When I opened my eyes there was no change in the light it was still dull. Not having a window or anything was giving me no idea of time. Nothing looked any different and to my disappointment, I was still in this cell.

Voices we’re still chattering on around me but at least the one in my head was quiet. When I heard one of them shout.

“The new guys awake.”

How the fuck do they know that there is no way they can see me. I’m going to ask they don’t seem to care about asking questions.

“How did you guys know I was awake?”

It seemed like everyone had something to say all at the same time. Every voice at the same time shouted something. None of them made it to my ears it was too loud like trying to listen to every conversation in a bar at the same time.  I never liked being in loud places my ears couldn’t cope with it. Someone shouted for them to be quiet.

Then one voice came to me again. The girl in the next cell.

“Sandy is a unicorn. He can tell who is awake and only speaks telekinetically. I believe he was speaking to you before you blacked out. He didn’t mean to her a good guy. He won’t do it again until your ready.”

“Oh ok that makes sense. A unicorn. To go along with me being an Elf.”

“You are. You need to accept what you are. Let me guess. You like being in nature. You can run and climb with ease. You never feel tired and can tell when and where animals have been instinctively. You can hunt and track like anyone else walks down a street. When you run it’s faster than anyone you have ever met.”

“Stop. Your freaking me out. How do you know this?”

“Typical Elf skills.”

“But I’m not an Elf.”

“Yes you are. You have been hidden by your people. They found you a family and they taught you life. They taught you wilderness skills but brought you up as a human to protect you.”

This can’t be true. My mum dad grandparents. They weren’t my family then who was. Are there more of my birth family out there. How can I find out now? Why didn’t they come to me and warn me? Why didn’t they protect me from a distance?

“Yes you are. Everyone here knows about our lives and can spot another from the old times just at a glance.”

“Ok let’s say I believe you why do you keep saying the old times. I’m sixty years old. I have seen my family grow old and die. I never married and lived on my own.”

“Ok let’s start small. You never married because your an Elf. You have probably only seen humans. An Elf mating with a human is like a dog shagging a cat. It not natural.”

“But I didn’t know that.”

“No but it’s instinct same for humans.”

Could this be true have I really been living a lie for sixty years. If what I have seen in the last day or so is real then yea it is. So why have I been lied to. Why hide me from myself. I don’t know who I am and what I can do. I need more information. As I’m coming to terms with this I here the will at the end of the hall move.

Foot steps marched down the hall and everyone fell silent. I stood and waited waiting to find out why they stole me. The guards stopped outside my cell.

“You walk backwards to the bars.”

“No.”

“What did you say?”

“I said no.”

“Ok. Boys. This one needs teaching a lesson.”

I wasn’t ready for this. The main guard opened the door and three of the other guards ran into my cell. I barely got my arms over my head before they started meeting me with small electrified bats.  Each blow sent pain through my body and at the same time my muscles contracted with the shocks of electricity pudding through me.

They stopped when I stopped moving. I wasn’t knocked out but I was close. Everything was spinning and I was sure I had some broken bones. While I was limp on the floor they put the strange rope around my wrists again. When they were sure I was no threat to them they dragged me off to the lift thing. The guard spoke to me while we were in the lift.

“The gaffer wants to speak to you. He likes to introduce himself to our new guests.”

“Hummm. Ok.”

Words we’re hard to form. I had never had a beating like this. Obviously, I had had fights before but normally one untrained guy at a time. Not what appeared to be three highly trained sentinels. So all my words were muffled and grunts. Again instead of being given time to get to my feet I was unceremoniously dragged by a couple meat heads who must have been on some serious steroids.

As I was being dragged to see Mr big. I tried to look at the others in the cells again. Now my eyes had adjusted to the light it was easier to see into the cells. There was a fucking unicorn in one of the cells. As I was dragged passed he winked at me. This guy has a chip on his shoulder. He freaks me out by talking in my head then the first time I see him he winks at me. I’m still ranting to myself in my head when we make it to the lift.

It catches me off guard by going down this time. Not forward. Usually a lift just goes up and down. I made the stupid mistake of thinking this would just go forwards and backwards. Nope down we went at what felt like breakneck speed. Then stopped nice and easy. This time the side wall opened up.

There in front of us was a large plush office. The guards had given up on holding me now and we’re back to pushing me. I stumbled out onto the deep pile cream carpet. If it wouldn’t be highly inappropriate I would have taken my shoes off and buried my feet into it. There were large beautifully carved bookcases. Loaded with old books. When I say carved. I don’t mean out of wood. No, they were carved into the rock as well. And the books aren’t just old they are ancient.

Contrasting to the rest of the room was a huge marble desk. It gleamed with a high polished finish. On the other side of the desk was a woman. Small maybe even petite. It was hard to judge with her being sat down. She was attractive. she was at least forty five but obviously still cared about her appearance. Her hair was long and black no grey. Her skin was the whitest I have ever seen and her eyes were so brown they were nearly black. Her makmake-ups very subtle apart from her lips. She had used a deep red.  Making her lips the focus of her face.

“So your our new guest. I’m guvnor Powell. I’m the one who says his pleasant your stay with us is. When you go back to your room there will be a rule book waiting for you. Do you understand?”

Now, this was spoken to me in a kind and gentle way. Her meaning was still a threat though. Stick to the rules and I will be looked after as well as a prisoner can be. Break the rules and I will be punished. I am angry at being kidnapped for no reason. Right now I have no way of answering in a way that will improve my situation. Instead of complying with her question I keep quiet.

“You’re not going to give us trouble, are you? I asked you a question. Now the correct answer is yes Mrs Powell.”

The woman was clearly pissed off with my response. Again I said nothing.

“Guard four seven two. Respond to his answer.”

Swiftly I was struck across the back of both my knees dropping me to a kneeling position.

“Do you want to rethink your answer?”

Again I said nothing.

“I don’t like hurting you. So please answer or I will. Laws for your kind aren’t the same as for humans. You don’t exist so nothing we do to you happens.”

I chose to stick to my guns and say nothing.

“Guard again deal with this insubordination.”

My head banged and all went black.