Nienke is a dark elf who lives in the small, sleepy village of Alpenrose. Though beautiful, Alpenrose is secluded, and it boasts exactly one family of dark elves: Nienke's. Nienke was singled out and teased for most of her childhood owing to her unusual appearance, and it doesn't help that a nasty childhood illness left her shorter and slighter than the rest of her peers.

Nienke was always an outcast, but she never minded it - or, at least, she tried not to. She had her best friend Cornelia, and she wasn't lonely...

Until Cornelia leaves Alpenrose to attend university, leaving Nienke behind.

Nienke would love to attend university herself, but her overprotective parents don't want to let her stray too far afield owing to her delicate health. Nienke has to stay at home instead, where her parents can keep an eye on her, and help out at her parents' café, Fleur de Lys.

Nienke is already twenty, but her parents still treat her like a child. Her every day is the same, and she's bored of the daily grind...

Until a fellow dark elf called Merel pays Nienke a visit. She claims to be Nienke's childhood friend, though Nienke can't remember her. Did she really used to play with a girl as aggressively cheerful and energetic as Merel...

And why is Merel so freaking tall, anyway?!