That morning, Preon forced me to stay in bed again. I decided not to cause him any trouble and remained in the room, alone once more.

  After a few minutes he returned, accompanied by a woman older than him. She was shorter than Preon, with black hair that reached her shoulders, a face full of wrinkles, but a warm and gentle gaze. Perhaps she was his mother? As soon as she laid eyes on me, she began saying something, bringing her hands to her mouth with an expression of disbelief in her eyes.

  I felt uncomfortable at that moment. Now at least two humans knew about my existence.

  I heard them speaking animatedly. I would have given anything to understand what they were saying, but the only word I recognized was my name.

  The woman then approached me hesitantly and, smiling, simply said, “Bianca,” pointing to herself.

  Her name?

  “Bi… Bianca,” I repeated, looking at her questioningly, and saw her eyes light up.

  She stepped away and gestured for me to follow her. I looked at Preon as if asking for permission, but he was busy staring out the window. I stood up, and Bianca led the way toward the door.

  The room I had slept in was the first one along the corridor. On the left were stairs leading down to the ground floor, but the woman opened a door on the opposite side and waited for me to enter.

  The room was as large as the bedroom I had slept in, with one difference, it was completely empty. There was only a huge mirror on one wall and a chair with clothes placed on top of it.

  As I approached the mirror, I saw myself for the first time in a long, long time.

  My body had completely wasted away. My skin was pale, and my face hollow. My eyes, once a deep honey color, had grown dull. I touched my ribs, which almost protruded through my skin. Looking at myself like that, I couldn’t even understand how I was still able to walk. I truly looked like a corpse.

  For a moment I wondered if the two humans didn’t realize I was an elf, but while silver hair might perhaps be explained away, my long pointed ears betrayed me.

  While I was observing myself, Bianca began rummaging through the fabrics on the chair. At some point she turned toward me, muttering something under her breath, looking satisfied.

  She handed me the clothes. I took them and looked around uncertainly. She grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the room, then pointed at a door while saying something.

  I walked hesitantly toward it and entered.

  It was a bathroom, the smallest of the three rooms I had seen so far. In front of me was a bathtub filled with warm water, large enough to lie down in.

  It almost looked like a mirage.

  Without even checking whether it was meant for me, I left the clothes on a stool beside the tub. Even though Bianca was still there, I undressed.

  The water was the perfect temperature.

  Probably the work of a fire rune or some other enchantment, but at that moment the fact that a human knew magic did not bother me.

  I tried to arrange the clothes I had been given as best I could with the help of the small mirror in the bathroom. Once I felt satisfied, I went out to look for Preon or Bianca.

  I chose the lower floor after making sure they were not in the room where I had slept.

  Going down the stairs proved more difficult than expected. My legs hurt, and with every step my head throbbed. I was about to step on the last stair when I placed my foot wrong and lost my balance.

  I was already preparing to hit the floor when something stopped me.

  I was leaning against Preon’s chest. He was holding me up.

  I felt my cheeks grow warm and thanked him, even though I knew he wouldn’t understand.

  Without letting go, he placed one arm behind my back and took my hand, helping me walk.

  He led me into a spacious room. On the left wall was a fireplace, with a large sofa and two armchairs in front of it. On the right stood a table surrounded by several chairs.

  He made me sit in the closest armchair, and only then did I notice Bianca standing in a corner of the room beside another man.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  He seemed about her age, with hair beginning to turn white and a long gray beard. He was shorter than Preon and more stout.

  The three of them began talking among themselves, occasionally glancing at me.

  Not knowing what to do or think, I decided to remain silent and listen.

  After a few minutes they moved to the table, and I turned to see what they were doing. They kept talking, their voices sounding agitated.

  Were they worried about me? Or perhaps… afraid of me?

  As absurd as it seemed, the thought that they might be the ones afraid of me gave me back a little confidence. Even though at that moment I resembled a wounded cub more than anything else, the fact remained that I was one of the greatest mages Elyve had ever seen.

  Even if it had been a long time since I had dared to use any spell, afraid of being found by the ghosts of my past.

  Yes… the proud and devastating part of me was simply on vacation. Surely I hadn’t lost all those years of study.

  A slight change in tone caught my attention.

  Preon stood up from the table and left the room, returning almost immediately with some sheets of paper and a feather pen with ink. He looked for my gaze and pointed to the empty chair beside him.

  I stood up, guessing what he intended to do, and soon found myself sitting at a table with three humans.

  Preon took the first sheet from the thin stack and began drawing houses. In the top corner he wrote: “AGENE.”

  Was that the place where I was now?

  He drew a stick figure next to a house and, pointing at it, said, “Preon.”

  Then he drew two more figures in a nearby house and said, “Bianca, David,” pointing to the third man at the table.

  The man smiled and echoed him, pointing at himself. “David.”

  So that must have been his name.

  Preon took another sheet and began drawing another figure with a house beside it. He handed it to me, and I noticed he had drawn pointed ears, like mine.

  Was that supposed to be me?

  I looked at him, confused.

  He scratched his chin with a troubled expression and took the sheet back. Then he drew many more figures, other elves, with other houses.

  Was he asking me which one was my home?

  I took the paper.

  I looked at it sadly.

  A home… it had been a long time since I had one.

  I picked up the feather pen he had left near me. With a slightly trembling hand, I began erasing all the houses and figures. I left only the first one, the figure that represented me, removing the house beside it.

  From the looks on all three of their faces, I understood they grasped my situation.

  And to think it’s only because of you that I’m reduced to this.

  Preon stared at the messy sheet for a moment, then began tearing it into pieces. He left the lone figure intact, picked it up, and placed it on top of the first sheet, the one representing their village, beside the drawing of himself.

  “Arya, Preon,” he said, pointing at the house on the paper while looking at me.

  Did he want… me to live with him in that human village?

  I couldn’t understand if that was really what he meant. Surely I had misunderstood. The idea was so absurd it didn’t feel like it could possibly be true.

  For so long I had wanted to finally feel at home and live in peace, but a village of humans…

  That was too much.

  What if it was all a trap?

  I felt my heart begin to pound faster. I wanted to leave that place as soon as possible. But I had no idea where to go to return to Elyve.

  I looked at Preon.

  For a moment the world seemed to disappear.

  He was looking at me in an indescribable way. I felt swallowed by his eyes. He smiled, and I felt warmth spread inside me.

  With effort I looked away, lowering my gaze to the drawing.

  I called myself an idiot, though I couldn’t decide whether it was for looking away… or for the thought that the idea of staying with him was beginning to take shape in my mind.

  I couldn’t really give in just because of a glance.

  I couldn’t… right?

  With a sigh, I took a blank sheet of paper.

  I drew a snowflake and a flower at the top. Beneath the snowflake, I sketched two figures resembling a man, him, and me inside a house. Under the house, I tried to copy the word AGENE.

  Beneath the flower, I drew only the human.

  I wasn’t sure he would understand what I meant, but it was worth trying.

  I handed him the drawing.

  At first he seemed confused. He showed it to the other two, and Bianca said something that made Preon’s face light up.

  They spoke briefly among themselves, nodding.

  They all seemed to agree on something.

  I would stay with them only until the end of winter.

  Then, in spring, I would leave.

  Perhaps it was a decision made too impulsively, but I had dreamed for too long of being able to stop for a while and rest. Maybe this meeting had been a sign.

  I didn’t know exactly what time of year it was, but even if it had just been the beginning of autumn, I would remain for no more than half a year. And if something went wrong, I could run away at any moment.

  I had no idea how the other people would react, if they didn’t already know about me, or how I would manage to communicate.

  But for the moment, I didn’t want to think about it.

  Even if it was difficult, I wanted to start living again.

  Even if, for now, it would be among humans.

  Me, an elf, invited to live in a village of humans…

  That sentence kept echoing in my head, and the more I repeated it, the more absurd it seemed.

  I didn’t know what would happen in the next few days, so I decided to stop thinking about it. For now, I sensed no hostility or danger.

  It won’t all fall apart if I stop for a while after all these years.