Elvish Empire

It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same and to be honest she wasn't sure if that was for the better or for the worst. After running away from her homeland nearly a quarter of a century before she had only returned at her father's intense insistence...it was time to face the music she had been fleeing so hard from. Her brother's selfish abdication a mere few months before had meant that Anastasia was now the only heir to the Elvish throne, a title that seemed to only grow heavier the longer she thought about it. 

The Elvish were a incredibly talented and intelligent society in most aspects of life, they were intellectual and athletic...masters of their own unique yet powerful magic.Unfortunately, they were not the most social or empathetic race and the ruling family...her parents proved to be no different. Looking at her tired looking face in the hallway mirror, she inhaled deeply as she prepared to see her parents for the first time in 24 years, to talk to them for the first time in 24 years.

Tucking her lilac shaded bob cut behind her ears, she studied her youthful features...features that seemed so much older the longer she looked. The Elvish people aged incredibly slowly, 24 years was similar to a few months in human years...so while she may still look like she was still in her early 20's...it was the emotional aging that she had gone through over the last two decades that was the main difference.

Roaming the Elvish lands in diguise had been one of the most incredible trips of her life. Away from the stifling expectations and emotionless manner of her parents she had been free to live her life the way she wanted...no one cared about the spare so slipping away from her family was easier than she had expected. In fact, if it wasn't for her buffoon of a brother abdicating to run off with a girl...a tale as old as time itself, she probably wouldn't have come back.

No one cared about the creative, emotional younger sister of the future King of the Elvish Empire, not even her parents had bothered to contact her while she was away...even though she had been in disguise, even her brother had managed to send her letters, even if it was just to call her names and to give her a heads up that he was abdicating. 

Now that she was back as per her duty, not only to her family but to her country as well...she didn't know what to feel, perhaps she should try doing what her parents did and simply not feel.

Deep down she knew she couldn't eradicate the sensitive,emotional part of her...it's what fuelled her creative nature and allowed her artistic talents to flourish. She had funded her time away through a mix of artwork commissions and through the elemental magic she had been born with, an elemental magic that was as flamboyant as it was useful.

" Here comes Anastasia Anita Luxernia Adrogenoli..."

Shushing the doormen to the throne room with a heated glare, she nodded once to herself before she entered the room where her father and mother sat side by side on elaborate thrones. They looked no different physically, but their eyes showed the true weight of what Anastasia had missed in her time away. Breathtaking beauty aside, the coldness in their eyes had goosebumps erupting all over her skin...she knew they hadn't missed her but the blatant indifference in their identical gazes as they looked upon their heir...it was a hard fact to swallow. 

" You will be attending lessons with Anaglad again to get you back up to speed with the ways of the royal family and to ensure you act how the future Queen of Elveland should. Your quarters are still exactly the same as they were when you...when you left and I expect you to behave exactly like I expect you to. You are now dismissed."

At her father's harsh tone, she looked towards her Mother for any advice...for support even? She didn't know what she was expecting though...perhaps she was being idiotic...definetly being idiotic. Her mother's avoidance of eye contact only further cemented her knowledge of the fact that her parents cared about nothing except their reputation and that her Mother was still just as spineless as usual.

Leaving the throne room abruptly, she found herself walking the familiar halls of her childhood as she headed to the quarters she had only been in moments before when she sat down her duffel bag, the small bag holding the only possessions she had cared enough about to take with her on her travels. Pushing the heavy wooden door shut behind her she hastily unclipped and unzipped her dress, allowing the substantial velvety fabric to fall in a crimson pool around her ankles...the shade almost matching the gold and blood red colour scheme running throughout the palace.

The pomp and circumstance of the royals had Anastasia rolling her eyes as she slipped into the comfortable summer dress she had purchased from a small coastal tribe she had spent a couple of years with. Heading over to the lacy curtains drifting lightly in the jasmine scented breeze she looked out at the view. The palace's pristine, sweeping grounds of natural beauty manicured to within an inch of it's life still made her smile even years later. 

She had spent so much of her childhood exploring all the secrets the natural world had to offer, at least all the secrets that the sheltered ground of the palace could. The beauty of nature itself never ceased to amaze her, a trait that only further distanced her from the uptight and aloof nature that was the Elvish royal family, that was her parents.

Although she severely disliked her parents and would never have a healthy relationship with them she had to admit that they were good rulers. They were fair and firm, not showing any kindness but not showing any nastiness either. They were simply what good Elvish citizens should aim to be...emotionless, unflappable. 

Looking across the expansive grounds to the silhouette of the city dotting the horizon she found a small smile creeping automatically across her face. Whilst she may never have a personal relationship with her parents, she did want to continue on their amazing work in bringing back the Elvish population back from the brink of extinction. The Elvish people were flourishing thanks to the royal families work. Her personal affairs aside she had a duty to the people she loved, and at the end of the day that was all that mattered.