The History of the Elves
by Wesley Bales
Mrs. Dawson's 11th Grade AP Pre-United History Class
The origin of both humans and elves is shrouded in mystery. Modern day science has theorized that humans have evolved from an ape-like ancestor millions of years ago. While it is true that archeological evidence has backed the reality that more intelligent and "human-like" apes used to roam the eastern continents, there is much to be questioned about the fact that a gap of over a million years separates those finds from the remains of current day humans. If evolution is at play, how come there is no support to show how we emerged from what was ultimately a common animal? How is it possible to go from apes to humans so abruptly? This question has led many to turn their thoughts to the existence of a god simply placing our race on the world.
Or, I should say it is a goddess some believe to have created the world and its inhabitants. The idea that the omnipotent creator is of womanly form stems from our ancient communication with the elves, for a goddess is what they believe in even to this day. If we say we know little about how we came to be, then it can easily be said that we know nothing about how the elves appeared on this planet. No archeological evidence gives any inclination that the elves evolved from a mere animal. The elves have simply existed in the form in which they have always existed. That they possess the desperately sought after gift of immortality only strengthens the argument of many that the realization of both races stems from the power of an otherworldly being. Perhaps humans once had the full answers to "why" and "how" in the days of our infancy. However, any surety that was gained was lost once the breaking of the peace between the elves and humans began.
Though there are many doubts today of the genuineness of ancient knowledge, there is much we know of how the elves have otherwise influenced our land and culture. That our country began as seven territories was due to the example of the original seven elven kingdoms. The meanings of the names have long been lost to us, but the names of those kingdoms are as follows- Neonind, Faeldor, Tuoranir, Tuohir, Bronwe, Estelind, and Melanno. The folklore of the elves explains that the Goddess watched the immortal race she had newly created and picked from them couples who demonstrated strength in one of seven characteristics she found most desirous for her people. Those couples became the kings and queens of the kingdoms, and they led their people through thousands of years of prosperity and peace. Naturally, as the years went on those couples produced children. The blood of the kings and queens spread far enough for there to become a distinction of class between the elves- those of noble blood and those of common status.
It is shown throughout human history that the rise of a noble class, especially that of a dominating and controlling one, is most often the reason for tension, anger, and war within a people. Old stories passed down from those humans lucky enough to hear the tales of the elves from the mouth of an elf show that, for the longest time, the same could not be said for their kind. For them, being noble blooded did not make one better than an elf of common birth. It was merely a way to discern ancestry. That was their way of thinking for thousands of years. However, there then occurred an event that can be called the closest thing to a battle between themselves that the elves ever engaged in. It was an event that sparked radical change, and it is the greatest example we have of how the elves always have and will always put the peace of their race above the needs of the selfish few.
The aforementioned event is known as the "Standoff at Araduin." Araduin, which humans know today as the Royal River, is a long and wide river that was the border between the Faeldor and Tuohir kingdoms. It also effectively split the kingdoms into two groups: the" eastern kingdoms" of Neonind, Faeldor, Bronwe, and Melanno and the "western kingdoms" of Tuoranir, Tuohir, and Estelind. A set of twin towns was built on each bank at the narrowest section of river. Many noble blooded elves resided in the town in Tuohir. Across the way, the other town in Faeldor was majorly common blooded elves. The towns traded with prosperity and stood on equal ground with each other for millennia. Then the elves in the Faeldor town decided that it would be best if the Tuohir town pay taxes for the goods they wanted to trade. Their logic for this was that because the Tuohir town was richer due to the higher presence of the noble bloods that them paying taxes would disperse the wealth more equally. The Tuohir town agreed- as long as the quality of the goods they received in return was guaranteed. The consensus had the two at peace for several more decades.
However, the Faeldor continued to raise the taxes while the Tuohir insisted on better and better goods. The demands of both rose to the point of sheer insanity. Trade between the towns ceased. With the main center for communication between the two groups of kingdoms blocked, tension rose further. The Faeldor claimed they were being oppressed. The Tuohir claimed they were being unjustly exploited. The mounting animosity caused the kings and queens to convene at Araduin for a meeting to discuss the matter. The result of that meeting- the complete and total dissolution of the kingdoms. The royalty had the wisdom and foresight to see that borders and ranks would bring about greed, subversion, and an overall end to the way of life which they so desperately wanted to maintain. The result was accepted by all. That was how the standoff was ended and the elves became united as a single people.
The kings, queens, and noble blooded continued to be leaders for the elves, but never again was any elf given higher rank over another. The peace continued. Many historians today theorize it would have continued forever had humans not made an appearance. Whether by immigration from the east or by divine placement, our race joined the elves on this continent. Despite many records being destroyed during the civil war of the humans, several scattered remnants created by our forefathers detail their first encounters with the elder race. The first writings describe nothing but acceptance and tolerance from both sides. The elves were not only willing to share their lands, but were courteous to take leave from their homes to give the early humans a place to call their own. Thus, the territories of Walford, Gracian, Shallton, Provity, Lus, Envity, and Glorin were created. To further extend their generosity, the elves invited the humans to build a city with them in which both races could live in harmoniously. That project grew into what is our current day capital- Newmark. It is the lone city out of the other five built in collaboration to still be standing.
It took approximately a thousand years for the relationship between the elves and the humans to start turning sour. The seven territories expanded, which threatened the willingness of the elves to simply give away their land. What was initially more harmful was the drive of the humans to involve the elves in the disputes among themselves. Mere negotiators at first, the humans soon took to using the gifted strength of the immortals for their advantage. The elves, never having experienced betrayal or disloyalty, remained unaware for years of the ulterior motives of their younger, mortal brethren. The first major experience of such a situation occurred during the War of Greed. The war, lasting two years, was fought between Gracian and Lus. The two had been quarreling for a decade on how to share the wealth of natural materials overlapping their border. The elves were understandingly wary of joining in on the skirmishes. It was not only their first experience with warfare, but with the act of taking a life by way of another's hands. Unfortunately, they hesitantly gave their support to Gracian when the Gracians manipulated the truth of their reason for fighting. Falsely revealing that Lus intended to conquer them, it was they who desired to take over the smaller territory. The war ended with a truce, but the elves took a heavy casualty, the death of the former king of Bronwe, with absolutely no gain for them to be had.
Unfortunately, the result for the elves in the War of Greed only escalated as time pushed down its path. Further wars, such as the Battles of the Rising and the War of Conquest, continued to needlessly take elven lives. The relationship between the two races took a deep nose dive south when it came to light all the times the humans had lied and manipulated their reasons in order to engage the help of the elves. They refused to participate in any more human conflicts and demanded payment for the land that was being constantly chipped away from them. A wary sort of peace enveloped the land for a century. Yet with the rapidly rising population of the humans, that peace was doomed from the start. Promised payments never came. Human houses and towns built just inside the borders of elven territory sneakily stole land. Then there came the devastating event that annihilated the last of the elves' trusts in humans and was the starting point for the genocide of their people.
"The Eternal Betrayal", the translated definition of what the elves called the massacre- the original elvish having been lost to our knowledge, resulted due to the malicious and greedy desires of the Envitites and Glorins. It was a joint collaboration between the two territories, for they shared the most amount of border land with the elves. Envity, with its massive army, put military pressure on the elves to surrender vast amounts of their land. Naturally, the elves refused. Glorin then pretended to offer them their help with the situation. They promised to use their equally powerful army to roam elven territory to fend off the potential attacks. The elves accepted. That allowed the Glorin army to be easily accepted deep into their land. When the timing was right, Envity launched an attack on the border. The elves turned to the Glorins for assistance, but what they got instead was the Glorins ordering them to hand over twice the amount of land of the original Envity demand. Once more, the elves refused. Their cities, towns, and villages were then burned to the ground by the ones who they thought would protect them. The elves had no army, merely a small defense force, and were no match for the two conquering entities. The several weeks during the first bout of attacks not only mark the first time human forces invaded elven land with might, but those weeks also mark the first time humans sexually attacked those of the immortal race. Multiple stories recount how all too often the female victims would die before their attacker could finish, for the heartbreak of being harmed in such a way was too much for them to handle. It was centuries later when the threat of being sexually forced became common, disgustingly- almost guaranteed, for elven woman that they became desensitized to the crime to be able to withstand its agony.
The elves gave up all hope that they could co-exist with the younger race peacefully. Having lost a third of their land and countless lives, they rejected all offers of help and assistance with retribution on Envity and Glorin from the other territories. They strengthened their defense force and kept firmly to themselves. Time would sadly go on to prove that even such a morbid victory for the humans would not be enough to quell their thirst for more. Walford, Gracian, and Envity merged to form the northern country of Sorrell. Likewise, Shallton, Provity, Lus, and Glorin merged to become the southern country of Olten. The two were constantly at conflict with each other. Neither was satisfied with what they had, and both were always searching out more. Their battles and wars kept the elves safe for some time until Sorrell and Olten concocted an outlandish plan. They planned out a deal that whichever country could capture the most elven land would absorb the other as their own. A truce would be carried out between them until that point. Thus, that is how the humans began hunting elves for sport and conquest. Many innocents were captured as slaves and were worked until their bodies gave out. Thousands of stolen elf women were forced to work in brothels. There was time where the most beautiful were sold as concubines for the humans to produce children with, but the practice soon ceased when the humans realized a pregnancy could not be forced upon an immortal woman. Like human women, females elves are born with a set number of eggs in their ovaries. However, because of their increased time of growth and delaying of marriage until usually the first millennium their supply of eggs would run out if they dealt with normal menstruation like human females. That is the suspected reason why they can control ovulation simply by desiring to ovulate, and why the men forcing themselves on the women by violence were met with no results. There was once a legend that a man convinced a woman to conceive by promising to protect her and her family afterwards, but the recent discovery of the alleged first half-elf half-human remains prove that the girl held no immortal ancestry.
The once populous elven raced declined rapidly as their soldiers focused only on defense could do nothing to fend off the impenetrable armies marching against them. Hurrying their people further west with the prayer that the blood lust of the younger race would cease was the most they could manage. Historians theorize that Sorrell and Olten would have wiped out the elves entirely had their truce not broken. Groups of soldiers from both sides attacked each other while in "neutral" elven territory. The skirmishes were ignored at first, but the passing of another decade had war beginning again. This allowed the elves the time to regroup and replenish a line of soldiers that gave them enough strength to hold out until the brutal expansion of Sorrell and Olten was completed. However, the immortals had to face several more tragic events before any sort of peace could be found. The most well-known battle studied in combined elven and human history is the "Agarross o Brona Calad", or the Massacre of Last Light. Brona Calad was a large, fortified settlement the elves built as a refuge. At its peak, it held over 10% of the elven population- for they had been driven nearly to extinction. Unfortunately, at its peak was when a group of combined Sorrell and Olten forces launched a surprise attack. That tenth of the population was nearly wiped out overnight. It is estimated that approximately 100 elves survived the bloodbath by escaping by boats down the nearby river. The crumbled remains of Brona Calad have been protected as a memorial in modern time. The most visited area of the memorial is the grave of two unknown elves. Surveys of the area showed that when the elves returned to Brona Calad after the humans left that all the corpses, save for those two bodies, were buried together in one communal grave. Some have hypothesized that the smooth stone written on entirely in elvish that serves as the marker for the unknown elves belongs to two immortals of high importance- the most supported guess being that the elves were the last of the original elven kings and queens. However, the full truth will never be known without proper translation by an elf, which, at this point in time, seems incredibly unlikely to ever occur.
The genocide of the elves continued on for another three centuries. Sorrell and Olten could not stop their wars with each other. The elves were always granted just enough of a reprieve to continue surviving. It was during one of their periods of rest when the two countries were distracted that the elves followed through with the only offensive attack ever carried out by their people- "The Regretful Retribution." The targets were two small towns, Lochhollow and Oston. Lochhollow was a town settled just within the Sorrell border, and, likewise, Oston was on the edge of the Olten border. Having never experienced any attack initiated by the elves, no protection stood on those borders. The elves launched their retribution with nearly all the ferocity shown to them by the humans. Both towns were burned to the ground. Men, women, children, and infants were all killed. The intention was no leave no one alive. However, from Lochhollow there emerged one survivor- a five-year-old boy named Kyrie Eleison. His survival, though a miracle, was an act of mercy and not mere luck. The written account Eleison gave of his experience still exists today and is on display at the Museum of Ancient and Pre-United History in Newmark. Part of that account reads:
"The cries began just after twilight. The fires started soon after. My family's house, situated on the edge of town, blazed with all the glory of the noon day sun. My mother's shrieks of terror still echo within my mind to this day. Lochhollow was a new town built in haste to secure Sorrell's growing territory. The buildings poor in strength all collapsed under the great might of the force of the elves. I had barely been pulled from my bed in time by my father. As he led my mother, my two older sisters, and me towards the forest nearby, I soon realized that the reason for my mother's distress was because we were one short. There had been no time to rescue my younger brother from the house. In the inferno he remained, the poison of the smoke stealing him away peacefully as he slept or the cruel flames scalding him as he screamed through a torturous death.
My mother's shrieks were abruptly halted. I barely had time to turn my head to see the arrow that pierced her heart before another struck the shoulder of my eldest sister. The elves would allow none to flee that night. A massive wall of archers hidden in the woods surrounded the entire town. My mother's corpse had to be abandoned as the rest of us were forced to rush back into the chaos, desperate and hopeless that there would be a place to hide. My second oldest sister fell next. The hurriedly dwindling crowds of panicked citizens were crazed and unstoppable in their fear. There was nothing to be done when a man, after having run into us, grabbed my sister to use as a shield for the elven sword heading his way. The blade gored my sister's gut. Her cries of pain were silenced when the sword struck again- the anger of the elf wielding it giving it enough weight to strike through my sister's heart to reach the heart of the man using her life as his protection.
With tears streaming down his eyes, my father continued to pull me and my remaining sister away while the elf was distracted. We weaved throughout the town watching friends, neighbors, and strangers alike be struck down by the wrath of the immortal race. That wrath soon took my elder sister. On the verge of collapsing from the pain of her injury, she willingly threw herself into the way of elven soldiers to further provide my father and I a distraction so that we might live. We managed to escape the sight of our enemies for a brief moment. That was when we came across a collapsed building, but one that was not on fire. I was yanked through the wreckage until my father found that I could crawl through the debris to reach a small corner of a room that still stood firm. He was too large to follow. He instead threw more debris on the passage leading to the room so that I was hidden. He then disappeared. I did not understand at the time why he left, but hindsight, an adult mind, and the comprehension of a father's heart now give me the answer I sought at that time. His presence would lead the elves right to me. Him remaining would have shown them that he stood defending someone. Thus, he returned to the danger where a sword took his life to give me one small glimpse of hope at seeing the sunrise.
There I sat huddled and terrified in that corner. The screams and roar of the fires eventually diminished as the dawn came. The lone sounds reaching my ears was that of elvish; the elves were searching out survivors. I froze with fright and terror when the heaps of wood hiding me were pulled away. Seconds later, one of the soldiers slid through the opening he created to tower above me. Golden like the glorious sun behind him did his long hair shine. Emerald, gem-like eyes widened with rage and blood lust as they noticed my presence. The soldier's face, though distorted and twisted with rage, still etches its unending beauty in my memory till this day. Silence passed between the two of us. His entire person shook, his hand slowly raising the dagger that could have easily taken my life. In that moment, when I gazed into those emeralds again, I stopped being afraid. I quickly accepted that I was alright with being killed. It was not the thought of being reunited with my family that gave me such reassurance. It was because I not only saw my father's anguish in the eyes of that elf, but I saw that anguish amplified a hundred times over. The cruel pain my father had experienced could not compete with what those immortal eyes had seen. My family might not have done anything wrong, but we were not the victims that night.
The passing silence as the elf determined my fate seemed eternal. That dagger did rise with a jerk once, but it quickly fell again. The turmoil within the soldier's mind was as clear as his pain. What was the right thing for him to do? Just a young child, I had committed no crimes. I was human, but that did not instantly make me worthy of death. However, I would not remain a little boy forever. I would become a man. I could become a soldier who would steal away more of his loved ones. At the very least, it was almost guaranteed if I lived that I would add to the population exterminating his people. Perhaps I wouldn't slay an elf, but what of my sons? Or my sons' sons? At some point, me living would bring him more heartbreak. His struggle was interrupted when calls for him rang from beyond the wreckage. The soldier exhaled heavily but silently. With his rage burning brighter, he pointed his dagger at me. However, he was not moving to strike me. He was giving me warning. I was being spared, but I would have to remember that elf's mercy. Me and my descendants can have no part in the destruction of the elves unless I want that elf to return to make me regret being saved.
He left, nonchalantly replacing the debris as he went to hide me again. His voiced joined those of the other's, and they departed. I remained frozen in place until the evening, when the desperate calls of the humans from the next town over pulled me to expose myself."
Eleison goes on to further explain his life after Lochhollow's destruction. He explains his regret at not being able to have the courage to apologize to the soldier for all that the humans had done, and he also describes the family he grew up to have who swore to always uphold the elf's warning. They became the leaders for the organization that arose after the Retribution, which lobbied both Sorrell and Olten for the safety of the elves. However, before we jump ahead to that time we must first explore why the elves named that night what they did. A week after the attack, they sent these words to the countries' leaders:
"We are not oblivious to your mourning. We see your anger at having lost innocent lives. Both are sentiments we know too well, for such pains are what you have been dealing to us unceasingly these past centuries. It is not our intention to start war with you. Even if that had been our goal at the beginning, the open slaughter we will readily admit to doing was more than enough to show us that a path of violence can never be our calling. Already some of the soldiers who participated have lost their lives due to the heartbreak of the crime they have committed. The rest are being tortured in the nights by their guilt. We regret our retribution with our whole hearts. We merely wanted you to get a glimpse of the agony that we suffer through each and every day. Now we see that our actions were too much. We apologize with broken hearts for the devastation we caused and promise with our eternity to never again lead an attack against your people. If you charge our soldiers with the crime of murder, we will hand them over willingly for them to face justice. We simply hope you will finally see the situation through our eyes and swear to make your own promise of ceasefire."
Sorrell, at young Eleison's pleading, sent no call of justice to the elves. The letter Olten sent demanding the soldiers participating in the retribution face judgment was intercepted by its own people and destroyed. After so many years of fighting and death, the people had had enough.
Those citizens of Sorrell and Olten living close to the borders banded together ignoring their ties to their respective countries to hold back the human soldiers bent on attacking the elves again of their own accord. Sorrell and Olten did try using force against their own people to push the armies through, but that was years later when the aforementioned organization Eleison started had swept its message throughout the land into the hearts of the populace. The slaughter of the elves was finally ceased. It was during this time that the elves started construction of one of the most massive physical structures in existence; the Border Wall, which runs the entire length of the land the elves were able to salvage. Speculated to be at least 25 feet wide along its entire length, the wall allowed the elves to easily dispense of the groups of defect soldiers who refused to give in until they had all the elves had. All save for one who approached the wall were shot and killed. Like young Kyrie Eleison, the lone survivor was a young girl perhaps ironically named Harmony. Centuries had passed since the end of the fighting. The isolation of the elves had gone on for so long that some began to treat them as mere myth. The fear of getting close to the wall had diminished significantly. Harmony was dared by her older brother to sneak up to the structure to attempt to steal some piece of it. She left, and when it was found out by her parents where she had gone they were naturally in hysterics. Harmony's older brother noted in one of his journals that he received a swatting so terrible he was not able to sit for two weeks. His punishment surely would have been worse had Harmony not be returned. She was found in a drug-induced sleep later that night. Her shoulder had been shot, but also cleaned and bandaged by the elves. Pinned to her clothes was a note that had fate connecting her and Eleison:
"For the second time I have spared one of your children, unlike how you have never spared ours. This will be your only warning. Any human who dares to approach our land again, be they man, woman, child, or toddler, will be killed without hesitation. We will no longer return the bodies to the edge of our stolen lands like we have done in the past. All corpses will be left to rot in the place where they have fallen."
The note, next to Eleison's account in the Newmark museum, is signed with an elvish signature. It is possible that more than one child had been spared by elven soldiers, but most believe the same soldier who spared Eleison was also the one who shot but spared Harmony. Those who have studied all that can studied be studied about the elvish language have tried desperately to make sense of the signature, but no conclusive progress has been made. Among that which has no conclusive evidence- the claims that elves have crossed the border since the start of their isolation. Rumors persist in several areas of the country that elves have chosen to live amongst the younger race, but rumors is all the talk appears to be. The only thing that seems certain is that, if an elf does choose to break the isolation, it will a momentous event to add to the complicated and eternally intertwined history of humans and elves.
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I finished reading, closed the binder, and set it down on my nightstand. It was hardly the first time I had read some sort of report about the history of my people. Having had my children attend human public school, I had long since learned how the mortal race viewed that history and how they remembered it. It had been strange at first seeing the events described from an entirely different standpoint, but now I found it amusing somehow. Learning how the humans regretted their actions was one of the best things I had discovered when I crossed the wall. Up until then, I had believed like I had been taught that they were proud of what they had done.
I heard footsteps coming up the stairs and towards the room. It was a difficult task to contain my smile. Wesley had no idea I had what I had. Thinking of his reaction made me want to laugh. He walked in with his own slight smile. It was Snowflake Day, and it had been a rather joyous one at that.
"Everyone is settled down with their toys and presents, although I figure they'll all soon be asleep thanks to having their fill with that massive dinner." he explained.
"Good. We can finally have some time to ourselves."
Wesley smiled brighter. However, his expression flattened as he spotted the binder after taking a few steps closer. Confused at first, his eyes narrowed suspiciously at the sight of it.
"That better not be what I think it is." he frowned.
"Your parents sent it to me as a Snowflake Day gift," I revealed, letting out some of my laughter, "I've thoroughly enjoyed what I've gone through so far. Pictures, stories, school reports- all the stuff you've put on paper about elves from the time you could hold a crayon. I knew you were well informed about elven history, but I never realized you were such a big fan."
"I specifically sent that to them when I moved so you wouldn't ever see it." Wesley groaned in embarrassment.
"What? Why?"
Wesley moved closer to the binder slowly. His hand hovered over it slightly as if he was going to pick it up, but he didn't.
"I had always wanted to meet an elf. Of course, I never believed that would actually happen- or that I would father children with one," he smiled again briefly, "I don't mind sharing a lot of things with you, but I guess I'm afraid in a way of you seeing what I thought for all these years. I researched as much as I could, but it was always impossible for me to have the full knowledge of everything that I wrote about. For all I know, half the stuff in here could be completely wrong. I didn't want anything to offend you or make you upset. I didn't want to appear ignorant."
"You don't have to worry about that in the slightest. It was very clear in everything in there which side of the fence you stood on. And how I could I even think to blame you for what you don't know? You just said you researched what you could. It's not like you wrote anything without thinking." I reassured him.
Wesley was quiet for the longest time. I had absolutely no idea what to say. I had never expected him seeing the binder would make him so troubled, but troubled was exactly the feeling he wore on his face. Eventually he let out a grimacing grin and small scoff.
"I guess I was lying. You getting upset by what is in here hardly bothers me. The truth...is that I'm bothered by what is in here. I wish I had never learned so much. I wish I could be ignorant and ignore the past. But I can't. I just have to know the stories, all the small details, every little event that is nothing but tragedy and heartbreak. Even now your people are still suffering because of what happened- by what is happening. The humans say we regret our actions, but what's being done about it? Nothing. We're simply content to live our happy little lives on the land we won through brutal murders and massacres while doing nothing to reach out to the ones we hurt. The elves remain trapped in that pitiful scrap of land, and it seems no one will come out without being forced by some omnipotent being because they're both so terrified and full of hate over the cruelty they endured."
I stood up and a took a hold of Wesley. It was pretty much the first time I had seen him looking like he wanted to cry. With him having been so cheerful throughout the rest of the day, it wasn't a change I liked. He latched onto me eagerly.
"Honestly," he continued, "I almost hate myself. I speak as if I'm better than everyone else, but I'm not doing anything either. What can I do? It's not like I can walk up to the wall and apologize. I can't give the elves their land back or erase all the tortuous memories they hold. In the great span of things, my voice means nothing."
I pressed a small kiss against his cheek and held his hand tighter.
"You're wrong, you know," I began, "100% wrong. The elves believe that the humans don't care about what they did. They believe they would be all too willing to repeat what happened if the elves left our land. You are a shining example of how that is not true. You've put in so much effort to learn the reality of the situation. You've had the bravery to discover all the harsh truths even if doing so opened up your eyes to seeing something painful. The most important thing though- you want to make a difference. You want to inspire change. It is true you might be one of the few to feel so strongly in that manner, but from how I see it your goal will be reached the same way mine will be. We're both each just one person. However, through hard work and determination we'll share with others what needs to be done. The effect will trickle down until enough people have been reached in order for the change to happen. You probably won't get to see the results in your lifetime, but I know one day the wall, the metaphorical one, is going to break. The isolation of my people will cease. Just like Eleison, you and the others like you will have touched enough hearts and minds to allow the elves the safety and peace of mind to try once more to co-exist with the humans. Perhaps that is when my people will finally start the last of the healing they need."
Again, Wesley didn't say anything for the longest time. I was worried my comforting hadn't been what he needed, but he did go ahead smile lightly with relief. He brushed his lips against mine and gave me a lingering kiss.
"You have no idea how grateful I am for you." he whispered.
That made me turn a bit sheepish. I then stared at him, perplexed, when his eyes suddenly grew full of amazement and awe. He stared at me without blinking. He placed his hands against my cheeks and looked at me as if he had never seen me before.
"Oh my god." he said in another whisper.
"What?" I asked in confusion.
"I am the biggest idiot. I can't believe I haven't- you're an elf!"
"Yes? I thought that was obvious by now."
"No. That's- I mean..." he paused and then took a deep breath, "What I mean is that I can't believe it took this long for it to occur to me that you have the answers to all the questions I have about the missing gaps in history. You can so easily tell me what human scholars have been trying to figure out for hundreds and hundreds of years!"
I cast my eyes to the floor. My heart sunk, and I gently bit my lip in a failed attempt to hide my nerves.
"You won't tell me anything?" Wesley asked, his voice full of the disappointment I didn't want to hear.
I willed myself to meet his gaze again.
"There's a reason so much of what was left behind was written in elvish. There's a reason the elves kept so much knowledge to ourselves. With nearly everything being taken away from my people, they were desperately doing whatever they could to keep even small sentiments and thoughts out of the grasp of the humans. Something as simple as an epitaph or a name on a note is incredibly personal, and they carry the weight of the heartbreak of those who left them behind. For me to so openly reveal what is so private, it feels like it would be such a betrayal."
I took a breath and continued before Wesley could respond.
"Then there's the fact that a lot of that information is personal to me as well. For example, what I will tell you, which I will only tell because I know if I say that I don't want you to reveal it to anyone else that you will honor that, is that...the separate grave at Brona Calad isn't that of an elven king and queen. They were all killed before then. That grave belongs to my grandparents. My mother's father and mother."
"Oh." Wesley said quietly.
"I only know that because ada told me. Naneth won't even speak of them. It's true I didn't experience the cruelty of what my parents went through, but after having lost too many of my children and knowing I will lose all of them in the end- I think I can get a good grasp at the agonizing pain ada and naneth carry."
"I don't doubt it. And you don't have to say anything more, Ellothiel. I understand." Wesley pressed with a sympathetic gaze in his eyes.
I let out a sigh. I wasn't going to say anything more on that matter. Making the atmosphere so gloomy was not how I wanted to spend my Snowflake Day. Instead, my smile and desire to laugh returned as I went ahead and proceeded with what I knew was going to happen at some point that night. I gave Wesley's arm a tug and led him onto the bed.
"How about we go ahead and get down to the reason why you made sure all the children were distracted and why you locked the door when you came in?" I suggested mischievously, "You have been unusually inappropriately grabby today."
"I don't think it should be that surprising!" Wesley laughed, "As pretty as your long dresses are, sometimes there's just a bit too much there. I much prefer you in the attire like what you wore on our vacation and your ensemble today."
"So disgraceful." I teased.
"What can I say? I am a man after all. And since I have a beautiful girlfriend with a high sex drive, I'm not going to be bashful about it."
"I'm not that bad." I mumbled.
"Please." Wesley scoffed in amusement, which had me rolling my eyes.
"Fine. I won't deny it." I accepted.
Wesley laughed again and began to pull me closer for a kiss. However, he suddenly stopped and stared at me strangely again.
"Whoops." he said.
"Whoops?"
"I think I just figured out something on my own about what you didn't want to say."
"Well, if you figured it out yourself I guess it can't be helped. What is it you think you realized?" I asked, too curious to change the topic.
"Obviously we know you father fought and survived through the genocide. You told me before he was even a crucial participant. You've also told me you inherited your hair and eyes from him. That is correct, right?"
"It is." I confirmed.
"Golden hair like the glorious sun. Emerald, gem-like eyes. Unending beauty. You have it all." he spoke confidently.
"Seems like I don't need to say anything about it then," I taunted jokingly before going ahead and caving somewhat, "And since I know you desperately want to ask- yes. The one you're thinking of did spare both Kyrie and Harmony."
"He's a very kind man."
"He is."
The talking stopped for a minute when Wesley pulled me right up to him and kissed me much more passionately. As it was though, I couldn't get the general idea of what we had been talking about out of my head.
"Want to know something else?" I taunted again when I had a second to breathe.
"Is this really what we should be discussing at this particular moment?" Wesley chuckled.
"I won't say it then." I teased.
"No, no. Go ahead."
"You know I'm noble-blooded, but you've never thought to ask from which kingdom I'm descended."
"Which kingdom are you descended from, my dear?" Wesley questioned lightheartedly as he moved his kissing onto my neck and down a bit further.
"Melanno and Estelind. I am the great-great-granddaughter of Arthadan and Lossiel of Melanno, and the great-great-great-granddaughter of Eruannon and Leoma of Estelind. The heritage comes from ada's side of the family."
"I didn't even realize- that makes you a princess then. You're also a double princess."
"I carry royal blood, but I am no princess. Not technically. There is no kingdom I can lay claim to but that which is in memory."
"Well, you are my princess."
A blush spread across my cheeks. There had been no tone of teasing or sarcasm in Wesley's voice. His words were genuine through and through. The words which he whispered next into my ear, they were not nearly the same way. I gave him a friendly smack on the back for their vulgarity. Wesley merely laughed. He then held me so tightly there was no space between us. The talking ceased again as our lips remained connected. Wesley eventually began to lean further back towards the mattress.
"Happy Snowflake Day." I said softly.
Wesley placed another kiss on my lips before answering.
"Happy Snowflake Day."
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