Elfo...the elf?
The aftermath of Lucius's attack left the kingdom with much to clean up. Natura, the dragon that Bean, Luci, Elfo, and Koga met, helped repair buildings and destroyed small towns. Thankfully, the souls from Lucius's body returned to the dragons, bringing them back to life. Unfortunately, some weren't so lucky, like Elfo, whose body lay in Bean's arms in a neatly wrapped blanket. Koga had wrapped up Elfo's wounds with bandages wrapped with bandages so the bleeding wouldn't be as bad as it was. Bean gazed at her little friend with her eyes puffy and red. Luci stood next to her; it was one of those rare times that he didn't have a snarky remark to break the ice. If he said anything now, he might say what he feels.
Koga sat away from the three. His hood draped over his head, and his hair flowed from the opening. The swordsman remembered losing his canine companion many years ago. He remembered the pain that ached in his chest for a long time. However, this pain was going to ache for years.
Pendergast and the others didn't know what to say to them. The one-eyed knight tried to comfort Koga, but the wanderer sat silently. Oscar told them to give them time to grieve before they all returned to their world.
"Make sure to watch over the young girl," said Oscar, gesturing to Akane, wrapped in a blanket. "She's a victim in all of this. To have your soul reengaged and meshed together with another is horrible."
"So…what will we do with the princess once we go back home?" Turbish asked.
"Well, obviously, we return the princess to King Zog," said Pendergast. "We can't return empty-handed."
"King Zog isn't going to be happy that the elf is dead either," said Mertz.
Sorcerio's eyes widened. "Oh," a sudden realization hits. "That…is true…" The courtwizard turned to the elder dragon. "Um, excuse me, elder dragon—" Sorcerio flinched as Talak loomed over him. "I-I was just wondering if…umm…we can use the amulet of resurrection to bring back our beloved Elfo!"
Bean, Koga, and Luci snapped their eyes onto the elder dragon. "W-Wait, that's right!" The princess exclaimed. "We can use the amulet to bring him back!" She leaps to her feet and stands before the elder dragon. "Please, elder dragon…you have to let us use it…please, we're begging you!"
The elder dragon placed its eyes on the pleading princess, then onto Koga, then onto Luci. "I was cautious of all of you when you fell into our world. Yes, chaos followed behind you, but in the end, you risked your lives to save our world. So with that, I thank you. In return—" The elder dragon reaches under its nest and retrieves a purple amulet; its engravings symbolize a tree on the left, and on the right, the wings of a dragon. The amulet was round, purple, and had a silk clasp. "You may use the amulet as a reward." The dragon plops the amulet into Bean's hand.
"It's really warm," said Bean.
"I know. I've been sitting on it for centuries,"
"So…how does it work?"
"You must use the blood of young Elfo to activate the amulet. Only a pureblood elf can activate the amulet of resurrection,"
Bean turns to everyone. "Um…anyone got a needle or something that I draw blood with?" Talak stood before Bean and held out his sharp, pointy claw. "Oh, yeah, that'll do. Just prick his finger and draw a little blood." Talak did just that. Bean opened the clasp and held It over Elfo's pricked finger. The drop of blood entered the clasp; the amulet began to glow. "Ok…here we go…" She placed the amulet around Elfo's neck. The light flashed. Then, nothing. "Elfo?" She leaned in closer to him. "Elfo…can you hear me?"
"Do you think we didn't use enough blood?" Luci asked.
"The amount of blood is necessary," said the elder dragon. "As long as it's the blood of a pureblood elf, you should be fine."
"Yeah, and Elfo Is a pureblood elf!" said Bean, vexed. "He's from an Elm. His name is Elfo, for Christ's sake. If you open a dictionary, there's a picture of his cousin explaino!"
"I understand, Princess Tiabeanie. But if the amulet is not working with his blood. It means that he's not a pureblood elf,"
"WHAT?" said Bean, Koga, and Luci.
"What the hell are you talking about? Of course, he's a full-blood elf!" said Koga. He picked Elfo's body up and held him to the elder dragon. Elfo's head dangled lifelessly. "How in the world is not a full-blood elf? Look at him, dinky, pointy ears, green, and—" He looks at Elfo's hair. "I…I think that's hair on his head. And…I'm not sure if these are supposed to be sideburns. Wow, the more I look at Elfo, the more uncanny he looks."
"I've been saying that forever, but nooo, I'm the jerk for pointing it out," said Luci.
Oscar stepped forward. "If I may, the only way we can know for sure about Elfo's lineage is if we test the blood itself."
"And how are we supposed to do that?" The princess asked.
"I have no idea," Oscar replied.
"Well, thank you for your contribution, you old coot," said Luci, peeved.
"Allow me," said Talak. The dragon pricks Elfo's finger again and clicks his bloody claw. It clicked its tongue a few times. "Hmm…the blood is sweet, overwhelmingly sweet. But I taste—" It clicked its tongue once more. "Dirty…very dirty. He's an Elf…but…not an Elf. He's a half-breed."
"Excuse me, what?" said Koga.
"He's like my brother, Derek?" Bean placed her eyes onto Elfo. "B-But…that means that…"
"I'm sorry," said the elder dragon, much sadness in its voice. "But If he's not of pureblood…then the amulet will not work."
"DAMN IT!" Koga yelled, kicking a chair and sending it into a wall.
"No way…" said Bean, hanging her head.
Oscar walked over to Koga and comfortingly patted his shoulder. The wanderer stared at Elfo as he held him in his arms. "I'm sorry, buddy…" He whispered.
Luci hopped onto Koga's shoulders, his face full of sorrow; Koga could've sworn he felt something fall into his satchel but paid it no mind. The wanderer's worries were only for his fallen friend.
The doors to the chamber room opened, and in came Natura's offspring. "Elder, the repairs of the towns are going well. We can get the humans ready to return them to their world."
"Excellent," said the elder dragon. "Follow Natura's child to the outskirts. There, Natura will activate the key. Thank you for your assistance in warding off the danger here. We shall not forget this."
"Hey, don't forget this," said Luci, grabbing the amulet with his tail.
"Just throw it under here," said the elder dragon, rising from its bed. The sub-demon chucks the amulet onto the elder dragon's bed and sits back down.
"Come on, Elfo, let's get you back home," said Bean, rubbing Elfo's cold cheek.
"You wanna go back home?" said Koga, staring at Bean.
Bean thought It over; this was the second time she had an opportunity to run away from home, venture into the world, see new heights, and experience new things. But that longing feeling was drained from her once again. What would have been the point of doing this if Elfo wasn't there? If she wanted to see the world, she wanted all of them to be together.
"I'm sorry…" Bean ached, and she held herself.
"Don't be," Koga wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "Let's go home."
A few tears formed in Bean's eyes as she stared at the wandering swordsmen. She placed her hand around his and squeezed it comfortingly. The group made their way out of the castle and to the outskirts of the kingdom. The key to the Dragon Domain lay before everyone; Natura towered over everyone. The dragon raised its large scaley hand and tapped the key. It flashed a bright yellow light; that was the last they saw of Natura and the dragon world.