STRUVLAND
Chapter 2
The Elves
Alessandra

Later that day, when the sun has gone down, the air has become freezing, and the stars have come out, we are all sitting down in the dining room waiting for dinner to be served by the servants. The tiresome day causes me to feel like it has been forever since we sat down, waiting for what I consider, idiots that work under the royal family, to serve us our food. I tap my foot, the sound muffled by the red luxurious rug under our feet.

I'm starving, if they take any longer I swear I'll rip one of them open, throat to groin, and eat their insides.

Finally, the servants bring us our food. The room is instantly filled with the delicious smell of chicken, sausage, cake, and other delicious dishes. The combination of the scents I am smelling has me practically drooling and ready to dig in.

The servants first set down a fruit that I've never seen before on each of our plates to eat before we ate anything else. Which is quite the disappointment for me but at least I get to eat something. The fruit is circular, medium-sized, and soft. It is dark purple and has small orange bumps going around the center of the fruit. I bite into the fruit and notice the inside of the flesh is a cute light green color and the juice is mostly clear with a green tint to it, meanwhile the flavor of the juice itself is sinfully sweet. I swear I have never had anything more delicious in my life, the fruit is so good I barely even notice the seeds and when I do, I spit them into a cloth napkin and request another to be brought to me.

After I finish eating the fruit, I ask what it is called, I am told that it is called Liale and was discovered by Kintoni who have lived in Struvland for centuries. I am also told that the fruit is not as popular in many countries besides Struvland. It is believed to help heal people faster and allow you to digest your food better, so most people eat it before every meal. But the taste of the fruit would make you think that it would be for dessert rather than something you eat before your dinner.

After everyone has finished their liale, our food is put down and everyone instantly starts filling their plates and digging in. I have the most amazing chicken I've ever had along with, potatoes, beans, and corn. After I finish my main meal, I grab a slice of cherry pie and a slice of cake. While eating my slice of cherry pie, I look up at everyone else at the table with a cup of wine in my hand and lock eyes with Queen Adelina, she smiles at me and then I shift my gaze to Prince Oliver, who is horking down his chicken across from me, completely oblivious.

I am about to go back to looking at my food when I am bumped into, hard, causing me to ram into the table with my midsection and my cup of wine to fall on the ground. Splatters of wine coat my chest, the left sleeve of my dress, and the left side of the hem of my dress. I angrily look for the culprit and notice an elf around my age with black hair, golden skin, a scared look in his green eyes, and his mouth parted in shock. He instantly starts apologizing, going to the floor to pick up my cup. I glare at the elf and my father gets up from next to me to walk up to the elf, the look of pure hatred painted across his face. My mother makes desperate pleas for him to come back while tugging at his sleeve, not wanting to make a bad impression since we haven't seen the Willens in so long. My father tugs his sleeve loose and moves toward the elf.

"Tell me, where in your incompetent little mind did you think that what you just did is acceptable?" My father asks, venom dripping from his words. The elf servant looks at him, scared out of his mind, his whole body shaking while he continues to clean up the spilled wine, apologizing profusely. My father bends down and slaps his face with great force. The elf groans in pain and falls onto the red rug, "Answer me when I speak to you, rat." Queen Adelina stands up from her chair.

"King Vincent, I'll have you know that we do not, under any circumstance, harm the people who work for us. Elves, humans, or dwarves, no one is to be harmed while you are here. If any of you harm someone, I will make sure that this marriage will never happen. Do you understand?" Queen Adelina asks. The authority dripping off of her voice stuns me and everyone else in the room besides my father, the elf servant long forgotten. Prince Oliver looks at the table, deep in thought.

"Yes, Queen Adelina." My father replies, disappointment coating his voice. He walks back to his seat next to me and reluctantly sits down like a scolded child.

"Theo, you may rest for the rest of the night and tomorrow, be with your mother. Tell her, I hope she's doing well." Queen Adelina says, looking at the boy with a motherly smile. He nods and walks off with the cup that was once mine. After I am given another plate, the rest of the meal is finished in uncomfortable silence. The air was thick with tension, no one dared to say another word in fear of angering the kind queen.

Later that night, a few servants come into my room to unpack my trunks and get me ready for bed before leaving me. I grab a book from the trunks they unpacked. I sit down on the small chair by the fire and open the book.

"The Alarenian War?" I say to the empty room, tracing my fingers over the silver lettering on the dark blue book.

The book told a story from The Blood Age, a period of time in our world where there was an abundance of bloodshed, and the countries were all connected and not divided by water due to the wars between the war goddess Pera and the peace god, Aldenura that caused a flood and the moving of landmasses. This particular story takes place two hundred years after Ila created the crimson goblet of peace. When she and the other gods and goddesses offered their magical blood to The Trusted as a sign of peace and they betrayed them in return for their generosity, creating The Tainted.

Legend has it that my great-great-grandmother, Agatha, was one of the few that were trusted by the gods and goddesses, specifically goddess Cadea. Agatha was blessed with very strong magical abilities, supposedly dealing with blood like the worshippers of goddess Cadea, The Red Eyes, but those abilities seem to have vanished all together throughout my bloodline. Unfortunately, the ability to actively perform magic, regardless of the intent, has been outlawed in many countries including Pentoya, Struvland, Heranon, and Irshtan. Due to this, I couldn't see if I had magic abilities, even if I wanted to.

Unexpectedly, something soft and fluffy rubs against my ankles and the expensive fabric of my nightgown. I look down and see Ysabel, my white and fluffy cat with golden eyes. She must've been put in my room earlier by some servants. She meows and nudges my ankle with her tiny little snout. I sigh and bend over to stroke her. She purrs in delight.

"I have to finish reading this, okay? You will get all the pets you want after I'm done, darling." I state, scratching her behind her ear. Ysabel looks at me with those big golden eyes full of nothing and saunters away. I smile softly and straighten my back before continuing to read.

There were four brothers, when they were born their mother and father assumed they would all have magical blood like themselves, they were two descendants of The Trusted, like my great-great-grandmother. Kantheon was their father, he descended from the group that drank the god Aldenura's blood out of the crimson goblet of peace, he had the ability to make the earth do what he wanted, make plants grow faster, preserve plants so they don't wither away in the winter, he could also move branches, vine, roots, leaves, etc., which was something he did quite a lot. His wife, Martessa, was a descendant of the group who drank goddess Ara's blood, the goddess of fertility and marriage, and could make people who were barren, fertile again. She can also lead people in the direction of their soulmates but couldn't force anyone to reciprocate feelings or accept that they had that connection.  People would come from all over to ask that she use her gift on them, in return they'd pay her a great sum of money. Eventually, Kantheon and Martessa had four sons of their own, the first three, Abrionth, Bleniax, and Myreozon, had no magical abilities at all but Martessa and Kantheon still loved them.

When the youngest, Ronan, had been born, they no longer expected their children to have been born with any magical abilities but they soon realized that Ronan had been born with both their abilities. He could do everything his father and mother could do. Eventually, his three older brothers had grown jealous of their little brother's magical abilities and all of the attention he had gotten from their parents. So, his three brothers made a plan, a plan to kill their mother and frame Ronan. Kantheon had found out their plan and he was furious. He disowned all three of them and banished them from their home.

Kantheon's banishment of his eldest three sons ruined their reputation, they became so angry over their downfall that they grew into monstrous people. They killed people who had magical abilities and those who supported them, if they didn't support them then they were allowed to join the three brothers' cult. They worshipped the Goddess of Death, Cadea. In order to worship Cadea, you'd have to make a sacrifice, killing someone who doesn't follow the same faith or has different beliefs, then you'd drink their blood. After the sacrifice you'd offer some of your blood, cutting your hand and reciting words from The Book of Blood. Mostly, only people who worship the dark side of Cadea have The Book of Blood, there is said to only be ten copies of the book in the world, so almost nobody outside the religion knows the words to the passages for each prayer. The rituals, for each event or cause, differ but each one requires you to offer your blood.

Worship of the dark side of Cadea has been outlawed in almost every country, if you are found worshiping her dark side, you are killed without a trial. In the time of the three brothers, however, this religion wasn't outlawed, it only became outlawed after their time. When the three brothers' cult grew to almost two hundred thousand, they had almost slaughtered everyone who didn't believe in Cadea or anyone who supported people with magical abilities or anyone who had magical abilities. This led to the War of Four Brothers, Ronan had gained followers during his older brothers' ruthless slaughters, eventually, they fought each other to the death. Ronan had won but the brothers didn't die from the war, some people say that their wives had killed them in their sleep but others say they died of old age. The war had caused the cult to go into hiding for centuries, most people believe they all died out but others believe that The Red Eyes are just another version of the large cult that once existed.

"It's stories like this that make me want to read more stories about great people like Luciana and the Dragon," I say to the room. I close the book and set it on the small table next to me before standing up and walking to my bed. I take off my silk slippers and lie down, Ysabel hops up on the bed next to me before I close my eyes and drift off to sleep.

The next morning, I am woken up by three female servants, two of the three are humans like me but the third one is an elf. They all have onyx skin with cool undertones, black curly hair that falls into loose coils around their shoulders, and dark brown eyes, except for the elf, who has bright blue eyes. They help me out of my bed and start undressing me.

"Don't touch me, elf. Go to Prince Oliver and tell him I'd like to spend time with him today, before our engagement ball later this evening." I demand.

"My name is Penelope, Your Highness." The elf says. She straightens her red dress that is her uniform and stands up straighter. The sun shines on her high cheekbones as she awaits my response.

"I don't give a damn what your name is, you're an elf and you happen to be my servant. Now, do what I say. Go." I command, waving her off with my hand, lazily.

"You have no right to speak to me like that, Your Highness.  I am no servant, I am a highly ranked worker employed by the royal family of Struvland, paid a handsome amount of gold and I'll be damned if I let you speak to me like that. I will now go inform Prince Oliver of your request and your disrespect towards me." Penelope states, curtsying before quietly leaving the room. The other two servants continue as nothing happened while I gasp in disbelief.

How dare she talk back to me and lie about her rank or how much she is paid? No elf in Pentoya is ranked highly or paid a big sum of gold and I expect the same to apply here. If she is telling the truth...that will quickly change when I become queen.

After they finish helping me get ready, I make my way out of my room. I was told by the disrespectful elf that Prince Oliver was in the throne room with his parents. When I enter, I see so many people who are extremely different from me. A few notice me and before I know it, the whole room is looking at me as I walk by. Almost instantaneously, the whole room is speaking about my presence.

"What is the Princess of Pentoya doing here?"

"I haven't seen her here since she was a little child."

"Does this mean Pentoya is on Struvland's side of the war?"

"Why is she so pale? It is like everyone in Pentoya is afraid of the sun or something."

"She looks just like her father."

"Why is she blonde? I thought she had bright red hair like everyone else in her country?"

"That's Ordizana you fool. People from Ordizana are known for their red hair, not Pentoya, Pentoya is known for blonde hair. Do you know anything?"

I ignore their whispers and lean against a black and gold marble column in a spot not too far from where Prince Oliver is standing, and his parents are sitting on the marble platform. I catch Ysabel strolling around the large room in the corner of my eye, her soft dainty white paws glide across the black and gold marble floors beautifully. A soft smile spreads across my lips.

"Alessandra, darling, please stand next to Oliver. You're going to be doing this together one day, it is best if you learn now." Queen Adelina says, grabbing my attention. Prince Oliver's honey eyes glance at me and the slightest hint of a smile graces his lips as he turns his head back. I climb the steps onto the platform before walking over to them and standing next to Prince Oliver. Queen Adelina smiles at me kindly. I awkwardly return her smile, then I turn my head to the front of the platform where the people wait to be heard.

For hours, we listened to the concerns and complaints from humans, elves, kintoni, dwarves, etc., all from different parts of Struvland. They expressed their hope that the royal family would help with or do something about it all. Some of them were just messengers for giants who were too large to come but still had things they wanted us to be informed about. Most of them complained about how poor everyone was, the poor living conditions they had, and what the war was doing to their towns. It seems that the war is really taking its toll on Struvland.  My feet have become sore and my legs are weak from all the standing.

The war has been going on for twenty-five years ever since Princess Alexandra, Queen Adelina's older sister, disappeared when she was twenty-two years old, leaving no trace. Their father, King Reginald had assumed it was Arcavia, they had always had a rocky relationship with the country, no one knows why exactly. King Reginald's wife, Queen Adelina and Princess Alexandra's mother, Queen Cassandra, had died two years after Queen Adelina was born. No one knows who killed her, she was found in the woods drenched in blood with her heart cut out of her body and her face and limbs covered in cuts. Her heart was never found.  People suspect it was The Red Eyes but nobody has any evidence so the story has disappeared into thin air.

After the last few complaints from the people, I turn to Prince Oliver and his parents.

"After we announce our engagement, I think Prince Oliver and I should ride around the country and visit cities and towns to show that things will start changing after we're married. We can do some charity work to lessen their complaints," I suggest. The three of them seem to think about this for a few moments before Queen Adelina looks at me.

"I think that would be a great idea, it would have more people supporting the marriage. I think I should also inform you all that I decided to invite the royal family of Arcavia to your engagement ball." Queen Adelina states. Meanwhile, her husband looks at her like she has grown an extra head and arm. I suck in a breath of surprise.

"That's ridiculous! We're at war with them! Why would we invite them over? We might as well just hand them our country!" King Richard exclaims. Queen Adelina looks at him.

"It's not ridiculous, it will show that we just want to have a civil event where we celebrate an engagement without thinking about the war." She answers, she then looks back at me.

"I think it's a wonderful idea," I lie. Prince Oliver hesitantly nods in agreement.

He has been oddly quiet all this time, I wonder what thoughts are rattling around in his head.

"Now that we are done here, I think you and Oliver should go spend some time together before your engagement ball tonight." Queen Adelina states. Prince Oliver descends the steps and starts walking off while I follow him. We walk down the halls and up the stairs of the castle for a while until he stops and turns to me.

"Do you even want this marriage?" He asks. His question takes me by surprise.

He has been quiet this whole time and this is what he asks me?

"No, of course I don't, but what I want doesn't matter. We have duties as royals to marry, for our countries, and yours obviously needs it." I respond. He nods and continues walking until he reaches a door and opens it. He looks at me.

"I'll be one moment, stay out here." He says. He then goes in, what I assume is his room. After a few moments, he comes out with a tattered leather bag and walks off in a different direction. I follow after him till we reach two servants who have our cloaks and other things we need to keep us warm. I furrow my eyebrows at him.

"Are we going outside? It's extremely cold out there!" I exclaim in disbelief.

"Yes we are, my little sisters are out there and I think we should spend time with them. I promised them that you would get time with them." He says as he puts on his luxurious black fur cloak and I put on my white one.

My cloak is probably way more expensive than his and made out of higher-quality fur. I pity his lack of gold for such things.

"You're ridiculous. You didn't even ask me if I wanted to spend time with them." I say, masking my thoughts with an irritated face and putting on my white fur-lined gloves. I ask a servant to fetch me my journal out of my room and bring it to me while Prince Oliver grabs his gloves from the other.

"Well you are going to have to spend time with them at one point so why not start now?" He says, putting on his black gloves similar to mine. He grins at me and opens the door to the outside, instantly a large gust of chilly wind hits my face and I shiver. He holds the door open for me and I walk outside, pulling the hood of my cloak up.

A/N: so this chapter probably sucks and I know it took such a long time for me to update but I was redoing this chapter like five different times because it was difficult for me. Just so you know, the names for the characters in the story that Alessandra's mother tells her, are not permanent, except for Martessa because I really like that name. If you have any suggestions for what their names should be, please tell me, I'd appreciate it. I'm still not sure about Oliver's name so if you have any suggestions for his name as well, please let me know. I love you all. Yeehaw🤠🤠💕💕💕💕💕💕💕

Ps. I just realized how hard it actually is to write Alessandra's character because I'm the total opposite of her. This is gonna be difficult for me but that's okay.  Also, yes Penelope told Oliver what Alessandra did, it will be brought up later. Oh and pls tell me any mistakes I made :)) the bottom three pictures in the collage are the triplets in order Catherine, Caroline, and Camilla. Also, i know Richard doesn't look like how he's described in the book, i tried my best lmao