Pre-chapter note: "Yohan" from chapter one has been changed to the name Valantis.

Evangeline sat outside of the kingdom’s grand stairs, the dark night sky loomed above her as she stared blankly upwards, admiring the stars. Well, she attempted to, at least. The mass of ball participants had long gone home after the tremendous incident, and now only remained a few over-night guests. 

Evangeline fiddled with a small knife; she felt more at ease as she no longer was trapped in the extravagant dress. She wore a white and blue bodice and black trousers with a smaller scabbard attached to her hip. Not to mention, her long, black boots were firmly attached, protecting her feet and legs from the weathered pavement and other outdoor elements. 

“What are you doing out here alone, Evangeline?” A gentle voice asked as Evangeline leapt upwards, immediately bringing her knife forward with intent to strike in a lightning’s flash. 

“Oh, it’s just you,” Evangeline sighed as she lowered her guard as soon as she saw Valantis draped in his normal cloak. He let out a small smile and pushed a small bit of bang out of his eyes, revealing his sharp brown irises.  

“Just me. Are you alright? I know today, well technically yesterday, was quite an experience.” 

Evangeline let out a humorless laugh before plopping down against the stairway yet again. Her head was pounding with a migraine, and she was sure that her mind was racing faster than the speed of magic traveling amongst particles in the air. 

She found Valantis soon sitting next to her, the both of them sitting amongst the unusual silence that filled Collosicus’s atmosphere

“Do you ever wonder,” Evangeline started, looking for words to appear on her tongue. However, she could not find anything to say. She had thoughts, many, in fact. Yet, none of them seemed to vocalize from within her throat. 

“Often,” Valantis hummed as he gave a little chuckle. The two of them were in silence, but there seemed to be a conversation that flooded in between them. 

“Marriage… I feel that it was not his choice to make.” Evangeline voiced as she pulled a strand of hair behind her ear. Her hair was still done from earlier, as she felt it was too well-done to simply tear down after a few measly hours. 

“While I agree with you, we are not aware of the circumstances between the two kingdoms.”

“So you agree with King Ragnar then? You think that Anastasia has no say in this at all? This is her future, we are talking about.”

“To be fair,” Valantis said, running a hand through his hair and moving his glasses to be steady against his nose. “She never really had much of a choice. It has been weaved throughout her entire life.”

Evangeline let out a disgusted sneer and shook her head with disagreement reflecting in her eyes. She was a free soul, and she felt that everyone had a right to choose their own path. Yet, she always recognized, even when she first arrived, that not everyone was bestowed this freedom. Some people, due to their lineage, were forced into a life of extravagance, the riches and glamour as well as the blood and sabotage. 

“Do you know what she wants to do in her life?” Evangeline flicked knives with her words, her tongue sharp and words piercing. She stood up with anger burning deep in her heat. “She wants to be a dress maker. She wants to live in a little cottage with a simple life, not a lot of money but enough to feel content with life. She wants a little pet, and feel free to do what she wants. She has never felt content with being a royal, she despises it, in fact.”

Once the words started, the fell like a waterfall. Most people close to Anastasia knew she did not particularly enjoy being the princess, the heir to the kingdom, but they didn’t know her true aspirations in life.

Valantis seemed solemn for a second; he appeared to be lost in thought. Evangeline shook her head and glanced at the knife in her hand, the moonlight reflecting against the edge. She swung it in the air a few times, making a few slashes and listening to the air maneuvering away from the dagger’s point. 

“Perhaps you didn’t know that. After all, your job is to inform her about the past events of this world. You aren’t there to see her, the real her.” Evangeline flipped the knife in her hand and glared at Valantis; she knew that he wasn’t the one she should be mad at, but she still was. Over and over again Evangeline heard these assumptions about Anastasia that she knew weren’t true, and she had no control over them. She had to ignore them and turn the other cheek, dismayed by what people thought of her.

“Good night, Valantis.” Evangeline pivoted herself and started to walk towards the town. She expected Valantis to call out to her, projecting his sorrows and how he was arrogant towards Anastasia’s feelings, yet, silence only filled Evangeline’s ears. A dreadful, lonesome silence.

Evangeline existed the castle and made her way past the castle’s gates, giving a quick nod to the knights quickly, until she entered the market. It was quiet considering that the night was singing its song loudly, enchanting those who listening to a deep night’s rest. 

Her steps were swift yet with authority; there seemed to be an aura of authority that surrounded Evangeline, making even the most of terrifying beasts and humans have a tremor fall along their spine. 

Evangeline searched about the market, her eyes tracing the outline of closed shops as she was searching for something to catch her eye. Yet, she wasn’t exactly sure what she was looking for. An oddity; Evangeline wanted to find an oddity, something that stuck out amongst those that stood still. 

She stopped silently as her eyes caught sight of something drifting in the sky. She jogged slightly, watching the item fall slowly to the ground, sometimes get caught within a gust of wind. 

The item finished drifting down, and Evangeline managed to catch it with her one available hand. It appeared to be a piece of paper with something printed on it. 

Evangeline squinted her eyes and focused in on the ink. She turned her eyes upwards and found a street lamp not too far. She moved over and looked at the paper under the street lamp, and it was nothing other than a ‘Wanted’ poster. 

In Evangeline’s eyes, it appeared to be a portrait of an elf with one of its clipped, just like hers. It signified that it was an elf of the slave trade and they appeared to have ran away from their owners. Their hair was short, in the style of a pixie cut, and they appeared to have a significant scar running across their left cheek. Under the image their was the name “Ezra” as well as a reward of 250 gold if returned to some owners in a small village south of Collosicus. 

Evangeline folded the paper and put it in her pocket, a loathsome feeling crashed amongst her like waves against a rocky cliff. The slave trade was a rather sensitive topic. 

Varying from which of the seven states an elven clan is from in the content of Aagara, freedom has been sparse for the elven race. Up until three decades past, the elven race was enslaved by humans and were often used as slaves for crops, warriors, and servants. Most elves born in the southern states, Collosicus, Ambrose, and Zayari, often were free and avoided the slave trade, meaning there was a likely chance none of their ears were clipped. However, the elves who were born up in the northern states, Bahamozu, Kropingh, Oleshno, and Ustuzdi, had a high chance of being found in the slave trade, unless they lived in clans more secluded in the wilderness. 

The elven slave trade had been going on since the dawn of time, and if in the northern states, they aren’t illegal. Elves who had not had their ears clipped were either born in a southern state, a child to free slaves, or had some other reason to not be clipped. Being clipped, however, meant that an elf was apart of the trade and had an owner. According to owners, elves could buy their freedom and become “free” slaves; they often moved down to the southern states immediately after that. It was also noted that biological male elves had their right ear clipped and biological female elves had their left ear clipped. 

At some point in her life, Evangeline must have been apart of the slave trade as her left ear was clipped. Since she had shown up at Collosicus’s gates, it was assumed that she was a freed slave that had scrambled for asylum after getting her freedom. However, like the rest of her life, that phase of her timeline has been swept away into the abyss, and there are doubts that still remain in Evangeline’s mind whether she was a free elf or not. 

Putting thought away, albeit not easily, Evangeline continued on her stroll through the kingdom markets. Her eyes spotted a couple of beggars on the streets, and a few drunks that wondered about aimlessly. 

“That’s it,” Evangeline said quietly, giving a small smile and nodding her head. She had heard by passing words that a specific tavern was well renown for their excellent liquor and rather exhilarating atmosphere. Evangeline never obtained information of what made the atmosphere so electric, but she wanted to give it an attempt. It was her free time, technically speaking. 

After fifteen minutes searching in between allies, roads, and dead ends, Evangeline caught sight of a lively building; it was a stark contrast to just about every single building that surrounded her. 

Walking up to the buzzing building, Evangeline could spot a few more drunks stumbling about. She stashed the knife she held into her smaller scabbard before opening the door to the tavern and walked in. Much to her relief, the tavern didn’t drop dead silent, perhaps a few eyes took note of Evangeline, but there was no significant stops.

Evangeline walked past the countless tables full of drunk idiots, gambling masters, and talking patrons. She then went to the bar and sat down at one of the few open stools, her eyes scanning over the array of liquor displayed behind the counter. 

“What can I get ya, hon?” A voice questioned only a few seconds after Evangeline sat down. Hey eyes met with a young woman around her age with amber skin, a puffy afro, and umber eyes, Evangeline was slightly taken aback; she couldn’t process the request for a few seconds as she was so taken aback by the woman. 

“Right,” Evangeline stammered, her mind focusing back on the question at hand. She glanced at her hands, “a whiskey sour is all.”

“A tab or upfront?”

“A tab is fine,” Evangeline nodded her head, “not sure how long I’ll be here anyway.”

The woman let out a small laugh, her bright smile showcasing a set of white teeth; her two front teeth had a gap that was noticeable yet intriguing to Evangeline. She didn’t find it odd, unique, maybe, but not odder than having pointed ears as herself. 

“Before I make it, what name should I put on the tab?”

“Evangeline is fine.”

“Oh my,” the girl said, letting out a smile and scribbling down Evangeline’s name and drink on a piece of paper.

Evangeline rose an eyebrow and swiped a small piece of hair out of her eyes, attempting to not blush at the girl’s natural beauty. She also pondered what in the world was possibly going on with her; why was she so jittery, and why was her heart fluttering like a butterfly taking flight in the sky? 

“What is it?” Evangeline questioned, trying to give a little smile as to not make the mood serious, but the girl waved her off and took a few steps away, putting the paper down and started to make the drink. 

The loud crowd-noise drowned out Evangeline’s senses, and despite how it hurt her head, she enjoyed the chaos ever so slightly. There was something about being surrounded by noise than being trapped in silence, it almost calmed Evangeline to be surrounded by distraction.

“Here ya are, hon. So,” the woman said, putting the drink in front of Evangeline and her elbow on the table, learning forward to look closer. “You’re that new knight that’s got to keep an eye on the princess.”

Evangeline took a sip of her drink and nodded, “sure am. Didn’t know my name got out.”

The woman waved her hand and gave a cheeky smile,” well, when you got an attractive yet badass elf with no past showing up at the gates one day and then being the princess’s personal body guard the next, word spreads fast. Can’t believe I never got to see a face as pretty as yours ‘till now.”

If Evangeline’s face wasn’t lit up with a blush before, it was now. She continued to drink her liquor, but she couldn’t hide these unknown feelings that swirled within her. Was it embarrassment? Happiness? She couldn’t decipher. 

“I Appreciate it. I had no idea people actually thought of me that way.”

“Beautiful or badass?”

“Perhaps both,” Evangeline grinned, finishing her drink quickly after the sentence. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for that night; it was supposed to be a ball, dancing with strangers and making sure Anastasia had the best night of her life. Yet suddenly, she was sat at a tavern drinking and relaxing with a beautiful barista complimenting her. Was it a dream?

Evangeline pondered whether Anastasia was right. Maybe all she needed to do was relax and wind-down after all the pandemonium that had surrounded her since day one.

“Another?” The woman asked, and Evangeline nodded her head, putting the glass to the side. Her eyes took note of the woman as she made the drink. Evangeline was entranced, stuck in a deep gaze as she admired how smoothly the woman made the drink. She could have compared it to when she was fighting, albeit being two completely different things, both of them were good at their own individual areas of skill. 

The woman slid another drink to Evangeline, “do ya like what you see, knight?”

Evangeline nearly spat out her drink, but rushed to calm her panicked appearance, swallowing any liquid that almost spurted out of her mouth.

“Sorry, I am not interested in,” Evangeline hesitated slightly. Woman dating other woman or even being interested romantically in other woman was looked down upon no matter where someone was in Aagara. Any type of relationship like that was… taboo, to put it lightly. 

“That way,” she finished, trying to recollect her thoughts.

“Well, that starin’ suggests otherwise. But, I get it, maybe you just haven’t realized it yet.” The woman gave a wink, and Evangeline’s face was a burning red. Her eyes looked into the woman’s and the woman gave her another smile, this one jokingly as if she knew something Evangeline didn’t.

“Leona Widdly,” the woman said, sticking her hand out for Evangeline to shake. It took Evangeline to process things for a second before her head took the steps to think and she shook the woman’s hand, yet hesitantly so. 

“Evangeline, as you already know.”

“Well, miss Evangeline, if you ever need anything feel free to stop by and ask for me. And I mean anything.” The woman winked and walked over to help some other patrons at the bar. Evangeline, herself, was left with half a whiskey sour and a whole lot of emotions to sort through.