Lys had been with the elves for over a week now. She was a prisoner. Not in the bad sense, they were hospitable, and she was free to wander around. She was just not allowed to leave. Not yet at least. Today she might know more about everything. The [King] had summoned her, and one did not refuse it, especially in her position.

She walked out of the house they had given her. It was made of trees, literally, as druids had guided the growth of several trees to make a house. The whole town was like this, some houses made of ten or even twenty trees. There were even some that had multiple floors, trees and branches twisting in a complex manner.

It was beautiful, and part of her, her elven part, probably, really felt at peace here. It was a place made with magic, and it had a special feeling to it. She had tried to send messages to the mage guild, but the spell never connected, like in the ruins. Maybe it was the forest? It was unclear what caused it, and she hadn’t asked.

She had thought a lot about what she had seen in that foreign dome, some part of her wondering if she had imagined it all. But the response had been too strong for that. What it was she had seen though, she couldn’t figure out. It was important, that much was clear.

Readying herself, she walked out, and she saw two guards at her door. It was the two same ones that had been assigned to her this whole time. Levan and Ilyz.

Levan had blond hair with a long ponytail, his face slender and feminine for a guy, while Ilyz was the opposite, her square jaw and sharp features almost intimidating, for an elf at least. She was bulky while Levan clearly was the limber one, moving with grace.

“Morning.” She said, but they didn’t respond, and simply started to follow her. They headed to a hall, of sorts. Several trees made a low canopy where there were seats and tables, mostly made of stone. It was where everyone ate, and as usual she sat down in a solitary corner.

The first day had been, special. The reactions were mixed to her presence, although mostly negative. Some had looked at her with clear disdain, some curious, but she knew they had whispered about her, and it was clear she wasn’t welcome here.

No one had tried anything out right, probably thanks to the guards she had with her. They sat down to eat too, but mostly ignored her, even when she tried to join the conversation. Today was no less different.

“I heard the humans caused an incident with the undead empire. Apparently the undead aren’t happy about it. Something about the humans having trespassed into their territory.” Levan started. Lys hadn’t had real news in a while, so it was interesting.

“Oh really? Well good luck if they want to muck with those bastards. Say what you want about the undead, but they don’t play around.” Ilyz responded.

“I agree, but the humans, I don’t get why their empire even became so big. People didn’t dislike them as much either.” Levan was perplexed as he looked at Ilyz.

“Of course people dislike them more now, they took land from the neighboring nations, albeit over a long period and slowly. But enough about them, did you hear? Yesterday Nomi got asked out by Leon, and she even said yes ! I don’t understand how she could, he is all scrawny.” Ilyz was clearly more concerned about local gossip than world news.

“What’s wrong with Leon? Just because you have big muscle doesn’t mean everyone should.” Levan was looked at his friend in annoyance, looking at her bulging arms.

“But he is so… weak, you know. I don’t get it. Men should be strong.” As Ilyz said that she caught the look of hurt on Levan’s face, and rolled her eyes.

“Levan you know I’m not talking about you right? You might not have big muscles but you are strong. You always take things personally for no reason.” She hammered on.

“When you are talking about men, I am included you know. How could I not take offense. You are as subtle as your big muscles. No tact. Women should have more grace, elegance.” He said irritably. He was clearly upset about her comment on men.

Lys tried to make herself small for once, not wanting to partake in this conversation at all. And maybe because of that, they noticed her more. As one, they turned to her.

“What do you think? Should men be muscles heads?” Levan started.

“And women frail damsels in distress?” Ilyz added, glaring at Levan.

“I never said they should be frail!” Levan exclaimed before Lys could partake.

“Well what would they be if they didn’t have any muscles? Idiot, frail!” They were both getting pretty heated.

“I didn’t say they should be frail, just graceful! Look, this is typical, you twist my words to your advantage, making me say things I never said. Typical women !” Levan stood up, then looked at Lys and resigned himself to sit back down.

“And you try to fit me into a nice little lady box. I’m never going to be a graceful weakling, and you know that. Stop trying to change me!”

“A graceful weakling?!” Levan almost choked on his food on that one. He looked truly hurt at that one.

Lys could see several others had turned to see what the commotion was all about, and no one made a move to stop them. Some clearly listened, while some just grumbled something and went back to their food. Apparently it wasn’t that unusual from the looks of things.

Lys would bet money that they had been lovers. Well, figuratively, she would never bet money, but the tension was intense between them. There was clearly history here. There was an awkward silence as Levan didn’t respond to the last reply.

Finally, it was Ilyz who spoke up.

“I’m sorry, that came out wrong. You know you aren’t a weakling. It’s just that you tend to take things wrong!” Lys winced, that wasn’t the right thing to say. Levan just looked at her, clearly trying to burn her with his eyes, but didn’t say anything.

A beautiful elf walked up to them, in full golden armor, a helmet under her arm. Lys’s guards didn’t notice until the elf was at their table, and then they immediately stood up straight.

“Captain.” They said in unison, all arguments forgotten for a moment.

“I asked you two to be professional about this assignment. Did I not?” The captain said massaging her head.

“Yes sir.” They both responded, stiff. She turned to her.

“I am sorry about this. Believe it or not, these are our best guards. High level, and very competent, usually.” She glared at them some more. Lys wasn’t sure what to say to that, so she simply nodded, clearly unsure.

“If you would come with me? The King is ready to see you.” It was a question but the captain was already walking away. She hesitated and her two guards looked at her, motioning her to follow their captain.

Lys got up and jogged a few steps to catch up.

“Do you know if I’ll be allowed to leave soon? As I told you, it is quite urgent I get back to the mage guild.” She asked, cautiously.

“I believe that is the point yes. I am sorry for the delay, but it was necessary.” Talk about vague. But it wasn’t like she had a real choice here. She just nodded and walked with him. Well, walk jogged. He was tall, and took big strides forward, Lys wasn’t short, but compared to him, she was.

They walked through the town, or a big village, she wasn’t sure, until they came to a carriage at the edge of the settlement. The carriage was unlike anything she had ever seen. It didn’t have any animals pulling it, it was entirely made of wood, but not just any wood. It looked like it had been grown into this shape, almost like a living tree with wheels, only in the shape of a carriage. Not only that, but it had ornaments made of smaller branches shaping like small statues, depicting the elves pushing some kind of monster back.

She wasn’t sure where the elven King lived, she assumed he was in their capital. The elves weren’t very open to other species. So all she knew was hearsay and rumors.

The carriage was as beautiful inside as outside. The captain sat with her and soon they were on their way. She was unsure what the elven King wanted, and started to feel nervous, but at the same time she might finally be able to leave.

The carriage moved with surprising silence in the woods, the Captain didn’t start any small talk and neither did she. It wasn’t an awkward silence, it was more of a tense one. Well, the elf didn’t seem tense, maybe only she was nervous, and projected it. The dense forest passed them by fast as the beautiful carriage took them to their destination.

Lys wasn’t sure how long it took, as she ran circles in her head about the situation, but they finally stopped, and the captain opened the door for her. When she walked out she was surprised to see there were no buildings around them, but as they walked around the carriage, she saw the huge palace that had been grown from several thousand trees. Lys gaped before she caught herself.

It was huge, with ornaments and statues covering every inch of the massive building. Unimpressed by the sight, the captain led them forwards, going through the gate with her in tow. She was looking around, impressed by, well, everything. There was a harmony to it, she couldn’t describe, like magic but not, it was almost too perfect. There were very few guards or people around, it seemed like a skeleton crew for a place this size.

They soon stood in front of a massive door, the captain stopped. A few seconds passed as she wondered what they were waiting for. Just as she was about to ask, the door opened and someone announced them.

The elven [King] sat on his throne. The first thing she noticed was his eyes. Twinkling with intelligence, and maybe a hint of mischief. He had the kind of gaze that made you think he saw right through you. His long hair was white, or maybe silvery. It had that kind of luster that made it reflect light. He had a handsome face, and a presence. It was hard to look away.

She caught herself staring and quickly curtsied.

“Thank you for seeing me.” She said as her gaze met the floor, head bowed. Lys hadn’t asked for an audience, but this was a [King], and an old one at that if rumors where to be believed.

“Raise your head child, and welcome.” He said with open arms.

“Do you know why you have been summoned?” He continued with a mischievous smile.

“I am afraid I do not know, your majesty.” She answered.

“You must have an idea as to why. Am I wrong?” No he wasn’t, but she had avoided thinking about it.

“Does it have to do with the ruins I was at?” She asked.

“Ah, yes, I thought a mage would have a sharp mind. But that wasn’t hard to guess. Why do you think you were summoned for exactly?” He seemed to enjoy this.

Lys thought back on the unpleasant experience she had had there, her injured leg, the days struggling to find anything edible. She hadn’t thought back on the ruins once, as if her mind had tried to avoid it. The stairs down, that feeling in her gut, pushing her forwards.

The throne. It had felt unreal, like she was only looking at herself try to kill those guards. She shuddered.

“Ah yes, you seem to remember.” He said in a gentle tone. He waited for her response still, and after a moment she decided to be honest, and not try to hide what had happened.

“I was under the influence of something. Something you don’t want out there. An artifact, I believe.” She said, her eyes unfocused on the present.

“Yes, and yes. Good, now you understand the court has discussed how to handle it. The final decision is mine of course, but the options were limited.” His smile wasn’t reflected in his eyes this time, making that smile seem dangerous.

“I understand, but I do have crucial information to give to the mage guild. If you would allow me a message before you are done with me.” She steeled her resolve. She had suspected they wouldn’t let her go back at all, or probably kill her. It came with a bitter taste, but it was something she had expected.

“What decision do you think I chose then, child?” He looked down on her, with steel in his gaze.

“The cleanest way is to kill me, your majesty.” His unexpected laugh lit a glimmer of hope in her.

“Kill you? Lys the half-elf, you have been living for too long with the barbarians outside our forest, for we are not savages. There is a clearly more elegant solution to our problem.” He let the words hang for a while.

Her resolve transformed into nervousness, she was unsure what would happen to her. Hope mixed with fear in her as she waited for his next words.

“Do you know what you stumbled upon in those ruins?” He asked instead. It grated on her nerves that he was clearly enjoying teasing her with her fate, but she pushed it down to appear calm.

“I do not know, your majesty, only that it was an artifact of some kind.” She said using her most neutral tone.

“It is a secret even among elves, an artifact older than you can imagine. Some call it Elvenbane, some call it the Red death, or some other uninspired names. Truth is we do not know. What we do know is that it used to belong to the first half-elf to rebel against the elves. He waged a war for freedom, but developed a taste for war. They won their freedom, but it wasn’t enough for him, and he went on to try to eradicate elves completely. From a hero to a villain, even in the eyes of his own.” The king looked old, older than his appearance as he counted the tale of this unknown half-elf.

“Why are you telling me all of this? Isn’t it better if I do not know at all?” She asked. If it was her, she would never tell anyone something like this, unless she expected them to not leave alive.

“Because it doesn’t matter if you know. Because I grow weary of sitting alone on this throne, listening to children squabble over irrelevant matters. Many forget, but we are protectors of this world, bound to stay here. And I am afraid we will fail as protectors in the future, but that doesn’t concern you. Just and old man’s ramblings.” Another smile, but a sad one could be seen. Lys looked around, and she understood at that moment, what a lonely existence this King had. There was no one here, and barely more than a few roaming the walls of this palace. They weren’t even in a town, secluded from his own society, in a way. It seemed strange to her.

“You must grow weary of my ramblings, but most importantly your fate.” He said solemnly.

“Know that no harm will become you. As I said, I chose an Elegant solution to our problems, and you will be on your way today.” Unsure of how much of this was true, she simply nodded and bowed.

“We will simply wipe the memories of your time in the ruins.” Lys tensed at that. Memory magic? It was something many scholars were discussing, but they were discussing if it was even possible in theory. No one had ever come close to being able to manipulate someone's memories, or so it was believed. The worst was, if it was even possible, she wouldn’t know, as her memory would probably not remember this moment.

Slowly, the [King] rose from his throne and looked down at her. It felt like he was huge as he channeled massive amount of mana. His eyes were gentle as he looked down at her. It was too soon! She wasn’t ready now. Didn’t he need to do some kind of ritual? Or use an artifact? She didn’t know why she was panicking, he wasn’t going to kill her, which was good, but she was afraid. Very afraid. He was going to manipulate her soul, to make her forget, it was almost worse. It hadn’t happened yet, but it felt like he was going to violate her very being, and the worst was she wouldn’t know.

Before she could think more on the matter, her mind stopped working. The [King] was sweating in effort, something Lys could not see, and soon he was done.

Lys woke up, feeling like she had been wrung out completely. She was in the woods, close to the border of the elves. Finally she had escaped that hellish forest. She remembered surviving on barely edible plants for two weeks after that disastrous teleport spell, but finally, she was back to civilization, or close to it.