Heart desired

//Chapter 11//

Next day, I visited the palace with Lord Draken.

When I left the mansion, Naeoh had grabbed my foot, not letting me go. "Summi, sthay! Naeo wanth tho play!" He kept saying, crying his eyes out. Kylan had been rolling his eyes so hard, I was worried about his eye balls. Kahlee had picked up her crying little brother, shushing him and swinging him from side to side. Lady Draken had been talking to Lord Draken in a hushed voice, their eyes meeting in yearning too more often. I had pat Naeoh softly on the head. "I'll be right back."

Recalling it all, I smiled a little. Maybe Naeoh would have a little brother or a sister soon.

My thoughts went to my own father. How was he after my exile? I've never got to see him even once.

We entered the palace after a quick but careful checkup form the palace guards. This was all too familiar to me. The same protocol, but in another palace. One I called my home.

Daniel must be here already, I thought to myself. This wasn't time to be homesick.

The palace was quiet yet magnificent, its off-white walls gleaming bathed in the golden glow of rising sun. There were window-like arched structures, adorned with gold-tinted glass with various patterns. As I walked inside, I noticed how they allowed the sunlight to bathe the halls in a warm, ethereal glow.

"How can they open the windows?" I asked Lord Draken.

"Windows? Oh, you mean glass lights."He said. "We don't open them."

"But the air is cool. And there is a breeze." I noted.

"There is a hidden mechanism keeping the air fresh and comfortable." He said. "One of our previous kings were assassinated through a window. So, we tightened the security."

"Ah." I said. That means so much sense.

We were at the heart of the palace, the entrance to the throne room looming ahead. As we got closer, I could see the details on the towering oak double doors. Their rich wood was carved with intricate maple trees and cascading leaves, as though nature itself had been captured in motion. The craftsmanship was impeccable, each detail so lifelike that one might imagine the leaves rustling with an unseen wind. I remembered my father's throne room. They were carved with illustrations of ancient elves, carrying bows and arrows as a symbol.

"Seems like your betrothed is not here yet." Lord Draken said after talking with the guard at the doors. "The king is having an audience with the prince right now. Let's wait outside for a moment."

I nodded. I remembered Kahlee's words from the night before. "No matter what you do, do not talk or make eye contact with the Crown Prince," she had said. "He wears a mask all the time. And he kills without hesitation. He is known as the cruelest prince in the Elkelyn history."

I had waved her away. If the prince was that troublesome, I did not want to do anything with him. I had enough on my plate. I looked out side from a glass light, observing.

Guards stood at every post, their expressions sharp and unwavering, clad in polished armor and gripping their weapons with practiced ease. Eben though they were standing so still, I could tell that nothing escaped their watchful eyes. Their presence a silent promise of protection to the palace and a silent threat to every outsider.

Beyond the grand halls, the palace gardens stretched in every direction. I passed them on the way here. White, red, and lilac were the only flowers I saw. In elf gardens, blue was the main colour, so every garden had a majority of blue and white flowers, but we grew other colours too. The lack of colours here was somewhat unsettling to me. I could see some birds and butterflies flying between the blossoms. It was beautiful. Too much peaceful.

I heared some footsteps and turned to look. Daniel came out of the corner, dressed in same black clothes as I was. I felt my face lifting to a smile, matching his. It had been seven days since I last saw him.

Nothing had changed about him. I suppose I should not be surprised about that, since it had been only a week.

His brown eyes sparkled. I guessed that mine was the same. I went out to meet him, but the guard stopped me with a hand.

Lord Draken spoke. "Sorry, you have to stay at least five feet apart. For security reasons."

I opened my my mouth, but Daniel shook his head. I bit back my retort. I have given them a f*****g blood oath to give them my alliance. What the hell are they doing, keeping us so far apart? Most of the elves were gifted with large scale mind magic, so we did not have to be near each other incase one of us decided to make you insane. This was ridiculous.

"Just a few more minutes, Prince Surren." The man behind Daniel spoke. I guess that was Lord Unnel, Daniel's escort.

Prince Surren. That name really suited him, but I doubted if he liked that. I remembered Andrea and how happy they were before everything went wrong. We never talked about that. I doubt we would do that anytime soon.

The double doors opened and a figure in a mask stepped out. He looked at me like he had something to say, and went away as if he thought better of it. I stepped away from his path. After all, I did not want to engage in any conversation with the cruelest prince in the Elkelyn history.

"We can go in now." Lord Draken took the lead and I followed him. I could feel Daniel and Lord Unnel coming behind us, keeping enough distance. Ridiculous.

I kept my head up as I entered the throne room. The rule was to keep my head down when I approached the king, but I've decided to keep my head up the last minute. Seriously, they are so afraid of me and Daniel. Why would I keep my head down?

I looked directly at the king as I approached him. He saw me looking directly at him and straightened up, the corner of his mouth twitching. I didn't lower my gaze. He face seemed kind of familiar. I mentally shook my head. These days, everybody looked familiar to me.

"Princess Nasha. Prince Surren. Welcome to Elkelyn." King Droumer spoke first.

I bowed a bit, dipping my shoulders a little. "Your Majesty. It's an honour to meet you."

He climbed down the stairs leading to the throne. "Follow me. It's better to plan war while sitting down."

I paused. War? What war? I thought the plan was to strengthen the borders and protect the civilians from Rawen's soldiers.

We went in to a chamber where eight people were already seated around a large square table. There were six more seats vacant. The king waved his hand and we sat down, after him. I knew that the remain chair belonged to the Crown Prince. It did not sit right with me that he was not with us.

The king spoke. "Now that all of you are here, let's plan our counter attack to Rawen. They have just destroyed Yorosso just yesterday. We will not stay quiet any longer."

Every Elkelyn around us hummed in agreement. I looked around the table. I had just noticed how they looked at me and Daniel. There was fear, but mostly it was disgust and contempt.

"Hold on." I said. "Nobody talked to me about attacking Rawen."

Now all the eyes were on me. The man infront of Lord Unnel spoke. "Why, are you not going to let us attack on your previous kingdom because you still have lingering attachments to it?"

I looked at Daniel. His mouth was pressed to a thin line. "I came here to save people. I never swore my alliance to Elkelyn. I said, if it stops the attacks, I would over thorw my father and take the throne. That was it."

"And how, with all due respect, my princess, are you plan on doing that without attacking Rawen?"

I hesitated. I honestly did not think of that.

"Give us a chance to go to my king and negotiate." Daniel said. "If he did nkt accept our terms, then we would agree to the invasion."

I stared at Daniel. He was honestly so reliable. He continued. "You can't be possibly thinking that just because there are two elves with you, you can take on a full, undefeated kingdom. If we were to start a revolution, we need elves, not Elkelyn."

King Droumer looked at Daniel. "Council, vote."

Ten hands rose. Lord Draken spoke. "I think that is a good deal."

I closed my eyes. I was going home after eight long years.