Tangled By Fate

"Uhh… about me being here, who else knows?"

Veronica was worried that she would be targeted by the elves and then the royal family would come to take her away.

She still didn't forget Dastan who leaped from the boat as though he was flying. 

If she didn't take off his pants that time, wouldn't she have ended up here a long time ago? She wouldn't know what injustice they did to innocent people.

Rulas' father answered, "Everyone in our village knows. Our soldiers found you with my son. They knew he was missing."

"So, that's how it is. Thank you for finding us."

Veronica didn't feel good after hearing this. Nevertheless, she didn't show her turmoil. 

After he left, she had the chance to look around where she was. 

The place she was in was very unique. She had never seen anything like that. 

The room was spacious at the bottom. The wall went up and narrowed. It seemed like she was inside a giant cone.

The wall looked oddly different. She didn't know if it was stone or wood or something else.

The room only had a bed, table, and chair. They seemed to be made of bamboo.

Rulas held her hand and asked excitedly, "Ver, do you like your house? Your house and mine are the same!"

"House? Is this a house?" Veronica was puzzled.

Rulas pretended to be an elder who passed the knowledge to their youngsters. 

"Hmm! One tree is one house. Everyone has their own house. Just like you and me!"

Veronica was amazed. She couldn't help but look around her once more.

"Then, I'm inside a tree? This is brilliant. You don't have too much furniture, unlike humans. Simple decoration. That's so like elves."

"Ver, you will live with us from now on, right? It will be great if you do. We can eat leaves and bread every day. Our bread is really special. You can take one bite and you won't be hungry in four days."

Saying all that, he took out a piece of bread from his pouch and gave it to her. 

"Give it a bite and see if what I'm saying is true or not," he proudly stated.

Veronica thought it was a childish prank. Even so, she took a bite seeing his expectant eyes. She didn't want to make him sad.

It had a nice fragrance. It made her stomach growl. Her stomach was without food for a month. It wouldn't stand anymore. She took a huge bite.

The bread was a bit crispy but not like toast. It tasted a bit sweet but the sweetness was so mellow that she could barely sense it.

She wanted to take another bite. She opened her mouth and was ready to take another mouthful when she realized that she didn't have the appetite.

She closed her mouth and dumbly looked at the bread.

'Strange. I took only one bite and had no appetite? Half of the bread is still left.'

She touched her belly and wished to empathize if her stomach was still hungry or not.

Unexpectedly, her stomach was entirely satisfied.

She blinked. She couldn't understand why her stomach was relaxed.

That's when she heard crispy laughter from Rulas.

"I told you. Your stomach is filled after a bite, isn't it?" he mischievously asked.

"It is indeed." Veronica had no hunger. She had to put down the remaining bread.

Rulas took the bread from her hand and placed it on a plate. The plate was made of soil.

"It's okay. You can eat it four days later. Although I don't think you need to eat for a week. You took a huge bite!"

"Th-that long?" Veronica couldn't believe her ears.

"Just you wait and see!"

Later, Rulas' words came true. She didn't eat for a whole week.

Veronica stayed in the elvish village for a whole month. She recuperated there. 

The elvish doctor used their advanced medicine to heal her wounds caused by arrows and other injuries caused by two months of hardship. 

She was healed to the point there was no scratch on her body. She was thoroughly impressed with their knowledge and skills. 

She thought only healers could heal people like that, but she was proven wrong. 

Although she was taken care of by the professionals, her back pain remained. 

She didn't tell the doctor or anyone about it because they had done their best. She didn't want them to worry much.

Moreover, she didn't take it seriously. She felt like she would be better after some time.

The elvish village was simple. Elves cherished nature and lived with nature. Their lifestyle was ordinary.

All birds and animals were their friends. Since elves didn't eat animals, animals never put their guards up around elves. They had a harmonious relationship.

It was quite surprising that they lived without harming mother nature, unlike humans. They didn't have to use fire as the trees glowed and gave off blue and green hues at night.

It was more than magical. To them, it was so natural.

Veronica couldn't help but be amazed. She started to get used to them and blended with their lifestyle.

One evening, during teatime, Veronica asked Rulas' father who was the village chief a question.

"About the royal family, I don't want to notify them about my selfishness. I only want to meet Dastan. Do you know anyone named Dastan?"

Upon hearing her question, the village chief's eyebrows slightly creased before going back to normal.

"I have heard of this name, but I've never seen that person before. If it's urgent, then I can ask my people to look for him. They will bring that person here."

Veronica's heart eased. She was worried that others might not know Dastan.

She stated, "It's not necessary to bring him here. I'll go and meet him."

"Okay, I'll notify you," the village chief agreed.

Five days later, he notified her, "The man named Dastan was spotted in the imperial village. If you want, I can send you there."

Veronica's face beamed in excitement. "That would be wonderful."

Rulas' father arranged two guards for her and sent her off. 

Rulas waved his hand from behind and said, "Ver, come back quickly! I'll be waiting for you!" 

His olive eyes were glowing as he stared at Veronica intensely.

"I'll come back as soon as possible!" Veronica waved him back.

Elves didn't use vehicles. They walked from one place to another place. As a result, it was a slow and tiring journey for Veronica who wasn't used to it.

The elvish kingdom was a huge place. She didn't know where on the map it actually existed. She had no idea how she approached their place.

When she tried to find out, she couldn't find a map or anything. 

She was told that only the council had a map of the kingdom. They were very secretive toward their position in the human realm. 

In the end, Veronica had to give up. She could only follow the guards. 

She wanted to talk to them but they wouldn't open their mouths. It seemed like their lips were sewed.

All she could do was enjoy nature and memorize the path she walked. 

A week later, she dragged her feet to a motel. They had a long way to go to the imperial village the elvish chief mentioned.

She took a quick shower and changed her clothes before going to bed.

The night was quiet. The moon rose in the sky and shared her silver slight with a magnanimous heart.

Veronica was staring at the round moon when she heard a playful voice. 

"You came to find me. Did you miss me that much?"