Chapter 2: I'm an Elf
A woman grabs me away. We run together while she holds my hand. Soldiers wearing glowing gold metal armors are lined up in front of us and I'm nervous if they are going to let us pass. Surprisingly, they did let us through. We reach the inside of an elegant silver castle that stands towering over the capital.
Inside the spacious hall, I stare at the door with my heart throbbing furiously, catching my breath as we rest in the aisle inside the palace. Questions fill my head in the foreign land I shockingly appear to, when a loud thud on the entrance interrupts my thoughts.
"What was that?" I ask as the roaring and screaming sound of conflict slips into the door.
"A fire dragon. One that has attacked us before, but it will never get through here. The castle is impenetrable. It can withstand any attack of a dragon." The woman answers. Her words are confident yet her face is sweating with terror.
"I mean… where… am I? Why am I here? And who are you?" I beg for an answer hoping I'm only in a dream where I can wake up anytime soon.
"Are you alright? Did a stone hit you while you were sleeping at the stable again?" The woman gently strokes my head to search for a bump that can cause my confusion. I gaze at her face and try to familiarize myself with the weird long ears sticking at the side of her cheeks. The light hazelnut colored hair compliments her rosy skin and pouty red lips. I flush gazing at the woman's beauty. Then, I recognize the same elegance.
The woman on the bus!
"Lady Moon? Taeyang? What are you two doing here at the hall?" A woman at her prime marches towards us. She's wearing an intricate shiny armor of silver and gold for her chest and a long metal skirt to protect her dress. The embossed dragon design on the woman's set of protection is different from what the soldiers are wearing which brings me to guess that the woman is of royalty. Her long golden hair is braided in one delicate knot on her back while she carries a gold helmet adorned by white feathers at the top.
The woman called Lady Moon bows her head as the majesty approaches our spot. I mimic Lady Moon's gesture as to not offend the authoritarian gaze the people around the nobility give off.
"Your majesty, Queen Ha Eun, why are you dressed to fight?" Lady Moon asks with a low gaze pleading the Queen to answer her concern.
"I will defend this Kingdom until my final breath, as King Dae Jung and Prince Dae Eun did so before me. I will not withhold myself the same chance of protecting my people. Every elf's life depends on my power." The Queen retorts. Her voice is strong and her words bring conviction. The people around her did not say a word. They only bow to her accord.
The queen puts her helmet on and breathes deeply. "Taeyang, take care of Lady Moon and hide in the cellar beneath the castle. There is a secret path there you can use to escape. I will hold you responsible for her safety."
"Y-Yes... your majesty," I answer, stuttering my words. Staring at the elegant queen who trusts me with all her heart propels me to take the vow and uphold my obligation yet I doubt myself on how to protect Lady Moon from a powerful dragon.
"Your majesty—"Lady Moon calls the queen once more but the door of the palace opens up and the light blinded our view of the outside chaos. Then, a fiery blaze blows away the entrance of the castle. The force of the blast knocks us off far inside the hall in front of the throne of the monarch. I can feel my whole body ache from the unsuspected attack. The woman beside me is unconscious from the explosion. Her head is bleeding and her face is full of gashes from the rocks that were thrown at us. I worry for her safety and my own from the danger that is coming to get us.
At last, a dark shadow blocks the light coming from the door. The red eyes of the dragon glare at me with a fierce intent to burn my soul. I force myself to stand up and put myself between Lady Moon and the enormous lizard. Protecting the woman is what I pledge to do, and I will accomplish my duty with whatever unprepared technique I can think of.
My right arm is in pain yet I still lift my hand high. With my full palm open, I shout out loud from the top of my lungs. "STOP!"
The dragon halts from trudging his large feet towards us. Then, it lowered its head to reach my body with its massive mouth. I closed my eyes in fear of what the fiery dragon might do.
It will eat me up like a cockroach as most lizards do.
A slight touch moves my hand. I sense the scaly skin of the dragon brushes my palm. Opening my eyes, and feeling my heart beating fast is a relief. I turn my head to get a glimpse of the dragon in front of me.
"Taeyang!" A voice in my head says.
"It's me, Miri!" It continues to fill my head.
"Miri?" I call out the name and the dragon nods its head.
"How?" I scream the words of my disbelief.
"Welcome to my world!"
"You're the one who took me here?" My forehead furrows.
"Yes. You were in trouble and I needed your help."
"What can I do to help you?" I stare at the dragon in front of me. Its violent presence disappeared completely. I don't fear it anymore even with its glowing red eyes gazing back at me.
"A powerful witch is controlling me. She stuck a black gem behind my head and I need you to take it off me."
"Okay," I accept its plea.
"Hurry! Before I lose control of myself again. I don't want to hurt anyone anymore."
I run to the side of the dragon and start to climb but as soon as I reach its body, the dragon begins to twitch and tries to shake me off its back.
"I'm sorry, Taeyang. I can't control my body any longer. You have to hold on and take it out now or I might hurt you too."
I tightly grab on one of its scales as the dragon continues to wriggle me off. I start to feel dizzy with the motion of going side to side with its action.
This is more dreadful than a rollercoaster ride.
I try painfully to open my eyes and search for something suspicious on it's back. A glowing black sparkle catches my sight. I grab one of the scales to push myself near the gem until I can reach the part to pull it out of its skin.
"Damn it! It's hard to pull off." I say to the dragon who growls back at me like it doesn't understand the words I speak of. Now, I believe that the magic of the black gem has overcome Miri's consciousness. The dragon exists with one goal to achieve. Destroy everything and kill everyone around it.
"Hold on!" A woman shouts from the ground. I scan the hall and see Lady Moon standing a few steps from where we land after the blasts.
The woman's hand starts to glow. Lady Moon starts to whisper words that I don't know. A bow materializes in her hand to my surprise. When she uses the weapon and aims at the dragon, a glowing arrow comes out.
"No! Don't hurt Miri!" I scream at the woman.
Lady Moon glares at me with shock as I defend Miri's life. The dragon sees this opportunity and lifts its tail to aim at the woman.
"Noooo!" I scream to warn Lady Moon and pluck the black gem hard with all my power.
I close my eyes as I feel my energy gets depleted. I let my body fall into the ground from the dragon's back while still holding the back gem. My eyes remain shut and my hands are in pain. When I hear Lady Moon's voice calling my name. "Taeyang… Taeyang?"
I unfold my sight and recognize Lady Moon's face and the dragon, Miri. The black gem in my hands begins to glow and elevate itself away from us but Lady Moon captures it with her magic before it can find its way back to its owner.
"Are you okay?" Lady Moon asks with her teary eyes gazing at me. The worried expression of the woman is warming my spirit.
"My body hurts," I answer sincerely. My hands are shaking and my legs are aching. I force myself to stand up and step forward to approach the dragon. I want to be certain Miri is not harmed at all.
"Miri?" I touch the dragon's chin and feel the cold rough scales in my quivering hand. The dragon changes its color from red to green pigments. Now, I know Miri is back and everyone will be safe. The relief brings unwavering joy to my heart.
"Taeyang! Thank you."
"Your welcome, Miri. Now you are free and I can go back to my world where I should be." I reply to the dragon brushing my cheeks to its nose.
"I'm sorry Taeyang but I can't take you back."
"But why?" I wonder with displease.
"I need your help to save my kind from the control of the witch."
"Why not let Lady Moon help you? She's powerful…uh… uh…" I point at the woman standing next to me. Lady Moon's forehead ruffles as I mention her name.
"Who are you talking to?" She asks, peering at my face like I went mad.
"The Dragon, Miri?" I point out the massive beast in front of us.
"Hmmm, I see that is your ability?" The woman says rubbing his fingers on her chin.
"What do you mean "ability"?" I raise my eyebrow in question.
"All Elves have the power to talk to animals but dragons need a certain level of knowledge or ability to be able to talk to them." Lady Moon explains the power I hold.
"I'm not an elf so why would I have power or ability." I shrug the notion. I woke up a few hours ago without feeling any changes in myself or my body at all.
"You are not an elf?" Lady Moon asks, lifting her eyebrow and pinching both my ears with her delicate fingers.
"Ouch! That hurts!" I whine in pain and hold my ears at the side of my face. The pointy end reaches my cheeks and my eyes go wide in disbelief. "I'm an ELF!"
"You have been an elf for a hundred years. You serve at the palace under the Queen." Lady Moon clarifies my confusion yet it doesn't answer why my body is different from before.
"One hundred years? I'm so old!" I howl at the knowledge.
"I'm sorry, Taeyang, but that's the only body I can transfer you with. Besides, your elf age is the same as your age in the human world."
"Since you can talk to dragons, do you guarantee this one will not cause any more trouble?" Lady Moon says, pointing at the large lizard in front of us.
"Yes. Miri said, taking out the black gem will stop the witch's control over them." I explain the information I have from Miri.
"A witch?" The woman mumbles staring at the Black Gem caged in magic when soldiers from outside came in and surrounded us with their spear.
"You are all under arrest!" Yell one of the soldiers.
"On what grounds?" Lady Moon requests for an answer.
"For conspiring with the dragon to kill the monarchy!"
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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