Blood Rider [Alonia's Queenslayer #1]

8

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On a hill devoid of the trees sat a breath-taking castle. Stone walls rose high into the sky, yet not higher than trees. Two towers with glass walls sprouted from the stone body, the sunlight reflecting off them giving them an otherworldly glow.

Inside of the green iron gates, Eli saw lush grass with a lot of flowers. Small trees provided shades and a few wooden benches found themselves resting in it. Two elven guards were standing at the gates, their faces smiling. They each wore helmets and resembled the guards which rode before the kings and queen, except that they wore green capes.

They stopped before reaching the gate, and the elven king and queen dismounted their horses, as did the three guards.

"We shall continue on foot from this moment, my friends. Leave your horses, the servants shall bring your belongings to you," the elven king spoke. Ril dismounted without hesitation, but Eli warily waited for her king to do it first. Once he did, she followed suit.

Nobles emerged from the carriages behind Eli, all lining up in back rows and admiring the view in hushed whispers.

Once the carriages and horses were taken somewhere out of the way, the king and queen stepped towards the gates and turned around to face them. Ril went to stand close besides them, Eli assumed to act instead of the three guards who were leading the horses away.

"Welcome, dear guests. Now that you are all present, I would like to formally introduce ourselves. As you well know, I am Eylon, the king of Notrhl and leader of the elves. Meyillia beside me is my precious queen. The White Hunter, Rileigh, is the commander of my army," he spoke.

Eli felt bewildered as suddenly everything made sense. She knew where she had heard the name Ril before – short for Rileigh. She had read a lot about Rileigh, the infamous and cruel elven warrior. He was a great tactician and liked to make his enemies feel like prey.

A sudden bout of despise filled her when she looked at him. He had mercilessly killed many. She tried to reason with herself that it was war – but he supposedly didn't show mercy when his enemies yielded. He had wanted to kill her, as well, although he had no proper need to. They were on neutral ground.

Their eyes met, but Eli did not find herself lost in them anymore. He seemed visibly confused by the sudden intensity of her glare, and he looked away.

"We are pleased to be here, and we thank you for the invitation," The king spoke formally. Eli found herself getting alerted whenever he spoke, her eyes automatically judging the threat level of her surroundings. She really liked the elven king so far, but she couldn't allow herself to relax. She had already slipped up once. She couldn't do it again.

The royalty smiled before turning around and leading the way into the castle. Rileigh lingered behind and walked next to Eli's commander. Eli let the nobles pass by her and joined the guards, where she belonged.

"Got tired of the nobles, huh?" the guard leader, James, said in a manner which Eli found mocking, so she remained quiet, walking with them patiently. Some guards were reluctant to accept her, and James liked to make use of the fact to establish his leadership.

"You have it easy, rider, we actually have to work to get chances like this!" a guard whose name Eli thought was either Rancorn or Raymond said. She felt tremors of rage go down her spine as she came to a sudden halt, forcing a sudden silence to fall over the guards.

"I will say this once, and only once. You do not know me, and you never will. If I hear you say something like that ever again, I will make sure nobody comes to your funeral," she spoke with utter coldness, and then resumed walking, her face calm. The guards were shocked for a while, but they continued walking soon after, completely silent. When logic and reasoning failed to work, threats did the trick.