Destiny begins II

Having heard Arwen and Uncle Dior's explanations, it became increasingly clear to Amaryll as to why Don went to kill Minister Brian. That, and why he had brought the half-elf girl here.

Amaryll felt pretty ashamed of herself for acting like that. She had heard about the mysterious mage from the bandit leader while Don was interrogating him, but she neglected to admit to herself the mysterious mage's existence due to fear.

She turned to guiltily look at Don who was still talking with Knight.

"You should apologize to him, Amaryll," Arwen coaxed.

She sighed, "Yes..." 

Amaryll walked towards Don just as he and Knight stopped their conversation to look at the guilty-looking elf. Arwen and Uncle Dior didn't follow her. They simply gave her and Don some space.

Don looked at Amaryll without saying anything. She was unable to look into his eyes or even speak. Her face showed an expression akin to something being stuck on her throat. She couldn't seem to get it out after a few breaths. Before finally, she mustered up her courage, "Don, I'm sorry for talking like that."

"Okay. From now on, you'll know everything they do." 

Amaryll was confused when she heard him speak. Meanwhile, Don gestured at Uncle Dior and Arwen to come nearer.

"I'm going to let you all know what Brian told me before his death."

"But Don-" 

But before Arwen could say anything, Don signaled him to stop with his hand, "She needs to hear this too. You can't protect her forever from reality, Arwen."

Arwen knew that sooner or later, Amaryll was going to learn more about the harsh reality that was worse than the bandit attack she had faced. He also knew that he wasn't much different from Amaryll when it came to experience, but he had spent more time with their grandfather than her. As a result, he had learned more about the world around them than Amaryll.

"Before Minister Brian died, he said that 'extermination is coming,'" he said. Don never planned to hide this from the elves. The more they knew about the threat, the better. 

"Wha-what did he mean by that?" 

Arwen had a bad feeling about what he just heard from Don. He knew that these simple words held more weight than they seemed.

"If I had to guess, I'd say that something big was going to happen. Not just for the elves, but for all the races."

Amaryll's heart jumped out when she heard Don speak. She was trembling. The only thing she wanted was peace, but now it was becoming more and more like an unattainable dream. She was struggling to find a way to disagree with Don, but she couldn't.

"How do you know?" Uncle Dior asked.

"I don't, but I've dealt with people like the mysterious mage before. They always operate in the shadows. Usually as a group."

"But it's just a guess, right? What if he works alone like a madman?" 

"Madman? He teleported more than twenty people from Slave city to here. If he was a madman, he is surely a powerful one at that. And he himself said that 'extermination is coming,'" Don looked at everyone sharply. "It's a threat... At least, we have to treat it as one"

"Don's right. People who operate from the shadows are dangerous, using others to do their jobs," Knight explained his point of view for everyone to hear. "Don't forget that he purchased the service of a Minister. A nobody can't do something like that no matter which world it is."

They had faced this type of cult people back in Divine Lands. You can't find out who your real enemy was. With these people, anybody could be your enemy.

"After we safely settle somewhere, we need to find the other races."

Nobody questioned or said anything. They knew that if Don's guess was right, they'd need to unite and stand together or be exterminated.

Don could see the worried and stressed faces of the elves as he walked away. Amaryll was practically sweating as if she was in the middle of the desert. Arwen was trying his best to keep the anxiety from showing on his face, while Uncle Dior was acting like he was calm, but Don could see the panic in his eyes.

**********************

"Where am I?" 

The half-elf girl slowly opened her eyes and saw a crudely made roof. Suddenly, her memories came flooding back as she clutched her aching head tightly. 

She recalled the things that had happened to her. She was born into a noble family. But because of the war in her country, she fled her homeland and lived for years in fear and in hiding. Eventually, she was captured by slave traders and sold as a slave to the Avelon continent. She then saw her first owner get killed at the hands of a stranger... A human...

"Don..." 

She remembered the young man who saved her. Those brown eyes looked at her as an equal and not as a creature. She had lived alone and suffered enough to know about this cruel world. Nobody had helped her for a long time except for her parents.

"Ah, you are awake." 

She turned to look in the direction the voice was coming. The half-elf saw a beautiful elf dressed in green looking at her with a worried face. She had green eyes, golden hair, and pointed ears.

"Who are you?" she slowly asked in fear.

"Don't worry. You're safe here," the elf said as she stepped forward and sat before her. "I am Amaryll. You're safe now. We won't treat you like those despicable humans did." Amaryll reassuringly patted the half-elf girl's back.

"Don..." she said again.

"Don? Yeah, he's there in his hut. I should get something for you to eat." 

Amaryll wanted to get something for the half-elf girl, but her hands were grabbed midway through their destination.

"What is this place? Why did he save me?" the half-elf girl asked with a worried face.

Amaryll sighed, "Just like you, a group of bandits attacked us." 

The half-elf girl started to shiver.

"Relax. Fortunately, we were saved by Don and Knight. They escorted us to this place from our tribe."

"But why me?" the half-elf girl mumbled.

"One of the bandits said he was sent here to capture us by Minister Brian, so Don went to kill him in order to stop him from sending more bandits. After that, you know what happened, right?"

"Ye-yes" the half-elf girl slowly nodded.

"Alright, you've rested enough. I'll bring you to see Don and Knight. They should know that you're awake," Amaryll said, feeling that the half-elf still has some reservations towards them. "What's your name?"

"Ar-Arrora" the half-elf girl replied in a low-pitched voice.

"I know you're afraid, but you don't have to be. I know Don could be, how'd you say, cold-blooded, but he's kind of a good guy. And he saved you, right?"

Arrora recalled the scene of him killing Minister Brian, him giving his robe to cover herself, and him carrying her in his arms. She nodded.

"He also saved me and my brother. Although he won't talk too much, you can trust him. He's not like other humans," Amaryll reassured. She had already started to trust and view him differently.

"Come on, let's go," Amaryll reached her hand out towards Arrora, gesturing for her to take her hand.

Arrora hesitated for a moment, but eventually, she took her hand and stood up to follow Amaryll outside. The stars hung above them as if strung up in the air by invisible strings. The half-moon shined like a pearl on the beautiful dark blue starry sky.

"That's Don's hut. He made it himself. Pretty cool, isn't it? He's probably there with Uncle Dior, my Brother, and Knight," Amaryll said as she pointed to a sturdy hut made of mud. 

Arrora could vaguely see some figures standing in front of a small fire pit. As they walked towards them, she began to see them more clearly.

The half-elf first saw an elf with a bow on his back. He resembled closely Amaryll. A half-elf was also beside him, who was a bit older than the elf, but he was taller and wore a brown robe. Arrora's eyes went wide when her gaze then went to the figure that looked like a white Lion with two big feathery wings. What shocked her more was that this lion was talking and smiling like a person.

Beside the lion was either a youth or a man. Seeing him, she felt that if she blinked, she might miss him. Tall, lean, and cloaked in shadows, he wore long black robes reinforced with ornate steel plating that glinted in the half moonlight. A deep cowl hid his face behind him, and she could see something on his back forming a shape of an 'X'.

Everyone looked at the newcomers, especially Arrora.

"Girl, are you fine?" 

Just as she was looking at the man in the black robe, the half-elf man came before her with a concerned look.

Before Arrora could answer, Amaryll spoke, "She's fine, Uncle Dior. Since she's awake, I thought she should meet you all." She then began to introduce the others to the girl. "Arrora, this is Uncle Dior, and this is my brother, Arwen." Amaryll pointed toward the elf behind Uncle Dior. 

"And this is Knight" Arrora finished, looking at the white Lion as Knight made his signature move, ruffling his mane in a kingly manner.

"You already met Don, right?" Amaryll pointed at the black-robed man. When he removed his hood and revealed his expressionless handsome face, he had dark black eyes and raven-colored hair. She could see the toned body hiding beneath the robes.

Arrora stared at his face carefully, but she couldn't see any resemblance to the brown-haired human who saved her. She was confused.

"Ah, you have seen his 'Mike' face. This is his real face," Uncle Dior explained.

"Mi-Mike's face?" 

But before she could think about anything, Don took his magical mask out and put it on his face. The moment he did that, Arrora's eyes went wide in shock and surprise as his face transformed into the one that she saw before. When he took off the mask, the face was gone once more.

"Don..." Arrora whispered.

"That's amazing, right? It's called a magical mask. He can change his face anytime, but don't get confused. This is his real face. Right, Don?"

Don nodded and put his hood on again.

"Did you eat anything?" Knight asked Arrora. But before she could say anything, her stomach growled, answering the question. Arrora's face slightly turned red in embarrassment.

"Right. I'll go bring her something," Amaryll turned away and ran towards her hut.

The half-elf girl awkwardly stood among the group. 

"Here. Drink this. You'll feel better," Don gave a healing potion to her.

"This ...Is this a healing potion?" She looked puzzled.

"Yes. You'll feel better drinking it," Arwen said.

Eventually, she started to pour the potion into her mouth under everyone's gaze. As soon as she did so, the pain she felt had lessened. She felt invigorated.

"So, do you have anyone we could take you to?" Uncle Dior asked.

Arrora's eyes turned watery, two teardrops flowing down on her cheeks.

"No. My parents... They were killed. I have no one left..." 

Her voice was full of sadness. They felt the pain in her heart just from her voice alone.

"I'm sorry. If you want, we can take you to your homeland."

Arrora shook her head as she wiped the tears off her face, "My kingdom... My home... It's all gone. They took it all away."

Her sadness turned into anger. The veins in her eyes became visible as she growled.

"Who? Where is your home?"

"Ve...The Venus Kingdom in Elvenor Continent" 

At the moment she mentioned the Venus Kingdom, the wind started to blow violently around them. The campfire started to go out, and the trees began to bend as if they were being pushed by an invisible force. Simply, they felt as if a storm was approaching.

"Don!" Knight shouted. 

Arrora looked at Don, only to see that he was clenching his fists tightly as his body trembled. There were some sparks of fire coming out of his clenched fists, and an immense amount of killing intent radiated from him. It made it hard for them to even breathe.

She was certain that only after she had mentioned her kingdom's name, he became like this. But she had no idea why.