In the Elven Capital of Alvein, if anyone were asked who the most important figure of authority was, the answer one would get would almost always be the Elven Queen, she who governed the capital.

However, if the question was changed to the most recognisable elf in the capital, or even among the elven race, the answers would unanimously point to a single elf, the daughter of the queen, Aurelia Alvein, more commonly known as the 'Golden Princess'.

The reason behind this was simple, for her dazzling golden blonde hair set her apart from the rest of the elves. No other elf in the entire elven history possessed anything like this, a unique trait that belonged solely to her.

As such, there was no doubt that she was the easiest elf to recognise among the entire race, for her striking hair colour would give away her identity the moment it was spotted.

Of course, being unique also led to a fair share of troubles, as many voices spoke out she was born, afraid of the child that appeared different from the rest of them with the loudest voice coming from the Northern Chieftain, calling for her to be killed at birth.

However, the reigning Elven King then openly declared that she was blessed by the mother elf, arguing that such a beautiful colour could not have resulted from a curse.

Owing to his stable rule over half a century, these voices quickly toned down, as most chose to believe in their king, deciding to take a step back and observe the development of the princess before raising any conclusions.

Thus, the matter rested with no actions taken against the princess, and the king successfully protected his daughter.

---

"Kai! Mia!" a golden-haired female elf shouted with her arms wide open and a smile on her face, an expression that had become increasingly common on her over the past eight months.

"Awuu!"

An excited howl resounded across as a large grey wolf sprinted out of the trees nearby and rammed directly into the elf, knocking her onto the ground. However, the wolf was also being careful not to hurt her, so she didn't suffer any injuries from this as a melodious laughter escaped her lips.

The wolf repeatedly licked the girl's face while the girl gently stroked his fur, showing no fear in her eyes despite being faced with a ferocious creature that could take her life at any moment.

"Haha, enough, stop it Kai, stop it."

The girl called out after about a minute, causing the wolf to whimper several times as it stepped a short distance away from her, finally allowing her to get up again.

When she got up, she continued to pat Kai while strolling over to the other wolf that was sprawled weakly on the ground. This wolf had exited the forest behind Kai and crawled over while the elf was playing with Kai earlier.

"Mia, be strong, it's just a little more." the girl looked towards the wolf with a concerned gaze as she gently stroked the fur on her belly.

The wolf also nestled her head towards the elf, showing her affection by rubbing it gently against her body. Kai also crawled over and started licking Mia's belly, looking at her with eyes full of affection.

After this, the elf and Kai began to run around energetically while Mia watched by the side, the three of them slowly progressing towards the nearby woods as time went by.

About an hour later, the three of them were moving around in the woods when a sharp glint flashed in the elf's expression, scouting her surroundings carefully before letting out a sigh of relief.

"Kai, Mia, be good, I'll tell you lots of stories when I come back later!" the elf gently patted both wolves as she spoke.

A sly smile appeared on the elf's face as she went over to a small lake near them and started removing her clothes, placing them neatly by a large rock that was just beside the lake.

"I wonder what stories he will tell today."

She hopped into the lake and started washing herself with rapid motions while staring in a direction with uncontrolled excitement in her deep night-coloured eyes, her gaze shining so brightly it seemed like there were stars contained in that night.

About five minutes later, she impatiently got out of the lake from near the rock and dried herself before dressing up in another set of clothes that were also kept there, a set of clothes that gave off a vastly different impression from the dress she was wearing previously.

To be precise, this was the uniform worn by guard apprentices back at the palace, an outfit that one would hardly expect the princess of the capital to even possess, let alone wear it.

The outfit was also complete with accessories, coupled with the standard issue bow, quiver and dagger placed beside the clothes.

However, on top of all these items, there were two items which stood out in particular, not found in the usual guard apprentice set, a long sash and a large piece of cloth.

The first piece of clothing she wore from the set was the leather sash, spinning it several times around her chess with a look of discomfort before securing both ends together. After she was done she patted her chest lightly and revealed a satisfied nod before donning the rest of the clothes.

When she was done with wearing the other clothes, she then took the large piece of cloth and tied it over head, checking with her reflection on the water's surface to make sure that she covered all of her hair before finally revealing a smile.

Finally, she put on a baggy leather robe that was obviously several sizes too big for her, extending all the way down to her legs before her transformation was complete.

"Kai, I'm going to borrow your name again." she murmured under her breath as she headed over to give the two wolves a farewell pat before moving out joyously in the direction she was staring at earlier, wearing a wide smile on her face.

As she sneaked out with what she thought was a 'perfect' plan, several figures were watching her with doting eyes from the shadows, silently trailing behind with smiles on their faces as they felt the joy that was emanating from every step she took.

Her destination was the field with golden flowers, her favourite place from a young age. She had always felt a special affinity since she found that field, for the flowers were the only things she knew that resembled her.

It was one of the few places she could seek solace when she was in a bad mood, the only place there was which could make her feel better about the detestable colour of her hair, when she looked at the radiance and beauty of the similarly coloured flowers.

That is, in the past, that was what the field meant to her, holding an important place in her heart. However, now, things were different, for he was there, the elf who made her heart race with excitement with tales that went beyond her wildest imaginations.

He was the second thing in the world who could lessen the hatred she felt towards her difference, and the first to bring colour to her dull, making her feel hopeful towards the future.

She remembered a conversation they once had, one which he would have probably already forgotten but one that she would always remember, leaving a strong and deep impression in her mind.

"Do the characters in all the stories have the same hair colour?" she asked, a question that had been weighing heavily in her mind since the very beginning but hadn't mustered the courage to ask before.

"No? Of course not!" he replied without even thinking, replying as though he was just stating the obvious as he looked at her with a puzzlement, not understanding how she even thought of such a random question.

" There are orcs, demons, dragons, humans and all sort of creatures, some not even having hair, why would something like this even matter?" he asked.

"But... but how would they be able to interact with each other then?" she hastily questioned back.

"Why not?"

He followed up with a final question that put her at a loss for words before moving on with the story, as though the question was never asked.

He might not have thought much of his words, but this statement was like a bolt in the blue for her, allowing her to view the world in a different light for the first time.

After all, his worlds contained not a single trace of doubt in them, spoken with a firm conviction. While his words did nothing to ease the negative experiences she had in the past, it made her gratified knowing that such people existed, bringing tears of joy to her eyes.

However, her jubilant mood instantly fell apart after the walk that lasted slightly below an hour as her keen eyes caught sight of the disturbance in the field, racing forward like her life depended on it.

Her legs felt heavier with each passing step, heavier than they had ever been, but she still raced forward, faster than she had ever ran in her entire life.

She didn't care that her vision was slowly growing fainter, she didn't even feel the cuts and scratches that were appearing on her feet, she didn't even care about the fact that her bandana was caught by a branch along the way and have been ripped off her head.

All that was left in her world was the bow pointed at him, appearing visibly injured and weakened like never before as he was suspended in the air.

She felt like her heart was getting ripped into pieces as she saw this, but this only made her feet move faster. He seemed to have shouted something, but the words didn't linger in her mind long enough to understand, as the sight before her took all of her attention.

When she raced out of the trees, an arrow suddenly started flying towards him, so she did the natural thing to avoid getting him hurt, she ran in front of him.

An extremely sharp pain spread across her chest as she felt a hard object tear through her body, but all she felt was relief as she turned her head around and saw that he was fine.

"Are you okay?"

"Ar..." she smiled lightly and wanted to ask if he was fine, but the lights suddenly turned out and everything fell to darkness as her body was drained of all its strength.