Chapter 91. A fantastical journey, a fantastical island. ...
Two bare-armed giants, taller than the cliff, emerged from the sea. They were members of the persecuted giant race, who had been subdued by the elven leader in their early years. Not far away was the island where they secretly lived, an island that would only appear and disappear on the sea surface during extremely bad weather.
These giants had been deeply indebted to the elves for many years and voluntarily pledged their allegiance.
Two giants each embraced a cliff and a mountain, uprooting them. Suddenly, a rapidly spinning vortex appeared between the giants, and the ship was immediately and uncontrollably drawn into the vortex. After only ten seconds, it emerged from the sea and entered a icy green sea surrounded by towering green plants.
The captain was dozing off and didn't notice that the ship had passed through some greenery and flowerbeds. When he woke up, it had veered off course. The captain panicked and hurriedly ordered his people to row frantically, but they still drifted into an unfamiliar sea area. There were no green plants or flowerbeds, only a faint, warm sea breeze blowing from the south.
Following a gut feeling, the captain ordered his people to row south. Soon the sea breeze picked up, blowing everyone's hair and making it impossible for them to open their eyes. The queen's trusted maidservant tightly embraced the queen's body, which was wrapped in a white sheet, and softly recited the peace spell that the queen had once taught her.
“It can be recited in times of greatest danger,” the Queen once said. “No one knows what it does. It was passed down from my great-grandmother to my grandmother, from my grandmother to my mother, and from my mother to me. It is said to keep you safe in times of danger.”
"I'll pass this on to you now." At that time, the Queen had no son and thought she would never have children, so she taught this spell to her trusted maid who had saved her several times.
As the trusted maidservant recited the prayer, a miracle occurred: the sea breeze subsided, but the ship continued to circle around the area, unable to sail away. Just as everyone was wondering what was going on, an old maidservant recalled that when she had moved here with her grandparents years ago, the elven leader had suspected that a secret territory was hidden here.
“My grandmother told me that the chief had a gilded key in his hand, and as the ship sailed in a certain direction, the key began to heat up and glow slightly,” the old maid said. “This is one of the treasures left by the ancestors of the elves, and it is said that it will react when it encounters hidden territories or places of treasure.”
The trusted maid remembered that the key was one of the Queen's personal belongings, kept in the far corner of her jewelry box.
Suddenly, a whirlpool appeared, and the sea breeze picked up. The trusted maidservant immediately threw the key out, and it landed right in the whirlpool. Instantly, the wind and waves grew even stronger, sweeping them and the ship deep into the sea as they screamed in terror…
——
When I woke up, I was greeted by birdsong and the fragrance of flowers, with the cries of seagulls drifting from afar.
Have we passed through the whirlpool and reached land?
I woke up with a start, opened my eyes, and found myself lying on a golden sandy beach.
For a moment, I couldn't tell whether I was still in the strange memory or in reality.
I pinched my fingertips and squeezed my arm. The soreness and pain made me realize that I was in reality.
I quickly got up and patted the yellow sand off my body.
Looking around, we saw that everyone else had been washed ashore, and even ships had been washed ashore. Now, like the elves of yesteryear, we had passed through the icy green whirlpool and arrived at a deserted island.
I walked barefoot on the soft sand and saw a lush green forest in the distance, and even higher mountains in the distance. I could also vaguely see the houses that the elves had built in the mountains in the past, exactly the same as the ones I had seen in the strange landscape.
Back then, after the elves were brought to this hidden territory by the whirlpool, they thought they would never be able to leave. So they built houses here, introduced water from the freshwater lake in the center of the island into the villages they built, dug several wells, and brought back fruit seeds and edible plant seeds they found in the forest to build orchards, cultivate fields, and even build several ponds to raise fish. They often went hunting in the forest, and their lives were completely self-sufficient.
They built a simple palace, and not far from the palace was a tombstone to hold the queen's ashes.
They cremated the Queen on the spot and held a grand cremation ceremony.
"Where is this?"
My memories were suddenly interrupted as the black wolf appeared beside me without my noticing.
Its black fur was soaked, and it was dripping wet all over, looking quite disheveled. Of course, I was the same; besides being dripping wet, my long hair was sticky and plastered to my neck.
"Many years ago, didn't a group of people return to the Elven realm with your queen's golden crown?" I said. "They lived here for ten years, and your queen's ashes are buried here."
"How did you know?" Black Wolf asked.
"I saw it in my dream," I replied.
The black wolf glared at me, probably thinking I was toying with it, and wagged its tail and stormed off.
I suddenly began to doubt his age—I had always assumed he was in his thirties, a normal age for a king, but now it seemed perhaps not. He looked like a young man not yet twenty, impulsive, irritable, and somewhat naive.
I wandered around for a while, then followed the tribespeople into the lush green forest not far from the beach.
The flock of colorful long-tailed birds that came with their people have already settled in the forest.
The tribesmen quickly mounted their birds, leaving me standing alone.
Black Wolf couldn't take me with him this time. There weren't enough birds, and there were too many tribesmen. So this time, he could only ride a bird with another tribesman.
Forget it, I'll just walk. It'll be slower, but I'll get to my destination eventually. They must be going to that mountain, where there are houses left by our tribe from the past. I can also enjoy the scenery along the way.
The colorful birds took flight one after another, and countless colorful feathers fell down, making me feel as if I were standing in a rain of feathers.
A sea breeze blew, and a few colorful feathers drifted to my nose. I had just sneezed when a huge, seven-colored bird landed in front of me, and a cold, superior voice rang out, "Get on!"
—It was that arrogant uncle with his long, dark gray hair tied back, who was haughty and aloof.
I was stunned for a moment, then sneezed, and finally hurriedly got on his flying bird.
He stared at me coldly.
I sat behind him, deliberately keeping my distance.
He whispered something to the bird, and the bird soared into the sky, instantly reaching the very front of the flock. I gasped in surprise; its momentum was far greater than the bird I had ridden on in the Elf Realm. I almost fell off, only managing to catch up with him by grabbing his clothes.
As the bird flew faster and faster, the cold wind grew stronger and stronger. I was so winded that I couldn't open my eyes, and my body was extremely unsteady, swaying from side to side. I had no choice but to hug the man in front of me tightly around the waist, with my face pressed against his back, afraid that I would fall off.
I've never been this pathetic in my life!
Thankfully, he didn't leave me behind.
In the fierce, cold wind, the flock of birds quickly flew to the houses on the high mountain.
"Was this left behind by our people many years ago?" the uncle asked me as he dismounted from the bird.
"Yes." I briefly told him about the experiences of his tribe ten years ago. He listened carefully, and then walked over to a few older tribesmen and spoke to them.
A quarter of an hour later, an old tribesman with a white beard walked among the tribesmen and loudly instructed them to quickly tidy up so that they could rest in these houses that night. He also found some young and strong tribesmen and had them ride birds to carry away the items left on the beach and the ships at sea...
I was put into a tiny room, just big enough for one person to sleep in.
I'm very satisfied; I don't have to squeeze in with other people from my tribe.
Exhausted, I fell asleep before it got dark, sleeping directly on the floor with only a sheet on it.
As I drifted off to sleep, I had another dream, in which I saw my clansmen from many years ago in a strange landscape.
These people spent ten years becoming the masters of this island.
It was at this time that many members of the tribe began to miss their homes. They began searching for a way to return home, and after a long search, they finally found one.
When the warm winds at sea turn cold, and the ship sails into a rapid whirlpool, throw the gilded key in, and the ship will instantly return to the icy green sea.
After some twists and turns, when the people returned to the Elven Kingdom with the Queen's golden crown, they received an extremely warm welcome. The Queen's golden crown had always been something that kings coveted but could never obtain.
Gilded keys were also presented to the king as rare items.
The king knew the use of the key and wanted to visit the hidden secret island, but he died suddenly three years later and never made it.
At that time, the internal struggles within the royal family were intense, and he dared not easily leave the throne.
Because he died suddenly, he was unable to tell his son the secret of the gilded key.
Those clansmen from before, including their trusted maids, had sworn a solemn oath before the king never to reveal the secrets of the gilded key and the island, so they dared not tell the new king. Besides, the new king's position was secure, and it seemed he no longer needed this secret.
Many years later, all those clansmen from that time died, including their trusted maids. The secrets of the gilded key and the island were sealed away for a long time.
Later, the gilded key was deemed useless and was casually given by the new king to a nobleman, Eleanor's father.
Eleanor's father gave the key to Eleanor's mother, who then gave it to young Eleanor as a toy.
"I want your gilded key, and the peace charm that only the Queen's trusted handmaid knew when she escaped back then." I made this request when Eleanor asked me for help.
Eleanor was very surprised. "How did you know about the key and the peace charm?"
“The gilded key was a personal item of your queen a long time ago. I have a past relationship with her and want one of her old belongings,” I said.
Eleanor looked incredulous. "How could you possibly have a past relationship with the former queen?"
“It’s true that he and she have a past relationship,” I said.
“Alright, whatever you say.” Eleanor didn’t argue with me, but from her eyes I could tell that she thought I was a vain woman who thought that getting a piece of the Queen’s old belongings would make outsiders think that I had a connection with the royal family, so that I could show it off or do something to cheat people out of money.
Eleanor added, "The key is fine, but the peace charm is a bit difficult. The Queen's trusted handmaid is long dead, so it will be troublesome to inquire about it."
“I only need these two things,” I said.
“Okay, I’ll give it a try,” she sighed.
It is said that she eventually sold almost all of her jewelry before she could find out the truth from the descendant of her trusted maid's adopted daughter...
I had just dreamt of this place when I was startled awake by a burst of loud gongs and drums.
The drums and gongs beat rapidly, growing more and more urgent.
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Author's Note: Starting today, I'll be getting featured on the rankings for the next three days, so I'll be updating twice a day. There'll be another update later! Mwah!
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