Thanks to the girl accompanying me, it was easy to obtain the medicinal herbs I needed, and then we went to the witch's house. It was a long and perilous quest, as the herbs grew in dangerous places, infested with monsters and traps.
We arrived at the witch's house in the late afternoon, exhausted from this challenging day. I opened the door to the witch's house and turned head towards Julie and Jade, who were eating.
They had prepared a feast with the provisions Julie had bought, and they seemed to be having fun as if nothing had happened.
"While I was suffering, this is what you do," I said, a little irritated by Julie and Jade.
Julie had refused to accompany me on my quest. In reality, they had spent the day resting and entertaining themselves.
Jade approached me but didn't immediately notice there was someone beside me. I opened the bag and handed all the ingredients to Jade.
"Thanks, I really didn't feel like fetching all this," Jade said, then she entered one of the rooms and handed me a potion.
"Drink this, and your stomach wound should heal, but there will still be a scar," Jade said, and I looked at her somewhat surprised.
The potion had been there all this time, and she had sent me to fetch ingredients for her. I sighed heavily and opened the potion to drink it.
I felt a strong effect on my body, and when I lifted my shirt, I saw that I no longer felt pain, but there was a scar on two of my abs.
"Aaliyah, who is this girl you have with you?" Julie asked, taking a sip of wine.
The girl stepped out from behind me, and Jade looked at her gently before kneeling.
"Your Majesty, what are you doing here?" Jade said, and at the same time, Julie spit out what was in her glass.
"What is the elf princess doing here?" Julie almost shouted.
So this girl who came with me was the princess of the elves. Yet I felt almost no powerful magic emanating from her when I met her. She only wore a simple green dress and a silver pendant around her neck.
"My name is Alaxandra and I'm the only daughter of the elven king. It's a pleasure to meet you," said Alexandra, leaning forward slightly. She smiled warmly and extended her hand to me. I shook it politely, feeling a faint tingling sensation.
Julie and Jade were currently whispering to each other, their eyes wide with disbelief.
I turned to Alexandra, who looked very happy to be here. She was admiring the paintings on the wall, the plants on the windowsill, and the candles on the table. She seemed to appreciate everything with a childlike wonder.
Suddenly there was an explosion outside the house and the ground began to shake as objects in the house began to fall. We heard screams , and the lights flickered. We all jumped from our seats and ran to the window.
"No, that was one of my favourite vases," said Jade before opening the door in fury at whoever it was. Jade wasn't going to be nice to them.
I hurried to see what was going on and there outside was an army of elves with swords, bows and arrows. From the looks of it, I'd say there were at least a hundred elves. They wore green and brown cloaks, and some had helmets with horns. They surrounded our house, shouting and waving their weapons.
I took a good look at the elves and I saw that there was a man with a crown, he must have been the king of the elves and he was red with anger. He had a long beard, a hooked nose, and a scar on his cheek. He pointed at our house and yelled something in a language I didn't understand.
Jade closed the door before walking away.
"We're going to die", said Jade with a nervous laugh.
The elven king marched towards our house, followed by his soldiers. He banged on the door with his fist, making it shake.
"Open up, you filthy kidnapper! I know you have my daughter in there!" he shouted.
Jade opened the door, she was shaking really hard. She looked at the king with a defiant glare.
"Who are you calling a kidnapper? We don't have your daughter, we have a guest. And she came here willingly, unlike you and your army of trespassers," she said with absolutely no confidence.
The king pushed Jade aside and entered the house. He scanned the room, looking for Alexandra. He saw her sitting on the couch, next to me. She was holding my hand, smiling sweetly.
"Father, there you are! I was so worried about you," she said, getting up and running towards him.
She hugged him, then turned to me and pulled me along.
"Father, this is Aaliyah. She is the one who saved me from drowning in the river. She is my hero, and I love her with all my heart. We are going to get married, and you are going to give us your blessing," she said.
The king looked at me with a mixture of shock, anger, and confusion. He couldn't believe what he was hearing and me too. What the heck was Alexandra saying.
"What? What are you talking about? You can't marry this... this demon! She is not one of us, she is not worthy of you. She must have bewitched you, or forced you to come with her. She is a kidnapper, and I will not allow this madness," he said.
He tried to pull Alexandra away from me, but she resisted.
"No, father, you are wrong. Aaliyah is not a kidnapper, she is my savior. She risked her life to save me, and I owe her everything. She is kind, brave, and beautiful. She is the only one who could make me happy. And she loves me too, don't you, Aaliyah?" she said, turning to me with hopeful eyes.
I felt a surge of panic. I didn't know what to say. I had only met Alexandra a few hours ago, and I had no idea she felt this way about me. I didn't love her, I barely knew her. I was just trying to help her, and now I was in the middle of a mess.
I looked at Julie and Jade, hoping they would help me. But they were too busy laughing at the situation. They found it hilarious that I had accidentally attracted the attention of the elf princess, and that I was now in trouble with her father.
I looked at the king, who was glaring at me with hatred. He looked like he wanted to kill me.
I looked at Alexandra, who was staring at me with love. She looked like she wanted to kiss me.
I didn't know what to do. I was trapped between a rock and a hard place.
I opened my mouth, trying to find the right words.
But before I could say anything, the king spoke.
"Fine. If you insist on marrying this demon, then I have no choice but to accept it. But on one condition. You must prove yourself worthy of my daughter, by passing a series of tests. Only then will I give you my blessing. And if you fail, you will die. Do you accept?" he said.
I felt a chill run down my spine. I didn't like the sound of that.
I looked at Alexandra, hoping she would say no.
But she nodded eagerly, and squeezed my hand.
"Yes, father, we accept. We will do anything to be together. Right, Aaliyah?" she said.
I felt a knot in my stomach. I didn't want to do this.
But I had no choice If I said no I could die.
I nodded weakly, and tried to smile.
"Right, Alexandra. We will do anything," I said with a fake smile.
The king smiled wickedly, and clapped his hands.
"Very well. Then let the tests begin. Follow me, and prepare to face your destiny," he said.
He turned around, and walked out of the house.
Alexandra dragged me along, and followed him. Julie and Jade watched us go, still laughing.
"Good luck, Aaliyah. You're going to need it," they said.
I felt a wave of dread wash over me. I had a feeling this was going to be the worst day of my life.