TBATE- A force to be reckoned with

The Elven royal family

After a long awkward ride, which I swear seemed a hell of a lot longer than it had been, we finally reached the castle, well more of a tree than a castle actually, made from white stone which probably was somehow petrified.

The interior was as impressive, two circular stairways created a circle with a floating chandelier at its middle. This chandelier was made of similar motes of light.

Arthur had informed the King and Queen that he would rather explain what happened before resting so that's what he did.

We were escorted to a rectangular table downstairs. The king sat on one end of the table while Art and me were seated at the other,  the Queen sat perpendicularly to the King with Tessia sat right beside her. The elder was sitting right across the pair which left a pretty wide gap between us.

With elbows resting on the table and fingers intertwined the king spoke, "Young ones, what did you say your names were?"

Before I could say anything Arthur spoke, "Forgive me for the late introduction. My name is Arthur Leywin and my companion here is my twin brother Fayden Leywin, we come from a remote town in the Kingdom of Sapin. A pleasure to make your acquaintance King, Queen, Elder, and gentlemen."

"It's an honor to meet the royal family" I said with a bow.

This level of maturity in both of us sported a look of surprise on the faces of the King, Queen and the royal guards, while the elder had an amused smirk.

After regaining his stoic composure the King continued, "You two seem more mature than I had assumed. My  name is  Alduin  Eralith  and  this  is  my  wife, Merial  Eralith  and  my  father  Virion  Eralith. We would like to know what happenes from your side."

And so Arthur began retelling what happened, how he got to the Elshire forest and  how he was separated from our family.

When he told them that he was a mage everyone had looks of utter disbelief, one of the guards branded him a liar and demanded proof that he was a mage when surprising elder Virion shut him up.

He explained how he got to the carriage and rescued the princess.

The King slammed his hands on the table and spat menacingly, "I should've known it was humans.."

At this I decided to speak up, " With all due respect the actions of a few slave traders do not define an entire race of people, if that was the case shouldn't Arthur rescuing the princess brand all humans as saviors of elves?"

"You dare-!" A guard spoke up only to be silenced by a withering glare from Tessia's grandfather.

"So you say these slave traders took my granddaughter and you as a child,what, negotiated with them, begged for mercy?" chimes in elder Virion.

"No Elder Virion, I eliminated them and rescued your grand daughter." Arthur responds.

After ending the explanation he asked the important question, "As I  have  mentioned,  it  has  been  almost  four  months  since  we  have  seen  our  parents.  We  do not  plan  to intrude  on  your  kingdom  for  long  as  We wish  to meet  them  quickly,  so  I  was wondering  if you  guys had  a  teleportation  gate that  could  take us  to the  City  of  Xyrus or anywhere  inside  Sapin."

Rude he didn't even discuss with me if I wanted to go back right now or not. Well my answer would've been the same anyways, as much as I wanted to stay and explore the elven city we have been away from mom and dad for too long and they probably think we're dead so it'd be best we leave asap.

"Wait, you're leaving already Art?" Tessia exclaims with a panic striken face, while the King and Queen had simar looks of bafflement.

Her grandfather however just gave a snide grin and chuckled.

"I  don’t  think  it’s  appropriate  for  a  human  such  as  us  to  be  inside  this  Kingdom  for too  long,  Princess.  Besides,  I  wish  to  make  sure  that  my  family  is  safe  and  tell  them  we're okay  as well,"  He replied,  with  a  sheepish  smile.

The King responds now, "It  has  been  a  couple  hundred  years  since  the  last human  has  stepped  foot  into  the  Kingdom  of  Elenoir  and  the two of you,  are  the  first humans to  be  in  the  capital  of  this  Kingdom,  the  City  of  Zestier.  However,  saving  our daughter  and  taking  the  trouble  to  accompany  her  all  the  way  back  to  us  entitles  you with  a proper reward…Unfortunately,  the  teleportation  gate  linked  with  the  Kingdom  of  Sapin  opens  only once  every  seven  years,  for  the  Summit  Conference  between  the  three  races.  Since  the last  Summit  was  two  years  ago,  it’ll  be another  five  years until  the  gate will  function"

I couldn't stop a sigh of disappointment escape my mouth.

"However,  we are more than willing to send a group of guards to escort both of you back home. You  are  indeed correct  that  it  may  not  be  wise  to  stay  in  this  kingdom  for too  long.  While  some are tolerant,  many  hold  animosity  towards  humans  because  of  the  war  long  ago." He finishes with a sorrowful smile.

Phew, while not as fast as a teleportation gate it was still something.

"Please make yourselves comfortable for now, we will prepare your escorts by tomorrow morning" he snapped his fingers and an old elf maid came and led us to our room.