Elvira

Whoosh. An arrow flew through the wind, hitting right in the bullseye of the multicolored round palate on the floor of the training ground.

The palate was a sad excuse for an archery board, it used to be just a moldy wood I had bruised my hands trying to carve into a circle. But instead, it came out looking like a deformed hexagon shape.

Whenever I look at this beat-up board, I am reminded of myself. Structurally unclear and pathetic looking. In this realm of humans, where everyone had similar looks, similar eyes, ears, and mouths. I was considered different. I was a freak and a weirdo. According to them, my features were similar to that of an elf, but yet not of an elf.

Whatever I was, I certainly wasn't human to them.

At the thought of this, I let out another arrow which unsurprisingly landed right in the bullseye again, next to the one I had shot at first. Just as I was about to let out my third arrow, a voice boomed from overhead.

"ELVIRA!"

"Fuck" I groaned. I didn't have to see the source to know where it had come from.

"ELVIRA!!" The voice yelled again, even louder this time. It was Madame Matilda, the chief servant of the palace.

I quickly ducked out of sight and ran to the bushes. As a servant in the palace of Elysia, I was supposed to be cleaning and attending to royals that lived in the palace, not practicing archery like I was a soldier.

If I get caught I could be facing possible whip lashes and imprisonment in the dungeon. This was the reason why I was only able to practice under the cover of the night, using that poor excuse for an archery board.

Hiding my bow and arrow under a pile of grass next to a boulder, I ran into the palace using the  old wooden backdoors close to the training field. The door led to the servants' quarters.

"You stupid child where have you been?! The king comes back tonight and you didn't even clean his bed chambers yet. Are you single-handedly seeking death?!" Madame Matilda screamed. For someone so short she sure uses her voice to make up for the difference in heights.

I hung my head low in an attempt to hide my eye roll and the scowl on my face. But that was a bad idea, because the moment I lowered my head, Madame Matilda used the close proximity to land a slap on my  right cheek.

She sure packs a punch in her chubby little hands, my cheeks would be undoubtedly swollen by tomorrow morning.

I clenched my fist in an attempt to suppress my anger. Acting upon my emotions won't do me any good. I've been there, done that.

The only thing I could do was suck it up and hang my head back down low.

Servants started to gather around us, clearly enjoying the show that was going on. It was nothing new, I always got in trouble and so I always got punished. However, the servants would never miss a chance to watch me in pain and laugh about it later.

"No dinner for you tonight and no food for the entirety of tomorrow either" she spat. 

"Insubordinate wench! Get to the king's bedroom and clean up before he returns! GO. NOW."

"Yes madame" I replied like we had been disciplined to do.

"What's the use of her long ears if she can't listen to basic instructions" one of the female servants snickered, bringing her dry fingers to her mouth.

"Oh stop it" the other one said, waving her also dry hands in the air like she was trying to slap it. "Her ears aren't even that long. I mean if it was long enough we would at least consider her an elf monster. But since it isn't pointy enough we are forced to tolerate her as a human" 

"What a farce. How did she get hired again?" a male servant scoffed.

I gritted my teeth and resisted the urge to yell at them to shut up. It wouldn't make much difference anyways.

And so with that thought, I silently walked to the king's chambers. The black polished marble tiles on the floor of the hallway were a reflection of these people.

Elf monster huh? What would they know about elves when most of the citizens here haven't even seen one, let alone any other supernatural?

Oh! And how did I get hired? Let me see. Because of my looks...was it? wait no I think it was because I had covered my ears with my hair, and so passed the servant inspection. When they realized my abnormalities, it was already late. I had been hired. Since they were understaffed, they decided to keep me because I wouldn't run into royals anyways.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

'Abnormalities' huh?

This was the human realm, it was called the kingdom of Elysia. And as the name suggests, it means paradise.

Long ago, it was said that all races lived together as one in a kingdom called Lanark. Werewolves, vampires, foxes, elves, demons, and the mightiest of them all the dragons. Apparently, while they lived in harmony on the surface, weaker races were actually preyed upon by the powerful ones. The human beings the weakest of them all were constantly being haunted and sometimes even made into slaves.

This continued for a while, until the races started to rebel plunging the world into an all-out war. It is unclear how exactly the war ended, but the after-effect of it birthed what we know today as the Great Kingdoms. Lanark slowly crumbled as each race started to form its own kingdoms.

The elves moved into the most flourished magical forest called Ahren.

The vampires enacted their own kingdom called Erebos.

The Lycans established the Lyall kingdom.

The land of witches was called Dies Irae, and finally the dragons.

The dragons stayed on the land of Lanark and built their own empire now known as Caelestis. Powerless races that didn't have enough power and population to form their own kingdom like the werefoxes, demons, and several others, stayed behind and were assimilated into Caelestis.

In an attempt to prevent war again, each kingdom selected a king among themselves, the kings would then come together every two years to hold a meeting called the Conclave. During this time, they would set boundaries, rules, and trade pieces of information.

This year would be the year they hold the conclave meeting again, and that is why his majesty has been busy as of late. It is thanks to his occupied schedule that he didn't return on time today to catch my blunder.

I couldn't help it, I had been angry earlier, and when I was angry I practiced archery.

That stupid skank Lola and her boy toy of a warrior Andrew was at it again. Just because my ears were a little unique, they constantly ostracized me on a daily basis. Usually, their antics would go ignored by me, but today they had managed to light fumes under my pot causing it to boil once more.

Entering the king's chambers, I mulled over the earlier event that made my mood sour.

"It wasn't me! It was that freak, Elvira!" Lola yelled in her shrill voice, rattled with fake sobs.

"What evidence do you have that it was Elvira? The other servants all say they saw you walking out of the king's office and when they went in after you, they saw tea spilled all over his paperwork." Madame Matilda said

"But- but we all know I'm not the only one that goes to the king's chancery. Elvira is in charge of cleaning his chancery there's no doubt she made that mess and ran away in other not to get caught. I only saw it when I entered the chancery and was on my way out to tell you, Madame." Lola was now full-on crying her dainty little eyeballs out.

Rolling my eye I said, "How would I be in the king's chancery when I was in the kitchen all day washing the dishes almost everyone in this castle used?"

Just then a gruff voice interjected, "What is going on?"

Great here comes Mr knight in shining armor-Literally. Andrew was an egoistic person that prided himself on his warrior's position. He wore this overly gaudy armor and pranced around the castle with his nose stuck up.

"Greetings to you Sir Andrew " Madame Matilda said nervously.

He didn't even acknowledge her as he made a beeline for Lola.

"Are you crying?! Who caused this?!" He fussed, running his hands up and down her body and checking for any injuries.

Lovely, another drama queen.

"Oh sir Andrew I'm so glad you are here, I'm being wrongfully accused of spilling tea on important documents in his majesty's chancery."Lola cried falling into Andrew's arms. "It's obvious that was all Elvira's doing."

Andrew finally decided to look at Madame Matilda, passing her a glare. "Care to explain?" 

See? literally a knight in shining armor.

"My goodness, no Sir Andrew, no one is blaming her. We were just trying to find the right culprit, and based on her explanation, we were just concluding that Elvira here was the one that made the mess. Rest assured she would be punished accordingly. " Madame Matilda said fumbling with her hands and giving me side glares.

"Yes, see to it that she gets the appropriate punishments so that no innocent person gets treated unfairly," Andrew said rubbing Lola's arm.

So no innocent person gets treated unfairly? I call bullshit. I fumed as I flipped over the silk covers on the king's bed. It was obvious that Lola had tried to clean the king's chancery in an attempt to please Madame Matilda but made that mistake and ran away. And madame Matilda was too intimidated by Andrew to admit she knew the real culprit. She doesn't even like Lola, but she puts up with her because of Andrew.

Picking up King Aden's shirt from the bed, I paused, my anger gradually subsiding. I brought the shirt up to my nose, inhaling the nice smell that came from it.

Working in the castle as a maid doesn't really present a person with the chance of seeing the royals, more or less the king. However, the few glances I'd stolen at him from afar were enough to have my heart racing.

His perfectly leveled nose, hazel eyes, and short straight black hair were all qualities that anyone would find mesmerizing. Sadly though, I've never really had a chance to get a close-up look at him.

As servants, we weren't allowed to be in the presence of royals unless otherwise permitted. We could only clean their room when they weren't present.

Snapping back to my senses, I reluctantly folded the shirt and put it - along with the hopes and dreams of ever getting noticed by the king - into the laundry basket.

Who am I kidding, King Aden literally had a fiancee, her name was Esra. Apparently, she was the daughter of one of the councilmen and a beauty to Boot.

Sighing in defeat, I picked up the laundry basket and proceeded to head out the large golden doors. Just as I was about to pull open the door, it suddenly swung inwards, smashing into my face, which made me lose my standing and fall right to the floor.

I groaned and tried to look up at the person that decided to restructure my nose. My eyes first caught sight of short black hair that was slicked back at the right side, then two pairs of hazel eyes, and then full lips. That hair looked so familiar... just then I realized who it belonged to, and I internally cringed.

The number one rule of being a maid here was 'Do not present yourself in front of the royals unless permitted to'... and I had just broken that rule. Shit.