Hykings - {Progression Fantasy}

In a remote, still uninhabited area on Blumenheim, the docks had just begun to be built in preparation for an expansion.

Now only a ship had docked there, waiting on the person it was built for. Its hull was streaked with intricate, bone-white patterns resembling the ribs of an ancient leviathan. A dragon's head jutted from the bow as a proud figurehead. The sails, a patchwork of ivory and crimson, caught the sea breeze, their unnatural curves giving the impression of wings ready to take flight away from this island.

This was Skidbladnir, the ship made entirely of Sapphire Wood, carved straight from the roots of the sacred world tree, K'edemiti.

And on it…

THUD!

"Phew, that should be everything."

Jurgen, now in his early twenties, put down the last barrel and fixed the bandana on his forehead. Beside the simple white tank top pressing on his bulging muscles, he had on some loose dark blue pants held together by a dark belt. While his fingerless gloves were black, the armbands around his elbows matched his tri-colored bandana.

Having checked on all the preparations, the half elf turned towards the dense forest.

"Tilla is late… Did something happen?"

Just as he muttered those words, the closest trees rustled before a figure jumped out. Her form soared under the moonlight guiding her way.

"Tilla! You made it!" Jurgen called out, but then quickly noticed the former princess' haste. "What's wrong?"

With one simple leap, the elven royalty had jumped towards the man barely visible on the high ship.

"I managed to get a head start, but we have to go now!"

Landing on the deck right beside some arrows neatly tucked to the side, she immediately rushed to set sail before her dress or hair caught up with her.

"Tilla, are you sure about this?" Jurgen fixed his posture and narrowed his eyes as he asked her. "Once we set sail, we can't come back here."

"Yeah, I know." Tilla reached for her anxiously beating heart, then to her now silver circlet similarly housing an emerald gem in the middle. Her gaze lowered as she continued. "There's just no other way anymore. I don't see a future for me here. Let's go!"

THUD!

"?!"

The two quickly turned towards the other person who had just boarded the deck of Skidbladnir.

"I still cannot believe that even with all my rigorous training, you are still able to outrun me, princess."

The dark elf held two long daggers in front of her black and blue mask, covering the lower half of her face. Her outfit consisted only of a tight, but open shadow-woven leather that left much of her skin on display. Light metallic guards were adorned on both her arms and legs, accented only by the same blue in her mask.

Narrowing her gray eyes into sharp slits, she continued.

"However, you should still have not underestimated the speed of a dark elf. I have been tasked with bringing you back to the royal castle, princess. Please do not resist."

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"What's going on?" Jurgen asked, turning between the new arrival and the light elf standing beside him. "Wasn't she supposed to be on your side?"

"Luci…" Tilla muttered, keeping her gaze low. Then, she clenched her fists and turned to the shipwright. "Jurgen! Set sail! Leave Luci to me!"

"You got it!"

As Jurgen rushed towards the front of the ship without a moment of hesitation, Tilla widened her stance and dug her feet onto the wooden floor.

"Luci, I know you don't want to do this… please!" She pleaded, noticing the slight shiver on the dark elf's grip. "Listen to your heart for once!"

"That is enough, princess." The guardian leapt forward, leaving the air around her to catch up with her. "Please do not resist. I am not to harm you without necessity."

"!"

As the dark elf swung her dagger forward using the blunt edge, her target instantly vanished.

Then she noticed a gentle tap on the top of her head.

"You can't harm me, because those are your orders?"

Tilla, having jumped over the initial attack and was still in the air above her guardian, finally activated her Sign and targeted the arrows she had jumped over earlier. An instant later, those arrows flew towards the dark elf at a speed that rivaled the dark elf's.

"Please don't make me do this, Luci!" The former princess shouted, landing a few steps away while slowing down her attack. "I don't want to hurt you! You're my friend!"

"..."

The two had now spent near a decade together. A royal princess and her guardian. Despite never wavering in her blunt and apathetic attitude, Lucine had become Tilla's closest friend.

And yet, in the end, this dark elf had a purpose and duty to uphold. She was given a mission, whether protecting the princess or retrieving her, those things meant little to someone who had been trained to simply do as they were told.

Narrowing her eyes, Lucine swung both her daggers in quick succession, cutting down all the arrows into tiny pieces.

Without waiting for them to hit the ground, and not offering an answer, she simply rushed towards her mission once more.

"Why won't you listen to me?!" The former princess shouted, swinging her arms wide open while activating her Force Sign again. "Was I really just a mission to you, Luci?! I know that's not true!"

The more she listened, the more Lucine felt her body slow her down. It was inconceivable to her that such things could still be within her, so she blamed it on the invisible force coming her way.

Instead, to strengthen her resolve, she repeated the words given to her prior to setting out.

"Your mission is to bring back Princess Mathilda unharmed. As you know, failure is unacceptable."

"!"

Despite her attempt, as she came to herself, both of her daggers had been flung far away by her opponent's Sign.

"Your Sign was always stronger than mine, princess." The dark elf closed the distance in a blink of an eye. "However…"

Instead of finishing her sentence, she demonstrated a dark elf's superior training by shadowing the princess, restraining both arms behind her and pushing her down face first. The moment their bare skin touched the unusually colored wooden floor, both of their Signs dissipated.

"Urk!"

"That is enough, princess." Lucine lowered her body enough to hold down both of the princess' arms at a distance, coming to sit on her lower back in the process. "There is no use struggling. You are not able to use your Sign like this. I will be taking you back now."

"I'm sorry, Luci…"

"!"

With her face against the sapphire wooden deck of the ship, Tilla surrendered her body to her guardian.

"All your life, not once were you able to be free." She spoke slowly, her voice carrying all the weight of her body and heart. "You can't even make your own choices!"

Lucine's grip began to slip as she continuously tried to stop her shivering from getting in the way of her mission.

Words shouldn't be affecting a dark elf's nerves. After all, dark elves existed solely to do their purpose, to fulfill their duties.

They were devoid of choices of their own, no free will to hold them back.

And yet…

CRREEEAAAAK-KA-THUNK!!

"?!"

While pursuing her mission, Lucine had neglected to consider what the half elf was doing. Now, as the ship left the dock and lowered its sails, the sudden imbalance made her turn her gaze away for but an instant.

And that was all the former princess needed to quickly push up her body, grab the guardian's hand, and turn everything around in a second.

Before she knew it, Lucine was slammed on her back instead, with the princess sitting on top of her, holding down both of her arms near her head.

"Stop this, princess." the dark elf immediately called out. "There is no escaping this-"

What brought Lucine's voice to a halt had not been a louder voice interjecting, or another shift in the ship's trajectory, but a single tear that fell on her mask.

She looked up, casting her shivering gray eyes at the scenery she secretly always longed to see every morning.

Except this time, something was missing. Something that stirred a tightness in her chest she couldn't explain.

The morning moon hung above the princess' head, lighting the dazzling starflower no one could deny was the jewel of the elf kingdom. Her moist blue eyes matched the glow of the moonlight, reflecting off of the bright tears falling down her face like a stream of stardust escaping through the vast, yet restricted sky.

"I wish I had done more for you, Luci! All these years, you've been by my side, protecting me, doing everything I say…" Tilla exclaimed, unable to stop the droplets from falling on her guardian. "I thought you'd consider me your friend too, to choose to be free with me… Please, Luci! Please, just come with me! I know you want to!"

The dark elf's heavy nerves prevented her from resisting her predicament, to even move the lips hiding behind her mask.

The many barriers built around the little bud were shaking under the blinding moonlight.

The very bud which had rejected and suppressed its own blooming.