The Saintess and the Villainess

A Tale of Two Princes - Chapter 1

Author's Note: I apologize that the hiatus went on a bit longer than I'd initially planned. These past few months I've been super busy with my day job, dealing with an intense case of writer's block, and planning a wedding! So there have been both good and bad things keeping me away from writing.

But now I'm officially married (yay!), past my writer's block, and less busy at work, so hopefully I should be able to get back to regular updates. Thank you to everyone who's been patiently waiting for me to return, and I really hope you'll all enjoy this fun, romantic side story before we hop back in with Book 3 of The Saintess and the Villainess! 

For my patreon, S&V merch, and more, check out my linktree: https://linktr.ee/teddyasplund

-

"A large force of human soldiers has been spotted leaving the capital in the direction of Longren. They appear to be led by Grand Duke Marshal."

Elyon raised an eyebrow. "Appear?"

"Yes, sir," Lieutenant Landeriell (Landi to her friends). She was a tall elf with long, platinum-blonde hair and heavy-lidded eyes. "There were more patrols than expected, so our scouts weren't able to approach closely."

"Hmm." Elyon marked some notes on the large parchment map in front of him. "Instruct the scouts to keep an eye on their movements, and see if we can get confirmation of Duke Marshal's involvement. But they shouldn't take any unnecessary risks. We can survive a lack of information better than we can survive a lack of personnel."

"Yes, sir." Landi saluted.

"And one more thing before you go." Elyon set down his quill and looked up at his second-in-command. "How is the human prince settling in? I know we emphasized that he should be treated with the utmost courtesy while he remains in our custody, but he is, after all, the crown prince of our current enemy nation. I'm concerned he may be experiencing some level of ostracism."

"Oh," Landi shuffled her feet, almost looking embarrassed. "I really wouldn't worry about that, sir..."

"What do you mean?" asked Elyon. "Have you spoken with the soldiers to see what their general feelings are?"

"No, but, well..." said Landi. "You should really just see for yourself."

The Lieutenant led Elyon out of the command tent and around to one of the common areas of the camp, where an unusually large group of elves had all congregated. They were all talking and laughing loudly, and at the center of them all, with a big grin on his face, was Prince Sebastian. He had exchanged his fine clothing for a standard Elven Royal Guard uniform of simple green cloth and brown leather, and he was happily pouring drinks for the elven soldiers.

It was... unexpected. Elyon's subordinates usually behaved with more discipline. And after such a prolonged war, resentment towards humans was at an all-time high. And yet here they were, elite elven soldiers chatting pleasantly with the enemy prince.

It was almost unsettling.

"Don't they all have duties to attend to?" said Elyon.

Landi nodded, catching his meaning. She strode over to the group of laughing soldiers, and with a loud clap of her hands, began barking orders.

"Alright, you lot, I know you all have jobs to do, so hop to it! And if you don't have a job to do, please feel free to let me know and I can give you a damn job to do! We are at war here, people, not some sort of festival feast! Get moving!"

Elyon continued to watch as his subordinates scattered off back to their various duties. Prince Sebastian smiled and waved and generally sent them off pleasantly. But as soon as the last soldier had gone, Sebastian's smile fell from his face and he sighed heavily, resting his head in his hands.