NOVEL NEXT Chapter 21 What did you see?
As the cars sped along the roads heading towards the palace John and Alea sat in the back of one of them.
John stared out of the window in wonder at Asyath Serin noticing how it was so different from Dawnscape city where he had lived his entire life.
It was as if the city and the forest were now one, the trees turned into buildings before turning back into trees.
There were multiple levels rising high up into the tree canopy that were so high John could not see where it stopped.
Small rivers ran through the city with wooden bridges that crossed it here and there.
Up in the trees rope bridges connected the different trees together.
Animals ran through the trees and buildings without care of the elves or other races.
There where elves like Alea with flawless white skin, but also beautiful and handsome dark skin,
They all had different hair colors though John noticed no one seemed to have silver white hair like Alea did.
There were fairies flying about with their wings fluttering as they zoomed here and there.
John saw other humans occasionally talking and mingling with different races.
Orcs lumbered down the street laughing and joking to each other.
A group of dwarfs sat outside what appeared to be a pub drinking beer and smoking their pipes.
Gnomes were hard at work on some strange gizmo that spun like a top and started to float off the ground before it suddenly stopped and fell to the ground.
Draconian flew through the air using their leathery wings.
Once John thought he saw an Ent as a tree seemed to open its eyes and move slightly before it was nothing more than a tree again.
"It's incredible, the way you have melded the forest and buildings into one is amazing and look at all the different races here."
"I knew the Elves were welcoming to all, but I honestly did not expect to see such a sight."
John answered before turning to Alea and saying.
"Thank you for allowing me to see this."
Alea giggled before saying.
"This is nothing you will experience it all for yourself in a couple of days when we go shopping."
"Is that?" John asked as he turned back to the window and saw what was outside,
The cars were approaching a tree so thick that John could not guess how long it would take to travel around its base, it stretched high up into the air and out of sight.
Just before going out of sight John could see what looked like a circular ring growing out of the tree itself that seemed to travel around the trunk.
"The Royal Palace of Asyath Serin, known as the Ring Palace for it travels all the way around the trunk like a ring on a finger." Alea answered.
"How do you even get up that high?" John asked in wonder.
"Hehe you're about to find out John." Area giggled as she answered.
The cars soon stopped at the very base of the tree trunk, and everyone got out, Alea took John by the hand which caused her guards to raise an eyebrow as she led him into a hollow of the tree that seemed naturally formed.
The hollow was rather small, only a few meters wide but had this strange glow about it, in the center there was a raised circular platform that Adria pulled John up onto.
As they stood on the platform John could sense a strange feeling coming from Alea through his hand that she was holding before she spoke in her clear voice.
"fasta tana i vand" (Translation: Please show the way)
After which the raised circle they stood on lit up with light and the next moment John found himself standing in the middle of a grand hall on a similar raised stone platform.
"Welcome to our home John, I am so glad you could make it." A voice John recognized came from near them and looking over he saw an elf woman who though more mature did not lose in beauty to Alea at all.
"Was that magic?" John asked out loud, forgetting himself.
Alexia and Alea both laughed seeing the shocked look on John's face before Alexia spoke.
"Indeed, it was, I take it you have never seen magic before even though some humans do possess it."
"No, that was my first time, it felt strange."
"Hoo you could feel something? Tell me what you could feel." Alexia asked with interest as Adria also seemed intrigued.
"It was not from me, I felt something from Alda's hand." John said before realizing he was still holding it and letting go before apologizing."
"Apologies Alea I did not mean to keep holding your hand for so long."
"It's fine John after all I was the one who took your hand when we got out of the car, and I would have let it go if I did not mind holding it." Alea explained.
"Oh, you two are getting along well I see, already on a first name basis and holding hands too, be careful Alea or your suitors will get jealous." Alexia teased to which Alea shot her mother a glare.
"But back to the other topic, tell me more of what you felt, John."
"It felt warm and peaceful, it made me never want to release Alea's hand and hold it forever, then when she spoke those words, I thought I saw something."
Alea smiled hearing John's words before Alexia asked.
"What do you think you saw?"
John closed his eyes and was silent for a moment trying to think about what it was he saw and how best to describe it.
Then with his eyes still closed he said.
"A huge tree, far larger than even the one we are standing in right now, seemed to stretch out into space and when Alea finished her sentence a path of light seemed to travel from one part of the tree to another.
Alexia and Alea looked at each other with smiles and knowing looks that John did not see with his eyes still shut.
"That's good John, very good."