She covered her eyes, but that was all she could muster.
The Chosen One looked up; debris was all around her. A crater had been left where the caster once stood. Ashes and mutilated bodies have now replaced the healthy and happy patrons that were once there.
Gwyn reached down, touching her side. It burned. It burned worse than the firefade.
An arm reached out for her. In her dazed confusion, Gwyn could feel the blood run from her temple, like a hammer had struck it.
"By the Gods! Are you okay?"
Elise's face immediately made it clear to Gwyn that wherever she was, this was not a pleasant situation.
The pink-haired elf who saved Gwyn from falling out of her room had fully intended to save the Chosen One a second time.
The young woman didn't move; her body ached as if the full power of the blast had hit her, but she had taken only a fraction of the blast. Her still having a pulse was no act of God or stroke of luck. Artero's quick thinking saved the new Chosen One.
Artero used his non-dominant hand to steady his gloved one. His dominant arm's sleeve had been torn, revealing the red, blistered skin from the blast. Yet, the glove remained unscathed.
He continuously cast spells and lesser magic to move debris out of the way with his gloved hand to prevent the café from collapsing on itself. Blood was oozing from his head; he had been struck by bricks falling above him, nearly knocking him unconscious.
Elise put one hand on Gwyn's chest, and the other hand pressed her dagger to Gwyn's wounds.
Gwyn was bleeding profusely. A sharp piece of stone had pierced her side. Gwyn kept reaching for it. Not comprehending the damage she received.
Elise was horrified, but did not speak.
First, she removed the stone that had struck the Chosen One. When she did, red leaked from Gwyn's body, and the woman yelped.
Elise swallowed hard and silently cast an advanced healing spell. Slowly, Gwyn's wounds healed. Just like that, nearly all the pain faded, her vision stopped spinning, and the cuts and scrapes turned to scabs and scars. A particularly nasty scar was where the piece of stone once jutted from her body. A dull ache had replaced the searing fire that was consuming her moments ago.
"What did you do?"
Gwyn leaned up, feeling the ache in her body dull.
Elise coughed, wiping blood from her nose. She sheathed her dagger.
"Healing magic takes a lot out of a person, ya know."
Still dazed, Gwyn asked.
"What's going on? What happened?"
The ringing in Artero's ears faded, and he heard Gwynevere's voice. He turned to check on her, confident the café was stable enough not to collapse. Horror crossed his face as he noticed a hooded figure helping Gwyn.
"Hey, you there, stop! Unhand her—" A pause, shock, and recognition in his tone. "Elise?" What are you doing here?"
"Artero?" Elise was just as surprised. "I could say the same for you."
"You two know each other?"
Suddenly, the café ruins had grown extremely uncomfortable, not because of the deceased around them, not because of the explosion, but because of whatever had happened between these two. The two elves were now blinded to their surroundings and only focused on one another.
Elise spoke first. Through her tone and body language, you could tell love was no longer within her.
"We used to be together."
"Until last week." Artero looked directly at Elise. "I see you changed your hair."
"I see you've forgotten how to shave. I also don't think my hair color is a significant component in this situation, Arty."
Arty was once a loving, familiar nickname for Artero. When uttered, it pierced his heart like an arrow. It seemed to him that all love was lost within Elise.
"We were together five years and three seasons, Elise. Does that mean nothing to you?"
"A blink in the lifespan of an elf."
Artero's jaw tensed.
"Why does that matter? What we had was real!" Artero was becoming increasingly flustered. "And what are you doing with the Chosen One? How do you know her?"
Artero didn't realize that he was shouting. His face was flushed, and he looked as though he were on the verge of tears.
"Um... is this really the most important—"
They continued on as though Gwyn didn't say anything.
"Who I spend my time with is none of your concern."
"I believe it is whenever you show up only moments after an attack on our people!"
"What? Would you have me stand aside and not help the injured?"
"Guys... I don't know if you should be—"
But it was too late. As people from the streets came to help the injured, the once quiet area was now packed with confused and panicked elves. The argument Elise and Artero were having seemed to spark interest in all present.
It did not take long for people to recognize the new Chosen One who was frantically trying to quiet them down. It took them even less time to realize that she might have been the reason the Capital had been attacked.
"Hey! That's the Chosen One! Are you the cause of all this?"
They raised an accusatory finger at Gwyn, whose hood was now down by her shoulders, and stood as though she had been caught in a crime. The elf's anger was evident, their hostility sweeping like a tide over nearly every elf in the ruins of this café. Dust hung in the air all around them as the focus shifted towards the human woman.
This accusation seemed to snap Artero out of his petty squabble.
"She did not cause this; you saw for yourself that elf—"
"I bet they were here for her!"
A different elf shouted. They appeared bloody; they had been injured in the blast and managed not to become a pile of ashes.
"My wife is dead!"
A third elf held a mutilated body. The hurt in his voice broke it.
Now, every bystander seemed to lose interest in the injured and suddenly became very focused on Gwyn.
Elise whispered to the young woman, tugging on her robe.
"I think we should get out of here."
"I had nothing to do with this!"
An elf in the crowd raised a catalyst at Gwyn.
"Why did they attack here, then?"
Elise put her dagger to Gwyn's back
"Fade from view,
So no one soon
Can hear your steps,
Until the moon."
Elise erupted into a bloody cough, and Gwyn vanished. The crowd gasped in unison.
"She's trying to get away!"
"Run."
Elise painfully whispered.
Gwyn hadn't moved an inch but had been lost to the crowd's sight.
"Let your fears vanish."
A soothing voice broke the mounting tension. Some ducked for cover as though another explosion was imminent.
An elf draped in silken robes of green and gold descended from the sky. Fine, golden jewelry adorned his body. They wore a crown made of a translucent material that shimmered with every color in the sunlight.
Every person in the vicinity was frozen in his presence.
"The King!"
The hordes of elves kneeled before the figure, including Artero. Elise, however, stood right where Gwyn was invisibly standing.
Without using a catalyst, the King pointed to where Elise stood, and Gwyn was revealed, breaking the spell on her.
People were in awe and muttered their admiration of the King's power.
"So, this is the new savior."
The King clearly thought Gwyn was anything but.
When his feet touched the ground, a gust of air slowed his descent, carrying a soft and sweet-smelling breeze that dispelled the smell of iron, dust, and death. Without hesitation, he looked at Gwyn and Elise and strode towards them. People eagerly shifted to the side to make way for the royalty.
Gwyn stood, shaking like a leaf, biting her tongue to keep her teeth from chattering. It didn't take the young woman much time to realize he could stop her heart with little effort.
"And my daughter, what are you doing here? Found your way out of the Towers now, have you?" He chuckled. "Fascinated with… this thing here?"
He reached his arm out and traced his hand through Gwyn's hair. Although her hair was knotted and matted from dust and debris, it became silken when his fingers ran through the copper locks. He tugged and removed a single strand.
Elise swallowed hard.
"How do you expect our Chosen Ones to help us if we just ridicule them?" Elise stood in front of the Chosen One. "Gwynevere has done nothing against our people!"
The crowd was silent, eagerly watching a scene that would typically happen behind closed doors at the Glass Throne.
"She's also done nothing for our people. Do you know what happened the last time we showed hospitality and kindness to the Chosen Ones?"
This question was rhetorical because Elise knew better than most. Tears began to well in the young elves' eyes.
"We lost our Queen." He had to stop himself from choking on his words. "Your mother."
"I—"
He did not allow Elise to speak.
"Now? A barbarian runs rampant in the North. Using our teachings to destroy our people. The King of Terror."
Those around them winced at the utterance of his title.
The King pointed to Gwyn.
"She is the same as him. She will only cause our people more pain."
The Chosen One had trouble breathing. She was caught in the middle of too many things that she didn't understand, and every moment she was here, it became more evident, more overwhelming.
"So, tell me, my dear daughter." The King spoke to Elise as though she were a child. "Why do you believe I shall give this savior any more of our resources? Do you find her more important than the lives of our people? Then your very own mother?"
Elise balled her fists, her nails digging into her palms, blood dripping from them. She didn't want to cry, not now. Yet, she couldn't help herself.
It felt to Gwyn that all eyes were on her. She tried to piece together the situation, and no matter which way Gwyn could spin it. There was no logical explanation for why Elise showed her sympathy.
The last Chosen One killed her mother.
A hole began to form in Gwyn's chest, and her heart was breaking.
Why was she so kind to me? It doesn't make sense. She has every reason to hate me. Why did she help?
With foolish bravery, Gwyn put herself between Elise and the King.
"Leave her out of this!"
The crowd around them gasped.
"If you have something to say, you can say it to me!"
The King chuckled, and slowly, others around him joined in.
"The pathetic worm shows some courage. Where was that a moment ago when this terrorist tried to exterminate you?"
Gwyn's jaw tensed.
"How would you like me to do that, huh? You've given me nothing. Elise is the only person who has gone out of their way for me."
The King's face was unreadable. Gwyn could sense his disdain at the mention of his daughter. It was as though showing the Chosen Ones any kindness was the greatest sin of them all.
"I don't know who's more foolish. You or my daughter."
"Why are you even here? To gloat?"
He had to stop himself from laughing.
"Unlike your kind? I am here to help our people."
He stepped away from the conversation. He slowly raised his hands above his head and brought them together in front of him, palms pressed together. Slowly, golden vines stretched out from every part of his body. Weaving their way through the crowd and finding all those who were harmed in the attack, Gwyn included.
"I'm healed!"
A formerly injured elf shouted. Their arm had been missing for a few seconds prior, but now they were flexing it and moving it around. It was like they were never injured.
Even though a lingering pain remained from the attack, it now disappeared, along with the scar where the debris had nearly impaled her.
A light enveloped an ashen body. It was hard to even tell what it used to be. Yet what was most astonishing was that those bodies were being restored. Returning to life.
The crowd rejoiced in excitement. Those who had died looked up, confused as to why everyone was so happy to see them. The only ones the King couldn't save were those who'd been vaporized entirely.
The King turned to face Gwyn, and no blood was present as it had been on Elise.
Although the young woman didn't want to admit it, he was an imposing, immaculate, and radiant figure.
"Five years, Chosen One. You have five years."
The King walked into the crowd and vanished.