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My shoulders slumped, and a small smile crossed my face. “Of course. In the beginning, the war changed our society for the worse. People were no longer safe in their own homes, and the world became a far more dangerous place.”
He leaned forward, and his golden hair fell into his face. “How so? Most Midarian soldiers survived the war.”
Unlike the Elvish forces, who were the primary force in the war, we only brought in the Midarians as support near the end. As a result, we weren’t nearly as decimated as the Elves. Neither were the other races. The Elves saw it as their duty to protect the other races, and they paid the heaviest price.
I sipped on my tea. “Yes, still a significant number of healers and soldiers didn’t return home. We are a small race, and every life is important. And the ones that did brought diseases back with them that killed them or their families.” I looked down at my hands. “There’s also the trauma of what they saw and did during the war. The things that they had to do to survive.”
“It was the same for us, but on a much larger scale,” Prince Maedras said. “We had to do things that we never thought were possible, and we lost so many good people. Entire Houses wiped out.”
“The famine was the worst part,” I said quietly. “The people starved to death because of the lack of food. Our population is still recovering from that.”
A gasp escaped his lips. I had never seen someone look so shocked.
“It’s not something we like to talk about.” Gently, I set my cup down. “It’s a dark part of our history, but it’s something that we have to remember. We need to understand each other’s pain. We’ve both been through a lot, and I think that’s why we’re so similar.”
His brow furrowed. “Why didn’t you ask for help?”
“We did.” I smiled sadly. “You were so consumed by your grief that our pleas for help fell on deaf ears. The other races didn’t have enough food to share, and they were too busy rebuilding their own homes. You had the resources of the entire continent at your disposal. We didn’t have that luxury.” My eyes hardened. “Only the Werewolves, our enemies, tried to help us. But by then it was too late, and most of the damage had been done. If it wasn’t for the Werewolves, things would have been worse.”
The word Werewolves made him stiffen, and I knew I said the wrong thing. “I’m sorry,” I blurted out. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
I didn’t mean to upset him. But I knew there was a possibility he would react like that. A Midarian wife instead of a Halfling, Dryad, or Naga wife was chosen for a reason. The Elves distrusted our relations with the Werewolves. And now he knew why we were on good terms with them. Because of the Aeglire and the Mentom’s failure.
His expression turned gloomy. “It’s not your fault,” he said in a low voice. “It’s just a sensitive subject for me.”
I nodded my head in understanding. They beheaded his grandfather and many of his friends died during the war. His hatred for the Werewolves was understandable.
“This war changed our culture and society forever. The nobility didn’t just rule over the people, they protected us. Most of them died in the war. And the people were left to fend for themselves. We’ve been trying to rebuild since then. We helped each other to survive.”
He leaned back in his chair. “It must have been hard for you.”
I nodded. “That’s why I focused on the common people. The old power structures don’t exist anymore. Midar has changed.”
And not only us. This war changed all the races. The old ways of thinking have been shattered. Only the Elves are still clinging to their old ways.
“Your actions make more sense to me now. Thank you for telling me this. I understand you better now.” There’s a note of pain in his voice, almost like he pitied me.
I pulled my scarf closer to me. “I wish we could have avoided all this pain and miscommunication.”
He stiffened. “We can’t change the past. We can only learn from it and move forward.”
“I don’t trust you,” I said, and he looked up at me in surprise. “I know you’re hiding things from me, and that makes me distrust you. Our people have been through too much to be betrayed again.”
His eyes turned bright. “I’m not hiding anything from you. I have my secrets, as do you.”
A bitter laugh escaped my lips. “And that’s why we can’t trust each other. We’re both hiding things.”
“I think we can learn to trust each other more than we think.”
I wasn’t so sure. That amount of trust would take time. Time we might not have. Our differences were too great. We came from two different cultures, two different worlds. He was the Prince of Elves, and I was a humble daughter of Midar. We were worlds apart.
He was watching me intently, his eyes boring into mine. As if he was trying to read my mind. I glanced away, not wanting him to see the conflict within me.
I didn’t know if I could trust him, but I had to try. “To create this trust, we need to be open to each other. How can we become allies if we don’t speak openly and honestly to each other? We don’t need to reveal our secrets to each other, but trust doesn’t appear. It’s something we need to work on.”
“We need to be honest with each other if we want to create trust.” His voice was quiet, but insistent.
“You’ve aired your grievances to me and now I wish to do the same,” I said and he flinched. “You claim to want to help the common people, but you’re more interested in power. You care about your position and your status. And that’s why I don’t trust you.”
