It was a dark and dense forest, I was walking for hours and still didn't see the end of it. I was getting tired and hungry as time went on and I couldn't see if it was day time or not since I could not see the sky. This forest had a weird rumor going about it, people often told story like it was impossible for a human or any other living creature to get out of it alive. And the reason was that in this forest once lived a witch that was trying to escape from the terrible fate human wanted to bring on her, and that was being burned alive. That sure is a scary fate indeed and weirdly her situation and mine were a little similary in the fact that I am trying to escape a fate that would be somehow terrible not as much as hers but still... . And the witch put a spell on this forest so that no one could find her and for a long time she was safe. After a few years the witch suddently left the forest for who known why, and she didn't lift her spell so that more evil human will lose their way in it and eventually die, that was her grudge against them. It is fair enough knowing what she went through but not in my case, I will die too if this rumor is true and looking at how things are going, it indeed seem to be true.. sigh!
After walking for a while I reached a small and old cabin and even though it was in a sorry shape it was still the best thing that could happen to my tired self who could no longer take anymore step. As I went to look for some fire hood, I thought that despite the rumor this forest had some charm. I went around gathering fire hood while admiring it big trees and it small inhabitants. Making some fire in the cabin wasn't easy since I wasn't used to it but soon thanks to the fire the place looked more confortable and warm. I could take a good rest and relaxe while warming up near the fire. Feeling confortable I ate the food I managed to steal from that place I never wish to see again. Remembering what pushed me to become a traveler...well, in my case it is best to say a runaway, made me felt depressed so I decided to clear my mind of any additional worry since I was already in a stressful situation if we don't forget the fact that I may never leave this forest. While I was drinking water I was thinking about how fortunate I was, knowing that until now I managed to avoid the worst like maybe been attacked by some weird beast. As I was feeling relieved about my situation I suddenly hear a loud thud!! like something falling in from of the door, feeling scared I cursed at myself for thinking ahead that I was safe. Nevertless, I decided to take a look with a dagger for my safety in my hand and found an unconcious man that seemed to be injuried.
The man had dark blue hair and a muscular body, I took a look at his injury and it seemed that he was poisoned. What shocked me was the fact that this poison was know to kill in an instant but this man managed to survive until now. Well, forget about the poison, without help he will die in less than an hour seeing as he is losing blood. Even though, he is a stranger and could be a dangerous person, my instinct and heart will never be able to abandon an injuried person. I pulled him inside and took care of his injury and the poison within his body. I understood that he could withstand the poison until now thanks to his muscular and well build body, he must not be a normal human. But then a revelation went through my mind while I was admiring his body and face, he is the first human I encountered since I began my adventure. I felt weirdly happy yet cautious too since it was new to me, Well he will surely be thankful because if he had not encountered me, he would have died by now. Thinking that, I felt content and let him rest since he needed to recover. Before sleeping, I feed him the last drop of water in my bottle, I wanted to find some more water but in this forest it will be difficult. And without water we may soon die of thirst, my dead in a corner sigh!!!
I slept before knowing it because of fatigue and hours passed, it was morning when I woke up, I saw our guest still sound asleep and feeling bored I looked through the cabin. I found a book among the trash, it is a big and old book probably left by the previous owner of this cabin. I was happy of my discovery since I loved to read and this must surely be an interesting book. I wonder what happened to the owner of this book, I hope that he managed to leave this forest and if he did it could be great if he left some clue in the book. Feeling hopeful, I brushed the dust off of the book and began reading it. While reading the first part I had a weird feeling about the book, it was written in a langage that I never saw or learned before but I could understand it clearly. This fact should have scared me and prevented me from reading further but seeing how I was staying in a dangerous forest, in a cabin with a stranger. I thougth that nothing could be worst than my already dreadful situation, hence I ignored the weird part and continued reading. In the book there was all kind of spell and other medical herb..."Wait! oh my god...this..this must be the witch's book! No way, then that rumor I heard must be true...Well, seeing as neither of me or that mysterous and terribly handsome guy could get out of it, seem like it really is the case." I shouted those words out of excitement and made the sleeping guest frown in his sleep.
"Loud!.." The sleeping guest suddently muttered. Even though I was at fault for disturbing his rest by shouting, I didn't care about it and was happy to finally have someone to talk to, I spoke to him cautiously, "Oh! are you okay?"
"..."The man didn't utter a word and looked at her puzzled. His golden eyes keep on scruting her from head to toes thus making Eleanor restless.... Still she keep on talking to him to be sure that he was okay,"I found you in front of this cabin door unconcious, seem like you were poisoned and wounded by sword on the right side of your belly...but rest assured I took care of you. In a few day your wound will heal and I cleared the poison from your body.""Ha! poison hein, no wonder I thought that my body feel heavy", said the man with his clear voice, as she thought his voice was as manly as he was and cold too, like the glare of his golden eyes that was piercing trought her."By the way, who are you?" asked the guest while staring at her suspiciously."My name is Eleanor beca
A long sigh of relief left the two of them who could leave the cursed forest alive, they looked at each other without any feeling of mistrust or annoyance in their eyes, and then unexpectedly out of joy Eleanor bounced at Francis with a bright smile and happily said,"we did it! yes! we got out of there alive sir Francis".Holding her in arms, he looked at Her with a surprised expression because of her sudden act 'this woman, she sure is a fearless one' he thought and returned a smile at her making her finally aware of the situation and leaving his grip with a flushed red face. But Francis somehow knew that it was not out of luck that they could leave this cursed forest and looking at Eleanor he was about to ask," say how did you know the way ou....!"Without finishing his question he went tense and quickly put her behind his back and covered her to protect her from the omnious beasts that were comi
The kingdom of Elheim is a peacefull land, where the elves lives for decades, the kingdom is not like any other place, it is surrounded by mountains and plains filled with flowers. This blessed land is know only by their citizens and is protected by them so that no one would discover it. It is a place made by elves, only for the elves's well being.And Eleanor lived among them since birth, but if the elves lived peacefully with each other that wasn't the case with Eleanor for as long as she could remember, she was not accepted by them because of her origins. Eleanor was born from an elf father and human mother, so it was always difficult for her, to bind with other kids her age. As a child, she could never understand why she was rejected, and since kids always shouted at her that she was weird, she believed that it was her fault all along.Elves hav
Francis was talking to his knight about the preparation for their return to the palace. Eleanor took advantage of that moment to take her stuff and flee.But before she could take a step, she feel a strong hand hold her wrist. Without turning back, she knew to whom that hand belonged."Can you tell us where you are going like that?""For saving me from the wolves..I express my sincere gratitude to his majesty, but do remember that I saved you too in the forest. So please let me go." She said with her back facing Francis."You didn't answer my question.""Sorry but I am not obligated to answer to that, since it doesn't concern you sir Fran...I mean your majesty." She replied while t
The sky became cloudy, it started to rain and there was a lot of thunder. the rumble of the thunder became more intense and it scared Eleanor who closed the window and squeezed tightly her hands on her arms and slightly trembled. Francis noticed and thinking that she was freezing, he handed her his coat. She didn't want to show him her fear of the thunder, so she took his coat in order to make him believe it was out of coldness that she was trembling.They keep on moving forward even in that rain and Eleanor thought that while they were safe in the carriage, the knights outside must have it hard. Being out in the rain and having to support the cold. And while she was thinking about the knight's situation, she suddently saw an image of the carriage being destroyed by a tree struck by the lightning of a thunder. That vision was quick, so she didn't understand what was happening, and holded her head with her hands because of th
It was morning, you could see the first rays of the sun through the window, and hear the singing of little birds. the bed feel really good to Eleanor who wasn't used to this kind of luxurious life, it was smooth like cloud so she wanted to stay in bed longer.But her sweet moment was interrupted by the step of the maids that rushed in to prepare her for breakfast. They took out of the wardrobe a light pink dress with laces around the chest and the waist, it was a simple yet beautiful dress. One of the maid carefully combed her hair and was making a braid, the other maids excitedly decorated her hair with little flowers accessory. As they were busy making Eleanor pretty, they chatted with her and covered her with praise about her beauty and the unique color and softness of her hair.Their eyes was sparking with joy and excitement, so Eleanor was embarassed and befriended them easily. Since she wasn't a noble, she didn't see the need to keep distance with p
In the office, Francis was immersed in his work, organizing all the documents related to the empire's affaire and all kind of requests. Between every documents he signed, he thought about Eleanor's reaction and a smile appeared on his face. He keep thinking that she was an odd one, because for him womans were sophisticated and elegant, in short 'artificial'. It was like they always played a role and were acting every word they were spewing to him. He didn't mind it since he only spent time with them to play around but it irritated him when they were clinging to him. Compared to them Eleanor was different, she was honest and maybe too honest some times. She doesn't know how to hide her feeling. It was a first but he found it adorable that he could read her like a book.Someone knock the office door and after getting Francis's permission to enter, a man appeared. He was radically tall not as much as Francis though, and he had scarlet red hair and clea
Eleanor was peacefully strowling in the imperial garden, while trying to figure out her thoughts. 'If I recall all the events that happened, I can say that I am quite lucky to still breath. And on top of that, I am well treated by them even though I am not their acquaintance, but I can not let my guard down after all he is a royalty.' Eleanor keep thinking while looking at the beautiful flowers for a moment, then while walking and being absent minded she suddenly tripped on something and fell."Ouch!...What the hell was that....ah!" She paintefully uttered after opening her eyes from the fall, and saw herself lying on top of an unknown man.He looked calm, and had a look of someone that was just awakened. His hair was dark and fell on his forehead, and he had intense dark blue eyes. He was handsome but had a kind of a familiar aura around him that keep people at a distance. After staring at her for a while he said,"Do y
"Hein?! what did you just say? you recently discovered that you were a witch? how is that possible?" Lise had a surprised expression while saying that and looked at Eleanor with her eyes wide from curiosity."Ah well, I cannot tell you all my story but the main point is that, I was in the cursed forest when I meet the emperor and found a book that belonged to a witch. There was many spells and all kinds of things inside. But I could understand what was written in the book and when I tried to read aloud a spell, it immediately worked. Thanks to that, we were able to escape the forest safely.""The cursed forest.....So, that's were you found out about you been a witch?! is that it?" Lise looked absent minded while saying those words as if her mind was elsewhere."Yes, why do you ask?"When Eleanor asked that question, Lise snapped out of her thoughts and answered,"Well, that is because of my reason for being her...Also, can you tell me the spell you used to get out of the forest? Becau
If someone asked if there was a way to escape the imperial palace's heavily guarded jail, then the answer will obviously be negative. Each cell in the basement of the imperial palace was designed to be unbreakable and without a way out. In addition to that, they made sure that it was guarded by a lot of knights night and day when there was a criminal locked up. It wasn't common to see someone locked inside the prison of the imperal palace, because the empire already had a big jail used to imprison all kind of criminals. Only the most evil one or those who attempted to assassinate the imperial family were locked in the imperial jail until the execution day. And of course, without fail, all the people residing in the imperial palace knew that every person that stepped their foots on the imperial jail would undeniably die by the next few days. That's why the palace was noisy from all the workers gossiping about the fact that the young woman named Eleanor, who was treated like a princess
Escorted by Val and Sebastian, Eleanor didn't feel like a criminal because despite knowing her identity they treated her Kindly, contrary to how they treated the witch locked in the basement. As soon as they left Francis's office, she saw Miel worried sick with a face full of tears.With a faint smile, Eleanor thought that she was truly kind to still worry about her even though she heard the fact that she was a witch.'She must have overheard the conversation but still she is worrying about me and crying for my sake. You are the first human that I thought of as a friend.' She looked at her and took her hand before saying,"Miel, you don't need to worry, I am okay.....everything will be fine. You know, after I came here I always felt out of place and I worried that I wouldn't be able to get used to this place....But thank to you Miel and Elise and Anne, though short I liked my stay here. For that I want to thank you since
At that moment Eleanor felt a great loss, something inside her broke. It wasn't like she felt all that because of the witch's sad fate but because of the fact that she saw herself in her place. She imagined how they would look at her,....how he would look at her if he knew her identity.The simple thought of seeing him reject her or condemn her, hurt her more than she could fantom. But despite her fear, she believed that something must be done in order to save an innocent life. She looked at him for what seemed like an eternity and thougth,'Do you have to go this far?....must it end up like this? I don't want to make thing hard for you, I get what you must have went through. That's why I wouldn't mind it if you cursed at me for the things I am gonna do. It is okay, I am willing to be the bad guy here...maybe one day you will understand what I meant while doing this.'Thinking that the meeting ended Sebastian and Val were
Eleanor couldn't read in Francis's mind, he was indecipherable and his expression didn't show his inner thought. So, she was worried that behind those cold eyes, an inreversible decision may be pronounced and change the course of fate. She prayed deep inside that he would resolve the matter without killing anyone.'Please Francis! don't take that path, it will only end up hurting others and you too...' she tried to forward him those thoughts while looking at him with a sad expression. She couldn't understand his hatred toward witches and wondered why he felt that way toward them.Then suddenly, she saw an image of a young boy who looked like Francis standing at the same place she stood, looking at a man sitting on Francis's office. As she looked at the young boy that was nearly 12 year old, she reconized the familiar golden eyes and dark blue hair. He was looking firmly at the man behind the office desk, standing straigh like a soldier.
He looked at her sharply as he asked her that question. She didn't react to it because she knew that Francis and his closest friends were all smart enough to figure out the tiniest change in her expression. Hence, with a calm tone she answered,"Back then, my grand mother told me all kinds of stories..." Before she could finish, Valeria burst in laughter and said mockingly,"Pfff!Haha! Are you saying that you were telling us child's stories, right now?!This is ridicilous, you are wasting our times""Well, I don't really care about your time miss, but if you could refrain from interrupting me, that would be helpful." At her reply, Alphonse and Sebastian were having a hard time hidding their laughter, it infuriated Valeria who felt mocked."Whaa?!.." Before she could retort Eleanor continued,"She once got a gift by a wandering traveler, it was a book about the witches. I love reading a lot so my gran
Francis turned his gaze toward Eleanor with an indifferent expression and asked her with a cold tone,"And why do you think that my decision is too much?!"She didn't seem fazed on the outside but on the inside, her heart was bitting faster with every breath she took. She was scared of being discovered but she couldn't bear to stay still while a poor innocent girl was going to be executed. So, she decided to talk back even though her heart expressed anxiousness and fear."Because I believe that she doesn't deserve to die just for entering the palace....it is too much of a punishment."He didn't move his golden eyes away from her and replied after looking at her for a moment,"I am not killing her for trespassing, that is just an excuse..." Before he could finish, her face became pale and stunned she said with a voice full of anger,"Then why?! why are you deciding to kil
Alphonse took Eleanor to the imperial library since he knew that she loved to read, he guessed that it would help her forget all the bad event that happened. And to his delight she had glithering wide eyes at the sight of the enormous library. She looked around excited like a little girl and occasionally looked back at him like a kid making sure with his parents, that he was allowed to play with a toy.He thought that she was cute and showed her all kind of history books about the three kingdom and those beyong the ocean. They enjoyed their time but once in a while Alphonse was absentminded, felling bitter about the situation that happened at town and also most of all about his brother's attitude toward her.He understood that Francis was getting attached to her and he feared that it would hurt Eleanor at some point, he wanted to avoid that by all mean. The butler interrupted them and fowarded the emperor's order to come for a meet
After taking a bath, Eleanor felt a lot better and less nervious. She wore the dress that Miel choose for her, a beautiful light blue lace dress. She looked stunning on that dress that aristocratic women often deem as too simple for their taste. They loved the extravagant and gorgeous kind of dresses to look more astonishing and imposing. But Eleanor looked pretty and elegant on it, the light blue color of the dress went well with her sky blue eyes. At lunch, in the dining hall, those who came to see her along with Francis earlier were all present aside from Cain who had a lot of work.There was an open sit beside Francis on his right side, she thought that it was too close to him and would rather sit beside sir Val, further from the emperor. But unfortunately, Francis's intense gaze didn't let her have the choice, so she obediently sat on her place. While eating her meal she didn't look toward Francis even once, and he on the other hand occasionaly glanced at her.