are you doing out here in this nasty weather?”
“I could ask you the same thing,”
said Raindrop. “You never come around when it rains. And Apple Blossom, where
have you been? Everybody’s been looking for you!” Oh great!
“I was…” Apple Blossom began, but I
interrupted her; “She found her way to my house…you know, in the human world.
She wanted to see where I go when it rains, and she wanted to see what it was
like. I found her at my door earlier this afternoon. We waited out the rain for
a while, and then I decided that I didn’t want her going home by herself, and I
wanted to make sure that everyone would know where she really was. So here I
am.” By the end of my explanation, Raindrop looked as if she had seen a ghost. For
a few moments, her mouth formed a perfect O shape until she was able to stammer
out a response.
“You…you were in the…the human
world, Apple Blossom?”
Apple Blossom nodded. “Yes, I was.”
“Are you sure that’s the truth?”
Raindrop asked. I could tell that she really didn’t want it to be. But Apple
Blossom said, “It is the truth. I was going to make up a lie, but…” She looked
at me. “I couldn’t ask Aidyn to lie, too.”
For a few moments, poor Raindrop had
been struck dumb. She kept looking up at the sky, shaking her head, as if she
just could not—or would not—believe what
she heard even after being told it was the truth. Finally, she said, “Did…did
you run into other humans?”
“We didn’t run into any,” Apple
Blossom said truthfully. “We saw one, only one. But he didn’t approach us. I
don’t even think that he saw us.”
“But suppose he did?” cried
Raindrop, her eyes wide.
“He didn’t,” I assured her. “I am
one hundred percent sure of that.”
Raindrop was silent again for a
moment. Then she said grimly, “Apple Blossom, you know that you’re going to be
in trouble.”
“I know,” Apple Blossom said with a
sigh. I squeezed her hand. The two of us followed behind Raindrop as she
scampered into the village, shouting, “Apple Blossom is back! She’s here, and
she’s all right!” The next thing I knew, we were swarmed. There were officials
from the palace dressed in gold trimmed green cloaks. There were armored
soldiers other than the green-clad civil soldiers, carrying long swords at
their sides. There were palace courtiers and servants. There were ordinary
villagers—men, women, and children. This, I knew, was only a fraction of the
search effort. What amounted to the entire Greenwood
“I’m fine, Beryl,” Apple Blossom
said. “Aidyn found me.”
“Aidyn the human?” the woman asked, slowly turning to look at me. My god, if
looks could kill! “Yes,” clarified Apple Blossom. “She took me into her house
and kept me safe and took care of me.”
“There’s more to it than that,” I
told Beryl. “Where are her parents?”
Beryl’s response was to continue to
stare daggers at me before carrying Apple Blossom off into the increasing
swarm. Raindrop followed, and I was close behind. The armored soldiers pushed
ahead, calling, “The princess has been found! She is found, and she is safe!”
The cloaked officials trailed behind them.
“Why did Mother and Father send out
all of these people?” Apple Blossom asked Beryl. “They know I go out when it
rains sometimes.”
“They also know that they can always
locate you when you do,” Beryl said sternly. “Only this time, things seemed to
go a little bit differently, didn’t they?”
The king and queen arrived before
Apple Blossom could say anything further. “Oh, Apple Blossom!” her mother
cried, prying her out of Beryl’s arms and wrapping her own arms around her. She
dropped a kiss on her daughter’s forehead, and Apple Blossom kissed both of her
cheeks and said, “I’m all right, Mother. Really, I am.” Then she was passed to
her father, who responded with more hugs and kisses before his face turned very
serious.
“Where did you go, Apple Blossom?”
the king asked very sternly. “Don’t tell me you were here in the Greenwood
“The
human world!” In an instant, the king turned his firey blue eyes on me. I
wanted to shrink. “You brought her there!” he hollered.
“I didn’t!” I protested, taking a
step back.
“She didn’t bring me there, Father!”
Apple Blossom said. “She only found me there! I went on my own!”
Now the king turned those firey eyes
on his daughter. “Why would you do such a
thing?!” he roared, but she didn’t recoil or even look away. She looked
right into that blue fire and said, “I just wanted to see what it was like.”
The king pressed his fingers to his
temple in exasperation. Then he unleashed a barrage of nasty-sounding words in
a language that I could not understand, though I figured that it must have been
the tree elf language. I gasped, but whatever he was saying must not have been
too bad, as Apple Blossom was not crying and the others were not expressing any
sort of shock or disgust. Even Raindrop only hung her head as if she was
familiar with this sort of display and felt ashamed. Just a parental lecture, I
supposed.
And just like a typical child, Apple
Blossom interrupted this lecture. To each of her father’s laments, she had a
willful response in the same language. Back and forth, the two of them argued,
until Apple Blossom shouted in clear, plain English, “Because they fascinate me, Father!”
Everyone was silent. The king took a
step back and shook his head as if he needed to clear it to believe what he had
heard. The queen’s eyes were wide, her mouth forming a small O shape. The crowd
was struck dumb. My mind was working, wondering what on Earth she could have
possibly meant by that. Who fascinated
her? Then I realized: humans! Humans fascinated her. They did not frighten her
the way that they frightened the others, they fascinated her. That’s why she wanted to see our world. That’s why
she wanted to make sense of the books and find a connection. That’s why, except
for when she saw my neighbor, she never showed any real fear of humans. On that
very first day, she had told me that she had always wanted to meet a human, to
play with a human, to befriend a human. She wanted a human at her birthday
party, to entertain and to introduce to her friends and family. She had
approached me that day without fear, and showed me off as if I was a thing to
marvel at rather than to fear. She never thought that I was a monster. She
never thought that humans were monsters, and all of the kindness that I had
shown her and her friends only affirmed her viewpoint.
The king spoke more softly now, and
whatever he was saying sounded like a question. Apple Blossom answered with,
“I’d like for us to speak in c…I mean English,
Father. I want Aidyn to be able to hear.” The wagging tongues of the
surrounding crowd became much more active. The king looked at me and then back
at his daughter before nodding. I was astounded by how much power the little
girl held over this king. Since Apple Blossom’s birthday, I had only ever seen
the king in passing. But from what Apple Blossom had told me about him, his
love for her came before all else, and he placed her on the pedestal of a mini
goddess. I could see that now. The man loved his daughter so much that he gave
her the power to talk him down.
“They do fascinate me, Father,”
Apple Blossom went on. “They are so different from us, yet so much like us.
They eat different foods, live in different homes, have lots of strange tools
and devices, and have no ability to channel the jade essences. And yet they
speak the same, have the same feelings, can do so many of the same things, and
they even almost look the same. We are not so different. Somehow, I always knew
that. I always doubted that all humans were the monsters I was taught they
were. When I met Aidyn, I learned that I had been right! Now, I am more
fascinated by humans than I have ever been!”
A young lady in the crowd spoke up.
“Princess, don’t you realize that she could be trying to trap you? She’s
fostering that fascination, doing whatever she can to entice you, filling your
mind with interest in her and her world…and then she’ll be able to lure you in!
She’ll have you right where she wants you!”
“She wouldn’t do that!” Raindrop
cried.
“I’d never even dream of it!” I chimed in.
“How dare you say such things about
Aidyn!” shouted Apple Blossom.
“It’s dangerous to trust her!”
insisted a man in the crowd.
“She is my friend!” retorted Apple
Blossom.
“Mine too!” Raindrop said.
“A human could never be the friend
of a Jadeite!” an older woman cried.
Finally, the queen called the crowd
to silence. She clapped her hands together loudly until each and every pair of
eyes was on her, and the soldiers commanded the attention of the few who
weren’t so willing to give it. Apple Blossom scurried over to me and wrapped
her arms around my waist. I laid my hand on top of her head.
“This situation is certainly far
from the ordinary,” the queen began, “and I understand your concerns, as any
abnormal series of events will incite concern. However, we have no reason to
believe that Aidyn is untrustworthy. My daughter has always shown good
judgement when it comes to choosing friends, and from what I have observed,
this is no exception. Aidyn is adored by my daughter and well received by her
friends and their families. She looks after Apple Blossom and keeps her safe as
well as entertaining her, and she has never indicated even once that she might
lead her astray.” She turned to me then and nodded. “Aidyn, I thank you for
bringing our daughter—our princess—safely home, and I apologize for the impulsive
accusations of my husband and certain citizens of the Greenwood
I was so stunned. I didn’t know what
to say. My arm was around Apple Blossom, who gasped and tugged at my shirt
excitedly upon hearing her mother’s words. I simply nodded and said, “Your
majesty, I…I thank you.” My voice had returned to me. “Yes, thank you. Thank
you for your acceptance, for your hospitality, and above all…for your trust.” My
heart fluttered so much that I was sure it was going to soar straight up into
the sky. Apple Blossom had her arms around me, and in a sudden surge of emotion
I scooped her up off of her feet and embraced her. I snuggled against her as
she wrapped her arms around my shoulders.
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