CHAPTER 36 - ELISE AINDREA P11
~36.11~
*****
“You on the other hand, can’t get a date from either man or woman.”
The girl was utterly shocked. Everything I said was true. “H-how?”
“Pardon, Lady Sherry?”
The comments came flooding in from all around. “Is that woman a telepath?” “Wait, isn’t she the one that got into trouble this afternoon?” “She’s also the one that dueled Lady Helena and shot that gigantic blast of fire into the sky.”
“How in the world could you possibly know that?”
“Heh.” I laughed wryly and walked back toward Maya and Eglantine. “I wonder.” I looked back at them once I rejoined my two friends, and snapped my fingers to dispel the barrier. “You’re not children anymore. It’s time to start carrying yourselves with grace. I don’t much care to intervene in things like this, but if you put my friend down you answer to me. Rather than put somebody down, learn to prop others up. People will like you more if you’re nice.”
A collective gasp resounded in the room. I ignored it and smiled at my two friends. Maya was already smiling at me.
“What?”
“You said you weren’t sure if you could be that mature. I think you just proved that you can be.”
I felt a tad relieved hearing her say that. Rumors had already started, some even within earshot, that Maya was trying to date me. She did very much remind me of my queen, but there’s no way anyone I knew from my old life would be here.
I was exiled after all. They’re still in Eden.
If I knew my partners as well as I thought, I’m certain they would approve of me dating here. I do wonder what she’s thinking, but out of respect for her privacy, I won’t look.
“I concur,” Eglantine agreed. “That was very well handled, Elise.”
“Eglantine, you have quite a guest here,” came a voice from behind us. I glanced over and saw two red-haired elf girls stepping toward us.
She smiled at them. “Welcome, it’s good to see you! These are my new friends.”
What? Am I seeing things?
“I am Maya Rosenwald.”
“I am Elise Aindrea.”
“From the Rosenwald Duchy and Aindrea County? Greetings!” said the elf in the light blue dress. The two elves looked strikingly similar, easily passable as sisters. “My full name is Eirlys Llywelyn, and I hail from the Duchy of Llywelyn. I go by Aira.”
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
Two redheaded elves that look like Adele and Adara, wearing their favorite colors. Aira’s manner of speech is like Adara’s. First Maya, then Luma, now the redheads?
“Please to me you, Lady Aira,” I said. “May your time here in Gallia be enjoyable.”
“Thank you and likewise!” She glanced at the elf in the dark blue. “It’s your turn.”
The other elf was fidgeting. I could tell at a glance how nervous she was. “I...”
I’m just noticing similarities because I miss them. Get it together, Elysia. You’re exiled and alone. It’s a big world. Of course there are people with similar appearances to my loved ones.
Aira spoke lowly so that others around us couldn’t hear. “Rhia, it’s okay. You don’t have to introduce yourself with your birth name.”
That gave me all the information I needed. I knew exactly who this was, despite having never seen her. The princess of Serendell, who was given a boy’s name. Her birth name, Rhodri, was meant for the king’s firstborn son, but after four daughters, he gave his fifth daughter a male name in a fit of rage and gave up trying to have a son. Ever since her early childhood, she had gone by the name her mother wanted to give her, despite her actual name being Rhodri. Her father ignored her very existence afterward.
“Rhi-” Her voice was very soft.
I gave her a warm smile. “Say only what you are comfortable with, Your Highness.”
Aira sighed. “She has trouble introducing herself due to... certain circumstances. She feels duty bound to give her birth name, but she wants to give only her actual name.”
I nodded and asked, “Your Highness, would you mind if I spoke to you telepathically?”
“Su... sure...”
I held out my left hand, and gestured for her to take it. She reluctantly did so and I spoke to her privately. “I am already aware of your circumstances, your birth name, and your real name.”
“Real name?”
Her inner voice was just as soft as her outer voice. “Yes. I personally regard one’s real name as the name they prefer to go by. I can tell just by your reactions that your birth name causes you a great deal of dysphoria, not unlike that which is experienced by transgender people. If you will allow it, I will help you with conquering this problem.”
“You will?”
“Yes, but the first step is to willingly introduce yourself with your real name.”
“But... you are a count’s daughter from a different nation. How can you help? My father is the King of Serendell and he won’t allow me to change my legal papers.”
“You’re right. I alone cannot do anything. But, my family has favors to call in with every royal house on Arcadia. I can make it happen.”
“Why go so far for a stranger you just met?”
“You remind me of somebody from my past that I care greatly for, and I take mental health very seriously. I also very much despise when people use the power of their stations to force an unwanted condition on someone.”
She gasped out loud and looked at Aira.
“What? Is everything okay?”
She smiled and looked back at me. “Thank you, Lady Elise. I am Rhianon Serendell, fifth princess of my nation. Please call me Rhia.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Rhia.”
“And you may all call me Lanti, if you prefer,” Eglantine said.
“Lanti?” I asked.
“Yes. Simply remove the first two and last two letters of my name. Do either of you perhaps have a petname?”
Maya shook her head. “My name is already four letters and two syllables. It’s quite short as is. I’ve been called ‘May’ before, but I’d prefer Maya.”
“I don’t have a petname,” I added. Technically that’s a lie, but when I tried to get my family to call me Elysia, they wouldn’t do it. My partners liked to shorten Elysia to Eli... come to think of it, Eli could be a petname for Elise. “Maybe... hmm...”
“Eli?” Maya suggested.
I gasped and turned toward her. She was already smiling at me. How in the world...
“Eli sounds very nice,” Lanti said.
“I quite like it,” Aira agreed.
“It’s very cute,” Rhia added.
All four of them were smiling at me. I couldn’t bring myself to tell them no, and I quite liked the thought of using my petname here, too. I smiled and said, “sure. You can call me Eli.”
*****
Revision: 2025-2-7