The Demon Priest

Chapter 9: Elvish Relations

 Lance slowly opened his eyes as he came to. Groaning softly, he tried to move his body, but found that his arms and legs wouldn't respond, and that he was being dragged across the ground. Lifting his head, he saw a figure dragging him by a rope which bound his limbs, and to his side the same thing was happening to Valia. Suddenly, he went over a bump and his head snapped back, hitting hard on a rock, and everything went black once more.

 "Get up." An unfamiliar voice buzzed in the boy's head. "I said get up!" A few moments passed. "Bah, forget it. Pass me the bucket."

 So, they were going to throw water on his head?

 His guess turned out to be wrong as Lance felt something smack across his face. He fell to the ground as the taste of copper flooded his mouth. Spitting a mix of gold and crimson blood out of his mouth, the half- elf pulled himself back up to be met face- to- face with a tall, fair skinned, lanky man with sea blue eyes, raven black hair and... pointed ears!

 "You filth." The elf started in an almost commanding voice. "You dare come near our territory after all your kind has done to us. All of you have killed countless of elven kind, not to mention your own," he spread his arms out, and Lance realized he was gesturing to to a group of elves behind him, all standing in front of some sort of archway. The rest of the view was obscured by the mob. "and now you have the gall to show up here. Well, now we will exact our revenge, starting with you." He pulled a curved dagger out of his emerald robes and walked menacingly towards Lance.

 "No, wait please!" The boy yelled, but the elf kept walking. He couldn't die here, not when he had Iris waiting for him. "I said... WAIT!" And a roar like a dragon escaped from his mouth, making the elf pause for a moment.

 'Was that me or Azazel?' Lance thought, going to clutch his chest before he remembered that he couldn't. It didn't matter anyway, he couldn't waste the opportunity he had now. "please, just take off my headband and you'll see."

 The elf hesitated, gripping the dagger hard before gesturing to the others beside him.

 'Please don't notice my horns. Please, Gilgamesh, don't let them notice.' The boy prayed.

 The two elves pulled down his hood, and without noticing the horns buried under Lance's mess of hair, lifted the red headband off of him, uncovering his pointed ears.

 They all gasped, looking upon him in shock. "He's a hybrid, a mix- breed." He heard a few say. The elf holding a dagger dropped it. "You, half- elf, what is your name? Tell me or die."

 "O- of course. I am Lancelot Ashridge, my father a human named Geralt Ashridge, and my mother... well, all I know is that she is an elf, and that she passed when I was a child."

 The black haired elf bit his tongue. Even if only half, the boy was still an elf. He couldn't simply kill him. That would make him no better than the humans.

 "Wait, Nazar!" A voice called out. A woman with silver hair and eyes like emeralds broke through the crowd, her white lace dress blowing as she ran. "Wait." She turned towards the half- elf. "Lancelot... is that really you?" She asked, her eyes getting misty.

 "I... yes, I'm he. Who exactly are you?" He gulped.

 "My name is Nyra. I am your mother."

 Lance was given a tour through the elvish city, which was unlike anything he'd ever seen before. After passing through a stone archway, he was met with a beautiful sight of buildings made up of marble, with stained glass windows decorating the walls, and vines spreading across the roofs. The road was made from cobble and spread through the town like a river. Tall, black poles hugged the sides of it, and Lance could see that hanging off of them were candles, making it easy to traverse through the night. There were a few statues that dotted the landscape, not that the boy knew what they symbolized, and plants of every kind sprang up across the rolling hills.

 "I see that you are fascinated by our city, Lancelot. I am glad." Nyra commented as she looked at the half- elf's reaction to his surroundings.

 "It's beautiful, that is for certain. Cardinal has nothing on it. What do you call it?" Lace replied, not tearing his gaze off of the raging waterfall, which led down into a lake.

 "We have come to calling it Radiant. A simple, but beautiful name much like the city itself." She led him to a stone table and gestured to the chairs. "Please, sit down. We have so much catching up to do."

 Lance did as she asked and took a seat. He knew they had a lot to discuss, but where should they start?

 Fortunately, Nyra seemed to know. "You are probably wondering why I'm sitting here in front of you, alive and well, correct?"

 The boy nodded. "Father told me that you died. He never told me how, but there was a grave that I went to see each year. I... I knew nothing about you, or what happened to you. No one should ever have to go through that."

 "Oh Lancelot I am so sorry. I never, ever meant to put you through any of that. It's just... the villagers were starting to get suspicious. They were growing older while I was staying the same. It became harder and harder to hide myself, and if I were discovered it would have came back to Geralt and you. So, me and him decided to fake my death. No one was going to question a newly widowed father, especially when it wouldn't matter since I was 'dead' anyway."

 That made sense. If anyone in Axon had found out about Nyra, it would have ended badly for them all. She had simply been looking out for her whole family. Lance could respect and agree with that, but deep down he still felt... angered and betrayed, but also sad.

 "Speaking of your father," She continued. "how is he doing? In fact, and I mean no disrespect my son, why are you even here?"

 The half- elf inhaled sharply. He knew this was coming, but it didn't make it any easier. Taking a breath, he started from the beginning. Leaving out everything about Azazel, Lance told her about the attack on Axon, Geralt being murdered and Iris' kidnapping. He explained how he traveled to Cardinal, and how he met Valia, (speaking of which, he wondered where she was) and about Rhythe and his story. He ended with the recent attack from Dravin and how he landed in the forest.

 "My son... y- you've been through so much, and I was never there for you... your father too. Oh, Geralt I'm so sorry." Nyra burst into tears and Lance quickly went behind her, rubbing her back and whispering comforting words.

 After a moment, she patted his hand and said, "I'm fine now, thank you Lancelot."

 "You know you can always just call me Lance, mother." The half- elf suggested, and a warmth spread through his chest as he said it.

 "Lance?" She sniffed. "I suppose that is easier. Your father must have been the one to shorten it. I like it, Lance."

 The boy smiled, then looked around. "Where is Valia, do you know? She was here with me, but I blacked out again and now I can't find her."

 "She was here? When you arrived it was only you and no one else. Perhaps they took her away before you got here." Nyra answered.

 "Possibly." Lance replied, but thought about it. 'It could be that, but most likely it would have been mentioned. More likely she escaped and the elves taking us were too embarrassed to say anything. They may be different than humans, but we all lie sometimes.'

 "Come, my son. It is getting late. It's time to go home." Nyra said, but was caught off guard when Lance suddenly embraced her.

 "My... home... with my... mother." The half- elf said through sobs. "Please, can we just stay like this for a while?"

 Nyra nodded softly and returned the hug. She had finally found her son again, and he his mother for the first time.

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