The Beginning After The End (Early Years Book 1) (10 page)

Ah!
Endure this need to hug her, Arthur!

It’s
dusk now and the fog around us seems to get thicker and thicker.  My sense
of direction is all but useless here.  If I were to get separated from
Tess, I can end up travelling in circles without even realizing it.

She
suddenly turns to me, her face a mixture of happiness and hesitation.
 “We’re here.”

Looking
around, the only things I see are clusters of trees and fog.  Confused, I
was about to ask where we were, but I stopped when I saw Tess placing both her
palms on a tree and chanting softly.

Suddenly,
the fog around us was sucked into that same tree and what came into vision was
a giant wooden door that seemed to just stand on by itself on the ground.

Tess
takes my hand pulls me towards the door.  When she opens it, I’m reminded
of the portal that Sylvia sent me through.

Experiencing the same feeling of being in a fast-forwarded
film, we softly land on our feet, arriving at our destination, my eyes wide
with awe at the sight before me.

Pristine

That
was the word that popped up in my head, upon gazing at the elven city.  It
appears we directly teleported right past the gates.  What I see before me
are buildings that seem to be made of a jade like material.  These jade
buildings each seemed to be carved from a single, huge stone.  The
structures were void of cracks or any other blemishes that would normally come
through time.

Making
this place look even more awe-inspiring were the huge trees that intertwined
with the buildings, giving this whole city a more magnificent, natural look.
 Looking up at the immensely thick
branches, that
extended out of the thick trunks even thicker than the buildings,
seemed
to be many houses with smoke coming out of their chimneys.

The
floor of this city was covered in lush grass, with only the narrow sidewalks
and the main road made out of a smooth stone.  Most of the city was
covered in shade because of the thick branches that fanned out from the trees
but the city itself gave off a warm luminescent glow from what looked to be
floating orbs of light dotted across the city.  Whether it was my previous
world or this world, I could only describe it as perfect.

While
I stood still, slack-faced, a blur in front of me suddenly jolted me awake.

Tess
was still holding unto my hand when a group of what seemed like guards arrived
almost out of nowhere.  These elven warriors emanated a majestic air
around them, all dressed in coordinated black suits with green trimmings and a
golden shoulder guard on their left shoulder.  These 5 guards all had with
them a rapier strapped to their waist and what surprised me the most was that
there was no aura coming out of them.

Augmenters
and Conjurers both emit a faint aura unconsciously but this is only because of
their lack of control over mana, which causes it to leak out of their body.
 One of the main reasons I was able to beat the slave traders was because
I’m able to control my mana to not leak out, which I was able to use to catch
them by surprise.

By
the speed that the guards arrived in front of, they were clearly Augmenters but
if they’re not leaking out even a hint of mana, that means these guys are no
joke.

These
5 guards suddenly kneeled down on one knee, their face bowed down and right arm
across their chests.

In
unison, the guards saluted, “We welcome back the royal princess.”

“…”

Holy
shit.

Tessia
is the princess of this whole fucking Kingdom?

While
I tried to let go of Tessia’s hand, she suddenly grasps it harder and says in a
voice that was so cold and apathetic, it brought shivers down my spine.

“You
may rise.”  She says with her peering down on the kneeled knights.

They
stand up, their clenched right fist still crossing their chest, and the knight
in front speaks, “Princess, we arrived as soon as we saw that the royal
teleportation gate was used.  Please, tell us what happened…”

Before
he could finish speaking, I hear a cry not too far away.

“My
baby! Tessia, you’re okay! Oh my baby!”

Running
towards us was a
middle aged
man and woman.  From
the crown on the man’s head and the tiara encircling the woman’s forehead, I
assumed that they were the King and Queen.

The
King’s tall, built body was uniformed in a loose, decorated robe.  His
emerald eyes were pointed upwards and his thin lips were tensed, matching his
short, military style hair.

While
the King had a dignified but somewhat reserved appearance, the Queen was
breathtaking.  Although she was a bit past her youthful stage, her age
couldn’t mask the beauty she was.  Her round eyes were a light blue color
and her lips full and a deep pink color.  Her silver hair was curled down
past her back as she was running towards us with a figure that could make
anyone doubt that this woman was a mother.

They’re
both running over here, the mother’s cheeks lined with tears and the father’s
eyes straining to keep his tears in.

I
turn to see Tessia’s face visibly soften as she herself starts tearing up.
 I let go of her hand and gently push her towards her parents, feeling a
little emotional myself.

Tessia
lands in the arms of both her parents who start sobbing at this point on their
knees, burying their face in their daughter.

The
last to arrive is an old man, well past his prime.  His facial features
are all sharp, with a gaze that can kill someone.  His hair was pure white
and was tied in the back, face cleanly shaven.   This grandpa didn’t say
anything, but his eyes did warm up a little when he saw Tessia.

It
took a couple of minutes for Tessia and her parents to settle down, while the
guards were looking at me with daggers in their eyes the whole time.

The
King gets up, eyes a little red but not being able to mask the air of nobility
that surrounded him.

“As
the King of Elenoir and the father of Tessia, I apologize for this unsightly
appearance of mine and more importantly, I thank you for escorting my daughter
back home.”  He says.

Continuing
on, he adds, “Please accompany us to our home so we can hear what happened.”

I
just nod in consent and was about to follow them when Tessia comes to me and
holds my hand again, making the surrounding people give us weird and surprised
gazes.  I just uncomfortably chuckle and scratch the side of my head, not
knowing what to really say in this situation.

Arriving
at the castle, I observe that, rather than a castle; it was actually a huge
tree.  This tree, that probably needed at least a couple hundred people,
locking arms, to encircle it, was made of a white stone that I guessed was
petrified somehow.

Stepping
inside the tree, I was pleasantly surprised to see how magnificent the interior
of this castle was.  There were two curved staircases that created a
circle, with a gigantic chandelier floating in the middle of it.  This
chandelier seemed to be made of the same orbs of light that were dotted
throughout the city.

Not
even washing up, the welcoming crew was all situated around the rectangular
dining table downstairs.   Tessia’s father was on the far end of the table
with me directly opposite of him.  Tessia’s mother sat perpendicular to
her husband, with Tessia seated right next to her. The grandpa was sitting
across from the mother and daughter, leaving a pretty big gap between them and
me, while the five guards standing off to the side behind the King.

With
both his elbows on the table, fingers intertwined, the King was the first to
speak.

“Child.
 What did you say your name was?”

“Forgive
me for the late introduction.  My name is Arthur Leywin from a remote town
in the Kingdom of Sapin.  A pleasure to make your acquaintance King,
Queen, Elder, and gentlemen.”  I stand up and bow slightly at each of them
individually before sitting back down.

Discussion
wasn’t going to get anywhere if they were going to treat me like a kid.

Both
the King and Queen and the guards in the back showed evident looks of shock
from my mature behavior, while even the grandpa had an amused grin on his face;
Tessia giving me a shy smile.

Regaining
composure, the King continues on.

“It
seems you are much more intelligent than your appearance.  Forgive me for
my preconception.  My name is Alduin Eralith and this is my wife, Merial
Eralith and my father Virion Eralith. As for what happened, please tell us.
 We would like to hear your side of this.”

Waving
off the apology, I begin telling my story.  I made sure to be very vague
in telling them how I got inside the Forest of Elshire in the first place; just
mentioning that I got separated from my family after running into bandits, only
managing to survive from a stroke of luck.

From
there on, I had to tell them I was a mage.  This was followed by another
wave of utterly surprised looks from everyone, even Tessia.  Because of
the lack of obstacles we ran into on our journey back, I never really had the
need to use mana so I didn’t bother explaining.

What
surprised me was that grandpa suddenly clasped his hands together on the table
and looked at me with a renewed, eerie interest.

I
quickly moved on, telling them how I spotted a carriage from a branch I was
sitting on and I observed them carrying a tied up child into the back before
going off.

At
this, the King slammed both of his hands unto the table, his eyes a menacing
glare.

“I
should’ve known it was humans…”

Woah
woah! Do I sense a hint of racism?

I
correct him, saying, “They were slave traders.  Them and bandits alike
prey on, not just elves, but humans as well, speaking as a victim myself.”

This
caused the King to shut his mouth before sitting back down, letting out a soft
cough.

“I
didn’t ask Tess… *ahem* the Princess this, but I am curious as to how a couple
of slave traders even got their hands on the princess of this kingdom.”  I
ask, almost calling Tessia by her nickname.  I don’t think calling her
something so informal as Tess would sit right with everyone here.

At
this, the King almost looks embarrassed before saying, “My wife and I had a bit
of a disagreement with Tessia and she decided to rebel by running away.
 We decided to let her cool off a bit before fetching her back because we
know where she usually stays when she pouts, but unfortunately, she ran into
some hu... slave traders.”

Ah…
runaway princess.  I sneak in a small grin at Tess and she responds with
her tongue sticking out, face flushed.

I
glaze over the fight with the slave traders.

“Luckily,
I caught the slave traders by surprise and managed to dispose of them before untying
the princess and escorting her here.”

“So
a 4-year-old managed to ‘luckily’ kill off four adults, one being an Augmenter
at that, and you simply wave it off like it’s no big deal.” Chimes in the elder
seated across from Tessia, leaning back on the chair so only two of the legs
are touching the ground.

“Yes.
 Half of them were asleep and the two were simply not on guard so
disposing of them was not too challenging.” I refute.

The
elder just responds with a lazy shrug of his shoulder.

After
finishing the events, I clear my throat before asking what I came here for.

*Ahem*
“As I have mentioned, it has been almost two months since I have seen my
parents.  I do not plan to intrude on your kingdom for long as I wish to
meet them quickly, so I was wondering if you guys have a teleportation gate
that could take me to the City of Xyrus or any teleportation gate inside Sapin.
“