After the former Queen was taken into custody by the aged elf, the Grand Debate was postponed because of the government citing "security reasons". Indeed, the fact that someone had managed to hide such a bone-chilling prison right under their noses was such a huge embarrassment that it would be talked about for decades as one of the single greatest failures of the Eldinorian Government.
As the crowd cleared, although there were many families with smiles of joy on their faces, there were many more who had been hoping that it would be their child who was saved. These 100 Elf children had only been a single cargo that was about to be shipped out after the elections; there were others which had already left the Kingdom with no way of tracking them down, except for the mastermind behind it all who had currently calmed down from the raving lunatic she had been on the stage.
For now, Eldara was transported to a high-security prison where she would be interrogated on charges of High Treason.
In fact, this news itself was so shocking that it shook the entirety of Central Angaria. After all, Queen Eldara was a respected figure who had been admired for her wit and skill in politics. Thus, it was all the more shocking when the information came out that it was her own daughter who had been central to the plan that uncovered her wrongdoings.
Along with the shock came an unrest that swept over all the black market slavery rings which were still currently under operation. The Elves had always been the most vengeful when it came to the matters of slavery of their own kind. Hence, regardless of whether they found the actual buyer, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them turn their fury on those who dealt in slaves in general.
All in all, the arrest of Eldara had such far-reaching effects that they seemed to be changing the tide of Central Angaria in ways no one could predict or comprehend.
....
On the evening of the same day on which the debacle of the Grand Debate had taken place.
Ellie was running through the streets of west Elfaven clutching some sort of ointment in her hands, along with a few herbs that seemed to have lost their vitality long ago. Even though they seemed like things that anyone could find if they spent 10 minutes in the forest, to Ellie, they were the treasures that would hopefully save her mother’s life.
Reaching a house which had seen better days, she ran inside without knocking the door and dumped everything onto a table in the center of the first room she entered.
With peeling walls through which the stone that comprised of the building could be seen, it was obvious that this was a house which had been neglected for many years.
There were three rooms: a central living room that also doubled as a dining room, a bedroom and a kitchen.
On a sofa riddled with holes lay an old elf whose face seemed so pale that it was a wonder that she was even breathing.
Her hair was a silver that shone in the light, while her skin clung to her bones which were visible. Hearing the little girl enter the room, she wearily opened her eyes before a small smile adorned her face.
Seeing this. Ellie grinned wide, remembering the days when her mother had spent hours and hours tirelessly playing with her and her sister.
For as long as she could remember, there was no father in the family of three. After seeing their mother cry when one of the sisters asked about this matter, both of them had decided that they would never bring up the topic again.
None the less, life had been great.
Yet, everything shattered completely when her sister was abducted 4 months ago.
Together, she and her mother had searched the entire city to no avail. Even the government had given up, and they heard whispers cursing a slavery ring.
Since then, her mother’s appetite had decreased day by day. It wasn’t that they didn’t have food; their family was given a pension each month which her mother had always saved meticulously.
The problem was that her mother seemed like she lost the will to live.
With her health dwindling day by day, Ellie took to visiting all the healers she could find. To them, it was quite clear that it was an illness that no magic could heal. Thus, just to give her hope or to cheat her of the little money she had, some resorted to handing out bogus herbs and ointments which they said would save her mother.
No matter how many times she saw these fail, the little Elf Girl never lost hope.
Only, today, she had run out of the money she had saved from her allowance, and she had no idea where her mother stored the money in the house.
With the last of the money she had, she had bought a newspaper on the street which was very cheap for some reason.
As Ellie watched on, her mother slowly sat up on the sofa and took the herbs into her hands, sighing.
Just as she was about to throw the paper away which was around the herbs, her eyes widened as she saw a headline that shocked her to her core.
"ELDARA, FORMER QUEEN OF ELDINOR ARRESTED FOR TAKING PART IN ELF SLAVERY! 117 ELF CHILDREN SAVED BY THE SAVIOUR OF OUR PEOPLE, ELDRA DARTINGNON! READ ALL ABOUT IT ON THE VOICE OF ELDINOR!"
It was as if the headline had rekindled some sort of fire inside the weak elf woman’s body, as she stood up with the last of the strength still left in her frail body.
Grabbing a few fruits from the table, she stuffed them in her mouth before holding Ellie’s hand and walking out of the house while poring over the wrinkled paper that had almost been thrown away a few moments ago.
The events shocked Ellie, who had just been wishing that her mother wouldn’t leave just like her sister had. Seeing her eat solid food for the first time in weeks, Ellie couldn’t help but thank the healer who had given the herbs in her mind.
Only, she couldn’t help but feel a little scared as she saw her mother take her to a huge building before asking someone for directions and heading to a room inside.
Was she going to be left here for using all of her allowance?
Just as questions like these started forming in her mind, she saw someone that looked exactly like her.
’Why is a mirror here?’, she asked herself, before realizing that the girl was wearing different clothes and also looked much weaker and paler than her.
Finally realizing who this person could be, an expression of yearning appeared on her face before she walked forward with shaking steps. Her mother had already left her hand and fallen to the ground, with tears flowing unabated from the relief that she felt.
Reaching the other girl, Ellie slowly raised her pudgy hand to pinch the cheeks which she missed so much. In all the 6 years of her life, the person in front of her had been the one who accompanied her in everything.
"Kellie?", she asked, before being hugged tight by the twin with whom she had shared her mother’s womb.
The two little girls clutched each other and bawled their hearts out, startling the government officials in the offices around them. Yet, the small family couldn’t care less as their mother also joined in and hugged them both while repeatedly kissing them on their foreheads and cheeks.
After an hour, the trio finally left the government office, holding each other’s hands tight, afraid that something might break them apart again.
On the way, the mother took out the paper which had allowed her to have this joyful reunion in the first place.
Although the name seemed vaguely familiar, she couldn’t place it.
Still, she branded it into her heart, along with the name of the person who was responsible for piecing together her shattered family and saving her life.
Eldra Dartingnon.
As she read the fantastical events that unfolded during the Grand Debate, she couldn’t help but admire this figure for her passion and sense of duty which made her put family aside for the good of the Nation.
Feeling sad that she had cursed her before without knowing all the facts, she denounced the news organizations that spread the bogus news and added an honorific to the figure’s name which she hoped would become reality:
Queen Eldra Dartingnon.
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