The Veil of Darkness
Chapter 198: Accept Who You Are

Chapter 198: Accept Who You Are

The library was filled with silence as Leela’s question ranged loudly in everyone’s ears and their gazes were fixed on the Crown Prince in question.

No one spoke for a long while, meaning a couple of moments that actually felt too long because of the pin-drop silence, before Ezra finally reacted and broke the stillness of the serious atmosphere inside the library.

The dragon shifter Commander-in-Chief let out a deep breath before he slowly nodded his head as if coming to terms with something going on inside his head before he turned to look at the Crown Prince who had been staring at the scrolls in his hands all this time.

"With all due respect, Your Highness, I can see where Lady Leela is coming from. Maybe the method she chose to portray her feelings was not the best one or even a decent one, and it might have upset you. I’ll ask for your forgiveness on her behalf but she meant no disrespect to you."

He didn’t even look at Leela who was staring at him with a pure surprised look on her face which was quite understandable considering how much the two of them used to contradict each other and hadn’t talked nicely even once ever since the day of their meeting.

Not having said everything that he had in his heart, Ezra continued, "Every one of us here believes that you are a great person, immortal or not, and you will definitely be a great ruler in the future. Most importantly, we never saw you any less than any of us present here. You may not be a supernatural like us but you are no less even as a mortal. You have your own strengths that are as important and remarkable as the magic we possess."

If Leela was taken by surprise to see Ezra suddenly speaking on her behalf and asking for Crown Prince Elijah’s forgiveness, then the said Crown Prince was even more stunned after hearing the sincere words that just left the dragon shifter’s mouth and went straight to his heart.

Having said everything he wanted, Ezra found no reason staying there any longer. Besides, he was getting uncomfortable in a weird way because of the attention that he was receiving from Leela. He might not be looking at her but he was more than aware of her beautiful blue eyes that were fixed on him.

"I will go and see if Lord Damien will like to teach me some of his skills with a sword." He said while excusing himself and with a little bow, he headed straight toward the direction of the library entrance to exit the place.

"I... I will go with him too..." Leela stated hurriedly with her eyes fixed on the departing figure of Ezra and without even sparing a single look in others’ direction, she was already running after the dragon shifter.

A couple of seconds later, it was only Annalise and Kenric left in the library along with Elijah who was still sitting there in a daze with his gaze once again fixed on the scrolls.

Annalise and Kenric shared a quick look before the former turned her attention to the Crown Prince and knocked her knuckles against the wooden table to get the latter’s attention. The trick worked as Elijah immediately looked up at her with a soft and attentive expression filling his face.

"I hope you will think about what Ezra and Leela have just said. None of us think any less of you than us. Always keep this in mind, Your Highness, there’s a reason why mortals have existed by our sides for so long and are one of the most prosperous and peaceful people among the four realms. While you are definitely not above any of the supernatural races... you are also no less than any of them."

Annalise let her words sink into the man’s mind as she looked straight into his eyes and watched as he attentively listened to her every single word.

"What do I need to do?" Elijah suddenly asked in a very soft voice and for that particular moment, he sounded so lost and troubled.

The one who answered this time was not Annalise but Kenric, "You need to accept who you are - a mortal and the future ruler of your people. You also need to realize that being a mortal isn’t your drawback, it’s actually your strength - in ways you still haven’t discovered yet."

"Your Highness," Annalise spoke as she stood up from her seat and headed closer to where Elijah was sitting with his attention now fixed on her. "You are still so young and so far you have only spent your life either in your palace or the capital city of the Mortal Realm. I want you to take this mission as a learning journey of our world and your life in general. I’m sure you will come across at least one moment, if not several, when you will be extremely proud of your identity as a human."

A small but genuine smile appeared at the corners of Crown Prince Elijah’s lips as he slowly nodded his head while accepting her request. "I promise that I will try my best. Thank you... I’m genuinely thankful to all of you for believing in me when even I can’t do it, and most importantly... for pushing me to believe in myself. I hope one day I can make you all happy by achieving this self-belief that you all want to see in me."

This was the most genuine response she was expecting from the Crown Prince. People didn’t turn into complete new leaves just in blinks, it needed time and constant efforts, and if there were cases otherwise - they were clearly the results of miracles.

Since the Prince had already promised to try to change, that was more than enough for the time being and Annalise did believe that just like her, one day Elijah too would see how important and strong he actually was.