Roses and Thorns

Part 6 ~ The elves

It took them another day to reach Lordell, the capital of the elven kingdom. During the journey, Ivelle learnt, that the country is called Kingdom of Etalia, and is ruled by Allerick the elven-king and his wife Reyna. She also learnt that the elves were really different than the humans. Their architecture was just on of these differences. The elves made their houses of wood and they always adapted to the nature. If there was a forest they built their houses on the trees. Their towns and villages were cleaner, thanks to their close relationship with nature. Another difference was their alimentation. While humans loved meat, elves mostly ate vegetables, fruits, or other natural food, and they rarely ate meat and if they did, they usually ate fish. Their religion, however was the same, what's more, the humans took over their religion. And this was the main reason why they were hunted in the Other World. In their mytholgy there were three gods. The first and most powerful one was Ryuu. His power covered everything, and he was the leader of the gods. Ryuu had two siblings: Llyr and Keres. Llyr was the god of the waters, air, earth, and peace while Keres was the god of death, fire and war. Although elves believed in all three gods, they only honoured Ryuu and Llyr. In their cultures there were no sanctuaries nor temples. Cirillo tried to teach her everything about the elvish culture, but after a while he had to admit, that it won't work, so he decided to only tell her the most important things.

The sun was already going down, when they reached Lordell. The capital was widely different than the other elvish towns. The buildings were made of stone, and it was surrounded by a town wall. The city was full of with plants, trees and flowers, it looked like a small forest surrounded by a wall. In the middle of the city was a bigger building, according to Cirillo it was the palace, where the nobles, the king and the queen lived. Just like the whole city, the palace was modest, but respectable.

They approached the gate of the palace. It was guarded by two guards. They wore gold-red armor and they had half-up hairstyles. As they passed by the guards bowed. Suddenly Cirillo stopped her and made her look at him.

"Listen to me." Ivelle looked into his eyes. He looked nervous. "Just do what I tell you and there won't be any problem. "

"Okay. Why are you so nervous? " They stepped into the palace. The long corridors were made of white marble and was decorated with flowers and paintings. The floor was made of wood. Cirillo hurried up and didn't answer to Ivelle.

"Cirillo what's wrong. I know that you're not a talkative person, but you usually answer my questions. Would you please wait for me? " For a moment he stopped and looked into her eyes. Then turned away and resumed his way towards a large wooden door. Cirillo had never acted like this before. He was very strange, and Ivelle could feel that something was off. They stepped into the room, which she assumed to be the throne room. The commissioners bowed and closed the door behind them.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness. " Cirillo bowed. Ivelle could feel how odd she looked like. She didn't know the decorums and habits. She looked at the throne. A tall light skinned, white-haired man was sitting on the throne. He had a crown on his head. The crown was gold and decorated by gold leaves and jewels, and it had a star on its front. The queen was sitting newt to the king. She was high and slim. She had light skin and brown hair with blue eyes. Her hair was braided into a very comlicated braid. She had a crown on her head. Her crown was more solid, itt looked like it had been made of gold leaves.

"Cirillo" said the king "You don't have to bow before us, Son. " Ivelle jerked up. "Son?! Why didn't he told me? " Though it made sense. All of the guards bowed before them, and Cirillo resembled to the king. How couldn't she notice it?