*Elaine's P.O.V*

It had been a few hours since the end of my sparring with Erwin, and from that moment I had entered the room that Ron had kindly offered me;

It was really late, and the only thing I wanted to do was sleep enough to be ready for tomorrow, so I could leave Hakvill as soon as possible;

Unfortunately, however, I could not sleep that night; despite I was safe, despite knowing that Rudolf could never return to the conditions in which he was, the trauma I had suffered in this last month was so serious that I could now see ghosts everywhere; with every creaking, at every step I felt, my heart seemed to burst, thus going on alert for nothing;

Back in the time, I loved the dark, I liked the fact of being submerged in that darkness that scared children so much; but at that moment, because of my perennial attention, I wanted to be sure of everything, and now I was even forced to sleep with the candle burning next to my bed...

"Damn...will I be able to heal from all this?"

At that moment I was really going crazy, as it seemed that this trauma would never leave me and that it would accompany me for the rest of my life.

*TOC TOC*

Suddenly, I heard someone knocking on the door while I was submerged in my thoughts, and the next moment, I snappered on my feet, unconsciously creating an ice dage to defend myself... Yes, at that moment, although I seemed healed, in truth my soul was still shattered in thousand pieces.

"... Who is it?" I said in a trembling voice, trying not to let anyone outside understand that I was agitated at the time.

"... I knew I found you awake..."

"Ron?"

What was he doing at this time of the night in front of my bedroom?

"Can I come in?"

At that moment, I hesitated for a moment; I was no longer used to this serene and peaceful climate, and letting Ron into "my space," gave me a little discomfort; at the same time, however, Ron was my "hero", and in a way, inside my heart I knew I could trust him.

"Y-Yes, come in..."

Ron opened the door, and after watching me for a couple of seconds with his cold black eyes, he finally decided to enter the room.

"Do you need anything...?" I asked Ron, not understanding the reason for this sudden visit, since his face was completely indecipherable.

"....You must be tired, so I will go straight to the point: What's your goal?"

Of all things, this question...

"I don't know what you're talking about, really..."

I tried to stay as impassive as possible, as it was risky for me to reveal my future plans; as grateful as I was to the man, I did not know what could happen to him or what he could do, and there was a risk that, if I opened my mouth, the latter could then be pressed by the Darksold clan, and this would be a serious problem for me.

"One thing is sure, that is, you are really smart..." - replied Ron, who went to sit on the only chair in the room – "Come on, sit on the bed, we need to talk..."

I don't know what was going through his head, but I felt a strange feeling coming from the man; not threatening, of course, but something told me that that man in front of me had discovered something. I could deny everything or ask him to get out of the room, but I don't think it would be of any use; so, a little reluctant, I went to sit on my bed, with both of us looking straight in the eye.

"Well, Elaine... Now, I'm not in your head, but I'm sure you're looking for revenge, I'm right? You said before you just wanted to escape, but I just have to look at your gaze to see the anger, hatred and thirst for blood."

"Ah...ah ha... You're wrong..."

"Am I wrong?" – Ron said, squinting slightly – "I don't think so"

"How can you be so certain about something that is not true?" I asked him, trying not to show my real feelings.

"Well, because I too, a long time ago, felt the same sentiment that now lingers in your heart”

When he said those words, for the first time since I knew him, I saw eyes of compassion in front of me; at the same time, I also noticed sadness in those cold black eyes, which now didn't seem as scary as I thought.

At that moment, without me realizing it, a tear stried my face;

"... Even if it was? Will you stop me? "

"No, it's not up to me to decide whatever you should do or not, but I want to ask you one thing: are you sure you want to spend your life meditating on revenge? Because to be honest, revenge is a dangerous weapon..."

"I.. I.."

At that moment I was confused: I had sworn revenge. I had sworn that I would not stop until I killed Umarth; yet, at that moment, listening to Ron's words, and seeing that almost melancholic expression of his, I wondered for the first time, since I had left Lorien, what would become of me after I realized my revenge;

But then, in my mind I saw the image of my mother and father being slaughtered by those bastards, and suddenly, anger, but also determination, skyrocketed inside of me.

"I... I want to take revenge, it's my only and only goal now." I finally replied in a cold voice and a fiery look, forcefully wiping the tear on my face, which for me was a symbol of weakness that I absolutely did not want to show;

"... I understand." said Ron, who seemed to have been sorry for my response.

After hearing my answer, he got up from the seat and hewalked toward the exit of the room; i thought that now i could sleep, but when he went out, he left the door open leaving me a little bit puzzled; after a few seconds he returned back, this time carrying with him an ampoule containing a strange black liquid, a long-haired wig,a passport, a strange silver necklace and a small bag containing many gold coins.

"What is all this stuff?" I asked Ron, not understanding why he brought me all these things into the room;

"I want to give you a chance to carry out your revenge.."

Those few words that came out of his mouth, made my heart gaspe: what did he mean by those words? Would he really have helped me with my plan? And yet, until a few seconds ago, I was sure he wouldn't want to help me... what had made him change his mind in such a short time?

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"I see you'rea bit confused" – said Ron, leaving everything he took on the board – "I'll explain everything to you, but first sit here in the chair...."

Slightly hesitant, I got out of bed, then sat on the chair like Ron said; After making me wear that silver necklace, Ron opened that strange ampoule he had brought with him, then spreading all the contents on my hair, which within a few moments, became pitch black; after that, he made me wear the wig he had brought with him, putting it on my head with extreme care;

I looked in the mirror, which was placed right in front of us, and at that moment, I looked completely different; my elve features, as well as my pointed ears, had been completely hidden;

"I look like another person, but I don't think the camouflage can help me, since the mana remains the same...?"

As I spoke, I looked through the mirror at Ron's eyes, which were fixed on me; at first I didn't notice, but at that moment, his gaze became extremely melancholic, almost as if at any moment he would collapse on himself. At the same time, as he looked at me with those eyes, I felt a strange feeling of Deja-vu...

"... Don't worry, I'm not that stupid..." - said Ron, who noticed my gaze, turned almost quickly, as if he wanted to hide something – "With that silver necklace, not only your elven traits will be camoufled, but your mana will be perceived slightly differently... And anyway, from today your identity will be another: As of today, the passport on the table is yours."

I finally realized the usefulness of that silver necklace on my neck! I was stunned that there was a similar tool on Earthland!

Intrigued by the passport, I took it without hesitation, curious to know if that also had any magical functionality; but the moment I opened the passport, I was completely shocked by what I saw at the moment: the passport belonged to a girl named Lucy Blazestorm, and what surprised me was the fact that the girl in question depicted in a small recognizable photo, in addition to being the same age as me, was damn similar to me! Aside from the hair, and the amber eyes, that girl was very similar to me! I looked at the date of birth, and I noticed that the girl in question, although in the photo she must have been about my age, to date she had to be 20 years older than me...

Then, all of a sudden, the passport in my hand suddenly lit up, and at that moment, the photo that was there just before changed, assuming my appearance; the personal data also changed, leaving me impressed again. Despite this, however, the image of that girl did not get out of my head, and a certain sense of curiosity almost began to torment me.

"H-Hey... who was that girl—"

"No questions, please..." said Ron, who in the meantime had turned around, with his face coming back indecipherable again; Ron was looking at me with his cold eyes, yet at that moment, it was as if he wasn't looking at me; it was a strange feeling, something I had never seen before, and it was something that in a way, gave me a strange feeling of fear, which instantly erased all the curiosity I had;

"Right now, if you stay here, Umarth's men could probably come looking for you; I'm sure the reason it took you 1 month to get here, is because your goal was to enter the Domul kingdom, I mean well?"

"B-But how did you get it..."

"Well, it certainly doesn't take a genius to understand that the kingdom of Domul is the only place on this earth where you can hide. Unfortunately for you, I'm sure Umarth understood your plan, and so... here you are in the twenty-first district..."

I thought back to those hectic moments following my escape from Lorien; in fact, wherever I went, it was as if the men of Umarth had some sort of advantage over me; of course, the fact that they were numerous did not help me, but their organization and their moves were far too well thought out to be the result of a simple case;

"So? What do you advise me to do?"

"... How about going to the capital?"

"... Why in the capital? There are too many people there, it's not a safe place..." I asked Ron, remaining quite skeptical about what he told me;

"There are too many people, of course, but it is also the safest place on Earthland: first of all, The abode of the King of Mykotos is located in Veras City; this means that the controls are tighter, and the city guards are very competent; moreover, also in Mykotos, there is the academy of "The Thousand Magical Arts", one of the best academies in the world, if not the best: don't you think it is the best place to hide and train to faster reach your goals? The money I gave you is for you to participate in the selection, so there should be no problem..."

The more I thought about it, and the more Ron's words made sense; however, if on the one hand I had the chance of life, on the other I knew that there must necessarily be an ulterior end in his actions, although he and Erwin saved me without asking me anything in return: or perhaps, his act of generosity towards me was due to the fact that I looked like that girl in my passport... I wanted to ask him why he was helping me, but I had the impression that even if I insisted on the subject, the man in front of me would never, ever answer me;

"I'm sure you have an further objective..."

"Exactly" – said Ron without hiding it, crossing both arms and leaning against the wall – "I want you and Erwin to leave together for the academy of a thousand magical arts..."

Even though I was hoping otherwise, I was almost sure that Ron wanted something in return, and in fact I was very sorry to see that my instinct was right; surely though, traveling with that guy was not something I had taken into account, and it wasn't even something I wanted to do, since despite the fact that he had saved me, there was something about him that bothered me.

I wanted to refuse her request, since at that moment, I felt almost used and I was angry with Ron, since he made me feel like a mere object, and also, I didn't want to babysit a seemingly problematic guy.

But at the same time I knew that such an opportunity could not happen to me again, and that being conditioned by my ego would certainly not help me...

"...When are we leaving?"

END OF CHAPTER 12 - NEW IDENTITY