Leaving the Palace

4 weeks before the date of the elections, it was the rule in Eldinor that the present Queen or King would step down from her position to let an interim council take over. Comprised of all the top advisors in the Kingdom, this council was able to take care of the management of the Kingdom until such a time that the new ruler was elected.

Unless a threat which could destabilize the Kingdom arose, the throne of Eldinor would remain empty. Of course, in this case, the former ruler could take back command until a time where the threat was deemed to have passed.

In the history of Eldinor, there were instances where this particular clause was taken advantage by a ruler to prolong their rule.

Yet, what stopped them was that unlike the armies of the other Kingdoms where loyalty was imbibed into the very flesh and bones of soldiers, the army of Eldinor would only follow commands of a ruler rightfully elected.

Thus, that ruler who had tried to take advantage by using the excuse of a threat had been brought down because he simply had no one to support him.

Such was the personality of the Elves. This was also evidenced by the sight of their troops during the episode of the Ker Gem Mine, where they had been milling around without discipline.

Of course, there was a reason the army of Eldinor was still feared and ranked upon the top in military might when compared to the rest of the forces in Central Angaria.

Their lack of discipline was offset by their absolute power which enabled them to overwhelm enemies who were much more disciplined by them. With the army containing the most Exalted Human Level mages in all of Central Angaria, it was no wonder that their ranking was so high.

With the elections just 4 weeks away, the entirety of Elfaven was filled with colourful banners and numerous trinkets which flew to the people on the streets to extol them on the virtues of the particular contestant who had hired them.

Indeed, at this time, the most booming business was advertising. Organizations which dealt in trinkets like these saw such huge increments in profit that it enabled them to tide through the next 5 years even if their sales fell to a fraction of what they were during this time.

The day when Daneel and Eldra had met to strike the deal had been just 2 days before the date when the Queen would step down from the Throne. Thereafter, her time would be completely absorbed by campaigning for re-election by giving speeches and participating in debates which were arranged by the Government to give voters more clarity regarding which candidate they wanted to vote for.

Also, the day for applying to stand as a contestant was also the same day that the Queen stepped down. Thus, Daneel and Eldra had planned that she would apply at the last minute without her mother's knowledge so that they could take her by surprise.

Since the morning after the meeting, Eldra had been in a skittish mood. Although she had made the decision, she couldn't help but fret and worry about what would happen.

Typically, it was her and her mother's schedule that the whole day would be spent by Eldara taking care of the formalities which came with stepping down from the throne. Meanwhile, it was Eldra's job to assess the participants.

At night, they would exit the palace together to go to a Manor which was privately owned by Eldara, where they would discuss and decide on the plan for campaigning.

Of course, that wouldn't be happening today. Instead, Eldra would be dropping her nomination to stand in the election in the afternoon and she would be leaving the Palace after leaving a letter for her mother.

With her power stripped, Eldara would have no means to stop Eldra. Besides, all contestants were protected by the Government with a force of special troops to ensure their safety during these crucial 4 weeks.

Until the afternoon, everything went according to plan.

Eldra had already gone to the government office in charge of taking nominations and had given her name to stand in the election, startling the officials who knew who she was.

Although she had been imperceptibly shaking with fear inside when doing so, a relaxation had come over her after the process was done.

The die had been cast, and there was no more turning back.

Walking back to her room, Eldra opened the door and entered as usual before suddenly jumping in shock as if she had just been electrocuted.

The former Queen of Eldinor, Eldara, stood in front of her mirror with a morose expression on her face while brushing her back-length hair with the brush that Eldra always used.

She hadn't turned around when the door had opened, but she did so now feeling her daughter's gaze on her.

As she did so, Eldra couldn't help but begin to shudder with fear. All the times she was beaten and demeaned by words which were so harsh that they cut into her very soul flashed through her memory, making her subconsciously brace herself.

Yet, all Eldara did was walk forward to stand in front of her.

After looking into her eyes for a few moments, Eldara raised her hand to Eldra's throat.

Seeing this, Eldra couldn't help but wince fearing that she would be strangled for going against her mother's wishes.

Such was the extreme fear that had grown in her year by year under her Mother's control. In a way, this also showed how much regret she had in her in order to overcome this fear to follow Daneel's plan.

Seeing her daughter's fearful actions, Eldara only sighed before reaching forward with her hand to caress the only piece of jewelry that Eldra ever wore: a gold locket which blended into one's skin and became invisible unless it was touched.

Seeing her mother touch her at the exact spot where she wore the necklace in order to make it appear, a bewildered expression appeared on her face.

Eldara used her fingers to trace the necklace to the locket before opening it to see the miniature drawing of them both laughing together which had been made by Eldra's father.

After looking at it for a few moments, she let it drop back to Eldra's chest and disappear before raising her head to look into her daughter's eyes.

"Like mother, like daughter. Let me see if my teaching over all these years has had any effect. Good luck."

Saying these words, the former Queen of Eldinor walked out of the room with a stride which resounded of loneliness.

As Eldra saw the strong shoulders of the woman who had made her who she was, she couldn't help but wonder if she had made the right decision.

Alas, a single moment like this wasn't enough to change a lifetime of suffering.

Seeing the door close, Eldra stared at it for a few moments in shock due to her mother's completely unexpected actions before lifting the same locket to her eyes.

The smiling visage of the person in the picture did not match that of the woman who had just left the room in any way.

Even though this action of hers to wish her good luck before leaving went against everything she knew about her mother so far, Eldra simply thought that it was because as a contestant, she was currently protected by the Government.

Yet, she still wondered why there had been no outburst of anger from the betrayal.

After thinking for a while, Eldra couldn't come up with an answer and left it alone without having any other option after deciding that it was probably a ploy to make her change her decision voluntarily.

Imagining those children freed from their bondage, a determined expression came on Eldra's face before she started to pack her clothes in order to leave the palace for hopefully a short time.

…..

The next day, the citizens of Eldinor woke up to a shocking news that shook them to their core.

"Eldra Dartingnon, daughter of our former Queen, Eldara Dartingnon caught red-handed engaging in slave trade of elf children to grow her personal wealth to fund her election campaign! Decisive evidence has surfaced! Read all about it here!"