"So what exactly does the burning of my home have to do with nobles acquiring blue horn wives? Was that before or after the fact? Firion calmly asked.
Derek Moonspeaker pushed back his monocles once more. "I apologize on the behalf of the other dukes, even though I myself never participated, they essentially used the tragedy that befell the Auriel providence as collateral to broker a deal with Mycean based on what spies that live in Eurelca have determined."
The forest elf glared at him. "So they took advantage of a tragedy to benefit themselves!?!?"
In careful detail the duke explained that the nobles of Aldenburg essentially used the destruction of a neighboring Jade Forest to confirm the theories about deva women. Duke Alfore was the first one to test it out apparently, as he has always been a elf obsessed about conquest, he wanted to try to see if his heart could be swayed that easily. Apparently the following winter, after being betrothed a blue horn named Rhea, his dukedom was blessed with triplets; with the mana bloom test confirming what they theorized. After that the highborn requested in compensation for the burning of Auriel that the Mycean counsel provide them with more women, but they only gave the children that have no intended futures, or spares.
Spares, are deva girls born outside of wedlock, as such, as such they are treated throughout their whole lives as a burden conceived out of desire rather than love. However, after taking the girls to a elven monastery they were instead raised with the upmost care and provided a modest education. In actuality, they are not truly forced to marry anyone, but when a deva woman reaches a certain age she must either find a mate or segregate away from males, otherwise, if her "needs" are not met after a certain amount of regular interaction with a "specific" male her own heat cycle might kill her.
The duke detailed many other things in his explanation, but then he did something that bewildered the forest elf.
"Firion...I am sorry...from the bottom of my heart. The way your people were treated, to the highborn taking collateral for a tragedy that befell your clan to further themselves. This is why I took the time and liberty to come help you, because your really the one who should be compensated, so I withdrew your military stipend and I secured the necessary documentation for you to emigrate to Eurelca with you lover without drawing skepticism." Derek humbly apologized once more, by graciously bowing his head.
Firion's eyes then changed, they went from clear distrust to abashed; from Kaida's horns she could tell it was a similar feeling of realization comparable to when they first met.
Derek lifted his sleeve and pulled out something that made a slight jingling noise. It resembled a stack of coins with a rope running through them like a necklace, he also had some papers. "When you depart Junai your gonna need this type of currency of where you will be heading, and one of these papers is a voucher for ship ride to Izunai which is the name of the providence of where it will take you as they are the only ones crossing right now who accept refugees with their vessels, that is when you provide them with the right papers....Which brings us to these papers! One is a marriage license, some are your internal records, and the rest are forgeries for the girl if anyone inquires about her."
The forest elf paused looking at one of the documents the duke brought, it was a unique envelope that was made from olive paper, which was mainly used by his people.
Inside of it was his Druidism records including the names of his parents and older sister who perished centuries ago. The other papers were forged documents about Kaida so she could travel without arousing suspicion about her origins.
Firion exhaled carefully, his expression is now much more serene compared to how tense he was earlier. He did not look angry, his eyes were soft but no words were coming out; however, his wife's horns were slowly picking apart his reaction: joy, disbelief, and a sense of remorse.
Derek then turned his attention to Kaida and offered, "My lady, would you care to learn more about your history? I even have information concerning your father. Though if your worried such knowledge might challenge your fortitude you may choose to decline."
She paused for a moment and turned to her elf husband.
"You have a right to know Kaida. Whatever it may be, I will always stand with you!" He firmly reassured her.
He softly clenched her hand, and she turned back to Derek Moonspeaker.
"What is it that you know about me? You mentioned something about Min-ari? And Royalty?" Suddenly she had a storm of questions!
The duke was actually quite intimidated by this girl's bold personality! Demanding to know so many things at once!
He held up his hands in defense and pleaded, "Please calm down young lady! Allow me to explain how you ended up in this situation. First I will tell you the meaning of that name you hear...Min-ari, that is it actually means "royal blood" and they were an ancient fae family descended from the "first children" and they were known for having bright red hair."
Suddenly, after sitting quietly for so long, almost as is if she was ignoring most of the drama going on in the room...Nkiri finally starting speaking! "What he is telling you my dear is that your family is directly linked to one of the first fae settlers. The founding families that started all clans, even I and Nafula are in a similar position, and because we chose yumboes, or "elves" in your language, as our husbands it sealed our fate as an ancient deva clan that will be extinct after we loose ourselves to time. The same thing essentially is your fate my dear."
The oracle's words of honesty caused the red-haired maiden to pause maturely.