12

chapter 12

Fíli thinks the words must be written somewhere on his body, because suddenly he can see them appearing above his head. He turns his head slightly to see what the writing is saying.

Fíli: hey, look over here, can you see me? It's just me, don't worry.

He hears someone coming toward him. It sounds like a girl's voice. He smiles, pleased that the words he thought were lost forever seem to have come back to him. His heart jumps when he sees who is approaching him. It's a young girl, a lot younger than Fíli. She must be new.

She kneels beside him and studies his face closely. "Are you alright?" She asks.

"Yes, I think so. Thank you for helping me."

The girl tilts her head. "Did you get hurt?"

"No, I fell off my horse, but everyone helped me. They all seemed very kind."

The girl gives a little laugh. "We're kind, but no one helps us."

"Who are you?" Fíli asks.

"I'm Venda. The people here call me Wing, because I'm the strongest among them. And yes, the kingdom is quite different from ours. My father says that when it was created, it looked more like Middle Earth."

"You're not human?"

"Well, I guess I am. If you look really close, I think you'll see that I'm half dragon. The rest is human. Half means I have more powers, so they made me stronger than normal humans."

"Oh."

"Can you read yet?" Venda asks eagerly. "If you can, I'd love to show you something."

Fíli frowns. "I haven't learned much since I came here. It was so difficult before."

"It should still be possible." Venda insists. "If you focus hard enough, you can feel the thoughts of the universe."

"Doesn't work that way, I don't think. But I'll try."

Venda takes Fíli's hand. Her skin is smooth and warm.