The Devil's Cursed Witch

Leeora and Ember left for Ronan. When they entered the city, their arrival caught the attention of not only the local elves, but also the other residents and merchants along the way. For a small kingdom like Agartha, news travelled fast and it was easy to guess the significance of Ember's return to the elf city.

The people's reaction was something within Leeora's expectations, but the deeper they entered the city, the High Elder of the Wood Elves realized that even the tree spirits were looking restless.

'What's happening?'

Tree spirits were basically sentient plants with low intelligence. Unless their existences were directly threatened, they would not respond with this kind of agitation. They moved their branches around in a fluster, as if they were not happy or scared of something, causing the innocent bystanders in the streets to be alarmed.

Leeora could not think about why they were acting this way, and neither could the elves living within those trees. They all looked outside of their homes, some even coming out to see what happened, but then their attention would be shifted to the human girl passing by their homes.

"The High Elder returned with the human girl?"

"Isn't that girl supposed to be sent to the human villages?"

"Didn't you hear she underwent a test in the palace?"

"In the last council meeting, I heard that..."

"Oh? That happened? The King initiated a bond with her?"

"...then since she survived, doesn't that make her the King's mate?"

"The King's mate!"

All felt shocked when they realized the new identity of the human girl before them.  The fact she awakened means she survived the marking phase and was their King's mate...more precisely, she had become their Queen.

Amidst the whispers, Ember and Leeora reach the largest trees in the centermost part of the city where their residences were located. The sight of her house on the upper part of the tree made Ember's heart warm.

'I'm home. This is where I belong now.'

She climbed down from Lusca, and after saying thanks to the stag, she looked at her house with a pleasant smile. However, that smile faded. She didn't feel the welcome vibe from the tree spirit like how she felt all the time.

Leeora looked around once again and found the tree spirits growing more restless. Even the tree spirit of her own house was agitated.

'What is wrong with them?'

"You should head home first, dear. Something must have happened while we were away. I need to make a quick trip to see the other elders," Leeora said to Ember to which the girl nodded.

Leeora tapped her staff to instruct the tree spirit to lift Ember with its branches, but the tree spirit refused to listen. Ember was still on the ground.

Leeora was sure she had instructed the tree spirit to carry Ember, but then why...?

The High Elder issued a different order, and this time, the tree spirit obediently wrapped its branches around Leeora and put the elf in front of the door of her house. Leeora once again tapped her staff to instruct the tree spirit to carry Ember, but it simply didn't listen and instead its branches seemed to tremble.

"Ember?" Leeora called her from above. "Can you try communicating with your contracted tree spirit?"

Ember had already tried to, but the tree spirit didn't listen to her. Upon hearing Leeora, she once again placed her hand over the tree's rough bark and closed her eyes.

Whoosh!

It was as if the swinging branches above her were expressing panic, lashing around the air. She could not feel like she was connected to the tree spirit at all.

Ember looked up at Leeora. "Elder, the spirit isn't listening to me."

"High Elder!"

"The High Elder has returned!"

The weird behaviour of the tree spirits had caused some of their neighbours to also flock out in hopes of trying to understand the situation. This area was generally where the important figures among the Wood Elves lived, and many of them were elders only lower in status than Leeora.

Just then, one elf crossed the hanging bridge towards Leeora. "High Elder, these tree spirits are acting as if they're afraid of something. They're only growing more restless with each passing second."

"How long have they been like this?"

"I think...no more than half an hour ago?"

'The moment we arrived in the city?' Leeora had a pensive look as she studied Ember who was sad that the tree spirit didn't listen to her and she could not enter her house.

"Ember, can you take a step away from the tree?" Leeora asked.

Ember nodded and just as she took a step away, the lashing branches seemed to have calmed a bit, though the tree spirit still shook its branches restlessly. It didn't attack Ember but... it was as if it's gesturing for her to stay away.

The other elves saw it too, and one of the elders spoke up, "Elder, don't the tree spirits act like this only when there is fire? Isn't that the main reason why we don't use lamps and instead use sun orbs inside our houses?"

"Fire?" Leeora mumbled and then looked at Ember. Why did this word ring a bell suddenly?

'Lady Cornelia mentioned seeing the sign on the back of Ember's neck surrounded by fire. Even Sire mentioned fire was related to that woman in his dreams.'

Putting the clues together, Leeora had a conclusion.

'The mating bond must have triggered the power sleeping inside her. Her body's elemental constitution must be Fire. If that's the case, Ember can no longer stay in Ronan.'

Hit with the sudden discovery about Ember, Leeora stared at the human girl who was waiting at the base of the tree, looking disappointed and worried at how the spirit of her home was acting strangely.

"Ember, stay there," Leeora instructed and tapped her staff to instruct the tree spirit to bring her down to the ground.

Leeora knew she had to take Ember back to the palace but didn't know what the king would say or how he would react when he looked like he was eager to send Ember away from him.