The kingdom of Elefenor

The kingdom of Elefenor

Synopsis:
You’d think that the prince always gets the princess. Well, not in this story. A headstrong princess is named heir to the throne and many are unhappy about it. Never in history had a female been in line for the throne and some are not taking it sitting down. The Elefenor Princess is even forced to seek refuge in a neighboring adversary kingdom. As a result, she has to lie and pretend that she had lost her memory. And so she lives in Alestary disguised as boy and befriends two men who offers to aid her in recovering her memory. Little did she know, her two new friends are also in disguise and are even more powerful than she knows them to be. The plot thickens as she discovers her father’s secret and comes face-to-face with an important decision that could mean war. Trickery and deception is the master for whom you least expect.     
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“No, father, I do not wish to marry some princess I do not care for, so please stop inviting them over.” The blonde haired prince moaned.

“Fareth, please listen to your father.  Just pick one princess, and in time I’m sure you will grow to care for her.” Fareth’s mother said.

“Your mother is right, Fareth. I just do not understand why you will not pick one. All the princesses I’ve invited are all beautiful, accomplished and well-bred princesses. It’s not like I’m forcing you to marry some wild lady, like that Elefenor princess, who must be very manly indeed. I really wonder what was he thinking of making her the heir to the throne. But that’s beside the point, please son, you are already of marriageable age.” The king tried to reason with his son.

“For the last time no! Father, Mother, I will marry; I promise you that, just not to these stuck-up and spoilt princesses. Now, if you will excuse me.” Fareth gave a quick bow and retreated out of the hall.
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“I really do not understand you, Fareth. I’ve known you since we were kids and I’ve not seen you take a liking to a single girl. All the princesses his majesty invited are all young and beautiful, just what is the problem?” the tall blue-eyed man asked.

“Feel free to marry one, my old friend. It’s just that…I don’t know. I just do not want to marry someone I do not love. You see, Gareth, I want to love someone not because of her exterior beauty but because of how she is on the inside. Argh, I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I think I’ve gotten more than enough from my parents.” The prince grumbled to his childhood friend who was now the captain of the royal guards as well as bodyguard to him, the crowned prince.

Gareth’s mother had been the Queen’s favorite lady-in-waiting. However, she died giving birth to Gareth and her husband followed her shortly after. The Queen compassionately took in Gareth and named him after her own son. And so, Gareth and the crowned prince, Fareth, spent most of the time playing together. When they got older, they took lessons together as well. As a result they were as tight as real brothers.

The prince was now eighteen years of age, had short blonde hair, blue eyes, and was known to be a very kind and clever prince. Gareth, now Captain of the guards, was also eighteen years old, had long dark brown hair which he tied into a fashionable ponytail, he was blessed with fair skin, had blue eyes as well and was easily the best looking man and the best fighter in the kingdom of Alestary. 

“By the way, I did like one girl. I do not know if you still remember. She came to the castle often with her parents when we were kids. For some reason, she stopped coming when we were ten.  I would find her now if I could only remember who she was. Each time I ask my parents about her, they would get all upset and avoid the topic all together. “Fareth added while facing the sky, recalling the past.       
 
“Ah, I remember. When she stopped coming, I remember you kept crying and couldn’t stop talking about her after. It was, “I wonder if she’ll come today. Which flower do you think she likes? I really wish she were here now. Gareth, when is she coming?”” Gareth teased the beautiful blonde-haired man and laughed. 

“Oh shut up, Gareth. Let’s go visit the town today.” Fareth stood up and stretched, “In disguise of course.”
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The two men donned peasant clothing, pasted artificial mustaches and sneaked out of the castle.

“You know, Gareth, it’s a good thing you’re the captain of the guards. If you weren’t, can you imagine the trouble we’d have to go through to get out?” Fareth said as they walked towards the town.

“What do you mean? If I weren’t Captain of the guards and your personal bodyguard, I wouldn’t even dream of us sneaking out of the castle. It would be way too much trouble.” Gareth joked lightheartedly and grinned.

“Hey, do you hear that?” Fareth asked, “What a lovely voice. I think it’s coming from the town centre, let’s have a look!”
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“Why, it’s a boy!” Fareth exclaimed, clearly shocked to find out that such a beautiful voice actually belonged to a boy.

“And such a pretty boy at that, almost as beautiful as I am! Looks like my title as the best looking male is being threatened.” Gareth cupped his face in his hands and tried to look horrified at his discovery.

“Oh, stop being so vain.” Fareth then pushed Gareth jokingly.

When the young boy stopped singing to have his lunch, the two men walked up to him.

“You have been blessed with a beautiful voice, my good lad.” But before the prince could continue speaking, Gareth interrupted.

“You have also been blessed with a beautiful face.”

“Yes,” Fareth glanced momentarily at his friend, “I am Far and he is Gar,”

“Why do you get the nice name and I get the stupid sounding name?” Gareth whispered to his friend.  Fareth chuckled softly, but continued talking to the boy regardless. 

“How come we have never seen you around town before?” he enquired.

“Thank you for your kind compliments. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Far and Gar. My name is Eric. I lost my memory recently and somehow found myself here in Alestary two days ago. I was lucky enough to meet two lovely souls who were kind enough to take me in.” Eric answered.   

“You lost your memory? That’s horrible! How terrifying. And you are still so young. Well, Eric, I’ve decided to help you! For gracing this town with your lovely voice, my friend Gar and I shall try our best to aid you in your quest to get your memory back!” Fareth proclaimed trying to sound hero-like while gently patting Eric on the back.

Together the three of them went from store to store, house to house, asking if anyone knew who Eric was.
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They decided to take a break and went for a drink at Red Boar Inn.

“Oi, wench! This is not what I ordered! Are you deaf?” a drunkard yelled at the waitress while smashing the mug he held on the floor.

The girl tried to apologize and kept bowing and saying that it would not happen again.

The man was too drunk to think properly and roughly pushed the girl onto the floor and started hitting her and yelling at the same time.

Gareth leaned towards Fareth and whispered softly into his ear.

“Fareth, I know you want to help, but we cannot risk exposing ourselves here.”

However, before Fareth could answer him. They heard a familiar voice,

“Hey buddy. Stop hitting the girl! She has already apologized, what more do you want? Let her go!”Eric shouted at the man, but he ignored him and continued hitting the waitress “Oh, wait, I know, the one who is deaf is actually you huh.”

At this statement, the drunkard stood up and faced Eric, looking at him threateningly.

“What is the young lad thinking? The man is practically twice his size!” Gareth exclaimed in shocked.

“Well, he’s got guts and a sense of justice. But he’s just got no common sense!” Fareth answered.

The drunkard grabbed the front of Eric’s tunic and yelled,

“You calling me deaf? Huh, puny? You know no fear don’t you? Well, let me help you.” With that, he violently let go of Eric and prepared to swipe a punch at him.

Eric rushed forward, grabbed the drunkard’s right fist while the man’s punch headed for him, twisted it with ease and a cracking sound was heard. The man’s wrist had been broken. The drunkard screamed in pain and with one last hateful stare at Eric dashed out of the pub.

It was silent all around. Everything happened so quickly, the events turned out opposite from the people’s expectations and so much so that everyone could just stare at Eric in awe while he helped the waitress up.

The prince and the captain of the guards were also just as astonished. They only broke out from their trance when applause sounded everywhere for the young lad named Eric.

“Eric! What just happened? Where did you learn how to do that? That was amazing!”Gareth rushed forward to talk to him. Being the Captain, he was always on the lookout for new potential recruits.

“Yeah, that was fantastic! I would have help, mind you, if not for this man Gar here who was saying that the drunkard was too big and dangerous.” Fareth added. “Yet, you defeated him! Congratulations, my strong young fellow. Seems like, looks really can be deceiving.”

“Thank you. Although you two should have helped! You two are so much taller and bigger than me, look at these muscles, yet you don’t fight.” Eric smiled then sighed in a teasing manner.

The sun was setting soon and the two men had to leave to be in time for dinner. They arranged to meet Eric at the town centre the next morning and then left for the castle.
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“That boy is one interesting character, don’t you agree, Gar?” Fareth emphasized on the new false name he had given his friend.

“Yes, he looks and sounds so much like a woman, yet fights just as well as you or me.” Gareth was too deep in thought about their new friend to notice that he had been called with his “stupid-sounding” new name. “I think if he proves himself to be trustworthy, I must definitely invite him to join the royal guards. That maneuver he did today, it’s a high skill technique mind you, he must be no ordinary person. ”

That night, Eric had a dream. He dreamt about the reason why he was in Alastery in the first place.
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“Elena, run! I don’t think I can hold them off much longer! Make haste!” the bearded man shouted towards the direction of the nearby haystack, where his only daughter, Elena, hid.

“No father, I won’t leave you! I can fight too, let me help! Please, father!” the beautiful red-haired girl pleaded. 
“No! You are my only child! I cannot afford to lose you! You must leave! It’s for the good of the country and for you. I’m sure you know what would happen if both you and I are lost in battle. Please, Elena, take this as my last wish of you, go!” Elena’s father shouted over the battle noise.

He strongly hoped his headstrong daughter would listen to him just this one time. When his wife, the late Queen, died of poisoning, he was devasted and vowed never to marry or love another. Even after ten long years and despite his advisors’ pleads for him to take a queen, he remained resolute. Thus, he was left with only one daughter - his only family as well as his only heir.

When he proclaimed Elena as heir to the throne, many protested and were strongly against it. For never in the Elefenor kingdom’s history had the heir to the throne been a female. There were riots and nobles threatening to leave Elefenor. However, all these died down in just three short years. Elena underwent much rigorous training and lessons each day.
She was only twelve when she mastered the techniques of unarmed combat, armed combat, the art of war, the politics of the kingdom and many more. Many were doubtful at first, however when Elena was named champion during a tournament, she became accepted as the kingdom’s first female heir and also commanded the respect of the entire Elefenor army. 
“I… I understand, father,” Elena answered in a solemn voice, “for the sake of the kingdom.”

The king was proud of the maturity of Elena’s decision and also at the same time felt sorrow. This meant that he had to part with his daughter and who knew when they would meet again. With a heavy heart, he bade Elena farewell.
He also added that Elena should not return to Elefenor just yet, for he suspected one of his advisors was behind the attack and feared that it was still too dangerous for her to return. Elena was to disguise herself as a boy so as to attract the least attention and seek refuge in the nearby kingdom of Alestary until she thought it was appropriate to return.
Elena nodded and as tears threatened to spill, she jumped onto her black mare and without looking back, rode hard towards Alestary.       

Alestary was a good five hours away on horseback and soon Elena drifted off to sleep on her faithful black horse, Tonardo.   
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When Elena awoke, she found herself lying on a small, hard bed in a room with humble decorations. Once the previous day’s events flooded into her memory, she jumped out of the bed and rushed out of the room.

“Oh, my lady has finally woken.” the kind, elderly woman, seated at the table, rose to greet Elena, “My lady’s been asleep for three days now.”

“Three days? Where am I? How did I get here?”

The elderly woman started by introducing herself. Her name was Grace and the house belonged to her and her husband, Jack. When Jack returned late from work three days ago, he had found Elena asleep on her horse along the border of the kingdom. He thought it dangerous for a lady to be sleeping outdoors so brought her to the house. Grace, then, politely questioned who and what was Elena doing so late at the border of the kingdom.

Elena could not possibly tell Grace that she was the princess of Elefenor and that she was seeking refuge in Alastery. She thus decided to take her late mother’s name as her own.

“Thank you for having let me rest in your house. My name is Eleanor. Strangely, I do not… remember anything else. ” Elena lied.

“Oh my, I fear you have lost your memory. You must be so frightened.” Grace’s face immediately shrouded with concern. “My dear, you are welcomed to stay with us until you get back your memory. Should I call for the doctor?”

“Thank you but I’m feeling quite fine. And thank you for your kind offer but I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“Nonsense, it’s perfectly fine for you stay with me and my husband. Besides, it’s not safe for a lady such as yourself to go wandering alone in the streets.”

Elena was extremely grateful to have come across such kind souls and gladly accepted Grace’s offer. However, Elena’s thoughts still lay on her father and she desperately yearned for news of her kingdom.
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When the sun rose the next day, Elena did as her father had asked of her - She disguised herself as a boy. Elena pulled her hair back into a low ponytail – the current trend with the males in Alastery. Then she donned the male clothing she got from Grace. It was a pale green and yellow tunic. And as it was the colors of the Elefenor’s crest, Elena was more than happy to wear it. The tunic belonged to Grace’s son who was now in the army.

And so Elena dressed as boy, went by the name of Eric. The only thing that could reveal that she was an Elefenor princess was the ring with the king’s crest that she wore on her left hand. She hoped no one would be able to recognize it.   

Elena, not wanting to be a burden on Grace and Jack, decided to look for work in the nearby city. Unfortunately and much to her dismay, no shops were willing to hire someone with no working experience. It was the same everywhere - The grocery store, the meat store, the weapon shop, the blacksmith. She sat by the town fountain and heaved a sigh.

Whenever Elena was sad, she had a habit of singing to console herself and so, she gently closed her eyes and started.
“Will I ever go home? Will I ever remember? It seems so long ago since we were together. We’d go on walks, we’d go on hunts, we’d do so many things, just us; Just you and me - father and child together. Why did the battle have to begin? Why did the fight have to start? It literally tore us apart. And now, here I am, waiting for news; Waiting for news of you.”

Suddenly, applause sounded all around her and she opened her eyes with a shock. Surrounding her was a group of people who had gathered to listen to her sing. Elena heard some comments saying what a sweet voice a boy could have and what a pretty boy she was as well.

Elena blushed and continued singing once again with some nudging from the audience. And once she had completed the song, many gave her money, thanking her for the wonderful music. Elena was extremely pleased and just couldn’t stop smiling.

After that, everything started to become darker and Elena finally awoke from her dream.

Elena, or rather, Eric woke up, feeling just as tired as she did the night before. The dream had proved too exhausting for her. However, she had to meet Far and Gar, her two new friends, soon. She stumbled out of bed, got dressed and headed for the town centre.
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“Good morning friend! I have a proposal to make.” Gareth cheerfully greeted Elena. “As you can see, Far is not able to make it today. His father wants to match-make him again. So today, I was thinking, instead of spending the entire time asking people if they know you, let’s try something different. From what I saw yesterday in Red boar Inn, I can safely deduce that you are definitely highly skilled in unarmed combat for that was a high level technique. Basically, what I am proposing is that we try to do things that may probe your memory into remembering past events, by simply repeating what may have occurred in your past. How about it?”

“Well, sure, if you think it will help. So how exactly do we go about doing so?”

Gareth explained that he had access into the army’s training grounds and as today was a holiday, the grounds would be empty and free to use. With that, the two of them headed for the training grounds, which was located in the outskirts of the town.     
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The training ground took up a large area beside the famous river of Alas. First they passed the barracks, where the new recruits stayed. Then they cut across the field. And soon, reached the training area.

Immediately Gareth picked up a sword from the weapon rack and swung it at Elena. He had no intention of hitting the boy, he simply wanted to test her reflexes. Elena did not move a muscle, just merely looked at Gareth.

Gareth was taken aback. ‘Why didn’t he move? Isn’t the boy scared at all?’ He thought silently.

“You had no intention of striking so I did not see the need to react.” Elena commented, as though she had heard his thoughts.     

“How did you know I had no intention of doing so?”

“I don’t really know.” Elena lied, “I just knew that you wouldn’t. Perhaps your eyes gave you away?”

‘Wow, this Eric really is no ordinary boy. Only soldiers with years of experience and talent can tell the other party’s intention from his eyes. Yet, he is still so young. Just who is he? I must find out! And I must tell Fareth about this.’ Gareth thought.

They spent the entire day sparring and soon it was nearing dusk.
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They were both extremely exhausted.

“Wow,” Gareth paused to take in a breath, “Far aside, I’ve never sparred with such a skillful man such as yourself before. Do you remember how old are you? Just how many years of training have you had?”

Elena answered that she remembers her birthday to be the 23rd of October and she would be sixteen then.

Gareth was astounded and just smiled.

“Phew, I stink and so do you. Come, let’s have a bath in the river. Don’t worry, it’s safe, I always do so after training.” He added while wrinkling his nose for added effect.

Elena was dying to have a bath and so without much thought, agreed.

When they got to the river, Gareth immediately got out of his white training shirt and happily jumped into the river.

“Ah, this is so comfortable. What a hot day today turned out to be huh. Come into the water, Eric, what are you waiting for?” Gareth lay back on the surface of the water while talking to Elena.   

Elena had turned away immediately when she saw Gareth take off his shirt. She had been too comfortable with her new friend that she forgot that she was supposed to be a boy.

“Er, Gar, I don’t think I want to bathe anymore.“ Elena struggled to find a suitable excuse. “Oh, and did I mention that I am afraid of water because I can’t swim?”

Gareth walked up the bank while talking to Elena.

“Oh don’t be such a pussy. There’s absolutely nothing to be afraid of. Come.” With that he tried to pull Elena towards the water.

“Ah, I just remembered! The family I’m staying with wants to have dinner with me tonight. I have to go! Thank you for the training today, Gar! I’ll see you another time!” Elena rushed through her words as she out of the training grounds.

‘What a strange boy.’ Gareth thought as he jumped back into the river, ‘I can’t wait to tell Fareth about today’s events’
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That evening, as Elena walked back to the house, she heard a scream for help. Immediately, Elena headed for the source. It was very dark and the only light was from the moon. She managed to make out three figures struggling with another in the small alleyway. She approached cautiously and realized that a lady was struggling to get away from three scruffy looking men.

Elena dashed forward without hesitation and knocked out the man whose back was facing her. The other two men, now aware of Elena, took out knifes and headed for her. Elena disarmed them easily and punched one of them in the stomach and kicked the other in the head. The two men collapsed.

The lady immediately rushed forward, hugged Elena and thanked her profusely. Elena introduced herself as Eric and offered to send the lady back home. The lady politely declined claiming that she had sneaked out of the house that day and would be easier to sneak back if she were alone.

Elena bade the lady a safe farewell and continued her walk back.

“Gar, he’s no ordinary man. He’s the first who is able to spar on par with me. I think I might have acquired a good and useful friend. And besides today was fun, until I forgot myself in the last part, I really must be more cautious the next time.” Elena thought.
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“Elena dear, would you be so kind as to do a small flavor for me?” Grace asked the next morning as Elena stepped out of her temporary bedroom. “Could you deliver this to my son?”

Grace passed her a box and added that it was her son’s birthday. However, since only men were allowed in the army quarters and Jack had work, Elena was the only one who could deliver the present to him.

“Sure, of course. I’d be more than happy to. After all the kindness you’ve shown me, how could I refuse?” Elena answered and gave Grace a bright and large smile.

“You’re so beautiful, Elena, especially when you smile. I think my son might find you a threat.” Grace commented.
“A threat? Why on earth would he think so?”

“He’s a good looking young fellow, easily the best, in terms of looks, in the kingdom. And I must say, he’s quite proud of it.” Grace explained, clearly also proud of her own son. “Anyway, when you get there, ask for Gareth and they’ll bring you to him. Ah, I got a feeling you two will get along just fine.”
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“Good morning sir, I have a package for Gareth. Could I see him, please?” Elena asked the guard who stood at the entrance of the army quarters.

“I’m afraid the Captain is not in at the moment. Would you like to leave the package in his room instead?” the guard replied.

“Oh, I didn’t know Gareth was Captain Gareth. Sure, that would be great.”
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“Hey Eric, why are you so late? I thought we were supposed to meet here every morning?” Fareth placed emphasis on “every” and “morning”.

“Oh, I know, Eric, you couldn’t get up on time right?” Gareth teased, “Yesterday’s training must have been too hard on you.”
“No, it wasn’t. Sorry, I’m late. I had to deliver a birthday gift, but unfortunately he was not in.” Elena replied apologetically.
“What a coincidence! It’s this man’s birthday too.” Fareth exclaimed.

“Yeah yeah, so let’s celebrate and have fun today!” Gareth practically shouted in excitement.
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They decided to go camping on the countryside that day. The prince had informed his parents earlier about wanting to celebrate his old friend’s birthday by visiting the countryside and so he already had horses prepared for the both of them. His parents only allowed him to go to the countryside alone without guards because they knew Gareth would protect their son’s life with his own and he alone was equivalent to twenty men.

Elena rode on Tonardo, and together with Fareth and Gareth raced towards the countryside.

“I’m so much faster than you. Give up already, with my horse, Barrett and I can easily defeat you!” Gareth shouted across to Elena and Fareth.

“Oh yeah, Grelly and I are just going easy on you, since it’s your birthday after all.” Fareth retorted good-naturedly.

The three of them were moving at a very fast pace and all three seemed to be on par with each other. Suddenly, while Fareth and Gareth were busy challenging each other, Elena and Tonardo shot ahead.

“You know, Gareth, I’m beginning to get used to this “getting shocked” feeling when it comes to Eric. He’s just full of surprises.” Fareth commented.
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