The Darkness Beyond the Stars

Chapter One: I'm bartered away

"The Elvenaer. Father's been trying to consolidate a treaty with them for years."

"Let's just hope it's working." Lilya whispered, seemingly more to herself than Isun. And let's hope Äsal just was in a bad place where he couldn't respond to letters. She groaned inwardly. If this was about the Elvenaer, it was probably going to be horribly uncomfortable for everyone involved.

The High Elves had ruled the rest of the Elves for millennia, but a small group of Elves believed that others should be able to rule, not just the Pure High Elves. The small group revolted, killing the king and several nobles, and broke free. They left and set up their own kingdom in the south, deep in a jungle that was older than even the High Elves. The new kingdom was the Elvenaer, or the Free Elves. The High Elves removed all mention of those Elves that had left from the records. Within a century, the High Elves set out to bring the Elvenaer back under their rule. But the Wild Elf kingdom had grown. What followed was a bloodbath, where the deep hatred between them took firm root. The High Elves spat in the Free Elves' face, and called them the Elvenwiild, or the Wild Elves. The Wild Elves responded by killing another of the High Elf kings. The High Elves killed a Wild Elf prince, and so on and so forth.

Twenty years ago, the kingdom of the Pure High Elves had been in the middle of a war. Thousands died, blood drenched the fields around the capital city of Cilliria. There have been at least four wars between the High Elves and Wild Elves. The last war was the worst, lasting six years and resolving only when the High Elves agreed to never try to infringe on the territory of the Wild Elves. But the diplomacy between them was strained to a thread, and High Elves sometimes disappeared when they went too far south and too close to the jungle that hid the Wild Elf kingdom. The hatred between the High Elves and Wild Elves ran deep. Ancient ruins and blood-drenched hills were witness to the enmity between them.

Lilya knew another war would mean Cilliria overrun and High Elves slaughtered in the streets. The army was only a fraction of the size it had been twenty years ago.

Isun startled her out of her reverie by flinging open the dining hall doors.

The blaze of light made her blink, then she froze.

Sitting at the table were her parents, the King and Queen of the Pure High Elves. And next to them, three strange Elves.

....

Lilya resolutely picked at her food. They were Wild Elves. They had arrived that morning apparently, and came to discuss the treaty. Every time she looked up, it seemed like one of them was staring at her from across the table. She looked up, and met the eyes of the elf across from her. His eyes were dark, hard like marble. Lilya smiled slightly. The corners of his lips turned up slightly, but not in a friendly way. She fought the urge to squirm, and took the chance to watch the other two. Father was quietly talking to one about the weather, and the other one looked rather bored.

Someone touched her elbow, and she flinched, but it was just Isun. He leaned closer, and whispered something in her ear. She dipped her chin, and took a sip of wine.

"I suppose the terms of the treaty were to your liking?" The dark eyed elf spoke in a sarcastic tone, shattering the pleasant quiet.

The king blinked, then nodded hurriedly. "Of course, Prince Ryoc. Was there anything else you wished to-"

"The matter of who it is."

"Ah, yes. One of my nieces-"

"Since we have offered a prince, it would be an insult to offer less than a princess." He tilted his head, and leaned back in his chair.