The Elves Who Live Under The Sun

“Mother you came!” A red haired elf looked up from the babe swaddled in his arms. His excitement to see his mother was tempered only by the squirming bundle in hand. The healing hut was carved into a mighty old tree and as with anything in the elven lands was beautiful and perfect. The shelves carved into the thing were aligned with calming works of art, and various idols and talismans to encourage healing in those who stayed.

The doorway moved with the curve of the tree and so the tall woman in the doorway hand to slant to properly enter. She was an old thing, though only an elf could tell. To our eyes, she couldn't be more than twenty-five.

“Grandma! Grandma!” Cried out two young elflings. They were not bound to their seats like their father and so stormed the door.

Hilda laughed joyously and bent down to hug her prosperity. Their mother had finally managed to dent her genetics, diluting her red hair into a vibrant pink for these two. Hilda's husband had tried his best with his own blonde hair, but their son was the spitting image of his mother. She hugged the younglings warmly and whispered in a sinister voice. “It would be wise not to get between an old lady and a baby!”

The two giggled and screamed playfully before diving behind their mother’s bed.

Hilda took a moment before approaching the baby to turn an affectionate smile to the exhausted elf lying in bed. She was pale and had dark rings beneath her eyes. The birth had not been easy. No surprise there, this had been the woman’s third birth in ten years. This for a society that usually waited 40 years between children. “Lolwyn how do you fair?”

“Dreadful.” The mother croaked. She put a shaking hand on the pink scalp of her oldest boy. “Now I have three of these feral beasts to tame.”

Hilda grinned and placed her gloved hand on the mother. “Blame me for their feral behavior. I am queen bear.” She chuckled. “But blame my son for the quantity. You do know what causes children don’t you?”

Lolwyn favored Hilda with a weak smile. “I blame that on you too. It’s you who told me if your adventures with the dwarfs. I was a good elf maiden until you infected me with the idea of a big family.”

Hilda brushed Lolwyn’s Fair blonde hair away from her face. “My condolences.”

The mother smiled softly and closed her eyes. “You’ve paid the proper amount of deference to me, mother.” She whispered. “You may now have the baby.”

“Eeeeeeee!” Hilda squealed and held out her hands to her son. “Gimme gimme gimme!”

Smiling Hildwyn handed his son off to his mother.

“Oh!” Hilda sighed as she took the boy. “Look at you, my little tulip!” She kissed the fussy babe’s pink hair. She began to rock and sigh, then she gave her son a frown. “Of course, I came, how could anyone fail to marvel at your absolute brood?”

Lolwyn chuckled sleepily from her bed.

Hildwyn seized the chance to be on his feet. “I thought the novelty might wear off after three.”

“Hush.” She tapped him with her hip. As if by magic, the fussy babe was sleeping as masterfully as his mother now. “I wouldn’t miss you.” She whispered to the boy. "Not for the world.”

She found her place in the chair and many laughing hours passed. Lolwyn awoke only for brief sessions with her healer. The kids were bored and demanded to hear one of her tales of adventure, and the old elf dusted off some ancient material to soothe them.

Around dusk, Lolwyn awoke for a feeding. Hilda had the kids on her lap and Hildwyn was faithfully attending to his wife.

The peace was broken by a chirping bird. It flew around the room one and landed on Hilda’s armrest. The little creature was made of paper. “A message?” She held out her hand, and the bird hopped onboard and unraveled into an unwrinkled piece of paper. Hilda scanned the paper for a moment.

“What does it say?” Hildwyn asked.

Hilda shrugged. “The Prince is summoning the eight princesses, The Quest is to begin immediately.” She said this with the calmness he'd come to expect of his mother. She'd had all her trials in her youth, and for a dozen or so decades now seemed capable of everything.

"That’s great news!” Hildwyn beamed.

Hilda was silent. She graced the room with a slow once-over, a gentle smile on her lips. She looked almost serene. Her many ages passed behind her eyes, who knows what relics she was drawing upon to put her in such a queer mood.

“What is it?”

Hilda kissed her grandchildren. “Oh nothing, this just made me think about how quickly a life can happen to you… I’m already 300 years old.”