[https://imgur.com/yTHm8pN]III
[http://i63.tinypic.com/15fry3b.jpg]
[https://imgur.com/yTHm8pN]
ELAIZA
It’s been nine centuries since I lost Gallen and eight centuries since I avenged him and Franzine’s death.
Two decades since I met Gretzel on a mission.
A decade since I bumped into Xinthia.
The three of us had some past that we want to forget.
And I guess we have different ways on escaping the harsh reality that keeps on hunting us…
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“Okay, I just got the pay from our mission!!” I said as I waved the bags of gold coins to their faces when I entered our tree house in the middle of the Dark Elven forest that I got from my parents.
The same scenery welcomed me, as always. Gretzel was on the kitchen, washing the dishes while standing on her stool. Xinthia is on her phone, smiling as she is swiping and pressing it’s screen.
“I already separated our parts and for our expenses. Just get your bags here. And Gretzel, here’s the coins for the expenses.” I left the bags on the dining table.
“Thanks, grandma.”
“Thanks, grandma.”
“Fuck you guys.” I said as I laughed.
And with that, I went outside to visit my great-great-great I don’t know how much of a great she is but yeah, she’s my granddaughter.
Being 982 years-old is tough. I’ve seen all of my human friends die one by one, my grandsons and granddaughters… everyone. And in the end, their faces faded on my memory.
The city changes. All of the places that I once loved, vanished one by one.
The coffee shop that I once visited with Gallen, the ferris wheel that my daughter and I rode to. They’re all gone.
“Grandma!!” a familiar voice greeted me once I got to the smiths. “How was your mission? Gretzel told me that you went to a demon’s castle!”
It was Kirein. She placed her hammer down and stopped smelting the sword that she was making. “I missed you so much.” She said as she hugged me.
“I missed you too.” I said.
Although unlike me who was a Dark Elf, she was a human, just like all of my grandsons and granddaughters.
“Mom.” Zailie said. My daughter. She’s a half-dark-elf who just turned 947 last month. “What brings you here?” She asked with her bored face.”
“I’m gonna teach my young granddaughter how to forge a magical weapon.” I smiled at Kirein.
“Really?” She asked.
“Yes. The family secret.” I grinned.
It was a weapon-making technique that Gallen taught me when we were young. His parents were famous blacksmiths back then. And now, I kept their weapon-making techniques alive.
I guess besides doing off-handed jobs from random people at the pubs with my friends, the reason that I forget all of my sad past whenever I spend my time with my family.
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
Just when I thought that it was gonna be a peaceful day, a loud explosion was heard.
It was just near us.
That’s when we realized that the whole city was in flames.
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XINTHIA
“Gretzel!” I called the witch.
“What is it, Xinthia?” She looked at me, still wearing her cute little apron on top of her gothic dress that Elaiza bought for her.
I took a photo.
“You’re so cute, Gretzel.” I said.
“I know, I know.” She said as she went back to washing the dishes.
“Cute little girl, washing the dishes.” I said as I type it on my post.
*ding*
My phone rang.
I received a message from a person with a familiar profile picture. It was my one and only student. Also, I don’t get as to why people call it DP sometimes. I mean, it’s supposedly PFP, for ProFile Picture. Let’s not talk about PP. That just sounds dirty. Dirty and funny at the same time.
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PP….. HAHA.
Anyways, I opened the message.
“I’m outside the house, Master Xinthia.”
So I stood up and walked towards the door to open it. And there she was, the cat girl with black and white hair, eyes with different colors, left was green while the other was blue. Her name is Leiriae Leindricht. But we call her Lei Lei.
I hugged her small body but she drew her wooden sword and hit my chin with the tip of its handle.
I heard Gretzel let out a small laugh.
“I heard that you just finished your mission so I went straight here, hoping that you could teach me again, Master Xinthia.”
“I will. But can you at least sheathe that wooden sword of yours.”
Gretzel laughed again as she took the apron off.
“I’ll be going on the town to buy some groceries; you wanna request something for dinner?” The little witch asked.
“What about some barbeque for a change?” I said as I slowly move the wooden sword away from my face.
“Got it, pork stew for dinner.” The little bitch smirked as she slowly walked outside the house.
“Shall we get going then?” I asked the black and white half cat.
She silently sheathed her wooden sword and nodded. I walked towards the bamboo forest which is just 20 feet away from the house.
“Let’s begin.” I said.
“But where’s your sword, master?” The little cat girl asked.
“I am my sword.”
She then placed her hands on her sword and slowly positioning herself into her stance.
Silence.
There was nothing but silence at that moment.
And then, the wind blew.
Lei Lei then came rushing towards me as fast as the wind and started striking me with her sword.
That’s when it came to me, the voice of my own master.
“Too slow.” I said as I smiled.
It was a weird nostalgia every time I train this cat girl. Those moments that my master was still training me.
Her movements were just like mine when I was just a kid in my swordsmanship training.
It must’ve been 10 years… or more. I can’t remember much. I was just an orphan in the streets of the city, begging for money from people just to live. My parents died from an accident and never returned from their work that day. The owner of the house that we were renting threw me out. All of my relatives didn’t care about me.
So I started to wander the streets and slept on the floor with boxes and newspapers that I could find. But their warmth was never enough.
Sometimes, I was beaten up by other street kids. Other times, I would get raped by the drunkards in alleys.
I never had the strength to fight back. I was just a scared little girl.
I wanted to die back then. But yet, I still continued to live for some reason that I don’t even know.
Until a mysterious man came into town. He came to me and asked “Why are you here? Where are your parents?”
“They died.” I answered with my blank face.
“Why do you have bruises everywhere?”
“Because I’m weak.”
And after that, day after day, he would give me food. And after eating, he would ask me to train with the wooden sword that he gave me.
He wouldn’t use his sword at first saying that he is his sword. And as time went by, I learned my own style of swordsmanship. That’s when he started using his own wooden sword.
He then took me with him on his journey. Where? He doesn’t even know.
Until the day that he said that I should have my own journey. And he had nothing left to teach me.
That’s when I met Elaiza and Gretzel when I took a mission from a pub.
I don’t know what my journey is about either. I guess someday, I’ll find about it.
And this kid here, I happened to be the one who killed her parents on a mission.
And then a loud explosion was heard. It brought me back to my senses.
“It came from the town.” Lei Lei said as she sheathed her wooden sword.
“Gretzel and Elaiza are both in the town.”
I went back into the house quickly to get my bow and started running towards the town.
And there, I saw hell brought up on Ather.