«...» spreak
"think"
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___POV Hecate___
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« Im... Impossible. You... you must be lying » murmurs the queen of the wood elves.
« I never lie » I declare proudly, looking the queen in the eyes.
« I don't believe you. I'm sure you're lying and no one can lie without my knowing. It must be your hood that prevents me from seeing your lie, take it off !» she orders.
" Damn it. I should have kept my big mouth shut "
« No... No need. Trust me, I never lie and I.… » I try to say before the queen interrupts me.
« Only I will determine if you're lying or not. Now, remove your hoods»
« But... » Chiyoko starts, but she is also interrupted by the queen
« Remove their hoods» she orders to her guards.
Before we can react, I feel my hood being removed from my head. Then, I hear everyone shouting « HUMAN!» or « SPIES! WE MUST KILL THEM !»
Everyone in the room wants to kill us, and I can even see the guards who have drawn their swords from their scabbards and are approaching us with the clear intention of killing us.
« Everyone calm down!» the queen orders calmly but loudly enough for everyone to hear.
With her order, everyone complies and the room falls silent.
« Well, now, did you lie to me ?» asks the queen with the same expression as before.
« N..No» I stammer, shocked to see that the queen is not at all perturbed by the fact that we are humans and not elves.
« MMmmm. I can see that you're not lying. But tell me, why are humans in our territory?»
« We... We wanted to become adventurers to earn money for our project. But we changed our plans since we couldn't become adventurers and when we wanted to leave, we got lost and here we are »
« Why not become adventurers in your own country ? Are you criminals ?»
« I am considered dead. As for my friend, she is accused of a crime she did not commit» I explain our situation to the queen.
« What crime is she accused of not committing?»
« She is accused of murdering her father» I say, receiving an elbow nudge from Chiyoko who is clearly unhappy that I'm telling our entire story, but well, if we want to get out of this, we don't have much choice.
« Why then do people think she murdered him?»
« Uhhh. I think it's more appropriate to ask her»
« So, why?» she asks, looking at Chiyoko before silence falls in the room again.
After 30 seconds of no response from Chiyoko, I look at her to understand why she isn't answering.
When I see her, I quickly notice she doesn't know what to say. I'm sure her brain is smoking, but she needs to answer quickly, or we'll be in trouble. And that's why I'm going to help her.
« Just tell the truth» I say loud enough for only Chiyoko to hear.
Following my advice, Chiyoko finally breaks the silence and speaks up.
« My father, the king of Nitis, was killed shortly before I entered his office to share information about my friend. As I held him in my arms, that damn hero, the one who killed my father, came and called the guards. Since then, I've been considered a criminal by my own people because of that bastard. And if you want to know what our project is, it's to kill him» declares Chiyoko with a hatred I can clearly feel.
« I see. My spies informed me a few months ago that the princess of Nitis had killed her father to avoid marriage. But I think this information is only half true since you are not lying» says the queen of the elves.
« As for you, why are you considered dead in your land?» she asks, looking me in the eyes.
« Because his father killed me by throwing me into the river that runs through the capital» I say nonchalantly.
After my statement, I can hear many people being shocked. I don't know if it's because of how I said it or the fact that a king killed me by throwing me into a river. And from the queen's look, even she is a bit shocked, but she quickly composes herself.
« You know, I've heard of a summoned hero who was knocked out and thrown into the river after the real hero spoke ill of her. I guess you're that unfortunate hero?» she questions.
« Yes»
« I've come across some unique cases today. You said your goal is to kill your executioner, but once done, what will you do?»
« I will return home» I reply without hesitation.
« I will do everything in my power to stop all unnecessary wars» Chiyoko answers.
« Oh, a noble goal to stop all unnecessary wars, but what do you mean by unnecessary?»
« All that concerns race»
With these words, the queen is truly shocked. I think she never expected this answer and I can understand why. Even I am a bit shocked. I knew she wanted to stop the war with the demons, but to say she will stop all discrimination against races, I did not expect that.
« You have a lot of ambition and your goal is very noble, but I think you forget the fact that all races hate each other. It's not just humans» the queen declares.
« I know, but there has to be a start somewhere. If everyone hates each other, it forms a vicious circle, but if one part of the circle breaks, I'm sure all this unjustified hatred will fade away» Chiyoko replies with a voice full of ambition.
« Seen from that angle, it seems possible. Personally, I have no hatred towards the races, but my subjects are not all of the same opinion. Finally, as you said, we must break this circle. I would like to lend you a hand with this project»
« I thank you, queen of the elves. But before undertaking this noble objective, we must first eliminate the vermin»
« Isn't there a saying that the enemy of my enemy is my friend? I will also help you eliminate him»
There, we are the ones who are shocked. I expected everything but this. The queen of the wood elves is not going to kill us, but she is also going to help us! What's the catch? I must investigate!
« May... May I ask why you want to help us?» I ask, perplexed.
« Because this so-called 'hero' has declared war on the wood elves»
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___author's note___
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Hello, it's been a long time
How are you all?
I hope you enjoyed this chapter despite it being a little short.
It was quite difficult to do (and my exams didn't help) and the ending was a bit unexpected but I'm quite happy with it.
If you have any ideas for the story, write a comment!
On this, see you soon