When Your Feathers Flutter Down to Me

Chapter Four: The Princess And Insults

Elisia stopped. "...I don't care," she said. "I'll suffer the same fate in the village anyways, so I might as well do it on my own terms." Beginning to walk again, Gorose followed after her silently. However, the journey didn't last long. About ten minutes after they had begun, Elisia curled over.

"Ghh..." she let out. Trying to stand back up, she reached out her left foot in an effort to take another step. As soon as it touched the ground ahead of her, the branding spell activated much more. Just as Gorose had surmised, this penalty seemed to be much worse.

"GYAAAAAAHHHHH!!!" Elisia shrieked, dropping to the ground. Her shoulder, her entire body, felt like molten metal had been poured onto it. "IT BURNS! MAKE IT STOP!" she screamed. Quickly, Gorose went to her aid, pulling her back a few feet so she was back within the boundaries.

"Haa...haa..." Elisia breathed. She was completely drenched in sweat, and when Gorose took a look at the branding spell, he found it to be glowing a crimson red, the color coming from the light it produced and the blood it had drawn.

"Such a nasty spell..." Gorose muttered. Then, he looked at Elisia. He was about to check on her when a shout caught his attention.

"Serves you right princess!" a woman yelled. Turning around, Gorose noticed that a small crowd had followed the two of them. At the sound of being addressed as a princess, Elisia let out another groan of pain.

"This is so satisfying! How does it feel to get a dose of your own medicine, princess?!" a man called. Yet another bout of burning ran through Elisia.

"Ugh..." she let out. "Stop..."

"Oh, you poor thing! You must be sooo miserable, princess!" another individual said mockingly.

"Nnnh..." Elisia grunted. "Stop... please..." Just barely managing to turn her head, Elisia looked up at Gorose. There were tears in her eyes, along with a great amount of desperation. "Gorose," she said weakly. "I'm begging you... make them stop..."

Trembling from the pain, Elisia's head fell again. Her whole body shook, and the branding spell was only just now starting to cool. Whether that meant the burning effect was still ongoing or not, Gorose wasn't sure, but he did know that with each successive broken condition, recovery for Elisia would be that much slower.

The elder of Dehl Village had no special connection to Elisia. There was no real reason to protect her, and even upon meeting her, he hadn't felt any immediate desire to guide her in any way. Rather, it was simply a hope he had held for many, many years. That, perhaps one day, there can be true unity among everyone.

A hope like that was a big one, and it was one that needed big things to happen to make it a reality. Things like turning the evil princess into an ally.

In truth, Gorose had gotten a letter delivered to him by bird telling him the princess was being sent to his village. When he learned that, he was almost overjoyed. He finally got his chance to make a big difference and take a step toward the unity he wished for. Even after hearing all the hate come from Elisia's mouth, Gorose still held that hope.

This was the main reason why he gave her more kindness than any of the residents could, but it wasn't the only reason. In the short time Gorose had gotten to know Elisia, he learned that she really was nothing more than a child. It was true that by human standards, she was a young, beautiful, early-20-something woman, but in Gorose's eyes, she was hardly an adult.

Perhaps this wasn't a woman who hated for the sake of hating. Perhaps it was a woman who hated because she simply had never been taught any better. And if that was the case, then all that was really needed was to teach her more about the things she didn't know.