Jayn Newell's Profile

Ella found her father's study empty when she arrived. Or rather, he wasn't there, as it was far from empty. The walls were covered with shelves, and the shelves were stuffed full of books and items that he had collected on his travels over the years. One of the shelving units was partially obscured by a large map hanging across it. Ella could see numerous marking on the map, enough that she wasn't sure how her father could make heads or tails of it any more. She was able to pick out some of the routes he'd taken in the past marked on it, and notes about local dangers in certain areas, like bandits on a trail or loose rocks on a mountain path.

"Hey, Ella, would one of these books be able to help us?" Roess was standing on the edge of a shelf, holding herself up with one hand so she didn't fall.

"Maybe." Ella went over to where the dryad was perched and pried a book off a shelf. There were numerous loose papers stuck in it, and she had to be careful opening it so she didn't drop any. "It would take a long time to go through all of them though. It looks like father has added quite a few bits of his own knowledge too. The margins of these pages are full of notes." She closed the book and examined its cover. [i]The Rise and Fall of the Mirialian Dynasty[/i].

"Ella. I didn't expect to see you in here so soon." Ella turned to see her father standing in the doorway of the study. "If you're looking for something to read I'd prefer you looked in the library. These books are important to my work."

"Oh no, I was just looking around. You have quite a bit of stuff in here." Ella wedged the book she was holding back into its space, Roess lending a tiny helping hand. The books were tightly pressed together. "I would like to know more about what you do though."

Ella giggled. "Alright, well, I guess you can come. Here, hop up on my shoulder."

Ella couldn't help but feel self-conscious walking through the corridors. Even though she knew Roess was invisible to all but her, the presence of the dryad unnerved her a bit. Every look from the manor staff made her hold her breath for a second, hoping that they wouldn't notice.

"Relax, Ella, "Roess whispered into her ear.

"Hey, that tickles!" Ella hissed back, drawing a strange look from a nearby maid.

"Sorry, but you need to relax. Like I said, only you can see me. Other people can hear me, though, so I need to whisper."

"Now you tell me..." Ella muttered, ignoring the maid and hoping she wouldn't make anything of her talking to herself.

"Oops. You know I don't deal with humans much--I keep forgetting I need to tell you these things."

"Can I come in, Ella?" Herman asked.

Ella made a shooing motion towards Roess, who hadn't moves a millimeter. "Um, not right now, father. I'm a bit busy."

"Okay then," came the reply through the heavy oak door. "I'd appreciate it if you'd come to see me in my office later. Will you please do that for me, Ella?"

"Sure, I can do that."

"Alright then..." Ella could hear his footsteps moving away from her door.

Roess climbed onto Ella's shoulder. "Why didn't you let him in? He wouldn't have been able to see me."

"You could have told me that earlier." Ella sighed. "I wonder what he wants to talk to me about...I doubt it's anything good."

"Sorry, I keep forgetting you don't know these things. I'm used to hiding from humans, not talking to them. Humans can't see me unless I decide to let them see me. I can't hide from you anymore, because I decided I wanted you to find me, but that's not the case for anyone else around here."

"Well, anyways, before I go talk to him it would be good if you could tell me anything about your home that might help me find it. Something other humans might actually recognise."

"Hmm, let's see...Oh, I know! There's a valley nearby with a town, and there's a castle in the town."

"That's pretty vague. Anything else? Do you know what the flags on the castle look like."

"Uh....they're blue."

"Blue? That's it?"

"Well, I never paid that much attention, really. Give me a minute to think of it." Ella watched Roess stare into empty space, until a glowing ball appeared in from of the dryad's face. Whatever she was doing, it seemed to be more than simply thinking. Finally Roess spoke again. "Okay, there's also a silver wolf on the flag."

"Now we're getting somewhere. Maybe my father will recognize it."

"Do you mind if I come with you? I really like having your company."

"You're sure no one but me can see you?"

"Positive. I've stood on people's heads before without them noticing me."

"So, where are you from, anyways?" Ella was back in her room, talking to Roess, who had indeed gotten rid of the apple cores. "It'll be hard to get you back home if we don't know where we're going."

Roess was sitting on Ella's lap cross-legged. "My home is ----------." The sounds that came out of her mouth were unintelligible to Ella, but she got the impression of leaves rustling. "We've lived together for decades now."

"That's......that's......a weird name. And what do you mean 'we'?"

"---------- and I, what else would I mean?" Roess slapped her forehead after saying that. "Right, I forget what you humans are like, I've only heard stories. You're the first one I've ever dealt with."

"Ooookay....now that we've gotten that straightened out, maybe you can tell me the human name for your home forest?"

Roess shook her head. "That's not the name of the forest, that's the name of the tree I live with. He doesn't have a human name, since your race doesn't see plants as people."

"Well, plants aren't people. They're plants."

Roess stood up and pointed at Ella's nose. See, that's what I mean. You think that because you humans have forgotten how to talk to them they're not people. Well, they are. --------- have a very close relationship. That's why he agreed to let me stay with him, after all."

"What do you mean...oh, nevermind, I think I'm getting a headache trying to decipher what you just said." Ella leaned back into her pillows. "At any rate, we're no closer to figuring out how to get you home."

"Ella, who are you talking to?" asked a voice outside her door.

"Quick, hide!" Ella hissed at Roess. To her other visitor, "Just thinking out loud, that's all. Do you need something?"

"It'll be so pretty. We're going to have a big cake with yellow flowers, and I'll have a bouquet of yellow roses, and there will be yellow roses all over the place." Tiffany's breakfast was getting cold in front of her. She was so excited she barely stopped talking long enough to breathe, let alone to eat. For once Ella didn't mind listening to the other girl prattle on. It meant that her parents were too distracted to get on her case for the previous night. "I can't wait for the fifth of June to arrive. Such a beautiful date for a wedding, don't you think?"

Ella nearly choked on her drink. "The fifth of June? That's my birthday. You're really picked that date for your wedding?"

"Well, why not? Just because it's your birthday doesn't mean we can't get married that day too. You'll have other birthdays, but we'll only be getting married once."

"Ella," Sydney broke in before Ella could respond, "she's right, you know. We won't be able to throw you much of a party this year, anyways, after the expense of your sister's wedding."

"I see." Ella didn't say anything more, though inside she was badly hurting. There was nothing more that could be said just then.

Tiffany clapped her hands together. "See, it all works out. Anyways, as I was saying..."