"Welcome back, your highness."
The guards knelt down on one knee to greet me. I nodded and said: "Good work, leave it to us now. Go take a break."
"Understood, your highness."
The guards stepped aside to make way. I knocked lightly, but there was no answer. I sighed and pulled the door open. I stepped into the room floored with a luxurious carpet. This room is larger than mine. The left and right walls were covered with bark. Moss was covering the top of the bark in random spots. The light on the roof was no ordinary hanging light. It was like the moon outside, except on a smaller scale.
Mom's bed is made of rattan wood with silk layered on top. White curtains hung from the top. The air in her room carries the scent of flowers and fruits. Her room is what's considered an aesthetically pleasing room to elves. My room seemed to be the only room without anything to suggest it belonged to an elf. I guess mom was being considerate of the fact that I was a half-breed.
Mom laid silently on the bed in her night gown. Her beautiful body reflected the light of the moon. She looked so beautiful it was like she illuminated the moon instead of the moon illuminating her. Underneath her night gown was her sexy body. I didn't have any perverted thoughts as her body underneath the moonlight was spectacular. I was completely captivated by the beautiful scene before me.
Mom was still in her slumber despite the fact that she should be awake by now. The doctor begged on his knees, explaining that it wasn't his fault and that the medicine wasn't the cause of her deep slumber. He went on to explain that it was mom who didn't want to wake up, and therefore begged for mercy. I believed the doctor's words. Perhaps mom didn't want to wake up because she wanted to avoid everything.
Mom is choosing to sleep. It's not the effects of the medication that's keeping her asleep.
Was she still afraid? Was she scared of seeing me blaming her when she awoke? Surely she attacked Lucia out of impulse. And to be fair, it was because I was stubbornly trying to have my way. Mom is over-protective and spoils me excessively, but I understand where she's coming from. That's just a mother's instinct. I almost died once and still didn't change my ways, so as a mother, it's perfectly normal for her to get angry. I believe mom is regretting it right now. But she must be afraid of us blaming her and therefore avoiding us.
She's just like a little girl.
I knelt on one knee beside mom's bed and held her hands. Her hands are slender, bright as a pearl and warmer than a piece of jade. I held her hands tightly, looked at her beautiful face and let out a sigh. I understand mom's pain, and I don't want to see her blaming herself. I wish she'd wake up, but I don't know how to get her to wake up.
This is all my fault.
"Sorry mom. I don't know if you can hear me, but if you can, please wake up. It wasn't your fault, and we don't blame you, so please don't make us worry. I promise. I'll listen to what you tell me in the future, I promise…"
After I deal with the Earth Dragons, I promise I won't run around causing trouble again. Playing with Lucia in the palace isn't so bad. But I can't just give up now that I've come this far.
A voice suddenly came from behind. It was Lucia who was crouched down by the door. She opened the door slightly, and quietly asked me through the gap: "Has her highness not woken up yet?"
I gave her a nod, walked to the door and pulled it open. Lucia hesitated for a moment before she stepped backwards, and said: "Stop, stop, stop… Umm.. For me to enter her highness's room is a little…"
"It's fine, come in."
After I said that, I pulled her in. Lucia paused for a moment, and then removed her dagger from her belt, and her daggers strapped to her thighs. She then removed the small crossbow on her arm, removed the rope on her head which had small blades on it, and removed her shoes… When she took off her shoes, I noticed something sharp which reflected the light… Just how many weapons do you have on you?! I know you're a palace guard at night, but it looks to me like you're on an assassination mission!
After removing all her weapons, I held Lucia's hand and walked with her across the room. She walked on the carpet bare-feet and slowly approached mom. Lucia knelt down and when she saw mom's face, tears welled-up in her eyes as she gripped the bed sheet, grit her teeth and in a shaky voice said: "It's all because of me…"
"No, you didn't do anything wrong, Lucia. Didn't I tell you this morning? Mom's like this because of me. I was too stubborn. You were just following my orders. You're not my personal retainer, you're just my bodyguard. As a bodyguard, you don't have to take responsibility for your master's faults."
I grabbed mom's hand lightly and said with a smile: "Mom will be fine. I think mom will wake up once she thinks it through. We can't do anything other than stay by her side right now. She's my mother, so I won't blame her, nor am I in any position to, because she loves me most."
Lucia nodded, sniffled a few times and reached out her hand to touch mom's hand, and said: "Her highness… Your highness, your family has always looked after us, and her highness has always treated us kindly. You're so gentle, and… And… You accepted me… I… I… I'm really touched… I will continue to be your sword and shield. I promise to never let anything happen to you."
"I trust you, Lucia."
I looked at Lucia and rubbed her head. She smiled, walked to the door, bowed deeply and said: "Your highness, I have matters to attend to and must leave, so I shall see you later."
I nodded and said: "Alright."
Lucia equipped all her gear again before pulling the door open and leaving. I turned back to mom, still holding her hand as I looked at her face silently for a good while. Just a few days ago, I didn't feel any attachment towards her, this world, the men that died in battle or the prince. But right now, I'm the prince of the elves. I'm the elf queen's son. She may not be my mother, but she has showered me with infinite love. She hasn't been my mother for long, but why…? Why am I already so attached to her?
Is it because it's an innate response from this body, or have I become intoxicated with this unlikely-motherly-love? Do I possess an admiration for mothers like this? My previous mother was always away working. When she came home, she acted like a commando in the army, rarely showing me her kind-motherly side. Each time she showed her motherly side, I was moved to tears.
I felt motherly love here that I had never felt before. It's probably a combination of the innate wired instincts of this body and my own wishes. I don't want to live with the burden of the lie I told, and I don't want mom to live with the burden of the lie I told either. I could never forget the hazy face painted with overwhelming fear I saw when I first woke up.
I don't feel anything towards the men that died on that battlefield. But to Lucia, mom and the parents of those men, those memories would forever feel like they happened just yesterday. I'm a soldier so I know what it means when a comrade dies. They discussed politics together with the prince and all died in battle. I don't want them to disappear from history because of a lie I told.
I was hit with a sudden thought. I will annihilate those Earth Dragons. Since I came here, I need to do something. In novels and games, this would be considered my first mission as a newcomer, right? All the conditions were in place now. I firmly believe that I'll succeed this time.
"I'll bring you good news, mom."
I stood up, let go of mom's hand and looked at her face. I hesitated for a moment, but in the end, I bent my neck down and kissed her on her forehead. I turned around right after and it felt like my face was on fire. Mom's just so beautiful. Every step closer to her feels like a thousand mile journey. The world would slow down to admire her beauty. Her beauty is unparalleled.
I turned around and left her room. The guards silently watched both sides. I think it's safe to assume that Lucia's also looking this way from somewhere right now.
The palace has a place where books are kept. And said place is much larger than that elder's, although Lucia only told me this afterwards. These aforementioned books were only accessible to those working in the royal court. This place didn't just have books; many investigation files and many secret files were kept here. Only members of the royal family were allowed to access these. Some were off-limits for even royal family members.
However as the prince, I had no such restrictions placed on me. All the books here have a spell cast on them, so if someone without the rights touches them, the spells on the books will activate. When that happens, the book will bite your hand and alert the guards. I heard that one thief had his whole hand bit off, but I'm not sure if that's true.
"I'm surprised to see you here so late, your highness."
The librarian was old, so old that you wouldn't recognise him if he sat by a tree. I gave him a nod, and said: "I'm here to do some more research. Please provide me with maps of areas around the capital. The more detailed they are the better."
He gave me a nod and began reciting an incantation, and just like that, a small book appeared before me. Now that's nifty. This is niftier than a modern-day library search system. I pulled up a chair and sat down, and lit up my reading space with a green light. This map has got to be more than a decade old, right? It's so damaged it's basically ripped to shreds, plus, people have scribbled all over the map. I frowned and said: "Umm… Could you please give me a more recent map? This one is too out-dated. A lot of places on here no longer exist."
"If you are interested in the researching the changes within the city, then indeed, you need a more recent map. However, if you would like to research more about the areas close to the Imperial Capital, then this is the most applicable map. No major changes have happened around the capital in the last decade. We are not humans, so we do not just get up one day and start relocating or expanding our cities, nor would we destroy the forests on a whim."
He continued mumbling under his breath: "This is the map her highness used in the battle with humanity back then. It is extremely detailed and was drawn up by the Shadow squad. This is the most reliable map, that I assure you."
I flipped through while feeling uneasy about his confidence. Arrowheads were used to point out where the two armies mobilised. I found that the last battle was at the seemingly endless plains in front of the Imperial capital. By the looks of it, humanity attacked the elves position, which they successfully defended and followed up with by pushing humanity back.
Mom must've drawn this. It's old and the ink is fading, but I could envision the bloody battlefield that year. That year, humanity pushed their way to the gates of the Imperial capital. Behind the capital was a gully that looked you couldn't see the bottom of. With nowhere to run to, the elves were forced to fight to the death.
Mom set up three lines of defence, and the humans destroyed the first line, but were pushed back by the second line. I could tell the arrow used to indicate the human forces breaking our first line of was drawn in a rush. By the looks of it, it must've been quite the situation back then. It was a battle over me, and yet I'm stuck trying to find out what happened from these torn bits of paper.
What exactly happened that year? Why did a war break out between the two races? Why was I the catalyst for the war? Why was a war fought? What was the war like? I couldn't ask anyone since I was supposed to possess this knowledge. If I asked, then I'd be disrespecting all the people who died in that war.
There's no way I'd forget that war.
Ah, man, I didn't come here for this. I shook my head and removed the thoughts from my head, and I moved my gaze to the left of the capital. To the left of the capital was the Black Forest. A horde of Earth Dragons are roaming around there right now. I don't know what they're looking for but one thing's for sure: they're a violent lot who could attack the Imperial capital at any given moment. I need to find a place where I can set up the ballistae and not let a single dragon escape.
I need to find a plain… Wait, no. I need to find a valley, a narrow valley, one that would allow me to line up the ballistae and block off their escape routes. Then I need to lure them to the location and then I'll rain down on them with arrows. I need to find a place that fits all those conditions. The Black Forest's terrain was full of high-and-low places, so there's bound to be a canyon…
Found it!!
Towards the North of the Black Forest at the highest peak, a small crevice was drawn as a small and narrow path on the map. In other words, it's got to be a canyon in real life. If I can just lure them there, then I can kill them for sure!
"Thank you! I need to take this map with me, but I'll return it in a few days -time!"
"Sure, your highness. Please be careful not to damage it. This map was made in the last war, and therefore is extremely precious. Please take care of it."
"Alright, thank you!"
I'll go there tomorrow! I'll go pay a visit to those Earth Dragons' future-graves!!