The Demon King's Hero Of Light 153 Chapter 153 The Elven Princess

"No, I didn't figure everything out," Aella laughed. "We are going to go see the elven king and come back with him or one of his delegates to speak to the dwarves."

"Why are we going instead of one of the dwarves?" asked Alfred, raising his face up to the welcoming warmth of the sun as they stepped outside.

"I don't trust them to get it done fast enough, if I don't do it myself," said Aella, s.h.i.+elding the sunlight from her eyes while she scanned the forest below. "We'll see you back down at the forest edge, Alfred."

"What do you mean?" he asked, confused.

Aella took a quick breath and whistled a specific series of notes. A figure quickly leapt into sight from below, and headed towards them, flapping strong wings. With a grin, she perched on the edge of the walkway leading into the dwarven keep and jumped far into s.p.a.ce. Frederik spread his wings wide and leapt after her. A moment later the figure dashed by with Aella clinging to the lion's back.

"I knew you weren't far," she laughed, scratching the lion through his thick mane. He gave a deep throated roar, and flew towards the trees. Frederik swooped in beside them, keeping out of the way of the might cat's wings.

Landing with a spray of dirt and pebbles, Aella slid from the giant cat's back with a laugh and turned to the waiting elven king, who gazed upon her with curiosity.

"After hearing the notes of command only once, you have managed to gain complete control of one of my family's greatest treasures," he said, his eyes trailing over the lion as it settled onto its belly comfortably.

"In the fighting pits you often did not get a second chance to master something," Aella said, rubbing the cats jaw with affection.

"Were you able to determine anything with the dwarves?" the king asked, obviously choosing to ignore the lion matter at the moment.

"They have sent me, as a neutral party, to request you or a delegate to return in order to speak of the issues between the two kingdoms. The royal twins who were in power have met untimely deaths and they are preparing to crown a new king as we speak," said Aella, turning to look at the elven king to see his eyes widen at her news.

"Untimely?" he asked, obviously wanting to know what she meant by that.

"They seemed to have gotten into an argument over something and pulled knives on each other. It was quite a shock, and no one had a chance to do anything before they were both dead," said Aella, her words rolling smoothly off her tongue.

Alfred arrived a breath later, looking at the lion uncertainly. He nodded to her and the king and stood off to the side beside Frederik.

"I struggle to understand the ways of dwarves, but I find it incredibly difficult to believe they would kill each other as you say," said the elf with a small smile.

"I find it difficult to believe as well," she laughed, "But it stands that they are both dead and the dwarves are indeed in the process of crowning a new king. The question remains as to whether you will be visiting with them, or if you will be sending a dignitary back with me. I do not have a limitless amount of time to be traipsing all over the world. I must eventually return to my kingdom, Your Majesty."

He nodded, his hair bouncing along his armored back. "I think it would be folly to travel myself, without a number of guards that would be difficult to muster in such short order. I will instead send my sister to travel with you. She understands our issues well enough to be able to speak on my behalf. I believe you are capable enough to keep her safe?"

An elven woman stepped out from the bushes behind the king, wearing an almost military dress outfit, with a matching green sash to her brother's cape.

"I love the facial tattoos," said Aella, as the princess drew closer. "What do they symbolize?"

The princess laughed, saying, "They are there to hide the scars I got learning how to fight. My brother thought it improper for the elven princess to have facial scars, so I make them into lightning bolts. Perhaps they will make my blades move faster in battle."

"May I ask if the shaved hair on the sides of your head is a royal haircut?" asked Aella, since the princess seemed much more willing to speak.

"My brother thinks it is proper to show our royal ears better with a short haircut as this. I don't mind it honestly. The other elves tend to give me more respect with it. Shall we ride the lion to the dwarven gates, or will we be walking?"

The king was remaining silent as his sister talked, despite her blaming him for her appearance. Aella couldn't help but wonder if even he respected her more for the appearance she had. Just above the shaved section on either side of her head, she had braided a strand of hair before the rest was allowed to hang loose and free. It gave her a very wild look next to the formal look of her outfit. Aella liked it a lot.

"The dwarves have hidden arrow slits along the path, that I would rather not risk a misunderstanding, so a ride on the lion would probably be best," nodded Aella.

"Wonderful," said the princess, heading for the lion with a grin. "I love riding on these beasts, but we unfortunately don't get much opportunity to do it."

Aella patted the lion on his shoulder, to get him to stand, and then climbed up behind the princess. The lion glanced back at her and she patted him again, with a nod and a s.h.i.+ft back towards the mountains.

The king watched them as they flew back towards the dwarven entrance. Alfred seemed to sigh before streaking back up the path. Frederik was a breath behind them, having more difficulty climbing into the sky with the turbulent air from the lion's wings.

"My brother isn't so bad, once you get to know him, you know," said the princess over her shoulder. "If you were interested, I'm sure he might entertain a courts.h.i.+p with you."

Aella laughed and shook her head. "I have no interest in courting a king. He already has a kingdom and people to watch out for. I am a king of my own people. Neither kingdom would mesh well. Though I would love to learn how to do my hair like you have. Those braids look fantastic!"

The princess laughed as they neared the building the dwarves had built over the entrance to their city.

The landing was too small for the lion to land on, so Aella jumped up and helped the princess stand, then they jumped as the lion drifted over it.

"That was a move my brother would never have let me try were he here!" laughed the princess with a flush to her cheeks. "He cares a bit too much to let me be as free as I would like."

"I've never been truly free, to know what that is," said Aella thoughtfully as Frederik and Alfred joined them on the landing. "Even as a child, before being thrown into the pits, I had to be careful not to be caught stealing food. And now that I have managed to escape the pits, I am tied to my kingdom as their king. I don't mind it, but I do sometimes wonder what it would be like to be truly free."

"Even during that time when you were gone for a month?" asked Alfred, not having heard all of the conversation.

Aella smiled at him and said, "I was too h.o.r.n.y during that month to be truly free. It's hard to enjoy your freedom when everything wants to hump you. Besides, everything in this whole realm is always watching my every move. It's one of the curses of being king."

Alfred nodded his understanding, but the princess was watching her with a mix of surprise and curiosity in her eyes.

"Let's go see if the dwarves are done placing a crown on their new kings head yet, and throwing the bodies of their dead into graves so we can talk," said Aella, pus.h.i.+ng the door open.

Not spying anyone waiting on them, she sighed. It would be so much easier to just teleport them all in, but she didn't want to give that ability away just yet to the elves. Better to just walk anyway. The dwarves were upset enough as it was. Maybe she could swing by Bob's bar on the way and get a drink. She certainly wanted one after all of this politicking.