How to Accidentally Fall for Someone Your Kingdom Is Colonizing

There's a pregnant pause. I don't even dare to breathe.

"That reminds me–" Aegir says, his smirk clearly indicating he's up to no good. But my father cuts him off, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Elder, thank you for your concern. But, I must assure you. As long as I live, the Thalassin won't bring destruction to the Kingdom." Father says.

"It's beyond your control!" shouts the elder. He takes a deep breath and says with a more constricted voice, "It has been ordained." With that, he leaves with the other elder.

The other spectators also leave, one by one. Only the Thalassin remain. As expected, a lot of them rejoice at the fact that the sea still chooses us. We've been impatient and growing more anxious as the days pass ever since the news came out that the sea already chose someone. If none of my generation wields it, that's the end of our house, the end of our nobility, the end of our comfortable life. After all, power is what makes an elven family noble.

When I say a lot, it is almost all of them. Strangely, not my father. I'm not sure if he is displeased because I'm successful at it, which means I'm off to the human world, or if I didn't do it correctly. I couldn't guess what on earth he's thinking. He just shows a sour face and leaves. And just like that, the days slipped by, uneventful. Only a quiet tension from my father.

Times passed until the time we were to embark on the human world drew closer and closer. Nothing particularly interesting happened, except for my father. He clearly pissed at Aegir. He acted as if Aegir had kidnapped me—which, in a way, he had—but the said child is clinging to him.

Sometimes, there's something unsettling about uneventful days. It feels like the calm before the storm. Though my paranoia seems misplaced—or so I thought.

The d-day is here. We absolutely match the color scheme of the royal, much to the princess's dismay. Though the King laughs it off—which is predictable, Aegir is his favorite.

I thought I was prepared. Oh boy, nope. The King and some nobles only escort us to the perimeter of the forest. Dealing with the royal is an easy walk compared to what will happen. Aegir didn't brief us about the damp, wet forest. He and the knights wear boots. Us ladies? We suffer in high heels, mud, and damp stockings. Not to mention, a heavy dress becomes infinitely heavier because, you guessed it, sludge.

The dense tree blocking a lot of the sun rays. The air is humid and smells musty. The sounds of civilization are nowhere to be found. I mostly hear our squelching footsteps and rustling leaves. I didn't hear any animals calling so far.

"Did someone exile the enchantress out here? Or is she just a recluse?" I say.

"Ask the more important bit! He didn't tell us a thing," screams Muiren.

"We should have known he wouldn't bother with the details," says Ondine. 

"None of you asked." Aegir's smirks widened at that remark. That's not surprising since he clearly enjoys pushing people's buttons.

"He should've told us the enchantress wouldn't come to us—that we'd come to her!" Muiren snaps.

"Who said anything about an enchantress?" Says Aegir 

"Oh, you sure didn't. At least get us that silver wheel like that. Look how comfortable your parents are," I say, pointing at a carriage that is a hybrid of magic and engineering. It is carried by Stormwing, a creature that inhabits the sky, land, and water. It has the wings of an eagle, the body of a lion, and the feets of a duck. You could say it's an aquatic griffin—a griffin with duck's feet.

"Stormwing isn't easy to find and tame," says Aegir.

"You're wasting a lot of time by not telling us this. If we were more mobile, this could be faster," says Ondine.

"It's better for you all not to be able to move," says Aegir.

"Why is that?" I ask.

"No sane person lives here. It's dark even at noon," Aegir replies.

"We aren't looking for an enchantress," says Ondine.

"Correct."

"We need an enchantress to teleport us. Unless you're planning to walk there," I say.

"No. Enchantresses couldn't open a gate to the human world."

"So that's the reason the human world is hard to enter," I say.

"Yes. But I didn't plan to walk there. We don't need someone to warp space—it's not in our realm. We need someone to tear it."

Ondine's eyes go wide. "Nidhara."

After she says that, I see a massive serpent laying around us. When I say massive, their diameters are on par with adult person height. Its scales blend into the surroundings—a chameleon with fangs and without legs, if you will. It seems to be sleeping. We've been walking near this thing, oblivious to its presence— its color blending seamlessly with the forest, the only giveaway is a faint shimmer of it. No one would see it if they don't know what they are searching for. Aegir is certainly correct—it's better for us not to run amok. My premonition is correct. This is the storm.

"Do you want us to die?" says Ondine and I almost at the same time. We both glaring daggers at Aegir.

"Aitrionach did this dozens of times, and they were fine," says Aegir.

"You!" Ondine says. She visibly has a hard time suppressing her anger.

"What's going on?" Uncle Thalor pops his head out from the carriage. He's a bit far, but Muiren's screams might have been heard from there.

"Nid—" once again, Muiren is cut off. I stand close to her and hold her, trying to calm her down.

"Nothing," says Aegir and Ondine in unison.

Uncle's eyebrows furrow. "You kids better not try to kill each other on this journey." Parents—no matter how old their heirs are—always see them as children.

"Don't worry, Uncle. I'll be their referee," I say. Uncle seems to buy it and goes back.

"Have you read enough about Nidhara?" asks Ondine, tightly clenching her fists.

"Yes, and trust me, I know what we're doing. Faelan would be close by, and we will be in the human realm in no time," says Aegir nonchalantly.

"If this creature feels like it, they will close the gate. Do you know that?" I ask.

"A risk that I'm clearly willing to take." His gaze landed on the creature. He seems to know something that we don't.

"He's gambling with our lives." Muiren says.

Nidhara. A creature that scared off the majority of a grown man. It's a giant serpent that comes and goes unpredictably. They usually appear in less populated places. Nobody knows where they come from, how they reproduce, or how many of them exist. But we know they could tear space and open a crack to a different world. The pressing thing here right now is that these creatures aren't peaceful. If I could compare, a dragon is a cuddly rabbit compared to this monstrosity.

"Do tell me, have you crossed the King or one of the princes lately?" says Ondine.

Aegir only shrugs. "That's Faelan," he says, pointing to a golden-haired figure near the oak tree.

We speed up our pace until Muiren grabs my hand. Her mouth hangs agape. She stares into something on our left. I follow her eyes and see something that clearly pops out in the sea of green. A giant golden orb with a vertical pupil staring back at us.