“Hail the King! Hail the Queen!” Voices along with thuds from the wooden staffs echoed throughout the forest.

The cheers reflected agreement from the crowd.

Today was the day of celebration. There have been talks about Princess Valyne and Prince Waron’s marriage and today their king has spoken.

“Three weeks from now, on the night of the full moon, our daughter, Princess Valyne of Panalove will tie the knot with Prince Waron of Rhizen. Myself and queen Merkha invite you all to come and bestow your blessings upon the couple.”

The Panalovians and the Rhizens were constantly at war and this upcoming bond will pave a bridge of friendship between the two kingdoms.

Panalov, a huge territory surrounded by thick forest is the ancestral heaven for the Panalovians, a community of elves. With their species’ striking similarity to human features anybody can mistake them as one but beware.

Along with being great fighters the elves are also awarded with the boon of magic, healing and elemental. This made them a far superior race than the homo-sapiens.

Even with so much ability the Panalovians have always been a peace loving community and only fought outsiders when they were provoked. They lived a simple life where the forest provided them with everything and the kingdom prospered through their trades with nearby kingdoms, after all, the Panalovians have gained the reputation of creating some of the finest jewellery and clothes.

The Rhizens on the other hand are a very opposite case.

Rhizen, the kingdom that has the most rapid growth rate of civilization is always on the news for one reason or another.

They have physical features exactly same as the humans but their invincible strength and unending stamina takes them to a whole different league.

Due to their fierce nature they were feared and renowned as the two-legged beasts by other kingdoms. They believe in capturing and ruling and were trained from a very young age to part take in wars.

There are only handful of kingdoms remaining now which are out of the claws of the Rhizens just because they have stroke some remarkable deals with the Rhizens and that’s what the Panalovians are about to do as well.

The Rhizens and the Panalovians have been face to face with each other a lot of times and none of those clashes brought anything other than destruction and casualties of tons of soldiers from both sides.

The elves, given their nature were never in favor of the fights but they had to protect their territory and anything can be overlooked for that.

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This marriage will hopefully put an end to this conflict and bring the good days back for the Panalovians at least.

The gathered crowd dispersed and king Tranid held his wife’s hand helping her down the stairs of the podium.

“Merkha, did you send word for Valyne to return home today?”

“I certainly did my King but you know how our daughter’s thoughts are regarding this marriage. She thinks we are sacrificing her in the name of truce. I wouldn’t even be surprised if she decides to break this marriage and humiliate us. Only God know it won’t be just humiliation that we will have to go through, the Rhizens will have our heads first and then occupy the kingdom.” Queen Merkha was frantically gasping now and held her husband’s forearm tightly.

Talking about Valyne always made her like this. She knew how bold yet careless her daughter was. Valyne did reckless things without thinking about the consequences they might have. Merkha despised herself for she has failed as a mother, if she had been a little stricter at the right time then Valyne wouldn’t have been out of their hands now.

“You worry so much my Queen. I know our daughter is mischievous but I am also sure that she considers the well being of the kingdom as a priority. We have taught her well Merkha. I know she will be back home and I know she will happily go through the marriage.”

Tranid put his hand around Merkha’s shoulder and led her towards the palace.

It was evening now and Tranid was busy in his study while Merkha was with Onor, the jeweler who had brought some gorgeous piece for Valyne and Merkha to wear at the marriage.

“Father, mother!” Loud, angry female voice boomed inside the palace.

Merkha dismissed Onor knowing exactly who was shouting outside. By the time she came to the hall Tranid was already there trying to hug his daughter.

“Come on father, don’t do this, I am not a child anymore.” Valyne gently pushed his father and stopped him. Tranid laughed heartily at her behavior and patted her head instead.

Valyne’s head turned and her icy blue eyes made contact with Merkha’s light brown ones. She was the mirror of Tranid, Merkha thought, same eyes, same blonde hair and also the same temper when he was young.

“Mother, haven’t we already talked about this. I am not going to marry that monster” she looked from her mother to father, “I am not going to be an item of trade!” her pointed ears have turned red now and that was not a good sign.

Like Tranid had assured their daughter was back and like Merkha has expected she was not in a good mood about the marriage.

“Valyne, this is not just about you dear. You know how relaxing it will be for our people to not always worry about losing their lives; this is for the benefit of the kingdom.”

“I tell we fight the Rhizens for the benefit of our kingdom father. We can easily defeat them with our magic, they won’t stand a chance.”

“We have been fighting them Valyne and what good has that done us so far? If we could defeat them we already would have. This marriage is the only way to stop the chaos.” Tranid tried to reason with her but Valyne had already made up her mind.

“Fine then, I believe I have made myself clear about not going through this marriage. I will not give up my freedom just for the sake of the commoners; I would rather fight for them.”

With her bow still in her hand Valyne gave one last look to her mother and stomped out of the palace.

“Ah this girl.” Tranid exhaled deeply and looked at a worried Merkha. “It’s alright darling. She will be back once she calms down. You know how she is.”

Merkha smiled at his husband and that seemed to work. He walked back inside his study and Merkha stood there with realization in her eyes.

She knew exactly how their daughter was and so she knew Valyne will do exactly as she said. She is not going to be back for the marriage.