Inheritance

Part 2. Chapter 21: Arrogance on Fire

In the morning, Taylor, Them, and Pollyanna were awakened by Maruka at dawn and, before even having a bite to eat, they were dragged from their sleeping quarters to a wide open, dome-shaped room in the west wing of the fortress.

Across the large room loomed a colorful, stained glass window depicting what Pollyanna assumed to be a piece of Astral Elf history on it—with elves fighting elves.

Red light seeped in through the window and colored the large, empty, room a bloody red—making the atmosphere of the already tense room all-the-tenser.

Joining the trio were about fifty other conscripted criminals who looked as exhausted and downtrodden as everyone else in the room did from being woken up early and enduring a long, rough ride in a caravan just a day before.

Pollyanna made sure to snag a seat next to Taylor on the hard, wooden floor of the room so she could defend and watch over the fairy. To the old woman's dismay, Them snagged a seat on Taylor's other side.

Standing before the stained-glass window was a male Astral Elf with a typically vacant face. His long hands were clasped elegantly in front of him as the criminals funneled into the room.

Once all the criminals had settled down and stopped talking, the Astral Elf addressed them all with sweeping arms.

"Welcome, newly conscripted fighters. It is a delight to meet you all. As you all know, you will be dedicating the rest of your lives, as it said in your contracts, to protecting the people of Yharos and helping us Astral Elves mend our hundreds-of-year-old mistakes. Now, I'm sure many of you are wondering what those mistakes are—indeed, I'm sure you're also wondering what exactly these doppelgangers are, and how you're going to fight them; I am here to explain that to you. Pay close attention." The Astral Elf brought his hands close to his face and touched the fingers of his right hand to his left, making his fingers spark with electrical magic.

He spread them apart, and he conjured a scene for all the criminals to see—a scene from the past—between his fingers set in a magical, ethereal glow.

Pollyanna nudged Taylor, whose hands were clenched angrily, and whispered to her, "don't you just hate how snooty they are?"

Taylor snorted and made a face. "Yeah, I'd frankly like to punch them in the face for locking me up in here. I'd like to punch Eory all-the-more."

Them chimed in, "well, I'm perfectly content here! I think we can do some good, don't you?"

Taylor knitted her brows. She leaned against Pollyanna and wrapped her arms around the warrior-maiden. "Who asked you? Me and Pollyanna are getting out of here the first chance we get."

Pollyanna stared unblinkingly forward at the Astral Elf and felt butterflies fluttering around in her insides.

She would have killed for those arms to be Eory's and not Taylor's.

Them made a face, but said nothing. She was just Taylor being Taylor.

"Long, long ago, we Astral Elves made a horrible mistake that we are still paying for in the shape of doppelgangers. You see..."

Pollyanna already knew the mistakes of the Astral Elves; she only needed to know how to fight the doppelgangers.

"The doppelgangers are a result of our own arrogance and lack of self-control..."

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Pollyanna stood atop a nearby hill looming over an Astral Elven city below them. The shrieks of the Astral Elves and the crackling of fire filled Pollyanna's ears, but she couldn't care less about them as she enjoyed the kisses of Fjorn with a moan.