Chapter 49: The Flori Palace
They stood on the edge of a cliff as the mighty wind whipped across their faces. The view was so spectacular that even Axel did not complain about their height or how close they were to the edge that would, of course, see them to their deaths if they ever slipped.
Before them, at a great distance, stood the Flori palace. It was nothing like they ever dreamed of. The Flori- the woodland elves were rumoured to live in the trees, hence the name, woodland elves. But before them was a vast waterfall, double the size of the one Evanna jumped down. The palace sat in the middle, balancing on top of it, part of it was on a colossal rock lodged between the water, but half of the palace floated above the air where the water cascaded down.
Not only was the placing of the palace staggering, but the architecture was stunning. The elves were the finest in all their work, from swords to materials and creating such structures. The building was nothing like Evanna’s palace or the castles she had been to in the human lands. In front of her, the building had many white trees growing up and merging into the white bricks that formed part of it. Nearer the top were golden domes and towers that had white roots twisting and turning in and out of it.
At the front, where the water fell, appeared to be a vast open window with a smaller white tree growing up the high floor to ceiling window. However, even after squinting, they couldn’t see further into the hall or the room behind the tree. There was also a long thin bridge that circled the whole palace; Evanna presumed the sight from the bridge was breathtaking.
She tipped forwards slightly to get a better view and immediately felt someone’s hands on her. She tried not to roll her eyes but didn’t bother moving them off her as she wanted to see if there was more to the palace. From looking over the edge more, she could see near the bottom where the river continued; there was also a few villages by the side with boats. Evanna could also see houses built into the trees, so part of the rumours was true; some elves lived in the trees. But others lived on stirrup houses planted on the river.
Evanna leaned back and looked to her right to see that Ronan grabbed her by the waist. He dropped his hands with a sheepish smile on his lips, to which she responded with a grateful smile of her own, making him visibly relax. When she looked back to the view, she noted that there was only one way to get to the palace: via the long bridge that connected to it from the side. She bent her knees, so she sat on the heels of her feet and placed her hand on her chin while she began to calculate their next plan of action.
"We need to find out if that bridge is the only way to and from the palace," Cilv said, speaking Evanna’s thoughts out loud.
She nodded her head in agreement, then looked up from her position on hearing Axel’s voice, "If that’s the case, it will be harder to get in unnoticed. We may have to stake out for quite some time. This part needs to be planned thoroughly because once we set off to get that gem, there’s no going back."
A long silence ascended them as the group all seemed deep in thought while the sun began to set, and with it, the sky became a roaring fire as the orange hues shone down on the forest and the palace their eyes were set on. It made their view that much more spectacular; the palace’s architecture and its placement among the trees gave it a fairy tale quality that Evanna smiled to. This was something she would never have seen if she stayed at her own palace.
Sighing, Evanna turned back around and cast her eyes on the cave; she had been ignoring her senses about it since it didn’t appear to be urgent. The view of the palace and the surrounding beauty of the forest and sunset was magnificent. But as she approached the cave, she couldn’t get rid of the cold feeling and strong pull she received as her slow steps halted at the entrance. Evanna could almost hear a whisper slither through her mind, but she shook her head.
Evanna..