The Cursed Prince

***

Harlow's next destination was a forest said to have people disappearing into, but unlike what that brat, Alexei, told her, one of the people from Myreen actually managed to return back to the human realm without any problems.

According to the traveler who helped place the destination on the princess' map, when he passed by through the forest, a literal rain of arrows started showering on him and he felt like he was being hunted down.

"They seem to be barbarians if that is the case," Harlow muttered to the man.

"Haha, no. Elven people are quite civilized, but they don't take it too kindly to trespassers." the person explained kindly. "I feel like they simply led me towards the human portal because they saw I was lost."

"Then they could have at least talked with you rather than pelting you with arrows," Harlow said. "That doesn't sound like civil people to me."

The Crown Princess of Draec complained to the man who had multiple arrow scars on his arms. Harlow felt like those elves simply saw humans as lesser creatures or even animals they needed to chase away.

The idea that Raphael… that Ice Prince was associated with elves made sense if they were jerks like that. It was for that very reason that Harlow was actually nervous and wary of entering the forest. 

What if Harlow ended up dying with arrows sticking from her back? She wouldn't get the chance to do it to Raphael himself because she would be the first one to die from receiving arrows.

However, as the beautiful princess looked at the map and other destinations plotted out to her… most of them were really far away from Myreen and would actually take weeks of travel. Who knows if they're much more dangerous than this place?

However, compared to other travelers, Harlow had an advantage. She had something that no other humans had.

She looked up at her beautiful ice dragon and said, "Icecube, if arrows start raining down on us, you can use your wings to blow them away right? Snuff out those elven bastards from where they're hiding. Can you do that?"

Icecube made a snort of snowflakes and an ice breath vapor, but also gently nodded. It was bright, intelligent and Harlow actually had an excellent rapport with her dragon with only the migration part being the thing she hadn't been able to stop.

The two of them slowly stepped into the forest, the dragon's claws crunching against everything it stepped on. Thick logs were crushed underneath and trodden by its feet as Icecube and Harlow traveled through the woods.

At first, the princess didn't feel anything different. Thanks to Uncle Gewen Athibaud, Harlow had learned how to be hyper-aware of her surroundings and was sensitive to small changes even though she wasn't a full elf or anything like it.

The grasshoppers and crickets were audible in the background along with birds swooshing and flying overhead of them. However, suddenly, everything turned into dead silence and the sounds of life vanished.

No more birds.

No more insects.

No more anything but Harlow and Icecube.

The Crown Princess of Draec's breath hitched slightly as she stuck close underneath Icecube's wing, her only companion and protection. She was holding on to her bow and arrow, but it was probably against several elven archers if she was going to fight against them.

All of those were recipes for disasters.

Harlow took another wary step forward and then suddenly met face to face with a typical handsome man with blonde hair and blue eyes. The most striking feature on his face was his visible pointy ears. 

"Boo!" he shouted.

"Agh!"  Harlow instinctively shoved the man forward because she was startled. The man landed on his butt on the ground. 

SWOOSH! SWOOSHH!!

Suddenly, nasty arrows flashed within the forest and surrounded Harlow and Icecube without any pause or question. Fortunately, Icecube remembered his master's order and immediately flapped his wings to sweep the coming arrows away from them.

After the rain of arrows stopped, Harlow found they were surrounded by multiple archers. They moved stealthily and suddenly seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"Ow… that hurts. I expected you to scream or back away, not push me." The handsome man chuckled and looked up at Harlow with a sheepish expression. "Sorry for the scare, young maiden."

Harlow would have assumed he was friendly or at least harmless since she didn't see any weapons on him… but that was neglecting the fact that there were at least hundreds of arrows ready to fly in her direction right now.

It was obvious that this person in front of her was someone important, or at least was protected by his brethren. However, instead of going for diplomacy, Harlow remembered the scars of arrows on the man she talked with earlier.

The fact that these elves could actually come out to talk now irked her.

They could have done that before too! They should not shoot people and talk later, shouldn't they?

"You and your men are the ones who rain down arrows on poor unsuspecting humans like me!" Harlow pointed a finger at the elf and regretted it as an arrow flew past her fingertip and barely grazed with it.

The arrow didn't miss her at all.

"..."  Harlow's heart skipped a beat.

It was a warning shot.

A warning to not lay a hand on the person in front of Harlow.

"Calm down guys, she's only cautious for a good reason. We did surprise her." The elf called out to his people and then stood up to his feet. He dusted off his clothes and then glanced in Harlow's direction. 

Harlow didn't look happy or impressed… and she was actually nervous. Her heart was pounding, but as the proud princess from Draec, she didn't let her emotions show on her face.

The handsome elf admired her for a moment. He was impressed that humans could actually be on par with the beauty of the female elves.

.

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From Missrealitybites:

I know it seems like Harlow is on a wild goose chase hahaha... and it would take some time before she meets Raphael, but please be patient. He will show himself when he is ready.

PS: Thank you, Harriet Moskowitz, for gifting a dragon to "The Cursed Prince" today. xx