"The Emerald Crown is an ancient relic rumour to have great powers and is the symbol of the old elven royal family.

Now the two elven kingdoms fight endlessly to claim it for the Radiant Sun or the Silvery Moon."

-Extract from "On Elven Culture"

 

---

 

In the dimly lit room, a quiet rumbling sound came from under the folds of a black dress wrapped around the undead mage's slim body.

 

"Your hungry already, Kia?" The elf said while neatly folding their clothes and setting them on the table.

 

"Moore?" The girl looked up from the bronze sphere with a pleading look, placing her hand where the rumbling came from. "Can I have more?" She stood up and grabbed the elf's hand.

 

"No."

 

"Iriiis." The pleading girl continued her assault.

 

"No," The evil elf did not waver at the merciless assault of the beseeching puppy eyes. "...but we can go tomorrow to the baker for some sweet things, not too much, though." The evil elf compromised wanting to finish what she was doing before.

 

"Yay!" The clockwork sphere disappeared as Kia jumped to hug Iris throwing both of them onto the bed.

 

The elf shook her head as she sat up straight, smiling continuously as she stroked the girl's back. "You are such a needy girl."

 

The petite undead affectionately rubbed her head on Iris's body resembling a litte kitten in the process. The two continued to lay beside each other for some time until Kia sluggishly lifted her leg and sat on the long elven legs facing the stunned Iris, the girl's legs wrapped around the elf's back while her arms did similar to the elven neck. Iris's voice was stuck in her throat as her wide open eyes followed each of Kia's moves with shameful anticipation, she could feel a familiar warmth rising from deep inside her. The pale blue and golden jewels glimpsed at the stunned elf as the girl's head rested on risen's round cleavage. Iris's entire body twitched at the sudden cold sensation as Kia shifted herself in search of a more comfortable position. The girl's purrs caused the air to graze Iris's pearly white skin sending bolts of lightning to travel up her spine, her heated body rose and fell as white puffs left her mouth with each breath as Kia tighten her body around the elf.

 

"You sinful undead~" Iris eventually leaned in to whisper to the undead's ear as she noticed that the girl had fallen asleep.

 

Iris hovered her face over the silky black hair of Kia and relished in the pleasant smell. As elf smelled the fragrant earthy-floral scent, her mind allowed her body to relax and melt under the girl's cool touch. Iris's wanted to stop time and be able to endlessly relish in this very moment in the complete silence of the moonless night which settled over Marinya. Kia's unconscious body snuggled closer into Iris's warm body as she wrapped her hands around the girl.

 

"MmImriis?" Kia shifted her body as her half-open eyes searched for Iris.

 

"Good morning, slept well?" The elf held Kia's chin lifting it soo their eyes met.

 

"Huungry?" The half-asleep girl spoke.

 

"No, I'm good," Iris said causing Kia's eyebrows to dip as her sleepy face frowned. "Adorable~"

 

Kia rubbed her eyes and rested her head on the elf's chest once more. The two stayed like this until the second bell started to ring throughout the city.

 

"Still sucking in the yolk?" Iris asked.

 

"Mmm?"

 

"Are you still sleepy, that's what I am asking?" The elf answered with a small smile.

 

"A bit."

 

"Sooo you telling me we are not going for breakfast and stay here, got it." The elf tighten her hug around the tired girl.

 

"Nooo! Iriiis stop." Iris felt Kia struggle to escape her grasp. The mage's eyes began to glow and the elf felt her grasp on Kia loosen. Suddently the ancient undead's face flinched in pain as her eyes dimmed back to their normal glow.

 

"Kia, has something happened?" Worried elf asked as she grabbed the girl's shoulder, careful not to put to much force on the porcelain doll.

 

"W-What do you mean?" The girl grabbed Iris's hand and lifted it effortlessly as her eyes glowed with renewed glow. "See."

 

"Sorry, just thought..." The tall undead's head sunk in thought.

 

"Ready!?" An excited squeal pulled Iris from her thoughts.

 

"Just let me dress up first." She looked at Kia who was already wearing her cloak.

 

The two walked down the stairs finding the guild almost empty with only Mira and Mark standing at their posts. The moment Mira noticed them she waved for them to come.

 

"Hi, I got this from the guild master," Mira said handing them a letter. "He said it's for the Damestar Ravens."

 

"I do not follow?" Iris frowned as she hand over the letter to Mira. "I don't even know what is a damestar raven." She said pushing the letter away.

 

"Eeeh, that's you o-or rather your team's name." The chestnut hair elf shrunk under the judging gaze. "I forgot to ask your team's name in the application and I filled it for you... mercy please?"

 

*Sigh* "Could I know what is a damestar raven at least." Iris massaged her forehead and asked Mira.

 

"That's a funny story actually, sooo I was thinking what name would fit you and I was thinking about names like Emerald Crown or Sun Stars but they were not it and Siri come downstairs without her hood. So I look at her and she was in a full beautiful black dress and her pale skin is as white as yours if not paler and I remembered reading that damestar raven bodies have pitch black bodies with their wings being snow white. Oh, I just remembered that they mate for life and never cheat on each other, Sooo romantic like Brad and Alicia in "Tombed Love"~ Wait, what type of elf are you maybe Sun Stars would be bett-"

 

The edge of Iris's lips twitched, "Finished?" She stopped Mira's ramblings.

 

"Y-yes, I think?"

 

"Siri, you like the name?" The elf hurriedly asked.

 

"Mm," Kia, who stood beside Iris, nodded.

 

"Wait, aren't you sister, maybe I should change the name for something else?" The receptionist said with sudden seriousness.

 

"No, it's good." Iris spoke as she glanced at Kia.

 

"Oooh, w-well I guess nothing b-bad can happen." Mira muffled her whisper as the taller elf opened the letter.

 

"To all remaining Adventures teams.

I Gion II Korenst invite you all to work on a Grand Quest of exploration and elimination of a newly discovered dungeon.

The payment will be one platinum coin and forty per cent of anything valuable found in the dungeon.

Meeting with my associate on the fourth bell in the Adventurer Guild establishment."

 

"Read it?"

 

"Yes." Iris looked up from the letter and gave back it to Kia.

 

"And?" Mira said.

 

"Gion Korenst is organizing a grand quest or something."

 

"Which one?"

 

"Second, does it matter?"

 

"Wow, he had the gall to do that," Mira said, her eyes narrowed with disgust.

 

"What about him?"

 

"He and his family are one of the ruling families of this city. Dealing in mercenary work and protection. He had the gall to hire almost all adventurers to fight in that dumb war in western Edor and now he is asking the guild to... but he does pay good I guess." Mira grumbled as she spoke.

 

A sound of paper being hit reached the two elves, finding Kia pointing at two words: Grand Quest and platinum coin.

 

"Platinum coin is four hundred gold coins." Iris said.

 

"Five hundred coins actually and a Grand Quest is just fancy talk for many teams working together to complete a task," Mira corrected the taller elf. "But I don't think many people will go."

 

"What do you think, Siri?"

 

"𝙃ｕ𝑛𝒈𝑟y!" Kia replied struggling to properly vocalise the word.

 

"Of course," Iris took the hooded girl's hand and walked to the guild's restaurant and as far away from Mira, who seemed to melt due to Kia's broken Common. "Thanks."

 

The Iris ordered two hearty breakfasts and sat down opposite two Kia. When the food was ready the little girl ate like wildfire. She grabbed the fork and jammed it into the fried egg, the yellow yolk flowed out dripping as Kia attempted to lift the whole egg to her mouth.

 

"Kia," Iris stopped the girl from eating with her hands as the egg continuously evaded her mouth. "I will teach you how to use knife and fork and if you don't learn it no more food, understand?"

 

Kia gulped as she straighten her posture to mirror Iris's. The elf proceeded to teach the girl how to properly hold cutlery with a fork in her left hand and a knife in the right. She remembered the time when a short servant tried to teach the mountain called Utrecht basic table manners when they were in Catalina, she didn't know why but the memory stuck with her. At the end of the brief lesson, Kia resumed her dining, having to considerably slow down as she constantly shifted her eyes from Iris's hands to her hands to the food. The sound of the third bell come and went as Kia tried her best to hold the cutlery. The sight felt right to Iris as the young-looking woman in front of her ate with grace and it felt right to her to teach Kia such things and see her improve.

 

"Mmmm!" Kia hummed in delight as she finished her meal.

 

"Full?" The elf asked as she watched the girl eating both of the meals.

 

"Yes?" The hooded undead responded which sounded more like a question as she looked down at her stomach. "What are we doing now?

 

"We could do this but only if there are not that many people," The taller undead showed the letter from the guild master. "Or we can do our thing."

 

"Is five hundred a lot?"

 

"Well, one platinum coin is three years of living with dignity but if you live a humble life it would take you about six maybe seven years to spend it all," Iris explained.

 

The two girls waited in the restaurant for the fourth bell. When it rang, Iris followed by Kia stood up and walked into the reception.

An old man with a black and white uniform stood beside Mira.

 

"Greetings." The old man said.

 

"Hello," The elf responded.

 

"Is that all adventurers interested?" The man turned to Mira.

 

"Think so, Sebastian."

 

"Well then, I arranged carts for you and a map of where to go. You are not allowed to show that map to anyone outside the hired group. You are to deliver any valuables to my master's mansion and there you will be awarded a fair price and the one promised platinum coin, if there are valuables left at the dungeon we will send a crew to retrieve them but your share drops to ten per cent. Do you understand?"

 

"Yes." Iris responded.

 

"I see guild got some new smart fellows who don't have to counsel each other for r-"

 

The front door opened, hitting the wall with a loud bang, "I am very sorry for the lateness we of Light Sigil are also interested in participating" A female voice screamed.