Chapter Fourteen: Facing Reality

Jack sat next to Midnight and Drake, frowning as he fidgeted with the fabric of the new shirt he was wearing. Before she went to bed, Elaine complained that all three of them smelled terrible, and showed them to the public baths and got them clothes to change into. While Jack was grateful for something cleaner to wear, the fabric felt too light for his liking, and he swore it was see through.

He was pulled from his thoughts when the queen cleared her throat, standing up and looking at all of them one by one. It was the next morning, and the queen had gathered them along with some elders and the head warrior to her little throne room, which now had a large table and chairs in the center of it for them to sit at. Jack recognized the head warrior as the one that brought them back, and was surprised when the elf nodded to him, showing respect instead of fear or hate.

"Now that everyone is here, I will begin by speaking the honest, grim truth."

She looked at Elaine before the other elves, her smile being paired with grief filled eyes as she continued, her voice filled with her emotions for her people and what was coming for them.

"Our only allies, the humans in the south, have not responded to any calls for aid. The vampires are getting closer and closer every day, burning down most of our forest and weakening us. We are running low on supplies, warriors, and morale, and I fear there is no longer much we can do except fight to the last elf."

Once she was finished, the weight of her words sinking in, she repeated it in Falvelen for the elders. The room was silent when she was done, everyone pondering what she said, and the queen turned to Elaine, her smile growing wider as her eyes filled with love.

"But hope is not completely lost. As long as one of the royal family lives, carrying the magic only our family knows, then the elves are not finished. I have lived for thousands of years, watching over the forest as I danced among the flowers and laughed, but Elaine is still young, and has not gotten the chance to fully enjoy life. I refuse to let anyone snuff her flame out, so once the army reaches here, I will have her flee to the south."

Queen Anastasia snapped her fingers, and from outside the room someone walked in and got down on one knee. Jack was surprised to see a dark elf, thinking that none of them still lived. The dark elf had short white hair that stopped just below her ears, with dark skin and bright orange eyes. She wore a different clothing than the other elves, and it was clear by how muscular she was that she was a warrior.

"Noelle is one of the few remaining dark elves, and has protected me for many years. I do not know what has befallen the Empire of Duluhan, but they must be warned, as Zillion Nomad will most likely set his sights on the human empire next. Noelle knows of a hidden place past the empire in the south, and while she does not wish to leave me and the rest, she has swore that she will take the princess here until she can learn what has happened to our ally."

The dark elf stood up, nodding her agreement; her eyes were nearly tearing up, and it was clear that she did not want to leave the queen's side. Queen Anastasia turned to Jack, her emerald eyes looking through him once again as she spoke to him.

"Jack Benson, you and your friends have thrown away everything you knew to save my daughter and bring her here. I know it is selfish of me to ask more of you three, but I must. Would you be willing to continue protecting Elaine, and travel with her to the south? This is a request, and you are free to decline."

Jack turned to his friends, hearing someone translate what the queen said into Falvelen for the elders. Drake grinned, nodding without hesitation and needing no words. Midnight was less certain, slowly nodding as she went through her options in her head and found nothing better. Jack slowly stood up, hoping that his chest was not visible beneath this thin fabric he was wearing.

"Queen Anastasia, we would be honored to continue protecting her. To be blunt, we do not like the idea of fleeing the city to leave you to fend for yourselves. But if you want us to make Elaine the priority, we will."

The queen nodded, Jack sitting down as one of the elders stood up and began protesting in Falvelen, his tone sharp as he shot glances at them and Noelle the dark elf. The queen listened patiently until he finished, and when she spoke, her voice was low and soft, barely a whisper. The elder took a step back, seeming shocked, before slowly nodding and sitting back into his seat.

The queen turned to her head warrior, her expression growing serious as her smile faded.

"Bolin, how many of our warriors remain? Is there any chance of holding them off?"

The head warrior slowly stood, bowing his head with a grave expression on his face.

"We have less than eight thousand healthy warriors left. The last battle was costly to us, and I doubt we could hold them off for very long."

The queen sighed, nodding and looking at everyone at the table.

"That is the situation. The warriors will continue to attack the army and slow them down as much as they can. When the time comes, we will evacuate the citizens and make our final stand here. I expect my daughter to be out of the city and far gone before the city falls. My the goddess watch over us all."

The queen finished, her tone somber as the others got up and left the room. Jack felt a pang of regret, wishing he could do more to help the elves, and as he was leaving, something grabbed his hand and stopped him.

He turned to see Elaine, looking up at him with her large emerald eyes.

"What is it, Elaine?"

She turned her head, looking back at the queen.

"My mother said she wishes to speak to you."

He raised an eyebrow, wondering what else there was to talk about. He nodded, and as he headed over to the queen, he noticed that Elaine did not follow, turning and leaving the room. He stopped in front of the queen, for some reason feeling nervous as her eyes looked through him; he had no idea what she wanted to speak about alone, and he took a deep breath, for some reason unable to relax under her gaze.