Page 21 of The Broken Elf King
We rode fast and hard through the early morning to the small farm village of Briar Ridge. I wasn’t used to riding for so long. My butt was numb and my legs felt bruised by the time we arrived. The sun was just peeking over the clouds as we pulled our horses up to a small blue farmhouse with a thatched roof. The sun cast illuminated shafts of light over fields of blackberries that spanned out as far as the eye could see.
I recognized the mother immediately, her white hair flowing behind her. She was milking a goatin in an open field, and must have just noticed us. She stopped what she was doing and stood, setting her bucket down as she realized she had guests. Wiping her hands on her apron, she ran over to greet us.
“My lord.” She fell into a deep curtsy. “Is… everything okay?”
She was no doubt wondering why the king of the elves was here. We dismounted and the front door to the farmhouse opened. Corleena’s father walked out to greet us as well.
“My king. We didn’t know to expect a visit,” the father said, dropping to one knee and dipping his head in the deepest bow possible. A true sign of humility and respect in the elvin kingdom. In Nightfall, one would go fully flat on the floor to gain the queen’s utmost respect.
The king launched right into the heart of the matter. “My assistant may have found what’s been making Corleena so sick.”
The mother went rigid, grasping her apron and looked up at me. “What is it?”
“Where is she?” I asked, praying she hadn’t eaten any of the berries in the last twelve hours since I’d last seen her.
“She’s in the fields, probably eating berr—”
I took off like a rocket, lifting my elegant dress to run for the blackberry fields. “Corleena!” I shouted her name in panic.
“Corleena!” the king’s voice came from behind me. Her mother and father had no idea what was happening but they began to scream her name in panic too. They clearly caught on that this was a serious situation.
I hit the densely packed rows of blackberries and slowed, my heart racing. What if she was passed out, bleeding in this very field? What if we were too late?
“I’m here!” a small voice called to my left.
I pivoted, turning and following that voice, coming upon her with a handful of black berries in her hand, one was raised to her mouth.
When she saw me, she frowned in surprise, and I reached out, lightly smacking the fruit from her hand.
“Don’t eat those!” I told her.
Tears filled her eyes and I instantly felt bad for scaring her.
“What’s going on?” Her mother, the king, and her father ran up behind me and stopped.
I pulled the book from my cloak pocket and opened it, handing it to the mother, spread to the page about the nightlock berries.
“We think she’s found some of these and been eating them instead of the true blackberries,” I said.
Corleena ran to her parents, clinging to her mother’s side. I watched as her mother’s eyes widened. The father read over his wife’s shoulder, mouth opening in shock. He spun from the book, looking at the bushes around us. He began to scrutinize them, then pulled a few off and inspected them. He moved to another bush, pulling off a leaf and a berry, bringing it to his nose.
His eyes went wide as he dropped them from his hands. “These aren’t blackberries.” He pointed to the bush to his right. “Those are.” He then gestured to the left. He shook his head. “My family has been growing the berries for five generations I… I don’t understand how I didn’t know.”
The king nodded. “You didn’t think to look too closely, it’s understandable. Have you mass harvested yet? Started making any syrup?”
The farmer shook his head. “Picking season just started, so not many. Thank the Maker. Just a few locals.”
“I’ll need a list of who they are so my staff can check on them and warn them,” the king said.
They both nodded. “Of course.” The wife looked near tears and kept holding tightly to little Corleena.
The father suddenly appeared stricken. “The fields… we’ll have to burn them and start over to be safe.”
My heart fell into my stomach. Their home was humble, their clothing worn; they did not look like the kind of people who could easily miss a whole season of income and start over.
The king inclined his head. “I have reason to believe this was an invasive species planted by the Nightfall queen. Therefore, it is my responsibility to take care of it. I’ll pay you for this season’s berries and cover the cost of burning the fields and planting a new lot next year.”
The mother grasped her chest, tears rolling down her cheeks, but the farmer shook his head. “My king, I could not accept that. Not after what you’ve done to save Corleena’s life. It’s too much.”
