The Morning Gleam

Jude pressed his nose against the crystal window of his bedroom in the Cloud Castle. Below him, the world looked like a green patchwork quilt stretching endlessly. He had lived here for three months now, ever since the elves found him lost in their forest.

"Still missing home?" asked Pip, a talking crystal doorknob who had become his friend.

"Sometimes," Jude admitted. "Everything here is so different."

Pip's surface shimmered. "Different isn't always bad, you know."

Before Jude could respond, voices echoed from the corridor outside. He crept to his door and peered through the keyhole. Two tall figures in flowing silver cloaks stood whispering urgently.

"The human boy," one hissed. "His eyes can see what ours cannot."

"Tonight, when the moon is darkest," the other replied. "We'll take him to the Gem Caverns."

Jude's heart pounded. Who were these strangers? And what did they want with his eyes?

Through the Starlit Window

Jude slipped into bed, pulling his blanket up to his chin. Outside his window, the castle drifted through wisps of silver clouds under the moonless sky.

A soft scratching sound made him freeze. Someone was picking the lock on his door.

"Pip!" he whispered to the crystal doorknob.

"Can't move when someone's tampering with my mechanism," Pip replied in the faintest voice. "Sorry, friend."

The door creaked open. Two figures in flowing silver cloaks glided into his room like morning mist. Their faces were hidden beneath deep hoods.

"Come quietly, human boy," the taller one said. Her voice was gentle but firm. "We need your help."

Jude sat up. "Who are you?"

"Crystal collectors," the shorter figure replied. He had kind eyes that sparkled like cut gems. "Your human vision sees treasures our elf eyes cannot. Will you come with us?"

Before Jude could answer, the woman scooped him up in strong arms. The man grabbed his backpack.

"Wait!" Jude protested, but they were already carrying him toward the window.

The crystal glass dissolved like water, and suddenly they were soaring through the star-filled sky.