Riley Flynn and the Runaway Fairy by M.J. Storm

Author:M.J. Storm [Storm, M.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cranberry Lane Press
Published: 2014-11-04T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

Riley, Dillany, and Etri were shown into Larissa’s tent. The decorations were very plain, to say the best of the situation. Riley would have expected the tent of a queen to be laid out with expensive furniture, artwork, and maybe gold and jewels. Instead she saw simple wooden chairs and a table that all looked like they had been hastily crafted, perhaps from wood taken from nearby trees in the last few days. It did make sense, Riley thought. The elves wouldn’t have had time to pack their things when Cinna’s walls fell. They’d have taken whatever they could have gotten their hands on and run for it.

A large map lay spread out on the table. A number of carved wooden figures sat on it. Riley had seen a similar setup in a documentary about World War II. Some of the figures most likely represented troop positions, probably those of Alinora’s army. Others likely showed the positions held by the elves. Riley wondered what Larissa’s troop strength was like. She surely didn’t have enough soldiers to challenge Alinora in a head-to-head battle, but she must have some kind of plan. Unless, of course, the elves simply planned to hide in the forest forever.

Larissa gestured for them to take seats. Riley sat down with Dillany perched on her shoulder. Etri took a chair a few feet away. Larissa waited until they were settled in, then took a chair of her own across the table from them. Talgren, who had accompanied them into the tent at Larissa’s request, took a standing position just behind his queen’s right shoulder.

“You must be thirsty,” Larissa noted. She glanced at a tall elf standing in the corner of the tent and raised her eyebrows. The elf quickly crossed to another table holding a jug and several wooden cups. A moment later he presented Riley with a cup of crystal-clear water. The queen was right, Riley was very thirsty, but she raised the cup to her shoulder and tipped it just enough that Dillany could lean forward and take a drink first.

The little fairy took several large swallows and sighed deeply. “Thank you,” she said, wiping her mouth with her forearm.

Riley raised the cup to her own lips and took a drink. As she sat it down on the table she noticed the elf queen was smiling warmly at her, approval in her eyes. Had that been some kind of test? Had the queen been waiting to see if she’d drink first, or offer the cup to Dillany?

“So,” Larissa said, “about this interesting story of yours. Why don’t you start from the beginning?”

Riley thought it over for a moment and decided that while there was little point in lying, she wouldn’t start quite at the beginning. Telling people they were storybook characters seemed rude. But she’d come close enough. “I’m not from this world,” she told the queen. “I was transported here, somehow. I have been trying to find a way to get back home, and

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