[Aria's POV]
"Stop this, Aria!! I can't allow you to hurt anyone else anymore! " I heard the queen shouting while looking at me, worriedly. But why? I couldn't understand her at all. The next thing I saw was the eyes of everyone looking at me, full of hatred, full of anger. I could not comprehend what those sights meant. I was too busy thinking about things to understand them.
"I can't understand them at all,"I said to myself, in a low, raspy voice.
Why are they looking at me like that? They are looking at me like I'm some kind of monster. As if... as if I'm someone who should be dead right now. I kept thinking about it while my eyes continued to roam around those people. A look of puzzlement crossed my face when I saw some of them walking behind the queen, secretly taking a step back as if waiting for the right time to approach her.
What are they doing?
From a glimpse of mine, I could tell… I could tell, they're planning to do something!
"Aria! Listen to me! Don't do any damage from now on. Let's go home and have some good talk! Please, let's go home," the Queen begged, looking at me, hoping that I'd listen to her. She looked at my eyes as if she's begging at me. I could even feel the sincerity on it. But…there's something there.
I know it. There's a part of me that can't stop denying her. I could barely feel myself breathing. It's as if I could no longer feel my body. I looked at her again. I felt something fall off my eyes.
One drop of my tears.
I felt something touch my soul. As if, it was telling me to come back and stop doing any more damage. I saw how worried my mother was. Even my father, the Freyr beside me, was hoping for me to look at him. I could tell it by looking at my peripheral view. I could even see the other elves, lying on the floor, injured and bleeding.
Then I look at my hand, it trembles. I can't just ignore them. I knew how worried my mother was. I don't want to make them worry even more.
I don't want this in the first place either! I don't want this fight too!
I slowly bowed down, trying to figure out what to do, what to feel.
I don't want to see my mother crying. Or my father looking at me with worried eyes. Then a continuous flow of tears rolled down my cheeks, making me even more emotional. After a minute, I finally noticed that my tears were welling up in my eyes. I can't control it anymore. I immediately wiped it using both my hands. I sighed heavily, trying not to show everyone that I was crying in front of them. I slowly lifted my face and saw my mother, the queen, smiling at me.
"Mama," I called her.
Right now, I can't just stay like this. I know what I want. What I really wanted to do was to run toward her and get a warm hug from her. I was like a lost kid when I looked at her and saw the queen, still smiling. The queen happily spread her arms, waiting for her sweet daughter to run towards her.
"Come to me, darling," the queen said, waiting for me.
I smiled. I was about to take a step towards her when I heard someone shout.
"NOW!"
I immediately saw blinding lights from my sides that made me realise an attack was underway.
"AHHHH!!" the other elf shouted, charging at me while its hands were covered with light with some magical strong wind around her.
"You're mine now!" the other one shouted, smirking at me.
"Stop it!! NIENNA! LUTHIEN!" the queen shouted as she saw her two royal guards attacking me. But it was too late. I was startled at the sudden attack from the two, but somehow, I still managed to dodge them both. I immediately hop towards the pole near my direction and look down at them. Luckily, I avoided their attacks, but I could still feel the pain from the wounds it cost me in my right shoulders.
I looked at it and saw it bleeding.
[Third Person POV]
Everyone looked away when a loud crash burst with full power covered the whole area. They even felt the strong wind caused by the clashing of Nienna and Luthein's attacks. It didn't reach Aria at all; that's why it took the ground to fly into pieces.
Aria, who barely managed to land on the ground, looked at the explosion. Her heart was racing again, as if something was about to come out.
"Why? Why did they attack me? Is it really necessary? W-why are they looking at me like that? " She asked herself, confused while looking at the other elves' eyes. This time, she can't see her mother's eye anymore. She can't hear her anymore. All she can even think of right now is this heavy feeling inside her heart.
I was about to surrender. I was about to give in. But why? Why did they still attack me? Is that how much they hated me? Is it how much they want me dead?
She slowly looked at her hands. It was shaking, out of fear or maybe out of something else. Aria knows that there's a part of her that was happy when she saw someone attack her. In this way, she will have a reason to kill them all. A reason not to hesitate anymore. That there was some part of her that was about to come out.
She felt something strange thudding in her chest. She appeared to be staring through a fish-eye lens because of how her vision was altered. Her hands were still shaking from fear. She can hear her mother shouting, but she can't understand it anymore. Nor did she even care for it anymore.
She was deceived. That's all she can think of right now. A few clips of her memory suddenly played inside her head, and she saw her painful past. On how her real parents died in the hands of her kind. On how people looked at her when they learned that the queen had adopted her. On how they isolate her. She never had a friend. She was always alone. Only the queen and Freyr himself showed their love towards her. It doesn't seem to be enough. She wants some friends. She's seeking validation, to be looked at as an elf herself. She hates it when someone looks at her and calls her name, as if she were a dangerous monster.
Why?
Why are you like that?
I haven't done anything wrong. All I ever wanted was validation. All I ever wanted was attention. Is it bad to seek love? Is it something I will never receive from someone?
She kept her eyes shut as she felt a cold and dark feeling inside of her, as if it was trying to be unleashed.
If love is something exclusive only to selected people, then... it's better not to be loved by people. I will not feel guilty without it. I will not feel scared. Or ever felt guilty when I did a bad thing. I can stay on the dark and gloomy side of the wall. If love and care are something I will never feel, then it's better to be alone. In this way, I can be safe. Away from those judging looks. Away from those painful memories!
It was just a glimpse, but the queen herself saw something very dark inside her child. Something so cold, so dark. It's her first time feeling this kind of presence from someone. As if there was something that was possessing Aria. Even the King, the Freyr, came into action. He was nearer to Aria, and there is no way he didn't feel the same presence. With one glance, he already knew whose power was trying to be unleashed. It was from the Lord of the Dark Elves, Tenebris. It was said to appear hundreds of thousand years ago, and his late ancestor died just to kill this Lord of Dark Elves who spread despair and chaos throughout the kingdom.
That's why he was surprised to see the same thing in front of her. He immediately began chanting his powerful attack.
"Lumucto Padloceris," the Freyr whispered, and unleashed his offensive spell. His power shocked everyone, as they knew that the king had become so serious all of a sudden. It was their first time seeing Freyr use this spell, and it made them wonder why he would use it on his daughter. His raw power is more than enough to take down Aria; no offensive spell is ever needed. But the queen was not surprised at all, considering who was hiding inside their daughter.
But Aria, on the other hand, was now in despair. She can no longer think straight. She can't even control her feelings anymore. It only took a split second for her to notice a dark and frightening presence inside her.
"Good to see you again, A..RI...A," she heard someone say, using a deep and husky voice. She slowly looked behind her while her own body was trembling in fear. It was like they were inside her own consciousness and seeing someone who was inside her own body. Her eyes went round when she saw his face.
"Wh-who are you, monster!" she shouted and even fell on the ground when she saw a big and tall monstrous guy standing in front of him. But the latter just smirks at her, as if he was delighted by her reaction.
"Oi, oi. Why are you so cold, Ariya? Haven't we been together ever since you were born?" Tenebris said then slowly walked towards her. She was desperate to go away from him but his feet seemed to be glued to his position. She couldn't control her body anymore.
"G-go away! Mo-monster!" She shouted .She can't even describe the person in front of her until he charges towards her. It was so fast that she was not able to see him coming and for a split of seconds, she already saw him in front of her, holding her chin.
"Oh come on, Ariya? Aren't they bullying you? Why don't you let me fight for you then? Once they know our power, they won't be able to be seen as a loser anymore," Tenebris whispered to her ears, seductively. Aria couldn't answer him. She somewhat agreed to what he said, but… it's wrong. She knew it would happen but it's too late until she lost consciousness. At the same moment, she just felt that a dark power suddenly came out of her.
Everyone was frightened, and even the Queen herself took a single step back when she finally saw Aria unleashed the unknown power. Aria shouted that automatically cancels out the magic spell of the King. A strong wind blew up everything around them, and only the loud shout from Aria could be heard.
The queen looked at her daughter and saw her keep shouting while her magical power kept increasing in an incredible way. She knows. That is not just a shout, out of anger. It is full of pain, agony, confusion, and an extreme flow of power that her body can't keep up with. She can't feel anything for her daughter but to feel concerned. And because of that, she slowly took off her veil that was attached to her corset dress.
One of her people called her "Queen Aleessia."
"Step back, it's dangerous to be here anymore. Please step aside and don't engage Aria easily. She's someone you can't handle anymore," she said seriously.
They got so confused about what the Queen said. They were terrified while looking at Aria, who was now out of control and fighting off Freyr himself.
It was their first time seeing her in this way. They used to think of her as a frail and pale elf with nothing special about her. Aria is at the age of developing her magical powers, but there is no sign of her magic appearing. That makes her different from the others. And people used to ignore but usually bully strange creatures like her.
So just where and when did she get that much power? They can't stop themselves from wondering.
It only took a second when the Queen and the Freyr himself worked together, and Aria finally transformed into something else.
"ARIAAAA!!" Queen Aleessia called her before landing a powerful attack on her. And that was Aria's last memory of her mother, as she felt someone had taken control of her own body.