Elvira

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I was in a daze while walking back to the servant's quarters and didn't realize when I had arrived in front of the small rundown wooden door.

The door was so old that it makes a loud squeak whenever someone touches it.

I pushed open the door slowly and walked in, trying to reduce the noise as best as I could.

It was pitch black, but I still knew where my tiny bed was, so I didn't need a lantern to get to it. For as long as I could remember, my bed had always been on the very far corner of this average size room.

All the other servants would rather not sleep next to the monster at night, because who knows if they'll ever make it to the next morning. Their words, not mine.

As I was creeping onto the tiny foam we used as a bed, I felt the presence of someone behind me. Turning my head to get a look at who it was, I was immediately grabbed by the shoulder.

"Elvira where have you been?!" a loud voice said.

Oh my goodness Mira, I should have known.

"Mira shush, lower your voice," I said groaning.

"Excuse you," she gasped feigning shock,

"Don't tell me to lower my voice especially since I've been patiently waiting for you right here, hoping you didn't get tossed into the dungeon after I heard what happened."

"I'm sorry, I just got caught in something. Although that something may end up having me decapitated by tomorrow" I muttered the last part, hoping she didn't hear me.

But to my dismay, she heard me clearly.

"You what?!" she yelled in surprise

"Ugh, Shut the hell up" A servant yelled from the other side of the room.

Mira recoiled into herself and said "Sorry"

I pointlessly rolled my eyes, knowing full well they couldn't see me through the dark.

In this entire castle, Mira was the only one that would talk to me and care about me. At first, she was just like the others, skeptical and distancing themselves from me. Sometimes I would catch her stealing glances at me like she was studying me, and when she noticed I was staring back, she would scuffle off in a hurry.

We only became close after she had caught me practicing archery in the fields. I remember being scared to the bones that she was going to report me. But to my surprise, she ran up to me with twinkles in her eyes.

"Oh my goddess how did you make three straight bullseyes in a row. " she had said with amazement.

Her approach had honestly startled me, I wasn't used to someone praising my skills or being so friendly towards me. We had stayed up that night, talking and laughing.

I had pleaded with Mira not to tell anyone what she had seen and she readily agreed, leaving me with a secret of her own.

Apparently, she was a werefox. She wouldn't tell me how she ended up in Elysia, but according to her, she's been stuck here.

The news honestly took me by surprise. I was looking and talking to an actual werefox.

With my curiosity taking over, I prompted her to show me her transformation. However, to my disappointment, she couldn't transform. She said her fox had been extremely weakened due to an incident, so she was unable to call upon her.

She could only do things like elongate her claws and grow her canine out a bit.

Instead, she gave me something else to satisfy my curiosity. She told me what it was like being a werefox, having mates, and then some.

"Elvira! Are you even listening to me?!" Mira whisper-yelled, snapping me back to the present.

"Huh?"

She sighed. "I said what did you get caught up in?"

I paused my lips and hesitated, knowing she wasn't going to like the words that comes out next.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"The king walked in on me while I was cleaning his room"

Mira's jaw hung open. "Did you say you came in contact with the king?"

"Yea and the lady Esra" I muttered

"Elvira!" Mira yelled my name for like the fourth time this night.

"We have a billion rules in this palace, but the first and foremost is to never present yourself in front of nobles without permission.

Not only did you break that first rule, but you did it in front of the king and the soon-to-be queen. Pack your bags right now, we are escaping tonight." she said dragging me off the bed.

I laughed at her reaction.

"Are you seriously laughing right now? You're the one who's on a death row"

"Relax Mira. I'm pretty sure if the king wanted me dead, he would've ordered it since he laid his eyes on me. Maybe the most I'll get is more punishment by madame Matilda."

Her eyes widened "Wait are you saying you didn't receive your punishment yet?"

"No, I didn't receive any punishment, his majesty just let me go. He said I must be tired and sent me back to my quarters to rest." I answered

If Mira's mouth were just a few inches open before, then right now, they were straight up falling to the floor.

"Girl what? Are you saying the king did not only not punish you, but he sent you back to go rest? Do you really have elf magic? Was that it? Did you bewitch him?"

I laughed once again at her shocked expression. "Mira shut up I don't have any magic, and I certainly didn't bewitch him. Although Lady Esra seems to think otherwise."

she cocked her head "Huh?"

"Apparently Lady Esra wasn't too impressed by the fact that the king let me go. She saw my ears and assumed I bewitched him with my elf magic, but the king dismissed her ideas. She seemed pretty furious when I left. "

Mira sighed and looked at me with a face full of sympathy, grabbing my shoulder she said, "I'm sorry but you stepped on a real mine with this one. There's no way Lady Esra won't give you hell from now on after this incident, especially since the king took your side over hers. But still, it's pretty suspicious that the king let you go just like that, especially after seeing your ears. Maybe we should pack our bags indeed and get ready to run."

I admit, even I thought it was pretty strange and yes I feel a little nervous about what would happen tomorrow. Although for some reason I was pretty confident that nothing serious would happen. Something in the king's eyes didn't seem like he wanted to kill me.

"Don't worry too much Mira, there's really not much we can do right now anyways. We just have to wait until sunrise to see what happens." I said

"Yea, you're right. In that case, I'm going to sleep then. I've been up all night waiting for you, I'm pretty tired. See you tomorrow...I hope." she said as she got off my bed giving a small laugh as she went to hers.

The moment Mira was gone, I fell backward on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. My thoughts drifted to what happened earlier.

In one night, I not only got to speak to the king, but he also touched me. This was crazy.

Now that I think about it, he didn't seem to be bothered by my ears, although it did seem like he was curious.

I pulled out the small piece of fabric he had given me earlier to clean my wound. I played with it in my hands, feeling up the material and embroidery on it. Since I couldn't see it, all I could do was touch it.

The king...he saw my ears and didn't make a big reaction to it. He didn't judge me or call me disgusting. In fact, he had even flat-out ignored Lady Esra when she was dissing me.

This was the first time ever that someone didn't act wary of me upon seeing my ears. It was the second time someone touched me willingly - without hitting me - even after seeing what I was.

What was going on today? Everything was weird.

After squirming and tossing around for a good maybe thirty minutes, the fatigue of the day finally settled in, drifting me slowly to sleep.

***

“Woah! What is up with your face?” Mira exclaimed in surprise as soon as she saw me. She couldn’t see my face last night because it was dark, but now that there was a little bit of daylight, I’m sure the bruises on my face were now obvious.

With the slap from Madame Matilda and the door that slammed into my face from the king’s room, my face must be a sight to see.

“Oh nothing really, Just souvenirs from my adventure of yesterday,” I said hauling my body off the bed. I was exhausted, my entire face was hurting, alongside the dull ache in my head.

"My goodness, you never seize to be a spectacle, do you?” A voice said with mockery.

It's barely dawn, the sun has yet to fully rise and this bitch-face Lola has already started her daily routine.

"And you never seize your fruitless hobby, do you? I mean seriously go spend your stupid time doing something else." I glared at her.

"What else would be more interesting than watching the little monster make a fool of herself every time?" she asked.

"Hmm let's see. Maybe the fact that your skin is slowly sagging every day, or the fact that your flat-as-a-board chest and your nonexisting ass are causing Sir Andrew to lose interest in you.”

"How dare you?!" she screamed, causing my headache to go up a notch.

Lola prides herself on her looks and looks alone. Insult that, and she's quickly thrown off balance.

"What do you mean sir Andrew is losing interest in me? Thats ridiculous. He always tells me he cares for me and always sends me little gifts"

"Really? Because I'm pretty sure words are easier to say, but actions, on the other hand? They aren't so easy. I saw Sir Andrew spending his time with one of the noble ladies a couple of days back. Why do you think he barely comes to see you lately?" I snickered.

"T-that's nonsense. It's simply ridiculous. You're lying" she said frantically.

"Of course, I was lying" I turned to whisper to Mira. "I didn't see Sir Andrew at all except yesterday. And frankly, I really didn't care what that man does in his leisure time."

Mira and I busted out laughing, happy at our little win over Lola.

“Come on, move your lazy hides. We have a lot of work to do today.” Madame Matilda said in a loud voice while bursting through the doors. She’s definitely the reason those old doors are on their last legs.

“When don’t we always have a lot to do” Mira muttered.

I nudged her with my elbows signaling for her to hush up before she got into trouble. It definitely wouldn’t be a way to start the day.

“As you all know, this year marks the year of the semiannual conclave.” She paused for a while, and then carefully said. “Apparently It has been concluded that the conclave would be held in Elysia.

Heavy silence enveloped the room. Everyone’s breath and action seized instantly.

I’m sure at that moment, we all had a similar thought: ′What the hell did she just say?'