Author's Notes:

Hey guys! I intended for this chapter to be released earlier in the day, but this'll have to do. I'm not entirely sure what this chapter will be yet, so bear with me. Anyway, enjoy chapter 24!

Chapter 24: The Village's Decision

In the Germanian capital, Vindobona, Albrecht sat in his bedroom of the royal palace. He stared out of his window at the large city in front of him, drinking a cup of wine. It had already become dark outside. Because of Germania's location in the north of Halkeginia, it had already begun to snow, making the city look very beautiful. To his great annoyance, he was soon interrupted by a knock on his door.

"Come in." He said.

"Sir, I have a report." The man said. He had dark skin with a maroon bear and maroon hair.

"Speak, General Zerbst." Albrecht said.

"Hiraga and Valliere have failed to reach their destination in Gallia. Their location is unknown." Zerbst replied.

"I see. It seems your daughter has done well." Albrecht said.

"Thank you, my lord. Shall I inform our ranks to prepare for attack?" Zerbst asked.

"No, not yet." Albrecht said. "We shall wait for one week to make sure they are disposed of."

"Understood, my lord. We shall continue our training." Zerbst replied.

"No. Prepare a search party." Albrecht said. "Drop flyers throughout Tristain and Gallia claiming that we wish to find them. Post a large reward for any information."

He saluted Albrecht and left his room, closing the door behind him. Albrecht stirred his wine, deep in thought. He picked up a small wooden statue of Brimir.

"I will find them. One day, their power will be mine." He thought to himself.

In Obi's village:

Saito stumbled backward, falling to the ground. How could it be possible that Sasha was still alive all of these years? It should have been impossible for someone to live that long. He remained in shock for several minutes. When he finally came to his senses, he walked back to Obi's home. He slowly made his way to he and Louise's room.

She was already asleep, so he carefully got into bed with her and held her close to him. He then began to think for several hours. The sight of the statue made him unsettled, and try as he might, he could not think of a way to cope with this new-found information.

"Hey Gandalfr." Saito said. "Did you know about this?"

"I did not." He replied.

"How is this possible? For there to be another Gandalfr, the previous one has to die, right?" Saito said.

"As far as I am aware." Gandalfr replied.

"Then how?" Saito thought to himself.

He asked the question for hours upon hours in his head before soon, the fatigue of his constant pondering made him fall asleep. He had the same dream which he had the night before. He dreamed of his future with Louise in his kingdom, but soon saw the same three figures as he had before.

This time, Saito ran towards them with all of his strength. He managed to make contact with them, but when he did, he ran right through them. When he reopened his eyes, he was shocked to see a strange landscape.

The entire landscape was white. Several dozens of small lakes surrounded him, each of which had small towns built onto them. In between the lakes were large, intricate towers. In the distance was a chain of mountains.

"Where am I?" Saito said to himself.

"The Kingdom of Elves." Said a group of voices behind him.

Saito turned around in surprise. The three figures that he had seen earlier had revealed themselves. They were all equally tall men. They all had blonde hair worn in different styles. One had blue eyes, the other had orange ones, and the last had light teal.

They each wore clothes that clearly showed them to be of noble status. Saito then noticed that each of them wore crowns that he recognized to belong to the leaders of Tristain, Gallia, and Albion. Each also had a crest on the capes they wore over their clothes, which Saito recognized as the crests of Tristain, Gallia, and Albion.

"Who are you?" Saito finally said.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves." The one with orange eyes said. "My name is Bartholomew. These are my brothers, Vittorio and Oliviére. We are the founders of Tristain, Albion, and Gallia."

"Y-You're supposed to be dead." Saito said.

"Is that any way to greet a new acquaintance?" Said Oliviére, whose blue eyes twinkled as he laughed.

"Indeed, we should be dead if we were entirely human. But, much like yourself it seems, we are not entirely human." Vittorio said. He took the most serious tone of the three, as his teal eyes seemed to pierce Saito's soul.

"How long do Elves live?" Saito asked.

"This one is well read." Bartholomew said. "We tried our best to conceal our heritage. Elves do not die unless killed by someone else."

"You're immortal?" Saito asked.

"Not us, no." He replied. "Our humanity limits our lifetimes, although we are still alive."

"Where have you been for more than 5000 years?" Saito said. "Were you living among humans?"

"Heavens no!" Vittorio said. "We retired to this place once we deemed humanity to be peaceful enough to rule themselves."

"Where is this place?" Saito asked.

"You will find out yourself soon enough. It is time for us to take our leave." Oliviére said.

"Wait! Before you leave." Saito said. "Is Sasha alive."

"No one can kill Mother, so her life is eternal." Oliviére said.

With that, they disappeared. The world around Saito began to crumble until there was nothing left, at which point Saito woke up. He sat up in bed, holding his head in confusion. Louise had already woken up and was taking a bath.

He decided to go for a walk to clear his mind. As he walked through the streets, he paid no attention to the people staring at him. They stared at his eyes, whose luminescence was noticeable even during the day. They stared at his crown that glistened brilliantly in the morning sunlight. Most of all, they stared at his tail, which moved freely behind him as he walked.

As he walked down the street, a group of about 50 men eventually stopped his path. They held swords, spears, and shields. Saito didn't actually notice them until he was in range of their spears. They threw one at his feet, causing him to jump back. He had left Derf at Obi's house, so he decided to speak with them and not instigate a fight.

"What is the meaning of this?" He asked, politely.

"We do not trust you." One of the men, who appeared to lead the group, said. "You are not human, so we cannot allow you to roam freely around our village. We are protecting our wives and children."

"I have not hurt anyone thus far." Saito said.

"That doesn't mean you won't hurt us later." Another one of the men said.

With his enhanced senses, Saito could hear and see he and Louise's guards gathering behind the men. He discreetly wagged his tail in their direction, signaling for them to stay away. They stopped in their tracks and slowly made their way out of the village to their previous positions.

"I have no intention of hurting any of you unless I or my fiancé are hurt by you." Saito replied to the men.

"We do not trust your word." One of them said. "Come with us to our jail peacefully, or we will use force."

"You are more than welcome to try and take me. I will not move my body against you, but do allow me to remove these fancy clothes. I wore them at my coronation and do not want them to get soiled." Saito replied.

"Very well. Don't move." The leader said.

Saito removed his clothes and set them aside neatly until he was wearing nothing but his undershirt, boxer shorts, and socks. The men surrounded Saito and slowly inched closer to him. His eyes were closed and his body was motionless. Even his tail, which normally wiggled around behind him, lay on the ground without moving. At once, ten of the men grabbed Saito. Eight men in total held his arms and legs, with two holding each limb. Two of the men also grabbed his tail.

However, the instant they laid their hands upon him, they immediately jolted back, screaming in pain. Saito remained motionless and said nothing. The men rolled around on the ground, holding their own hands in pain.

"What happened?!" The leader said.

"Our hands!" They all said. "They burn!"

"What?" He replied. He looked back at Saito. "What kind of magic is this?!"

"Did you see me pull out a wand?" Saito said, keeping his eyes closed. "I haven't used any magic to hurt them."

At this moment, Louise, Obi, and Azealia arrived. They had noticed that Saito was not in the house, so they had come to look for him. When they saw the massive crowd that had gathered, they knew that it was him.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Obi said.

"I was taking a walk through your village and these men stopped me. They want to take me to prison because they say I may hurt their families." Saito said.

"This man is a demon!" The leader of the group said. "Even touching him burns the hands of us humans That pink haired witch must be the same!"

Louise saw Saito's tail twitch slightly at the sound of her being called a witch. She knew that if the men continued with their aggravations, he might end up attacking them in a worst case scenario.

"Jean! How can you say such a nasty thing!" Azealia said.

Jean, a young, big, burly man with black hair and a large beard, was reluctant to talk back to her.

"I speak the truth!" He replied. "I knew when they arrived at this village that they could not be trusted. And now look! Throw this man in jail and burn his witch!"

Saito's tail lifted slightly into the air, but came back down quickly, causing the ground to crack. He was now visibly irritated. Obi, too, now noticed his irritation, so he walked to Saito and rubbed his back. It was hotter than normal, but Saito made sure that Obi wouldn't be burnt.

"There will be no such thing happening in my village, Jean." Obi said calmly.

He tried to convince Saito to walk away with him. Eventually, Saito conceded, but not before shooting a glare in Jean's direction. His eyes glowed brilliantly in anger, making Jean step back. Saito went back to Obi's house with the old couple and Louise. On the way, he eventually calmed down. When they arrived in the living room of their home, he bowed towards the three of them.

"I'm sorry!" He finally said. "I caused you a lot of trouble."

"Don't worry about that." Azealia said. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"I was about to hurt those men." Saito said.

"Well, technically they attacked you first." Obi said. "Besides, it is the mark of a good man if he becomes so upset about his woman being insulted."

"I'm flattered." Louise said, teasing him.

He stood up, feeling better about himself. "Thank you." He said.

They would spend the rest of the day inside, telling each other stories. Saito and Louise learned that Obi was not actually born in the village. He had been born on the coast of Lake Lagdorian. When he grew up, he went to Tristania and eventually became a Captain in Tristain's military. He served on the northern coasts of Tristain, in the same place that Saito's current nation resided.

"So what made you come all the way inland and live here?" Louise asked.

"I had grown up with the coast being the only view I ever laid my eyes upon." Obi said. "So, I decided to retire from the military and travel around a bit. One winter, the whether became rotten. A blizzard befell the region and before long, I lost my bearings. When the blizzard passed, I had wandered so far from the road that I could not even spot the several watchtowers that lined each side of it. For several days and several nights, I wandered aimlessly until I eventually ran out of food. I caught what I could, but being accustomed to a coastal way of life, I was only adept to catching sea creatures. Eventually, I ran out of energy and collapsed. I was tired, hungry, and malnourished. Soon, I fell unconscious. However, when I woke up, I was in a small house being attended to by a dazzlingly beautiful young woman."

"I think they understand the rest of the story." Azealia said, slightly turning red.

"Ah, very well. Just when I was getting to the good part." Obi replied, laughing heartily. "I suppose I'll go to bed. Have a good night, you two."

With that, Obi and Azealia went to bed. The living room was nearly entirely silent, with the only noise being the crackling of the fireplace. After a few minutes, Louise finally decided to speak.

"I suppose we ought to go to bed as well." She said.

"I have to talk to you, Louise." Saito suddenly said.

"About what?" She asked. "If you're worried about what happened today, it's fine. I'm not mad."

"Not that." Saito said. "It's about Gandalfr."

"Oh. What about him?" She asked.

"Not him." Saito said. "Her."

"Her?" Louise asked.

"The first Gandalfr, Sasha. I have reasons to believe she is alive." He replied.

Louise gasped lightly. "How?! Are you sure?! What makes you think that?"

"Let me explain." Saito said. "This village has a statue of the woman who brings this village supplies every decade. On the left hand of the statue, the runes of Gandalfr have been carved. If that wasn't enough, I also…met her sons."

"Met her s-what?" Louise replied. "What do you mean met her sons? They're long dead."

"No." Saito said. "I had a dream last night. They appeared to me and told me that their mother is alive. She will live forever as long as she is not killed. However, since they're half human, they will die someday."

"There's no way." Louise said. "It was just a dream."

"Even if it was, explain the statue." Saito replied, looking directly into her eyes.

Louise remained silent. She tried desperately to come up with an explanation, but couldn't think of anything. She sat back in her chair and looked at the ceiling, in a state of shock. Suddenly, she perked up and looked directly at Saito.

"Then what about Brimir?! He was a strong mage! Maybe he found a way to stay alive?" Louise asked, with her voice containing quite a large amount of hope.

"No, Brimir is dead." Saito said. He realized that he had never told her the truth about Sasha and Brimir. He had told her about his relationship with Sasha before, but that was before Gandalfr had told him the truth.

"That's sucks. If she is alive, it must have been hard to live without him after being together for so long…" She said.

"Louise, Gandalfr told me…the truth." Saito said.

"Truth?" She asked.

"Yes. You see, Brimir wasn't who you think he was." Saito began. He went on to explain everything that Gandalfr had told him. From the complete annihilation of the Fairies, Dwarves, and Anioły, races she had no knowledge of.

"I know it's probably hard to take in. I know you probably idealized him, after all." Saito said.

Louise seemed to be a nervous wreck. "There's no way..." She said. "I've always been taught that Brimir saved humanity from the Elves."

"Who do you think has been documenting humanity's history since that era? Brimir made sure that all evidence of what he did was destroyed. Although, I doubt he could destroy all of it." Saito replied.

Louise said nothing. She had mixed feelings of disbelief and guilt. Disbelief of Saito's story, and guilt for idealizing a man who allegedly destroyed three entire races. Saito realized just how hardly she was taking it, so he picked her up and carried her upstairs to sleep. Her face was blank, so Saito laid in bed with her.

He covered them with a blanket and held her close to himself. She covered her face with her hands. Saito tried to move her hands away, but she turned away from him.

He gently turned her towards him and moved her hands away with his tail. "There's nothing to be ashamed of. There was no way for you to know." He said.

Slightly weeping, she buried her face into his chest. Saito held her and stroked her head until she eventually fell asleep. Hoping he would have the same dream again, Saito tried his best to fall asleep, which he did a few hours later.

Unfortunately, he did not have the same dream. The dream, or rather, the nightmare he had was more terrifying than any he had before. Not because of monsters or murder, but because all he saw and heard in his dream was Louise screaming in pain at the top of her voice.

He woke up in a cold sweat, hyperventilating. It was nearly afternoon and Louise wasn't in bed. He sprang out of bed and ran downstairs. He breathed a sigh of relief when he reached the bottom of the stairs. Louise was sitting on a couch, braiding her hair.

He ran down the stairs and hugged her tightly. She knew that he must have seen something troubling, so she waited for him to calm down before saying anything. After a few minutes, he let go of her and took a deep breath.

"Sorry, I had a nightmare." He said.

"Don't worry about it." She replied. "What was it about?"

"Just some scary monsters. Nothing to worry about." He said. He didn't want her to know about what it actually was.

"How can a 17 year old boy have nightmares about monsters?" She said, teasing him.

"Well technically, I'm 18 right now. Either way, I've seen a lot, so of course I have nightmares. There are no dragons in my world, remember?" He replied rather defensively.

"Well, if being around me comforts you so much, then you can help me braid my hair." She said.

With a heavy sigh, Saito complied with her demands. For hour after hour he tried and failed multiple times to braid it properly until finally, she seemed satisfied. Exhausted and feeling sluggish, he decided to go on a walk with her.

Because he didn't feel that it was safe for them to walk through the village, they went into the valley that Obi's house overlooked. They frolicked an played between the trees for hours until both of them fell to the ground, completely exhausted.

As they looked up at the blue sky together, Louise held his hand. His face flushed red and his heart began to beat more quickly.

"I always feel warm when I'm with you." She told him.

"Well, of course! My body runs at a much higher temperature than normal!" Saito said, doing his best to seem unfazed by her hand

Rather than reply to his embarrassment-filled comment, she turned his head towards her. All the embarrassment left his body when his eyes met hers. They slowly moved their faces closer together. Just as their lips were about to meet, a paper fell on their faces, spoiling their moment. Saito sat up and grabbed the paper.

When he looked around, he saw hundreds of papers landing around them. When he looked up, he saw several dragons with men on them. They were flying around the land dropping papers in the general area. When they finally left, Saito picked up the one that landed on their faces. It had detailed drawings of himself and Louise on it.

"What does it say?" Louise asked him.

"Missing King and Queen. Considerable award for knowledge of their whereabouts. Please respond within the week to receive payment. Emperor Albrecht of Germania." Saito said.

"He must want to know whether or not we're still alive." Louise said.

"Yeah. We might have to leave the village sooner than expected." He replied.

They both got up and began to walk out of the valley towards the village. It was already becoming dark, but because of the steep slope between them and the village, they would have to take a longer way around than when they came into the valley.

In the Village's meeting hall:

Dozens of men gathered under the same roof to discuss the pamphlets that fell from the sky.

"Don't you see that this is our chance to get rid of them?!" Jean said. "Not only will we get a substantial reward, but we can feel safe again and they'll be going back to wherever they came from. Everyone wins!"

Everyone in the hall cheered with agreement. Everyone except Obi, who stood up to speak against the idea.

"What has come over you all? We are a peaceful village! We never judge a man on how they look, and yet you wish to send them away because of just that?! They do not want to be returned to their people yet! We should do everything in our power to make their stay comfortable! Shame on you for treating a guest with such rudeness and then turning them away!" He said.

The crowd of men around him booed. Jean felt triumphant as he smiled upon Obi, who's face did not change from one of resolve and determination.

"It looks like the men of this village do not support you!" He said. He looked at the men standing around Obi. "Seize him and throw him in jail. He'll get in our way!"

With hesitation, they took hold of Obi and carried him off to a nearby building, where he was thrown into one of the cells in the basement. Back in the meeting hall, Jean had the men quiet down.

"Now, my brothers, we need to make preparations. Find the wife of Obi and throw her in jail, so she will not alert the devil and the witch. Do the same with the grandchildren. We shall have men stationed on every corner of the street and the roof of every house. Those on the roof, take bow and arrows in hand. Those on the streets, choose your preferred weapon. We will all attack as soon as we find them!"

All of the men hurried to the village armory and took their positions in the town. Jean sat on the roof of Obi's house, waiting to see the signal that the devil and his witch had arrived.

Author's Notes:

Firstly, this chapter was much shorter than I wanted it to be. I don't know why it turned out that way, it just did. I'll have another chapter out some time tomorrow, so look out for that. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. See you next time!