Elves Invasion

twelve

"Princess Ava. I would like to remind you that you are in the presence of the King of The Eternal Utopia, and the heir to the throne," King Naemar thundered, "Your behavior would not be exempted just because you once belonged here, since you do not, anymore. Furthermore, I would instruct you to return to your world, lest I summon the guards to show you the way back."

Aclanor stood there, thunderstruck, unable to think straight. At last, she took a deep breath and said,

"Father, I do not wish to overstay my welcome here at this place, but I have come to see my mother. I believe she is in great peril, and I wish to be of some comfort to her."

King Naemar shifted on his feet before replying, "She is in no imminent danger, therefore, there is no need for you to be here. I behest you to leave, and soon."

"Father, if I may," Moraen cooed, "We should let Princess Ava meet her mother. I do believe that Queen Gaelemar would feel better after meeting her. She indeed has been losing some of her health, ever since Princess left the Eternal Utopia to be with her husband."

Guilt rose up in Ava like a snake to think that she was the reason her mother was ill. She began shaking, her chest rising up and down. Erye came near her and put her arms on Ava's shoulder.

The King hesitated for another moment, then said, "Alright, you may see your mother, Ava. But you are not welcome to stay here, even for the night. Find yourselves another quarters outside Morcoa to spend the night, and you will leave as soon as you can."

A mortal lifetime of a hundred years was not enough for Queen Gaelamar to forget the voice of her daughter. Her eyes opened slowly, deep into the sockets of her pale, frail face. Her lips were chapped, and white, with green veins running like tree sap through them. Once a figure of great might and beauty, the Queen of the North looked nothing like her former self.

"Ava," she whispered, as she tried to pull herself on her elbows.

"Mother, I am here," Ava bowed down to the Queen's bedside, her face shocked and devastated. "Please, do not strain yourself much."

"Oh, my daughter," Queen Gaelamar's face shined with hope and joy, something she had not felt in a long time, "I have no fear of anything anymore, my dear. You are back!"

Ava looked at the sickly face of her mother, the one who went through an inferno, sending her own daughter to the jaws of mortality just to see her happy, and then waited for so long without any hopes of seeing her ever again. Tears glittered in her eyes as she remembered her days in the Eternal Utopia, and wondered what would have happened if she never left.

She came closer to her and sat down on the bed beside her. Ava was still on the floor, crying silently. Erye brushed her hair with her fingers ever so softly and pulled her up on the bed, beside the Queen.

"You've aged," Queen Gaelemar chuckled.

"I prefer to think that I have matured, in terms of age as well as mental faculties. Tell me mother, don't the elves have the same mental growth as humans?" she asked.

"Of course, we do, my child. In fact, we are wiser than any other race, and we are the same ever since our birth."

"Then why does my father remain a stubborn child at his age?"

Queen Gaelemar gave a sad chuckle, and sighed.

"Daughter, your father was as arrogant as any creature

ever born, but that is of the past. This behaviour of his,

this hatred for you, is not something I believe comes

from his arrogance. He loves you, Ava, and he was

devastated when you left, but his ego got the better of

his emotions, and he pretended that he was glad that

you were gone."

Which was true, Ava thought.

"And if Moraen had his blood, she would be his true heir, since I belong to the North, and the capital city is in the South," she continued. "Which still doesn't make her the rightful heir, since she does not have the King's blood."

"So, what happened? Why does Father claims her to be his daughter?"

"I believe he must have been hoodwinked. Or cursed. Your Father has become less and less like himself ever since this villainess showed up." She gasped, and continued, "My apologies, dear. I was not thinking."

"It's alright, mother. I do not think you are calling her names, I think it is happening for real. There is some kind of villainy going on around here."

"All this to dethrone you and devoid you of your birthright," the Queen said.

"I don't care about that, mother. I would never have returned to the Eternal Utopia if not for you."

"I know." "But I need to know what happened to you? How did you get sick? The elves don't get sick, mother!" Ava sniffed.

"I don't know what has been going on, dear. Many village folk have contracted some sort of disease, and the druids have been called, but they could do nothing. None of the elves is dead yet, but it seems like it won't be long before we start dying."

"Did you come in contact with the village folk? Pray, how come you got this disease?"

"I sent out a few messengers to help, but I did not meet them myself. It would have been my instinct, but the King had imposed a strict lockdown months before the disease even showed up."

"When did Moraen come here, aunt?" Erye cut in, unexpectedly.

"Erye! I said I do not care what Moraen is upto. I'd gladly give her my throne and my riches, but I need to know what happened to mother," Ava hissed.

"I know, Ava. But isn't it strange that the King would place a curfew out of the blue if he had no reasons to think that it's not safe to move out? When did Moraen arrive, my Queen" she asked.

"A couple of years back. The King just brought her in and introduced her as his daughter, no concrete explanation given."

"Do you mean to say," Ava mused out loud, "that Moraen was the bringer of the plague?"

"It is possible, cousin. If she has hoodwinked the King, she must have bewitched him to forget about his duties. But she could not have stopped him from loving the Queen, which is why the King must have placed those restrictions for her safety. Only it didn't work."

"But we have no evidence of her wrongdoing. Mother, what do you think?"

Queen Gaelemar groaned a little as she tried to sit up straighter, "I am not certain, and I would suggest you do not start pointing fingers just out of your suspicion. Moraen has not been seen doing anything suspicious by me or the palace folks. Moreover, it would be imprudent to talk about this in above whispers. I, for one, believe that she simply might have been aware of the future, because of her prophetic magic."