Young Girls’ Date
Lorana looked at the two girls, who were dressed and ready to go, with puzzlement. She rubbed her eyes and remarked, “Why are you two up so early today?”
“To find food. That’s why we’re up a little earlier.”
Vyvyan did up her cloak, and then checked to ensure her ears wouldn’t be exposed. She also made sure to hide her blonde hair. Otherwise, she would stand out as an elf among humans. Elizabeth also wore on a cloak. The two prepared very ordinary clothes. It was a bit of a challenge to find clothes similar to what humans wore in the elven lands, but the two of them were identical to human female farmers.
Lorana was bewildered but nodded: “Go on, then, girls. Remember, it’s best if you can acquire food, but don’t go to dangerous places. I can tell you two have been preparing for a long time by looking at you. You two must be up to something weird, huh? Remember: don’t do anything dangerous. Ever. Understood?”
“How could we do something dangerous?”
Vyvyan gave Lorana a smile and wink. Lorana felt as though she said something useless, so she chuckled: “True. You two aren’t Inard, and you’re mature. Stay safe, you two.”
“We’ll be leaving now then, Teacher.” Elizabeth respectfully saluted Lorana.
Lorana nodded. Among her pupils, Elizabeth was the only one who was very respectful toward her. She was too well acquainted with Vyvyan and Inard, so they didn’t resemble pupils at all. Lorana, therefore, paid more attention to Elizabeth. After all, a teacher always hoped for their own pupils to respect them.
Lorana watched the young girls close the door and leave. She then turned her head around to look at the remaining stuff on the table. They finished breakfast then just up and left… However, she froze up when she saw the long sword on the table.
“Elizabeth didn’t take her sword with her?! Is she that confident? She went out into the forest without bringing a weapon?” pondered Lorana.
Lorana really wanted to chase after them, but their voices vanished already. They prepared for a long time and were looking forward to it very much. In other words, they knew the consequences of not taking their swords and still left without them. That meant they were very confident they wouldn’t get hurt.
“I don’t need to worry then, right? Plus, even if they did run into danger, Vyvyan can use magic, so there shouldn’t be any major concern,” Lorana told herself. And so, Lorana didn’t concern herself any further.
The two girls left with cheerful smiles. The weather outside hadn’t warmed up yet. The evening mist and frost in autumn couldn’t be melted by the sun that had just come up, but it couldn’t stop the girls’ happy laughter and footsteps. The young girls’ woke up the forest on behalf of the birds with their cheerful laughter.
They cheerfully ran through the forest. Their pants and shoes were soon wet, but that didn’t stop their light steps. Vyvyan laughed while holding Elizabeth’s hand. She had never been to human cities and towns, She was eager to see the human city and towns she was about to visit. She couldn’t stop imagining what they were like. She imagined countless “Elizabeths” walking back and forth on the stone ground inside the city. She imagined speaking to humans in a language she didn’t know, but that was just her imagination. She was much more eager to see a real city. She had only ever seen the elven Imperial City, but it was a small city where residents used trees for homes…
(Author Note: Duargana only truly flourished after Inard and then Vyvyan succeeded the throne, because what Elizabeth shared with them expanded their understanding of humanity. As a result, they decided to remodel their own city after seeing humanity’s. Thus, it was during their rule that stone buildings came into existence. The elves’ unique tree house Imperial City began with Inard’s rule and reached completion in Vyvyan’s reign.)
The sun gradually came up and replaced the cold that seeped into the forest with warmth. The two finally reached the border of the forest after walking sun-dappled path. The leaves there could no longer cover the sun. A road finally appeared. The two walked to the road, and then made a turn. Elizabeth tightly held Vyvyan’s hand then pointed to a corner below. In an excited tone, she said, “See that, Vyvyan? That’s the city. That’s where I live. See that? In that corner there.”
“Mm!”
Vyvyan immediately noticed it with her elven sight. A pointy small church was in the centre of a wheat field outside the city. The ochre wheat blew in the wind as though a pack of wolves were running through. The city walls made of stone behind the wheat field separated itself from the large area of land as though it was a wheat field god planted human crops on.
“Let’s go. It looks very close, but we actually still need to run for some distance. It would be best if we had a ride. Otherwise, we’ll have to walk a long way.”
“Mm!”
They tightly held hands. The blue sky overhead looked far and as though it also brought the singing of an angel from heaven. The breeze blew the leaves up into the air. The humming birds hummed a tune of nature. The white clouds in the sky resembled a lazy drunk wandering poet, going wherever the clouds took them. The sun in the blue sky made the temperature just right as if god’s gentle eyes were looking after all species. Nature was god’s creation; consequently, the curved path of youth the two girls ran on must’ve been god’s ultimate song.
The two were very lucky. They soon managed to hitch a ride with a small horse carriage heading to the village to purchase wheat. The village sold wheat and apples. The carriage looked as though it had come and gone from the village several times. The inside of the carriage was filled with the aroma of wheat and sweetness of apples. The refreshing and welcome breeze it picked up calmed Elizabeth. She sat on the goods cabin and looked ahead with a blissful smile. Vyvyan fell asleep until Elizabeth woke her up once they got to the village.
“Wow! This is humanity’s city?!”
After hoping off the carriage and reaching the street, Vyvyan was shocked by the sight her eyes beheld. She had never seen so many people before. The elven Imperial City was considered the most populated place in the elven lands, but this single street in a small village, where people were coming and going, considerably more crowded than the elven Imperial City.
It was a very novel and shocking discovery to Vyvyan. Elizabeth proudly smiled: “This is just a small village. The Imperial Capital where I live is prospering a lot more in comparison. The city is surrounded by big plains, and we grow the entire nation’s wheat crops there, so we can feed lots and lots of people.”
(Author note: The Royal Capital, Hilles City, wasn’t yet referred to as such when Elizabeth ran away. It was just called the Rosvenor Imperial Nation’s Imperial City and it wasn’t on the scale of Elizabeth’s empire at its peak.)
“How nice.”
Vyvyan enviously surveyed the crowds. There were very few places in the forest where elves could plant crops, so they didn’t have many foods to choose from. That, therefore, limited their population. Vyvyan asked, “Elizabeth, isn’t it very squishy in your Imperial City?”
Elizabeth chuckled; then, grabbed a tight hold of Vyvyan’s hand: “It’s all right. Though it sometimes is, we’re accustomed to it. Let’s hold hands. Don’t get lost here, or it’ll be very hard to find each other. Moreover, it’s very dangerous for you here in human lands.”
“Mm, I know!”
Vyvyan and Elizabeth interlocked their fingers. The two gave each other a smile, and then began to walk along the street wearing smiles.
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