Luna is as good as her word and visits me every day. For how long? Hours. Why?

Because she’s a princess dammit

That’s not what she says of course, but I know my waifu well enough to know her M.O. She takes care of her people. She takes care of those she cares about. And she takes care of me. Bandages, books, and baths in that order. She averts her eyes for that last one, which is considerate of her since I’m much too insecure to have her see me naked.

“Are you ready to try?” Princess Luna asks me. “Can you make it to the palace?”

Her voice is so pleading, and her face so endearing, that I can’t say no. “Sure, if you don’t mind that I’m still a bit of a mess.”

The princess beams back at me. “I don’t mind at all.”

She helps me down from my bed and I don some loose robes that she’s thoughtfully laid out for me. I’m still worried that I won’t be able to hold-up under the strain but as I place one foot in front of the other I start feeling my old strength coming back.

Plus, it will be nice getting out of this hut. Glaryth’s beakers smell like rotten eggs.

Outside is a wheelhouse and elves. Scores of elves, all on their knees as I approach, like I’m Moses come down from Mount Sinai. I stop in my tracks.

Ugh never mind about wanting appreciation. Obscurity sounds just fine by me.

Luna gently nudges me forward and we get in the wheelhouse. It’s opulent but small with room for just the two of us. More the elves gather to watch it pass. The cheers and bows are too much for me and I slink back into my seat.

The princess puts her hand on my knee, which I would normally be excited about but is clearly a gesture of compassion and sympathy rather than romantic interest.

“Everyone is different,” the princess says sweetly, “when they enter the upper echelon.”

“Upper echelon?” I still feel numb as I speak; the words are freezing my nerves off.

“The aristocracy.”

I shake my head. “I’m not part of any nobility. I’m no aristocrat.”

She chuckles a little. A very feminine laugh.

“What is it?”

“There is always an aristocracy, Ethan. Whether by birth, or wealth, or military might. The worst tyrants don’t even give themselves titles.” She shrugs. “I guess maybe a label would force them to admit what they’ve become.”

“So, I’m an aristocrat, then.”

“You’re a hero, Ehtan. The first real one we’ve had in ages.”

We continue toward the city center and the crowds only grow. Luna smiles and waves at them and eventually I do the same. They thrill at seeing my face in the window and shout my name enthusiastically.

I lick my lips nervously. “I thought you said Myran was a hero too.”

Her smile fades. “He was. But not like this. Defeating bandits and rescuing elves is great but it’s not like this. You saved us all, Ethan. Even me.”

“So Myran was a hero? You mean you don’t think he is anymore.” I ask.

The princess sighs. “No. He told me what he did in the woods. I can’t call him a hero. And he wouldn’t either. That’s why he broke off our engagement. He says he’s no longer worthy of me.”

Well, he’s right about that at least.

“Maybe you can help him, Ethan. I think you’re the only one he’ll listen to now. He’s so despondent around everyone else.”

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I sigh. “You still want to marry him?”

“Marry him?” she asks, with genuine surprise in her voice. “I don’t even know if he still loves me. I think he’s so filled with self-loathing there’s not room left in his heart for love. He’s so dominated by feelings of his own worthlessness”

I sit-up a little straighter. “That sounds awfully dramatic. It can’t be that bad, can it?”

The princess looks down at her hands. “You’ll be able to see for yourself soon enough.” She brightens a bit. “First, you will want to see your friends though I’m sure. And like I said, my father will want to thank you. I can’t remember the last time he has seemed this…happy.”

“He doesn’t seem like a particularly jolly guy.”

The princess laughs. “I heard, when he was a kid, father was quite the prankster.”

“Prankster?”

“Yes, once he apparently stole all the bras from the palace boudoirs of the elven handmaidens.”

My mouth drops to the floor of the wheelhouse. “My gosh that’s….brilliant.”

“Yes, he certainly thought so, and I believe the court was lightly attended that day, with most females saying they were indisposed or not feeling well.”

“They didn’t want to risk the nipples poking out I guess.”

Luna grins. “No, they did not.”

“Well, I can’t say I blame them then.”

“Modesty is a paramount virtue among the elves,” Luna says. “Which is probably why it was so funny when father poked fun at it.”

I grin and feel more relaxed as we approach the palace. There’s something comforting about learning the details of others' lives. It turns out that even the elves are just ‘human’.

The wheelhouse arrives and an elven footman helps us both out. The square is packed with screaming elves and I feel like a rockstar at a concert venue.

Little do they know I can’t even play guitar.

The palace is even more beautiful than before. The walls are coated with banners – some of which are even Astrian – and elves in dress uniform form a living hallway we walk within.

I still stumble a little but Luna is always at my side to keep me from falling. None of the elves smirk at my troubles. Their faces are serious and proud.

We reach the throne room with Lord Erriam and the King Leo waiting for me. I’m hesitant to step forward, unsure of what will happen.

“Go ahead,” says Luna, and she nudges me onward..

I walk alone toward my benefactors: like the end of A New Hope except there is no crowd and no John Williams score.

Damn do I love that music.

The elf Lord steps down and meets me before I reach his chair. He stands again in his regal robes; the fine silks and embroidery that elves know so well.

“Your, Lordship,” I say with a slight bow.

He grasps my shoulders with both hands and squeezes so hard I even wince. Then he hugs me! The lord of the elves holds me close and squeezes me like my mom used to when I was a first grader riding a school bus.

“Thank you,” he mumbles in my ear.

Erriam pulls back and I look up at his pale elven face. His eyes are wet now and it looks like he is about to cry. I can’t help squirm a little as I’m always uncomfortable around tears.

“Sure,” I reply nervously. “Just doing my job.”

Leo laughs as he approaches. “Your hear that Erriam? ‘Just doing his job’. Like he’s some kind of tailor or blacksmith. I told you he was special.”

“That you did,” Erriam replies quietly. He turns back to me. “You’ve saved my kingdom, Sir Ethan. I am in your debt, and I will do what I can to repay it.”

I brighten at the offer. “So you’ll take your army to Astria? Help us defeat the sorceress?”

Erriam looks away, his eyes hiding themselves from my gaze. “Not yet I’m afraid.”

I gawk, speechless.

The king is definitely not speechless. “Not yet?” He thunders. “That’s your response after everything we’ve done for you.”

The elf turns back to Leo and raises an eyebrow. “We?”

The king stands his ground. “He’s my knight, Erriam. He serves Astria.”

The king is clearly pissed and I don’t blame him. In fact I feel the same. I did everything that Erriam asked and the king is clearly desperate for aide, but the elf is turning his back on us. Reluctantly I have to admit:

The demon was right.

“Why won’t you help us?” I ask, with an edge that I don’t intend but don’t regret either.

Erriam turns back to me and visibly softens. “I will help you, Sir Ethan, but I cannot send my army, or what’s left of it anyway.”

“What’s left of it? But we won.”

The elf scoffs and looks away again. “You won Sir Ethan, but we sustained massive casualties. If I gave you every soldier I have left it wouldn’t be enough. And frankly, as much as I appreciate what you’ve done for us, I’ve no interest in throwing more lives away.”

I think back to the quest, and the updates I got from the animals. “How many casualties?”

The clears his throat uncomfortably. “I think nearly half.”

I take a step back, in shock at the development. “That bad?”

“It was a costly victory, and as I say it was your victory. Had you not succeeded I believe the numbers would have gone far higher.”

I nod solemnly. I understand, and sympathize even, but still feel slighted. All that work and Astria is still in the hands of the sorceress.

Erriam sees my plight and lays a hand on my shoulder. “Still, all is not lost.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” the king mumbles, even more bitter than myself.

Erriam ignores him. “I said I would help you and I am a man of my word. I did not mention this before because I did not believe, but now…”

“Didn’t believe what?” I ask.

“That you could be him, the man of prophecy. But if you are as they say then perhaps I can give you help greater than any army.”

“What sort of help is that?”

Erriam smiles. “Elven magic.”