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Elven Forest (15)
“Traitor!!”
“Coward!”
“You abandoned us at a crucial time to leave with an elf. Not to mention the fact that you went to be his steed! Do you still have the self-respect of a white deer?! Do you still have the self-respect of a King?!!”
“You’re not worthy of continuing to stay by our side! We’re not the slaves of elves! You’re not worthy of being our King, and you’re even less worthy of returning to our side! You’re not worthy of ordering us now!”
The White Deer King met her brethren, but the bliss and excitement of reunion were nowhere to be seen in her eyes. All that could be found in her eyes was deep-seated horror and fear. Her brethren surrounded her. The White Deer King quivered as she slowly shifted to the back. The confident and proud White Deer King was forced back step after step.
“Don’t do this! Don’t say that about me! I’m worried about you! I’m taking care of you! The reason I came here was to try to rescue you and protect our forest! Everything I do is to protect all of you! I did everything for our land and us! I… I… I wanted to return, as well! I… I did everything to protect you! Have you all forgotten?! Have you forgotten why we came here?! Have you forgotten everything?! I’m not a slave! I’m not his slave! I’m just his friend! I’m not his slave! You have to believe me! He… He and I…”
The White Deer King desperately tried to explain everything. The angry deer encroached upon the White Deer King. One of them rushed out in front of the White Deer King. It raised its front legs up and kicked the White Deer King’s belly, causing her to whimper. However, she couldn’t retaliate against her own former citizens.
“Liar! You’re a traitor! Now shut up!”
“Oh! We get it now! We get it now! We can see it in your eyes! You fell for that elf! You fell for an elf!! Oh my god!!”
“I didn’t! I didn’t!”
The group of white deer burst into unruly laughter. However, their prancing and laughing was ridicule directed at their King. They ruthlessly stepped all over the White Deer King, figuratively speaking. They wildly laughed in a ridiculing manner until the White Deer King was pale in the face after having her self-respect trampled on.
“Hahahaha!!”
“Look! Our King has fallen in love with an elf. Our great King has actually fallen for an elf. Our King fell for an elf whose out to kill us every year! She actually fell for him! Our White Deer King actually fell for him! Yet, here she is claiming that she can be fair. They’re on equal terms?! You believe her? Would you actually believe her?! How can a white deer that’s fallen for an elf be on equal footing?!”
“You’re a traitor! Not just a traitor to us but to all of us in the elven lands! You’re a traitor! You’re a traitor to our entire race! You haven’t betrayed just us but all white deer! You fell for an elf?! Why in the world would you fall for an elf?! You’ve forsaken any shred of self-respect as a white deer! You’re no longer qualified to be a King! You’re not worthy of being our King!”
“I… I… I… I…”
The White Deer King was suddenly knocked over. Trails of tears coursed down her face. The white deer surrounded their former King. They mercilessly threw insults and attacks. The White Deer King had countless hooves battering her, covering her in mud and her own blood. The white deer even kicked her horn viciously. They wanted to snap her horn, which represented her status as a White Deer King.
The White Deer King didn’t retaliate. She merely curled up as much as she could. She allowed the white deer to kick her and her love. Her crush never bloomed, but she cherished it. The White Deer King didn’t know what hurt more between her body that was quivering unstoppably and covered in mud or her heart, or rather, her crush.
The White Deer King desperately raised her head from the little gap available between the numerous hooves. She gazed at the moonlight overhead, hopeless. Even the moonlight was scarlet. Someone in black suddenly appeared in front of the moonlight. Immediately afterwards, the white deer began to shriek and cry.
Lucia may not have heard them, but the White Deer King heard them. The White Deer King looked at the slash wound on a white deer’s neck in front of it. The white deer collapsed to the ground with a thud that echoed.
“While I don’t want to kill so many white deer tonight, you’re bullying my husband’s steed. In other words, you’re challenging my husband’s honour. I will not allow anyone to insult my husband or behave rudely toward him. Never!”
“Aaahhh!!”
Screams and shouts came from every direction. Lucia induced fear through bloodshed and death. Lucia wasn’t a kind woman; she was someone who killed a white deer on a monthly basis. She was merely killing dozens in one night for a change. The white deer may have had the courage to fight and a desire for blood. Without an attack tactic, nevertheless, they were insignificant fodder. There was no stopping Lucia’s agile and ruthless assault.
All the white deer squeezed in together to attack the White Deer King and, thus, were by its side. They quivered as they retreated. They were covered in their brethren’s blood. Lucia had already killed beyond many of them. She threw aside her long sword soaked in sticky blood and organ fat. She armed herself with the long gun on her back and aimed it at the white deer as she advanced one step at a time.
“Save us! Save us!”
“She’s crazy! How many of us has she killed?! What is she trying to do?!! She’s insane!! Save us!! Save us!”
The white deer were more violent due to the boost in mana. Fear was a concept they still understood, nonetheless. They feared death; they feared the elf who came to slaughter them.
The White Deer King was still covered in blood. In spite of her wounds, bleeding, cracked horns and a veil of red obstructed her vision, she slowly got to her feet to impede Lucia’s advance.
“Move, White Deer King. They’re no longer your brethren. They’ve lost their minds. The white deer are rioting in the imperial palace at this moment and did this to you. Aren’t you angry?”
The White Deer King didn’t reply, but she trained her gaze on Lucia and refused to move. Despite her limbs shaking so much that she could barely support herself, she stood her ground.