4. Suddenly, the witch froze as a chill ran down her spine. She could feel it, taste it in the air. It was the feeling that could only mean one thing, and it meant that the one thing she most dreaded was right behind her. Slowly, she turned around to face the dark warlock.

5. With wide, surprised eyes, this warlock was only a boy, but that made him no less dangerous. His jaw dropped as he gazed upon the baby. “ An elf,” he whispered as he reached for his wand.

6. But the witch was quicker. Quickly she raised her wand and waved it three times, muttering under her breath as she did so, and in the blink of an eye, she and the baby were gone.

7. Now alone, the young warlock cursed under his breath. “ Crap, now what?” ~~~

8. Far away, a dark witch sat on her throne, deep in thought. Suddenly a voice interrupted her. “ Queen Theresa?”

9. Theresa opened her eyes and glared down, annoyed at whoever dared bother her. Annoyance changed to joy when she saw who it was. “ Irene!” she cheered. “My good friend! Here with good news, I presume.”

10. “ Of course, your grace.” The dark witch called Irene smiled. “We have searched high and low, and not a single elf remains. The have all been eliminated, as you wished.”

11. “ Yes,” Theresa whispered. “Yes, I can feel it. There are truly no more. Still, I can not help but wonder…” She shook her head slowly. Irene’s smile faded. “Your highness, you need not worry. Of course we shall check again if you should desire, but I can assure you…” She was interrupted by a knock on the door.

12. “ Enter!” Theresa called. Two warlocks, one old and one young, entered the room, the young one trailing behind with fear in his eyes. “ Queen Theresa,” the older one began, “so sorry to interrupt you, but if he may, this young warlock has something very important to tell you.”

13. Theresa narrowed her eyes. “ Well, go on with it then. I don’t have all day.”

14. The young warlock looked up at the queen with fear. “ Well, your Grace, I… I was walking through the western forest, and I saw a witch- a light witch- and she turned around to look at me, and I saw that she was holding a… a…” He gulped. “An elf!”

15. Theresa stood up, fire in her eyes. “A what!?” “ A… a,” the warlock stuttered. “An elf. A little one. Just a baby. Her ears weren’t even pointed yet. I tried to stop them, but they disappeared before I could do anything, and for some reason I couldn’t track them.”

16. Theresa’s body shook with rage. She pointed at the door. “Leave, now! Both of you. I must speak with my adviser alone.” She shut her eyes and waited until she heard the door open and close again. Then she opened her eyes to glare at the witch left in the room.

17. “ Your Highness.” Irene had lost the calm in her voice, and now it was replaced by fear. “Please, I did not know. I…” “ Do not fret, Irene. I do not blame you.” Theresa turned away and closed her eyes.

18. She pushed her toes hard into the ground, pushing her magic with them. The magic spread, an invisible gas, all throughout the room, allowing her to feel the presence of Irene. Quickly the magic spread all through the magical world. Through it, Theresa felt every tree of every forest, every wave of every ocean, and every being that walked, crawled, or flew. She could feel everything in the world, her world, but there was no elf. “ I hate to admit it, but I’m impressed. That witch must have put a very powerful spell on the elf to be able to hide her from me so easily. This will not do.”

19. Theresa turned back to Irene. “I cannot risk having even one elf left living anywhere. If that prophecy were to come true…” “ P-prophecy?” Theresa ignored her. “Irene, my dearest friend, I need you to find this child. Find her, and kill her, and bring her body back to me. I will not sleep well until I see her dead. Can I trust you with this mission?”

20. “ Of course, my queen. I live only to serve you.” ~~~

21. 16 YEARS LATER Poppy Estela was out watering the flowers in her garden. The sun shone down on her golden hair, which was tied up in a pony tail. This was unusual, since usually she had her hair down to cover the two, strangely-pointed ears on either side of her head. It was okay, though, because right now she was in the yard of her cabin in the middle of the forest, where surely no one would see her. Poppy had often asked her aunt Alexia, who had raised Poppy since her parents died many years before, why her ears were so strange, but she would never tell.

22. She set the watering can down and walked into the cottage she had lived in for as long as she could remember. “ Aunt Alexia!” she called. “I’m done watering the… Aunt Alexia, what’s wrong?” She walked into the living room, where Alexia was sitting on the couch, staring across the room with a blank stare. “ Poppy,” she said. “Sit down, my dear. We need to talk. Quickly.”

23. Poppy did as she was told. “What is it, Aunt Alexia?” “ Poppy, you are not going to believe what I am about to tell you, but all I ask is that you listen to me with an open mind and do not ask questions, okay?” There was a seriousness in Alexia’s voice that Poppy had never heard before, and it left her speechless. She merely nodded. Alexia took a deep breath and began…

24. “ Many years ago, there was a powerful and kind race of beings. Protectors of nature and friends to all they met, they were loved and respected by all. These beings were elves.” “ Elves?” “ Shh. Now, as I said, the elves were highly respected, and all major decisions in the magical would were made by the wise elven elders. There was only one kind that did not like the elves…”

25. “ The dark witches and warlocks of the magical world. They thought themselves superior to all others– thought themselves gods, even– because of their great power and their immortality. They were ruled by Queen Theresa, a cruel leader. Theresa was jealous of the power given to the elves and ordered for them to be attacked and enslaved.”

26. “ It was a dark time for the elves. They were overworked, poorly fed, and punished cruelly when they disobeyed. Many of them died, but it was only to get worse. “ One day, for reasons no one knew, Queen Theresa ordered for all elves to be killed. Throughout all of the forests and villages, each and every elf was taken from their homes to be executed. The kind elven princess was murdered, the elven elders of the council were slaughtered, and every other elven man, women, or child was killed by the witches and warlocks.”

27. “ Now, not all witches and warlocks are evil. There are also the good light witches and warlocks of the magical world. They are less powerful then the dark ones, for they can only use their magic to help another, and under no means can they use magic to hurt someone else, even in self-defense. Still, they always tried to help beings fight against the rule of the dark witches and warlocks. After finding out about the elimination of the elves, light witches and warlocks set out all over the magical world in an attempt to save some of the elves.”

28. “ It was one of these witches who, while passing through an evacuated elven village, was surprised to find three elves still hiding there; a man, a woman, and their new-born baby girl. “ The elven couple told the witch of a prophecy the elven elders had told. The prophecy said that the elven kind would die off, all except for one. That one survivor would be a little girl, who would escape and continue to grow and learn, and who would found ten generations of elves. There would be a heir each generation who would lead and protect the family. It was said that the first born in the tenth generation would have the power to free the magical world of evil rule. “ The couple believed their daughter to be the girl in the prophecy. They told the witch to take the girl and keep her safe, for she was the only one who could save the magical world.”

29. “ With the baby tucked in her arm, the witch ran. Unfortunately, she was stopped by a dark warlock, so the dark witches and warlocks knew of the elven baby, but they did manage to escape to the human realm, where the light witch suspected they would never be found.” Alexia locked her eyes onto Poppy’s. “Poppy, I should have told you this story a long time ago, but I didn’t, and I’m sorry that I had to tell you so suddenly. I just wanted you to have a normal human life. Well, here it goes.” She took a deep breath. “ I, Alexia Windgall, am the light witch from the story, and you, Poppy…”

30. “ You are the elf I saved all those years ago.” Poppy blinked. “I… uh… are you feeling all right, Aunt Alexia?”

31. “ Look, Poppy,” Alexia said, standing up. “I know this is a lot to take in, and I should have told you sooner, and you think that I’m crazy now, but we don’t have a lot of time, so I’m going to make this fast. Look inside yourself, Poppy, you know it’s true! Your connection to nature, the way you get along with everyone you meet… look at your ears, for goodness sake! You are the last elf Poppy, and you are the last hope for the magical world.” Poppy reached up to touch her pointed ears, shaking her head in disbelief. “ If fact,” Alexia continued, “that is why I gave you the surname ‘Estela.’ It’s Elvish for ‘hope.’”

32. Just then Alexia pulled out her wand from her pocket. “ Is that… a magic wand?” Poppy asked, now more curious than ever. “ It is. So much time in the human realm has weakened my powers greatly, so I’ve been saving my magic up for sixteen years for one big spell. She muttered the spell under her breath as she waved the wand in a circle and pointed it straight at Poppy’s chest.

33. Poppy was suddenly overcome with a warm, happy, just plain amazing feeling. She couldn’t hold back the laugh that escaped her as the feeling ran from her head to the tips of her fingers to the tips of her toes. But as the feeling disappeared as quickly as it had come, she became very serious. Alexia wasn’t insane. This was for real.

34. “ Now quickly, Poppy,” Alexia urged. “I’m so sorry it must be like this, but you must leave quickly. There is a dark witch in the human realm, and she is coming. If she finds you, she won’t hesitate to kill you. The spell I just put on you is very powerful. It is a spell that will make it impossible for a dark witch or warlock to track you or any of your descendents by magic, but it will not stop them from killing you is one were to discover what you are. You must cover your ears.” Poppy nodded and started to pull her ponytail out. And like the blast of a thunderbolt, Alexia’s words settled over her, and she saw the real meaning behind it all.

35. “ You’re not coming with me, are you?” Alexia smiled sadly. “You’ve always been such a smart girl, Poppy. And you are right. I cannot come with you, for I would lead the witch right to you.” “ But, you could use a spell…” “Did you not listen? A light witch cannot use powers for her own benefit, and even if I could, this dark witch and I have a deep connection that a spell cannot break. She will always be able to track me.” “ But, why?”

36. “ because her name is Irene Windgall, and she is my twin.” Alexia shrugged. “ Your twin is a dark witch?!” “ Indeed. And not just any dark witch. She is the adviser to Queen Theresa. But we have wasted too much time as it is. Irene is near, and you need to go now.”

37. As they both fought back tears, Poppy grabbed Alexia in a tight hug. “ Aunt Alexia, do you remember when I was five, and I got really sick, and you stayed up the whole night to take care of me, and I never really thanked you?” “ I do remember.” “ Thank you. So much.” “ Until we meet again, my daughter.”

38. And like that, Poppy was out the door, fleeing from the only home she had ever known. As she ran, Alexia watched. Only after Poppy was out of sight did she sigh in relief. Poppy would be safe. That’s all that mattered.

39. “ Well, if it isn’t my dear sister, Alexia. Long time, no see.” Alexia didn’t let herself flinch as the venom-spiked words greeted her. “ Hello, Irene. To what do I hold this pleasure?”

40. “ No more games, Alexia.” Irene grabbed Alexia’s arm and spun her around to face her. “For sixteen years I have searched all throughout the magical world for one stupid little elf. I should have known you’d be involved, and in the bloody human world, no less! Now where is she?” Alexia kept her voice as calm and steady as fear would allow. “She is gone, Irene, and you can’t find her. I don’t care what you do to me, but she will be safe. And make sure you tell your dear Queen this…”

41. “… The last elf’s legacy has begun.”

42. “ Irene pulled out her want and pointed it at Alexia. “oh, Alexia, you could have been such a great witch, perhaps even greater than me. It’s too bad you had to go all soft. What a shame.” And without hesitation she waved her wand.

43. Poppy stopped dead in tracks, and her blood ran cold. Before she could stop it, a single thought ran through her mind: Alexia is dead. She didn’t know how she knew it, only that it was true. The women who had raised Poppy like her own was gone forever. I’m really on my own now.

44. She allowed herself a small moment of morning before continuing on. She had a mission. She had a legacy to start. She would succeed. For the magical world. For Alexia. Poppy walked onwards. >>>

45. Thanks for reading the prologue of my latest legacy! This has been a very long project for me, so I hope you enjoyed! As you can probably tell, this will be a very plotty legacy, because frankly I would never be able to commit to it otherwise. See you (hopefully) for the first chapter that (hopefully) will be out soon! -Kaylyn