Vaeri stood there for a moment, watching as their figures disappeared on the horizon. Despite the long distance between them, she could still hear the faint echoes of her daughter's cry.
As much as she wanted to go to her, she knew that it wouldn't take long before the rest of the village would follow. With Dalyor breaking his passive oath, there was no guarantee that her home would be a safe space to raise Niana. She needed to find another place; however, she couldn't until she knew what the other elves were planning.
She recognized those uniforms. They were the militia's best sharpshooters. Were they always there to supervise her interaction with Dalyor? A more accurate question was, were they waiting for her to bring her daughter with her?
Fortunately for her, footsteps finally closed in from the meeting spot.
There he was, Dalyor, robed in the most expensive garb that the village could procure. His expression remained passive like the spineless coward he was. Besides him were the rest of the archers who must have been the ones to shoot Carmilla.
Her glare could kill them where they stood.
"How fucking dare you?" She marched toward the much taller man, unafraid and seething with rage. Her finger dug into his chest, deliberate and challenging. "Was this all just a setup? All these years, you wait until I bring my daughter—and then what? You kill her?"
"She is not your daughter, Vaeri. She can't be." His voice was levelled. It was the same drawl that Vaeri had gotten used to since she was born into her society. She was so tired of it, so tired of everything that her people represented.
"Answer my question, Grand Elder." Trying to inch closer had the archers ready to attack. They were studying her, gauging how far she would go before they would be permitted to attack, just as they did to the humans.
Dalyor sighed, his icy expression softening into one of quiet exhaustion. "It was a precaution. Your father was worried you might… adopt another one. Turns out he was right." He gestured toward the men Carmilla had injured.
The man with his leg burned was leaning on another man, still ready for combat despite how gnarly and limp his leg seemed. Vaeri could only describe the look in his eyes as pure, unfiltered hate.
The other, with his shoulder stabbed into a tree, was the same. He didn't suffer the same amount of damage as the other one, though that did not erase the curve of his spine while he gingerly moved his left shoulder, where it still bled.
"You've seen what these humans could do, Vaeri. Why can't you understand that this is for the greater good? There is a reason humans started appearing out of the blue. They are the great calamity that was prophesied."
Tears stung the back of her eyes. She recoiled as if she accidentally touched a hot pan. "How could you say that?" Her voice tightened. "You of all people—you were the one who taught me to see the good in everyone."
"That is a lesson you have yet to truly understand. There are forces in this world that you refuse to acknowledge. Your duty as Princess—"
"I renounced that title long ago, Grand Elder. I do not want to be a representative of a biased and unfair system. My duty is to my daughter, who will grow up to be better than the lot of you combined."
"That child has poisoned you. It pains me that you can't see that."
Resolve steadied her, and she straightened her back. She would never match Dalyor's height, but she lifted her chin, determined to meet his gaze. "If love is poison, then I will deliberately choose to consume it."
Silence hung in the air as he watched her. Truly watched her since he arrived. Through all the titles, history, and heritage, it was he who raised Vaeri to be the woman she was today. She was strong in her convictions and would not hesitate to help the poor and needy, even if it meant helping the enemy.
He received his fair share of backlash from the other elves. A Grand Elder who spoke flowery words to the Princess. Some people fully believed he was the reason for all of his. Even his dear brother believed it as well.
"This is the end, Vaeri. I've already sent a man to report back to the village. You know what this means."
"You are such a coward, Dalyor."
"The assassin I sent after your humans should be done by now. If you follow me quietly to the village, we will be able to recover your title and responsibilities. So that everything will be back to normal."
"Assassin?"
"Yes, of course. We can't have that human potentially harm any more elves than she already has."
Vaeri, for a moment, believed him. If it weren't for the steady rhythm of the rune she placed on her daughter's cheek, she would have worried to death. If Dalyor fully believed that the assassin got to her daughter, then the assassin must be none other than a member of the Royal Guard.
Could Carmilla go against a Royal Guard? She was already injured from the attacks earlier, and now she was carrying a riled-up Niana in her arms.
Dalyor placed a hand on her shoulder. "Vae—"
Vaeri pulled away at once, disgust etched across her face as she glared at him. She knew that gesture well—over the years, he had used it whenever he tried to play the role of a father.
For a long time, it worked. Dalyor managed to fill in the hole left by her father. He guided her and taught her the way of life. It was his teachings that opened her eyes to a world beyond her. She learned to love because of him.
Unfortunately, Vaeri had long since disowned her entire bloodline. As far as she was concerned, she had no father. She refused to acknowledge a man who would take away the same love he taught her.
Vaeri gathered her mana, calling forth a prayer. Slowly, light filtered from beneath her clothing, the ink from underneath slowly gaining power as she charged up.
Dalyor's gaze drifted over the tattoos that disappeared beneath her clothing, his expression tightening at their number. His eyes hardened as he pointed toward the direction Carmilla had fled.
"Those humans will be your ruin—"
He faltered.
A chill rippled across his skin, goosebumps rising without warning. Something in Vaeri's eyes had shifted. It was no longer the girl he knew looking back at him—but someone darker, someone older. It was a look he had only ever seen once before, worn by his older, angrier brother.
The pebbles at Vaeri's feet began to tremble, vibrating softly against the earth. Around her, blades of grass slowly straightened, as if pulled upright by an unseen force.
Dalyor took an instinctive step back.
"You have no home in the village," he said, his voice quieter now, edged with something more cautious. "This will be the last time we part on decent terms. I finally understand… you've already made your choice."
Vaeri didn't waver. "You were there, Dalyor. My daughter—Niana—is a beautiful soul."
A pause.
"…Goodbye, Vaeri."
---
Vaeri ran, pushing her body to its limits. She had shown her trump card to Dalyor, but it wasn't finished—far from it. What he saw was little more than a display; its real power had yet to take shape.
Fortunately, Dalyor took the bait, and it was because of that that she managed to leave without much of a fight.
There was one thing that worried her, though. Dalyor sent an assassin after Carmilla. And it wasn't just any assassin but a member of the royal guard. He didn't confirm it, but Vaeri knew him well enough to read through some of his actions.
The mark she left on her daughter remained alive, so she doubted that the assassin had reached them. Unless they were being held hostage as a last-ditch effort to take her back to the village.
Vaeri saved personal runes in case this happened. It was mostly stamina and speed runes that would help her escape with her daughter if there was some sort of trap laid by Dalyor. Now, she used it to reach her daughter before danger could get to them.
Her lungs were starting to seize. The runes didn't erase her physical fatigue; instead, they pulled more from her body than anything.
She could still feel like she could run through the whole world and back, but the pain would only get worse as she continued to push herself. Vaeri was not a physical person.
The sun was starting to rise when she neared the cottage. Its golden touch barely painted the green forest. Vaeri sweat through her clothes by the time she stopped.
"Niana?!" She called, desperate and unhinged. "Carmilla?! Where are you, girls?"
She passed through the barriers that she set up around her cottage, her eyes scanning her surroundings for any sign of her daughter or the woman she trusted to take care of her daughter.
Stumbling toward the door, she could feel the effects of the runes leave her body.