The Royal Mark-Chapter 165: An’owyn Castle

Volume 3 - Vectus Mundus - Qiryn

The tall man with dark green hair and pointed ears stood frozen on the boat as he watched Elsa conjure fireballs on each of her hands, her amber eyes were vividly bright, filled with anger. He was mesmerized by how elegant and graceful Elsa looked while she was casting her fireball.

But before he could answer her question, she threw her fireballs at them, one each boat, causing the boats to receive great damage. The man’s boat received the most damage and immediately sank into the ocean.

The passenger of the other boat quickly raised their bows into position, ready to fire away.

"H-Hold your fire! Don’t shoot!" He commanded the archers who quickly lowered their bows.

"Princess, please calm down! I am Elandir Verdant, one of the high druids in Qiryn. I am a friend of your husband, Prince Christopher Jorgensen!" Elandir shouted while trying to stay afloat in the sea.

"What kind of person tries to kill their friend’s wife and a princess? Do you have a death wish?" Elsa said while forming another fireball in her hand.

The elves felt threatened once again and raised their bows, directed to Elsa.

"Archers don’t shoot! Princess Elsa is our esteemed guest!" Elandir ordered once more.

Elsa’s eyebrow rose up upon hearing Elandir called her their ’esteemed guest’ after showering her and her dogs with arrows.

"Please princess, I am so sorry. I apologize. It was a mistake! We thought you were an intruder. Let me make it up to you! We prepared gifts for you and the prince back in the castle. I am sure you will love them," Elandir pleaded.

Elsa rolled her eyes and shot the fireball near Elandir splashing water on him. "Fine! I’ll let you go for now. Be thankful I am hungry and in need of dry clothes so hop in. I’ll make you pay later."

She extended her hand to help Elandir climb her boat together with the rest of his crew. When everyone was aboard, Elandir struck the floor of the boat with his staff twice and the boat moved on its own. It sailed towards the direction of land that Elsa saw a while ago.

Elsa seated at the very end of the boat and Elandir took the seat opposite her. She keenly watched Elandir, observing him vigilantly. She saw him notice the staff and stared at it. Elsa took the staff and placed it beside her, between Gaia and her.

He glanced at Elsa and smirked, but Elsa was not in the mood to be friendly to him. She won’t forget that this man fired arrows at them, endangering not only her but her dogs as well.

But it seemed like her dogs did not have the same sentiment as her. Ciel was the first one to approach Elandir, sniffing him all over. At first, Elsa thought that Ciel would scare him but she was wrong.

After a little bit of sniffing, Ciel wagged her tail and started showing her excitement at the elf. Gaia followed soon after. Elandir smiled wide and started scratching and petting her dogs. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

’What the heck are you two doing?’ Elsa grumbled.

[What does it look like? Do we have to explain it to you?] Ciel her ever-cranky old dog replied.

[Belly rub attack!] Gaia who was already on the floor happily exposing her belly to Elandir replied.

Elsa just facepalm herself internally for she could not get angry at Elandir for treating her dogs right. She just sat there quietly taking her surrounding’s peacefulness and beauty.

The closer they get to the port of Qiryn the more amazed she is. She assumed it to be the capital because of the different kinds of structures that were designed exquisitely and perched on the towering mountains around the port that was strategically nestled in a cove.

"Welcome to Qiryn, Your Highness." Elandir greeted once again before extending his hand to help her climb out of the boat.

She took the Moonstone Mithril Staff before climbing the wooden ladder that was placed by a port worker into their boat. She went up the ladder without taking the hand of Elandir.

Elandir scratched his head, shook his head, and murmured, "Stubborn like her husband."

Elsa side glanced at him and yelled, "I heard that!" before she stepped on the port platform.

"Your Highness," greeted one of the servants waiting for them on the port. She covered Elsa with a thick blanket before leading her away from the boat. "We will escort you to your assigned room so you can rest. Your meeting with the council is scheduled for tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Why not now?" Elsa asked, she didn’t care how she looked like as of the moment, she wanted to finish the talk and go back to Zemaria and find out what happened to Chris.

"I apologize, Your Highness, but our King is not feeling well today and was not expecting you to arrive early," the servant said.

"We were attacked. But I understand, I hope your king will feel better soon." Elsa then halted from walking and exclaimed, "Wait! I am a healer, perhaps I can heal your king?"

"Thank you, princess. It’s a great offer, but I am afraid our king is beyond healing. He is very old and his condition cannot be healed. Besides, he already has a divine healer."

Elsa frowned, "What did you say? He has a divine healer?"

The servant’s eyes widened and stopped walking. She fixed her expression first before turning to Elsa, "Oh, did I say that? I am sorry I was so nervous meeting a human after so many years and not just a human but a royal one. I was thinking that you are a divine mage while thinking about the healer of our king and must have mixed the two. Please forgive me."

Elsa smiled at the servant for her politeness, "Oh, don’t worry about it. We all make mistakes. Shall we?" The two proceeded to the carriage waiting for them.

Elsa felt like she was inside a fantasy movie as she glanced at everything that her eyes could look at as they traveled to the castle. She noticed that life in Qiryn was much simpler than the life of the people in Zemaria. The only difference was how the structures were built.

Nature was taken into consideration in Qiryn, keeping large trees in their places instead of taking them down when building houses and buildings.

The servant saw the fascination in Elsa’s eyes and asked, "Are you liking it here in Qiryn?"

Elsa nodded and smiled, "I do, Qiryn is mystical and ethereal. Very different from Zemaria."

"And Novus?" the servant quickly uttered with a smile.

"How did you know that?" Elsa asked in confusion since she didn’t know that facts like that are readily available to servants.

"Everyone in Qiryn knows that, after the Prince of Arcanis risked his life in crossing the portal. Until now no one knows how was he able to enter Qiryn without getting noticed," the servant explained.

Elsa chuckled but briskly bit her lips to stop herself from laughing further, "I’m sorry. It’s just so my husband. So I believe you." She then gazed back at the beautiful scenery outside the carriage.

’Chris, where are you? Please talk to me,’ Elsa said through their bond but as before, Chris’ link to her is still close. The only thing that was assuring her that her husband was still alive and not hurt was that he was still able to block her from their bond. The power that she shared with the pack was also an added bonus. She knows that he can heal much faster than before and is now immune to curses.

When they arrived at the castle, her jaw dropped. The castle was out of this world or at least her world. It was majestic, full of gemstones and flowers all around, if she could make a guess, she would say that the architect of that castle was definitely a woman at how intricate and feminine the details were.

She noticed a very young beautiful woman was standing at the castle’s main door waiting for her. She was tall, had a slender body, silver hair, and gray eyes.

"Welcome to An’owyn Castle, Princess Elsa. I am Queen Ydril Verdant, it’s an honor to finally meet you."

"The pleasure is mine, Your Majesty. Please forgive my premature arrival. Our ship was attacked and I don’t know what happened to everyone, including my husband. So forgive my audacity but as soon as I speak with the council I would ask for Qiryn’s help to send me back to Zemaria," Elsa stated with full confidence and grace.

"My son, can you send a troop to look for your friend," Queen Ydril spoke to the person behind Elsa.

When she turned around she was shocked to see Elandir behind her. She did not notice him before after she climbed down the carriage.

"Yes, mother. I already had sent people to look for the wreckage of their ship and look for any survivors. Word has been sent to Rügengard Castle as well," Elandir replied to the queen before winking at Elsa.

A/N: Please check the author’s note below to see your names <3