Chapter 14: Kingdom of Elenoir

A few more days had passed without nothing much happening.

However, Arthur seemed to be getting frequent pains to his abdomen. He tried to hide it, but it became apparent when he would randomly scrunch up his body. I highly suspect it was due to the 'will' Sylvia gave to Arthur. However, I didn't know what it was or how to deal with it so I couldn't help him. I just hoped it wasn't anything life threatening.

"Tessia, do you know how far we are from Elenoir?" I asked.

She heard my words and pouted, "Tori, I told you to call me Tess like Art!"

During this journey, Tessia had begun to become more comfortable, evident in how our conversations had become more natural and less awkward as she even started joking around with me and Arthur. 

"Hm, okay. Tess, how far is Elenoir from where we are?" I repeated.

She looked visibly delighted and nodded her head as if she won a great victory before she replied.

"I think we are close, but I'm not too sure. Let me check."

Her sharp ears twitched as she began surveying her surroundings. Suddenly, she ran to a particularly crooked tree and ran her fingers over the trunk. A few minutes of silence went by before she came back, visibly excited.

"We're here! I recognise this tree and the surroundings, we're almost there!" She spoke, happiness etched into her voice.

"That's good news." Arthur replied.

As we walked behind Tess for a few more metres, she suddenly stopped and placed both her palms on a tree.

Me and Arthur were visibly confused, but we just waited patiently.

However, the tree that Tess had been tampering with suddenly began to emit a brilliant glow as a gate materialised out of thin air.

"Art, Tori! Let's go inside it!" Tess exclaimed as she forcefully dragged us into the portal-like thing.

A similar sensation enveloped me just like when I had entered Sylvia's transportation spell with my surroundings swiftly changing. What used to be a verdant, foggy scenery had been replaced by a pristine city. There were smooth and flawless buildings, with structures built on top of massive branches. The massive, grand trees that surrounded the city stood tall and imposing whilst I noticed the residents of this place walking around.

I was momentarily stunned before I realised we had arrived in the elven city. However, I became vigilant once again as some people, clad in armour, just suddenly appeared in front of us. 

I only raised my vigilance and didn't take out my dagger as I could see their most faintest mana fluctuations with my unique vision. They were extremely skilled, it was a terrible idea to provoke these people. 

However, contrary to my expectations, they simply just kneeled in front of us before speaking in unison, "We welcome back the royal princess!"

Huh?

I took a glance at Tessia who just gave me and my brother a smile.

Tessia was a princess? How did she even get kidnapped?

My thoughts were interrupted by a knight in the front, "Princess, we arrived as soon as we saw that the royal teleportation gate had been used. The King and Queen are..."

Before he could finish speaking, I heard a cry not too far away.

"My baby! Tessia, you're okay!"

Running towards us was a middle aged man and woman. From the crown on the man's head and the tiara encircling the woman's forehead, I could infer that they were the King and Queen.

They definitely looked like Tessia, with their silver hair and their verdant, almost azure-jade eyes. 

The mother's cheeks were lined with tears as the father had a tense expression that looked like he was holding back tears.

I turned my gaze to see Tessia's face visibly soften as her eyes started watering. She went to embrace them as me and Arthur just stood back, letting them have their happy reunion.

It made me contemplate how our parents would react once we get back. 

The last to arrive was an old man well past his prime. His facial features are all sharp, with a gaze that could kill someone on contact. His hair was pure white and was tied in the back, face cleanly shaven. This elderly man didn't say anything, but his eyes did warm up a little when he saw Tessia.

It took several minutes for Tessia and her parents to settle down. In the meantime, the guards were glaring at me and my brother with daggers in their eyes, as even the elder was eyeing us curiously.

Well, I can probably guess why they were glaring at us. For one, I'm quite certain elves don't exactly welcome humans due to their history. And another reason might be because of me. I looked absolutely filthy. I tried my best to clean my self after I killed those slave traders, however I smelt and looked awful. My unkempt hair was stained with blood whilst my clothes couldn't mask all of the dried blood stains I had accumulated after killing that man in a not so elegant manner.

"Thank you for escorting Tessia home safely. Not as a King, but as this little one's father, I truly am grateful to both of you. As a small gesture of gratitude, please, accompany us to our home." The king spoke before continuing, "You may rest. And after, you can tell us what happened."

His tone didn't really give us an option, but nevertheless, both me and Arthur agreed.

-

Arriving in front of the royal abode, we stepped through the grand front doors. I was somewhat surprised at the opulent interior: there were two curved staircases that created a circle, with a gigantic chandelier floating in the middle of it. This chandelier seemed to be made of the same orbs of light that were dotted throughout the city.

"These two are our guests. Please get them washed up and into a room to rest." The king commanded to the maids.

The king's command was a welcomed relief. I wasn't exactly pleased being in this state. Cleanliness has always been a part of my nature, a reflection of my past.

I nodded in acknowledgment, appreciating the opportunity to freshen myself up. 

"Thank you, but I would like to explain what happened first." Arthur suddenly replied.

He turned his gaze briefly to me and simply nodded. Arthur gave me the 'I'll deal with it' look. It seems he wants to explain our situation first before he cleans himself. He looked a lot more representable and he was very intelligent, so I'm sure he can do it without my help.

The king agreed to Arthur's words as the maids hurriedly ushered me to my room.

-

Droplets of water clung to my damp skin, glistening in the soft, bright glow of the crystal attached to the ceiling. My fingers worked through my ash-brown hair, rubbing it with the towel as it absorbed the remaining moisture.

I must say, the shower was very pleasant. It was a simple waterfall that seemed to naturally flow out from the ceiling whilst the temperature was perfect, allowing my body to easily relax.

I spent quite some time scrubbing my self clean, making sure I didn't miss any spots which took me around an hour. But, I now felt like a brand new person.

I dressed myself into some nice clothes given to me and placed the stone Sylvia left me inside the chest pocket within my robe before I departed.

I was simply exploring the vast place, searching for a maid or a person that worked here to give me directions as I wasn't exactly sure where my brother is.

As I was walking, my senses picked up something: there was someone hiding just in front of me.

"Come out!" I exclaimed, becoming vigilant.

I heard a chuckle as a familiar old man came out of his hiding, "Another scary brat! I hadn't even used killing intent to let you know where I was."

I was visibly confused as to why Tessia's grandfather was here, "Why were you hiding from me?" I questioned.

He just slowly walked to me as he began tossing what I presumed to be a toy knife in the air before catching it back down. I was quite uneasy, he had a casual smile that adorned his face.

"Well, you see... I was quite curious about you and simply wanted to test whether you had the capabilities to kill those slave traders. I already tested your brother, and he passed with flying colours." He replied in a satisfied tone, looking as if was reminiscing about the test he gave to Arthur.

He continued, "I'm quite impressed by your senses, but..." He paused, before suddenly tossing me a wooden sword. In what seemed like a fraction of a second, he switched his toy knife for another wooden sword as he lunged at me.

!!!

Without so much as a thought, I tightly gripped the handle of the wooden weapon as I met the old man's attack.