Chapter 47: Future.

[Once upon a time, there was an elf king like no other. A horrible king that none had expected when he first receives the crown. At first, his own people praise him and worship him as the new king, but as times went on, his true color starts to show.

It started with his own kingdom, the tax was raised for no reason other than his whim, kingdom resources come and go on his desire. People especially women, they were taken from their homes and was not return. It doesn't matter if you are old or young or married or human or elf or devoted to the goddess; he didn't care. Everything before him, he saw as his toys, and in his mind, he owns them.

Until one day, he took a liking to a beautiful commoner elf that is married and have a single child. However, the king doesn't care about any of that, he took the beautiful elf woman away from her family and make her watch as the king orders his own men to slaughter her family before her own eyes.

He was so amused by the beautiful elf woman that he makes her into his queen, and he violated her every night until she gives birth to a daughter.

That daughter became a princess that he named: Neya.

The king loved his daughter, and there was no denying it. The queen wanted to love her own daughter because she was her own flesh and blood. But the innocent smile on her daughter's face every time she sees her father make the queen blood boils. She wanted to keep her daughter safe from the truth. So she lied to her, and forbid her to go to places that can show her father true color.

Unbeknownst to the queen, she doesn't know how easy it is to change love into hatred.

The more she protected her, the more her hatred grew to the king and her own self. Every night the King beat his own wife, she suffers, and the next morning when she had to meet her own daughter; she had to put on a fake smile.

She buried that pain in her heart.

But one day, that smile snap, and she couldn't take it any longer. It was torture for her to continue living like this, so she makes deals with the nobles behind the King back.

It was easy.

The King was so arrogant that he never views his own queen as a threat. While the king wage war with Targia and the rest of Arorona. The queen gets to work on the last day of defeat when the king just lost a regiment of knights to one human.

She murders him in the throne room and took his place as ruler. She cast out the daughter that she had once loved because to her, her daughter is a painful reminder of the man who once causes her so much grief and pain.

People rejoice when the Greed King die.

Despite the king died a long time ago, the damage to the kingdom was unrepairable, a plague struck the people, famine gloom over the kingdom, people were hungry, none would trade with a kingdom that once tried to conquer them, and even if they do, the kingdom had no wealth to trade with.

But the queen saw an opportunity, the Greed king had left tons of weapons for the army. When Targia announced its new law, she knows that the other elven kingdoms would oppose it. So she begins her work, making deals with others kings to become the front line for the war, in return, her kingdom would receive support that comes in a form of foods to feed her hungry people and medicine to heal her sick people.

She doesn't want to wage a war, that's where the artifact come in. But the artifact is a bust, and she had no choice, but to fulfill her end of the agreement with the other kingdoms.

War is the only choice now.]

"That's how the story goes, you wanted to know, and I deliver," 167 said as he takes a sip of the tea with a smile on his face while warming himself near the fire.

"Nothing is truly evil or truly good," Nesto said.

"I love that, where did it come from?" 167 ask.

"Just a saying that I live by," Nesto said as he smiles at 167 compliments.

Neya was stunted by the story, she never knows what her mother went through. She feels sympathy for her mother, yet she still feels anger and hatred toward her mother. No matter what happened, she not supposed to throw her own daughter out like that. If her father was the cause of her mother pain, then her mother is the cause of her own pain.

"Neya?" Vel call as he sits beside her, worried at the anger showing on Neya's face.

"How do you even know about this?" Neya ask.

"I know because I was there, I was in disguise while gathering information for my king. You actually have met me, but I guess you didn't remember," 167 said.

"I need to be alone," Neya stands up and walk toward the dorm. Nesto watch as his master walks away from the campfire, disturbed by the story.

"May we see each other again," 167 said.

When Nesto turns his head to look at the elf, he certainly wasn't surprised when 167 disappeared again into thin air and just like that, the night came to an end.

Morning rise, the sound of groaning men and women can be heard across the camp as people wake up from their deep slumber and continue their work. Nesto walks down the hallways with a tray of teapot and cup on his hands. There is something nice about being able to follow a routine once again, Nesto thought.

As he walks down the hallway, a door open, revealing a half-naked woman with beet red cheeks and a satisfied grin on her face. The women saw Nesto walking toward her, she let out an embarrassed smile and ran her finger through her hair.

She nods her head as a greeting.

Nesto replied her greeting with a gesture of his own head, then he was surprised to see Vizrez popping her head out from the doorway and laid a kiss on the women cheeks. She didn't realize Nesto was walking toward them.

When Vizrez finally saw Nesto, she let out a toothy smile, and her cheeks blush red then she said "Morning."

"Morning," Nesto said as he walks past the room.

After Nesto left them alone, he can hear a happy, surprise, yelp, and giggles coming from behind him, he ignores it and keeps on walking. Until he arrives in front of a door, that leads to Neya's personal bedroom. He wipes the dust off his new linen jacket and knocks on the door two times.

"Come in," Nesto could hear Neya's voice coming from inside the room.

He opens the door slowly, and see the ginger-haired elf girl sitting on the bed while hugging her legs, and planting her face between her knee. Nesto places the tray of tea at the foot of the bed and sit right next to her. He brushes the top of her head with one hand and pulls her closer, so she would lean on his side.

"Did you have a good night sleep?" Nesto ask.

"I did, but as soon as I wake up. The story from last night kept on clinging to my mind," Neya said.

"You know, even if you knew about the story, things don't change. She still a horrible mother, no matter what happened in the past," Nesto tries to comfort her.

"I guess... but there is still something else bothering me," Neya said as she raises her head with a sulky lip.

"What is it that bothering you? My precious master," Nesto said with a smile on his face.

"The war... and the people here," Neya said while a small frown form with her lips.

"The war? And the people here? I don't see the connection between them," Nesto said.

"If Targia is defeated and the new law abolished, sooner or later they will target us because of the way we live here. The humans here are free, but for how long and even if we can sustain the way we live here, how about their kids? They are stuck here for life, and the moment they got out from Materna, somebody is going to take them and sold them to slavery," Neya rant her heart out.

"My head is aching while I try to think of a way to give them a future," Neya said as she planted her face back between her knee.

"Isn't what we're building here the future?" Nesto ask.

"It's not, it's just surviving, it's not the future, I want a world without slavery, and I know what I must do," Neya said.

"No, I know what you are thinking, and I won't allow it," Nesto oppose fully with his heart.

"We have too, Nesto... or at least I have too," Neya said.

Nesto stands up from the bed. "We just escaped from danger, and you want to go back into it. No, this is different, you haven't seen what I have seen. The horror of the battlefield is much worse than your average fight," Nesto said while looking at his master with his eyebrow furrow, and his arms cross each other on his chest.

With a serious look in her eyes, she said while looking at Nesto, "I know you don't want me too, but I don't need your permission. I want to give them a future, and that's my final decision."

"Please Neya, don't do this," Nesto plead.

She ignores Nesto plead, "Nesto, gather everyone. I need to make an announcement," Neya looks away from her butler while she orders him.

Nesto looks down in defeat and said, "Yes, master."

He walks out the door and closes the door behind him slowly while peeking through the gap. Nesto can see the pain on her face, he looks away and starts walking.

*

A few moments have passed, Neya stood on a small makeshift wooden stage, in front of her are all the humans in the camp, staring at her with confusion, and anticipation. She clears her throats and took a deep breath, then stare at the center of the crowd.

"I have good news and bad news," Neya said.

She let out a smile, "The good news is we are a company now. To make this clearer, we are some sort of organization with a name: Outcast Company. This camp is a property of that company, and you all are working under it."

The human glance at each other with a confused look on their face while trying to understand what Neya just said.

"Ohh ok, the group name is the Outcast company, that's our group name now, and what we are calling our self," Neya explain.

"Ohh, wow."

"I like the name."

"So do I."

"We sound dangerous and mysterious... Wooo."

Some of the humans said while nodding their head in agreement, at least Neya knows that the people are in love with the name.

"You all probably heard about the coming war between the elven kingdom, right?" Neya asks, and the humans nod their head.

"You may think that this war has nothing to do with us, and you are wrong. Who wins the war will decide the future for Arorona. You are human, and forgive me for saying this, but you all are the weakest of all race. The human has been oppressed for a long time, your freedom is taken from you, and you all have suffered throughout your life," Neya said, there's a clear gloom on their face from hearing those words.

"But you know what I see through all those suffering you endure, a will, a will like no other that I have seen. Each one of you has come out from that adversity, and turn into a stronger person," Neya said, and her words begin to lift their spirit up.

"I'm proud to be your leader and your friends. That's why I want to see my friends and my friend kids have a future bigger than this place," Neya said with a sad smile on her face while her right eye begins to tear up.

She wipes the little tear away and with a radiant smile, she said, "That's why I will be joining the war and helping Targia in any way I can. I won't ask you to join me, but I will make arrangement for Grie to take over the company," Neya said, and the crowd gasps in disbelief.

"What? I didn't know about this," Grie standing beside her, surprised by the statements.

"Sorry for my outburst, but I disapprove. Truth to be told, only you can lead us," Grie said.

"Grie you had no choice, in case I died. You will have to take over, I trust you," Neya said.

"Thank you for believing in me, but I will not stay here while you fight for our future. I will come with you, and fight alongside you," Grie drops to one knee while facing her.

"What... You don't have too," Neya said.

"Don't have too? It's our future, my future, and I will fight for it," Grie said.

A murmur travel between the human in the crowd, then one of them shout "I agree with Grie, we will fight alongside you," He drops to one knee.

"Me too," a woman shouts from behind the crowd then drop to one knee.

"Me too," another one said.

Then soon all of them drop to their knee, and all of them facing Neya with their heads bow before her. Neya looks to Vizrez, "This war you spoke of, sound like fun," she lowers herself to one knee.

Neya looks at her friends; Digia and Lilia.

"Well, if you have this army, you surely need a vehicle that can transport them, and I have an idea on what to build," Digia said, as she lowers herself to one knee.

"You're our friend and the pioneers club member, that is enough reason for me to help you," Lilia said, as she lowers herself to one knee.

Neya turns her gaze at the Woodfolk boy, he places one clench hand on his chest and said "Forever."

Then he lowers himself to one knee.

From behind her, Nesto voice grabs her attention, "I guess, we all want to fight alongside you."

She turns her body to face Nesto, the man smiles, and nods. He then slowly lowers himself to one knee.

"Long live, Chief Neya!" Nesto said aloud.

Then the word echoes as the human said in perfect harmony.

"Long live, our Chief!!!"

"Neya Nimmith!!!"

"The slayer of Wyvern Queen!!"

She looks at the people around, they bow their head at her, putting their faith onto her, and wishing to fight alongside her. There is happiness in her heart, a happiness that comes from knowing that all these people are her family, and they won't let her face danger alone.

Her eyes begin to tear up from happiness again, "You all are crazy, you know right?" She let out a small chuckle.

Her tears and smile gone, replaced by a look of determination, "Fine, let's go to war."