Melina woke up and looked around, she was inside a thick forest, but it was not Devfronds, she knew the extremely thick and really tall trees all too well. She was back in her hometown, the one she had abandoned a long time ago, the land of Elves. Getting back to her hometown was the least pleasant experience for her.
"Who is there?" Someone called out, it was a young male voice, probably an elf knight, he might be out on patrol. "If you won't answer, I will shoot." the voice shouted again.
Shoot? Haa, She laughed internally, elves were the only ones who refused to change into steam or ether rifles just because 'It kills the sacred tradition of using a bow'.
She got up and turned around, getting out to the clearing, looking for the source of voice. To her surprise, the young man was holding an ether powered rifle. Now that was an unexpected development, Melina had left the village because of the traditions. She hated the word, even saying the word filled her with great discomfort.
Had they now abandoned the traditions and embraced technology? Anger and grief were boiling inside her. The day she had left the village was still buried deep in her mind, out of all the mixed feelings, only one thing stood out, and it was regret.
Regret of not running away early, the regret of letting go of the person she cared about most. She could not think of a good memory from this place. It had been almost two centuries since she had left.
"You... An elf?" The young man lowered his gun slightly as soon as he saw her face, but he was still ready to take up his arms, always being on guard was the basics of combats taught to the younger generation.
"Identify yourself, which village are you from."
Melina didn't like the commanding tone he was using. She had to get back to Eleyn, but she couldn't teleport from here, not out of the land of elves, unless she had the permission of the tree spirits, which she had no way to get in the current predicament she was in.
Teleporting inside was easy if either one knew of the coordinates, or if one messes up the coordinates and accidentally teleports here. Random teleports also work but nobody uses them due to the risks.
"I am called Melina, I used to live in this village a long time ago." She walked forward, "I mean you no harm." She needed to get out of here, and to get the permission of the tree spirits, only one person can do that in a village, and she hated him.
She could've faked her identity as a wandering elf, but that would actually lessen her chances of getting the spirits' permission. "There should be elders who would know me."
"But you look pretty young to me Miss, won't there be anyone else who would know you?" The young elf was skeptical, she looked at most 50 years old, and the elders were as old as 250 years. Yet she says only the elders would be able to recognize her, he could feel something very fishy.
"I would take that as a compliment." Melina mustered up a smile. "Now if you would please call any elder, or the chief." 'Chief' was a hard word for her to say, the chief was the man who took everything from her. "You just need to speak my name, I am sure they would come here."
"Please wait here I will call the elders." He decided the best course of action was to call the elders, since there was no way he could figure things out on his own.
Just after he had left, another elf took his place, but he wasn't very welcoming and was open with his discomfort of being near her.
Melina did not mind as those factors did not affect her, and he was not talking to her, which was a huge relief for her.
Soon enough, five elderly elves appeared together with the young elf. "Oh Gaia, mother of nature, it is you, it is really you." Four of them exclaimed, all happy and excited. The last one however had tears running down his face, he was so overwhelmed with emotions that he was unable to utter a single word.
But Melina's face said otherwise, she had disgusted look on her face,
"Father," She said in an angry tone, unable to bottle up her fury, almost two hundred years had passed and the emotions she was hiding inside her all these years resurfaced.
"Melina, my daughter, you have returned." His face was filled to the brim with happiness. He tried to hug her, but she refused, pushing him away. Surprising the young elf, she had pushed away the chief, but the other elders were calm, like they had already anticipated this.
"You are not my father, not after all that had happened." Melina appeared angry, and she was, extremely so.
"Sweetheart that happened two hundred years ago, I know it is hard to but, can you not forgive me."
"Forgive you? You want me to forgive you?" She started shouting "After all these years, after all that you did to me. Aren't you happy that you kept the tradition alive?"
Tears started to roll down her face, "After you killed him to keep the tradition. Aren't you happy you kept the tradition? Aren't you happy that you broke me? My whole world? And yet you seek forgiveness?" She wiped her tears, but more came to replace them.
Her father, or anyone else present could not speak. "You know, I never wanted to come here. I ended up here in a random teleportation, and I wish to live this hell, I don't want to see your face."
"Melina," Her father's happy face was all gone, he now looked pathetic, like a broken man, only a shell of his former self. "I won't ask for you to trust or understand me, but please— will you forgive this dying old man."