Secret Escape and the Coup Declaration
"What do you mean all of a sudden? Leaving the World Tree's blessing out of nowhere?"
Silleia, who had been leisurely packing her bag, whipped her head around as if she'd misheard me. The moment her gaze landed on the wooden token in my hand, her light-green eyes began trembling uncontrollably.
"No way... That's the one I matched with Bellis..."
Instead of finishing her sentence, Silleia rummaged through her desk drawer like she was entranced. With shaking hands, she pulled out a wooden piece identical to the one I held. When I pressed the two together, the broken edges fit seamlessly, as if they'd never been apart.
"This can't be real. Bellis must have become a dark elf by now."
Silleia stared blankly at the perfectly matched token, unable to believe it. Then, with a thoroughly flustered expression, she bombarded me with questions.
"Did you meet Bellis outside the forest? What happened to her? You didn't, like, burn her with magic or anything, right?"
"Calm down first and hear me out."
I got why she was excited—finding Bellis's token in this totally unexpected situation—but she had to give me a second to speak. This was so typically Silleia.
"Yeah, she did become a dark elf. But she's not lost her mind or turned feral like everyone thinks. She was totally fine, and we could communicate normally."
"For real? You're not lying...?"
"Why would I lie about something like that? There's a good reason I suggested leaving the World Tree's blessing, too."
"Wait, you mean we're going to meet Bellis together?"
Instead of answering, I just nodded quietly.
"I thought I'd never see Bellis again."
Silleia's eyes reddened as emotions surged at the thought of reuniting. She hurriedly gathered supplies to head out.
'Good thing she doesn't have any hang-ups about leaving the forest.'
I'd figured even showing her the proof might not convince her. After all, she'd been taught for the past hundred years that she could never leave the World Tree's blessing. If she'd refused, I was prepared to go meet Bellis alone. Seeing her eagerly prepare to venture out instead made me incredibly grateful.
"Seha, we're keeping this a secret, right? If the Elder or Mom finds out, we're toast."
"Yep. Think of it as a secret mission where we sneak out without anyone knowing."
"A secret mission? My heart's pounding already! I've snuck out on Mom tons of times before, but this feels different!"
Come to think of it, when I first arrived in the village, Silleia had run away from home too. Rune must have hoped bringing me in would be a good influence on her. Far from it—I was the one leading Silleia out beyond the World Tree's blessing.
'Sorry, Rune. I'll borrow Silleia for a bit.'
The click of her bag's buckle broke the silence between us. Silleia had already packed everything and slung her bag over her shoulder. She tossed a question my way.
"If we're sneaking out without the elders noticing, shouldn't we hurry? Search team duties are about to start soon."
"Hadn't even thought about the search team. Hold on a sec."
If Silleia missed roll call, they'd definitely notice something was up. Our escape plan would be busted in no time.
'No time to slack off. Where's my staff?'
I'd learned magic from Rune, but hadn't needed it yet. Still, with the future uncertain and the Elder's intentions unknown, I needed something to protect myself.
"Not in Silleia's room... Ah, here it is."
There it was, right by my bed in my room. Rune must have grabbed it when she carried me back from the Elder's house after I collapsed.
The staff was safe in my room, but I'd woken up in Silleia's. Maybe she'd wanted to keep me close in her own bed? Imagining her gripping my hand, waiting for me to wake, brought a smile to my face.
"Got my staff too—let's go!"
"I'll guide us until we're out?"
"Yeah, I trust you. We gotta avoid the other elves' eyes as much as possible."
Slipping out of the village went smoother than expected. Silleia glanced around cautiously, leading me down paths I'd never seen before. We moved silently along the route, reaching the edge of the World Tree's blessing without a single detection.
'No need to worry after all. Silleia's the real deal.'
Her daily search team experience plus her runaway expertise made escaping child's play. No wonder she gave Rune headaches every day.
"One more step from here, and we're outside the World Tree's blessing."
"No scary beasts or anything out there, right? Don't worry too much."
"But won't we turn into savage dark elves once we're out?"
Did Silleia still believe leaving turned you into a feral dark elf? That explained why she'd followed me so readily without much explanation. She must have been desperate to see Bellis, even at the risk. Or maybe she'd tagged along without thinking and was only now getting scared. With Silleia, both were possible.
Either way, I finally explained the truth about the world beyond.
"You don't turn into a dark elf right away. You don't lose your reason or get violent—in fact, that stifling feeling you've had will lift."
"For real?"
Without a hint of hesitation, Silleia stepped beyond the World Tree's blessing.
"Whoa, it really is! My body's so much lighter. That heavy pressure on me is gone!"
Did the concept of doubt even exist for her? I was grateful she trusted me, but worried she'd get scammed someday. Bellis had that same innocent cluelessness. Friends really do rub off on each other.
"Now that we're out, time to share our goal."
"To meet Bellis and Nairak, right?"
"Exactly. Then we'll gather the dark elves and head back to the village. First, let's find the wolf."
"Wolf? You mean that one by the rock over there?"
Perfect timing—we spotted it lounging in the shade, rolling around. Its fur blended so well with the rock that I'd almost missed it. Bringing Silleia was a smart move.
"Shh, don't wake it. Let's approach quietly. Got any food that might work as bait?"
"Emergency rations from search duty—think this'll do?"
"Has meat in it, so yeah. Wolves are carnivores; it'll love it."
According to Bellis, feeding the wolves would lead them to guide you home. This one was smaller than the others, with unusually white fur—Broccoli, right?
I dangled the food and approached carefully.
"Broccoli, wake up for a sec? Got some meat you like here."
No need to get close—the smell woke it up, and Broccoli started sniffing. Its tail wagged as it approached without caution, devouring the food from my hand.
'Does it remember playing with me?'
"Lemme try feeding it too!"
Intrigued by the scene, Silleia wanted a turn. Broccoli wagged harder, clearly pleased. Since it was her rations anyway, why not?
"Seha, so why are we feeding the wolf?"
"Just wait. It'll move soon."
As expected, Broccoli stood and started walking off somewhere. Less "guiding us" and more...
'Full now, wants to nap, but we're bugging it, so heading home?'
Its glance back made us feel like unwelcome guests. After washing and feeding it, this was the thanks we got? Whatever—as long as we reached our goal.
We followed for a bit and soon arrived at the dark elves' village.
'Less a village, more hiding in caves.'
No wonder they lived so secluded, fearing pursuers from the elf village.
Without Broccoli, we'd never have spotted the well-hidden hideout. As we hesitated to enter, milling about...
"Who goes there? State your identity!"
A shout from afar. Before I could speak, Silleia stepped forward.
"Mister! It's me, Silleia!"
"Silleia? Am I seeing this right? Not the time—I'll get the others."
He told us to wait and soon returned with more dark elves—including Bellis and Nairak.
"No way, Silleia, is that really you?"
"Duh! I came all this way to see you!"
"Gotta confirm it's you. Remember when you ripped the Elder's clothes at the lake? How old were you?"
"Twelve. And that's a secret!!"
"It's really you! Thank goodness. I thought we'd never meet again."
A bit different from what I'd imagined, but it was still a touching reunion between the two elf girls. Meanwhile, Nairak eyed me like he had something to say.
As I moved to talk to him, a sudden thought made me hold back.
'We don't have time to waste.'
Low odds, but if the elf Elder noticed our absence, things could go south fast—pursuers, sealing the village gates, like the dark elves feared.
Sandwiched among them, I pondered until the commotion died down, then spoke quietly.
"We can't afford to dawdle. We need to head back to the elf village—now."
"What are you talking about? You have no idea why we're hiding here."
The elf who'd first shouted at me pushed back.
'True, I don't know everything between the dark elves and the Elder.'
But staying hidden changed nothing. After wrestling with it, I declared boldly before them all.
"Let's go back to the village... and stage a coup!"