Then all of a sudden, a bush shook behind her and she whirled around, her branch inches away from the face of a rabbit. Eowyn sighed and the tension left her body as she realized there was no threat.
“You scared me little guy.” She knelt down and stroked the rabbit’s head. It nuzzled her hand and she smiled. It was soft and warm, bringing a feeling of comfort.
“Well, I better be heading to the greenhouse. If I’m late again then Fin will give me twice the amount of work today then he usually does.” Eowyn stood up and threw the branch as far as she could and watched it disappear into the bushes. Something still felt off though. She took another look around but knew she had to go. Eowyn then started running back towards her home, the sun rising as she continued sprinting. Her feet soon hit the pebbled path and she slowed to a walk, not in a hurry to get to the greenhouse and be early. She only wanted to tolerate as much as she had to. Today she had to do one of her least favorite tasks of all time and that was harvesting yellow jacket fruit. They were yellow and striped black and were quite fuzzy for a fruit. The thing about this particular fruit was that you had to pick them gently and if you weren't gentle enough they exploded. They didn’t just explode sticky yellow juice all over you but it also spit tiny sharp thorns at you that took forever to dig out of your skin. But even Eowyn had to admit that while they were a pain, literally, to harvest that the jam it created was worth it. As the sun began pouring through the leaves of the trees, the paths became more crowded with elves coming out of their cottages and heading to work. The paths became more crowded as she walked deeper into the city but it was never a problem for Eowyn. As soon as they caught sight of her they jumped out of the way like she had a contagious disease. She kept her chin up and kept walking briskly. Don’t show any emotion she thought, warriors don’t show weakness no matter what. Keep your temper under control and don’t lash out. Eowyn kept walking forward confidently and began going through the village square. It was a big area full of wooden wagons and booths that were overflowing with produce that would be sold that day. Big stacks of wooden boxes and barrels were scattered across the square. Right in the middle of the square was a big crystal formation that glowed from the magic it held. Beautiful flowers surrounded the crystal and small stone steps lead to the centerpiece. Globes, like the ones she had at home, were strung through the booths to give light. It was bustling with activity and not just with elves but people from the other realms as well, ready to sell products they brought from home. There were the nereids which were people with scales, gills, webbed feet, and a webbed tail. Instead of pointy ears like the elves had they had ear fins and didn’t have any hair. Nereids could range from any color on the rainbow and their scales were always glittering in the sun. Then there were the zephorians. They were beings like the elves and nereids but looked a lot like an animal between a fox and a wolf. They ranged from colors of red, white, black, and brown. Each realm played a part in helping one another. The nereids lived in a realm called Liquirien with the ocean and had an underwater city that Eowyn had always wanted to visit. They had the biggest library that is said to contain all knowledge that is known by all three realms. They were the scholars of the three realms and helped grow plants and catch seafood. The zephorians lived in a realm called Aphorus with high mountain peaks and it is rumored that if you were to fall off there would be no end. They were the inventors and the elves created wonderful inventions with the combination of machinery and magic. The globes that sustained light for everyone was one example of an invention the zephorians created. Now how they traveled to each other's home was quite incredible. In each land there are stone archways that are used as portal gates to get to each other's realm. Now to activate the gates special matches and bracelets have to be used. In each land there are unique trees called lighters that for some reason cannot grow anywhere else but in that environment and are used to create special matches. Now the matches made from that specific realm will lead you to only that realm. For example if a match made from Aphorus lighter wood would only create a portal to Aphorus. Now the bracelets are used to light the matches. The bracelets have a magic spell for travel and so then you would strike a match with the bracelet and throw it into the archway. The archway would then be lit and would create a portal that would lead to the realm of your choosing. Anyone who has matches and the bracelet are called jumpers and you need a special license to be able to acquire them. You had to take a test and if you passed you were given them. The test was mostly about safety and how to use them properly and Eowyn was able to pass the test easily. Unfortunately she got her jumping privileges revoked after what happened. Eowyn squeezed her eyes and tried to push the memories that threatened to flood into her mind. She made it to the outside of the village square and took a dirt path that would take her to the greenhouse.