A Tale of Two Elves

Rita and Kenneth ascended the stairs in the Elven manor with Iscah’s guidance. The Elven Lord awaited them at the top by the grand wooden doors. When he opened the double doors, they were presented with the massive library. The mayor gazed along a sea of bookcases, glimpsing the grand glass sunroof that covered the space overhead. They sat at a table in the center of the library, relatively clear from books.

“Sorry for coming so late,” Kenneth spoke.

“With the exception of the dear mayor, you aren’t one to barge in,” he responded as he met her scowl.

“We came in contact with another group of people passed the waterfall the other day.”

Silence lingered between them as the elven lord furrowed his brows.

“That isn’t a route the Guard usually follows,” he recalled

“I asked Al to train my son—” Kenneth confessed whilst watching Mathias’ subtle reaction.

The old guard glimpsed the mayor, who expressed equal concern over their benefactor’s subdued anger. They knew nothing good would come of it as Mathias took measured breaths with trembling hands.

“Why—Is he involved?” he questioned with a deathly glare.

“It was a personal request,” Kenneth answered. “Since Billy will be enrolling in the guard soon.”

“Training? He’s one of the best sharpshooters we have.”

“But, Al has a lot more to offer.”

“He was to leave within those few days.”

The mayor stroked her chin, leaning into her chair. Kenneth’s eyes narrowed, wondering why the Elven held such contempt for the wanderer.

“We apprehended a survivor from that group,” Rita interrupted the uneasy silence. “We’re questioning him at HQ—”

“Which is why you appear at this late in the day?”

The mayor’s lips tightened, watching Mathias lean into his chair. His exasperated sigh marked his irritation as one thing led to another. His sister had yet to recover from her fight within the Hollows. But he grew tired of the city’s reliance on them. For decades they took charge of ensuring their peace of mind.

“How many times do we have to help you before you start taking ownership?”

“What the fuck do you mean?” Rita stood up, followed by her fists slamming upon the table.

“Mathias,” The old guard said. “Your father aided us when we needed it.”

“My father did,” The elven lord coldly reminded. “Why does everyone feel like they can do as they please? Where’s the rule of law?”

“We aren’t asking for much,” the mayor’s voice trembled in anger. “We’ve done the heavy lifting, we just need your backing. Yes, the fate of the city is in the Guard’s hands, but you’ve grown up here too. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

Mathias exchanged his cold glare. Apathy defined his unwavering posture, suggesting Kenneth conceding they wouldn’t get help. He never imagined he‘d respond this way since he always backed them. The old guard wouldn’t go without exhausting their options, even he’d become aware of Enne’s health.

“Where’s Enne?” he asked. “She wouldn’t allow this.”

“Well,” Mathias grunted without providing context.

“Is everything alright?” the mayor questioned.

“You’ve done well without our guidance,” he answered indifferently. “It’s time that Gardenia chose its future for itself. Rita, this is the moment to shine—”

“We’re still a community! We work together even if we can’t see eye to eye on a lot of things, even your dimwitted sister understands—”

“I am not my sister!”

His burst of anger silenced her.

“Gardenia wasn’t meant for Enne or me to control. That is how our father wanted it, leaving the future in your capable hands.”

“No, you just don’t give a shit,” Kenneth muttered.

The old guard’s comment left the elven lord surprised. Kenneth barged toward the door, stopping as he reached the door handle. His eyes held his lingering anger, which did little to phase Mathias.

“You’re one of us,” he reminded. “Your mother grew up here, goddammit! You’re okay with just throwing all that away?”

“I hope you find a solution to your problem,” he responded, dismissing his impassioned words. “Next time you should be more cautious.”

“There may not be a next time.”

Mathias watched Kenneth leave before glimpsing his broken pen. The ink spilled throughout the glossy wooden surface. The old guard’s footsteps disappeared into the quiet manor, leaving the mayor and her benefactor to speak freely.

“Why are you still here, Rita?” he asked.

“I just want to know why?” she sighed with an oddly diffusive tone.

“How much longer do you expect us to protect you?”

“No, but we don’t come to you often… For anything. Every mayor we’ve had respected that. But, there are some things even I have to admit we need help. It’s a lot on the guard’s plate.”

“There are consequences for our miscalculations.”

The mayor chuckled before averting her glare from him.

“Wow, you’re a real piece of shit.”

******************

The Elven lord listened to raindrops tapping onto the glass ceiling. He found some solace from the burdens of the city’s circumstances. Rita had long left with little commotion, a pleasant surprise from her usual behavior. He bared no regret for his decision, believing it was time the city thrived without the siblings’ guiding hands.

“Mother always liked the rain,” his sister spoke nostalgically.

She emerged from an aisle with a book in hand. Her casual red kimono slipped along her shoulder, exposing the crystalized portion of her chest. The colorful, shard-like tattoo grew closer to her shoulder. She walked toward the table with lingering exhaustion she tried to walk off.

“You’re supposed to be resting,” he answered. “Iscah is probably frantically searching for you as we speak.”

“Oh, I’ve been resting all right, maybe for a little too long. But—Let’s not ignore the elephant in the room.”

Their eyes met, not raising the question of what she meant. A smile emerged along his stoic expression as he glanced away.

“When I looked at what our father had to work with,” he spoke. They were all such awful deals. The treaties with the vampires, the agreements we made with the humans—”

“You mean our people?” her eyes narrowed. “We are half-human, Mathias, whether you like it or not.”

“Enne—”

“I hardly like that woman, but she’s done some good. Our mother would be rolling in her grave if she knew what we’re doing. This is more our home than Father’s shitty homeworld.”

“Why is it,” he interrupted, glancing back. “You hardly bring up our father? You don’t think he’s worked hard to make a place for us? If not for him, mother—”

He withheld continuing after meeting her piercing gaze.

“If not for him, mother would have what?” she continued. “Had he not chosen her as his bride, we may have been born fully human, and our fates would’ve been more uncertain?”

“Enne, we have a lot of problems right now. I have to clean up your mess… Somehow. The House of Drake is not pleased by what you have done.”

Enne’s interest piqued.

“Oh? When did they reach out?”

“Cassius appeared on the balcony the other night when I was having my wine. He wasn’t too pleased.”

“Figures. We could’ve taken them if the brat didn’t have Orpheus.”

“Enne… I can’t say the House of Drake isn’t a problem.”

“Right.”

“I think it would’ve been bold for them to launch an attack.”

The Elven beauty glanced over with a smirk.

“You mean to say, it would’ve taken them committing more atrocities to the city before you’d change your tune?”

“No, that’s not it. We cannot do as we please.”

“We’re far more powerful than they are. With you and I, we could easily crush anyone that threatens the city, but I’m the only one doing anything.”

He glimpsed the intricate tattoo along her slender shoulders. She’d pay the price to protect the city she was born in, being more human than she was an elf. As foolish as he thought her to be, he admired her will to take matters into her own hands. Yet he’d never admit it.

“That scar must be ingrained in you,” he acknowledged. “We can’t use mana like our full-blooded compatriots. You keep using it the way you do, you’ll be dead.”

The rain overwhelmed their silence. He expected a heated response but was met with her apparent melancholy. She glanced at him before sitting in front of him.

“The goddess gives us our powers for a reason,” she nodded. “We can’t stand idly when trouble arises. My life—Isn’t worth any more than a single human. This is a gift and a curse. We should feel obligated to use it.”

“This is the second time the wanderer came to your aid. He really isn’t just some lowly sorcerer.”

“Does it matter what he is?”

Mathias glanced over to see the book she set down. She was reading the same Elven prophecies since she was a child. She always spoke of someday fulfilling the prophecy, bringing about the peace it preached. Her outlook didn’t change from the whimsical belief she held. He thought it was nothing more than a delusion.

“We are getting to a point where we must think of our legacy,” he cleared his throat. “I’ve been trying to reach the Ethoxian Republic. This is no place for us.”

“But this is our home, Mathias.”

“We can’t afford to dilute our bloodline any further if we want to be accepted.”

“I never chose to be part-elf or part-human. I was born into this world, just like yourself. Rejoining them won’t change where we’ve come from.”

“Our blood means everything, and as the heiress to our father, you should know this better than I.”

“They’d execute you before they accepted half-bloods. That’s a long-established law they’ve had since their founding. What’s the point of chasing a former glory when we can create our own with what we have here. Gardenia is worth fighting for.”

“He wanted back into the fold of the Kingdom, but you’re telling me his dreams don’t matter?”

“His dreams are not representative of what I want or what we want. Have you ever asked yourself what you really wanted? Or has the luxury of being in the halls of the Kingdom walls been your only priority?”

She looked toward the glass ceiling with her book clutched in arms. Her ears perked gently, listening to the gentle raindrop. Although her brother chased after their father’s dreams, hers stemmed from their mothers in some sense. They were just two sides of the same coin.

They were slaves to the past.

Their mother could only influence public policy to a degree. As heiress to their parent’s legacy, she desired something of her own. She’d carry the burden of responsibility in the inevitable changing world.

“Well, I won’t let my bloodline wither in some strange land,” he confessed. “But, if you don’t care about your lineage, why care so much about the prophecies?”

Her distant gaze remained upward while the rain intensified.

“It’s because—There’s something worth looking at. The dream of forging a better world doesn’t have to be exclusive to elves, it applies to everyone.”

“There’s no place for a lesser race in a grand destiny, sister. Where humans collapsed because of their idiocy, elves thrived.”

“We thrived because we had thousands of years of advanced technology, where humans had it for, but a few hundred give or take. Should we really be comparing our progress when the conditions were different?”

“You always have a response to everything?” he grimaced in amusement.

“Of course,” she responded. “I’m smarter than you. You spend so much time developing plans, but you hardly see what goes around you. Perhaps you can find a beautiful human wife!”

He winced in disgust.

“Oh, sorry! You’re an Elven supremacist. Hmm, are you familiar with the Third Reich?”

“Can’t say I have. Uh, but please keep it short, Enne.”

Her steel-colored eyes lit up, ready to divulge.

“In a region called Europe, there was a country called Germany, fueled by an ideology called Naziism. During the first half of the 20th century, they elected a chancellor, who promised that an Aryan race would prevail and conquer the world as prescribed in their destiny. Germany nearly succeeded, conquering the lands around them. They did well for a while but after a series of military blunders, it gave other nations an edge.”

“Uh, what does this have to do with us?”

“Ah, well, the German government was driven to fulfill a race-based ideology, deeming themselves superior to all other races in the world. They nearly wiped out one race, which was called the Jewish race.”

“I don’t follow.”

“You see no similarities between Elven and Nazi outlooks of their world?”

“They were carrying out the will of their doctrines, like any other empire.”

“Such a smooth brain take! We’ve done the same to other races in our homeworld, too. Elves are good mana users, but we weren’t the only ones. We were just smarter at killing the other. The human’s evolutionary branch is like that of how the elves manage to be at the top.”

“What are you saying?”

“Elves may be no better than the Nazis that attempted to wipe out and subjugate other nations.”

“We were justified in ensuring a future for ourselves. This is the history of most nations and empires. You’d be delusional to believe it could ever be otherwise.”

“That may be true. But might doesn’t always make right.”

Enne exchanged a solemn smile toward her stone-faced brother. The Elven beauty gathered all she could from her brother of his underlying intentions. He may not have realized her attempts to psychoanalyze him. Her brother was reminded of her shard-like tattoo as she walked past.

“I don’t expect you to get involved out there. You’ve pushed yourself way too hard.”

Her ears perked to the soothing raindrops. She glanced over, feeling along her scaley tattoo.

“I’m the defender of the Gardenia,” she answered softly. “And Alejandro has been in my stead, doing what I’ve always done.”

“You love him, don’t you?”

The silence that would have set in was filled with the gentle rain instead.

“We hardly spoke of him this entire time,” she said.

“Indeed, we haven’t,” he agreed. “But I see the attachment.”

“Which is why you told him to leave, wasn’t it?”

He remained quiet as nothing could justify his decision. He grew uncomfortable with their relationship. It was the rain that kept her from yelling at him. She remembered how her mother would tuck her in on a rainy night, evoking a sense of peace.

“You care more for preserving bloodlines than it is to find happiness.”

“This is bigger than our emotions. We have a responsibility to our future generations. I don’t understand how this one man could make you feel so strongly.”

“Which is why we should suppress our emotions, right?”

She looked ahead, feeling as though her feelings held no merit. This life was hers alone, and she just wanted to have a life worth living and a love worth experiencing. Her brother looked toward the bookshelves ahead of him, letting out a sigh.

“It can’t be helped. I can’t change your mind. You really have found someone you cared for.”

“Perhaps—I have.”

We've reached the 3/4 mark of the Guardian of Hope!
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