Elvira

----------------------------------------

“Flesh to ashes...Tears to blood...Core to strength...”

The sound of incoherent mumbling slowly drew me out of my unconscious state, and I could hear several voices around me. I tried moving, but my body was numb, it was like something was weighing me down.

My eyes sluggishly opened, and the first thing that greeted me was figures wearing dark cloaks all surrounding me. From the sound of their voices, I could tell they were women.

My head was hurting, the tip of my ears was burning and my body felt like metal. I tried to slowly stand up but was forcefully yanked down to the floor again. The sound of chains resonated through the room. I glanced down only to see a couple of chains flowing from my neck, ankles, and wrist.

I was chained to the floor.

Panic instantly ran through me and I tried to get up once more, only to be dragged back down by the chains. I groaned in pain when I made contact with the cold floor.

“Who are you?! What do you want from me?!” I yelled.

However, my questions fell on deaf ears. The cloaked women seemed unaffected by the fact that I was now awake. They just kept up with their mumbles, “Flesh to ashes, tears to blood, core to strength, dark yield to light...”

I didn’t know what they were mumbling, but it seemed to be making me weak. A shrill noise rang through my head and I screamed in pain. My body was going cold and numb.

“What are you doing to me?! Let me go!” I yelled, and once again no one paid heed to my words.

Okay, Elvira let’s calm down. Struggling and yelling aren’t doing any good right now, there has to be a way out. After taking deep breaths to calm myself down, I turned to study my surroundings.

It was a dusty and cold room with a distinct grassy smell to it. Unpainted bricks made up the wall, and it was full of cracks. There were torches with rusting metal, signifying that this room lacked care and occupants.

Although the wall was full of cracks, I could tell that it was made of fine-quality bricks, which meant that we were still in the palace. This must be that secluded area Andrew and his companion were taking me to.

I looked below me to see if there was a way to escape these chains, but I was shocked by what I saw. I was kneeling right on top of a strange circle. The circle had a smaller circle in it, and strange writings and letters that I had never seen, decorated it. It looked like it was painted to the floor.

I yanked my hand, hoping the chain had a weak spot, however to my dismay, it was strong from the point it made contact with my skin, down to the ground it was rooted in. It felt like the more I tugged on it, the more it bit into my skin.

Seeing that escaping the chains was a failure. I focused my attention on my perpetrators. The dark cloak they wore shrouded their entire body, not a skin to be seen. It was really eerie. What’s even more eerie was that they had no reaction to all of my movements or yelling.

Then it dawned on me. Black cloaks...huge round hats...it was them! The supernaturals I had seen walking in through the gates earlier on. I’m not sure if they were the same people, but their clothing, aura, and creepiness are all too similar.

“Hey! What creature are you guys?! Don’t be stupid and let me go. I may be a mere servant, but you can’t just come to another kingdom and perform acts like this. It could be seen as a breach of agreement and could start a war.” I screamed.

But as it seemed to be the routine now, I was ignored.

Getting frustrated by all this, I started to yank my chains in desperation, screaming and thrashing. I kept trying to get up, just to fall straight to the ground over and over. It was hopeless, everything I was doing was hopeless.

Just then the rustic metal door in front of us opened. I threw my head to look at it, a mixture of emotions running through me. On one hand, I was partly scared that it may be more of their allies, or perhaps someone to deal the death blow. On the other, I was hopeful that it was someone here to save me.

A striking leather shoe that I was so used to polishing, slowly stepped into the door. Excitement and relief bubbled in my heart and I yelled “Your Majesty!“. King Aden was here, no doubt he’d help me. His suspicions about not letting the supernatural onto Elysia’s grounds were right.

I looked at him with helpful pleading eyes, hoping he’d come to save me, however, he just walked to one of the clothed figures.

“How much longer?” he asked in urgency.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“Just a little longer, young lord” the woman’s misty voice replied.

“Make it fast, the dragon emperor is a sharp one. He may begin to suspect something.” his Majesty said.

Huh? Something was off. Something was extremely off.

The king then turned around and slowly approached me, his legs stopping a few feet from me. He looked at my miserable form on the floor and smiled. The burning sensation in my ears slowly increased.

“Your majesty?” I asked with a trembling voice.

What was going on? Why is he talking to these strange women and what is he telling them to hurry up on? I knelt there in shock. Was his majesty in play with these people?

“Shh, dear Elvira don’t be scared,” he said as he squatted down to my eye level. “Everything is okay.”

He spoke comforting words to me, but all they did was send cold shivers down my spine. There was a smile on his face, but it never reached his eyes. It was cynical and jarring.

“This is nothing against you really, in fact, you are but a mere variable in this grand scheme,” he said.

“A scheme?” I asked, my eyes widening.

“Yes, there is a grand plan. But don’t worry your pretty little head about it. All you need to do is just stay there and give yourself up.” He said those words in a casual tone as if he were discussing what he’d like to have for breakfast.

I slowly shook my head at him. “No, no, you can’t just tell me to kneel here and give myself up... I won’t...I refuse to.”

“Don’t forget I’m still your king Elvira. This is an order” He said in an angry tone.

“No!” I yelled. “You can’t just tell me to go and die without any reasoning. If you were my king as you said, and I your subject then at least let me know why this is happening” my voice quivered.

The king sighed and said “Fine. If it adds some type of meaning to your useless life, then sure I don’t mind.”

“You see, ever since I was a little kid, my father would take me to meetings with other kingdoms and to the conclave. Time and time again, every time we went to a different meeting, I’d notice the same thing. We the human race are weaklings.” His jaw ticked at the last words.

I stared at him in confusion, not knowing where he was going with this.

“My father may have been known as a mighty warrior, but in the face of those other kingdoms, we were mere ants by their feet. Especially that conceited bastard Adelio the dragon emperor. He is the most powerful being in this entire world, which meant he got to do what he wanted with little to no repercussions.”

He let out a cold laugh and continued “They said the law exist to keep equality among us, but that was a lie. Adelio is above the law, everyone just acts like that wasn’t the case.”

“But what does this all have to do with me?” I asked with uncertainty.

“Whoever has the most power controls the world. And you, Elvira, are a pure form of power”

I blinked at him and almost came close to laughing. The situation went from intense to comical in seconds. I was a pure form of power? That’s hilarious. If I truly had power, does he think I’d be sitting here listening to his soppy story? I don’t give a damn about power struggles, I just wanted to live my life in peace.

King Aden must have noticed the mix of doubt and humor on my face because he continued “Do you know as mighty as a dragon is, that power could just be as easily stolen? All it requires is a little bit of pure nature magic to be converted into dark magic and when blood is drawn from the said dragon, anyone can get the power.”

He then brought his hands to the side of my face, and moved the loose strands of hair, revealing my ears. “I was pondering for a while, where do I find a core so filled with life essence and nature magic? The only people that matched that description were the elves, but unfortunately, the elves have hidden themselves and rarely ever come out.”

My body froze. I knew where this was going.

Sure enough, the king said “Just when I was beside myself with worry, I found a little elf scurrying around in my chambers. So you see Elvira, it could have been anyone, you just happened to be there.”

“I am not an elf!” I yelled. “Why do you people never get it? I don’t have magic, I am not an elf, I am human!”

The king just smirked at my protest, as if he was watching something amusing.

He then brought up his hand to stroke my ear, and I swatted it away, glaring at him. To think the man I admired the most, the man I thought would give his all to protect his kingdom would stoop himself this low just to satisfy his hunger for power.

“Hurry it up.” He commanded to the woman, as he got up to leave.

“Wait, your majesty. Don’t go!” I yelled after him, but he just kept walking away until I could no longer see him.

The women’s voices got louder and their murmurings seemed to be faster. A rush of pain pierced through my head and I staggered. My body was getting weaker by the minute, almost as if something was being sucked out of me.

“Somebody help me,” I pleaded in a soft voice. But who was I kidding, no one was going to come.

No one is ever there to wipe my tears when I cry. No one is ever there to hug me when I’m scared. No one is ever there to talk me down when I’m nervous. No one.

Just then, a loud deafening growl shook the entire room. The growl reverberated through my body as if it was calling out to my very soul. The women stopped their chanting and we all turned to look in the direction of the noise. At first, there was nothing there, but then there were movements at the door.

A shadow slowly emerged. The shadow was tall, and it was emanating from an equally tall figure. Not just any figure, but an audaciously gorgeous one.

A flash of red hair was the first thing I saw, then followed by the most striking face I have ever seen. That red hair, that lean body, that sweet scent. It was him. It was the man I saw earlier, the one that made me feel all sorts of things I had never felt before.

“Sisters! We have been compromised let’s go!” one of the women said in a panic

“Cast the teleportation spell!” the other yelled.

A giant fireball flew from across the room, aiming straight at the cloaked women.

They all said something in unison, and suddenly there was a bright light. As quickly as the light came, it instantly vanished. The room was empty, not even one of those women left. The nerves of those hussies, they just left me here by myself.

The fireball lingered in the place where the women had been standing as if it was searching for them. Then the fire darted in my direction with lightning speed. Panic set in as I started to struggle once more. I was desperately yanking at my chains as the fire came full speed at me. However before it made contact, it quickly dissipated.

I gasped in relief and turned to look at the owner of those flames. My eyes locked in with those cherry-red ones, and I stilled. The chains on my wrist clattered as if to mock my hesitation. His entire presence was stifling. He was brooding as steam rolled off him.

He looked like a starved animal that was out for blood and for some reason, I felt like it was...my blood.