Jack braced for an attack, his mind racing as he went through his options in his head, and who he should attack first. He was surprised when Elaine threw herself in front of him, holding her arms out and yelling in a language he could not understand. He glanced around, seeing the elves hesitate at her words, until one of them dropped from the tree and landed in front of Elaine, standing up and facing her.
He was an elven warrior, with light metal armor and twinkling chain mail underneath it. He started having a heated conversation with Elaine in their elven language, Jack unable to follow along as Elaine got in his face, more bold than he had seen her before. They glared at each other, Jack doing his best not to hold his breath, until the elven warrior nodded, Elaine sighing in relief and turning to them.
"I convinced him not to attack or try to kill any of you. They trust me, but they are still suspicious of you three, thinking you to be spies. So, his offer is this; they will escort us the rest of the way to the city of Silvith, but you must surrender your weapons and have your hands tied. It is the only way they would allow you to travel with us, and I told them I refuse to leave you behind, since you can't exactly go back."
Jack frowned, not liking it much but impressed by her courage. She could have left easily joined the elves and left them to their fates, or even had them killed. She was too kind hearted to do something like that, and refused to leave without them, even though they were vampires.
He saw the other two agree, although Drake had no weapons on him besides his fists, and Midnight told the elf that if they broke her bow she would break their arms, even though they most likely could not understand her. The warrior that spoke to the princess held his hand out, and Jack slowly took his sword from its sheath, hesitating to hand it to the elf. He did not understand what was said, and a small part of him feared being betrayed and killed while they were unarmed.
He saw Elaine place her hand over his, looking at him with confidence and nodding. He sighed, giving the warrior a cold look before handing his sword over against his better judgement. They then held their hands out, the elves pulling out ropes and tying their wrists together.
Disarmed and restrained, the warrior elf barked some orders in elven, a few of the elves running off ahead while they slowly made their way forward. Elaine, despite being back with her own people, had chosen to walk with them, looking concerned as they eyed their restraints.
"I'm sorry; I might be the princess, but with elves, I do not have the same authority my mother does."
"We are alive, unharmed, and are being taken to Silvith despite being vampires." Midnight said, her expression impossible to read behind her mask. "As Jack said yesterday, they could have simply shot first and asked questions later. I am more impressed by you knowing two different languages so well."
Elaine smiled at her words, taking the compliment well.
"We are allies with the Duluhan Empire, like you said before. My mother made sure I knew common as well as Falvelen, the language of the elves."
Midnight nodded, glad the queen finally decided to teach her daughter something she needed to know. Elaine looked at Jack, meeting his eye before looking away and playing with her hair.
"You looked...I don't know, upset maybe? Disappointed?"
He grunted, getting her attention before shaking his head.
"No, I am irked at having my weapon taken away and being tied up. But none of that is your doing, so stop worrying about it."
Drake chuckled behind Jack, leaning over and trying to join the conversation.
"He might sound grumpy, but he is secretly glad he did not have to kill anyone, as he didn't want to make you sad."
Jack responded by grabbing Drake's foot with his black liquid, making it solid and causing the giant vampire to trip and fall on his face. Elaine gasped, wanting to help but knowing she was not strong enough to lift the vamp, while Jack smirked beneath his helmet and Midnight laughed loudly at the sight. Drake was helped to his feet, shooting Jack a look before chuckling to himself.
While Jack was not fond of the situation they were in, he admitted to himself that he did not mind the change in pace from the day before. The elves knew the forest well, and they never ran into trouble. They no longer had to constantly be on the move, looking over their shoulders and wondering when an arrow or blade would be heading towards their backs. The elves would shoot them a look every now and then, and most kept their distance, but it could be worse. They were not beaten or dragged along, just tied up and forced to go at a walk instead of a jog or sprint.
Elaine never left their side, walking next to them and bugging Midnight with question after question.
"How long have you three been soldiers?"
"Since we were drafted at the age of eight. If there is a war, all vampires that are healthy are drafted from a young age to be trained."
"How long have you known each other?"
"We all grew up in the same city, and we are all the same age. Our parents knew each other, and I don't have any memories without one of these idiots in it."
"Who leads the Nation of Blood? Was there anyone before him?"
"The vampire that rules the Nation of Blood is Zillion Nomad, along with his vampett, Sylvia Nomad. There was one ruler before him, but all records of that are erased, and even I have no idea what it was like before Zillion took over. Like you elves, we do not die by age, so unless something kills him, he could rule for eternity."
This went on for the rest of the day and into the night, Jack surprised at how well Elaine and Midnight were getting along. Midnight was like a walking book, just full of knowledge, and she got joy out of two things; getting more knowledge, and sharing what she already knows. With Elaine, she got to do both, and they might as well have been friends for years with how they were talking with each other.
At nights, Elaine would join them still, Jack showing her different ways to improve her focus and how fast she could create spells. It had been a boring and tedious process when he was doing it, but he admitted that he enjoyed seeing the elf try everything out, improving at an alarming rate when she had a goal to work towards. This went on for the next two weeks, Elaine learning more about the world outside her forests, Midnight learning more about the elves, and Jack teaching the elf how to control her magic. Drake joked that he was being left out, and Elaine made sure to talk to him as well, feeling guilty when she did not need to.
Jack was amazed at how smooth things were going, and was even more amazed when they reached the gate to Silvith, a large wooden gate that had a guard on either side of it. The elven warrior turned to everyone, speaking in what Jack now knew was Falvelen. When he finished, most of the elves turned and left, with only a few remaining with them and Elaine.
Elaine turned to them, smiling and looking excited as she spoke with a twinkle in her eyes.
"He said he is going to take you to my mother and let her decide what to do with you. I will talk to her, and I am sure she will let you go."
Jack nodded, wishing he could be as confident as she was; he had never met this queen before, and had no idea what she was like. He had saved the princess and risked his life, as well as the lives of his friends, to bring the elf back home. Now all he could to was hope that the queen was kind enough to let him go, instead of lopping his head off for all the elven lives he had taken in the past.