Leeora arrived at the palace to get the human girl with her. When she entered the guest room, she saw the frail girl sitting on the floor, with her back resting on the side of her bed, her arms hugging her folded knees.
Seeing her appearance, Leeora didn't feel pity. No, what she felt was surprise.
The human girl was coated with dirt, and the skirt of her white dress was torn at the edges, as if she rolled and crawled somewhere and didn't pay attention to her surroundings.
Leeora went to her and kneeled in front of her. "My child, what happened to you?"
The silent girl raised her head at the sound of that gentle voice. Her beautiful eyes observed the familiar older woman in front of her. From the moment this older woman showed her magic and fed her, she was no longer wary of her. She reminded the girl of a particular person who was very dear to her, someone who she knew really well and wished to see at this strange unfamiliar place.
Not expecting to get any response from her, Leeora checked her bandages that were misplaced and observed her wounds. "Once I take you to my place, I will make sure all these wounds will heal as if they never existed. I am already preparing elixirs for you, though I am not sure how effective they are for the human body."
Looking at her dishevelled appearance, Leeora left out a helpless sigh. "Did you go out to the garden, little one?"
"She indeed went out to play."
At the sound of this slow yet dignified voice, the human girl flinched and sank back, looking as if she would hide under the bed again.
Leeora looked at Draven who appeared by the doorway. "I am sure Sire had allowed her to play."
"To her heart's content, until she's left with no energy to play," Draven replied as he eyed that female creature who looked at him with both fear and anger in her emerald green eyes.
Leeora knew the human girl was scared, thus she reassured her. "Do not worry. I will be taking you with me to my home."
Those lovely green eyes brightened up at those words.
Leeora offered her hand. "Let's go then."
The human girl stared at that wrinkled hand as she chewed her lips with reluctance. Seeing the patient smile on the female elf's face, her hesitation lessened. Slowly, she released her arms hugging her knees and put one hand on top of Leeora's palm.
Seeing how easily the elf coaxed her, the pair of red eyes owned by the devil darkened. Last night, he did the exact same thing, but this creature not only disrespected him by not taking his hand, she also had the audacity to be openly suspicious of his goodwill. Didn't she know that if he truly wished to harm her, he didn't even need to touch her? All it would take was a mere thought from him.
The girl stood up with Leeora and was ready to leave with her, which made him narrow his eyes at her.
As if she could sense that dangerous gaze on her body, the human girl hid behind Leeora.
"Sire, we will be leaving then," Leeora said helplessly. If Draven wasn't the King, she would have scolded him for scaring the poor girl. "I have made arrangements for her where she will find herself comfortable."
"Are you implying that she is not comfortable in my palace?" he asked with a sharp tone.
Leeora simply smiled. "I believe that Sire knows the answer to that question better than me."
Draven glanced at that human hiding from his sight for the last time and turned around to leave, but he stopped after taking several strides. With his back facing them, he added some parting words.
"If she tries to run away again, it would be the last time she would see her legs."
The girl instinctively held onto Leeora's hand after she heard what the devil said. Her shaken gaze continued to follow him until he disappeared from her line of sight.
Leeora patted her hand. "Don't worry. He just loves to threaten people, but he has a good heart."
As soon as she stepped out of the palace, the human girl was greeted with the breathtaking sight of a magical creature with impressive antlers. It was a brown stag the size of a horse, its gait majestic as it waited for its owner to approach. Upon closer look, its black eyes showed gentle wisdom and it let out a soft call seeing the elf and human approach.
"Lusca," Leeora called out, "come and meet a new friend."
After gesturing for the stag to lower its body, Leeora took the human girl and gently lifted her thin body to ride the Stag. To the girl's surprise, the brown fur of the stag was incredibly soft and shiny, and the movement of the stag under her was graceful and lithe. Even though there was no harness, she didn't feel discomfort at all.
"This is my animal companion, Lusca." The High Elder of the Wood Elves smiled, seeing the awe on the girl's face as she caressed the fur of the stag. "Let us bring you to your new home, little one, where you can freely play with Lusca and meet more forest friends."
The human girl showed a small shy smile as she nodded.
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Do check the image of Stag in the comment section that the human girl rode on.