Chapter 2 of Reincarnated as a Dark Elf

  Loss n Loneliness

  “I’m now Five years old: Grace said in her inner monologue.

  She was in her room in the house in the middle of the Dark Forest and just finished getting dressed in a cute little white dress and shoes. Although this was not something she would’ve considered doing in her last life she checked herself out in the mirror and smiled brightly.

  “Since Hickory Town, I’ve been trained in how to use a knife on top of a sword, as well as outdoor survival training, which was an experience. Along with the Bow, Club, and even a little magic along with a few other things” Grace inner monologued.

  She left her room and started to go down the stairs. Her room had been on the second floor.

  Then she heard a baby’s cry. “Grace, can you go check on Genja please” Kerone asked.

  “Yes Mama Kerone” Grace replied back. Then she went back up the stairs and found Genja’s room.

  Inside Grace found her father holding Genja in his own massive arms bottle feeding her with his own version of baby formula. He looked upon her like a loving father.

  “In between training me, being a family, and their secret trips my parents found some time to give me a baby sister. Who seems very normal. Seeing and Experiencing a Pregnant Dark Elf Woman was an experience to remember” Grace inner monologue.

  Haakon smiled at his youngest daughter and then at his oldest Grace when he noticed her. “She’s just hungry,” he said to her.

  Grace smiled too. “May I hold Genja?” she asked.

  Normally Grace wouldn’t be able to hold Genja since she had the body of a 5 year old child but since she was half-Barbarian she possessed greater height and physical strength than most 5 year olds. So she was able to hold her baby sister with no problem.

  Genja had a happy and contented look on her face like most infants would after having some milk to drink for lunch.

  “No matter what little sister I only want to be a good Big Sister to you, always” Grace said affectionately while rocking Genja gently from side to side.

  “Ahhhh” Haakon remarked at the sight of the two sisters.

  “Momma Kerone named my sister Genja after the tale of a Dark Elf Woman that she once read about” Grace thought. And also “In my last life I wasn’t the best of older siblings, I was totally selfish. I want to try and be better this time around and be a good older sister” she also thought.

  “Hey C,mon your Birthday Party is about to start” Haakon said to Grace.

  This made Grace smile. Hakkon took Genja as the three of them went outside to where the Wooden Bench and Table were located just outside the house and to the side. The table had a lovely Birthday feast of meats n veggies along with a nice looking blue Birthday Cake with frosting or the closest that world had to one.

  “Happy Birthday Grace” Hakkon and Kerone said in unison to their daughter and they began to sing the Happy Birthday song. Everyone was all smiles. It was a happy joyous atmosphere with Grace as the center of attention, naturally.

  Kerone served the food. “Oh let’s take a picture, everyone,” Hakkon asked.

  For a moment everyone stopped what they were doing and posed for the picture like a family would with all smiles. The device that looked like a camera took what appeared to be a polaroid picture. Three happy souls and one infant posing together looking happy.

  Once that was done the camera was put back into Haakon’s magical storage space along with the picture and out he took out what appeared to be a tiny box and handed it to his daughter.

  “What is that?" Grace asked.

  “Open it,” Haakon asked. Grace did so.

  Inside was a weird looking ball of orange n black.

  “What is this?” Grace asked.

  “Eat it,” Haakkon commanded.

  Grace took the weird ball and ate it. It tasted bitter. “Ewwww” she said with a disgusted look on her face.

  “Think of little balls,” Haakon asked.

  Grace went along with it and soon little metal spheres began to appear. Six of them. They had come out of Grace herself. She looked upon them with amazement.

  “Like’em they’re called Memory Sphere’s, once we told you that we used them to save you three years ago you were asking for them for your birthday and now you have them” Haakon pointed out.

  “Thank you Daddy” Grace said, sounding just like the happy child she was in that moment.

  “With Memory Sphere’s you can make whatever you want with them and they can become said item down into the smallest detail and if you don’t want them to be that item anymore then they can easily turn back into the metal sphere’s you see before, it’s your mind that controls them, but keep in mind the bigger the thing you make the more mana you expend to make and maintain it, also you need to know what that item is made of and how it’s made, but once that’s down pat using them can be a lot of fun” Haakon explained.

  “So this is what you used to save me three years ago” Grace remarked while playing around with the Memory Spheres.

  “Well me and your mother,” Haakon said, pointing to Kerone. She put up a hand to make some Memory Sphere’s of her own.

  “Wow, so cool,” Grace said in awe.

  “This is from me,” Kerone said as she put Genja into a sling on her back. She presented Grace with a belt with a knife and a small sword attached.

  “You mean it” Grace asked, much like a child would. She was just loving this moment in her second childhood.

  “Yes, you’ve earned it, you trained hard” Kerone pointed out as she smiled.

  “Thank you mama Kerone” both mother and daughter were nothing but smiles for a moment.

  Haakon looked happy seeing this. “Now this is something your mother and I made together,” he announced to Grace. He made another blue circle with his hand and withdrew a small carrying case.

  Once it was in Grace’s hand she opened it up. Inside was a charming looking pendant with a small red jewel and a symbol on it. It looked a little like a Pyramid but its bottom was curved upwards enclosed inside a circle.

  She put on the pendant.

  “Now a little test” Haakon began “I’m a big fat hippo with silver teeth.”

  This caused Grace to laugh a little at her Dad’s absurd statement. Until she heard one word “Lies” Grace felt a small chill go down her spine.

  “Did you hear the word Lies?” Haakon asked.

  “Yes,” Grace answered, looking a bit disconcerted.

  “Good, that means it works,” Haakon remarked.

  “What did you just give me Dad?” Grace asked.

  “That pendant has several functions and being a lie detector is one of them, it also allows you to detect danger to yourself and those around you with great accuracy, and it can translate any language that is spoken to you into something you can understand” Haakon explained.

  “Also it can change symbols too” he added in and got Grace to put her hand over it and the symbol changed into a Golden Dragon that looked like it was sticking its tongue out at someone.

  “It’s still too many abilities” Kerone chimed in. They had all long since begun eating the feast before them.

  “And she might need all of these abilities one day,” Haakon replied.

  “She might become too reliant on them,” Kerone pointed out.

  “I’ll try not to rely on it too much mom” Grace promised.

  “Well see, young lady,” Kerone replied.

  Grace then changed the subject “Oh you two did promise you would tell me the big secret you two were harboring from me after all these years” she pointed out.

  “Yes we did and we will later. Just stop nagging us about it” Kerone pointed out.

  “Anything you say mom” Grace replied with a smile. She was acting every bit her parents happy little Birthday Princess.

  Little did they know what danger was coming their way.

  The Frog, the Swallow, and their leader the Golem came out of the portal followed by eight hundred of their masked and cloaked followers and adherents. All of them were heavily armed.

  They all looked at the Wooden House in the distance. They heard some conversation taking place at a distance and even some laughter.

  “So this is where they’ve been hiding” The Swallow Remarked. Then she gave a corn-y evil laugh. “If only these miscreants knew what was going to hit them” she also remarked.

  “Is everyone in place?” The Golem asked The Frog.

  “Nearly” the latter replied.

  The Golem seemed flustered “What’s keeping them we have a Golden Opportunity to finally take out a troublesome enemy” he pointed out to his son.

  “I’ll go make the others hasten their steps” the Frog volunteered.

  “Get a move on honey” the Swallow said with a giggle. The Golem smiled at his wife while she hung off his arm like a woman in love. A twisted type of love that drove them.

  With his left arm the Golem pointed towards the Wooden House where Haakon, Kerone, and their daughters Grace n Genja were located and said “Their’s out target and we must attack now.”

  And the whole of his forces began to move towards the wooden house.

  “Hmmmm, this is so good,” Grace said, feeling joy while eating some meat dish.

  “It’s from a large snake monster I hunted the other day,” Haakon remarked.

  Grace swallowed quickly with a look of shock on her face with some disgust on her face “Oh” she remarked.

  Both of her parents laughed. “We have plenty more,” Kerone joked.

  Grace looked flustered. “I don’t think so,” she remarked. Her parents laughed again.

  Then a deep sickening feeling came over Grace and her parents.

  “Dad when you get a deep sickening feeling is that the pedant's danger sense warning you of trouble” Grace asked not wanting to know the answer but couldn’t resist asking.

  “Yes,” Haakon confirmed as he and Kerone suddenly stood up with Grace from the table.

  They looked around and noticed that they were surrounded by a large host. They were well-armed. And they were walking towards the house. They were all wearing hoods and cloaks.

  “It’s them,” Haakon said, sounding very worried. “They Found Us.”

  “Here take Genja,” Kerone said, quickly handing her younger daughter to her husband. She also handed him her wedding ring. She took up her Katana. “Go,” she said urgently.

  “C’mon honey,” Haakon said quickly, taking Grace’s hand. They ducked into the house in no time.

  Haakon locked the door and activated a device that pulled down the shades automatically.

  The place went a bit darker. You couldn’t see inside.

  “Oh yes good to see you again Haakon” the Golem remarked with a malicious smile.

  “Who was that with him?” the Frog asked.

  “Maybe Haakon’s child, it makes sense that he does have a wife” the Swallow pointed out.

  “If so we must eliminate all witnesses regardless of their age” the Golem pointed out.

  They were talking as they approached the wooden house. And they all had murder on their minds. They wanted to destroy a troublesome enemy and steal everything they had created to make it their own. They were going to succeed or die trying.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Oh look whose coming” the Frog said casually.

  It was Kerone with a Katana in hand. She had a grim and stoic look on her face. She drew her Katana with it in one hand and the scabbard in the other. She attacked the Golem directly.

  But the Swallow blocked it with her metal fan. The Golem took out his sword and struck. But Kerone was too agile and dodged the strike.

  A large group of the Golem’s people attacked. Amidst their battle cry Kerone used Quick Step to counter them. She disappeared in an instant and knocked them all off their feet and slew them all in a second.

  Kerone appeared and then disappeared again in an instant. And more of the Golems men were instantly struck down. This process was repeated for some seconds and the Golem lost more and more of his soldiers every time.

  The Golem shouted “Get Her, Kill Her.” He was livid. The Swallow joined her husband in shouting for Kerone’s death.

  Kerone seemed unstoppable. It looked as if she was going to hold them off indefinitely. But when Kerone reappeared she felt a sharp pain in her foot and she screamed in pain.

  The Frog had struck Kerone’s foot with an arrow.

  But Kerone kept on going as if she was a woman possessed. She struck down more of the Golems' hooded soldiers. Till the Frog hit Kerone’s other foot with another arrow.

  She couldn’t move this time. Kerone swung her Katana wildly at the encroaching hooded soldiers all eager for Revenge. Malevolent grins on all of their faces.

  But it seemed the Golem wanted some revenge of his own. He was right up to Kerone with his sword in hand past his own people.

  “I’ll never forget the day I lost my arm to you” he said with total malice in his heart. Then he cut off her arm with his Golem arm. She screamed in tremendous pain. “Have at her people, but save her possessions, they’re too valuable to destroy” the Golem ordered.

  The Golems soldier’s move in and Kerone soon falls dead.

  A loud cry could be heard at a distance.

  “Get away from the window,” Haakon scolded his daughter. Grace was quickly forced away by her father.

  “Mama Kerone she was—” Grace tried to say but her voice trailed off.

  “I know” Haakon replied “Don’t let your mother’s sacrifice be in vain, you must live” he encouraged.

  It took a second for Grace to realize that she was crying. Tears streamed down her face. “Mom in this world was great to me, and just as hard towards me too, who could do something like this,” Grace said, sounding very angry.

  “Someone very, very bad,” Haakon responded. He was walking down from the second floor carrying Genja in his arms with Grace just behind him. Looking sad and angry.

  “Dad, what's going on? Who are those people?” Grace asked, sounding like she really wanted to know.

  But the sound of a crash was heard and some of the attackers got into the house. Three of them. Haakon pushed a button on a device that caused the broken window the attackers came through to reassemble itself with a magic barrier for extra protection.

  The three attackers attacked Haakon. He defended himself with a hammer in one hand and hit one attacker in the head and another in the chest killing them both.

  The third put a dagger to Grace’s neck “Don’t move you bastard or your brat’s dead” the third attacker threatened.

  Grace looked up at the attacker with a dead look in her eyes and said in a casual voice "You're the one who's dead.” Then in dramatic fashion a saw blade came and decapitated the third attacker. The saw blade then turned back into a memory sphere. One Grace owned.

  Spots of blood and splattered onto Grace and a little bit on Genja too. Haakon wasn’t sure what to say about this.

  But Grace went bug-eyed at the realization of what she did. She had killed someone. She was close to screaming and freaking out.

  Haakon put his hammer down and put his hand on Grace’s shoulder. “Grace it was either him or you, theirs nothing wrong with defending yourself and your sister, focus on survival and your sisters” Haakon said trying to sound like a source of reason and comfort.

  “Yes Dad,” Grace replied.

  “Oh Haakon can’t we settle this peacefully” came a male voice in authority.

  “Oh I remember your voice” Haakon began “How’s your arm or the lack of one” he jabbed.

  “Doing just fine, I’ve acquired a replacement” came the male voice “But on to serious matters, will you come out with your child and surrender” the male voice demanded.

  “And receive the same mercy you showed my wife when you cut her down” Haakon pointed out with disdain “No thank you, I find your capacity for mercy sorely lacking, so you can go to hell.” Haakon sounded angry.

  “I get the feeling I should be insulted” the male voice remarked. “What a welp” came the male voice but quieter. Grace was the only one that heard that last bit of conversation due to her greater and more sensitive hearing. It ended shortly afterwards.

  “C'mon,” Haakon said, taking his daughters to a trap door in the basement of the house. It stored food and supplies but little else.

  “What are we doing here?” Grace asked.

  Haakon sighed in resignation. He got down on his knees still he was as close to Grace’s height as possible “Grace were parting ways” he said extremely solemnly and stoically.

  Grace began to cry again.

  “Focus Grace. What I have to say to you is very important” Haakon said.

  Then he pushed a button revealing a tunnel that looked like a mine tunnel just big enough for a large person like Haakon to go through. Grace and Genja would have no problem going through it since one was a child and the other an infant.

  “Oh no I can tell where this is going” Grace thought. A deep sense of dread overcame her. “Dad please come with us” she begged “We both only just reunited again in this world after death parted us from the old one. I wanted nothing more than to live under the same roof with you as we do now like a family. I dreamt of it so much as a child in my last life. And were to be parted again. It’s not fair” she complained with tears going down her face.

  Haakon hugged his daughter so tightly with his one free arm. Genja was crying while this occurred. But she was ignored.

  “I wanted the same in my last life too” Haakon said “If I had a choice, I would’ve kept this up with you until you had grown up, found a husband and started a family” he sounded prideful as he’d spoken.

  Grace chuckled despite it all “Dad, I’m a bit young for that” she said sounding embarrassed.

  Haakon stopped hugging his daughter. A tear had gone down his cheek. He smiled briefly then he got serious “Grace honey, you have to move now” he said.

  “Dad, who was that man you were talking with back there?" Grace asked, trying to delay the inevitable.

  “He’s called the Golem, his wife the Swallow and their son the Frog all command a large host of enemies and they wish for us to die of course, me particularly because of this” Haakon said then he removed his wedding ring and took out his wife’s.

  “Your wedding rings” Grace remarked looking confused.

  “Yes but they aren’t normal, they contain a magical storage area that can hold hundreds if not thousands of items regardless of size and weight. It contains all of my secrets and inventions along with your mother’s secrets,among other things,”Haakon pointed out.

  “So they’re after those,” Grace said, completing the sentence. “And if the bad guys get them bad things will happen” she added in realization.

  “Yes we can’t let them fall into their hands” Haakon confirmed.

  Then he realized something and put his wedding ring back on for a moment. He made a blue magic circle appear and out of it came an oval shaped pod that was white as snow. It was bigger than an infant at about one and a half feet long and several inches wide. A small hatch was opened and a button was pushed underneath. The pod opened.

  “Let’s put Genja inside,” Haakon said.

  He handed Genja to Grace and she put her baby sister inside the pod. The infant fit perfectly inside. The pod closed. The pod and a long leather strap attached around it to allow for ease of carrying. It was wrapped around Grace so she could carry it. The pod was lighter than it appeared.

  “The pod should keep your sister alive long enough to reach civilization and keep out any germs that might kill her,” Haakon said. Then he removed his wedding ring again. Looked at it briefly then handed both of them over to his daughter.

  “What do I do with this?” Grace asked.

  “Look at the inner band of the wedding rings” he asked her.

  Grace quickly saw what he wanted her to see. “Your name, mom’s name, and my name are inscribed on the inner band in the language of this world” she remarked.

  “Yes all three of us are the only ones that can access the magical storage space or MSS as long as our names are on those rings” Haakon explained. “Now put them on,” he added.

  She did as she was asked and put one wedding ring on one hand and the other ring on the other hand. Both suddenly shrunk to fit Grace’s smaller fingers. It surprised her very much.

  “But won’t the Golem be mad that he won’t get the storage space” Grace asked, still trying to delay the inevitable.

  “I have a plan in place so he doesn’t realize in time” Haakon assured her cryptically.

  The smell of something burning went through the air and the sounds of fire weren’t far off. Smoke started to fill the basement. The house was on fire.

  “This was inevitable” Haakon remarked “The house’s automatic defenses kept them out so well the Golem set fire to the whole house out of desperation." He stood up as he said that but then got back on his knees.

  He pointed down the tunnel “Once you enter the tunnel a timer will start you’ll have five minutes to get to the end before some small explosives activate and collapse it forever” Haakon said.

  “But you’ll be trapped here” Grace pointed out voice full of dread.

  Smoke began to fill up the basement. “I have no choice, the enemy must believe you and your sister died with me and to do that I have to stay and cover for you” Haakon pointed out.

  “Please come with me dad” Grace asked out of desperation and not caring for the consequences.

  Her father ignored her plea “At the end of the tunnel is a hollowed out tree trunk just big enough for you both to hide if you stay quiet enough, once the enemy leaves exit the tree and head North to Carrahe, you have a letter from me inside the magical storage space give it to someone of sufficient authority in the country, but no lower than the Captain of a City Guard, they’ll have to help you” Hakkon explained without skipping a beat.

  Grace had heard her father but she was being so stubborn “Please come with me, dad” she pleaded.

  “I can’t” Haakon replied and then pushed his daughter into the Tunnel “GO” he shouted before closing it quickly. He shouted it again imploring Grace to leave.

  She did so with the greatest of reluctance. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.

  Haakon got into the business of making it look like his whole family. To which he was effective by burning some meat the size of his daughters. He suffered terribly over all of this.

  Haakon Von Kurtz would die in his house due to either smoke inhalation or being burned to death. No one could tell at the end.

  Grace made it to the end of the tunnel with seconds to spare. The hollowed out tree trunk was big enough to fit two large people. Holes were cut out at the top of the tree to allow for fresh air to come in. A latch was likely meant to open a door to go out. But Grace n Genja both stayed put.

  “Time to activate something Mom n Dad taught me” Grace thought. She took a deep breath. “Activate Hawker's Sense” she said quietly.

  The inside of the tree trunk disappeared and revealed what was outside. “Yep a lot of enemies are still around” Great thought. She looked around to see a lot more. She felt a bit of despair.

  “Hawker’s sense was named after a flying creature with exceptional senses. Many people also have a sense like this one but only a few have ever been able to bring it out. It's more of a sixth sense than a magic spell” Grace inner monologue.

  The enemy figures were all glowing red. Allies would’ve been blue. But none were near. She looked for potential survivors and spotted none.

  Some enemies were speaking and Grace could hear them clearly thanks to Hawker’s senses. “Thankfully no enemies are close to the tree trunk” Grace thought. “It’s safe.”

  “What’s that?” Grace heard someone say. She felt an instant alarm. She noticed two glowing red forms begin to search.

  “It sounds like crying,” one of them remarked.

  Grace quickly realized that it was Genja that was crying and loudly. Her focus was a little off since losing her parents. She turned off Hawker's senses. She tried to get Genja to calm down.

  “Please stop crying little sister, they're going to find us and kill us” Grace quietly implored. But instantly realized that wasn’t going to work. “Ugh of course she’s a baby, she wouldn’t understand” she despondently whispered.

  “That’s right she is a baby” Ares said from inside Grace’s head. “And you know what you need to do. You need to smother your own sister” Ares demanded.

  Grace couldn’t believe her own ears “Smother my own sister that is unthinkable” Grace replied in protest with her own thoughts.

  “And if those miscreants kill you, I’ll lose my chance of being reborn” Ares said “And you’ll lose your chance of stopping Madea from finding the Universal destroyer” she added in.

  “You're worried about that,” Grace scolded.

  “Do it, smother your sister and make it fast they’re closing in as we speak” Ares warned.

  A quick look with Hawker's sense proved that Ares was correct. Grace looked at her helpless n crying baby sister with love in her eyes.

  “I’m sorry Genja” Grace thought. She reached for Genja’s tiny neck. This would be fast.

  Soon the sounds of Genja’s cries went silent. And the soldiers Grace saw searching soon gave up the search. They concluded that they were mistaken about what they heard.

  The Golem, the Swallow, and the Frog met up at the edge of the Dark Forest. The house in the background burned with intensity.

  The Golem was silent but satisfied with the passing of his most troublesome enemy.

  “Look what I found off the dead Dark Elf Harlot” the Frog said, showing a pouch in his hand.

  “What is that?” The Swallow asked.

  “This likely contains a magical storage space. I can’t access it. But it might contain our enemies' closely guarded secrets” the Frog explained.

  The Golem smiled “We need to hand it over to a trusted Alchemist. I’m certain they can unlock its secrets” he said.

  “As you say Golem” the Frog replied.

  All three of them looked at the burning house alongside the host they brought.

  “Haakon and his wife were such troublesome enemies,” the Frog remarked.

  “I’m not sorry they’re gone, they cost us almost a hundred soldiers today” the Swallow remarked.

  “I have to admit. I might miss them” the Golem remarked. This produced a chuckle from everyone.

  They all began to turn around and walk away.

  “When we get home how about we celebrate, discreetly” the Golem suggested.

  “Oh honey that’s a wonderful idea” The Swallow agreed. She hung on her husband's arm like a woman in love.

  And with that they left the whole area. Back through the portals they all came through.

  Not realizing that they missed someone.

  Grace emerged from the tree trunk with a very much alive Genja in her pod suckling on the nibble of a baby bottle or what looked like one.

  “Good thing there were a lot of baby bottles filled with baby formula in the magical storage space, thankfully mom was planning on going on a long trip” Grace remarked.

  “Your weak” Ares scolded, sounding angry.

  No one was around to hear Grace speaking out loud. “I don’t care” Grace replied “I wasn’t going to smother my own baby sister if I could help it.”

  “And now you're going to have an extra mouth to feed on a journey that will be so hard for you at your age” Ares pointed out angrily.

  “Challenge Accepted” Grace said vehemently.

  “But”

  “No buts, now quiet I want some time to myself” Grace said firmly.

  She walked over to the burning house that had been her home for the first five years of her second life in this world and felt a deep sense of loss that she would’ve denied if she could. But it was obvious that she couldn’t.

  “That pouch I saw. It must’ve been what my dad was referring to. It must’ve had false secrets inside. Just thinking of the frustrated look on the Golem’s face is almost comforting” Grace remarked.

  But then Grace got a lot more serious and holding Genja’s white pod in her small hands Grace said to her sister “Remember this moment well little sister this is the funeral pyre of our innocence. It was cruelly ripped away by some evildoers. We’ll never have it back.”

  Turning away Grace began to walk away “In my last life I rarely saw my dad, now I’ve had even less time in this life, how cruel can fate be” Grace lamented before she broke down crying.

  She fell to her knees crying and stayed there until she stopped. But that only happened when she thought “The Golem, the Swallow, and the Frog” images of all three went through her head as she thought of them.

  “They murdered my parents” Grace burned with rage “They will pay, I don’t care how long it takes, they will pay for killing my parents” Grace was just seething with anger and rage. “Mom, Dad, I’ll avenge you, anyone responsible for their deaths will pay, and I will fulfil the task the gods gave me” Grace vowed.

  Ares chimed in “I hereby grant you the ability “Terrifying Presence.”

  And just like that Grace was bathed in a scary and unsettling aura that looked a lot like a Black Flame admitting from her 5 year old body. She started to walk away feeling rage.

  Then she noticed that Genja was crying. The infant sounded so terrified. “Oh I’m sorry little sister” she said out of remorse for scaring her little sister and temporarily forgetting her rage.

  Grace walked into the Dark Forest trying to assure Genja that everything will be alright. Said words rang out as if they echoed across the forest.

  She had to believe it regardless of her own personal feelings.