Elena only left Lapis’ room after Laila and the twins assured her that they would take care of the child’s safety. Just in case. If it came down to it, and something like the ambush were to happen inside the palace, Elena trusted Laila and Lapis could run away unscathed. Both of them were so young, and their presence there in Alvor was all her responsibility.
After walking into the hall arm in arm with Ivar, her fears slowly started to seem like just a product of her previous anxiety in regards to the banquet. This was her first appearance in front of the nobility of Alvor, and what if she didn’t live up to the expectations?
But just minutes after they welcomed the princess and the musicians started playing, Miss Blanc came to ask her about the grand banquets in the south. Were there any differences?
News about Crown Princess’ fall spreaded fast, thanks to all the attendees of the banquet. It wasn’t long before letters from her family and former acquaintances arrived, as everyone wanted to know more about that piece of news. Ivar humiliated Tiana in such a way that no one would doubt who held more power between the two of them, it was the same as saying that the Duke of Alba’s status was superior to the heir of the Emperor. Former heir, if things went the way Miros and Ivar expected.Elena did not know how to feel about the whole thing. The princess was her enemy, someone who had tried to kill her way before they met face to face. She was also paying for her actions, according to Ivar she’d been negotiating the support of the King of the Diamond Islands in exchange of the resources from the forests in the continent. People who came from Raeden carried a long-term hatred for the
The thing Elena couldn’t understand was how even the people from the Diamond Islands knew about magic and fairies to the point of risking their diplomatic relations with the Empire just to get their hands on part of that. Elena was sure not even most nobles in Vallas (including her father) knew about the existence of these creatures.“It’s an old thing. The people from the islands value the riches from the continent. Back during the times of the first arrival, they even shipped sorcerers and presented them to the court of the King Midas as ‘saints’. The same logic could be applied to everything else. They only left when they were forced to do so, and after having pillaged all that they could.”“How do you know so much about this?”There wasn’t much about it in hi
She felt the strong urge to make that clear the kind of place it used to be.“I should fix this.”Ivar grabbed her hand and shook his head. “Not yet.”Elena frowned, raising her head to look him in the eye. Why?“It’s not convenient right now, but we will come back and fix this.” He answered her silent question. “Trust me.”For some reason, the sight made her heart ache. Long after they had crossed the area that had been reduced to just a depressing view, her mind kept rewinding to that moment. Perhaps it was worse because now she knew that there were beings whose entire existence depended on the magic that this forest could provide for them.
Saray had told Ivar once that he needed to follow Giorgio’s steps to find the heart, but even though he’d gone to extreme lengths such as marrying the daughter to have access to the duke’s palace and people more easily, he’d never found a thing. Here someone else was confirming that the path had not been wrong. What did he miss?‘Even if you were in front of it now, you would not be able to recognize it.’The fairies took turns to tell the story that seemed to be fresh in their minds, as if it had not started a thousand years ago.“They stole the heart through lies and deception, and when we realized it was too late. Our people’s strength is healing magic, but we are not warriors. We hoped the Fire spirits could stop them, it was their mission…” B
Hugo Montenegro poured himself some wine, and waited. It wouldn’t take long for that woman to recover consciousness, and he wanted to see her face when this place burned down and took the forest with it.From the moment the Crown Princess was imprisoned, he knew it was a matter of time before he followed her, but if that was going to happen then he would take her with him too. Elena Valverde, no, Elena de Alba was a thorn on his side, whenever he thought about her.That was the girl he rejected, someone much inferior to him. Her only real advantage was her looks Although she’d barely left her family home, everyone knew about her unparalleled beauty, a delicate flower who would be the object of pride for whoever got her hand. Hugo went to meet her for this very reason, but found a girl too opinionated and who looked at magic with fascination.It
It took another week to recover the areas of the forest that had been destroyed by the actions of Montenegro. Elena seemed to be happy to help, in spite of what had happened before, and with the help of other Earth and Water sorcerers sent by the academy, a lot had been achieved in a short time. Now, however, they were going back home.“What’s going to happen with the county now?” Elena asked as they got into the carriage that would take them back to Aurora.“Renan will choose a new person to be responsible for this territory.”He’d wanted to kill Ivy too, for even putting Elena at risk, but in the end they decided to leave it in the hands of the fairies to decide her fate and he avoided involving her in another violent act. Although she’d taken care of Montenegro herself, w
“Sister!”The child jumped out of the carriage and ran towards her. It had only been a few months, but Milan had grown a few inches since the last time she saw him.“I see you are not tired from the trip.”“I’m not. Camping was fun, and Mariela took me to a festival in Lagos. I think Mother would have liked it.”Elena had thought her mother would leave behind her aversion to her and come to take care of Milan, since her father approved of the visit and it was going to happen anyway. But she still refused to come, and so it was arranged for Mariela to go with some of the Black Knights and escort Milan to Alvor.It would be a lie to say she was disappointed (she stopped expecting
Mama Juana was telling her the story again.Once upon a time, there were Vallas, Eir and Raeden, and there were Saints…Her grandmother forgot the part of the people from the Diamond Islands killing and slaving fairies and sorcerers before that, though. But Elena couldn’t blame her for the way she colored the past, as someone who had lost a husband and three children to the war.“They say the Grand Duchess commanded a monster that was part of the army. But that’s only a rumor, the only certain thing is that they won battle after battle without anyone who could stop them…”“That’s because Ivar is so powerful.” Elena said with a hint of pride and Mama Juana glared at her disapprovingly.