Two days later

 

Helena’s room

 

It’s been two days since the incident in the garden. And Helena had learned a lot in those two days. She learnt the truth about her eye color, and why she was called a slave because of them. 

 

­-------- flashback--------

 

Gaia Forest. A massive forest that is located in the Western part of the continent. It shares borders with the North and South Empires. It’s also the home of the most beautiful creatures in the world. Elves. Known as the longest living race, they have a similar body structure to humans, but with distinctive features. 

 

They possess longer ears and beautiful purple eyes that shone like diamonds. They are also a race of warriors who protect Gaia. The mother tree, in the center of the forest, gives the Elves tremendous power, which they use to create a barrier that protects the forests from intruders. But it did not stop the elves from going out, which meant once they left the forest, they had no hope of coming back. Therefore, a rule which prevents them from leaving the forest was made.

 

But due to their curiosity about the outside world, some young elves sneaked out of the forest. And Helena’s mother, ‘Mithelye’, was one of them. She left her home at the age of fifty. Which is still a young age for elves who age slowly, both physically and mentally. At human age, she would be fifteen. 

 

Coming into this undiscovered world, they were overflowing with excitement and curiosity, but the world outside was not like the fantasy they had imagined in their minds. It was dangerous, harsh, and unforgiving for the smallest mistake. 

 

Thirty young elves left the forest, but in just a week of their journey, ten elves got killed by wild beasts. Five more died from eating poisonous food and another five died from starving. They had experienced the wickedness of the world. 

 

They learnt the rules of this world where the strong survive and the weak die. On a dark, cold night. The ten surviving elves saw a glimmer of hope. While staring at the night sky, they saw fumes, which meant there was fire and maybe food. 

 

They ran towards it with all the strength they could muster from their starving bodies, and when they arrived, they saw something that looked like them but was different. They had shorter ears, wore strange clothes they had never seen, and they spoke strange words. But those strange people were nice. The strange men gave them food to eat and water to quench their thirst. 

 

The young elves were happy. It was the first time they were met with kindness in this harsh world. While they ate the food given to them with gusto, Mithelye pretended to eat the food given to her because she remembered the lesson her father had taught her.

 

“Mithelye… listen to my words. Nothing is absolutely free in the world. There is only an illusion of freedom.” Her father said.

 

“I don’t understand, father,” she said.

 

“ OK, let me give you an example. Do you think the birds flying in the sky are free?” Her father asked while pointing at a flock of birds flying in the sky.

 

“Hmmm... yes. They look freer than us who are trapped in this forest oblivious of the world outside,” she said.

 

“Ha hahaha… that was the same answer your mother gave me. She was always curious about the outside world.” Her father said while laughing.

 

“So why didn’t she go?” Mithelye asked.

 

“Because I used my charms to convince her that marrying me was much better than exploring the outside world.” He said while stroking his ego.

 

“Ewww… I didn’t have to hear that.”

 

“That bird might look free in your eyes, but it has to fight against strong winds and resist gravity for it to fly. Once its wings stop flapping, it will come crashing down. Same as we elves, we are bound by our desire. Someone will only offer you something for free when they have something to gain. Some do it to be perceived as a nice person so they can boost their ego, while some do it with evil intentions. You can never tell the difference between the two because they all possess one thing in common: a selfish heart.

 

“So, if you are ever in a situation where you are given something for free, and you are unable to tell if the person is doing it to both their ego or harm you? Then there is only one thing you can do. Follow your instincts, not your feelings… but your instincts.” Her father said in a serious tone.

 

Because of her father’s warning, Mithelye abstained from eating their food because she could not tell if they were being nice to improve their self-image or if they had a malicious reason.

 

A few minutes passed by. The elves’ bellies were filled, and their thirst quenched. They seemed happy until they started to pass out one after the other. Panic spread as the elves were confused as to what was happening. They did not eat any poisonous fruit, so why is this happening? They looked at their savior for help, but they could only see the perverted smile on their faces. Then they realized that they had fallen into a deadly trap. 

 

Mithelye pretended to pass out like the rest, but what she heard after a few seconds broke her heart. The strange people killed all five boys in the group by cutting off their heads and pulling out their eyes, which they found attractive because of their color. 

 

They stripped the girls naked one by one and raped them until it got to Mithelye’s turn. She was lying down on her tummy with her left hand holding a silver dagger her father got her on her birthday. She waited patiently for the man to let his guard down. As he was about to take off her clothes, she turns around with incredible speed and sliced the man’s neck. Immediately after that, she stood up and ran into the woods, making it harder to be caught by those men.

 

Days passed by as she meandered through the woods, starving and thirsty. While she was walking, she heard the sound of flowing water, and her body mustered the last of its strength, as she ran towards the sound. After running a few meters, she saw a stream. She ran to the stream and knelt to drink but stopped when she saw her reflection. The once beautiful elf was now covered in dirt and blood. She cried beside the stream until she passed out.

 

When she woke up, she saw an unfamiliar ceiling. Which sent her into a panic. She got off the bed and searched her body for her dagger, but she could not find it. She glanced around the room to determine where she was, but what she saw was a fancy bed, beautiful furniture, and a large chandelier that captivated her eyes. 

 

While she was looking around, she heard a knocking sound, which surprised her as she broke the leg of one of the chairs to defend herself from the unknown enemy. 

 

The door opened, and a woman walked in. She was dressed in a beautiful green dress and had long brown hair with flowers decorated on it. And in her hands, she held a tray of food. The woman saw Mithelye in a frightened state. She looked like a cat that was about to pounce on a mouse. The young lady smiled and left the tray of food on the table and left the room. 

 

From Mithelye’s experience, food given by strangers was dangerous, so she refused to eat it. The next day, the same lady came again with another tray of food. She was a little surprised when she saw the uneaten food, but she smiled as she placed the new food on the table and took the old one away. But again, Mithelye refused to eat.

 

Three days passed by and Mithelye could not endure starving herself anymore, so she chose to eat the food. It didn’t matter to her if it was poisoned, because she was already starving. After eating the food, she held the broken chair leg she had sharpened into the shape of a dagger and held it onto her neck, waiting for the poison to kick in, but minutes passed by, and nothing happened.

 

She was surprised. All her memories of the outside world are filled with deceit, death, and suffering. She did not notice as tears rolled down her cheeks and she started crying. It was the first time she ate a delicious meal after she had left her home.

 

The beautiful lady came the next day and saw that the food was eaten this time. And she smiled happily and Mithelye could tell she was genuinely happy because of how the lady’s brown eyes glowed.

 

Years later, Mithelye learned how to read and speak the common language of the people there. She also learned a lot about this unknown place through the years. The young lady that saved her was a noble lady called ‘Margret Fletchledge’, the daughter of count Fletchledge of Giggadon empire. An empire located north of the continent.  

 

Lady Margret is a kind and sweet noble lady who treats everyone with kindness and love, which made Mithelye respect her more. But these days the lady seems to be down, unlike her cheerful self. So, she decided to ask what had made the lady sad.

 

Mithelye knocked on the lady’s door. “My lady, can I come in?” she asked.

 

“Is that you Elye? Come in.” She replied. Elye is the nickname given to Mithelye by Margret because she found her Elven name hard to pronounce.

 

Mithelye opens the door and walks into the room. She saw the lady on her bed, covering her face with a blanket. “My lady, I noticed you have not been yourself lately. So, I wanted to ask what happened,” she asked in a concerned tone. 

 

Margret sat up on her bed with her hands holding the blanket onto her face, preventing it from falling off. “Elye, how many times have I told you to stop calling me my lady and just call me Margret, aren’t we friends?” She asked. 

 

“Yes, we are my lady — I mean, Margret.” 

 

“So, stop standing far away and sit beside me,” Margret said while patting the bed space beside her.

 

Mithelye walked towards the bed and sat down beside Margret. 

 

Margret leaned over Mithelye's shoulders and sighed. “Elye, have you ever wanted to be free like a bird and fly freely in the sky without any limitations? … In the empire, men control women’s lives. We bend to their every whim, just because they possess more power than us. Don’t you think that’s unfair? Our fathers only see us as bargaining chips to be married off to attain position and power. I think women are not meant to obey men. We should be free to fall in love with whoever we want and do whatever we want. I just don’t want to be my father’s ticket to the throne. I want to be free.” She said with a sad and desperate tone.

 

Mithelye turned towards Margret and placed her head on her chest as she stroked her hair to comfort her. “Who did your father ask you to marry?” she asked.

 

“Sniff… he wants me to marry the new tyrant emperor, Maximus, as a concubine so he can secure his position, and the only way for me to do that is by giving the emperor a child. But I don’t want to marry someone I don’t love. I just want to be free to make my own choices.” Margret said while crying.

 

“There is something my father told me when I was young. He said, ‘there is nothing absolutely free in the world, there is only an illusion of freedom.” Mithelye said. Even though the words she just said might seem harsh, she had experienced what happens when you pursue an illusion.

 

After hearing Mithelye’s words, Margret raised her head from Mithelye's breast and the blanket covering her face falls off. Her face was filled with anger and disgust as she stared at Mithelye. “How dare you say that? Get out… I said get out!!!” she yelled with anger, chasing Mithelye out of her room.

 

 Weeks passed by and the both of them hadn’t spoken to each other until one day, while Mithelye was doing her chores around the manor, she saw four men clad in silver armor and blue capes that had a sigil on them. The sigil had a beast with wings and sharp claws designed on it, which meant that those knights were royal Knights that are under the royal family’s command. But Mithelye thought nothing of it. As long as she covers her long ears with her hair, no one will find her strange.

 

After she had finished cleaning the windows in the hallways, she walks past the knight who was searching for someone. One of the knights halted her by holding her shoulder. “Excuse me, but can I see your face?” the knight asked. 

 

Why would he want to see my face? Well… it doesn’t matter, no one knows I am an elf except Lady Margret. So as long as I hide my ears, I’ll look normal. She thought in her mind, then turned around to face the knight.

 

“Purple eyes… You will have to come with us to the palace,” the knight said. As they escorted Mithelye outside the manor. On their way out, Mithelye saw Margret and her father, count Fletchledge, standing beside the carriage that had the royal family sigil on it.

 

Mithelye was happy to see Margret. She ran towards her friend, hoping for an explanation of the situation, but as she was about to reach out to Margret, the count slapped her.

 

*Pak! *

 

“How dare a slave like you try to escape from the royal knight?” count Fletchledge said with a frown on his face.

 

Mithelye, confused as to what was happening, turned her gaze towards Margret. “Margret wha—-”

 

*Pak! *

 

She got slapped again, but this time, it was Margret who slapped her. “How dare a mere slave like you call me by my name? She yelled with anger as she pulled back Mithelye's hair, revealing her ears. “Sir knight, as you can see, I did not lie to his majesty in the letter I sent.” She said while pulling Mithelye's hair.

 

“Why are you doing this, Margret? I thought we were friends.” Mithelye asked as tears rolled down her cheeks.

 

Margret leaned in closer to Mithelye's ears and whispered, “I will never be friends with a monster like you. Our friendship was just an illusion, just like my freedom,” she whispered. Then Mithelye fell to the ground and cried.

 

The knights picked her off the ground and placed her in the carriage and then left for the royal palace. And that was how she got into the palace and gave birth to Helena. 

 

Helena cried when Ella told her the story. Ella was just like Helena’s personal Google search, or should I say Ella search.

 

    —----------------------- 

 

*Ding! *

Level up

 

 

 

System Notification

The host has reached level 1.

The reward will be distributed

 

System Notification

Reward: - QI, and a bronze treasure box.

 

“Finally, I leveled up.”

 

Author Note:

Hey guys hope you love the new chapter. if you want to read chapters ahead, head to my patreon. and the first two people who subscribed to the alpha pack who get the chance to make a character in the story.