The wall full of Elf Vines parted like they were giving way to a king. They parted so silently, without a whisper, as if it was something that had been deeply ingrained in their memory.
The parting of the vines revealed a hole in the otherwise covered wall, where it was just enough for someone to walk through without touching both sides of the walls.
The entrance had been so well hidden beneath the massive vines that they would not have been able to locate it without moving the vines out of the way themselves.
The two Vampires, as well as the 'de-fanged' Vampire King, waited in silence for the Elf to make their dramatic entrance. Elf Vines would only ever move according to an Elf's wishes. They would not listen to anyone who was less than a full Elf.
The sound of resounding footsteps in the cavern could be nothing less than deliberate. Each step was perfectly measured, containing the same unhurried steps that were perfectly even in length.
Beneath the parted green vines, a blonde Elf emerged, looking ever so pristine. Her cold, blue eyes would have chilled a lesser person, and her demeanour commanded the utmost respect. Her glossy blonde hair shone under the effects of the barely lighted cavern, commanding all attention to herself.
The Elf contained an innate arrogance that could not be hidden, a sure sign that she was someone who had power at her fingertips. Her face, though beautiful, was expressionless, showing none of the legends' truth about Elf's gentle love for nature.
As Nine and Nocturne's eyes landed on the Elf's face, their eyes widened, however minutely. The change in their expressions were also mirrored in the Elf's face.
Nocturne looked between the two, Vampire and Elf, and couldn't help but feel disbelief. Nine and the Elf looked exactly alike. Granted, with different colouring, but even after Nine's Vampiric transformation, which caused her previously already exquisite features to turn into something even more refined, the Elf and Vampire looked like two sides of the same coin.
Even as Nine's form was obviously male, she still looked exactly like her female self, only with a male, chiselled body.
The most remarkable thing was that the Elf was completely immune to Nine's Charm, which even the Vampire King was not immune to.
Looking at the Elf and Vampire, Nocturne couldn't help but go into a daze.
Helce, who had entered the room without another thought, never thought that this was what she would experience upon entering the cavern. She had been prepared for anything, be it an army, an invasion from the rebellious Elves, to facing a random stampede of monsters, but she hadn't been expecting this!
As she looked into the face so similar to her own, she couldn't help but feel a chill down her spine. It was like looking into a mirror, and seeing the same reflection, but the reflection followed none of her commands.
It was disconcerting, and just a little terrifying.
As Helce struggled to get over her shock, her eyes subconsciously slid away, looking at the other Vampire in the room next to that impostor standing in the room. This time, her eyes widened noticeably.
"You…! Impossible!" she couldn't help but say, but immediately shut her mouth after her slip up.
Nine's eyes sharpened upon hearing what the Elf said. With someone like this who looked like she was mostly indifferent, to react this way, what did that entail? It meant that the shock she felt was even greater than when she had discovered someone who looked exactly like her!
That meant that Nocturne's appearance was more important to her than herself! Immediately, Nine moved in front of Nocturne, blocking him from the Elf's invasive stare.
Helce's blank stare immediately turned fiery.
"Who are you? Why do you look exactly like me? Who is that man? How dare he have a face like that!"
Nine scoffed at the Elf's demanding words. "Who do you think you are to demand such answers from us? In fact, it should be me who asks you, why do you look like me? As an Elf that looks like you're in your mid-twenties, you should be at least two hundred years old!"
Helce's expression grew colder and colder the more Nine talked. "You…!"
She had never met such an infuriating person before. When had she ever been treated with such disrespect? Ever since she took over as His Majesty's assistant and only servant, she had commanded the respect and power that only the last remaining High Elf's subordinate could wield.
Even the Elf Elders had to bow before her, listening to her commands as if they were from His Majesty the King himself!
Nine sneered, an expression that was mirrored by Helce. "Who do you think you are, to talk to my man like that?"
Nocturne flushed.
Helce's expression changed minutely. She glanced between the two Vampires. Though she couldn't really see the one who looked like His Majesty, she could freely appraise this male Vampire who carried her face.
The more she looked, the more her face pinched. Why was it that these two were able to be happily together when His Majesty and her were doomed from the start? The longer she thought about it, the more she felt like it wasn't fair.
The two Vampires were male, but they were still able to get together happily whilst His Majesty and her were male and female, but still unable to! Why was it so unfair! She thought that same sex couples found it harder to get together because of the discrimination in society.
Had society changed so much that they didn't disparage those who were different? No, that wasn't it. Helce was by far the most well-travelled Elf, with how she overtook the task that His Majesty gave her himself. She couldn't bear to let him down, so she took on the task herself with the utmost seriousness. She had learnt how to blend in flawlessly, and she saw the filth society still contained.
Unable to accept it, she felt a burning, acidic jealousy filled her heart. She wanted to be happy with His Majesty as well. Why was it that her feelings were not accepted, while they could be happy together?
She was jealous and wasn't afraid to admit it! The longer she thought about it, the more irrational thoughts filled her mind, disrupting her previously stable mentality. She thought that she was long over this problem, but it wasn't until she was faced with their doppelgängers that seemed to be living a life that was so different from hers, but still so sweet, that this problem resurfaced in her heart. She couldn't accept that someone with their faces were so deeply in love without any obstruction in their paths.
The jealousy and hatred that surged forth like an unstoppable wave crashed over her heart, causing her eyes to burn, no sign of the earlier frostiness and indifference.
Sensing the change in her expression, Nine and Nocturne got ready for a fight, but Helce unexpectedly fled.
Before any of them could stop her, Helce grabbed the prone Vampire King, ripping him free from the Elf Vines, who seemed to wilt as if they could feel the anger that boiled within her, teleporting away with him.
Nine watched the teleportation circle fade just as quickly as it appeared with cold eyes. Who was that woman, and why did she look exactly like her? As far as she was concerned, if her father was telling the truth, then she should have been half human and half magic previously.
Nine could tell that the Elf was a pure Elf, so it was not possible that they were related. Or was it?
Nocturne held Nine's hand, his previously slightly unnerved expression gone, replaced with a fiery determination. "Nine, I don't like that she has the same face as you! Why do I feel like she's the one who's behind the scenes planning Darkness Uprising?"
Nine squeezed Nocturne's hand. "I feel the same way," she said, not specifying which part of Nocturne's statement she was referring to. What she didn't say was what made her angrier was the way the Elf looked at Nocturne. Her eyes were full of resentment, jealousy and longing, which didn't sit right with her.
Nine felt the rare urge to obliterate and wipe that Elf off the planet. She didn't like that she had looked at her Nox with such lustful eyes, like she could have stripped him down bare and licked every inch of him. Even though she knew that it was most likely not her Nox that she was seeing, she still couldn't accept it!
Nine's eyes cooled at that thought, attaining an icy quality that was rarely seen in Nocturne's warm presence.
That Elf was a co-conspirator for all the undead, and she would bet that whoever she saw in Nocturne's face was the one who had given the orders.
That Elf and Nine seemed like two sides of the same coin, and Nine didn't like this. Not one bit.