Bella's eyes shot open. She quickly leaned up from where she laid, but her body ached all over. She noticed she was covered in bandages.
"Ah, good. You're awake." Said a stranger. Bella looked to the owner of the voice. The top half of them was a human woman, but she had horns that curled close up and around her head, while their legs were like that of a black goat or sheep. She clacked her way over to Bella's bed and handed her a cup filled with something. "Don't worry. It's just medicine." The goat-woman assured Bella.
"Thank you." The elf nodded and took a sip of the medicinal water. Her face scrunched reflexively. It was rather bitter.
The goat-woman giggled a little. "My name is Toragilly, but you may call me Tori if you like."
Bella strained against the bitter taste that lingered in her mouth. "Thank you, Tori. Have you by chance seen another elf and a man in a cloak anywhere?" She asked, carrying a sense of worry in her words.
Tori nodded. "Yes indeed. They're waiting for you just outside. I'll go get them now."
As Tori left, Bella then noticed that she was in a tent or a hut of sorts. It felt primal. Even the bed she laid in was made of straw with a thick blanket covering it.
"Aunt Bella?" She heard Lilly call for her.
"I'm here, my dear."
Lilly pulled back the hut cover and quickly sat herself next to her aunt. "I'm so glad you're okay." She gently hugged as Draegor entered the room to join them.
"You have not left us yet I see. This is pleasing to know." He said in a monotone voice.
"Where are we?" Bella asked.
"We are in a small village near the mountain chain. The inhabitants are mostly Beast-Warriors with a few Beast and Winged Beast-Types as well." Informed Draegor.
"I see. Then we're that much closer to the capital."
"About that; you said before passing out that there were things you wished to assess. What exactly was it you wanted to take care of?" The masked man asked with crossed arms and a voice that carried a sense of mistrust.
Bella sighed. "Honestly, I didn't think we would ever make it out of that infernal prison. I had just about given up on the idea."
"What idea?" Lilly asked.
"My dear, sweet Lilly." Bella looked to her niece with tears in her eyes. "You… You have a sister."
Lilly was frozen for a moment, but then her heart began to flutter. "I have a sister?" She asked with a joyous tone.
"Yes. She's actually your twin." Bella said with equal joy.
"Really? Where is she? What's her name?" Lilly was almost too excited, but no one could blame her.
Bella laughed along with Lilly's joy. "Her name is Orchid." She answered, but then she lowered her head. "But you two were separated at birth. The only thing I know is that she was to be taken to the Dark Country to be enslaved there, much like you and I were taken to the Light Country to meet the same fate." Bella sighed a heavy sigh.
"O-Oh…" Lilly dropped her head.
"So why are we going to the Earth Country and not the Dark?" Draegor cut in.
Bella sighed again. "It was in the Earth Country that we had been separated. We had a home there, my sister Lillian and I did. Our parents were a forbidden pair. Our father was a Light and our Mother was a Dark. Because of this we were hunted our whole lives by both sides. They built a home in the Earth Country to keep us safe, but it didn't last long." Bella explained, her eyes started to water. "They found us and tried to catch my sister and I. Lillian managed to escape using her Skill, but I think something went wrong." Bella paused.
"What happened?" Draegor pressed.
"She never returned. Not for a very long time. Her Skill was the ability to banish herself in order to be protected, but something must have happened as that Skill only lasts for a turn. Lillian, I believe, managed to banish herself to another place, because when she came back after about 500 cycles, she was fatally wounded and carrying Lilly and Orchid." Bella explained to the best of her ability.
"Do you know what happened while she was gone, or where she went?" Draegor pressed again.
"No. I don't." Bella answered firmly, sending a wave of pain through her body. "I was captured instead and imprisoned for many cycles, until they released me. I came back to our old home and waited to see if Lillian would ever come back. It was only after she did return that I understood why they ever let me go, because when I brought Lillian to the nearest hospital, after she died giving birth to her girls, a group of Darks came in and stole us away from each other." Bella was now in tears when she finished. Lilly did her best to comfort her aunt.
Draegor stood for a moment, taking in everything she said. "Alright." He said calmly. Bella looked to him confused. "If your plan is to find Orchid and reunite as a family once more, then I will offer my protection unto you." He said without facing them.
"Do you really mean that?" Lilly asked.
"I cannot refuse the requests of the person who died to bring me into this world, much less the requests of those close to that person." Draegor explained with a calm yet firm tone. "However, I plan to free myself of these bindings soon." He added on.
"What do you mean?" Bella asked curiously.
"I will find a way to revive Lilly back to her former self. When that happens, I will leave." Draegor declared, almost saying it like a warning. Bella and Lilly could only look to each other. "Now then, let us be on our way."