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“For the Alliance” is no Longer a Slogan (Part 10)
“Do you have any opinion on this?” asked Vyvyan.
“Are you talking about the alliance with humanity?” responded an elder.
The Elven King’s throne had been empty for a long time. Even green vines had begun to extend their reach onto it. Nonetheless, Vyvyan didn’t mind. She shifted the vines aside, and then looked at the elders to begin their discussion.
Humanity had no such thing as discussions, but Vyvyan actually had proper discussions. Frankly, Vyvyan already had her own decision, but she still wanted to ask the elders below, nevertheless. Actually, instead of referring to it as a discussion, it was better to describe it as Vyvyan’s attempt to persuade the elders to concur with it. The elders were unaware of her true objective. They were naïve enough to think that they were discussing the matter with their Queen.
Vyvyan shifted her body into a slanted posture, and then crossed one leg over the other. Her blonde hair hung down, resembling a running waterfall that poured onto the armrests of the throne. She had changed out of her emerald dress for a milk white dress with a deep V-cut, thereby revealing her voluptuous breasts that incite crooked thoughts. It was as if the enchanting Goddess of Beauty was born from the spring water. Even the elders, who were in old age, were hooked in by their sight. They then cursed themselves for looking at their Queen with that look. Alas, they couldn’t help but sneak another glance, leading to none of them paying attention to anything she said.
Vyvyan was fully aware of their reactions. She was quite proud of her smart tactic, but at the same time, she still felt guilty and revolted.  She asked herself, “Have I fallen so low that I have to use my body to realise my wishes?”
Vyvyan looked at the old men and sighed: “Yes, that’s what I’m talking about.”
“I think you should ally with the North. Prince Troy is your son. As that is the case, the territory that your son occupies should be our own ally. There is no room for questioning that. Furthermore, the North was where we exiled criminal elves to in the first place. From a jurisprudence perspective, it was always our territory. Uniting with them would just mean that His Highness is working outside.”
Vyvyan silently nodded and waited for him to continue. She would ally with the North even without him suggesting it. As he said, the North was an area that the elves were relatively familiar with. From the standpoint of the elders, the North was once a place where defect elves were exiled to. They never wanted to mention it again, but since it was prospering again, the elves were able to acknowledge it. However, the one thing they clearly understood was that the Elven Prince was the one who made it flourish again, which meant that the Elven Prince took back the tainted land. Subsequently, it stood to reason that he was the one to occupy it. Perhaps administrate would be a more accurate term.
“As for an alliance with humanity, I do not believe that elves and humans can get along. Actually, I would say that even if we could put down our grudge, what about our fellow elves? The elves who were slain were not our family or friends. We can put it down, but what about them? They witnessed the destruction of their homes, friends killed and family members insulted and humiliated. Can they accept the deeds that humanity did unto them? If we were to tell them now that we want to live with humans and ally with them, would they be able to accept that?”
Vyvyan calmly replied, “That’s not an issue. They won’t question me. I am the elf with the most powerful mana in this world, and I am their ruler. I’m sure that they’ll accept it after I tell them, for they are my excellent subjects and citizens, and it is my order as their ruler.”
Vyvyan was absolutely right. It was just as she said. She was their ruler. The elves didn’t acknowledge identities; or rather, their belief was that the Galadriel Tribe had the most powerful mana. In turn they would obey the commands of Vyvyan for as long as the Galadriel Tribe remained as the tribe with the strongest mana.
If Vyvyan mentioned it to their people – having them forget their grudge and accepting the alliance with humanity – the elves wouldn’t question her. Even if they were reluctant, they’d just complain to themselves and loathe themselves for disobeying their Queen’s command and being selfish. Thus, they wouldn’t question the decision of their ruler. That was the benefit of ruling elves. Vyvyan said what she said, as she was aware of that.
“What about humanity, then? What will humanity do? Will they accept us? They do not want to treat us equally. They are after our possessions. They do not consider us companions. They are always vying for our land and wealth! Humanity cannot possibly accept us. Humanity will not be willing to coexist with us. They will only spend their days thinking about how to rob us!”
One of the elders was enraged at the mention of humans. He was being factual. Aside from Elizabeth, actually, including her, they were all greedy for the elves’ assets. Duargana, the elven Imperial Capital, the only place that hadn’t been conquered, was the honour and glory of the generals. Furthermore, mana was a mysterious topic that those studying mysterious wanted to research. The young and beautiful female elves were, without doubt, the “toys” the greedy and demented nobles desired. Therefore, elves were but assets that humanity desired. There were very few humans who viewed elves with equality. In fact, some treated their vassal states with more respect than they gave elves.
The elves could drop their grudge, but there was no guarantee that humanity could give up on their greed. That was the reason humans and elves could never reconcile.
Vyvyan irritably scratched her head. Although elves and humans had a poor relationship, Elizabeth and Vyvyan were, in truth, very close. They shared the exact same habits and likes. The two of them just didn’t realise it.
“Practically speaking, we cannot ally. The feasibility does not lay with us whatsoever; it lies with humanity. Your Highness, can you influence humanity? Can you make humanity’s Empress, soldiers and citizens the same as us? We never harboured any ill-will for humanity from the beginning. It was humanity who harboured ill-will towards us and vied for our possessions. We are definitely against allowing this vengeance and suffering to continue, but how about humanity? Can they put it down?”
Vyvyan let out a long sigh. She then stood up, and whipped her hair: “All right, it appears this is all we can do. Let’s end it here. I won’t take up anymore of your time. It’s late now. You can all go home. I will personally contemplate how we should proceed with this and what to do. Thank you, elders.”
The elders watched the white silhouette elegantly rise from her throne and leave the conference chamber. She left the throne, leaving the few of them to exchange glances. They suddenly felt that something was wrong. Queen Vyvyan called them over to hold a discussion. The initial topic up for discussion was, “Should we ally with humanity or not.” When did it become, “How should we ally with humanity?”
Legend had it that superior elves have the ability to invade the mind of others as long as their mana is superior, altering the thinking of others. Vyvyan’s ability was mind-reading; plus, her clothing was seductive. They completely digressed from the original topic to be discussed. The elders agreed to ally with humanity without them even realising… However, nobody would find out, for only Vyvyan would be the sole individual who understood it all. Only she knew what she did.
Vyvyan didn’t want to directly accept her son’s request, because she knew she couldn’t decide the outcome. The only side she could ever make decisions for was the elves. The one who could decide whether humans and elves could form an alliance was forever humanity. Vyvyan could have all of the elves to unconditionally respect her with a single command. As for those who didn’t abide or accept her decisions, she had a way to overcome those obstacles, too. She could kill them or influence them. Vyvyan could influence all elves, but never all of humanity. She was aware that the suggestion her son made wasn’t something she could make a reality.
“As opposed to saying that I returned to the elven lands, it would be more correct to say I fled back here. How can I get elves and humanity to form an alliance? What must I do to get Elizabeth’s side to agree, as well?” contemplated Vyvyan.
Vyvyan was truly afraid she’d let her son down once again. She was truly afraid she was powerless once again. She was truly afraid of seeing her son’s gaze of despair, yet be helpless to do anything…
Vyvyan wanted to do her utmost to realise this wish, which was her son’s wish. The wish looked simple, but its success didn’t lie with her; as a subsequence, she fled back to Duargana. She was reluctant… to see her son force a smile to console her when he was in despair…
“I initially thought that I was almighty. I thought I could fulfil all of my son’s wishes as his mother. I thought I could realise everything he wanted… That’s why I didn’t allow anybody to approach him. I only wanted for my son to be by my side… Only now do I realise that, sometimes I really need that woman…” Vyvyan realised.