3 Exiled And Beaten

****(POV)

I had it all. The perfect wife. The cutest daughter. The most loyal subordinates.

Being of noble blood having an easy life should have been easy.

I did not want to fight for the throne.

I simply wanted to live my life.

Fight for our race. Defeat our enemies in the depths. I made it truly clear to my own brother.

Assured him many times of it until he believed in me. Even supported his ascension to the throne.

We struggled for so long. For the power struggles of the royalty are as treacherous as deadly.

Finally, we had everything under control. We had won.

I would have been able to live the remainder of my lifespan in peace. Watch my family prosper.

Grow old and weary. Leave this world a satisfied elf.

I had it all planned.

The world has a way to toy with mortals' plans, however.

My younger brother gleefully accepted the throne.

Came the inauguration ceremony.

We, his followers, were ecstatic for we would know our race would prosper.

For once we would have had a wise ruler.

We celebrated all night long. Drinking until morning came.

But instead of the soft glow of the rising Everflame what awaited me was a nightmarish scene.

My wife slaughtered and toyed with.

My daughter imprisoned. All in order to torture me later on.

My brother betrayed me ….no he did not.

I realized all too late that he was not my brother anymore.

The acting was so on point it fooled even me initially.

In this skin of his resided the soul of an old monster.

One that took over.

One that existed since immemorial times.

That grin of his was the worst. My once gentle brother turned into a monstrosity.

I finally understood the saying that the rulers of Ebon City are eternal.

It wasn't just lip service.

In fact, it should be THE leader of Ebon city is eternal.

He truly is. A ghost from the past that refuses to pass on.

I was fooled.

I did have a last trump card. I never thought I would use it.

One last measure that I had prepared ages ago already.

Back when I wasn't convinced of the veracity of my brother's claims.

Back when the fighting was the most intense.

I always felt like it wasn't necessary anymore, but I kept it near me at all times.

I figured might as well.

A magic of old.

One extremely complex and amazing, yet so dumb.

Simply a random teleportation device. It lets one reach anywhere in the world.

Should one's luck be bad it would mean an instant bad end.

The upside of it is that it can take one far away from any predicament. It also can bring many people at once.

It turned out that this monster had jailed both my daughter and most loyal followers together.

The old thing voluntarily let me make a show of power.

Waiting for just the right time to cull me. And induce despair.

Having access to my brother's memories he had a perfect understanding of my abilities.

Or so he thought. I always hid my power.

For my potential alone would have assured me the throne. A throne I never wanted in the first place.

What others consider glorious and majestic was nothing but a pile of treacherous political bullshit in my eyes.

I almost reached the cell.

His minions stopped me…or tried.

They were convinced of their success, but then I released the seal I had imposed on myself.

With that burst of power, I even took that scheming bastard by surprise.

I reached my people. Of course, there were defensive measures in place to stop me, but I annihilated even those.

I was too weak to fight that evil in my brother's skin but strong enough to bypass the paltry half-hearted preparations it had done.

I hugged them tightly, all of them. And I activated my life-saving measure.

In a flash of light, we all disappeared.

The last thing I saw was the utterly shocked and insane expression of that creature.

We were out. Me and 20 of my warriors. All people I am proud of. Most importantly my daughter was with me.

She is the only reason I survived. She is the love between me and my dear wife.

A wife that I truly let down. I was a fool.

The only reason this fool didn't burn his true essence and go down in a blaze is my daughter.

Sweet, innocent, smart, the best. A jewel shining in an otherwise dark world.

But I had saved her. Brought her to safety. And I would keep her safe for as long as I could.

I observed our surroundings. A forest.

Clearly different from home. We should be safe here. At least from our brethren's reprisal.

We would start our life here anew. And prosper.

I looked at my child and gave her a reassuring smile.

That's when I noticed the issue. She was unconscious. Barely breathing.

Her lips slightly purple.

Something definitely wrong.

"What happened to my daughter?!"

"Master, that monster poisoned her…"

No. This isn't possible. I got her out. Out from his grasp.

Yet it changes nothing. No, I won't accept this! No way in hell!

She's supposed to inherit everything I own. She's supposed to live her life to the fullest.

She's supposed to prosper for both of our sakes.

This isn't supposed to happen!

"No, please. Wake Up. Hurry up and wake up. IRISCE OPEN YOUR EYES!"

This can't be happening. How do I save her? There must be a way. Somehow.

I can't deal with poison. We don't have any healers.

Nothing here can save her. NO FUCKING WAY.

I WON'T ACCEPT THIS!

No child should leave before their father.

Ever.

There is one thing that can save her.

Yes, only one thing.

Please. Any god out there. Hear my prayer. I'm ready to do anything in your name.

I'm ready to sacrifice anything. I'm ready to do whatever it takes.

Please…

Please just save her.

Please.

I'll do anything.

You can take my soul.

You can take my people.

You can take it all.

I just want her back.

Please.

I keep hugging her small delicate body as life leaves her.

Slowly, incredibly slowly.

Every passing second hoping for a miracle.

One that would never come.

I hug her. And cry.

I never once cried in my entire life before.

Only this once.

I'll remain here and cry until my pitiful existence disappears.

Until I become one with this forest.

I will lay here and rest by her side for eternity.

If I am ever to be reborn, please let it be as a dark elf once more.

Please give me the opportunity to end this unseen evil lurking in our domain.

Please. Just please. I'll do anything.

Just ….

"Master! I have found a…. I guess it is too late already."

"Don't interrupt him Cerdrok you insensitive ass!"

"How dare you, get out of …!"

My subordinates are still here.

*Sigh*

I'll lay here and die. But they should survive. I'll be stepping down as their leader. To be honest I already had plans to leave them all to protect my daughter. But now it's all useless.

"Enough. Crying won't bring her back. Nothing will. What did you find Cerdrok?"

I should hear him out. Maybe we are near the dark elf territory. If yes, I should strive for revenge. Kill the bastard with my own two hands.

Sadly, this world is massive. The chances of it are extremely low.

"A spiritual plant master! I thought this would help the young…"

He hands a little round thing over. That's when it happens.

"BEAN PROTESTS! BEAN IS NO OBJECT!"

HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!

I guess my prayers were heard. No matter who or what granted it I will be restless in serving them. I would recognize this voice everywhere.

This is my daughter's voice. Cute, smart, and innocent.

I have no idea how it happened. She seems to have lost her memories too.

But it matters not. SHE IS STILL HERE.

My daughter is still here! And alive!

Can you believe it wife? Somehow, she managed to fight even death itself.

Yes, our own little princess.

This is a miracle.

A godamn miracle!

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. THIS BEAN RIGHT HERE IS THE FUTURE OF OUR CLAN! THANK THE GODS! I really thought you were dead for good. I'm glad. I'm so glad. So very glad!"

This is the best! No matter what I will care for this small bean. Until it becomes stronger.

It seems confused. Hopefully one day it will recover its memories.

But no matter what I am sure her soul is somewhere in there. At least a fragment of it.

"Don't cry, mister! Everything will be alright!"

She is still so kind. So precious. My daughter is the best.

"Yes. Everything will be alright now that you are back! Everything will be…."

Let us make a new home here. One that will allow us to prosper.

But this time I won't commit the same mistake.

I am done being weak.

I am done with the suffering.

I am done with being the kind benevolent idealist that I was.

This world is cruel and unforgiving.

No matter what happens we will prevail.

And force this world to bend to our will for we are proud dark elves.