Chapter 11

"I am weak these days, so I couldn't heal you completely, hehe," Erie chuckled sheepishly.

Auden sighed heavily, sceptical of Erie's claims.

"You can heal people?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes! All elves have mystical healing powers!" Erie exclaimed excitedly, her eyes lighting up as she boasted about the elves. But Auden remained unconvinced.

"ahm ahm," Auden cleared her throat. "So why were we friends?" Auden asked.

"Oh, some minor conflict happened between us, but now that you're back here, I couldn't help but see you. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable," Erie said in a low voice.

Erie had an innocent and guileless demeanor, and her soft, youthful features and broad grin weren't helping either. After a long silence between them, Auden asked,

"Tell me of the Elf Kingdom then, your highness," Auden said.

"Oh! Just Erie would do," Erie entreated earnestly.

"About the Elf Kingdom, it's called Kinoria. It's situated between Eaulita, the water realm, and Terrista, the realm of land," Erie expounded enthusiastically.

"Isn't Cstolipa also there?" Auden interjected distrustfully.

"Oh yes..." Erie faltered, running her delicate fingers through her silken tresses anxiously.

"Umm, Kinoria is a minority in Cristolipa since the Elves have been reduced since-" Erie stopped while speaking her sentence.

"Since?" Auden pressed inquisitively.

"Oh no, nothing," Erie insisted hastily.

Auden arched a sceptical brow, detecting Erie's palpable discomfort.

"Since you are here, drink with me. I have something to give to you." Erie insisted brightly, clearly eager to change the subject.

"Very well," Auden acquiesced warily.

Erie eagerly commandeered the last two seats in a shadowy corner, Auden following suit with reservations.

"Jimmie, some wine," Erie demanded imperiously of a passing waiter.

"Any wine, in particular, your Highness?" Jimmie inquired obligingly.

"Any will do," Erie snapped impatiently. Jimmie scurried off to fulfil her order while Auden studied Erie pensively.

"You mentioned you had something to bestow upon me?" Auden prompted.

"Yes, I am to be crowned Elf Queen within the month. You must attend my coronation, even should your memories remain lost to you, your highness. Your presence would honour me greatly," Erie entreated fervently.

"I shall not disappoint, yet I wonder what is in it for me," Auden mused calculatingly.

"Here, accept this coffer," Erie insisted, presenting Auden with an ornate box.

"Your Highness, it is my deepest privilege to return unto your custody this jade coffer, which you did entrust to my safekeeping during your absence," Erie proclaimed theatrically in an exaggeratedly genteel fashion. Her pretentious words rang hollow, betraying her feigned nobility. It seemed as if Erie was trying to speak in an elite manner yet her words didn't agree.

Auden accepted the offering with forced grace. "You have my gratitude, Erie. Your dogged fealty is duly noted," she intoned.

"ha-ha Always at your service, Your High-highness," Erie replied with a beaming smile.

As Auden endured Erie's fawning, Jimmie the barkeep materialized bearing a glass of rich, full-bodied wine - a fitting libation for the farce unfolding.

"Since your royal highness is already here, why not we go around and have fun?" Erie suggested with a sparkle in her eyes.

Auden eyed Erie dubiously, a flicker of suspicion crossing her sharp gaze. Yet Erie's cherubic smile soon dispelled her doubts.

"Let the revelry commence," Auden declared with ironic pomp, raising her glass in a toast as the comedy continued.

"Your Highness, do you know the time flows differently here?" Erie asked.

"I fear you shall have to enlighten me," Auden replied drily, taking a sip of her wine.

"Here, two hours pass for every two minutes beyond these walls," Erie confided portentously.

"How can this be?" Auden scoffed in disbelief.

"Legend tells that a scion of Terrestia imbued this place with their life's essence, altering the flow of time in ways still unknown. The details have been lost to the mists of time," Erie intoned ominously, though her dubious knowledge seemed too convenient. Impressive yet suspicious.

"Rumor speaks of a war that rent the realms asunder in years past. Are even you not privy to its events?" Auden probed cynically.

Erie was momentarily disconcerted but swiftly regained her composure. Still, Auden remained wary, masking her deepening misgivings.

"How should I be privy to events so ancient?" Erie protested weakly, raking her fingers through her hair in a show of naivete.

"And why not?" Auden riposted, defences raised.

"The war happened years ago. One's memory can get fuzzy after that much time." Erie insisted feebly.

Erie tittered with brittle laughter, ill at ease under Auden's scrutiny. Auden held her tongue, questions mounting yet caution prevailed. Perhaps she feared what sinister truths might emerge should she tug at these tangled threads of doubt. And so the curtain of mystery remained drawn.

Veiled behind a diaphanous drape lay a pane of glass alone holding back the sea without, the club an oasis submerged in the heart of Eaulita. What mysteries dwelt in such fathomless depths that the waters remained so still? Auden mused.

"Good heavens," Auden breathed, as a fleeting moment stretched into an age. Peering out, houses sat drowned yet undisturbed, brimming with life where none should be. Her eyes shone with wonder, finding solace in this sea-girt place, sensing welcome and belonging in so strange an abode for the first time beyond memory.

Auden smiled unbidden, as one relearned a forgotten grace.

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As the sun crept into the room, Auden lay nestled on the couch, snoring away. Suddenly, a voice thundered from the hallway, "Princess Auden! Rise and shine, Your Highness!" Flora's attempt to wake Auden up was met with no response, much to her expectations. To aid Flora, out of nothingness Eve appeared.

"Is she still not awake?" Eve inquired.

Flora shook her head as a sign of no and Eve forcefully enter Auden's room. "Rise and shine sis-" While speaking Eve was astonished by seeing a cast over Auden's arm.

"Oh," Eve exclaimed.

Auden who appeared to be completely knocked out finally awoke from her deep sleep.

"Oh," Auden started upon seeing Eve, yet remained unfazed.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, princess?" Auden inquired drowsily, stifling a yawn.

"Nah, the truer question is how came you by that cast upon your arm?" Eve demanded brow furrowed in consternation.

"A tale too long in the telling," Auden sighed.

"I am afraid time is all we have," Eve insisted, seating herself at Auden's side.

Auden rubs the back of her neck as her hair was a tangled mess. Eve didn't move an inch but kept staring at Auden. Auden looks around the room possibly trying to escape Eve's gaze.

After an interval of silence among them, Eve gave in as she said "Let's get you a healer."

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There was an essence of power in the room. the flowers which were kept by the window were met by the sunlight as she winds gracefully danced with them. Auden sat on a chair, without moving or flinching. Eve stood afar from Auden, as she keenly observed the healers perform their work.

Auden would feel her veins moving with something, perhaps it was magic. The royal healer gracefully moves his hands as he heals all the scars on Auden. Auden could only see black, as her eyes were closed. Once in a while, she would hear the maid whispering or the squirrel on the back of the tree beside the window striding around, but she was nonchalant.

Eve kept her distance, keen gaze never wavering as the healers plied their craft.

When at last Auden opened her eyes, she felt renewed. The healer had mended not merely her wounds but her darkest fears, his magics seeping into her soul. She drew a deep breath, savouring the lightness within.

"You're awake, Your Highness." Flora bowed down.

Auden held her tongue, lost in thought. Her gaze drifted out the window, drawn to worlds beyond this one. Before she could return from reverie, a knock intruded.

"Check who it is, Flora," Auden commanded distantly.

Flora hastened to obey. The portal swung wide, revealing none other than Aquilo, the esteem of esteems.

Aquilo offered a knowing smile. Auden studied him in kind, wondering what hither brought the august personage.