All of the guests at the Inn felt like something was seriously off. First, the random swirl of dense air filled the room, making it extremely cold. And next, the castle guards had suddenly surrounded the inn, refusing to let anyone out! The innkeeper was an old man with black and grey hairs in his beard.
He rubbed his balding head multiple times. "What have I done to deserve this?" he mumbled under his breath.
One by one, doors were knocked on. With only two floors, it was quite easy to narrow down where Elodie could be. But by the time they found her room and barged in, she was gone. The entire room was cleared of all personal belongings.
"There! In the sky! It's her—it's Elodie!" A guard on the outside of the inn suddenly exclaimed.
It took only a moment of processing before people took off running. The inn owner had barricaded the doors immediately. Customers inside the inn had already begun crying or screaming, fearing their fate.
However, Elodie floated relaxed, unbothered by the screams of terror and running of civilians. Her eyes were sharp, and her lips were narrowing into a playful smile as if this situation were just a game to her.
Despite all of this, her attractive persona prevailed. Some of the guards watching her became entranced, wondering how such a beautiful woman could become a tyrant. Other guards momentarily recognized the woman as the same one who gained multiple suitors during yesterday's ball. They couldn't believe it!
"Come down here, Elodie! We will not spare you!!"
The woman's eyes met a man who sat on a horse. Her smile turned to a beautiful frown.
"You are only a low-ranking general... yet you dare command me?" Her voice cut through the wind like a knife, undisrupted. Anyone who heard her words felt a shiver run down their spine. Her aura and magical ability were far too strong for someone who had simply awoken a day before. "I was entrapped for six years... How is it that before my return, you all have polluted this earth to such an extent?"
The soldiers went quiet, glancing around at the soldiers beside him. They all shrugged in dumbfoundedness, uncertain of why she was complaining about the environment.
Elodie sighed, as if tired from having to spell it out for the army of royal guards. "Tell me, little guard." Her eyes narrowed down on him with an icy stare. But the guards' faces erupted in flames. "If you cannot even keep your home clean, why would I accept orders from you?"
"Y-You!!!!" He drew his sword. All the soldiers under his leadership did the same. "You think we will allow you to insult us and escape? You have truly lost it!!"
The soldiers jumped up high. With their martial strength, they easily surpassed the natural height humans should be able to reach; their swords pointed at her throat.
But the woman didn't even flinch. She lifted her arm delicately, but a powerful gust of wind shot the soldiers back.
"!!!" Soldiers were blown away and fell to the ground, their swords flying in the wind.
Elodie took a breath in as her hands waved in a beckoning motion. All the swords picked up speed and flew to her, as if a magnet was attached to her hand. Dozens upon dozens of swords were now in the sky, floating beside her. They only amplified her presence, making her ethereal beauty more intimidating.
"Is it an insult or a critique?" She scowled in response. The wind raged harder, and the swords pointed back at their original owners. " If you are foolish, dare attack me again. see if you'll live to command me!"
"..." All the soldiers grew stiff, uncertain of their next move. It made Elodie scoff a second time.
"I only take your swords. And yet, you cower with such fear?" The glimmer in her eyes dulled, and the playful expression on her face turned serious. "Are you not here to kill me? C'mon! What are you waiting for?"
It was at that moment the soldiers and royal guards realized something far too important to ignore. The Evil Witch was much stronger than all of them combined! This was an unequal battle from the start!
"Enough!!" A voice commanded.
Hearing it, Elodie's anger shifted. "Is it you...?" Elodie asked, narrowing her eyes. There was a subtle change in her aura; the howling wind paused. She was staring down the long cobbled road that led to the secluded forest inn. Behind the crowd of soldiers popped a white figure galloping down the road. On a white horse came out a man in iron armor. His brows were soft, but his expression was hard.
He had locs of soft brown hair and a piercing gaze that made the hearts of soldiers tremble. He drew his sword immediately after seeing Elodie. A smirk played on his handsome, pale face, making him look fox-like.
"Prince of Love has come to save us!!" The soldiers began cheering. Elodie only grimaced in disgust, waving her hand. His face looked all too similar to that of his sister, Princess Isabella.
"How vile..." she muttered. The once-still wind had returned to its cold and roaring nature. She floated in the sky, undisturbed by its severity.
"Have you returned to be slain again?" The Prince of Love called out, loud enough for Elodie to hear through her wind summons.
"Prince of Love. Or rather, lust?" Elodie's eyes crinkled at her own joke.
The soldiers quickly regained confidence seeing the prince arrive. "How dare you insult our prince!" One shouted.
"Right!" Another agreed instantly. "Are you courting death?"
"Oh?" Elodie raised her hands. The floating swords angled themselves once more at the soldiers. "Do you all wish to die so fast?"
The soldiers returned to silence; only the Prince of Love spoke up.
"Return to the cave you crawled out of, or else..." He pointed his sword at her. "I will send you there by force!"
The temperature dropped several degrees.
Elodie let out an enchanting laugh, yet the soldiers who had seen this same woman the night before had learned not to trust such a smile. "Alright then, bite me."
Her hands whipped in front of her, like a general's command to attack. In those little moments, the sky full of swords was descending towards them. Fast. H*ll had begun raining down from above.
The royal guards and soldiers jumped back and dodged, but they could not avoid a few scratches. The prince, however, used his sword to push away the incoming ones. The white horse he sat on was startled by the loud and never-ending clanks of metal, mimicking the crashes of thunder.
With a loud yelp, the horse's front legs kicked up in fear.
The prince was taken aback but had little time to react. To his dismay, another sword was flying directly towards him. He jumped off the horse just in time before it ran away. The sword missed him by a hair, but more were still falling.
Elodie watched in silence as he and the groups of royal military power struggled to avoid her attacks. Until finally, all the swords from the sky had fallen. The prince was slightly breathless and disheveled. But he had been, for the most part, unharmed.
He glared hard at Elodie, who only stared him down, unbothered. There was a drastic difference in strength. The both of them knew this. But should the prince surrender...
The Prince of Love felt uncomfortable by the sudden change of events. He had more than a hundred men fighting against a single woman. When had she had the chance to become this strong?
Elodie tilted her hand. The swords that had just fallen rattled, jumped into the air, and returned themselves to her side.
The soldiers broke out into a cold sweat. It was obvious that she would keep going until she killed them. Or maybe, she planned to tire them out and humiliate them first. Either way, they would not be able to make it out of here alive unless they killed her!
Elodie, however, had no plans of actually killing them. If they surrendered now, she would let them all walk away with their heads attached. After all- they were the ones who disturbed her peace! As if sensing their anxiousness, Elodie's eyes glimmered. "Well soldiers? Do you surrender? Prince of Lust, I'm sure you can tell where this battle is going, right?"
She insulted the prince in broad daylight, in front of all his men! Elodie raised her hand after hearing no response, just about to send another gust of swords when...
"Stop!" The Prince of Love raised his hand with a sword.
The soldiers' faces went white as snow. Is the prince... surrendering?!?
The Evil Witch currently in the air gave a small smile. But her eyes still focused on him. "My, what is this?" Elodie's hand still shot forward. Despite the Prince who seemed as though he was going to surrender, she still attacked them!
The swords came shooting down at them. All the soldiers braced themselves, and the Prince of Love shut his eyes. "Now!" He suddenly shouted.
Elodie only watched with a smile. She snapped her fingers in response. The swords of the soldiers halted midair, the wind blowing them around and then shooting them in the opposite direction. Backwards. They whizzed passed Elodie's face with great speed and precision, leaving her unharmed.
There were men dressed in black who jumped up, their swords raised to the back of the Emerald Witch. Just when they thought they could kill her, the immediate sense of danger stopped them in their tracks. Their senses were uniquely in tune with their intuition. Like right then, causing them to jump back.
Just as they did-- several swords came flying toward them!
A cold sweat ran down the necks of the two assassins. Despite their shock, they dodged the attack and landed safely in a tree. The Evil Witch was still facing the front. But even then... She somehow knew they were there!
Their faces darkened, one of the assassins grinding his teeth. Before they could strike again, more swords came flying. They narrowly escaped them. But when they had finished dodging the weapons, they saw that Elodie was staring directly at them!
Her eyes were dark brown, her skin matching in color. With a small face and elegant figure, this woman looked more like a noblewoman than a witch.
"Do you think such a foolish plan will stop me?" She laughed at both the assassins and the prince. Her voice seeped into their consciousness like red wine, momentarily disrupting their thoughts. Or perhaps she was using her powers on them. The assassins were unsure what to do, staring at the Evil Witch in front of them with uncertainty.
In front of Elodie was the prince and soldiers. The prince shot up with his sword now that her back was turned. His martial strength made it so he reached her level in the sky, but without magic, he would soon come back down after landing a hit. Or so he thought.
The assassins both paled, hoping to aid the prince in his attack. However, they were too busy dodging the many swords that Elodie had shot towards them! As the Prince's sword came from his side, prepared to attack the throat of the flying girl, the air had grown still.
In a blink of an eye, Elodie's emerald eyes were glowing, facing the Prince of Love. There was an alluring smile on her scarlet lips as if she was aware of his presence the entire time.
As if he had fallen into her trap.
Elodie raised her hand towards his chest but then raised it a little higher. His throat was gripped, paralyzing the prince in the air. He dropped his sword, unprepared.
As the soldiers watched what happened, their knees fell to the ground. "Your highness!!!" They screamed. Even the assassins had no choice but to be absolutely still. They couldn't risk attacking the Evil Witch any further.
The prince's life was at stake!