TGC 01 In which elves come to Ruraux

I was eating a bowl of mashed potato when my life changed forever. I can remember how it was ever so slightly saltier than I was used to. As I spooned another scoop into my mouth, there was an urgent knocking at the kitchen door. It was so loud that I almost fell off my rickety old chair with only three legs – the fourth being a makeshift pile of books. I looked nervously to my mother. She must have seen the fear in my eyes for she spoke to me as she crossed the room to the door.

“Don’t worry darling; we’re safe.”

And because she said it, I believed her.

She opened the door and I heard the surprise in her voice, “Oh, hello Father Leiter. I’m sorry – I didn’t know you would be coming.”

Father Leiter was in our house – or at our door at least – I couldn’t believe it. I’d seen him of course, even waved at him as he fished out on his boat once or twice, but never spoken to him and now he was here at our house.

My thoughts were cut short as I heard the urgency in his voice as he spoke, “Scheren, may we come in,” he paused, “we don’t have much time.”

My mother stepped back and a short little goblin – not much taller than I was - stepped through our wonky doorway into our home. Father Leiter seemed surprised to see me. He froze in the doorway, staring at me for a moment.

“Father Leiter,” my mother said, sensing the peculiar paralysis that seemed to have descended upon him, “this is my.”

“Yes,” Father Leiter interrupted her, “Yes of course,” and he stepped onto the cold stone floor of our kitchen and crossed the room to me. To my surprise, Leiter reached out and cupped my cheek in his dry coarse hands. “Child of Lehre; Child of Scheren,” he whispered. “I haven’t seen you since- since-”

“Father,” the voice came from the doorway, where two more goblins stood, “We don’t have time.”

“Will someone please tell me what is going on?” It was my mother’s voice – calm but authoritative.

Father Leiter turned away from me. “The elves Scheren, The elves have come to Ruraux. They have come for his device. They will be looking for you. Brother Dezent, Sister Gutig and I have come to escort you to safety. We are taking you to Nirvaasan. We are taking you to Lehre. He is our only hope.”

Lehre. We were going to see my father. After all these years, I would see my father again. In spite of my confusion at all the chaos that surrounded us, I smiled at that. He had been absent from my life for so long - taken by the elves years ago but I was going to see him again. I looked up to my mother and the look on her face caused the smile to vanish from mine.

A single tear rolled down my mother’s cheek as I looked at her. Her voice though was steady as she spoke, “When do we leave?”

“The sooner the better,” it was sister Gutig that spoke now, “The elves are already searching for you.”

As if to reinforce her point, a loud bang shook our home so violently that my three-legged chair collapsed beneath me.

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