Elizabeth anxiously paced back and forth in the guest room. Steam left the cup of tea placed to a side. The rain in her hair ran down her long strands of black hair and dripped onto the carpet. It was her first time in the elven imperial capital, but it didn’t feel unfamiliar to her. Her fluency with the elven language left the guards wondering if she was an elf. Had the guards not confirmed her ears several times, they wouldn’t have believed their ears. She understood all the habits of elves. She was so familiar with elves it was like coming home from abroad.
However, she was now biting her finger nails as she anxiously paced back and forth. Her son was now eight years, eight months, seventeen days old now. How does her son look now? What does he look like? She had only seen the growth of girls. She had no memories of a boy growing up. He has black hair… it should be… That’s how she remembered him. His ears were like hers, but his nose should be like his father’s.
Even though it had nearly been nine years, she could still remember his infant face. She could remember how he looked so vividly she could draw him in his entirety. She could even draw the red cape that was used to wrap him up in. That cape was actually the cape of the elf king, which was the same cape that she wore day and night now. Wearing the cape made her feel like her child was right there by her side.
The guards at the door announced: “The elf queen has arrived!”
Elizabeth quickly stopped in her tracks, looked to the door of the guest room, and Vyvyan looked at her with a laid back smile.
The beautiful and majestic elf queen looked at her old good friend, her good friend she once embraced while sharing a bed together with. Elizabeth had grown a fair bit taller. She wore a silver suit of armour that showed off her prowess. Her gaze had also become much more intense. Her black eyes which once held the feelings of a young maiden were now filled with a cold dominant aura.
That’s an empress for you. Even though this was elven territory, Elizabeth’s reputation as an empress had begun to spread. The young maiden who once ran around with a smile and danced in the flower garden had become the empress that led conquests on the battlefield. Vyvyan sighed. With a smile that carried hopelessness and nostalgia as a friend, she said: “It’s been a long time, Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth looked at the once thin girl which had now become a dignified queen. The girl that once ran across the lawn wildly with her had now become elegant like a goddess. Her once audacious smile had become a calm smile. Maturity and calmness had taken the place of the naivety and passion in her blue eyes.
The girl that had done crazy things with her in the past had become an elegant and mature queen.
Elizabeth smiled and stretched her arms out to hug her good friend. She smiled and said: “It’s been a long time, Vyvyan.”
“Yeah.”
Vyvyan let out a long sigh. She smiled and hugged her good friend back. The two peerless beauties were in a tight embrace, with neither of them speaking a word. However, the happy and moved smile on their faces showed that they truly loved each other. They were both truly happy to see each other.
The two young girls who were once free of worries were now veterans of life. The two young girls who had once held hands and shared their secrets could now only softly speak about the past in the room with the lingering scent of tea and softly giggle. The elf queen and human empress were fated to never reattain their happiness from the past. Elves and humans had not been in contact for decades, and things couldn’t be solved just because their respective rulers were friends.
The elves treated the human empress friendly, while the human empress showed understanding and respect which exceeded the imagination of the elves.
“Elizabeth, I never expected you to become like this.”
The two sat down while Troy stood at the door as he fearfully looked back and forth between the two people sitting and talking.
Elizabeth smiled and then softly said: “Inard…..”
“Onii-sama hasn’t returned from his trip to the North to subdue the demon dragon there. Only his ring came back.”
Vyvyan lowered her head. She then took out an ancient ring and placed it on the table. Elizabeth looked like she remembered something. She then took the sword on her waist, placed it on the table and said: “This is the sword of the elf king. I no longer need these things. However, I would like to take the ring, since it’s my husband’s after all.”
“Alright. To be honest, it doesn’t matter if you take the sword as well, I… You know me.” Vyvyan smiled and gave Elizabeth the ring.
Elizabeth smiled. Vyvyan was truthfully extremely skilled with a sword. They were both students of Lorana, so how could they have been poor? However, Vyvyan had a big problem. Vyvyan hated the sensation of cutting into somebody with a weapon, so she wouldn’t use a sword to cut someone even if her swordplay was even better. Vyvyan was born with magic that was different to the ordinary person, so she focused on nurturing her magic instead of fighting.
“I’ve taken a total of two things from the elf nation. One was the elf king sword. This sword has accompanied me to every corner of the continent. I used this sword to command my army to conquer all of the humans. It protected me countless times when I was in danger, just like my husband……”
Elizabeth gently pushed the elf king sword and then removed her cape and said: “This cape belongs to the elf king. Inard placed a spell on it, but I don’t want to fight another war anymore. The reason it is most valuable to me is because it was used to wrap my child, my only child up in it. Vyvyan, I heard my child was here with you. I want to take my child back with me. Thank you for taking care of him all these years.”
Elizabeth looked at Vyvyan as if she was begging her, and handed Vyvyan the red cape and sword. Vyvyan chuckled softly, and then shook her head and replied: “If your child was here with me, I would definitely have taken good care of him, but your child isn’t here with me.”
“What did you say?!”
Elizabeth’s face stiffened up. She clenched her hand that had countless calluses. She then widened her eyes and shouted: “Impossible!! Impossible! My child! My son!! Inard… Inard… couldn’t have abandoned my child!! My child! My Troy! Where could my Troy be?!”
Elizabeth’s body started to tremble as big droplets of tears fell. Her lips slowly turned pale due to the despair and pain. She had believed her child was here all these years. Her sole motivation for living was her son. She firmly believed that her child was alive here in the elf nation. Now that she was told her child wasn’t here, her mind went completely blank and she almost fell to her knees.
“I… I don’t know. Sorry, Elizabeth.”
Vyvyan stood up and supported Elizabeth. She hugged her head as she smiled softly and said: “I believe that Troy is alive. Maybe somebody kind took him in while he was at the forest’s border. Don’t be too afraid, Elizabeth. I believe that your son is definitely still alive, just like my son……”
“No!!! My child! My son! Troy! Troy!!”
Elizabeth grabbed Vyvyan’s arm tightly and cried in her arms. Vyvyan gently hugged her good friend and comforted her while looking at her son. Troy stood at the door looking blankly at the scene inside. He had nothing to do with what was going on inside yet he heard his name called.
Vyvyan looked at him, smile softly and called: “Troy, come to mommy.”
“Troy?!”
Elizabeth quickly opened her eyes and saw a small boy run towards her. The small boy looked exactly like the image of her child in her mind. His face was completely identical to what she remembered. His facial features and aura were the exact same. The fact that he had black eyes unlike Vyvyan told her that he was her son.
It was a joke, wasn’t it? It must’ve been a joke, just like when they first met. It was just a joke.
Elizabeth knelt down with a thud with an extremely happy smile on her face. She faced the boy and opened her arms. He was her son, her only son. He had grown up. He had grown taller. The shape of his face had started to resemble his father’s. His smile was like the sun. No, his smile made her feel warmer than the sun.
“Troy!! My son! My son!!”
Elizabeth cried out loud enough to lose her voice. She wanted to tightly hug him, her son she had been separated from for almost nine years. She wanted to tell him how much she loved him, how much she missed him and that her life would be complete as long as he was by her side. She could die with no regrets as long as she could take her child back.
She threw herself towards the child, aiming to hug him tightly. But she ended up hugging the air.
Her body froze up like she was rooted in the ground. She looked at the carpet before her and her empty embrace with a blank expression. Just when she was about to hold him, he evaded her and threw himself into Vyvyan’s arms behind her.
She turned her head around and saw Vyvyan hugging Troy tightly with a blissful smile on her face as she looked at her. She smiled and said: “Oh, let me introduce you. This is my child. My son I am most proud of, Troy Galadriel.”
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