The elf lord steps down from his exalted seat and spreads his arms graciously. “You are so sensitive, my friend. I only wished for us to have privacy. That is why I asked for only your presence. To allow for a more intimate discussion.”
The king moves forward quickly and this time I’m the one who rushes to catch-up.
“Why’s that, my friend?” the king asks. “Would you be embarrassed by a more public apology?”
His words are biting, and the elf drops his welcoming arms.
“I was afraid you might have this attitude. You’ve always been so dominated by emotion.”
“Emotion?” he spits. “You left us to die, Erriam! Left my people to die. And all while your great elven army hid like cowards under your trees.”
We reach the elf lord and the king looks so angry I fear he might strike the elf. I’m not the only one who senses that either as the guards close-in on us. These two may call each other old friends but it sure doesn't feel that way right now.
Lord Erriam raises a hand and the guards back away. “If you will control your anger for a moment, Leo, then perhaps you will see it was not I who brought about Astria destruction. As I recall, it was not I who ignored the mages in the tower for so long. Who left them isolated and unattended out of a misplaced trust in their directress who had seduced your mind as well as your body.”
“That’s a lie!”
“If it had not been Lillian then surely another would have turned against you. It was only a matter of time.”
“Liar!”
The king reaches for his sword and the elven guards step forward yet again.
“Stop!” I yell to the surprise of myself as well as everyone else. All heads turn to me and the elven lord lingers, like he is just now noticing, or perhaps caring, that I exist.
“Who,” he asks. “Are you?”
Should I tell him the truth?
My name is Ethan Brown. I’m eighteen years old, from the town of Russia (not the country) in Ohio. I like video games, pizza, and large chests. Know any hot elf babes?”
“I’m the King’s guard.” I say.
The elf sneers. “Interrupt me again and you’ll be guarding my stables, boy.”
The king points at the elf. “Be careful, Erriam. You’ll want him guarding your woods soon enough.”
The elf turns back to the king, a glint in his purple eyes. “I hope that wasn’t some kind of threat, old friend.”
“It is an acknowledgement of a fact, old friend. The fact that regardless of who’s to blame my Kingdom, the largest on the continent, has fallen. You think she’ll stop with Astria? She might already be clawing at your trunks if it wasn’t for Ethan here. This ‘boy’ broke the onyx.”
The elf is silent. He’s such a visual contrast to my own king. His hair is long and elaborately sculpted using scented oils; his hands are bejeweled with rings containing large, almost ostentatious stones; even his ears are pierced, with shy moonrocks dangling from both lobes. His eyes are cool, calculating, and powerful. And behind them I sense a strength and authority that is used to being obeyed, and used to being correct.
Erriam steps softly toward me but he could be a rino for all subtlety in his expression. His eyes meet mine and bore through them. He reaches a palm toward my cheek and it takes all my will power not to turn away, not to cringe as his long nails brush against my left cheek.
He steps back and smiles. “He has a bit of courage in him, I’ll give him that.”
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
“I’ve made him a knight of Astria,” says the King.
The elf raises an eyebrow. “Have you now? Then we shall treat him as such.” He turns to his left. “Aya.”
The darkness stirs and at first it’s only a sound, a slight scraping along the stone, but then the figure steps into the torchlight and I gawk at the sight.
Can it be?
Another moment and I see the face. It’s pale and clear and perfectly elven. Her oval eyes are wide and green, just as they were in-game. Her black hair is traced with strands of silver that do not signify age like in human culture but are rather considered a mark of beauty. As she walks toward her father her purple dress flows across her chest and down her thin, royal legs. Oh, how I long to race to her, to tell her that I know all about her, that I’m so happy to see her again even though she has never met me before.
The Lord gestures toward me. “Did you hear about our new knight here?”
Her face is demur, her eyes downcast. “I did, father.”
“Leo says the boy saved him from the sorceress, that he might save us. What do you think, dear?”
She walks over and stands right in front of me. I look at her, desperately, irrationally, hoping to see a flicker of recognition in her eyes.
We’ve spent hours together. Rebuilt the Tower of Telos. Sailed the sea of Celeste. Drank the wine of Vener. I grabbed your ass on several occasions. Just give me something already!
The elf princess merely tilts her head though, gazing at me like I was some stranger who just walked off the street. “I don’t know.” She turns back to her father. “Isn’t there a way to find out?”
The Elf lord smiles thinly. “I believe there is.”
“Wait a moment, Erriam. This isn’t about, Sir Ethan. This is about Astria. I came here seeking your aid. With the onyx stone broken the sorceress is weakened. Now is the time for you to honor our alliance.”
Lord Erriam waives away the concern. “We have more pressing matters than the sorceress.”
Leo’s face turns red. “More pressing matters?”
The elf’s eyes narrow. “Yes, my friend. It was not from indifference to our alliance, or anger at your mistakes, that I withheld my forces. We have our own troubles here.” He looks at me again. “But if your new knight is as great as you say then perhaps he can succeed where so many have failed.”
At that the elf brings forth a tiny bell from among his folds of his regal attire and rings it loosely in the air. The small silver object twinkles and sings a high note that bounces about the room with a melodious yet urgent tone. And in response to this call two elven guards stride toward their Lord.
The king looks at me and then back to the elf. “He’s not your servant, Erriam, and neither am I.”
The elf holds his palms out again. “Of course not, Leo. He will be free to make his own decisions just as you are, but if he does succeed in aiding us we will be able to aid you. What is it you humans say – you scratch my back and I scratch yours?”
The king looks at the elf for a long moment. “What’s your game, Erriam?”
The elf scoffs. “How long have we been friends , Leo? Some sixty years I’d say, and now you look at me as if I’m about to steal your crown. Is that what that sorceress has done to you? Turned me into an enemy?”
The king takes a step back and for the first time I see uncertainty, even pain ripple across his face. “Not an enemy, no. I didn’t mean to suggest that.”
Erriam puts a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, my friend. I’ve no interest in hurting your fresh knight here, and I intend to do what I can to help him succeed. But I meant what I said: we have our own problems and if you seek our aid you will have to help us first. Because without that we will be unable to help you.”
The king pauses, then nods. “Very well. What is this quest you intend to send him on.”
“There will be plenty of time for that later. Perhaps it is best for you both if you get some rest. I took the liberty of preparing separate quarters for you, my friend, as well as a shared suite for your retinue. However, given the unique situation regarding our hero here perhaps I should establish separate quarters for him as well.”
I raise my hands in protest. “I don’t want anything special. I can stay wherever.”
The elf folds his own arms. “Is that so? Perhaps you’d like a spot on the outskirts then?”
I remember back to the fringes of the elven kingdom. How they are basically living in piles of sticks. It doesn’t sound appealing compared to the elegant stone structures of the center city.
The elf lord approaches me and speaks in a whisper. “Do not ask for humility if you don’t actually mean it, Sir Ethan.”
“What’s that, Lord Erriam?” the king calls out. “You may wish to speak so all can hear.”
The elf brushes the question away. “Merely a bit of sage advice, my friend. Nothing old souls like us have not heard a million times before.”
He motions the guards forward. “Take our visitors to the guest wing as I instructed.” He pauses. “Except for the hero here. Put him across the plaza. I believe he is seeking to become a more humble soul.”
The king thanks Erriam and I echo it mindlessly. I shoot the princess a glance and she smiles back at me.
My waifu. At least she used to be.
The king and I exit the chamber, and I walk across the plaza wondering what this mysterious quest could be.
And if there’s any way I can get with that elf babe.