The

Silver Rose

Trilogy
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By:
C.S. de Souza

Illustrated by: ???
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Chapter 1
Silver Rose
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Long, long ago there lived a little girl and her elderly mother. They lived in a beautiful cottage miles from any kind of civilization.
The cottage was in the midst of a large pine-forest. The wild ferns grew like untamed grass and small patches of bluebells were spotted everywhere. One little stream with leaf shaped stepping-stones was but a few yards from the beautiful yet humble abode. The door outlined in honeysuckles and morning glories was a sight to see. A small neatly pebbled path from the front door fading into the lush green forest, was lined with the most delightful wild flowers of all kinds, it was unbelievably beautiful.
Now, this girl is Silver Rose and her mother, Forest Dove, lived in this beautiful small cottage for many years.
Silver Rose was very small, about two or three, when her handsome loving young father vanished. Since then their bond between mother and daughter became tighter. She was a very smart and attractive girl; she was never disrespectful or disobedient. She always did what she was told no matter what. She was a helpful, loving girl, whose temperament was so sweet. She was very good to her mother, who was ageing day by day.
Silver Rose is now sixteen with dark blue sparkling eyes and wavy brown hair that extended to her slender delicate waist. Her skin was soft and had a little tan from working out in the garden. The two became self-sufficient in many ways: they taught themselves how to hunt, fish, build when needed, and fight.
Forest Dove had trained to fight for many years; she started when she was a teenager and became an elite warrior. She taught Silver Rose all she new, which was a lot. Silver Roes became unbelievably good at handling two spears and a crossbow.

And so the story begins…

One beautiful crisp morning, Silver Rose got out of her warm, cozy bed and started her usual routine around the house. After she made a berry and cream breakfast with warm milk and honey, she woke up her mother and helped her get ready for the day. As they started there lovely fresh breakfast, the first light of dawn peaked through the frost painted windows. The birds started their fine, merry tunes and the bees begun their work collecting nectar.
Silver Rose was a superb cook; she had learned from her mother the secret way to cooking. Forest Dove was also a delightful cook because before she took up fighting she had a job in a duke’s house to make all the mane meals for guest. But as she got too old, Silver Rose took over the cooking and did just as well. When breakfast was about over, the sun looked like a ripe orange in a pool of deep blue water. All the flowers had opened up and the frost was turning to a blanket of stars carefully lain on the unmarked green grass.
As Silver Rose was washing up the breakfast dishes, the frost on the window panes was starting to evaporate from the warmth of the sun. She happened to be looking out the kitchen window when she saw the cutest light-brown and white rabbit. The funny thing was that it seemed to be looking right at the house. Silver Rose was trying to open the window but the creaking was so loud that the rabbit took of running into one of the many patches of bluebells. When the rabbit turned around Silver Rose caught a glimpse of a lovely butterfly on its back.
She turned around to see if her mother had seen it but it was noticeable that she hadn’t. She really wanted to go out and find that cute rabbit with the astonishing butterfly on its back. So Silver Rose was determined to go outside, she went to her mother and asked,
“Mama, may I go for a walk in the forest this morning?”
Her mother was sitting in a comfortable rocking-chair near the window with a red shawl wrapped loosely around her tender shoulders. She paused her knitting and raised her aged gray head to answer, putting on a smile, she said,
“Of course dear, but…” she trailed off slowly turning her head to look out the window beside her to see a small mountain blue bird land delicately on a branch in one of the nearest pine trees in their captivating backyard. Her face looked clouded with sadness and grief. She had remembered the exact day when her husband disappeared, his last words where, “I’ll be back before sunset, I’m just going for a walk … I love you” and blew an affectionate kiss to her. Everything seemed as if it was happing again at that very moment. Forest Dove started to cry but bit her lip to try and hold back her tears. The silence was broken when Silver Rose questioned.
“But… what Mama?” she asked with a puzzled look on her sweet smiling face.
“But be back within the hour…..please” replied her mother with a stern face letting one of her tears role down on one of her warm gentle cheeks, she slowly broke into a soft tender smile and said, ”I love you”.
“I love you too, Mama” said Silver Rose with a large grin that extended to both ends of her lovely face. “I will be back before you know it.”
“Excellent” replied her mother, whipping the tear that had been waiting on the side of her jaw and she turned back to her knitting.
Silver Rose slipped on her black walking shoes and donned her blue velvet cloak that complemented her hair and eyes so gorgeously. She walked over to the door and opened it to the bright welcoming morning sun. She stepped outside onto the pebbled walkway and closed the door behind her, leaving her in a magical wonderland. She took in a deep breath to take a grasp of the fresh morning breeze and released it feeling immensely magnificent.

Chapter 2
The Four Elf men and the Swamp Goblin
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Silver Rose started to walk down the path and stopped to admire the stunning wild flowers that marvelously glittered in the suns light. Silver Rose could hear the small stream running with the birds singing and her mother humming her favorite tune in the house; it was all like music to her ears. As she headed to the pine forest to start her walk she had to walk between the two evergreens that stood tall on either side of the pathway. They were solid with needles and seemed to resemble two guards guarding the charming house. Silver Rose walked into the pine forest finding it absolutely spectacular.
There, in front of her was the most beautiful pathway she had ever seen. It was lit up by the sun’s rays and the ground was layered with dried pinecones and needles. The smell of pine-trees with a tint of wild flower was brilliant, the rest of the forest seemed to be a little dark but you could still see quite a distance away. She saw little birds pass over the path and a family of raccoons scuttle a little ways down the path. Silver Rose had totally forgot why she had come out side until a little while later as she was walking, admiring the breathtaking forest when see saw the same little rabbit with the butterfly on its back, it hopped out onto the path and looked directly at Silver Rose, it looked as if it was wanting her to follow it.
She felt a little ridiculous knowing that she was going to follow a rabbit, but she did. It took her to a large lake where she would go fishing sometimes with her mother. The lake was unquestionably remarkable with the reflections of the sky, trees and mountains in the water. It was so beautiful that it was worth dying for. It was the same place were her father proposed to her mother. Silver Rose was taking it all in when she realized that the rabbit was gone. She searched high and low for him but couldn’t find him anywhere.
Just as she decided to set off home and say that was enough for one morning she heard music. It sounded similar to her mother’s voice but this was a little higher. She had never heard that tune before it sounded like something a Wood-elf would sing. But they never traveled in these parts. As the music didn’t sound that far, Silver Rose took running to find out who was singing that lovely tune. She hurried but whenever she got closer it would die out and grow louder somewhere else. She slowed down to a slow walk and thought they were fire-flies. But fire-flies don’t light up in different colors. She new she was getting somewhere close to a special area in the woods. She hurried to a fast jog seeing that the lights grew more and more. Silver Rose came to a huge clearing with a massive acorn tree exactly in the middle. There were three pinecone trees in a triangle on the edges if the clearing. A ring of red and white mushrooms rounded the tree in a perfect circle.
She was judging whether or nor to walk into the circle. She had heard in many fairy stories abut the famous ring of mushrooms, but had never heard of what became of the little girl or boy who entered the ring. Did they appear in another enchanting world surrounded in beautiful glamorous fairies and sparkling white and yellow daisies or did you walk into a normal tree bonking your head or even stubbing your toe? She thought that a “fairy ring” could be anywhere so maybe this wasn’t one of them. Silver Rose took her chance and put her small foot in the ring. She shut her eyes tightly. The leaves around her started to move and a soft wind also started to pick up. E very thing started to spin slowly up in the air, than it all stopped and everything fell to the ground. She was staring intensely all around see that the big oak tree was gone. The sky seemed green and brown with a tint of blue.
Suddenly, four elf-men dressed in silver, white and red with golden hair extending past their shoulders came out of now were pointing engraved elfish swords and spears at her.
One of them took a large step toward stepped forward holding a sword to her throat, “Why have you entered The West Autumn Fairy’s realm?” Another demanded. “And who are you?”
Silver Rose was too terrified to answer by this sudden advance of the elf-men. She didn’t know what to do; nothing seemed to be coming to mind. All she new was that she had to defend herself…. with something. One the ground behind the elf at the back was a long thick looking branch which was the only thing near by, as she was judging on how to get it but than all time was lost, that second the elf men were getting closer and closer, it was too late. Silver Rose acted quickly and sized one of the spears from the closest elf. She did a few swift moves causing the elf-men to stager back. One of them was holding his hand in pain. Seeing this, that she had put a large gash there she dropped the spear and dashed across the clearing to a path way that looked familiar to her. She picked up her pace hearing quick steps behind her catching up. About half an hour later she was slowing down holding her aching side and putting her head back gasping for breath. She was too scared to stop running and to see the beautiful different colors of The Autumn realm; she didn’t want her exhaustion or weariness to stop her. But later down the path the exhaustion took over and she collapsed on a pile of dry autumn leaves behind a tall, wide, tree on the side of the road. She was heaving and gulping for more air she could feel her heart thumping wildly in her throat.
From all the frantic running, Silver Rose broke down and stared to cry over what had just happened, she was lost, she was almost attacked…. and by mistake, hurt an elf. She would have never have dreamed of hurting anyone.
As Silver Rose was getting her breath back she noticed that the forest was truly hushed, there were no birds or any little creatures. She wrapped her cloak about herself to stay warm from the chilled autumn air and she than put her hood on so she could put her head down, as soon as did she closed her eyes giving off a sigh of relief felling a sense of security, than she fell fast a sleep. Unexpectedly, tired Silver Rose was sadly awoken by the shouting men and the ear-piercing sound of the ugliest little creature. Silver Rose pocked her head out behind the tree and saw the ugly little thing. It looked small and muscular. It was an average creature with eyes of a milky white. It had no hair but its teeth were hideous, they where sharp, rotten and looked like a deadly bite.
As they where getting closer Silver Rose was terrified she didn’t want to get caught up in fight again with the elf guards. She pocked her head out once more to see how far they where from the tree she was hiding be hind. But as she did, the little creature’s milky white eyes met hers and she pulled her head back immediately. At that moment the goblin stopped in his tracks causing the elves to stop too.
“Why are you stopping now goblin, are you’re your feet hurting you…or are we going to fast for your little legs? Demanded the head elf, giving the rope a tug witch bounded the neck and hands of the goblin. The goblin didn’t answer but cocked its head and in a sort of whisper that Silver Rose could hear.
“Venom saw you, little flower” the goblin said in an evil manner.
“Alright goblin, who do you see and where is she, is it another one of your folk?” Questioned the head elf…. “She!” the elf remembered the girl and looked at his hand in pain; it was covered in dried blood. `
“Lorthorn”, He commanded to one of the other elves, “Go have a look ahead to see if this little flower of his is still there.”.
“She is not mine… but will be soon,” said the goblin in a cheeky tone of voice.
“What do you mean?” Asked a juvenile elf, “My Lord Gwendolyn, the fiend lies,” the young elf turned to the goblin and said insultingly “you brainless foul creature”. Still in anger, elf took his spear butt and hit the goblin on the back of the head causing blood to flow. But no sound came out of the goblin; he was still staring at the tree.
As the elf approached the tree, Sliver Rose couldn’t think right. She was so frightened; she didn’t want to be caught. She darted out behind the tree bumping into the elf that caught her, grabbing her both upper-arms vigorously. Silver Rose froze and stared in the eyes of the young elf-man who stared at hers in return. He smiled and said in a slight whisper “Its ok, I won’t hurt you”
Silver Rose didn’t seem to hear him, her heart was beating too loudly in her head. She tried to run out of his grasp but he held firm and didn’t’ want to let go. She struggled and struggled to get free, she ended up stomping on his foot, which made him let go with one hand to hold his foot. She took the advantage with her free hand to punch him in the stomach. The elf immediately let go and fell to the ground holding his throbbing stomach.
Silver Rose jumped out onto the pathway noticing that the group of elves had seen her she dashed up the path. She heard them shout a few things but she couldn’t hear them. She wasn’t sure if she should glance back but she did… as she turned her head to glance behind her, her foot caught a root and she tripped. As her body hit the ground her head hit a slab of rock sticking out of the turf. She rolled over on her back felling the warm blood trickle from her forehead down past her ear. Every thing started to go dark and blurry when she heard muffled voices and two heads appear over her, she saw a blurry hand appear reaching for her head and she felt an affectionate hand soothingly touch her cheek with the utmost care, than everything went suddenly dark.

Chapter 3
A new Place
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When Silver Rose awoke she found herself lying on a stone floor in the middle of a cold dark room. There was a small cat-size window high up in the wall letting as much light in as it possibly could. Underneath the window was a damp leaf bed with a straw pillow. On the other side of the room was a small table with an unlit candle on it and a small chair was but a few inches from the table.
Silver Rose was cold and stared to get to her feet to lie on the bed but her head ached with such intense pain whenever she moved a muscle. So instead of getting up and walking to the bed she slowly crawled to it. She warped her cloak around her to keep warm, and as she lay her head down on the pillow she faintly heard footsteps advance to her prison cell. Everything started to go blurry again when she saw her door open and two figures approach her, than everything slowly faded to black.

Silver Rose awoke for the second time, but this time she wasn’t in a cold room but in a warm room with sunlight streaming through a wall size window. The room looked like it was made of light red wood bark. Decorating the walls and ceiling were red, orange and gold autumn leaves. She sat up in her bed to take a better look at the room. The room was purely dazzling. She looked to her side and saw a small table with a glass of crystal clear water on a gold and green leaf shaped saucer. Was she dreaming?
Silver Rose knew she wasn’t dreaming, because the pain in her forehead still intensely hurt. She lied her head back down and stared at the blue sky through the skylight in her room’s ceiling.
About an hour later….
A young elf walked in to the room carrying a tall crystal pitcher and bowl with a folded burgundy face towel neatly laid on his arm. As he set them on the dresser beside the door, he whispered,
“How do you feel?”
“Fine” she replied scarcely daring to move but than continued “Thank you.”
“Why am I here?” Silver Rose requested sitting up in her bed and arranging the pillow in a comfortable position for her back.
“Please……no questions.” replied the elf.
Looking rather uneasy, she didn’t say anything and let the elf tend to her head wound. A little while later, while the elf was cleaning up, she decided to dare another question and asked, “What is your name…..that is if you can tell me?”
“Elendor, son of Lord Gwendolyn,” he replied striating his broad shoulders.
“Now, please ring this bell when you are better and felling up to a journey”.
He took out from under his arm a silver bell and put it on the table beside her.
“A journey, Wha…..what do you mean?” Silver Rose questioned in a slight frightened whisper.
The elf turned and left the room without a small glance or word.
Silver Rose always had a sense of adventure and longed to be in a place where there were princes fighting dragons and princesses locked in high towers awaiting there handsome princes to save them.
She slowly stepped out of bed and put one of her many pillows where she had lain, than she covered it over with her blanket. So it looked like she was still in bed.
Silver Rose quickly donned her blue cloak that was laid at the end of her bed and she tiptoed out of the room. Before totally exposing herself to both ends of the hallway she looked both ways and ran down the one with the more light.
She wasn’t afraid of getting caught, but was afraid to see that little creature again. So, she kept walking down the hallways, being constantly cautious of her surroundings.
She finally came to a large empty room where the walls where made of clear crystal. She walked to the center if the room, turning and turning and taking it all in. She cried, “Hello, hello is anyone here?” She looked at the ceiling, which was like a enormous dome, and ran to the massive windows and, looking out, she saw the most beautiful city of her life. I was like an autumn wonder land with crystal houses. While she was admire ring the enchanting view she saw a glimpse of a small figure standing still watching her…

She turned her head instantly and there she saw the only thing she had dreaded to see even once more, the little hideous goblin.
“Oh no, what are you doing here?” She asked
Ahhh., my dear I am here because of you, why else do you think I would let my self get caught.”
He gave her one of his sly smiles and started to walk towards her. As he was approaching her ,
She cried, “ stay away from me you little…
Right than they both heard a troop of guards marching to their room, he darted away to a door in the wall. She ran after him not wanting to be caught by the guard’s either, but upon reaching the door it was quickly locked. She hit the door several times with her fists and than with her shoulder one after another she rattled the handle as well several times. she was about to give up when the door went flying open and she landed on the floor with a “bang” and the door was shut at once after she hit the ground. There was a small window in the wall witch let in enough light to have a good look around the room.
She jump up instantaneously and looked around to find the goblin, but he was nowhere in sight. She walked over to the window and tried to open it, but she noticed that the lock had not been messed with. Was the goblin was still in the room? Silver rose felt a chill run up and down her spine leaving her with goose bumps.
She slowly turned around feeling that someone had to be in the room with her. Than a click sound broke the silence, someone had locked the door….from the inside.
“I know you’re in here Venom, I can smell you, why don’t you step out and show yourself, you little coward!”
“No you can’t smell me, because I am not Venom.”
Just than a young elf stepped out of the dark shadows, he was tall but his face looked as if it was made of iron or rock with skin neatly plastered to it. His jaw was stiff and shoulders brood, he looked like he was caught doing something wrong …
“Oh, I am so sorry I thought...I thought you were…..”
She was cut off by the elf when she saw him hold his finger to his lips and looked over his sho ulder to the darkest corner of the room. Underneath a shelf was a small dark figure slowly making its way to the window. In an instant the elf unlocked the door opened it wide so light form the other room could fill theirs. The goblin saw this and jumped to the window trying with all his might to open it but the elf grabbed him and threw him the ground the goblin started to shout and squeal but the elf silenced him by knocking him out with a smash in the head with his fist. Than the elf angrily turned to Silver Rose who looked shocked and frightened was ordered to never repeat what she saw. Then the elf demanded an answer why she was here in the room and how did she get here. She was too shaken to answer but darted out of the room in to the next one to the room of crystal and through all the halls trying to find a way out the place was in an uproar because Silver Rose was bumping into guards and elves of excellent class. She started to cry because finding a way wasn’t easy but she still tried. She new that if she didn’t move fast to any entrance the guards would close them all off. She finally came to a large door and burst it open, to her surprise she was outside and running down the steps of the massive building. Silver Rose had never been so glad to get outside in her life. She could here the hustle and bustle of town’s people……as well as the marching of solders right behind her. She looked over her shoulder and saw the guards who had also seen her were headed right to her at a fast pace. She could see hills and mountains beyond the town, that is were she planed to get to…but how?
All her plan now was to run. She ran through the beautiful streets of the town bumping in to elves causing some to drop what they where holding, one elf maiden she bumped into was holding a basket of fruit, the fruit went every where. Silver Rose felt horrible and helped to pick up the fruit. As she was picking up the fruit she saw the troop of guards approach. One of the guards tried to get hold of her by the cape but she moved to fast for him and shoved an apple in his hand and than threw a handful of grapes at him. The elf stumbled back in shock expecting to have the girl in his hand not a bright red apple.
Crowds begun to gather but Silver Rose darted once again through the multitude of elves and ran through the small streets trying desperately to find a way out.
She noted that the town was walled in so there must be a main gate and site gate. So here was her final battle for the day which one to take, the major gate or the small entry?
Silver Rose chose the small one and stopped to ask once where it might be located; she was told without a fight and found it without any dilemma. She ran out onto the grassy terrain. It look like it was about two miles long She could not run across all that land and not be seen so she had to wait till dark. But she didn’t think she even had that much time. She made herself comfortable in a small corner of the wall, her heart was beating wildly, she could have sworn that her heart was torn apart and floating to all parts of her body but somehow was still beating. The bagging her head and all the running made her really tired. The night was cold and still the night sky was sprayed with diamonds and the full moon shone as a lantern to light the traveler’s way.
Silver Rose quietly dozed off and woke suddenly with the howl of a wolf. She knew it was time to get going. She tied her hair back with a flexible weed and shook her cape and dress. Silver Rose stood still and rubbed her hands together to get them warmed up, she new if she started running there is no going back or stopping. So she started at a fast walk than walked faster and faster by half way she looked over her shoulder and saw the city crystal go further and further away. As she approached her first hill she could see a multitude of yellow pairs of eyes looking right at her. The first thought that came to mind was that the little goblins where everywhere around her…..