Bab 22: She Is Ugly, But Her Eyes Are Pretty
The human girl had just turned around when she saw the door open ever-so-slowly, and the head of a young kid about four or five years old popped inside her house. Short wavy brown hair slightly covered his pointed ears.
He asked in a childish voice, "Are you the one that our king brought to his bed?"
The human girl blinked at him. She could not understand what this young elf meant and only stared at that mischievous child whose height barely reached her waist.
"Little rascal, is this the way you talk to our guest?" It was Leeora who responded to his question, teleporting back seeing the elf boy had sneaked into the tree house.
The elf boy looked at Leeora with an awkward but innocent smile. "Elder! Elder, so is she the one the King—"
"Oh, your manners! Do you want me to talk to your mother, you little rascal?"
The little elf pouted. "Stop calling me 'little', Elder. I am two decades old. I am even older than this human." Seeing that Leeora was simply staring at him, he chuckled awkwardly. "I-I just want to see the human. It's the first time I have ever seen one since we don't allow humans to enter the city. My mother used to tell me to stay away from humans as they are scary, but this human girl doesn't look scary at all."
Leeora chuckled, "Humans don't look scary."
The boy looked at the human girl. "Not scary, but she's ugly."
Leeora pulled his ear.
"Ahh! Elder!" the boy whined in pain.
"She is bruised and dirty. Can't you see it?" Leeora asked.
"Doesn't change the fact she's still ugly—!"
Leeora twisted his ear with more force, "You sure need to learn good manners."
"A-Apologies, Elder. Her eyes are really pretty! At least her eyes are pretty!" the boy cried out and only then did Leeora let him go.
"Do not disturb our guest till she gets better. Do you understand?" Leeora warned.
The boy nodded and left immediately.
Leeora looked at the human girl. "He is a naughty child, but he's a good child. You can just ignore him if he bothers you." She then turned around. "I'll be waiting for you in my house." Leeora disappeared once more.
The human girl cleaned herself and wore the clothes. That green and brown knee-length dress was a little loose for her thin body, but she liked it as the loose clothes wouldn't touch her burns. She put on leg warmers to cover the skin of her legs and then she saw a pair of short boots and put them on her feet.
She found herself looking at her reflection in the mirror, covering her ears with her hair to check if she's passed as a young elf. However, to her dismay, she realized that perhaps the naughty boy's words were true.
Compared to the elegant and sophisticated elves, she's far too ugly. She's smaller than them and her limbs were so thin, they're almost skin and bones. While elves boast smooth fair skin, hers was rough and filled with bruises and burn marks.
The rumbling in her stomach brought her out of her insecure thoughts.
After one last look inside her new home, she headed towards Leeora's house. Rather than fear, she felt amused the first time she stepped on the hanging bridge made of vines. It swayed with each dainty step of hers, but after getting the hang of it, she was able to cross it without any problems.
By the time she stepped in front of her house, her nose caught the most mouth-watering scent she had ever remembered smelling. It seemed like Leeora was baking fresh bread and her already starving stomach grumbled once more. With a drooling mouth, she was about to push the door open when the door opened on its own.
Leeora sensed her presence and turned to look at her. "Welcome to my home, dear."
The human girl went inside and observed the elf's home carefully. It was thrice the size of her place, although it seemed more like an indoor garden rather than a house. Many plants with various colors and sizes were in clay pots on the floor and hanging baskets on the walls. The space inside was divided into several portions, though she had no idea what lay beyond the folding screens.
While she was busy observing the home, Leeora arranged food for them on the table. Served were platters of various fruits and freshly-baked loaves of bread.
"Why are you still standing, child? Sit."
They finally sat together around that table, but no one was moving. Leeora could see that this human girl was starving and said gently, "You can start eating."
Afterward, Leeora treated her wounds with elixirs she made herself. As the High Elder of the Wood Elves, she was among the best in her race when it came to brewing potions and elixirs. Her elixirs not only heal outside wounds but also internal injuries, and the effects were more outstanding than the common brews.
The bruises had all faded, and it seemed like it would only take several days for the burns to heal.
Once they were finished, Leeora brought her back to her home.
"You can rest and no one will disturb you here. If you want to look around the city, you can find Lusca to accompany you. Make sure you don't stray too far since I wish to eat together with you again for lunch. I will return after I finish work first."
The human girl nodded with an obedient expression, causing the elf elder to smile.
Leeora went back to the palace as she needed to talk to Draven about this girl. She knew nothing about her, and from what she heard from Erlos, those two had gone to investigate the origins of this girl.
Since the King had designated her as the human girl's guardian, then it was imperative that she understand the girl to properly provide for her needs.
Hadiah
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