As I try to sleep, I keep hearing my brothers whimpers and seeing the men. I do not feel remorse for killing them, but I have just killed three men. I do not know how I feel about that, should I feel glad that they can know longer hurt anyone? Should I feel guilt for killing them, blood on my hands? I do not know. All I feel is numb. I can hear my father and the elf in the main room of our cottage, they are talking in hushed tones. I sigh and move toward the door, pressing my ear against it.

"...that power, it is dangerous. If we could control her and it, we could overthrow the fae," the elf says. I frown, no one will control me. Not ever.

"That is my daughter you are talking about. I will not allow you to use her. She is the last of my line, you know," he says, his voice dropping into a whisper at the last part.

"Sir, you have to understand, that power, I've not seen any of the nobles with such power before. Not even close. Do you not want to see your elf brethren freed?"

"I have no brethren. I left that all behind when I came here. I left the politics and back stabbing behind when I made a life with Kyría,"

"You are still an elf. You still owe it to them to try and free us. The rebellion would welcome you if you brought that girl to them,"

My father slams his hand on the table, causing me to jump, "and what then? Do we kill all the fae? Do we let them go free? Surely they will rise again. We cannot stand against them and their abilities. I will not drag my daughter into that world. We left for a reason,"

The elf's voice hardens, "My father thought you a great man, I wish I could see the same. You daughter could be the start of a revolution but you hide her away. She displays power of such mite that it could wipe out cities, but you want her to remain sheltered. In case you were somehow unaware, she killed three men and did not bat an eye! Good Gods man! Why can you not see it?"

My father takes on a hostile tone, sounding as if he is ready to fight the elf, "In case you were somehow unaware, I have just lost my son. My daughter has lost her brother. We are in no shape to fight your war, boy, now is the time for grieving. I have already lost her mother and now my son. She is all I have left. Would you have me lose another? Have I not given up enough?"

"This is war. Everyone must sacrifice,"

"No boy, this is not war. This is a death wish. You don't know what it's like to need to protect someone, to love someone undyingly and yet have them ripped from your grasp. Not again. I won't go through it again,"

I braid my long golden hair and put on a fresh pair of clothing before storming out into the main room of my home. Both men seem startled by me and reach for weapons. I walk over to my father and lay a hand on his shoulder, giving him a weak smile, then I glare at the elf with malice, he has disrespected my father in our home.

The elf clears his throat before speaking to me in a gentle tone, "you must understand, the elves have been slaves to the fae since the beginning of time. We have no hope,"

"The commoners are ruled by town heads, who are ruled by district governors, who are ruled by nobles, who are ruled by the king. We have no hope and yet we do not fight. This is how it is. You accept it and move on. This is the way of the world," I say back. My father lays a hand over mine and nods with what I say. "It is not that we do not want change, it is that we do not need change. Life is good and the people are happy, is your war for wants or needs," I continue, pinning the elf with my ice blue stare.

"It is about freeing the oppressed people, it's abo--"

"No," I cut him off harshly, "it is about you and your little rebellion. Tell me, tell me how many elves are part of this rebellion. How many old men, women, and children are a part of the rebellion? How many people come to you at their weakest point to seek shelter? How many of your rebellion are young men seeking glory?" I ask my last question in a cold whisper that seems to carry across the room. Both my father and the elf look at me in shock. They both just stare at me, mouths hanging open.

"Vasílissa... Vasílissa y-you sound like a queen...." My father tells me. He clears his throat before continuing, "you have the push the Queen Fae have. The push that make us want to obey," I scrunch my eyebrows in confusion, I am no queen. I was raised in a simple cottage with my mother and father, I worked everyday long hours, very little in my life has been handed to me on a silver platter. The elf male looked as if he were agreeing with my father. I. Am. No. Queen. I think, hammering the thought into my brain, but in truth I do not know what to think. My father tells me to run and be safe then an elf male struts into my life trying to kidnap me or kill me and turns everything I know, everything I thought was right, upside down. I just don't know.

Something sparks in the elf's eyes then, a thought. A spear of knowledge in a clouded sky. He looks from my father to me and back again. Nodding to himself, he stands. My father sees this and stands aswell. There is tension in the room so thick it's almost palpable. I stare at them, watching with nervous glances darting between them.

"Sit down boy," my father says quietly, but there is no mistaking the threat in his voice.

"Why did you leave? Why did you and a fae leave together?"

"You do not want to open this door. Leave it as it is,"

"No, I know why you left. She was your mate and a disgrace to the fae because of it,"

My father growled at him, his eyes getting sharper. "Do not go there,"

"You know the prophecy and you let her be hidden away! You know how long we've waited for this! You know how long the world has been waiting for this!"

"It was my choice to keep her here and keep her safe! That was me and Kyría's choice!"

"It is fated to happen! You did not have the choice to do that!" The elf shouts at my father.

"What is the prophecy?" I ask in a soft voice, both men... males jump, seeming to forget that I am even here.

The elf sighs and closes his eyes, "Four Fae shall fall in disgrace, four elves shall seal their fate, four children shall rise of neither race, together they shall unite the world past the hate. To bridge the void and end eternal seasons, to be kings and queens of the just, to be the force of reason, to do all that they must," the elf pauses here then opens his eyes. My father snorts and I look over at him.

"Why don't you tell her the last two lines, afraid you'll scare her away? Better she be scared away but she has too much sense of duty for that. The last two lines go like this, my child, four shall rise and two shall fall, two shall mate and they four will benefit all. There, that is what I was protecting you from. I have lost everything, Vas, I cannot lose you too," my poor father. I wish that I could remain here with him, to promise that I will never be lost to him, but honor and fate pull my into what I must do.