They arranged seats on the balcony for us, with places for the queen and Elsarion as well. Ceramic bowls of fresh water were set out for Leaf and Leon.
“Please, take a seat,” said the queen. “And you too, Elsarion. It’s been centuries since we last had beloved children as guests!”
‘Centuries’? That wasn’t something you heard every day…
I sat down and one of the servants poured a drink into my cup. When I took a sip, I found it was an herbal tea that smelled like flowers. It was delicious.
From the balcony, I could see the center of the elven village. The trees grew thick and lush around the sickly World Tree that stretched toward the sky. Rows of white houses clustered together along the stone path we’d walked, which I supposed was where the other elves lived.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “We stumbled onto your village because the World Tree was calling to me.”
The queen gave me a gentle smile. “Then it was meant to be, so there’s nothing to apologize for. It was woven into fate by the goddesses who spin the threads of this world.” She spoke of gods so casually. I wasn’t very religious myself, but curiosity got the better of me.
“Your Majesty, do gods really exist?”
She blinked at me in disbelief. “I’m surprised you’re asking that when the spirit kings are counted among them! You’ve met them, haven’t you? You, and you.” She looked at Lynn and then at me again.
“Well, allow me to introduce myself first,” she continued. “I am Aglares, queen of the Sun Elves, one of the three clans of our people. And this is Elsarion, the captain of my knights.”
“I am Daisy von Preslaria,” I responded. “I am an Alchemist, blessed by the Nature Spirit King. I was gathering materials near the royal capital of Saltenburg when I ended up here.”
“And I’m Lynn,” said the girl in question. “I’ve been blessed by the Earth Spirit King. I work as a Blacksmith and live in the royal capital of Saltenburg, just like Daisy.”
“We are Mark and Letia, adventurers who are serving as the girls’ escorts,” Mark said. “We hardly know what to say, being mere humans coming to the—er, I mean, welcomed into the elven world—er, realm so generously.”
The queen smiled when everyone finished their introductions, looking pleased.
“Yes, Mark and Letia… You two must be quite surprised indeed, finding yourself so far from home like this. But you are worthy of protecting the Beloved Children.” She nodded, her cherry-colored lips curving into a smile.
“Are we?” Mark tipped his head to the side. He probably still felt out of place here.
“Yes, quite. You see, encounters are the most important workings of fate. A person is born, grows up through all sorts of circumstances, makes choices, and lives their life.” The queen spoke slowly to us, as if spinning a tale. “Eventually, their life collides with someone else’s. These encounters, or the crossing of one’s path with another’s, are what make the stories of our lives so grand. Mark, you were drawn to their destinies because of the way you’ve chosen to live. Your life has not only become your story, but part of Lady Daisy’s and Lady Lynn’s as well.”
She lifted her cup to her lips, took a sip, and continued.
“The World Tree, for example, is one of three which support this world, and was fated to wither and die. But it made a choice to call out on its own, and Lady Daisy heard it. Because of that meeting, its fate may yet be changed.”
The queen giggled softly, then rose to her feet. She raised both hands to the sky and twirled in place, her dress swirling around her.
“The three World Trees stretch into the heavens, holding aloft the dwellings of the gods. Their roots run deep, binding together the surface of the earth where humans, elves, demons, and all manner of life flourish, all the way down to the underworld below.”
She gestured to us as she spoke, her hands acting out the parts of the World Tree and the makeup of this world.
“If they perish, it won’t just be the elves who fall. The whole world will lose its support, and everything will collapse into ruin. But this chance encounter could change that fate!”
As she continued, I learned something else: There was one enormous central island on the surface of the world where humans lived. An ocean separated it from four other islands—one for each of the elven clans, and one more inhabited by demons. It was such a grand story that none of us could have ever imagined it to be real, and for a moment, we could only stare in astonished silence.
Wait, is my life really part of something so vast? I’d only come here to collect some materials, and suddenly the world seemed so enormous! All I’d done was follow a crying voice, and now it felt like I’d stepped into the middle of some grand myth. I could change the fate of the world itself? Anyone would be overwhelmed to hear all that.
It was all so much at once that I honestly didn’t know what to do. The queen seemed overjoyed that the World Tree’s destiny might be altered, but I had no idea how I could accomplish that, so I decided to be honest.
“Your Majesty, I haven’t actually saved the World Tree yet. I don’t even know how. But I’d like to go and visit it to find out if I can.”
“Yes, that’s perfectly reasonable, Lady Daisy,” the queen said gently. “Let’s all go together.”
And so, we left the castle as a group and made our way to the foot of the World Tree.
I stood in front of its massive trunk while everyone gathered close behind me.
It hurts… It hurts so much. The World Tree was still crying. I could tell it was suffering tremendously, and it broke my heart.
I stepped forward and stretched out my arms, pressing myself against the bark of the tree to embrace it. To everyone else, it probably looked like I was sticking myself to it instead of hugging it, since I was so small in comparison.