The Dryad 59 Timeless

To be honest, Lillian was overly concerned for my health as we boarded the carriage. "You should not be up on your feet when you are sick. Hold my hand, I'll walk with you my dear," she said, holding out a hand. As she stepped up into the carriage, she turned to Leafia, "Your name is Leafy right? Come sit by me, let's give Miss Laurel a place to lie down."

We did as she said and sat in the carriage. I was reluctant to lie down as I thought this would be seen as rude, but…. Lillian gently placed her hand on my shoulder and laid me down. I did not want to fight her but I tried my best to not roll my eyes while Leafia was once again biting her lips. I might have to make her some medicine when this is all over as she is likely to get sores from all the stifling she has been doing. After I was laid down I said, "Her real name is Leafia, I just call her Leafy for short."

"I do not mind if you call me Leafy too. I have gotten used to it." She hastily added.

"Then Leafy," Lillian said with a small smile, "why are you still wearing your hood inside the carriage? I have to think it would be more comfortable to take it off." I had lowered my hood while eating earlier so this did not come up. But it might have saved us some ha.s.sle if I left it up since Lillian would not have noticed that I turned green. Though I guess that was not a bad thing, since we now had a place to stay because of it. I suppose everything worked out in the end.

Every time this issue about her hood comes up, she looks at me for guidance, I thought bemusedly. We are not trying to hide the fact that she is an elf, so I just nodded to her. Leafia cautiously lowered her hood. Finally being able to get a good look at Leafia's face, Lillian exclamned, "You are every bit as attractive as miss Laurel here. I can see why you might be tempted to hide. The men would be all over you!" After she looked a little more intently, I heard a gasp come from Lillian.

"I did not mean to alarm you, but as you can see, Leafy is an elf," I said, hoping there was no hostility between the races. "If this causes any issues, please let us know. We do not mean to impose on you."

"No, I don't-- mind," She said slightly haltingly, "I just have have never seen an elf before. Part of me was not sure if they really existed. I have always more than half a.s.sumed 'elf-made' was just a label people used to charge more money for things."

"I am guessing that with most of the things you see, your guess is true. At least my village does not trade much with outsiders. We do trade with the 'People of the Mountain' when we need ore."

"Is it really true that elves live a long time?" Lillian asked her eyes slightly sparkling.

"I guess so, because Gray is a lot younger than me though we look about the same age. Though I think he would look younger if he lost the beard."

"I know this is improper of me, but could I please know your age?" The excitement on her face was growing to look like a child who had just found a new toy.

"Um, I guess I don't mind." Leafia kept looking at me. Why would I care what she tells Lillian about elf life? "I should have just turned 44 a few days ago."

"Wait, you never told me it was your birthday. Isn't that something important?" I protested to Leafia.
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"I guess for some people, but I have never had anyone to spend it with so I have gotten used to not celebrating it," she responded sheepishly.

"You are only a year younger than me, and you don't look a day over 25. Life simply is not fair." Lillian said mournfully. "I did not even look that good when I was your a…. I mean, when I was twenty!" Lillian did not look bad for someone in her forties. Her skin was still fairly smooth and she only had a few wrinkles. But what could she do? Everyone grows older over time. Then again… I guess that is not true for myself and the other spirits.

We rode in silence for several minutes before Lillian asked, "I have been wondering. Why are you, Leafy, taking lessons from someone who is clearly younger than you?"

Leafia coughed at this one. I guess that is something we did not consider in our cover story. Why would an elf twice my apparent age bother to take lessons from a human? I tried to give Leafia a shrug to show her that I was stumped too. After a moment she said, "Laurel is especially talented at magic. I was originally just one of her guards," as she said this she scrunching up her nose to scowl at me, to get back at not calling her one of my guards earlier, "but I sat in on her lessons out of curiosity and it turns out that I have some talent for plant magic."

"Leafy, you are being too modest. Even for an elf you show great talent." And there was one thing I felt I should clear up. "I am also older than I look. My guess is that my strong affinity for plant magic has somehow slowed down my aging." This was not a lie, it just did not tell the whole extent of the issue. I don't think you would be too far off to call me 'plant magic that gained a consciousness'.

"Then how old are you?" Lillian asked bluntly. She then quickly covered her mouth, realizing her question was inappropriate.

I only smiled and responded, "A lady must have her secrets. I am sure you are aware of that." She looked slightly disappointed at my response but quickly recovered her serene composure.

"But of course, Miss Laurel," she replied, inclining her head slightly. "We will be arriving shortly."

My attention turned to the buildings around us. Ma.s.sive structures with window after window glittering with gla.s.s and embellished with stiffly manicured formal gardens. It dazzled the eye, but it felt very bleak to me, devoid of any spiritual energy. After a few more minutes of silence, we pa.s.sed through the gates of a small estate near the center of the city. It was a 'modest' three story house. Could you call a well-kept three story house modest? Well, compared to the surroundings, it was quite modest. This house was not gaudy or overbearing like much of the surroundings. The thing that I liked the most about this house was a cool trickle of wild plant-based energy flowing toward me from somewhere within the gates. In my near-starved state, the 'scent' of it was almost intoxicating. Was my mouth watering? Have spent too long with these mortals…?