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The sky above us whimpered again, an almost audible cry I felt in my bones. The elements fought in each direction as another strong gust of wind came over the land. With a thunderous clap, thicker sheets began pouring down. It swallowed our footprints with each step, erasing visibility completely.

Waving my free hand in front of my face, I could hardly see it. The sensation was otherworldly; it was like losing my sense of self through a winter ambush. The only thing that I knew to be true was that I was freezing. And I wasn't convinced I wouldn't die of hypothermia.

Squeezing Valentina’s hand like I might lose her to the storm, I tucked her underneath my arm. I couldn’t lose her. With the other hand, I reached for my mother, but she had been too far away. I couldn’t even find her; she wasn’t even an outline. “Mom, are you okay?” I yelled out in search of her.

“I’m okay!” She shouted back.

Before I had time to respond, the earth fell away underneath us. I should’ve sensed it, but the cold and panic smothered everything. Our feet hit a weak spot beneath the ice-covered floor, and, without even a warning sound, we were free-falling twenty feet into a freezing, damp hole. I folded my arm around Valentina’s waist, pulling her into my chest as snow toppled after us.

As Valentina's body curled around mine, there was a sense of weightlessness around us both. It wasn't the kind that felt like floating. It was the kind that had my stomach glued to the base of my throat, threatening to come out of my esophagus. Pulling her closer, I watched as another figure's body toppled from the ceiling as my spine hit the wet earth. For one split second, I thought I was dead from how hard the wind had been knocked out of me. Closing my eyes, I lay there, stars swirling behind my lids, as sleet and snow buried both of us.

“Fuck,” I managed as my fingers grazed along Valentina’s spine. Once my grip was loose on her waist, she rolled off me with a laugh. “I’m glad someone is entertained.” I sighed, pushing up slowly from the pile. Even with how soft the earth felt underneath me now, it still knocked my breath from my chest. My shoulder rolled as I stretched, popping my aching joints back into place. Valentina sat up in her own drift, stretching long limbs with a low whimper. My mom sprouted from her mound of powder. Her hair was disheveled and her eyes still sparkling as she threw her arms wide in a yawn. “Is everyone okay?” I asked, breaking the heavy rhythm of our breaths.

“I’m alright, dear,” my mother replied softly, still catching her breath. “Valentina? Are you okay?” she added, nudging her way toward us through the snow.

Dusting the frosted bits from my cloak, I stood, offering Valentina my hand. Her fingers slid into my palm as I pulled her up to her feet. An amused grin played on her lips before she turned towards my mother. She studied her for a moment before crossing the small distance to her. “I’m quite alright,” she reassured Martha. “I’ve had worse falls than this.” Valentina’s voice trailed off for a beat as her eyes drifted around the den.

The man-made crevasse was wide enough to be a studio apartment dug in rich dark soil. From ceiling to floor, it was perfectly cylindrical. Tree roots from above stretched along the walls, breaking through the dirt like a ladder, but none reached the base. Even though the room was crafted in deep browns, it was the most colorful I’d seen here. In nature, at least. It was a welcome change to the endless pillars of white I was growing used to.

Valentina slowly turned, her eyes continuing their search. I couldn’t help but admire the way the yellow of her silks caught in the pale blue from above. Before I could get too lost, she muttered to herself at first, “I think we’ve fallen into an elven manor,” still scanning the dirt walls around us.

“Oh, I’ve always wanted to meet an elf!” my mother blurted, excitement bouncing off the earthen walls. Martha crossed the room to place a hand on my shoulder. “Alex, aren’t you excited?” I set my hand over hers and chuckled; her joy was contagious. If I were being honest, though, I wasn’t as excited as she was.

“I’m not sure what the folklore says about elves in your world, Alex’s mom. But here, they’re truly remarkable,” Valentina's eyes flickered to mine like she was about to assign homework. She always had something to teach me. Every day, a new fairy tale turned fact. I tried to scan the chamber with my mother’s curiosity. It wasn’t the same because my only elf education was Christmas specials. Unless Santa was hiding down here, I had no idea what to expect.

“My father used to work with them when they dwelled on the surfaces more freely. He’d called them small but mighty. They rarely come now. If they do, we’d never know. Their magic is so unpredictable.” As she spoke, Valentina circled the room, pressing her ear to the wall, running her hands along the packed dirt, searching.

“Sounds magical,” my mom murmured, wide-eyed, tracking Valentina’s every move.

“What are you looking for?” I asked, stepping behind Val.

She glanced up at me without a word as her fingers found their way to my hair. The touch was unhurried as she pressed my head to the wall. “Listen,” she whispered. Damp earth kissed my ear as I listened. It was hard to concentrate as she combed her fingers lazily through my curls. That soft, small touch had my heart stuttering against my chest. To keep myself from veering too far out of the corner of my eye, I watched my mom press her own head to the dirt. “If you listen closely, you can hear their heartbeats,” She continued. “Most of them seem to be asleep. You can hear it. Their hearts are slower and steadier. The others that are awake their beats a little faster.” Her voice was barely more than a breath, letting the wall do the rest.

Rich tones of wet moss and soil filled my nose as I listened deeper. Val was right. The thuds were quiet. Sluggish even. They were nothing like how my mother’s used to be. And unlike an animal or a human’s rhythm, every other beat falls into silence.

“That’s so cool,” slipped out of my mouth. It was the most honest thing that came to mind. Each new thing that had been presented to me was mind-blowing. Pushing off the barrier, I watched Martha marvel at the new discovery. I wonder how many beings she came across on her way here. Did her mind also get blown the way mine had? If anything, her curiosity had only grown. Her head still rested against the dirt, eyes closed, listening.

Martha’s hand glided along the dirt before she took a deep breath of earth. “I’ve never heard anything like this,” she murmured, mostly to herself, before pulling her head away. “Is it okay that we’re down here? Seems like they put so much effort into not being found.” Her gaze shifted to mine, thoughtful. It wasn’t a question I actually expected her to have, only because my own mind hadn’t wandered that far.

Shrugging my shoulders, I turned my attention back to Valentina. There was no worry etched into her features as she crouched-walked along the wall. Her fingers dug in the depths of the soil in search of something. Somehow, her calmness put me at ease.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

Her hair whipped around her head as she looked back up at me. “There should be a hidden entrance along one of these walls.” She started as her hands continued to examine the soil. “If we’re inside, the guards won’t find us. Out here, even in this trap, we’re exposed. Now help me look.” There was no curiosity when she spoke this time. That was the woman I had first met, one pure of strategy for survival.

The snappiness in her tone made my eyes roll, but I knelt beside her. It didn’t help that I had no idea what I was searching for, but the way her own fingers were frantic, she didn’t know either. Silently, I allowed my fingers to feel through the soft grains of dirt, searching for a hidden seam.

“Would you both like some help?” my mom asked, scanning between us.

Shaking my head, I instantly knew my answer. I didn’t want her to exert any more energy than she had. They had only just gotten here, and I was dragging her through the forest like she was on the run. “We’ve got it. You rest. It’s freezing in here, and that was a hell of a fall,” I said. My eyes scanned over how the beige coloring of her dress was now a muddied mess at the hems. Even her hair was dusted with dirt from pressing against the wall.

Martha’s eyes squinted as she looked me up and down. My explanation clearly didn’t land the way I intended by her expression. It didn’t matter, though, because I knew I was right. I didn’t mean to tip my head and mirror her own concern back to her, but I did. “I made the same fall you did,” she quipped, “but I’ll let you handle it.” Leaning against the wall behind her, she folded her arms along her chest in surrender.

Turning my attention back to the soil, I dug into a new spot than before. To my surprise, my fingers dug into squishy mud that revealed a rough pebbled patch underneath. It led to nothing, though, just a dead end to roots under the soil.

Valentina and I hobbled along the circumference on our knees, digging, until my fingers found it. It almost felt like a spring-loaded “button” of compacted dirt. I had no idea how the mechanics worked or how they built it. Without a thought, I pressed down on the spring, calling out, “I think I found something.”

As the button retracted back into place, a low rumble shook the ground. My knees wobbled against the force, sending me falling back as the wall in front of me started cracking open. That small slit turned into the side wall, groaning open. As the soil shifted before our eyes, it revealed a long corridor cut into the earth.