Here is a teaser for another book I'm writing: The Silver Flower

Sorry, nothing much happening in the Eddy Household, (actually, we've just put on a missions conference at our church so in reality, we've been crazy busy, but that's beside the point), on to the subject at hand: *clears throat* I have decided it is high time that I make another blog post on one of my stories. (By the way, 'ken' means 'know' and 'dinnae' means 'don't' in Scottish brogue, which is what most of the characters speak since it is a story in Scotland, so in case you're confused...hopefully you aren't now! :)
So...ready or not, here it comes:

Chapter One: The Message

It all began when Justin and Duncan, the blacksmith’s twin sons were taking a walk down to the small Scottish village on the edge of a great forest. Duncan asked if he could sit down to remove a stone from his shoe, and his brother let him. As he removed the annoying stone, Justin saw a scrap of paper with strange markings written on it, on the ground beside him. He picked it up, shoved it into his pocket to look more closely at it later, and promptly forgot all about it. 

Once home, Duncan reminded his forgetful brother, and they took it out to study it further. After looking at it closely, they figured out this:

Glevanne Addets

j klos gresu digumsy defletsu yesfes shera

tu Shetta Gloriheem

They puzzled over this for a while.

“What sort o’ language be it?” Duncan asked. Justin merely shook his head.

“I dinnae ken. Could be fairy talk, or maybe elfish.” He chewed on his lip thoughtfully. “All I can make oot be two names. See here?” he pointed to the top and bottom of the message. “It say ‘Shetta Gloriheem’ an’ ‘Glevanne Addets’ plain as anythin’. Unless it be the name o’ a place, which also be possible.” Duncan was pleased at the progress his brother had made.

“Do we ken anyone in the village tha’ kens the language o’ the Wee Folk?” he asked. Justin looked up, his eyes brightening.

“Aye! I’ll bet Old Elliot ‘ould ken it, he knows more languages than any other in our village! If anyone ‘ould ken t’would be him. Let’s go an’ talk w’ him.” Quickly, before any could stop them, the two boys rushed down the street.

Justin and Duncan were special friends with the old man, him being almost a second father to them, and his knowledge of the Magical Folk was invaluable to the boys. They spent many happy afternoons listening to the retired hunter’s accounts with fairies, elves, dwarfs, and talking animals. (though these were so rare, that Old Elliot had only one story of them.)

The old man’s house soon came into view, and skidding to a halt, the boys let out a whoop, their traditional greeting, to let him know they were there. Almost immediately there was a response, and Old Elliot came into view. His wrinkled face broke out into a smile as he recognized them, and he ushered them into his home.

“Young Justin and Duncan, what a pleasure to see ye lads. What brings ye here on such a fine afternoon to see an old man like me?” He said, sitting them down on a few of the chairs he brought over to the table. Their eyes shone, and Justin spoke first.

“Mr. Elliot, sir, my brother and I found this scrap o’ paper aside the road, and we be thinkin’ ‘tis fairy or elfish, but we dinnae ken fer sure. Be we right?” he set the paper down on the table, and watched as the old man looked at it closely, his eyes squinting to see the small letters. After a long while, he motioned the boys closer.

“Aye, ‘tis Elfish. Ye be verra lucky to’ve found it lads. Not many do. Keep yer eyes oot, and ye may be seein’ some elf folk.” The twins exchanged a look, hardly daring to hope.

“What be it sayin’?” asked Justin. Old Elliot got out some of his own paper, and found a quill and ink. He set it down near the paper and began to explain what the elfish message said.

“These first two words be a name: Glevanne Addets. Doon a line be the message: the lower case ‘j’ could be ‘I’ or ‘me’, I be thinkin’ ‘tis ‘I’, fer the ‘j’ be lower case. Then is ‘klos gresu’ which be ‘be sayin’ or ‘be comunicatin’. Next be ‘digumsy difletsu’ which be ‘take warnin’ or ‘take heed’. Following this is ‘yesfes shera’ which is ‘ye be’ and ‘in danger’. Lastly, ‘tu’ which is simply ‘to’ an’ ‘Shetta Gloriheem’ which is also a name. Altogether this note says, roughly translated:

“From Glevanne Addets. I be tellin’ ye to take warnin’ fer ye be in danger. To Shetta Gloriheem.”

“So this here note be a warnin’ from an elf to an elf. The next thing I’d do is find the elf tha’ this here belongs to an’ warn it as soon as possible.” He finished this and looked at the boys gravely. Justin and Duncan paid close attention to what Old Elliot said, and when he finished, they sat in silence for a little while.

“How should we go aboot findin’ the elfish folk?” asked Duncan, breaking the stillness. Old Elliot smiled.

“Ah, noo tha’ ye’ll have to find oot fer yerselves. I found them by accident, but it’ll likely be different fer ye. The Magical Folk, elves included, like the human world to niver ken what they be up too. Ye’ll likely be surprised at whichever way they decide to let you find them, fer ye will be found, there be noo doubt aboot tha’. The best way is to keep yer eyes open, and yer ears sharp. The best o’ luck to ye boys, here be a token to keep w’ ye always. An elfish folk gave tha’ to me, an’ said tha’ it’d protect me from the spells o’ the evil wishers in my life.” He placed a small silver pendant in Justin’s hand as he spoke. It was in the shape of a small flower. They thanked him, Justin slipping the silver flower into his pocket. They bid the old man a fond farewell, and headed back to their home.

Justin walked a little ahead of Duncan, his brow furrowed, deep in thought.

When they arrived home, they were greeted by their younger sister, Mary. She was a small wisp of a girl. Delicate, some may have called her, but her brothers had a fierce sense of protection over her, and she was the one person other than Old Elliot they knew would keep their secrets.

“Ye be late.” She said quietly, a small smile on her face. Justin put a finger to his lips, a silent indication that he held a secret. She quickly repeated the same sign back to him, letting him know that she would keep silent on the matter until a safer time. The siblings exchanged knowing smiles, and they walked into their home together. Mrs. Grant was preparing their supper. She paused as the boys and Mary walked in.

“It be aboot time yer here.” She said, proudly watching her sturdy boys sit down and begin to fill their plates with the hearty dishes she had prepared. “I be hopin’ ‘t’ain’t cold.”  The twins uttered hasty apologies, and waited with folded hands for their father to arrive. Mr. Grant, the village blacksmith, soon came, and he to hurriedly washed his hands, removing his work apron. Sitting down at last, after kissing his wife and daughter on the forehead, his way of thanking them for the meal, the meal started. It consisted of potatoes, fresh greens from the family’s garden, corn bread, and salted pork. The boys quickly filled up as more and more of the good food found its way into their mouths, and were soon unable to eat any more. They left the table after having obtained permission, and Mary watched her brothers go before beginning to clean up after the meal. Mrs. Grant also watched them go, her eyes darkening.

“They be up to somethin’, Steven.” She said to her husband, as he finished his supper. Pausing, Mr. Grant’s eyes met Mrs. Grant’s and stayed there.

“Aye, I ken. Doon’t they always be up to somethin’?” he asked. Mrs. Grant sighed and nodded her head. Mr. Grant smiled at her. “Let them be, they’ll outgrow adventure soon enough. I did, but before my adventurous spirit died it led me to you.” He stood and engulfed his wife in a hug. “And ye ken yer worth it.” Mrs. Grant smiled, her husband’s words reassuring her. Supper was soon over with, and Mary went up to her brother’s room as soon as she could. They let her in, closing the door softly behind her.

“What be yer secret?” she asked, her eyes alight with curiosity. Justin and Duncan showed her the note. She read it quickly. “It be an elfish message. A warning.” Her brother’s mouths dropped open.

“Ye ken elfin talk?” Duncan asked. Mary blushed.

“Only a wee bit. Old Elliot showed me one summer.” Justin whistled.

“Would ye like to come w’ us in our search fer the elf this belongs to?” he asked. Mary eyed him suspiciously.

“Be ye askin’ me only because I ken elfin language?” she asked. The two shook their heads.

“Nay!” Duncan burst scornfully. “Ye ken we were goin’ to ask ye anyhow. We always like yer help when it comes to finding things.”  Mary’s temporary frown turned into a smile.

“Then I be comin’.” She said. The twins grinned at her. Justin put his hand in his pocket suddenly.

“If ye be comin’, then ye need to know what Old Elliot gave us to keep us safe during our trip.” He pulled out the pendant.

Deepest apologies for the bad spelling, I've been making up the elf's language as I go, and the main characters are Scottish. :)