The Elven Queen

CHAPTER 14

“What’s wrong? You’ve barely touched your food” taking my hand empathetically, Khalfani voiced in concern, it’s that face again, that look as if he were talking to a child, under my breath I cursed at my own weakness, the words Itotia told me yesterday weigh heavy on my mind,

"The creature we caught in Durhgan died two days ago”

“When?! How?!” that creature was indestructible even itotia couldn’t kill it so it just dying on its own sounded ludicrous, turmoil and all my frustration couldn’t hold a candle to the look of anguish on itotia’s face probably thinking the same thing, I was

“How did it die?”

“They aren’t sure, The guards in charge of feeding it, were doing their rounds when they found it dead in its cell, no sign of struggle, eyes wide open, mouth agape in a twisted Grin, guards also reported hearing its shrill laughter in the middle of the night”

“So it died, while laughing?” the more I heard, the deeper the sinking feeling in my chest got, She gave me a solemn nod which only spiked my anxiety “Alright, Anything else?”

“A message came, Your Grace, from Dacey”

Pulling my hand out of Khalfani’s I rub my temple, “It’s nothing, don’t let my sour mood ruin the celebration....” it may sound dismissive but I honestly meant it, tonight was the blood moon after all, the biggest celebration of their people, I can’t have him spend It worrying about me “.....I’ve lost my appetite, if you’ll excuse me” I pulled out of my seat as fast as I could but clearly not fast enough cause I caught the crest fallen expression on Khalfani's face

The letter from Dacey was the final nail in the coffin, of all my shadows Dacey was the only exception, he was tasked with surveillance around the boarders and we would receive steady reports from him monthly, it wasn’t uncommon for him to go weeks without sending a report because he never failed to deliver his monthly evaluation but this letter, this was unlike him, in fact it sounded nothing like him

“Your Grace, the situation in the boarder is the same as usual, the area is clear of Magibeasts and the tides are calm, signs of a blessed harvest, the people sing your praise as usual, till my next report”

What was that?!!!! Dacey was a lot of things but polite has never been one of them, he was a crude loud mouth brought in on my uncle’s recommendation per say, my Uncle actually caught him trying to steal from the supply ships, impressed that a common street urchin was able to sneak his way onto the ship, he captured and brought him to the palace saying, had he been an adult his hands would’ve been amputated but seeing that he was a child, He would allow me to pass judgment, obviously my Uncle was testing me to see if I could acknowledge the untapped potential the child held or if I would throw away a perfect weapon.

I entrusted him to my Uncle’s care.where he was trained in combat, etiquette and reconnaissance despite his reluctance, he worked hard saying “Only a fool would pass up the chance to rub elbows with royalty” fair to say his crass nature never changed, he was loud, messy, annoying, and like a little brother to me, he would never send such a letter, something wasn’t right, I brought him into this world so if something happened to that child, if anything happened to any of my shadows I would never forgive myself.

I avoided all interactions for the rest of the day because I wanted time to myself, hoping to give myself enough space to collect my thoughts and decide on a plan of action moving forward but we can’t always get what we wish for, soon the hands of time had turned and it was mid noon, time for the celebration, I heard a wrap at my door and opened it to find Wuroala with 7 different maids all holding a variety of garments, jewels, and bottles of what I assume to be perfumes and oils

“We have come to dress you for the celebration Your Grace” not having the energy to drag them on the matter I gave way for them to enter and the pampering began, they washed me from the top of my head to the bottom my feet, taking great care to massage the oils into my skin, combing out and braiding my hair, I welcomed it, the nurturing was long overdue, this false sense of peace I fabricated to keep my mind at ease could come crashing down at any moment but for now I choose to relish in the calm feeling of their hands massaging my skin and the soap suds washing away all my worries

There I stood in a black Ankara with gold strips running from side to side in a criss cross pattern, my hair braided and tied up in an up-do, a gold necklace on my neck paired with matching earrings and bracelets, I asked them to put on the beaded crown the little girl gave me, I learnt her name was Aisha, the maids were reluctant at first because the beads on the crown were red and didn’t exactly fit in with the rest of the outfit but I was insistent on it so they complied

I looked stable, that was good enough for me

“The King awaits Your Grace”

“Let’s not keep him waiting much longer” stepping out of my room Khalfani was waiting behind the door bared chested, his only coverage was the thick material he had draped over his shoulder and tucked into the side of his trousers, the beaded crown a top his head gleamed in a way I couldn’t quit comprehend, something about him felt different right now, when his eyes landed on me they flashed an emotion I knew all too well, an emotion I’ve seen all too often, Desire.

“You look very Handsome today, Your Highness”

“Are you implying I don’t look handsome every day, Your Grace?” Not wanting to inflate his ego any further I walk to his side and loop my hand around his arm

“Your Grace” I am greeted by Gabor and Itotia who were also dressed in Lumerian attire, Itotia wore an ensemble akin to the one she wore the day before but in deep purple, while Gabor was also bare chested save for the golden chest plate of a necklace he hung from his neck and the trousers he wore in a pattern similar to the one Itotia was wearing, they were matching, how adorable, I nodded in response to them then turned to Khalfani

“Shall we?”

Hand in hand we walk up the castle stairs till we reached the balcony, the closer we got the louder the cheers became, stepping out onto the balcony we are greeted by a loud chorus of cheers coming from below, the palace gates were open and the grounds filled with citizens from all over the country, clad in native attires, beads swinging in tune with the singing drums, smiles on their faces, a truly contagious atmosphere, from above I find a few of our guards joining in the celebration, Hugo was not there I looked around the crowd for him but I couldn’t sense his presence, he should know to take a break every now and then

“MAY THE BLOOD MOON FESTIVAL BEGIN!!!!!” boomed Khalfani from my side which elicited another loud chorus of cheers from the citizens below, guided to my seat, Khalfani sits beside me before beckoning for Itotia and Gabor to sit, the food came rolling out, truly a feast worthy of such a celebration.

The Tradition behind the blood moon was to come together under the light of the moon to dance and make merry in celebration and to eat and drink in good spirit and the good people of Lumeris take their tradition very seriously, I was already on my ninth goblet of wine, not one to normally drink without moderation but tonight I just wanted to throw caution to the wind so I drank my fill under the blood red moon.

What?!

I look up at the sky and surely I wasn’t hallucinating, the moon was bright red, that shouldn’t be possible, the moon was white less than a minute ago, is this normal? I look around at the people on the balcony on with me, at itotia then at Gabor, then at the guards standing behind us, then at the people on the ground, they went about their night not even looking at the moon, Can’t they see it?

I look at the wine I was holding, red like the moon in the sky, could the wine be the culprit? I look up from my cup to see the figure of a woman perched on one of the decorations on the balcony, ashy skin, black gashes like cracks riddled all over her body two black horns sticking out of her forehead, teeth clenched in anger as she looked at the jolly faces of the people below dancing in delight with pure contempt, eyes black as obsidian held a swirling whirl pool of pure hatred, which poured out in the form of bloody tears, her very existence looked untethered to this world, as she seems to float over black mist where she sat, as if she would disappear with the next gust of wind, in an instant her head snapped in my direction and we locked eyes, shocked I dropped the cup in my hand the content spilling out all over the floor, my action caused everyone on the balcony to look at me, Itotia at my side in an instant

“Eztli are you ohkay?” there it was again, all eyes on the balcony were on me again, staring at me with concern, speaking to me softly as if I would shatter if they raised their voice, that caution sickened me

“Excuse me” was all I said before getting up and walking back inside the castle, I feel Itotia reach for my hand but stopped half way letting me walk off, from my peripheral vision I see the conflicted look on her face but I paid her no mind

Walking turned to long strides, long strides turned to jogging, jogging turned to full on sprinting as I barreled down the palace hall, turn after turn, left, right, unsure where my feet were taking me, I just knew that I needed to get away, my running came to a grinding halt as I collapse in front of a tapestry, on it was a regal man, head high, as he gazed off into the distant, looking down I see similar tapestries of different men, Ah, I had wondered into the hall of kings, bunching up my dress I wipe the sweat on my face and curl myself into a ball, still heaving from my run my stomach in knots, my mind was foggy, my body trembling, I felt nauseous, what just happened?

My breath finally steady I look up from my little cocoon coming face to face with two obsidian orbs

“Can you see me?"