Ceris stared at the child in front of her, who had not made any indication that she was present. The elven king fixed her hair and sighed.

  "What are you doing here?" Her tone was unintentionally a bit rude, the result of her irritation and fatigue coming together.

  The child pursed her mouth in a slight frown. Ceris almost found this motion kind of endearing.

  Almost.

  "Get on with it then! Don't just stare at me like that!" Her frustration had reached a breaking point, and she subconsciously began to disregard her sense of decorum. Ceris folded her arms together and began tapping her foot impatiently.

  Anya shrunk back slightly, intimidated by Ceris' demeanor. Her hands started shaking as she wrote in the air, making her clumsy runes illegible.

  Ceris scoffed. "You can't even write! Really, what are you even doing here? The fairies are exalted beings, and even my elves don't spend much time in their presence, not to mention a broken human child like you. So what if you were able to see them because you're pure of heart? Most humans your age can see fairies! It's not a big deal! You should know that humans always lose their ability to see fairies. Your hearts are always stained by the world! You wouldn't be any different, you know! How did you trick the queen into taking care of you?"

  Before she realized it, she was spilling out her thoughts and frustrations. Worse yet, she could see herself breaking down, and could do nothing to stop herself.

  She knew she needed to stop and apologize. She knew she would need to apologize to Queen Kiridian as well, since she had suggested that the queen's judgement was flawed.

  And yet...

  She did not stop.

  Ceris Draiochta, King of the Draiochta Elves, looked at the small cchild in front of her, the young child who was trembling uncontrollably as tears welled up in her eyes...

  ...And still she continued.

  "Go on! Answer me! What did you do? What trickery allowed you to enter this sacred place and spread your human corruption? Tell me, why a human was given a blessing from the fairy queen, when your kind has done absolutely nothing to promote your relationship with the fairies! Tell me why our elves, who always pay our respects to the fairies who created our race, have come here year after year to receive the good graces of our magical ancestors, receive the blessings of the fairies so rarely that directly receiving a blessing from the fairies would put one in the royal line of succession! And tell me why, of all the humans that could have wandered in and received the blessing of the fairy queen, it had to be such a weak-willed, scrawny, broken, and depressed child like you?!"

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  Ceris' voice had raised more and more as she vented, until she finally exhaled forcefully, having said what she wanted to say. It was, without a doubt, the first time she had ever expressed herself in such a forceful, unbecoming manner, but she felt strangely relieved. Disregarding the child before her, Ceris had calmed down so much that her frustrations even appeared laudable to her.

  Suddenly, and in a completely different manner from earlier, Ceris once again lost control of herself. She broke into laughter and tears at how ridiculous she was being. If her etiquette instructor could see her now, she would be copying the elven law until her fingers bled, and another week beyond that.

  Anya, in the meantime, was utterly terrified. She had been on a walk because she couldn't sleep, when she heard someone scream, so she went outside and saw Ceris. Ceris had shouted and raged at her, and now she was laughing hysterically. Ceris' tirade had been enough to scare her, but her laughter made her appear absolutely insane.

  Anya had noticed the staff in Ceris' hands and realized that she must have been training for some reason. She also knew that Ceris was a trained warrior and magician, while she was just a small child that could barely use enough magic to write in the air. Anya had felt the threat of death before, when she was still living in the human village, but for the first time, she felt the fear of unpredictability. She could not tell what the elven ruler was planning to do, but she knew that if Ceris so desired, she would be killed without even the slightest chance to resist.

  Anya wanted to run away, but did not dare to move. Her instincts told her that if she moved, Ceris would move, and if Ceris moved, there was no telling what she would do.

  She remained still; even her frightened trembling had stopped completely. Her breaths had become slow and silent, and her chest barely moved as she inhaled and exhaled. Anya had become a statue as Ceris broke down before her.

  After several minutes that felt like an eternity to the young girl, Ceris finally wiped away her tears as her laughter settled down.

  "My word, I am so incredibly apologetic. Your name was Anya, correct? I have been so completely out of line. Please forgive me." Though her words were sincere, the elven king still had a trace of laughter on her face, which, Anya felt, was contrary to her literal intent.

  She was still frozen still, unsure of how to respond.

  Was this really that proud, aloof royal who had arrived earlier? What had overcome this woman for her to behave in such a manner?

  Anya realized that she needed to say something. She took a deep breath to calm herself down and steady her hands.

  "King Ceris, are you okay?"

  She did not mean to imply anything, although one certainly could not blame her if she did.

  "Dear Anya, I admit, I simply cannot understand anything about your presence here and it's driving me absolutely mad! However, I believe that my episode just now may have helped me come to terms with this situation. I do not believe I will display such unsightly behavior in front of you in the future."

  The elf had regained some of her cool demeanor once more, and spoke with a hint of light in her eyes. Whether it was the light of madness or the glint of moonlight in her eyes, Anya was uncertain, but to put her worries aside, she told herself that it was the moonlight.