"Dammit! It's been years and this stupid seed won't grow! Haah... I don't know what to do brother!" Yuliana said as she passed around the inside of her house.

Yuliana had beautiful long emerald green hair and green eyes. She had a curvy body with big breasts and large hips. Her most prominent feature was her ass. She had a strong-willed personality that sometimes got on her brother's nerves. She used to have smaller breasts before she got pregnant with Nieren.

Yuliana would wear a light skin-tight green dress that had light blue corset strings which made her cleavage stand out. She wore black thigh-high stockings and boots that had white roses on them. She had what looked to be two tattoos of vines growing up her left arm and down her right leg.

"And where is Nieren!? She's been gone for almost two weeks now!" Yuliana yelled as she walked past her bedroom door.

Her room was filled with shelves of books and scrolls along the walls. There was a desk next to a window that had a full set of magical tools. The floor was covered in a thick carpet of reds and blues.

Yuliana's bed was made from polished redwood with silk sheets that were spread across it. A wooden chandelier hung above the bed with various leaves hanging from it.

She closed her bedroom door and sighed heavily. "I'm tired. I think I need some tea." Yuliana said as she walked towards the kitchen.

As she walked through the door to the kitchen there was a special knock on the door. "Huh? Nieren!?" She called out.

She heard the door open.

"Mom!? I'm back home!" Nieren said as she motioned to Rya and Dalia to wait outside the front door as she walked in.

Yuliana turned around to see a Nieren with bright green eyes, golden blonde hair, and wearing leather adventurer's gear with her cloak standing in front of her.

"Nieren!" Yuliana yelled as she ran over to hug her daughter.

"Thank the Gods, you're safe!" Yuliana said as she hugged her tight.

'Oh thank the Gods, she isn't mad!' Nieren thought.

Yuliana then stepped back to get a look at her daughter.

"By the Gods and spirits! Do you know how angry I was when you disobeyed me!? Do you know what would have happened if you were caught by those goblins!? Or worse. The Black Roses, the same people that kill your uncle, my brother, and ruined the Wood Elf Kingdom! No! You ran off on a Quest doing whatever you were doing before the Mercenaries showed up in the city! When they left I thought you were caught! So, I'm done with your excuses! You're going to quite the adventuring lifestyle and stay here helping me with the plants, Nieren!" Yuliana yelled at her daughter.

Nieren was shocked. 'No! I was mistaken, Mom's furious! I think I see her veins bulging out.' Thought a panicking Nieren.

"So tell me, Nieren! Was it worth it? Was it worth it to go against the word of your mother?" Yuliana asked as she stared intently at her daughter.

Nieren looked down. "Yes, Mother," Nieren mumbled.

"YOU!!!" Yuliana stopped herself from screaming at her daughter's response, "You keep playing stupid games, Nieren. You'll win stupid prizes. And you won BIG time my daughter. Now give me your bow and blades."

Nieren kept her head low and tightened her fists. She didn't want to hand over her weapons. All she wanted to do was help her and her mother. But Yuliana won't listen to her.

Nieren knew that she wasn't taking any unnecessary risks when she went on her quests and If she felt that she was in over her head she knew to back out.

"I am not giving up these items. I earned them." Said Nieren as she shook her head.

"Disobedient? Where did I go wrong!" Yuliana screamed as she stormed towards Nieren.

***

Rya and Dalia were outside when they heard Nieren's mother shouting at her.

"What should we do?" Dalia asked looking concerned about the situation.

'I don't know,' Rya sighed in exasperation, 'but something needs to be done.

So Rya walked into the house with her head held high.

'I don't know what I'm doing? Please don't let this get worse?' Rya thought as she walked straight towards the argument.

"Nieren! What did I tell you about leaving the city!" Yuliana shouted at her daughter as she held one of her arms.

Yuliana was about to discipline her daughter when she noticed a shadow coming from the door.

'By the Gods! I must be yelling so loud that the neighbo—' Yuliana thoughts stop when she saw who was standing at the doorway. She noticed that she was wearing pink 5-inch heels with an elegant blue dress that showed off her right leg and cleavage from breasts that rivaled her own. Her white hair which seemed to glow was in a complex and stylish braid. It made her look noble. And lastly, she noticed her skin tone and her ears.

'A D-D-Dark Elf!?! NO! THEY FOUND US!' Yuliana thoughts in a panic as she moved in front of her daughter to shield her from the intruder.

"Nieren! Run!"

Rya stood there shocked for a moment before she realized that her mother was trying to protect her.

"Mother!?" Nieren said as she was confused why her mother would try to cover her.

"We've been found out! Grab your things and run! I'll head her off! NOW GO!" Yuliana ordered.

"But, Mother-"

"Now!" Yuliana shouted in a panic.

Rya wasn't expecting things to turn out like this as she noticed Nieren's mother channeling her mana.

'Well, this has escalated! I need to try and defuse this! But how?' Rya thought as her sixth sense was telling her that Yuliana had traps set under the floor boards and up in the ceiling.

"MOM! WAIT—"

"Take this, you FIEND! HAYAH!" Yuliana said as she sends out her mana into her vine planet traps.

Nieren didn't have time to stop her mother from attacking Rya as her vines came flying through the floorboards and out of the ceiling going straight towards her friend.

'Rya!' Nieren thought as watched in horror as the vines were closing in on Rya.

Rya on the other hand was surprised by how calm she felt as she was being attacked. She didn't know why but she felt a connection to the planets coming after her and raised her hand slightly while channeling her mana into the air in front of her.

As the vines were about the strike her with their thorns they started slowing down and came to a stop after Rya's mana interacted with them.

"Why… Why aren't my vines moving anymore?" Yuliana asked confused.

"Mom, please! Stop it!" Nieren begged, but Yuliana wouldn't listen.

It was then that one of the vines started rubbing up against Rya's hand like a cat rubbing their cheeks against a person's hand.

'Aw! I didn't know plants could be so cute. Wait? Did I just think a plant was cute? I mean it kinda reminds me of my childhood cat. Haah... I miss that cat.' Rya thought as she enjoyed the feel of the vines.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Dalia walk up next to Rya to see what was going on and saw the tamed vines.

Rya then looked up to see Yuliana looking terrified.

'She can connect with the forest spirits! That means she can control them. We're doomed!' Yuliana thought as she didn't know what to do.

"MOM! Are you listening to me!? She's my friend! Her name is Rya." Nieren said angrily at her mother.

Yuliana finally snapped out of her stupor and looked at her daughter with a shocked expression.

"You're friend!? But she's a fiend!?" Yuliana shouted.

"Mother! Stop saying that!" Nieren pleaded with her mother to stop talking badly about Rya.

"But she's a monster! You can see the bloodlust in her eyes!" Yuliana shouted back.

Rya heard all of this but kept quiet.

'Bloodlust in my eyes? Really? Now that's rich coming from a woman who attacked me on sight. Haah... Is it because of these stories about Dark Elves? It must have clouded her mind.' Rya thought as she looked at Yuliana with a wry smile.

Yuliana noticed Rya smile and yelled, "What fiendish spell have you put on my daughter! Tell me now!"

Nieren's eyes widen as she got angry.

"Mother! STOP! YOU'RE NOT LISTENING! THOSE STORIES THAT YOU AND THE ELDERS TOLD ME ABOUT THE DARK ELVES ARE ALL WRONG!" Nieren shouted in anger.

'NO! It's worse than I thought! She's brainwashed my child into thinking that Dark Elves are good creatures!' Yuliana thought.

"Nieren! Listen to me! That's what she wants you to think! She's using you because she knows we are of royal blood! If she doesn't get her way, then she'll kill us both! Do you understand!?" Yuliana demanded.

"Are you even hearing yourself right now!? Mother! Stop for one second and listen! She's not evil!" Nieren screamed.

Yuliana was having none of it and continued to argue with her daughter as she completely forgets that Rya is standing there by the door petting the veins.

***

Dalia comes closer to Rya and whispered, "Why is Woody's mom so weird? It's like she's in her own world!"

Rya just shrugged.

"Some people like to only see what they want to see, regardless of facts. Sadly Nieren's mother wants to paint me as evil." Rya said to Dalia as they watched Nieren try to reason with her mother.

"Yeah, your race is just misunderstood," Dalia said with a gentle tone.

"That's very kind of you to say, Dalia. I just wish there was some way to help Nieren— Huh?," Rya noticed something strange on the table in the middle of the room.

There were three potted plants with each of them having a giant seed in them. The seeds were the size of a peach. And the thing that was odd about them was Rya saw these sickly purple particles flowing inside them.

It was almost like seeing the red particles in Dalia's body when she had her injury.

'What's the deal with these this? Were they poisoned or something?' Thought Rya as she command the vines to return and she started walking towards the table.

Dalia followed behind her, "Is something wrong, Alpha?"

"Those things over on the table seem to be poisoned? I think I can heal them." Rya answered as they walked passed the arguing mother and daughter that were too distracted to notice Rya approaching the Elder Tree seeds.

"I'm tired of arguing with you Nieren! She can't be trusted! You should know bette— Huh!? NO! STAY AWAY FROM THAT!" Yuliana stopped arguing with her daughter when she noticed Rya approaching the table.

She quickly grabbed hold of her daughter and pulled her back.

"You're going to die if you touch those! Don't listen to that crazy woman, Nieren! She's lying to you!" Said Yuliana sounding like a crazy person.

Rya paid no attention as she touched the first seed and removed whatever was affecting it as she could see the purple particles disappearing.

'Damn! Whatever this stuff is, is taking a crap load of my mana to remove. Gah! Almost done!' Rya thought to herself as she heal the first seed.

It took a few seconds before the seed started sprouting a new sapling from it.

Yuliana's eyes widen in shock as she saw the Elder Tree seed start growing.

'The Elder Tree? It is alive? I thought it was impossible...' Yuliana ran over to the table next to Rya so she could get a closer look. So she can make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her.

Yuliana reached her hand out so she could channel her mana into the Elder Tree sapling to see if she can connect with it.

'By the Gods and Spirits! The Elder Tree lives! I-I never thought I see the day when that happened.' Yuliana was shocked at what she saw.

Nieren came running over to her mother and saw the sapling.

"Rya! You got the Elder Tree to grow!? I didn't know that was possible!" Said Nieren excitedly as she continued, "See Mom! How can she be evil if she can grow our sacred tree that only the wood elves can grow!?"

"Ugh! I don't know!" Yuliana said as she looked at the sapling.

And then her face turned bright red.

'But she's a Dark Elf? Why is she doing this for us? I thought they wished for all the other elves to be destroyed?' Yuliana thought to herself.

"Who are you?" Yuliana asked as she stood up straight and looked down at Rya.

"I'm Nieren's friend," Rya said with a smile.

Yuliana stared into Rya's glowing azure eyes to see if she could see if there was any lie or deception behind the words.

She couldn't tell if there was anything to worry about. Which made her feel a bit of relief but she kept her guard up.

"I have been trying to grow the Elder Tree seeds for decades. What did you do? How is it possible you were able to grow one where I a princess of the Wood Kingdom could not?" Asked Yuliana as she looked at Rya wondering if she'll answer her or not.

Rya looked at her with a concerned look when she said, "Yeah, I don't know why but these seeds were giving off a sickly aura of purple particles. And I was able to cure the first one but it took a lot of mana out of me."

Yuliana raised a eyebrow, "Y-You said they all had a sickly aura?"

"Yeah, it seems to be preventing them from growing. Here I'll show you." Rya said as she cured the seed that had fewer purple particles in it.

It took a few seconds before the next seed started to grow another sapling right before their very eyes.

'She got another one to grow! I don't understand how she's doing it!' Yuliana thought to herself as she checked that sapling to make sure Rya wasn't using some type of trick or illusion on her. And yet again it was real.

'Could she have some sort of power that allows her to do this?' Yuliana thoughts as she looked at Rya in awe.

"Hmm? This last seed seems to have a higher concentration of whatever is infecting it. I think I can isolate it and push it out?" Rya said as she picked up the last seed in her hand as she examined it.

"Hmm? What do you need, Lady Rya?" Nieren asked as she walked over to Rya.

"Can you get a cup or an empty vial while I isolate the infection? I think it's liquid-based but I'm not sure." Rya asked.

Nieren nodded and runs over to a cupboard at the end of the room. She pulled out a small glass vial that would be used for potions.

"Will this work?" Nieren called back to Rya.

Rya nods and says, "Yes it will. It might be too big but it will work for isolating the liquid."

Nieren walks back over and tries to hand the vial over to Rya.

"Nieren can you hold it under the seed for me, please? I'm going to need all my concentration for this one." Rya requested.

Nieren nods and takes the vial in her hands as she holds it underneath the seed.

Rya then closes her eyes as she uses her healing magic to move whatever the liquid is out of the seed.

'Come on, Rya! Just focus and breathe. That's it I can feel it moving to the bottom of the seed' Rya thought to herself as she isolated the liquid.

What took seconds to cure the first two seeds took a minute with the last seed before Rya said.

"Nieren. It's almost out! Get ready!" Said Rya as she kept her eyes closed.

"I'm ready for it," said Nieren as she held onto the vial and waited patiently.

Dalia was staring silently at the seed waiting to see what happens while Yuliana wasn't convinced Rya was doing everything except playing up whatever she was doing to try to trick them.

Just then Rya felt the liquid was ready to come out at the bottom of the seed.

"Now!" Rya yelled out.

That's when a small droplet of dark purple liquid came out of the seed and fell into the glass vial. They had to look closely to see if there was anything at all.

Rya breathed out a silent relief and place the seed back in its pot. Which sprouted the third Elder Tree before Yuliana's eyes.

"Wow! What is this purple stuff?" Nieren said as she looked at the tiny droplet in the vial.

"Hey, let me have a look at it," Dalia said as she took the vial and sniffed the opening.

"D-Dalia!? Don't sniff it! You might accidentally inhale it!" Rya said as she snatched it away from her.

"Pff! Like I let that happen. Anyway, it smells like monster blood. I don't know what type of monster though. It's not anything I smelled before on this continent." Dalia said as she tilted her head. Wonder if ever smelled a similar scent before. But was coming up empty.

"Well, that's something that least," Rya said as she looked at the small droplet through the glass vial.

'Damn! Even with my elven eye, I can't tell what this stuff might be. Haah... Well, Dalia thinks it smells like monster blood. I wonder what type of monster has poisonous blood that can affect a plant? Hmm? I wonder if anyone invented microscopes on Tertius? I mean I wouldn't be able to make heads or tails of what I was looking at but maybe someone would?' Rya thought as she continued looking at the vial.

Yuliana had a troubled look on her face as she seemed to know what that droplet was.

"Your name was Rya, right? M-May I see the vial, please? I want to take a closer look." Yuliana asked nervously.

"Oh uhm sure. Here you go," Rya said as she handed her the vial.

Yuliana grabbed the vial and put it to her face.

And on closer inspection, she knew what it was.