Hykings - {Progression Fantasy}

Mathilda Arunliame.

That was the name of the royal elvish princess.

Even her first name had been chosen to suit a general population rather than to be bestowed with a true elvish name. In that sense, her very purpose and duty had been decided upon even before she had been born into this world.

Now, as the Aruniiame clan becomes the Sternblume clan, or at least go by that additional name, Mathilda Sternblume had a much grander purpose to fulfill.

"There are others, many others around the world who have been born with the Force Sign like me." Sir Geraint, the young knight, spoke once more after not having received any answer from the royal elven princess.

"..."

"It has taken a rather long time for the Arunliame clan to accept anyone who is not an elf, and I hear even half elves are not looked kindly upon either. It is my hope that our coming together in this proposed marriage would welcome other races into the clan, and create an environment where everyone who shares the Force Sign can live together in prosperity and peace."

Tilla listened. Her heart was beating fast, faster than it ever had. She understood what was at stake, as she had from the very start. And yet, her lips betrayed her, holding back the very words she was supposed to utter.

Sir Geraint went on, unable to withstand the pressure of the silence. The little anxiousness he had been holding back forced him to voice his thoughts bare.

"Now, I am naturally fully aware that by elven customs, marriage is not possible until you are of sufficient age, which I believe is in the early twenties, a decade or so from now. We would only be betrothed until then, and would work together to ensure everything is ready by then. Perhaps the lady-in-waiting would know more about this?"

Having his ramblings repeatedly fall on deaf ears, Sir Geraint sought some help from the only other person near them.

"The king, and the Arunliame clan, need time to provide the newcomers with housing, employment, security, and so on." Keerla took a step towards the table and began to pour the princess another cup of tea. "As we elves are less efficient with time as short-lived races, we expect the ten year period to be just sufficient to accommodate all the necessary preparations."

"Splendid, and I assure you, I personally do not have a problem with waiting until then." The young knight proclaimed after suddenly sitting up in his seat. "If I may resemble it to this bustling garden, giving these flowers time to bloom in all their splendor makes them all the better to admire now."

"Eloquently put, young knight." The lady-in-waiting let out a slight laugh. "And I assure you, in due time, our starflower will shine brighter than any star, and dazzle fairer than any flower. Of that, I can give my word."

"Oh, of that I have no doubt, my good lady!"

"..."

As they talked, Tilla's thoughts kept going in circles. The sharp and repeated glances from her lady-in-waiting only served to add more weight to her unmoving lips.

The young princess had hoped for an unexpected turn, she truly had. She even prayed for a miracle, asked the very deities and moon to alter fate in her favor. Alas, nothing came of it.

On top of that, her suitor had not a single flaw to show. His feelings seemed sincere, his looks were exceptional, and he didn't mind her blunt and less eloquent personality. Any other young elf, nay, girl, in her place would have agreed to the marriage in a heartbeat.

However, something else kept on holding this young princess back.

Despite not having known him for long, there was another boy who had stolen her heart. The day he took her to the White Garden and showed her a scene only spoken of in myths, she had lost all interest in being a princess.

He wasn't a prince, or an honorable knight. He had nothing to his name, having spent most of his life being shunned by both his human side, and elven side.

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And yet, she wanted to leave with him, to travel the world, to sail the seas under the moonlight, to go on adventures that discover the myths of the world. All with him.

She wanted to be free with him.

He was the one who finally made her realize that, and he did it all effortlessly. Being with him made her feel like she could be her true self, not the princess everyone sees.

And yet, none of that would be possible. Not for Mathilda Sternblume.

Although she knew the praise from Keerla was genuine and would have meant the world to her in any other circumstance, now each compliment being pointed out felt like daggers being stabbed into the young princess' heart. Each stab was reminding Tilla of her purpose and duty.

"I shall like to meet prince Aymeric one day, perhaps even the dark elves acting as royal guardians as well."

The princess heard the young knight say after coming back to herself.

"I am sure he would be delighted to see you, Sir Geraint." Keerla bowed slightly, unable to force an outcome any longer. "Young knight, please forgive us, but it seems my lady is not feeling quite well this day. It is quite terrible of me to ask this, but perhaps you would be willing to come again soon once she recovers? I am truly sorry-"

"My lady, please!" Sir Geraint quickly stood up, raising his palms in front of him. "There is no need to apologize at all! I am quite happy to have been able to meet with the princess and make her acquaintance today. It is I who should seek forgiveness, I might have pushed the matter too soon."

"Nonsense, honorable knight."

"I accept."

"?!"

Unable to contain their apologies any longer, and dreading the idea of having similar meetings in the future, the young princess finally forced herself to give the answer she knew all along she would.

"My lady, when you say that you accept, should I take it to mean-"

"Yes, Sir Geraint." Tilla stood up and curtsied again. "I shall be your betrothed."

As the young knight stood in utter shock and bewilderment, the lady-in-waiting covered her mouth as tears flowed down her face.

Whether any of the three were joyful or not, no one could tell for certain.

**👑**

"I apologize, princess."

"..."

A few hours later, Lucine finally returned to the princess, finding her frantically stomping throughout her room. And the first thing the dark elf said was another apology while holding the same bag of food she had been given earlier that day.

"I attempted many times to give him the food, and relayed your message every time, however-"

"He heard of the proposal?" Tilla cut her off, barely catching herself as she plumed onto a chair. "So, it's all over then…"

"..."

"Starting tomorrow, I will be the betrothed princess waiting to be a symbol of a new star over this clan." She mumbled to herself, her gaze fixed on the floor below, but her eyes far distant than anything present. "After that, I will be the wife of Sir Geraint, a handsome and caring human who considers me, Mathilda Sternblume, the most beautiful flower in the world…"

Lucine glanced outside the window, watching the setting sun end its watch for the day. And yet, above it, as if not considering a break from its own watch, the moon shone brightly, letting its light sneak into the room through the balcony behind the princess.

The dark elf made up her mind.

"Princess, I should apologize once more."

"?"

"In truth, I have a message for you." She explained, taking out a short plank with some engravings on them. "Although he did not accept the food even after I tried to forcibly feed them to him, he did ask me to give you this with a message."

"...!"

As she took it, Tilla's blue eyes snapped open just in time for the moonlight to reach them and brighten up her wide, heartfelt smile.

"He said, and I best quote it directly; 'You're the only one who understands me, who sees me as I really am. If you get married and you're happy, I will set sail and leave this place, for us both. But if you're not happy, and would rather leave out into the smelly sea, I'll be waiting. Either way, know that my heart will belong to you under every moonlight and every star, in this world and all the others.' End of quote."

Despite her blunt delivery, Lucine watched as the plank she handed over was quickly covered in tears.

"He… did he really say that?" Tilla sniffled, raising her teary eyes to her guardian, then lowered them back to the plank.

"He did, princess. Although I do not recommend acting on impulse-"

"Thank you, Luci!"

"!"

In an instant, the princess had hugged her friend for the first time, holding onto her tightly.

"Even though you didn't want to say it like that, thank you for telling me." Tilla dug her face into the dark elf's shoulder. Her next words escaped with a chuckle. "Seriously, he knows he can't leave the clan that easily…"

"He said he would defile a root of the world tree and build a ship with it, becoming a criminal who could only be exiled to Tartarus." Luci explained bluntly, remaining standing with her arms at her sides.

"Idiot, he's such an idiot!" The princess cried out, and yet, she couldn't mask her joy. "He wrote it all wrong too, he should've just said it when I asked him to!"

The words on the plank were written in elvish, or rather engraved on the plank with a dagger he borrowed from the dark elf.

It attempted to outline the simple words: "Be happy, Tilla."

And that was all the young elven girl needed. It just simply took her almost a decade to take proper action.

However, what she still refused to believe was that the one who was supposed to protect her, was a measure put in place to prevent her rash actions.

Such as escaping.

**👑**

As the now adult princess of the elf kingdom ran at top speed through a dense forest, her guardian followed.

"Did it really have to come to this?!" She shouted back, sidestepping a tree in her way. "We're friends, aren't we?! Luci!"

The one following her wasn't simply tagging along this time, but pursuing her with the task of bringing the princess back to the very palace she was attempting to escape from.

To the very purpose and duty she was rejecting.

The full moon preluding the dawn served as their witness from up high, as it always had.