Chapter 29: Fallout:

RECAP: Marak seemed to have a sharp intake of breath, his next words were slow and measured. "You're part demon then?"

I nodded not trusting myself to look at him, "Surprise..."

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You could've heard a pin drop. Dead silence swept in the room stalking proudly at the end of my statement. The tension, the fear, the anger all the emotions coming off Marak nearly overwhelmed me. The room itself small in size left nowhere for the maids' emotions to go and a healthy thick cloud of fear settled itself.

Marak dragged a hand across his face, a very human reaction to being overwhelmed. I curiously looked him over once more noticing there seemed to be a thin mostly transparent cowl of magic that draped over him like a force field. The silvery magic cowl trembled on its own shaping itself on Marak then flaring out defensively in my direction.

"This isn't going to work." Marak said his voice strained. His hand remained over his face and he seemed to be calculating something as his brow furrowed.

I slowly stood up from the stool and dusted myself off glancing around hoping to find my street clothes, "Well… we can't say we didn't try."

Marak pulled the hand off his face a rather severe expression on his face, "Your friend-"

"Arisa." I corrected still glancing around for my clothes and making the maids' cower.

I moved about the room making everyone shy away from me as I searched nearby drawers for my clothes. No one dared stop me.

"Arisa," Marak corrected carefully weighing her name on his tongue, "she's… part elf."

"Eh that makes sense. Her old man was a mess of some weird magic, " I paused slowly closing a drawer that had a weird collection of powders in it. I didn't want to guess what they were for.

"She's an elf-human cross." Marak said as if for my benefit.

I glanced at him, "Okay if you want to put a label on it. Sure. She's also American like I am. So I guess she's an American elf-human cross for her race classification." It was hard to keep the irritation out of my voice as I splayed my hands to my side in frustration. "Where are my clothes?!"

Marak wasn't looking at me, instead he was focusing back outside of the room and it didn't take much to guess who he was looking at.

"No." I didn't realize I had spoken the word out loud as he whirled to face me once more, a decisive look in his eyes. "THAT is not happening."

"We aren't compatible," He said smoothly gesturing to the colosseum room, "but she and I are."

"She's compatible with Rex," I said with a growl, "he's her boyfriend."

Marak raised an eyebrow at that, the detail either escaped his notice or he'd ignored it before.

I swiped at the wispy handkerchiefs that tickled my knees, ugh it was hard to look intimidating in this get up, "Look. I tried to be nice. I offered myself up as a substitute for your uh ceremony? But it isn't going to work as you said. Arisa is not going to marry you either. She doesn't want to."

Marak bowed his head for a moment quietly speaking, "She will learn-"

I held up a hand feeling a flock of red flags being waved in my face. I felt I was trapped in a weird romantic horror movie if such a category existed.

I scowled and closed the distance between us slamming my pointer finger into his chest, "Wrong answer. Look King there is something you need to understand and I'm going to give you a crash course as a courtesy. Doing something someone doesn't want is assault, kidnapping, and so many other bad things. It is violating a person's free will and overriding it with your own. You are in essence saying that your happiness matters more than theirs." My voice raised the further I got along my little speech and it was gaining a bigger audience.

Rex poked his head into the doorway with Arisa. He took one look at my face and said something quietly to Arisa and pulled her away from the door. Mama lion was out and mama lion did not play around.

Marak to his credit only stumbled back a few steps as I laid into him but he had the gall to look offended. He reached out grabbing my shoulders. Some strange current passed through us, and whether it was because I was emitting hostility or just suggesting the hint of hostility I suddenly found myself thrown back into the vanity. The mirror behind me shattered on impact and I felt the glass dig into my mostly bare back.

I cried out in pain, my volume loud against the sudden stifling silence of the maids.

Marak paled and reached out a hand then pulled it back.

"Hannah!" Rex and Arisa choursed together pushing into the room and shoving Marak aside.

I painfully peeled myself off the vanity sliding to my feet. I could smell the blood already leaking from the cuts it added to the haze cloud in this room.

Arisa was shaking me gently, anxiously grabbing one of my arms. Her mouth was moving but I couldn't hear anything coming out of it. I could see Rex standing between us and the Goblin King.

Sound was absent for a moment and I realized that my adrenaline was back and everything around me seemed to be in slow motion. I could feel each individual prick of the glass shards embedded in me and the broken mirror behind me briefly reflected Marak's horrified expression or perhaps-

I winced turning slightly to grab a shard out of my right shoulder and made eye contact with myself in the remaining shards that clung to the mirror's frame.

My eyes. I hadn't seen those eyes in awhile. I took after my father afterall.

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Naswa had reached his limit. Amongst the chaos in his own camps with those of higher magics falling ill, the meeting with his King Brother, and now news that the Goblin King had struck in broad daylight.

He crouched in his tent, the messenger that had delivered the news waited crouched under the tent's dark covers as well. The light still too bright for his liking illuminated his tent's wall. Unlike the other elves whose sensitivity made them near blind in the daylight, Naswa and a few of his advisors seemed magically immune to such harms.

The elf messenger, barely a man, tucked away wisps of blonde bangs that threatened to cover his eyes. "What shall we do, my liege?"

Naswa clenched his teeth, his jaw hardening as the only decision lay before him. Marak was dooming the elves. Worse. With his actions it was clear that Marak's own concerns were for his kingdom. It didn't matter to Marak if the elf kingdom started to crumble and fall, he'd just lazily start snatching off elf brides for his higher ups and leave the rest to rot.

Naswa got to his feet, his actions fluid and bodying the grace of his fair race. "I can't let this happen."

The messenger bobbed his head agreeing, "This would… change everything."

He reached for his dark green cloak swinging it over his shoulders, inwardly feeling only a small pang of guilt over the path before him. "I will go to him."

His messenger gasped, "D-Down there? T-To the Goblin K-Kingdom?"

He checked his boots tugging them taunt and grabbed a sheathed sword from his meager possessions. The sword pulsed at his touch, humming in anticipation. He fastened it to his side and slowly reached out to lift the tent flap and exit his dwelling.

"S-Sire.. I-I will come with you." The elf volunteered his voice miserable but shaking with conviction.

Naswa glanced to the lad and gave him a kind smile, "That won't be necessary. I have to do this alone. I don't want him to try to leverage one of my elves for more spoils."

The messenger glanced down at the sleeping mats his chin shaking as he gave a brief nod. The poor boy was beside himself with fear. Naswa couldn't stomach more fear from his people.

The Elf Lord glanced to the opening of the flap and narrowed his eyes slightly as they adjusted to the light of day. Although he had less sensitivity to the light than some of his other subjects thanks to the human bloodline side there was still something disjointing about the bright light.

He swept out of the tent without a backward glance trudging forward towards the daylight. The path he took was one well known but not well-traveled. As he slipped past trees and the empty husks of dwellings that once served as guard posts he felt his determination steel.

The sword softly thrummed against his side, the magical layers generations had poured into it awakening.

The Goblin King Marak would find that this Elf Lord was his people's champion through and through. No illness, nor beast, nor Goblin would extinguish his kingdom.