The Devil's Cursed Witch

After her brief visit to the palace, Leeora returned to Ronan.

Upon entering the city of elves, the High Elder first instructed one of her clan members to deliver a message towards Honeyharbor, the land of witches on the other side of the forest.

The territory of the witches bordered the Forest of Elves, starting from the edge of the forest towards the grassy fields where a handful of witch towns could be found. Unlike the elves that have one city per clan, the witches only have a single city within their territory—the City of Honeyharbor.

With that, all she would need was to wait for the response of the Head Witch. Leeora decided to head back home.

‘I wonder how that human girl is faring.’

When she checked the tree house beside hers, Leeora could not help but shake her head. As expected, the girl chose to stay inside her house. She had told her she could go out and roam around the city, hoping that it would let her feel a sense of belonging especially if she made some friends among the young elves, but the girl seemed to prefer being alone.

Leeora knocked on the door of the human girl’s house.

“It’s me, Leeora. May I come in?”

After knocking once more, she decided to enter the house and found the human girl sitting by the window, looking outside quietly. She looked lonely, lost as if she had nothing left in life to do and was wasting her time away. It brought a sigh to the elf’s lips.

“How have you been, child?” Leeora asked.

Hearing her, the human girl simply turned to look at her, but that was all. Leeora smiled and went towards where she’s sitting.

She saw what this human girl was looking at. From her window, she could see the view of a beautiful and grand palace made entirely of white stone that seemed to glisten under the sun. It was the one and only magnificent structure in the middle of the mountains full of greenery, standing magnificently beside a river and a forest.

The Royal Palace of Agartha, residence of the Devil King Draven Aramis.

Aside from the palace, there were no other huge stone constructions in this kingdom as all races living under his protection preferred to live in either quaint communities or in their natural habitats, like the forest or the lakes.

“It is beautiful, isn’t it?” Leeora said. “That is the palace where you have stayed till now. Do you miss it?”

The human girl did not react, but she thought that this kind elf lady must be having some sort of misunderstanding. That terrifying red-eyed man lived there. She was relieved that she no longer had to face him. Why would she miss that place?

‘But still, I never knew the world could be this beautiful.’

Everything she was seeing now were things she never imagined she would get to see. The luxurious palace, the lush garden, the lively forest, the city of elves—they were all sights so magnificent she could not even see them in her dreams.

Gaia, the one who raised her, did not allow her to be seen by people and warned her to never ever step foot outside the mountain, otherwise, her life would be in danger. The things she knew of the outside world all came from the stories Gaia told her.

She was raised in isolation, and from her very first memory, it had always been the sight of the dark cave and gloomy forest. In a place covered in a fog all year round, where the sun barely shines, the only colours she could see were the poisonous mushrooms that survive on the rocky ground of the mountain. The only animals she could interact with were crows and vultures and other animals that scavenged to live, feasting on the lives of the poor humans who lost their way inside the dead forest.

She grew up in a land of death…and now, she’s seeing a land of life.

Inside her new home, this window had the best view of everything beautiful the outside world has to offer—the mountains, rivers, the forest, and not to forget that magnificent palace.

She felt overwhelmed with happy emotions just staring at these beautiful sights.

Leeora, of course, didn’t know this. “I left some of the loaves of bread I made on the table. Eat it when you’re hungry. Later, I will take you outside to show your way around the city.” Leeora left after a while.

The human girl remained looking at the palace. All of a sudden, she found something flash away from the direction of the palace. Something moving at the speed of lightning.

‘A bird? No…it looks like some kind of energy?’

It startled her, but she thought it must be her imagination.

‘I must be hungry.’

—–

Do check the reference images in the comment section.