Elves’ world

By Cristina Rebiere and Olivier Rebiere

Elves' world

At twelve years old, Cathy Merlin discovers Brazil where her diplomat father had just been appointed. Arrival in an unknown country is often difficult. So Cathy has to take on new habits and discover her home. She can count on Mathilde, the housekeeper who has looked after her for years. His dad loves her very much but cannot always be there to help her. As a result, she will need much courage to get used to her new school and learn to make new friends. But our heroine is ready to take on any challenge!

During a horseback ride, an unexpected encounter in the heart of the jungle makes her discover a millennia-old secret. In the midst of exotic flowers and trees, a whole new world opens up to her. But she still cannot share her discoveries with those around her. And because elves are in great danger, she wants to help them. Her new friend, Gwenola, will transform her existence. However, she will have to make difficult decisions. Will Cathy know how to protect the secret? Will she be able to reconcile her normal college life and the one that opens up before her? During fantastic adventures, Cathy and her friends will learn to work together and overcome their fears.

Cathy Merlin: a series of magic and ecology !

Pollution, climate change: the current challenges of our world are numerous. How to explain complex concepts to the youngest? How can we make our children getting aware of these problems and reconnecting with Nature? We must both use the mechanisms of tales and legends as well as the harsh realities from which our planet suffers. This positive collection of small novels tries to offers this kind of vision to young adolescents who have their feet on the ground but still know how to dream!

"Cathy Merlin" is a youth series full of magical and constructive adventures. Each book combines magic and realism and skillfully slaloms between spells and plants' medicinal properties. With humor and wisdom, Cristina Rebiere takes great pleasure in making us travel around the world in places that really exist and that she has visited. So, get ready to discover an original and atypical series that will delight readers of all ages!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cristina & Olivier Rebiere
• Release date: Sep 2, 2017
• ISBN: 9781549647741

Cristina Rebiere

Courte biographie:Cristina Rebière est auteure de nombreux guides et livres. Elle a dirigé une maison d'édition, un parc d'aventures et mené à bien de nombreuses missions dans la fonction publique européenne. Elle est aussi spécialisée dans la formation continue.Ses origines:Après la Révolution roumaine, Cristina interrompt de brillantes études pour entrer à l'université en France où elle suit tout le cursus en faculté de droit et obtient une Maîtrise en Administration Économique et Sociale. D'abord chargée de communication dans un Institut Français en Allemagne, elle devient statisticienne à Bruxelles pour un bureau d'assistance de la Commission Européenne. De retour à Bucarest elle est successivement contrôleuse de gestion, directrice de maison d'édition, experte européenne puis professeure de français. En Roumanie elle fonde avec son mari une entreprise de team building puis le premier parc d'aventures jamais créé dans ce pays - construit de leurs mains - qui attirera des milliers de personnes, écoles et entreprises dans la pratique du sport et d'activités de cohésion en pleine nature. Avec son équipe, elle conçoit et construit des parcours d'escalade dans les arbres pour d'autres clients.Au rectorat de l'Académie de la Martinique, Cristina prend en charge la coordination de la Cellule Académique des Fonds Européens et de Coopération où elle accompagne les porteurs de projet dans le montage des dossiers, assure la formation en ingénierie de projet, gère un réseau de plus d'une soixantaine d'enseignants référents à l'ouverture internationale. Elle assure la gestion opérationnelle de plusieurs projets de coopération. Elle assure l'actualisation du site internet de la Délégation Académique aux Relations Internationales et à la Coopération.La pédagogie de Cristina Rebière est basée sur le pragmatisme et l'efficacité.Domaines de compétence:management de projet, voyage, marketing social de contenu, team building, formation initiale et continue, expertise en fonds européens, budgétisation, planification, productivité et stratégie, coaching, ingénierie financière, webmestre, statistiques, procédures, web intégration, conception graphique, communication, conception et construction de parcs d'aventure

Book preview

Cathy Merlin

Elves’ world

Volume 1

Cristina Rebière

Translated by Marc Rebière

Cover by Sihame Lihemdi

Copyright © Cristina Rebiere

All rights of reproduction, translation and adaptation reserved.

No extract from this book may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form, either on paper or by electronic means, without prior authorization from the author.

The work on the file you just acquired is protected by copyright. Any reproduction of any extract or other than personal use of this book will constitute an infringement and will be liable to result in civil and criminal proceedings.

Any reproduction, by any process whatsoever, would constitute an infringement and would be liable to the sanctions provided for by the texts of international laws and treaties in force on intellectual property and the protection of copyright.

Table of Contents

1. Cathy

2. Discovery of a small paradise

3. Unexpected encounters

4. A new friend

5. First day of school

6. Elves’ land

7. Elves’ school

8. Girly day at the beach…

9. The first spells…

10. Trip to Lençois

11. The colored sands’ saloon

12. The trap

1. Cathy

Cathy looked out the window and saw a butterfly that had just flown off the ficus branch touching the window. She was lying on her bed. Her eyes followed the flight of the butterfly, towards the sky all blue and with cloudless weather that day. Her thoughts also flew away, and she closed her eyes ... Her mother's face appeared to her, full of life, always so gentle, with her look full of tenderness. The color of her eyes was brown-olive, her chestnut hair was long with some blond curls. With a soft voice, she whispered: Cathy, my Cathy ... I'll always be there when you’ll need me. Cathy smiled and held out her hand trying to touch that face she loved so much.

The door of her room opened, and her dad's voice snatched her from her daydream:

—    Do you come to have lunch? asked him, entering the room and approaching the bed.

—    Oh, dad, you've already come back? I haven’t heard you coming.

—    Apparently you couldn’t ... you seemed to be far away…

—    Is lunch already ready? Mathilde didn’t tell me. Let's eat, I'm starving, she replied, as she was suddenly getting up and rushing to kiss her dad.

They went down the stairs into the dining room where Mathilde was bringing the dishes from the kitchen. Mathilde was Cathy's nanny. A French woman, about fifty years old, robust, with a rather serious face, but softened by her blue eyes having a maternal warmth. She was in the family even before the birth of Cathy: Mathilde’s mother was a nanny for the Merlin family before her, and she raised Charles, Cathy's dad. Charles and Marie Merlin proposed to her to enter the family. She accepted without any hesitation. For sixteen years she had followed them from country to country and looked after the entire family. She had been a faithful friend of Madame Merlin, and since the birth of Cathy she looked after her as if she were her own daughter.

Cathy was very fond of Mathilde, and she had found in her nanny the support, warmth, and love she had lost at the disappearance of her mother. She needed it, like every little girl, the tenderness and understanding she couldn’t find in her dad.

Charles Merlin was a French diplomat who was often sent abroad. During one of his missions in Romania, he had met Marie, Cathy's mother, from whom he fell deeply in love and married her a few months after their meeting. During their wedding trip, in France, Marie met Charles’ family who lived in an old castle in the Loire’s County. Madame Merlin, Charles's mother, was a widow and lived in her large mansion with some other servants. Mary conquered the old lady by her grace and they soon tied a rather special relationship. As for Mathilde, she was delighted that Charles had found a wife so charming and sweet.

The Merlin family remained in Romania one more year, after which Mr. Merlin was sent to Burma for two years. During this year, Charles had the opportunity to discover many things about Romania and about his wife whom he had not even suspected before.

—    What did you cook for us Mathilde today? It smells so good ... asked Mr. Merlin sitting down at the table and carefully filling a glass of red wine placed beside his plate.

—    Today I thought I would make Cathy's favorite dish: chicken with cream and chanterelles with baked potatoes. That will give her courage for tomorrow, she added, filling Cathy's plate as she was grinning at her.

—    Indeed, my darling tomorrow is the big day: you are going to start school and you will encounter new classmates. How do you feel about it?

—    I can’t wait to go back to school, Daddy, she replied, with a very excited voice. I hope I will make new friends. Mine are already so far away... that I sometimes feel lonely.

—    This afternoon you will already have the opportunity to meet Caroline who will be this year in the same class as you. She's a very nice girl, you'll see.

—    Who is Caroline? And where will I meet her today?

—    She is the daughter of my colleague André Jacquet. He invited us this afternoon to a small party.

—    Oh, but I wanted to go to the park with you this afternoon ... she said with a small voice without showing her disappointment. I wanted to go for a walk with Penny.

—    We can go if you want to…

—    Is that true dad? she shouted, jumping off the chair and going to give a kiss to her dad.

—    Yes, darling, he replied, smiling at her. But for that we have to finish eating, so return to your chair and finish your plate quickly. You can bring the salad Mathilde, it seems our little lady is impatient to see her horse again. We will go out right after we finish eating.

—    Do you want me to prepare the coffee Sir? asked Mathilde, bringing a large salad bowl and placing it on the table. And you, Cathy, do you want a hot chocolate?

—    Yes, Mathilde, I want a hot chocolate, replied Cathy, still joyful at the idea that she was going to ride the horse. With a lot of whipped cream, she added.

—    I will also take a small coffee, Mathilde. This chicken was excellent, was it not, Cathy? he asked, winking at Mathilde as they both knew the answer that would follow.

—    Yes, very good, she said, passing her tongue over her lips and trying to find the last traces of sauce within the plate with a piece of bread. I'll help you with the dishes, she said, getting up and taking her plate and her dad's.

She ran towards the kitchen, followed by Mathilde, who carried the rest of the dishes.

—    Can I make Dad's coffee? she asked, taking a small metal receptacle specially designed for this purpose. It was an "ibric" that her parents had brought back from their trip to Turkey.

She remembered very well when the ibric had appeared in the kitchen; she was three years old… It had a bizarre, convex shape and with a very small spout and its reddish color made it very beautiful. She immediately asked her mom if she could take it to cook for her dolls, but her parents explained that the ibric was made to