All characters belong to me. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the fic! Chapters are short, but that makes it easier for me so harhar. ^_^;

Chapter one: A forgotten Paradise (aka - Screw the Prologue)

"Elijah! Elijah! I bet you can't find me!"

"You are wrong, for I already have!" The young Elmeai popped his head out from the large collection of leaves that had grown upon a winding branch. He raised a brow as he watched Shana jump, scream, and turn (rather hastily) around to face him.

"How dare you startle me like that!" she hissed at him as she crossed her arms, huffing and puffing as if she were a worn out kitten after a few hours of play. Both brows were furrowed as she then pursed her lips and glared up at the boy in the tree.

"You look so cute when you're mad, Nana. The boys are talking about you." He snickered at the grimacing look that took over Shana's features. "Indeed they are," he continued. They're after you, Nana! You had better watch out! They will start sneaking you flowers and all of that other silly business..."

"And I'm supposed to believe that you aren't talking about me?" Shana raised a brow in question and tilted her head to the side as she watched the boy, both hands falling to rest on her hips as she did so. She then shrugged and sighed, giving a slight shake to her head while Elijah just blinked, "Aya," he said, "I do talk about you. But just about how annoying you are. You get mad so easily and when you do... well, it is very hard to get you to shut that mouth of yours. My own mother rants about it constantly! 'Never,' she says, 'never have I met another youngling who did not know how to keep silent when the time called for it. A pest, she is! A pest!' And she always says that, I tell you."

Shana grunted, "why I never! Of all the things for an Elder to say to a young, sophisticated lady such as myself! Does she mistake me for that mindless twit -- ...Jessilia?! Seriously, of all the holes to dig oneself into. How dare--"

"I'm sure the birds would love to listen to you rant and rave," Elijah interrupted, "but I'm sure they'd rather hear it later. Can you spare them and myself the agony?" The boy then lost his balance on the branch he'd been seated on and plummeted towards the ground, landing on his back with a loud “THUMP!” Leaves became entangled in short, wavy black filaments as he sat himself up and stared oddly at the girl, his lower lip pouting as he then began to pull the various debris out of his hair.

Shana was unable to control her laughter and she resorted to pointing and laughing at the boy while wrapping an arm around her torso. Elijah couldn’t believe this. How could she not worry about him being hurt?! He could have broken an arm… or a leg… or his head! He could have knocked a few screws loose…

“Serves you right, Elijah!” The girl then paused for a second as she watched him. “All right then, hurry up! C’mon! Get up, hurry, let’s not be slow about it! I’ve got something to show you, we don’t have much time left. Today’s a special day! Hurry up, Eli! You’re such a slow beast! Get up a--”

“LET ME BREATHE! I shall get up in due time. Fire and Rain, give me a moment or two to collect myself,” he retorted as he pushed himself to his feet and then proceeded to brush himself off. “No wonder you haven’t found a boy yet, you’ve got the mouth the size of Wizard’s Dome!” He then gave a huff as he began to rub oddly at the back of his neck, “if it wasn’t for that mouth of yours those boys would be doing more than just talking amongst themselves about you. You would probably already have a decent husband.”

The Elmeai, while conservative people (in most cases), were rather quick to marry. Young girls were prepared to be wed a year after the “coming of age” while boys were prepared no sooner than the age of twenty. Shana, being seventeen, had been ready for marriage for four years but because of complications (of which she was never notified of), a suitable husband hadn’t been found for her. Though it was all the best for Shana who despised the arranged marriages with the fiery passion of a thousand or so suns for the girl had had her heart set on the son of Siem Daley. Elijah.

Elijah was perhaps the most sought-after by the young women of the town of Caern. He was strong, thin, tall, and had the most gorgeous eyes -- baby-blue tossing and turning constantly with violet hues. Such a mix had never been seen before. The colors of his eyes were about as restless as the sea and as charming as a faerie-tale prince.

Shana snapped back into reality as she realized she was staring at him and tried desperately to hide the blush creeping across those ivory cheeks of her as she turned her head, slender digits wrapping around the hem of her palm-length sleeves before gently tugging on the soft, silk-like material. “W-w-well,” she started as those small, barefoot feet began to move forward, patting softly against the hard earth, “We don’t have much time left. We best be moving along.”

Elijah blinked curiously, a hand raising to run through that hair of his before he began to follow her, stopping for a few seconds only to crouch to roll his pant legs up to his knees. He would then unbutton his vest and the first three buttons of the white shirt beneath it as the temperature seemed to raise. How he hated these hot summer nights, he didn’t know how Shana could live in that ankle length black dress of hers.

Shana…

He wondered what that look of hers meant. The look in her eyes -- the one of confusion, loss, and longing. Was there something she felt so unsure about that she even kept it from him? She had always told him everything that was on her mind… or so he thought. Did she not confide in him as much as he thought she did? He pondered these thoughts for a while as he followed the girl, both brows furrowed in agitation as he stepped over large rocks and fallen branches. All thoughts, however important, were lost as he followed the Shana through a small hole in a nearby rising cliff only to exit and find himself at awe, both baby-blue, violet eyes widening as his jaw dropped for what was before him was nothing of the likes he’d ever seen before.

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I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. ^_^