Recovery

I became barely consolable. After Lithaldoren left and the police began working on the case, there was nothing else I could do but wait. And wait. And wait. This only made the overwhelming guilt nearly crush me until I was completely flattened. Things became even worse when I realized I couldn't fully blame Mr. Clemens. It wasn't his fault he is like he is. His body just doesn't work right He literally could not understand that was he was doing wasn't right, and that he wasn't actually doing what's best for his daughter. 

It was my responsibility as the rational person with the properly working mind to make the right choices. It was all on my shoulders, and I failed miserably. Now my little girl could be hurt, or possibly something much worse could happen. I could not go through that again. I just couldn't. I shouldn't have become so complacent about a situation I never should have looked away from. Then I felt bad that I was monopolizing Sind away from his heavily pregnant wife as he was the only one who can make me feel somewhat decent. I even made it hard for the others what with my random collapsing into tears.

When I wasn't inside being a mess, I stood outside watching, praying, and doing more waiting as I hoped Eleme might turn the corner as she came home. I wished every second that I'd get a call from the police telling me they were bringing her back safe and sound. They said they had a solid lead as to where Mr. Clemens might have taken her, and where the two still might be. However, Mr. Clemens has covered his tracks surprisingly well. It seems he can be competent if he wants to be. It was taking the police a little time to find out all the details.

Despite everything, the family, even including me, was trying hard to remain optimistic and positive. Though it seemed so cruel to forget about Eleme, that is what I tried to do so I wouldn't ruin Calanon's birthday. Sind and Griselda naturally wanted to make it as cheerful as any other birthdays we've had. I managed to be fine for about an hour before I had to retire to my room so I wouldn't bring down the pleasant atmosphere surrounding the house for once. I thought Sind and Griselda would be frustrated with me, but they actually brought everyone downstairs to enjoy Sind's guitar playing there to give me a bit more privacy.

A few more days passed, which marked a week of Eleme's absence. I was at my breaking point when the time to finally do something presented itself to me. Lithaldoren came to tell me the news. Mr. Clemens also owned a cabin in the woods about 20 miles away from Sunset Valley. It had to be where he and Eleme were. Lithaldoren and a few other police officers would be going there immediately to deal with the situation. He said there was no way I was coming along when I told him I wanted to go as well. While Lithaldoren personally had no qualms about my participation, the law enforcement protocol simply didn't allow it.

I huffed. I was going. Otherwise, I would make sure ada made a big fuss to the humans about why his daughter wasn't allowed to help retrieve her own daughter from the clutches of a mad, potential harmful man. Ada's time here had made him consider the elves starting to deal more in depth with humans again. Did Lithaldoren want the relationship to become strained again? He could see how determined I was, and understood I was going to follow along whether I had permission or not. He made a quick call to his supervisor to get me permission to come.

I had to prepare quickly in order to be allowed to go though. Everyone else was ready, and they didn't want to waste time waiting for me. You can believe I was ready before Lithaldoren even knew I had left the room. Besides me and him, there was one other male officer and two female officers in the group. We were the main team moving in. The superiors thought it would be a terrible idea to approach directly from the front of Mr. Clemens' cabin. They didn't want to risk him spotting us and using Eleme as a hostage. Our goal was to sneak around the back instead to recover Eleme quietly before Mr. Clemens could notice what was going on. That meant there was a lot of hiking and walking involved. There wasn't even a road that went anywhere close to the cabin. It was completely surrounded by nature.

Now that I was moving, now that I was doing something, I felt calm, composed, and confident. I didn't even feel the slightest bit out of place amongst the officers. I might not be able to use a gun like they can, but as I have mentioned before- physical combat is no problem for me. There was once an instance where I had to fight off Eloril and two of his friends at once per ada's request. They were all double my size at that point. I might not have won the fight, but neither did they. We were at it for hours until ada finally called it a draw. With all he and naneth went through, my training was the one thing ada never let me slack in. It was in fact one area in which he was incredibly harsh on me. As a result, I can more than hold my own despite my docile appearance.

We walked for half of the day. Lithaldoren and the others were growing weary, but I felt no more tired than I had been when we begun. It was partly because I was so ready to be reunited with my daughter, but also mostly because I am an elf. It's more emotional and psychological stress than wears me down rather than physical exertion. If I am happy and carefree, I can go days without sleeping. Naturally though, it was not the same way with my son and his companions. We took a break once we reached the peak of the foothill we had been climbing. Lithaldoren revealed we were at least getting close, and then took the opportunity to brief me on law enforcement protocols. I had had to agree to follow all of them in order to come along. I wasn't allowed to just do what I wanted. Of course I already understood that, but I listened patiently to Lithaldoren regardless.

We continued on for some time after we resumed walking. I lost my breath when we could finally see a glimpse of the cabin when we reached another tall peak. It was truly surrounded by a thick walls of trees save for a small gap at the front. We would have to shove our way through them though in order to be undetected. That would be after we first made our way down the very step hill at the back of the cabin. It was hard to believe Eleme was so close and yet still so far away. That was when I grew very angry for the first time. I stopped sympathizing in any manner with Mr. Clemens and his condition. I began to wonder if I could follow Lithaldoren's procedures if it turned out Eleme had been hurt.

The five of us were making our way down the hill as covertly as possible. There wasn't much to shield us from sight on the hill, but there was no way with all the trees surrounding the cabin for us to be seen from there. Or so we thought. Mr. Clemens had a trick that gave him the advantage. All of a sudden, we heard his voice loud and clear telling us to stop moving. It came from multiple directions. We all looked around in panic and confusion. That's when one of the female officers spotted and pointed out several cameras and speakers. Mr. Clemens had a whole surveillance system set up around the cabin! There was no choice for us but to turn back. We were told that Eleme was his, but if Mr. Clemens saw us approaching again he would have to do something terrible to her.

With that, there was no option but to retreat until we were certain we were out of sight of the cameras. Lithaldoren joined with the other officers to call the enforcement headquarters while I paced furiously. I was eventually told it was possible to hack into the camera system, but unfortunately this would be noticed by Mr. Clemens. He would understand what they were doing, and hurt Eleme anyway. They weren't sure what to do. I wasn't sure either. How on earth were we supposed to get to my daughter without risking her safety? It seemed an impossible task.

That's when a miracle happened. An old man came out of nowhere. He told us to call him Mr. Julius, and he revealed he could offer us assistance with getting Eleme back. We were all wary of him at first. We didn't understand how he knew where we were or how he knew about my daughter's kidnapping at all. The headquarters had made sure the situation hadn't reached the presses ears in order to avoid threatening or intimidating Mr. Clemens into doing something dangerous. Mr. Julius said a young man, who somehow knew he was the previous owner of Mr. Clemens' cabin, came to him to ask if he knew anything that might help. He couldn't tell us who the young man was or where he was now. He had left as mysteriously as he came after letting him know where we could be found.

Mr. Julius reveled he did have information that actually could help us out a great deal. There was another cabin not too far from where we were that his friend owned. We would be able to get inside Mr. Clemens' cabin if we went there. I couldn't figure out how that would help, but everything was quickly explained. Though the cabins had been updated relatively recently, the buildings themselves were very old. Long, long ago they were owned by friends who ran an illegal trade good business. There was an underground tunnel that connected the cabins which the friends had used to store and smuggle their products. Mr. Julius had accidentally found the entrance to the tunnel while he lived in the cabin, but because he believed it to be dangerous he never told Mr. Clemens about it. There was a good chance he still didn't know of its existence. We could sneak into his basement if we used the entrance in his friend's cabin. Lithaldoren was hesitant about the idea, but what other option was available to us at that time?

It was a ten minute walk to the other cabin, Another elderly man, Mr. Cunningham, kindly allowed us inside and showed us the entrance to the tunnel. Neither man wanted to come along with us even for just a little ways past the entrance. They both thought it to be haunted. That didn't reassure Lithaldoren or the other officers at all. I couldn't have cared less about the supposed ghosts. I was afraid we might have a bit of a problem though. Mr. Cunningham had kept the first small stretch of tunnel well lit and clean, but the other four remained nervous. Lithaldoren especially kept close to me as I lead the way. He's a wonderful officer, but I saw he was still somewhat inexperienced with the unexpected and unknown.

As a staircase came into view, it became quickly obvious the tunnel would get much darker and unkempt from that point on. It didn't encourage the others. I never stopped moving forward though. I went down those stairs and continued on without looking back to see if I was being properly followed. All I could think was that Mr. Clemens might do something to Eleme at anytime now that he knew we were around trying to get him.

It truly did get much darker as we went along. Barely any of the lights were still working. Lithaldoren and the officers had to pull out their flashlights. Lithaldoren offered me his spare, but I refused as I didn't need it. I could see fine. He then remarked on how he had forgotten just how different I was from the rest of them. To be honest, I had forgotten as well. It had somehow become hard to remember those around me couldn't do the things that came so naturally to me. I smiled for the first time since Eleme's disappearance.

The tunnel became colder, damp, and filled with many spiders and cobwebs. It was a good thing it wasn't Lomenia or Lueth who became the cop. They hate spiders with a passion. The walk down that tunnel felt like it took an hour, even though Lithaldoren reassured me we had only been down there for twenty minutes. I couldn't help but to think as we went along how what was happening was something that really only ever happened in a movie or story. It was strange that it could actually be occurring in real life. The corners and turns became more numerous for what seemed like a completely random path. I was glad there was only one tunnel to follow else we would have become hopelessly lost.

Just when I thought I was about to go crazy, the tunnel widened drastically after the last corner. The five of us were met with a dead-end. It was clear we had reached the hidden entrance to Mr. Clemens basement. Lithaldoren found the spot Mr. Julius had instructed to us to press up against. It was where the door would be. I lost my breath again as my son worked at opening the wall. Now I really was so close to Eleme. I also knew we could not make one peep. If we did, the whole situation would go down a path none of us wanted.

The other officers volunteered to help Lithaldoren, but he didn't want it. The door had to be opened slowly in order to open it quietly. Too much force would pretty much guarantee there would be a lots of noise. The wall finally budged after a minute. Lithaldoren continued to turn it slowly, and it thankfully made barely any sound at all. I couldn't believe this unplanned plan was working.

The basement was relatively empty as it was obvious Mr. Clemens had no real need for it. All that was down there was some straw scattered about and some empty barrels that used to be filled with who knows what. I took this as a good sign though. It meant we had to worry little about Mr. Clemens coming down there. My eyes were quickly drawn to the staircase against the wall leading up to the first floor. I could hear footsteps and Mr. Clemens' voice.

None of the others moved after hearing his voice. I was frozen in fear for a second as well, but I gathered my courage as I slowly walked over to the stairs. I stealthily and soundlessly crawled up them as only I had the ability to do so out of our group. I was prepared at any second to leap back down at the chance Mr. Clemens might spot me. It was when I was a third of the way from the top when I stopped to hide in the shadows. The Goddess had to be watching over the situation. Why else at that exact moment would Mr. Clemens tell Eleme he was going to use the bathroom and not to take her eyes off the monitors before locking himself firmly into the bathroom? I crawled the rest of the way up the stairs.

I peered around. To my surprise, the cabin was not only nicely decorated but very well kept. I never would have believed Mr. Clemens could keep such a place orderly considering he didn't come here often. Naturally, the cabin's decor was not my first concern. I was more interested in the little head of black hair I spotted watching three televisions that served as the monitors for the surveillance system. Each one occasionally blipped to a new view after several seconds.

I whispered Eleme's name as loud as I dared. He mouth dropped open and her eyes grew wider than should be possible when she saw me there. I had to press my fingers against my lips in order to keep her from crying out to me in relief. She understood then as well, and cautiously but hurriedly rushed over to me when I motioned for her to come.

And as soon as she was in my arms, I knew she was safe.

With Eleme out of harm's way, my fear then became how we would handle Mr. Clemens. I thought we would have a big issue, but Lithaldoren and the other male cop took care of the situation perfectly. They smartly waited on each side of the bathroom door. When Mr. Clemens walked out they tackled him before he knew what was going on. He did try to fight back. However, he fought exactly like how I expected he would- by relying solely on brute force. Mr. Clemens was quickly defeated by superior technique and teamwork. He was held to the floor while Lithaldoren put the handcuffs around his wrists. I didn't look him in once the eye. He didn't speak to me, and I didn't speak to him. I wasn't going to allow him even that much more involvement in my life.

I then left my son and his companions to further deal with Mr. Clemens and the situation. My focus was solely fixated on Eleme. She apologized to me for she had been the one to set Mr. Clemens off. It was just because she was so tried of being ignored that she said she was never going to visit him again. That's when he had tied her up and brought her here. I asked if he had hurt her at all. Not really, Eleme answered. He made her watch the screens all the time. While he would let her use the bathroom when she wanted, he barely allowed her to sleep. She got perhaps two or three hours of rest a day. If she accidentally dozed off she wasn't allowed to eat. 

I apologized that I hadn't arrived sooner to stop all that from happening. Eleme told me not to feel guilty. All she wanted from me was to be carried when it came time to be taken to the police cruiser that managed to get somewhat close to the cabin despite there being no road. I instantly gathered her in my arms, and my exhausted baby girl was asleep in seconds.

Eleme slept the whole way back. I managed to convince the officers driving us to take us home instead of taking us to the hospital. They wanted Eleme to be checked out to make sure she was physically fine, but I told them she needed to be home more than she needed to be looked at. I would take her to the hospital the following day instead. Sind, Griselda, Calun, Ithilas, Galir, and Calanon were so happy to have her back. They each gave her a quick hug in the brief moment where she woke to change into her pajamas. Then Eleme fell right back asleep as soon as she was snuggled into her bed.

I remained next to her the entire time she slept to reassure myself that my daughter truly was safe......