Elysia
Chapter 7: The Price and the Prize

The journey inside the magnificent carriage was the strangest experience of Elina's life. The floor beneath her feet was covered in a thick, soft carpet, and the velvet seat she sat on was plusher than the best straw mattress at the orphanage. Through the clear crystal window, the world flew by at a dizzying speed. The drab city buildings slowly gave way to green hills and dense forests she had never seen before.

Across from her sat Saintess Annelise. The holy woman kept a gentle smile on her face, but her blue eyes held a deep sadness that Elina couldn't understand. At her side, a silent, stoic Elven knight stood guard like a statue, his presence oddly calming.

"Are you hungry, Elina?" the Saintess asked, her voice like a melody. She pointed to a silver tray between them laden with colorful fruits and small, delicious-looking cakes.

Elina had never seen such food. She hesitated, then gave a small nod. With slightly trembling fingers, she picked up a plump red berry. When she bit into it, a burst of sweet, fresh flavor exploded in her mouth, so different from the blandness that had been her daily fare. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise and delight.

Seeing that reaction, a genuine smile finally touched Annelise's face, though it faded quickly. Her heart ached. This child was so easily made happy by the smallest things, and they were taking her to an unknown fate. Feeling the need to say something, she tried to explain carefully.

"Elina, we are going to meet a very grand lady," she said gently. "She... she is very powerful, and she has lived for a very, very long time. She is a little lonely and needs a friend."

Elina stopped chewing for a moment and looked at the Saintess. "A friend?" she whispered.

"That's right," Annelise nodded, feeling a slight relief that the white lie came out so smoothly. "Your task is very important. You just need to keep her company, to be her good friend. Can you do that?"

Elina thought for a moment. Being a friend. She had never really had a friend besides the stray cat and her pebble. The idea felt strange, but not frightening. She nodded again, more firmly this time. "I can."

Annelise felt a fresh wave of guilt. The child was so innocent, so sincere. She was accepting her fate without question, simply because someone in authority had asked her to. "You are a very good and brave girl, Elina," Annelise said, her voice catching. She had to turn away so Elina wouldn't see her eyes beginning to water.

The journey took nearly a full day. As the sun began to dip towards the west, the carriage finally slowed. They had arrived at the alliance's camp at the foot of the World Tree.

When the carriage door opened, Elina saw King Theron, Queen Lyra, and the other leaders waiting for her. Their faces looked tense and weary. As their eyes fell on the small figure of Elina stepping out of the carriage—a thin fox-kin girl with nervously twitching ears, clutching a grey stone to her chest—a heavy silence fell over all of them.

This was the price. Not an abstract concept, not a number on a piece of paper, but a small, breathing child who stared back at them with large, curious eyes. The reality of their decision now stood before them, in flesh and blood, making their consciences scream.

King Theron, with all his majesty, felt his knees go slightly weak. He forced himself to kneel to be at eye level with Elina, a gesture that made his guards gasp.

"Welcome, Elina," the Elven King said, his voice softer than he had ever used it. "You are very brave to have come all this way. As the Saintess may have told you, you are here to perform a great service for us all."

Elina just looked at the magnificent crown on the King's head, then nodded. All these adults kept telling her how important she was, a completely new feeling for her.

"The time has come," Queen Lyra said, her voice strained. "She is waiting."

The small delegation formed once again: King Theron and Queen Lyra in the lead, with Saintess Annelise walking beside Elina, holding her small hand. Elina's hand felt cold, but her grip was firm. Archmage Gideon followed behind, his face grim. They walked down a path into the forest, leaving the hustle and bustle of the camp behind them.

The closer they got to Elysia's spot, the more Elina could feel a strange tranquility in the air. The birdsong seemed clearer, the colors of the flowers brighter, and the babbling of the stream ahead sounded like music.

And then, she saw her.

By the edge of the stream, sitting with a straight back and closed eyes, was the woman from the Saintess's description. But no description could have ever prepared her for this sight. The woman's blue hair seemed to hold entire galaxies, and her crown shone with its own light. She was so beautiful that Elina felt as if she were looking directly at the moon or the sun. For a child who grew up on worn-out fairy tales, this woman was not a ruler or a sorceress. She was a Star Queen. She was a Winter Goddess. She was magic itself made manifest. The fear she probably should have felt was completely replaced by overwhelming awe.

King Theron cleared his throat softly. "Ruler Elysia," he said in a clear voice. "We have returned. We have… fulfilled your terms."

Elysia opened her eyes. Her bottomless blue gaze passed over the King and Queen without interest, and landed directly on the small figure standing beside the Saintess.

For a moment, the world seemed to stop. Elysia observed the child. Small, thin, with clear fox-kin features. Ears twitching alertly. A tail hidden behind a simple dress. But her eyes… in her eyes, there was no fear. Only caution, and behind it, a surprising resilience.

So, this is the price for my peace, Elysia thought to herself. A small, unbroken thing. Interesting. She felt no guilt, only a detached curiosity and a sense of a transaction completed.

She decided to ignore the tense adults. She addressed the child directly. "What is your name, little one?" she asked, her calm, melodic voice making the leaves on the trees tremble slightly.

Elina felt Saintess Annelise squeeze her hand gently, giving her strength. Mesmerized by the woman before her, she answered in a whisper. "Elina."

"Elina," Elysia repeated the name, as if tasting it. "Do you know why you are here?"

Elina shook her head.

"You will be staying with me now," Elysia stated as a simple fact. "You will be my companion."

After saying this, she turned her attention away for a moment. She raised a pale hand and waved it casually toward the rock face across the stream. Instantly, the hard surface of the rock melted like wax. From within, a shimmering, golden liquid flowed out—pure Crystal Amber. The liquid flowed onto the ground and hardened in an instant, forming a large pile of raw gemstones that shone brilliantly in the sun. The pile was large enough to build a small chapel.

"There are your stones," Elysia said to King Theron, without even looking at him. "Take them and leave. Our business is concluded."

The world leaders stared at the pile of crystal with stunned expressions, then back at the woman who had created it so effortlessly. That absolute power once again made them feel infinitesimally small.

With a heavy heart, Saintess Annelise knelt before Elina. "Be a good girl, Elina," she whispered, her eyes now wet with tears she could no longer hold back. She let go of Elina's hand, and the touch felt like a final farewell. "The Goddess will always be with you."

Elina now stood alone between two worlds. Behind her, the leaders who brought her here. Before her, the grand being who was now her destiny.

King Theron gave a signal, and the knights quickly but respectfully began to gather the crystals. The delegation bowed deeply one last time before turning and leaving, abandoning the child with her new ruler.

Elysia rose from her seat, her movements so graceful she seemed to flow. She looked down at Elina. "Come," was all she said, brief and emotionless. Then, she turned and began to walk leisurely towards the World Tree. She didn't look back; she simply assumed the child would follow.

Elina froze for a moment. She looked back at the receding figures of the Saintess and the King—her only connection to the world she had known. Then she looked forward at the retreating back of Elysia—a future that was a complete unknown.

She clutched her grey stone tightly, her only true possession. In her small heart, a decision was made. Not out of coercion, not out of fear, but out of a strange curiosity and the awe of the beauty she had just witnessed.

With small, hesitant steps that then grew steadier, Elina began to walk. She followed the majestic figure, away from her past and towards her future.

Under the silent canopy of the World Tree, the scene was set: a small, fox-eared girl walking a few steps behind the magnificent Ruler of Hell, two solitary figures, now together, beginning a new chapter they could never have expected.