Lily went outside her dorm wearing her uniform as she headed towards school. Along the way, she heard footsteps forming behind her. Before she could look back, a girl jumped her from behind.
As Lily fell to the ground along with the girl, the girl greeted her, "Good morning, Lily!"
"Olivia, stop greeting me like this already," Lily retorted.
"Sorry, did I make you mad already?" Olivia asked.
"A little. Anyway, I need to head to school immediately," Lily exclaimed.
"What's with the rush?" Olivia questioned.
"I still have to return this book I took from the library," Lily answered.
"I see. So, would you mind joining me at the back of the school after lunch then?" Olivia asked.
"Sure, but before that, I really have to return this book," Lily proclaimed.
Lily stood up and cleaned the dust off her skirt from the fall caused by Olivia. She then started heading towards the school again, with Olivia following her.
"You're quite popular, aren't you, Lily?" Olivia commented as she suddenly stopped walking.
Lily stopped as well, startled by Olivia's sudden halt. "What's with the sudden change of topic?" Lily asked, turning her eyes towards Olivia.
"Well, since you are popular, people are going to get easily attached to you. They will attempt to be your friend and then want to become your partner," Olivia replied.
"Partner? What do you mean?" Lily pressed.
"You see, being popular as a girl means men are going to come after you, most likely popular boys. Again and again, they will attempt to take your heart away. Slowly but surely, they will eventually achieve it," Olivia continued.
"It's—" Olivia started.
"Olivia, what are you on about?" Lily interrupted as she placed her hand on Olivia's shoulder.
"Olivia, I wouldn't be tangled with anyone except one person. This person is probably the one I will choose to be my partner someday," Lily explained.
Olivia blushed as she asked, "A-and who is this person?"
"Well, that's a secret for now. To be honest, I still cannot reveal her or his identity to you just yet. Anyway, let's keep going," Lily replied as she began walking again.
Olivia smiled as she looked up at the sky and replied, "Aren't I a lucky girl?"
As Lily took her seat after the school bell rang, the teacher had not yet arrived. She remained silent, reading a book, when a student approached her.
"Lily, good morning. How are you today?" the student greeted.
"Good morning as well, Aizen. I'm good," Lily replied, shifting her gaze back to her book. Aizen ran towards his friends, bragging about their quick chat.
"See that, guys? I had the guts to talk to her formally, unlike you who would probably pee your pants just talking to her," Aizen boasted.
"Pfft... I'll show you how to talk formally, dude," one of Aizen's friends replied.
"You're all talk, dude. If you're that confident, show us," Aizen commented.
"I'll show you," Aizen's friend retorted.
"You're going to be out of luck, Thenma," Aizen said as Thenma started walking towards Lily, who continued to read her book.
"Good morning, Lily," Thenma greeted.
"Good morning to you too, Thenma," Lily replied.
"Isn't the weather wonderful today?" Thenma remarked.
Lily shifted her eyes towards the window. "It is a wonderful weather outside, indeed," she replied.
"I see we—" Thenma began, but the teacher entered the classroom.
"It seems like you have to go back to your seat now," Lily calmly exclaimed.
"R-right," Thenma replied, turning his back to Lily.
Lily continued to stare out the window, lost in her thoughts. "It's been over five months since I left Xialdre and mother. After I went inside the portal Xialdre created, mother was sent to a different location. I was lost until this guy named Adam saved me. He helped me get to this academy. He has been a great help ever since my mother and I separated from Xialdre. Master Xialdre saved me from dying, but I still cannot forget about the death of my loving pet Sparrow."
"Currently, I don't even know where my life is headed since Sparrow's death. My life is full of plot twists that I cannot control. I was once a slave, a guardian, a slave again, and now a student? I don't get it. My life has turned more than twice because of this. I've become different persons over time."
"Well, before we get to my life now, we have to go back to the start, to the beginning of my life," Lily concluded.
*Flashback*
As Lily was birthed, Elara held her tightly, tears streaming down her face as her inmates helped her sit up.
"Elara, you have a beautiful girl," one of the inmates commented.
"Really, Elder Kate?" Elara responded, her voice weak but filled with awe.
Kate, once one of the Elders who ruled the Elder Tree, was now also a slave to the humans. The Elves at the Elder Tree had been enslaved by the human race for decades, and yet no one had come to save them—not even an attempt.
"What are you going to name her, dear?" Kate asked.
"Lily, after the lily flower," Elara responded, breathing heavily after giving birth.
"It's a beautiful name, dear," Kate replied.
"Thanks," Elara said, her voice full of gratitude.
When Lily was five, she was handcuffed to other Elven children and taken to the mines to work. Lily had already adapted to this harsh reality, knowing that weakness meant death.
As Lily stood in line with the other children, a girl tugged at her clothes from behind. Lily turned her gaze to this young Elf.
"Hi there," the girl greeted.
"Hi, can I help you with something?" Lily asked.
"Say, aren't you the most introverted one out of all the kids working here?" the girl remarked.
"I guess so. Why does that matter?" Lily questioned.
"Well, since we might have to live in this hell for a long time, I suggest you make friends with the others too," the girl suggested.
"When you say 'a long time,' you mean forever, right?" Lily exclaimed.
"Have some hope, girl. Did you forget? We're immortal in old age. There's still a chance we might see peace again," the girl replied.
"Have you seen that peace before?" Lily questioned.
"Um, not really," the girl admitted.
"Have you experienced that peace?" Lily continued.
"No, bu—" the girl started.
"That means you cannot really confirm if that peace actually exists, right?" Lily exclaimed.
"The world is made of dark and light, and we are currently living in the dark side of it. There is no path towards the light, did you forget? No one has managed to escape this Elderhell we're living in, and not even a single attempt at help has sparked through this hell," Lily concluded.
"You need to keep believing in hope!" the girl exclaimed.
"I've lost hope of that spark ever igniting because from the moment I was born, all I saw was darkness, not a single piece of light," Lily commented as she reached the front of the line and was handed her pickaxe.
They were led into a deep cave as the elf behind Lily began talking again. "My name is Ava. What's yours?"
Lily was about to answer when a human kicked ava in the chest. "SHUT UP!"
Ava fell to the ground, pulling Lily and the three others in the same chain with her.
"You pesky elf, stop talking and start walking!" the human exclaimed.
"Sir, she was walking as you expected. She didn't stop or hesitate. I understand your anger, but please stop this already," Lily retorted to the man who had kicked Ava.
"You lecturing me, little girl!?" the man blurted out as he unzipped his pants.
"Seriously, is this guy really gonna make me suck his dick!?" Lily mused angrily to herself.
As the man pulled out his dick, he gazed at Lily and said, "Lick it."
Lily felt disgusted as she grunted at him. Ava felt guilty about what was about to happen to Lily, while the three others chained with them felt pity.
"Sir, please stop. Let me do it. Just don't make her do it!" Ava exclaimed.
"Oh, I LOVE IT WHEN YOU ACTUALLY VOLUNTEER," the man exclaimed, throwing Lily to the ground as he walked towards Ava.
Ava trembled in fear as the man pressed his dick against her cheeks. "Uh, make me feel good!" he demanded.
"Of course, master," Ava replied, tears flowing from her eyes.
Lily stood up and watched as Ava grabbed the man's dick, giving him a hand job. "This is disgusting..." Ava thought as she started licking it.
The three other elf kids looked down, feeling pity and not wanting to get involved.
The man then grabbed Ava's head and forced her to take his entire dick in her mouth. "What am I doing? This is truly disgusting. Why, why..." Ava thought.
He forcefully made Ava suck his dick back and forth until he came inside her mouth. He then covered Ava's nose, making her swallow all of his sperm.
As he pulled out, he felt satisfied while Ava coughed continuously.
The man put his pants back on and continued to escort the five to the mining site.
Lily helped Ava stand up. "Lily."
"Huh?" Ava exclaimed.
"Lily, that's my name," Lily revealed.
"I see," Ava responded.
"Thank you for helping me back there," Lily said.
"Don't worry, that was nothing. Besides, I'm the one who started it anyway," Ava replied.
"That's true," Lily commented.
"Are you two okay?" one of the elves chained with them asked.
"Do we look okay?" Lily replied.
"Well, not really," the elf admitted.
"Then you already have your answer," Lily blurted out.
"Lily, you'll never make allies if you continue this attitude of yours," Ava retorted.
"Why do I need allies anyway?" Lily replied.
"For situations like what happened just now," Ava exclaimed.
"What do you mean?" Lily pressed.
"What do you think could have happened if I didn't volunteer myself to suck that human's dick just now?" Ava asked.
"I would have had to do it," Lily admitted.
"Yes, that would've happened," Ava said.
"But it wouldn't have happened in the first place if you weren't so loud," Lily exclaimed.
"Well—" Ava started.
"You started it, and it was only right for you to take the punishment," Lily interrupted.
"That's—" Ava began.
Lily sighed as she stared at the elf who was worried about them. "You're right, I'll take your advice."
"So, what's your name?" Lily asked the elf.
"I'm Kaela. What about you?" Kaela introduced herself.
"I'm Lily," Lily replied.
As the five reached their destination, more elves arrived holding their pickaxes, and they began mining for their food.
"Say, Lily, don't you think the world is unfair?" Kaela exclaimed as they continued to mine.
"Where is this coming from?" Lily asked, remaining expressionless.
"Well, you see, people who are born slaves and people who are born spoiled have different perspectives on the world, right?" Kaela commented. "Born slaves are meant to suffer and follow, and those born spoiled are meant to rule and be followed."
"It's unfair, clearly. It's impossible not to see it as unfair since the world is indeed not equal. Poverty wouldn't be exclaimed in this world as truly fair and equal to riches."
"Sometimes they deserve it, and sometimes they don't. No one knows, and sometimes someone does know."
"It takes a lot of authority to declare a rule that can never be broken, and for that authority, you'll need to achieve something in such a short time."
"I don't care what other people think. The world isn't equal, and that's the truth. The world hasn't been equal once, not even for a second."
"It's unbearable to see people suffer and others laugh at them. That's cruel, extremely cruel, and it takes a lot of words to stop it, but despite that, those words cannot penetrate. They might stop doing it to their victim because you told them off, but your words didn't penetrate their cruelty. And because you lectured them, you're going to be the victim."
"I see now why you wouldn't want anyone to be your friends, since sometimes they're not just help but also burdens," Kaela concluded.
"All you said is true. Though I cannot disagree and agree with some of your statements, such as declaring something," Lily responded.
"It's not just authority you need to declare a rule but also trust. You will need a lot of trust in people to make a rule or threaten them to approve your rule."
"Not everyone in this world can be a good leader. Some can make rules that cannot be approved, yet they are still forced to approve them."
"And anyway, we shouldn't be talking about those things right now since it will probably just make your mental health go berserk," Lily concluded.
"My mother is already dead," Ava blurted out.
Lily and Kaela turned their gaze towards Ava as she looked back at them, continuing to mine.
"My mother was killed by the children of the world we are currently living in, the race that is supposedly the most special and unique one out of all," Ava exclaimed.
"I saw her tears fall down her cheeks as I experienced extreme violence along with her. I was almost beaten to death while my mother was raped to death."
"I couldn't save her, despite it being all my fault why she was even being raped in the first place. And it was my own fault why she died. I deserved that extreme violence, and despite this grief, I continued to keep smiling."
"It is said that once someone very valuable to you gets departed from you forever, you lose the ability to smile. Then does that mean I don't care about my mother?"
"To be honest, I shouldn't even be shocked by how I ended up being rebirthed into this life, since in my past life I was never a good person," Ava revealed.
"Past life? What do you mean?" Lily questioned.