Richard looked as the small black shapes began to move closer. “Ze elfes vill come on pegasi,” Adalene explained, pacing around the ship. “Zey vill be coming for me, my guess is, most likely to bring me back for my public execution.”
“Which is bad, I’m guessing,” Richard said.
“Yes, it is very bad,” Adalene agreed, “If zey do not kill you ze moment zey see you I do not know vat vill happen. But vatever it is, you must not be seen by zem. I vill go vith zem, to save you from ze council. Zey’ve turned you away once, nearly killing you. I von’t let zat happen again.”
“No,” Peter protested, “We won’t let them just take you! Adalene, you are a queen. Surely some of them will listen to you.”
Adalene shook her head. “I am no longer zeir queen. Zey vill answer to ze council now, who already vant me dead as a baquilin on a callent’s back.”
“Dead as a wha-” Alice started, but Adalene just said, “Never mind.”
“How much time do we have until they get here?” Luke asked, looking as the black dots became slightly clearer, almost distinguishable as elfes on pegasi.
“I’d give it a few minutes at most,” Adalene said, continuing to pace.
“If the council wants you dead so badly, why didn’t they just kill you in the first place?” Helen asked.
“Because traitors to ze throne have public executions to make an example,” Adalene replied, “Now please, let me zink.”
But Helen was still confused. “Wouldn’t it just be smarter to have taken custody of you in the first place rather than let you leave and then go after you?”
Adalene stopped pacing and turned to Helen, her eyes wide. “You beautiful Hilgarian princess, you!” she shouted, snapping her fingers. “Of course! Vy vouldn’t zey have taken custody of me in ze first place? I vould be more defenseless vith ze entire kingdom against me, instead of sending a small squad of elfes after me! Zey can’t be coming to take me!”
“Then…why are they coming?” Richard asked.
Adalene turned to Peter. “You vere right, Peter, maybe some of my followers vill listen to me.”
Even if that was the case, though, everybody except for Adalene below deck.
Just like Adalene had predicted, the elfes were there in minutes. Their pegasi landed on the beach, while the elfes themselves boarded The Bowen.
“Adalene Raine Aubrey Maelie Diana, you are under arrest for treason against ze throne, harboring fugitives, and stealing government weapons,” said an elfe soldier, a girl elfe with black hair, icy blue eyes, and her curved sword drawn.
“Fae?” Peter whispered, turning to Alice, who nodded.
“What?” Luke whispered.
Peter explained that Fae had taken care of Peter and Alice when they were in the elfes’ care and that she had seemed nice at the time, although now she was trying to arrest her own queen.
“Fae,” Adalene sighed, “Vy are you doing zis? Remember all ze good memories ve had? Remember all ze battles ve von?”
Fae didn’t answer her question, and instead said, “I am afraid zat I have to turn you in, Adalene, you know vat ze council vill do to me if I do not, zey vill publicly execute me, vich is vat zey vill do to you.”
Adalene shook her head, sighing once again. “Alright, you may take me, Fae, I vill go vith you to ze council for my execution.”
“Not yet…” Luke whispered waiting for the signal, “Not yet…”
“Ze sun always shines on Iddenu,” Adalene said.
“Now!” Luke shouted, and they ran up to the deck, their weapons drawn.
The elfes were surprised, but there were only four elfes and six of them so they outnumbered them.
“Ze fugitives!” Fae shouted, pointing her sword at Luke.
“I don’t think so,” Luke laughed, and he disarmed Fae with ease. “Drop ‘em,” Luke told the other elfes, who immediately did what he said.
“Don’t tell me you guys are after us too,” Richard groaned. He hated how almost every country was after them to try to give them to Dueglestein.
“Ve are not,” one of the elfes answered, “Ze council is.”
“Then why can’t you make your own decisions?” Luke asked, “I mean if it’s a democracy shouldn’t the people make their own decisions?”
Adalene shook her head. “Ze council rules vith fear. Zey think zat if zey hide behind a monarch, ze people vill not suspect ze council, but ze monarch. Ze council used to help ze monarch to make ze right decisions, but ven I took over, zey thought zey could take advantage of me because of my age, but I am far viser zan any of zem could ever be.”
“Apparently not vise enough to make ze right decisions for your people,” Fae said, her voice bitter.
Adalene walked over to Fae, whose eyes began to fill with tears.
“My friend,” she said to the elfe, “I am sorry for vat I have done, and I hope you can forgive me,” Adalene pulled Fae into a hug, which Fae accepted after a moment.
They spoke in hushed voices, speaking elfeish so nobody could tell what they were saying except for the other elfes.
Adalene backed up, and Fae nodded.
“Ve vill help you, ve vill overthrow ze council and help you, but not ven you expect it, ve vill help you in your darkest hour, ven you need it most.”
Everybody exchanged quick goodbyes, and just as quickly as they had come, the elfes flew up into the sky, disappearing after a few minutes.
“Can anybody explain to me what just happened?” Peter asked, scratching the back of his neck, “Because I am very confused. Are they helping us or not?”
Adalene smiled a little. “Zey vill help us, but only in your darkest hour. Only ven you need it most. Zat vill be months from now, ven you are in Dueglestein.” Adalene had a sad look on her face, as if between now and then it would be a dark time for everyone.
Adalene snapped out of her daze and put her swords back in their hilts. “But now ve must go. Ve have been on zis island long enough and time is running out. Ve have three more veeks vorth of food left, and ve have made no progress to Dueglestein. Ve need to go. Now.”
“Not without me you’re not,” came a voice, and Ruby started to board The Bowen. She had a small bag slung over her shoulder, presumably holding all her belongings.
“Ruby?” Peter asked, crossing his arms. “What are you doing here?”
“I’ve been in this place for long enough, and I’ve felt so alone. I think it’s time I see other people again. Who knows? Adventure is always calling.” Ruby went below deck and came back with the bag no longer on her shoulder.
“And who said you were welcome?” Alice asked, crossing her arms as well.
“I did,” Ruby said matter-of-factly, “And I think you guys need somebody a little bit older to help you.”
“Excuse me?” Adalene exclaimed, “I happen to be-”
“I don’t wanna hear it, pointy ears,” Ruby said, putting a hand up to silence Adalene, “You’ve lived in a giant tree all your life, you’ve never been out in the real world. And trust me, you don’t want to.”
With that, Ruby walked to the bow of the ship and asked, “So where are we going?”
“We’re headed to Dueglestein unless you'd like to get off at any point,” Luke explained with a smile, just glad for the company.
“Please do,” Adalene muttered under her breath, and Richard snickered.
Ruby glanced at Adalene but seemed unnerved by her comment.
Luke sighed, still annoyed that almost everyone was fighting with each other. “Are we going or not? Because it seems like some people on this boat don’t want to be anywhere near each other and I don’t have the patience for another fight. We’re supposed to be working together, not fighting.”
Luke walked over to one of the oars and motioned for everyone else to get to their respective spots.
Nobody said a word, and they began to row away from the island.
Richard took one last look at it, taking in its pure beauty. He already missed the beach, the mountain, everything down to the smallest flower. He had a feeling that they’d never be there again, so he took a mental note of its beauty, wishing he would remember every detail about it for years...
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