Chapter 297 - Interlude: Lianne

"SIGH! When will this end?" Lianne slumped down on the table. 

There was a mountain of paperwork for her. She was a free woman, she never liked to be stuck in one place, but for love, she changed. 

'Just hurry up and get back already.' Elves were a patient race. After all, they lived for a thousand years. But just this once, Lianne couldn't find the patience in her heart. 

And she wholeheartedly believed that the man she was in love with was going to succeed and come back to her. 

There were two large black spots beneath her eyes and it was past midnight but- she didn't have time for sleep. After all, there were so many things that needed to be resolved. And she had a promise to keep.. 

KNOCK! Knock! "Your highness, you have a letter."

"Come in. From whom?" 'And at this hour?'

"One of Lord Daarc's comrades. The one named Alisa." A maid came inside the room.

"Not from Daarc himself?" Lianne was a bit disappointed but since she received a letter, she found herself smiling despite everything.

***

Lianne's early life had mostly been boring. When she was born, there was a bit of power struggle in the kingdom of Alfeim and by the time she was old enough to understand things, her father was already in the process of turning into something hideous and didn't have long. 

Though it wasn't long in elven years, in human years, she got to spend roughly 400 years with her parents: if she was a typical elf, she would have already been a middle-aged lady. But due to the curse, she was nothing more than a teenager. 

Both her parents were loving and though the power struggle existed, it wasn't something she had to concern herself with. 

Her siblings and cousins treated her well: all the elders favored her too: she was loved. Her youngest sibling was a bit too attached to her, but for some reason, she didn't like the kid.

As time passed and she trained in etiquette, one of her important birthdays drew nearer. 

A day of victory drew near but it also brought thousands of conspiracies. The house Reraine was filled with traitors and the biggest one was the brother of the king. 

***

On Lianne's 416th birthday, there was a massive party in the grand hall of Alfeim castle. It was a special year and a special age for elves. They'd just won the battle with the humans and secured themselves a new land. And the king's daughter just entered her mid-teenage years. In just 80 or so more years she'd be ready to conceive and potentially be married. It was a grand occasion.

But now- the king wasn't a king anymore. He was now an emperor and he declared that he'd take over the rest of the continent in the honor of his youngest daughter's birthday: of course, that was just a farce and he'd already set his eyes on the continent from the start. Almost no one but Lianne was surprised. They all knew this was coming and because of that- this party was a trap. A trap set by his own brother.

The emperor's brother, along with some of the generals and the elders made a grand plan. They even had the backing of some powerful nobles. And this was the perfect opportunity as the emperor was at his most defenseless state.

Of course, the emperor didn't know that. Nor did he suspect anything. Perhaps he trusted his family a bit too much.

"NOW!" with just one scream the whole grand hall ended up being a bloodbath. 

The royal nobles were murdered and so were the guards. 

"Elandor, you-" The emperor was speechless for a second but his rage boiled the very next. "Gather up arms!"

But no soldier listened to the emperor. 

The emperor's brother took the initiative and usurped the throne. That day, all the princes fought and one by one fell. 

"Damn you! I trusted you!"

Their swords clashed. 

"I too had trusted you brother but- you chose your desires over everything. This land doesn't need you anymore."

Elandor was the master of fire while the emperor was the master of ice. 

The emperor was stronger than his brother. But he was bested. 

His sword fell on the floor and fell on his knees.

He was said to be the strongest elf alive, but his curse was too strong and as he fell in battle that day, he cursed his brother's bloodline. "May you rot along with your kin!"

But he didn't possess enough mana to make the curse as potent as his or that of his children. 

"Unfortunately, that'd be you and your kin!" He'd shoved his sword down the emperor's throat but- the emperor had only passed out, still alive. 'Monster!'

"Father!" No one heard Lianne's scream that day, no one cared.

***

The emperor's brother, ELandor, took over everything and exiled all the remaining princes and princesses and he was going to exile Lianne and her little brother too. 

But Anasia, the empress stood in his way. Anasia was one of the late emperor's mistresses and she only bore him two children.

Elandor loved Anasia and though Anasia wasn't cursed or anything, just because she was with the emperor it was very hard to convince the elders to not exile her, let alone her daughter. 

SO, the new emperor- Joey's father, made up another rule and exiled all the elders and the generals. He also married Anasia and made her the new empress. The whole country was in shock and an era of civil unrest began. But Elandor silenced everything as he portrayed the good of Anasia and in time people accepted her.

Though Elandor's wives and concubines hadn't and they made sure Anasia was always treated terribly whenever their husband wasn't paying attention. 

Of course, Lianne didn't understand any of it and just cursed her uncle. To her, her uncle was nothing but a monster. A monster that destroyed her family and a monster that took everything from her. 

But she had her mother by her side and some of the new princes treated her well. She was not satisfied with that but- she didn't have a choice. 

But- at the age of 477, she lost her mother to a deadly disease: the disease of the mind. 

Her mother too had contracted a bit of the curse. But she never let anyone be aware of it. But instead of being turned into a goblin like monster, she chose her death. Her complexion was already weak and her curse was at its peak- so the holystone in the treasury worked as poison and she died. Of course, she didn't want to resort to that, but after hearing taunts and accusations against her character for almost half a century, she was at her limit.

"Forgive me, my children. Live-" Were her last words to both of them. She was selfish but- she loved her children.

Lianne was devastated. She didn't leave her room for seven months. But during that time, she wasn't just sitting in a room, crying. Gradually her mindset changed and her rage just grew. 

'To hell with this curse and this place!'

She ditched her dress, stole a garb from the treasury, and ran away from home. 

She was finally free.

She knew a bit of swordsmanship and because of that, she stole a sword from one of the guards. 

But since it was too heavy, she just kept it as an ornament and used a wooden bow instead. 

The capital was in great shock due to the loss of the empress. As the people inside the court only made accusations against the empress, Elandor made her public image just as brilliant and shining. So the loss of the empress was devastating. Which in turn bred chaos. 

Lianne didn't know how to use a bow but she eventually got out of the capital. Since the whole place was in chaos, it wasn't that easy to run away: and it took her a whole month. She had to sell some of her ornaments for money but- she'd already decided to go down this path.

But just outside the capital was the great forest. A vast forest protected by a demi-god.

She knew she wouldn't be followed. After all, she was the child of the late emperor and with her mother gone, she had nothing left. No one cared about her.

***

Once out of the great forest- after being lost for one whole year- she finally breathed fresh air. Only to realize she was being tailed. 

"What are you doing here?" She turned around. 

This past year was nothing but excitement to her. She'd been locked up for too long. She'd suffered enough. 

So, living alone in the forest was brought fresh air in her life. It was tough living alone and her hygiene had suffered slightly for it, but she liked being free. 

"Not much. Seeing you make so many mistakes is kind of fun." The boy giggled. He was about three inches shorter than Lianne but about a hundred fifty years younger. He was in his early teenage years. He still had his boyish charm.

"What do you mean!?" Liane was flustered. 

As fate had it, the boy actually saw her get out of the castle and since he was at the mischievous age, he followed her out. Sometimes he even brought her food but made it look like some animal had stashed food or something. 

He even made sure to deter any guards that might or might not have come searching for them. The forest was big, and it was easy for a genius like him to do so. Of course, no one actually bothered to issue a search for the two missing former royals. After all, the emperor, Elandor was too grief-stricken. Though he never spent the nights with his beloved Anasia, he still loved her and he was deeply hurt. One could say, Elandor took over Alfeim for the sake of one woman but still couldn't get her. 

Though the boy did this for a whole year, to an elf, even a decade or two weren't that long. And besides, it was fun. And the young girl was his only family. 

"Go back, I'm going somewhere."

"Where?"

"I don't know."

"I'm not going back without you. It's been too boring since mother died." And since last year was so fun, he didn't want to leave his sister's side.

"Don't act so chummy!" Lianne glared, eyes glimmering. "Go back!"

"I know. but-" The boy looked ahead. "I loved her too." And he had nothing else waiting for him back at the capital. "You're coming back with me."

Lianne clicked her tongue and just walked on. "Whatever." She didn't look back.

The boy just followed her without a word. He had a bow and a knife and a head full of dreams.

And so, an epic journey began as the two elven siblings marched out of their homeland.

At least for the next half an hour, and after that, Lianne finally realized, just how different the great forest and the rest of the world was. 

She'd encountered her first goblin!