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# Chapter One - A Shade of Truth
- URL: https://emma-qwinn-and-the-elders-request.ghost.io/chapter-1-a-shade-of-truth/
- Published: 2026-07-09T18:03:37.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-05T00:57:06.000Z
- Description: What will happen now that the lies and betrayal have been exposed?
- Author: Pamela Richardson

One hundred years later…

“I’m afraid it’s not good news, Shade.” Mitonka announced as he stalked into the small courtyard and felt his Mending powers slip away while an armed sentry shut and locked the heavy door behind him, “And you’ve no one to blame but yourself!”

A tall, brunette slowly turned about and faced the angry Mender knowing there was nothing she could say or do to fix the mess she helped to create so long ago and with shameful eyes simply nodded, “Have you come to take me to sentencing?”

“Sentencing!” he scoffed, ignoring her beautiful, albeit anguished face, “The Chancel is in chaos, what to do with *you* if the least of their worries!”

Her head dropped with a small sigh of relief, “Then why are you here?”

“Because they want *answers*, Shade! They want to know where the simple Human is – they want to know where you *hid* her!”

Shade’s chin remained tucked as she mumbled, “I already told Elder Mary where I took Abigail Snowe.”

Mitonka flung his long arms wide, “They don’t believe you and neither does King Trayden! We’ve sent dozens of Menders to that very spot and searched for miles around and there is no sign of her!”

Her head snapped up at that, genuine concern filling her emerald-colored eyes then quickly turned away, “King Trayden knows that I helped them?”

“Of course not! Nothing about *you* was specifically disclosed!” Mitonka fumed with disgust, “Could you imagine his reaction?”

“It could quiet his temper.”

“Or send it out of control! Trayden has only been told that some foolish Mender helped his son, Kahren, abdicate his future throne, disregard the king’s edict, and hide him here in *our* Realm with his simple Human love interest for the last ONE HUNDRED YEARS!”

“Shouting doesn’t change the fact that they were MARRIED,” Shade snapped back, “Abigail Snowe was *not* some whore that Prince Kahren took up with – they are very much in love.”

“I’ll shout if I like!” Mitonka snorted hotly, whipping his hands through his chaotic, white hair, “You broke the rules, Shade! I don’t care what the circumstances were! You absolutely deviated from Fate’s plan and now all Hell is breaking loose! The very fact that you went sneaking back to the Elf Realm was beyond idiotic! After everything that was done by Fate and *this* Realm to *save* you, how could you be so unbelievably selfish?”

Shade stiffly whispered, “I needed to see Kahren.”

“You needed it? Have you learned nothing here in your training? You are a Mender! You agreed to our rules and our way of life! Your old life is done! Gone! Nothing but a fond memory!”

“I just wanted to make sure he was okay…”

“You went back and *exposed* yourself to Prince Kahren! And because you did, your personal emotions got in the way and led you here to this very moment in time!”

“I know that.”

“Then tell me where Abigail Snowe is and maybe Elder Mary will release you from this Binding Garden and allow you some measure of freedom. Maybe she will find a way to understand why you did what you did!”

Shade turned back around and stared at Mitonka and realized how disheveled he looked, his dark skin was worn, and his eyelids drooped with exhaustion, so she drew and breath and calmly explained once again, “I’m not lying about Abigail. I left her in the exact same place that I met her and Prince Kahren in the Human year 1892\. I don’t *know* that Realm, so I took her back to that precise spot! So, all I can surmise is that Abigail got scared or came up with her own plan and is now somewhere else in the Earth Realm – and I’ve no idea where to tell you to look.”

Mitonka tried one more time to impress upon her the gravity of the situation, “Shade, right now King Trayden is standing on the floor of the Chamber, with every Elder and Mender that can fit in there, he has Prince Kahren center stage, bound in barbed dogbane so tightly that every time he breathes - he bleeds! And he will keep him there until we produce his *wife*! He wants them to stand trial together and face their consequences back in the Elf Realm.”

She sighed loudly, “It doesn’t sound like Trayden is being reasonable.”

“REASONABLE?” Mitonka shouted in frustration, “You should have let Abigail get caught with him! Stealing Abigail away and taking her back to the Earth Realm was CRIMINAL! You should have stayed out of it! What in the hell were you thinking?”

Shade swallowed hard as her eyes began filling with tears, “Kahren knew the price he would pay if they were caught, so he made me promise that if I could save Abigail from his father’s wrath then I must do so.”

“*You must do so*?” Mitonka mocked, his voice rising another octave if that was possible, “The only thing you MUST do is Fate’s bidding! Heal the sick! Sooth away emotional trauma! Use your gifts to HELP your own kind! That is what you MUST do! Injecting your own will into the Web of Life if forbidden – which is what you did when you helped them a hundred years ago – and all the bullshit you’ve pulled every day since! Did you ever consult Fate in all these years of your depraved treachery?”

Shade lifted her tear-stained face and answered quietly, “She has been silent on the matter.”

“I bet! Did you really think She would direct you through debauchery?”

“No, but I had hoped – as did Kahren – that his father would come to terms with their marriage and relent. That was all any of us wanted this entire time.”

“Relent? You knew a hundred years ago that King Trayden was never going to do that! The moment he realized that Kahren had disappeared he called a session of the High Kings and convinced them all to vote and permanently destroy the Paths that connected them to the Earth Realm, trapping souls on both sides with no warning and no way back – including Kahren and Abigail! He thought they were there! He wanted them to *rot* in the Earth Realm!”

“I still had hope…” she whimpered.

“Hope? Are you *mad*? You should have confessed *then*! You should have taken all of this to Elder Mary *that* day and explained to her this misdeed and handed Kahren and Abigail back with honest accord!”

“I did try,” she whispered brokenly, “I told Kahren what Trayden had done. I told him that destroying the Paths was just the beginning and that he must go back, but he wouldn’t listen. He was convinced they just needed more time for Trayden to accept their marriage.”

“More *time*? And what about now? A full hundred years later?”

She looked confused, “I don’t understand how he found them here if he thought they were in the Earth Realm this entire time…”

“What the hell difference does it make now?” Mitonka shouted, “Do you realize the price we’re ALL about to pay?” Mitonka continued hotly, “This *time* Trayden intends to go back to his Realm – with his idiot son – and call the High Kings together again – but this time he wants all Menders banned from there - forever! This isn’t just about breaking Paths anymore! He wants atonement for our interference! He wants to sever the *Realms*!”

She began to shake at the gravity of his words as more tears slid down her face, “I don’t know what you want me to say… I don’t know where Abigail Snowe is…and even if I did… it will not stop his anger or what he intends to do.”

“It might! An act of good faith could go a long way here!”

“I know him better than that,” Shade admitted on a shuttered breath, “Which is why I helped Kahren to begin with.”

“Do you understand what will happen if he gets his way, if the other kings vote *with him*?” Mitonka reasserted growing ominous, “With a majority vote, every Elfish Mender and Elder alike that LIVE HERE will be made obsolete! The lives they accepted when they were chosen to become Menders will mean NOTHING! Centuries of training and Mending simple Elves will be for NOTHING! Their entire purpose and existence will be wiped away!” 

“I don’t know what you want me to say… I don’t know where she is…” Shade sobbed, succumbing to the tears, “I don’t know…”

“You know *something*, dammit! I *felt* another secret before the sentries took you into custody!”

Shade wrapped her arms around herself and spun away again, unwilling, and unable to look him in the eye, “That *something* has nothing to do with this!” and he shook his head in dismay but allowed her a moment to collect herself and throttled down his own temper.

“You better not be *lying* – again,” he managed with an even tone.

Her shoulders sagged as she stared straight ahead, the conflict raging and with a shaky breath answered, “My *secret* will not help you – or Elder Mary or King Trayden - it will only make things far worse.”

Mitonka pulled the buttons closed on his long, brown leather jacket, all too aware that his time was running short and would need to return to the Chancel of Elders, then stuffed his fists in his front pockets, “Tell me anyway, Shade, you have nothing to lose at this point.”

She was quiet for a long moment, “Only if you promise to never tell anyone.”

“I won’t make that promise,” he replied with finality.

Shade considered many things before wiping her eyes dry with the ends of her jacket sleeve and became almost emboldened as she spun around and plucked up the courage to face him, “Fine, Mitonka. But you’re going to wish I’d never said a word and that I’d kept this shitty *secret* all to myself!”

He chucked his chin at her, “*Human* swear words? How unbecoming of you… but go on then, spit it out.”

Her emerald eyes flashed with a new anger, “When the Prigg came to get me – to tell me that King Trayden’s private guard had captured Prince Kahren outside the safety of the Guardian Grass, I knew I needed to get to Abigail and return her to the Earth Realm, because that was the promise I had made.”

“I already know this part!” he snapped back.

“Yes! But what you don’t know is that when I went to the cottage by Ayla Sea, I found Abigail in the back garden, and she wasn’t alone.”

Mitonka looked a little confused, “What do you mean she wasn’t alone? You mean Prince Kahren’s pet Prigg was with her?”

Shade shook her head, “No, I don’t know where the Prigg is, he changed himself into a bird and flew away after he alerted me.”

“Then who was with Abigail?”

“An absolute impossibility,” she hissed through gritted teeth.

He grew annoyed, “What the hell is that supposed to mean, dammit?! WHO was with Abigail Snowe?”

For a moment, Shade squeezed her eyes shut and struggled for a long moment and reluctantly whispered, “A baby. Abigail Snowe had a baby with her.”

Mitonka looked furiously annoyed and confused as his arms shot out, “A baby what?”

Shade’s eyes flew wide with exasperation and flung her arms apart as well, “What do you mean a baby what? What do you *think* I mean?”

“I’ve NO idea what you mean,” he retorted looking equally frustrated, “You could mean anything!”

“THEIR baby, Mitonka! A baby that Kahren and Abigail conceived and gave birth to HERE!”

He drew his hands slowly to his face and rubbed them wearily across his skin and mumbled between them, “What a monstrous tale,” and then turned walking away in disgust, “Nothing is BORN in our Realm! All things here are created at our WHIM! A gracious gift we are given by Fate for our allegiance to Her! You know this! Every city, village and home has been crafted together with a memory from every Mender that has ever lived here! Every tree, every landscape!”

“I know that!”

“Do you?” he snapped, spinning about and charging forward, his finger pointing at her chest, “Ayla Sea was created by Mender Avius over sixteen centuries ago – that BEACH where you hid Kahren and Abigail was from Avius’s childhood memories! Where he lived out his final days that is now desecrated with those horrid WEEDS from the Elf Realm that Prince Kahren brought with him! His precious Guardian Grass that he hid behind!”

“They are NOT weeds! They are living, thinking beings brought to life with Silver dust and old Elfin magic that Prince Kahren *created*!”

“No! He CREATED havoc and you helped him!” then Mitonka grew cold and contrite, “I’m done arguing with you, Shade, and I’ve no more time for your lies, so if you can’t tell me where Abigail Snowe is then Fate will deal with you when the Elders of the Chancel vote on your punishment – after they deal with King Trayden and Prince Kahren.”

“I’m not lying!” She insisted, charging forward as he turned away and grabbed his arm hard, “If your gifts worked here you could sort through my memories and *know* that!”

He yanked his arm away, “*Obviously* you’ve been concealing your true thoughts away from me for over a hundred years – why in the hell should I believe you now?”

“Because I can prove it!”

He stalled near the door, “How?”

“The Prigg,” she answered with confidence, “That Prigg lived here with them this entire time… if you find him… he will corroborate everything I’m saying about the baby. The baby that they named Cassarah Alicia Rayne.”

Mitonka gave her a long, cold stare over his shoulder, “Right. And what do you suppose my chances are of finding a creature from Baylor’s Moon that can shift itself into any shape it likes? Find the Prigg,” he mocked and knocked on the door, “how about you find your sense of loyalty to Fate and Elder Mary after everything they’ve done to save *your* life. How about you try being honest for a change!”

And with that he left Shade standing alone in the Binding Garden, stripped of her powers and an outcast for helping Prince Kahren and his wife Abigail Snowe hide away in the Mending Realm because she believed in their need to be together. 

And for that, Shade was quite willing and even happy to accept any punishment – because she’d deliberately broken the rules.

But the baby was another matter altogether.

That baby should not have been able to happen. 

That baby, that she’d held for just a few moments, while Abigail frantically collected some things from the cottage, was very, very real.

That baby, with the strangest colored eyes, had stared up at her, the image of her little face cemented into Shade’s mind, *had* been born in the Mending Realm. However impossible that it was, it *did* happen, and she was convinced that Fate had a hand in all of it.

About the same time and another realm away, Abigail Snowe, didn’t feel like Fate had Her hand in anything, instead she felt abandoned and utterly alone.

Yes, Shade had taken her back to the very spot she’d met them one hundred years earlier, but nothing *looked* the same and Shade refused to answer any of her questions before she left, “Where is Kahren? Where is the Prigg? What am I supposed to do?”

All Shade had said was, “I don’t know, so stay here and I will come back with news as soon as I can.”

Abigail had stood in the small clearing for quite some time after Shade had thrown her Barring Line into the ground and disappeared on green wisps of smoke, until a chilly wind set in.

Staring about, she guessed it was late March or so, and in western NY that meant the ground was still frozen under her bare feet. It simply hadn’t occurred to her to grab shoes, because she never needed them at the small cottage by Ayla Sea, that had been her home for so long.

“Shoes,” she mumbled to herself staring down at the hard ground littered with bits of snow and decomposing leaves, then quickly pulled the single blanket around the infant she was holding, “I’m not prepared, Cassarah,” apologizing to the baby smiling back up at her, “I packed too quickly and didn’t think things through.”

Another cold breeze tore through her thin cotton dress and tossed her long, mahogany hair about and decided she couldn’t just stand there any longer and struck off to find a shelter and build a fire, “There was a cave, Cassarah,” she explained, “your father made us a nice little spot while we waited for Shade that night… so if I can just find it…”

But again, nothing looked the same.

Either her memories were wrong, or Shade had taken her to the wrong place, or the terrain had changed and grown so much that after nearly an hour she finally gave up looking for it, “We’ll just have to make do here because I really can’t feel my feet any longer,” Abigail admitted to the baby, finding a clump of pine trees that broke the chilly wind, “but it will be okay, because even if I forgot my shoes, I did remember to bring the matches so we can make a fire…and we’ll be warm in no time, you’ll see.”

The baby fussed at being laid on the cold, hard ground so Abigail tried to be quick as she opened the small bag of things she’d brought with them and fished for the matches, “Here, I brought your chumpa,” and the baby grabbed at the makeshift toy with chubby fingers and stuffed it in her mouth, “you’ll have another tooth soon, I think,” Abigail said trying to smile as she pulled loose leaves and twigs into pile, “I’ll get this started and then we’ll find bigger pieces of wood to burn…”

Abigail fumbled with the matches, but it struck on her first try and sent it into the small mound she’d created and grinned when it took, “See?” she exclaimed and crawled a small distance away grabbing at every twig she could find, “and once I have us warm, we will study the map where your daddy said all the known Paths are that connect this realm to the Elf Realm and we’ll go find Darmelion. Daddy said that if anything went wrong, I must get to Darmelion and the safety of the Forest Elves… so that’s what we’re going to do.”

The fire grew brighter as Abigail tended to it; each little bit she added made the tips of her fingers tingle as the feeling returned. She got bolder, leaving the baby chewing on her toy, and ventured a little further grabbing up more and more sticks to burn, “I need bigger pieces, Cassarah,” Abigail explained, “these little twigs are burning up too quick! So, be a good girl while mommy goes away for a few minutes, ok? I promise I’ll be right back.”

The baby kicked and giggled contently, so Abigail hurried off while worries of some animal snapping up her child filled her mind and made her frozen feet move even faster. Quickly filling her arms with larger bits of broken branches that littered the hard ground, she had just started back to the little fire when a bird screeched loudly from above and launched itself into the air from the treetop above her.

Abigail watched as the enormous bird circled and screeched again then dove down and landed into another nearby tree – and then turned its brown feathery head and *looked* directly at her.

“Sorry if I’m bothering you!” Abigail called to it kindly.

It shook its head wildly and called again, making her frown, then she watched it turn away and stare downward, then deliberately looked back at her again and screeched. And repeated this until Abigail finally stepped closer to see what all the concern was about.

At first all she could see down the steep ravine was carpeted acres of leaves and bare trees, but then she caught a glimpse of something, far below and inched forward, until she was standing directly beneath the bird and began to tremble in fear.

She dropped the wood and tore back to the baby, “They’ve found us,” she explained quietly, forcing a smile onto her face as she scooped up the infant and the bag, “and we don’t have much time… they have horses…so we need to make things harder for them.”

Abigail searched the immediate terrain and then made her choice, “We need to go up,” and began running for the steepest hill.

Wincing against the sharp twigs and rocks hidden under the sea of dead leaves as they bit at her feet, Abigail became grateful for the numbness, otherwise, she might have cried out. Instead, she focused on her goal and didn’t stop, even as her thighs began to burn, and it became a struggle to reach the top of the ravine.

Clawing at pale, gray saplings with one hand, she pulled herself the rest of the way up, and only when she reached the very top and gasped for breath, did Abigail chance a look back and could see the riders slowly winding their way through the forest below. “Good,” she panted, “they’ve not even found our little fire yet… we still have time.”

The bird reappeared then, landing above her, and then hopped from tree to tree and stared down once again, while Abigail obediently followed its gaze and could see a clearing at the bottom of the hill and then a field. Her heart soared a bit, “Open fields usually mean people and houses and roads…” and shifted about in that direction.

She became incredibly careful about picking her way downward, because it was just as steep as it had been going up, so Abigail latched on to every small tree that she could, and calculated the distance to the next, but there was no way for her to know about the piece of wood that lie hidden under the leaves, or how it would roll out from under them.

Causing Abigail to lose her balance.

Sending her and the baby tumbling over and over down the horrid ravine, bouncing cruelly against more hidden things, until Abigail just clutched the infant tightly and accepted that she couldn’t stop their momentum.

When they finally rolled to a stop, Abigail lay on her side with the baby pressed against her breasts for quite some time. Her vision was a little fuzzy at first as she blinked several times, simply trying to focus, until the pain set in and that was all the clarity she needed.

She inched herself up and stared down at Cassarah, “Are you okay?” Abigail asked, her eyes wide with shock that the child appeared unharmed and made to pull the blanket back, then stared down in horror at her own broken arm, where two little bones had torn right through the flesh above her wrist.

She instantly slammed her eyes shut and found a way to get up on her knees, carefully laying the baby against the ground, and then sat back for a moment waiting for the wave of nausea to pass and then spun away and vomited.

Abigail shook uncontrollably as a cold sweat broke across her body and it took several moments to collect herself, then spoke very calmly out loud, “Wrap up your wrist and get on your feet…”

Carefully she pulled at the bag next to Cassarah and opened it with her left hand and rummaged around until she found the long Hipsbaw leaves that Kahren had kept and without really looking at the wound began wrapping her wrist tightly, “I just need one more, I think,” she said to the baby, who’d managed to hang on to the toy and was chewing at it furiously, making Abigail smile a bit.

Abigail finished wrapping the second long leaf around her wrist and sighed as the numbing sensation it provided set in, then tossed the strap of the bag over her head and very carefully picked the baby up into her good arm and stood awkwardly.

Another wave of nausea ripped through her as she swayed a bit, but refused to give in, and then the bird screeched again.

She slowly tipped her head back and saw that the giant bird was perched only a few feet up and looking intently back at the high ridge she’d just tumbled down, and a cold pit filled her stomach as she leveled her gaze and saw a dozen riders fanning out above, staring back at her.

Big, heavy boned horses covered in armor, and their riders covered in metal as well. No faces. Just eyeless visors that glared back lifelessly at their prey.

Abigail raised a contentious eyebrow and whispered, “Come get me…” then spun off and ran frantically toward the open field.

She could hear them coming after her, the horse’s hooves crunching through the dead leaves, but not quickly! They had to ease down that incline or tumble madly like she had, so it bought a small amount of time back.

But the edge of the woods didn’t reveal an empty, open field, like she’d thought.

Instead, it was a tangle of overgrown brush and thorns.

The bird screeched and soared over her, so she followed it, plowing into the sharp mess without hesitation. The thick bramble pulled at her dress and hair, the thorns tearing through her skin with every step.

She held the baby higher and higher, using her broken arm to part almost an acre worth of thorny shrub until it thinned, and finally found herself on a deserted tractor path in the middle of nowhere.

Her eyes were wide and wild as she searched for the next place to go. She was bleeding from more places than she could count and spun around several times trying to decide where to go next when she caught sight of a familiar pair of eyes staring back at her from under a canopy of pine trees, “Prigg!” she cried and hurried to him.

He bent his dark brown head reverently and gasped to breath as he spoke, “Your majesty, you must go north. There is a short mountain with a fissure in it where you can hide. You can see it from here,” then pointed toward a hill where the flat top of a small, gray rock could be seen against the sky, “Go there,” he added, choking and coughing violently.

“You were the bird.”

He nodded but said nothing.

“How did you get here?”

“I stole Shade’s Barring Line when they took her into custody… it fell on the ground… so I took it before anyone saw.”

Abigail’s mouth fell open, realizing Shade was never coming back, “Do you still have it, the Barring Line? It can take us to the Elf Realm so that we can find Darmelion.”

“It won’t listen to me anymore, I don’t even know how it worked to get me here,” he wheezed, producing the thin, metal cylinder, “You try…”

She grabbed it up at once and threw it at the ground, but instead of anchoring and coming to life, it bounced off several feet away and lay quiet. So, she shoved the baby at him, “Hold her!” and grabbed up the Barring Line again and threw it at the ground with all her might and once again it recoiled against the frozen earth and did nothing, “Dammit!” she cried as tears of frustration welled in her eyes and tried over and over again until she sank to her knees hopelessly, “It won’t listen to me either, Prigg…” and picked it up one final time and threw it away like a poisonous snake.

“You can’t stay here, you must go north,” the Prigg coughed.

“What about the Paths? Do you know how to get to one from here? One that will take us to the Elf Realm?”

The Prigg’s leathery face wrinkled into a deep frown, “Your highness, the Paths were destroyed a hundred years ago when King Trayden found out that Prince Kahren had used them to leave… Master Kahren didn’t tell you?”

Abigail’s face went wide with surprise, “No, he never said a word.”

He coughed through his answer, “Shade told him back when it happened – he probably just didn’t want you to worry.”

Abigail sat stock still for a long moment, thinking things over and then slowly stood up, “Then it’s up to us, so, I need you to change back into a bird and get Cassarah as far from here as you possibly can.”

He shook his head ‘no’.

“You will do as I say, Prigg. Cassarah cannot be found – ever. King Trayden will have her destroyed if the Menders don’t get to her first! You must *save* her!”

“Take her where?” he coughed.

“Anywhere you see Humans! A town, a city… I don’t care! Put her somewhere where they will find her so she can be cared for!”

“Those guards won’t stop; they will still come for her!”

Abigail squatted low to his height, “They want *me*, not her! They don’t know about her – nobody does except Shade and Prince Kahren, and they would never reveal her to anyone! You are her protector now, for the rest of her life, do you understand? I will lead the guards away and you will get her to the Humans.” She opened the bag and emptied out the meager contents, “Put her in here,” and watched the Prigg reluctantly, but very gently place the baby into the heavy canvas bag, then stared at him sharply, “now do as I say and change!”

He twisted about in a hue of dark brown and became a giant eagle and stood very still as Abigail secured the strap around his neck and made sure Cassarah would not fall out, then spoke to her daughter with tears choking her voice, “You are my deepest love and will remain that way for all time, no matter what, my sweet Cassarah,” then stroked the Prigg’s feathery head, “You’ve been my only friend for a hundred years and I trust you to do everything in your power to keep her safe. I will pray to God for however long I have left to live, that you both survive the wrath that’s coming… and I bind you into secrecy for all time – you are never to reveal to anyone – what has happened today! Now fly!”

The giant eagle stood tall, then bent his head into Abigail’s face and rested his forehead against hers for just a moment, accepting her terms, and then launched himself into the air and Abigail watched them disappear into the sky as hopeless tears streamed down her face.

Until the sound of the guards hacking their way through the thorns interrupted her sorrow and she turned toward the small mountain, pressed her broken limb against her middle and ran like the devil himself was nipping at her heels.