Heart desired

//Chapter 59//

We departed within minutes. Aarr came to see us off, wishing us good luck. I couldn't help but think back to how he treated us when we came in. I smiled. Now I had an ally in Elkelyn, except for the king. I earned his friendship.

We were riding a carriage this time. Aarr thought it would be bad if we became targets to Archer Elves. I did not think there would be any danger for us, but I still went with it. It's not like hurrying there could save anyone. We were going to investigate about Relach.

During the ride, I briefly explained my new dream to Resh. I was feeling guilty over that Elf's life all over again. I never thought Daniel would willingly order someone's execution after he witnessed our friends die from the same method. People were different than we thought, especially when the ones you thought you had for a lifetime changes.

Resh just told me to get over it. He had been betrayed by his father and my mother, had been looked down by Elkelyn for not being a pure blood, was known as the Cruelest Prince to exist. He had being through so much that I guess my concerns were like breakfast to him when he was a child.

I decide to focus on the task right now. First, I had to secure Elkelyn against Rawen's attacks. Then I had to gather allies from here. I needed soldiers to fight incase of a battle against Rawen. Then I needed supporters from Rawen. I could not be queen who murdered all her people or were not loved by the people.

Thinking like that, it was quiet simple. Doing this was the hardest. I just took my first step at the Yorosso fort yesterday.

I did my very best to not to think about the Elf in mines or the Elf sentenced to death. Resh was right. Sometimes, there were big bad results to our small actions. If I died before I could somehow save him, all his sacrifices would be for naught. I had to survive and I had to find Relach so I could take the stones from him.

That man was useless.

Then I had to talk to the king. To make sure to give everyone a piece of stone. After that, I would go to Rawen with Savin.

Savin. I wondered if he was alright. I remembered him everytime I was not busy. Our kisses, his hands, that laughter, those green eyes. I could not help but smile a little.

"Yeah, you are in love." Resh said. I looked at him, startled. "Savin also looked like that for the past two years whenever he talked about you, which was a quiet often. Leam and I teased him till he stormed off after that."

"Leam?" I asked.

"Oh, right, you haven't met him yet, have you?" He examined his nails. "He is our best friend. Before I came in, Savin and him always did everything together. When I came here, they took me in. Leam is an scholar. He is busy these days trying to develop processed food made out of blood. That way its easier to store and consume. He is the son of king's brother."

I wanted to meet this Leam guy. Come to think of it, I had not even thought about Savin having a family aside from King, Queen Requina and Resh. Of course he had aunts and uncles. I wanted to meet them as well.

"I want to meet him one day." I said, voicing my thoughts.

"You will." He said. "I am going to take a nap now. If we are attacked, hide my body under the seat."

"What?" I asked.

"Oh, right. I dream of real life just like you do. But if I am having a dream I can't wake up from it till the sotuation is over. So hide the body."

I stared at him. That must be awful, being inside someone else for a long time. At least I could be woken up with noises and stuff. Resh always had it rougher than me. I felt a huge admiration towards him. He was more capable than I ever was.

"Okay." I said, but he was already dozing off.

I did not think any attack would come. After all, I saw the victorious soldiers from Leven gathering at the foot of the podium in my dream. But there cpuld be some archers left, so it was not completely safe either.

I let my thoughts wander. I remembered Cara and Tristan. I still had his knife in my pocket. I remembered staying awake at night, trying to talk with Revenen. I thought about Daniel, doing homework together during the time of our exile. We would prepare simple meals and they were all consisted of honey and fruits. I occasionally made payasam.

I thought about Savin. We had gotten into a relationship so fast. We hadn't seen each other for almost two years, yet he had waited for me. And he had brought a smile to my face whenever I thought about him. He had been there for me more than I deserved.

Then the Drakens. Lady Draken with her kind smile. Kylan, Naeoh, Kahlee and her fingers, the creatures in the tunnel. I let my thoughts wander as freely as they want. I had not been this alone in a long time. This was a good time to reflect on myself.

I had a home here. But the home I was born in was suffering.

In the end, no matter the consequences, I had to save both my homes.

-

We reached Leven in less than three hours. Resh was still sleeping. I let him stay on the carriage and went outside, searching for any sign of life.

The road marked 'Leven' was trampled with footsteps and fire. Elkelyns could only be killed by draining their blood or by fire. I knew they had gone for the fire as the half of the 'Leven' sign was burned to a crisp. Water dripping down from it indicated some one splashing water on it to stop the fire.

Since there was no sign of Resh waking up, I went ahead the road, spreading my power aroud in case of an attack. As I walked, I remembered that there was another method to kill Elkelyns. By alternating their brain waves to stop living. Which was the method preferred by Elves, as told by a book in Draken mansion's library.

I did not have to walk long before I came on to detect some kind of creature. His moments were sluggish and bold. I could not still see it, but I could sense a great abnormality in him. I waited for it to show up.

To my surprise, who came towards me was an Elkelyn. His eyes were empty, and drool dripped down from his mouth. He was walking without a pattern, sometimes crooked and sometimes straight. I stared. He must be someone who went insane because of Elves. I wondered what he felt. Pain? Confusion? Loneliness? All of these were dangerous when felt extreme. And Rawen could manipulate them to a catastrophic level.

I reached out towards him. He did not mind me as he fell on to knees and struggled to get up. I reached out for help, but before I could even touch him, a clean arrow embedded itself on his stomach.

I stared. Was there Elves remaining? I extended my powers as fast and far as I could. I detected several people in trees.

Soon, a one popped out of his tree and went to the fallen man. He bowed at me as he came closer. "Your Highness."

I recognized him as a clearing up soldier. I nodded. He yanked the arrow from the fallen man who continued to crawl despite the blood gushing wound in his chest.

The soldier stopped me as I went to help the man. "Stop, your highness. Give them the blessings of death. He will bleed till death somewhere in this place. It's a mercy for him."

I didn't know whay I could possibly say to this man. All I knew was that this is terribly wrong. "Aren't there another way?" I asked. "Perhaps, we could heal them."

"We have limited supplies." He said. Elkelyn is small. We don't have outside contacts. We are surrounded by a jungle. We have to preserve everything we can. For that, this is necessary." He said.

I nodded.