The Elven Princess wlw

Chapter 10

As Lily placed her items down, my peripheral vision caught her movement. Suddenly, Laer's voice interrupted my thoughts, "I was thinking, maybe you would like to go to the market with me on Saturday?" My heart skipped a beat. I saw Lily frown, I just hoped she could not hear this conversation. "Look, I'm flattered, I go with my friends every week and I do not want to lead you on by going with you because it would not go anywhere further than friendship", it took Laer a minute to grasp that he had been rejected and let down lightly. "That's okay, I understand", I felt bad for him, he was a nice elf and any other elf would be lucky to have him. "You are lovely, I would have said yes if it wasn't for the fact that I prefer the company of women," I told him. That would lessen the blow and make him understand why I turned him down. His eyes went wide with realisation. "friends then?" he smiled and I said yes smiling back.

As we walked along the palace hallways, an unexpected cough interrupted our conversation. "Your Majesty," Laer bowed respectfully before swiftly disappearing from the scene. As we continued walking, I could sense Lily's snappy mood today, but I wasn't sure why. No one knew how long her suitor was going to be in town or when they were due to get married. Perhaps it had to do with her own suitor and impending wedding plans. "Got a date?" she queried, her tone laced with irritation. "No," I replied shortly. "Why not?" she prodded, her voice softening with curiosity. "I'd rather not talk about it," I responded, trying to avoid the subject entirely. However, Lily wasn't easily deterred. "He's a great catch, I don't understand," she shook her head in confusion.

Today, we ventured out to a new and unfamiliar forest on the other side of the kingdom - my thirst for a real battle was unquenchable, and I knew I had to leave the training grounds to truly test my abilities. As we made our way through the dense underbrush, she pressed for information about my personal life, but I remained tight-lipped and resolute "he is a great catch for someone, just not me".  Eventually she relented, and we focused on our training, which proved to be far more beneficial away from the mocking taunts of our fellow elves. Upon our return to the castle, Damion approached us with an unexpected summons to dine with the king. Instantly, my mind raced with possibilities - would this be a test of my skills, or even my first true mission? "your father requires you both for dinner tonight" he told us. We both just looked at each other. "Just great" Lily muttered under her breath. Lily's less-than-enthusiastic response only added to my apprehension - this could be a critical moment for me.

As she brushed past us and left, I looked over at Damion, unsure of what to expect. "What should I wear?" I asked him, hoping for some guidance. "A dress," he replied curtly. "I heard you turned down Laer, that was pretty brave" he continued. I guess news travels fast. "yeah I did" my mind was preoccupied as I packed up and left. I couldn't help but feel nervous as we made our way back to the castle, knowing I had turned down Laer and now had to face the consequences. 

Lily looked beautiful in a velvet plush gown, her hair wavy for once, she must have rushed as well. She came around and sat next to me while the King was at the head of the table and her suit and Damion were on the other side. The servers brought the food out and it was clear that Lord Elendriel was besotted by Lily's beauty, he could not take his eyes off her, whilst she did not even glance his way. Elendriel glanced over at me and squinted his eyes. "You allow low elves for dinner?" he questioned the King.

Lily clenched her fists, I was used to this so I just ignored his stupid question. "she is being trained by.." Lily cut her father off, "What does status matter?" she hated the term, but this meal was not off to a good start. "As I was saying, Lily is training her, I called her to dinner because her test is on Friday and we have some things to discuss" The King clarified. I placed my hand on Lily's thigh to thank her for sticking up for me, I gave her a small smile, what I was not expecting was for her to place her hand on top of mine. I tried to hide my blush. I focused my attention back on the King even though Lily was now rubbing my hand soothingly causing chills to transmit throughout my body. "The council has decided it has been long enough, they will be there to oversee it" I nodded my head at the King. "What is the test?" Damion was keen to find out. The King shook his head. "I do not know, they would not say, but I do know it will not be easy" he clarified.