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3- Like a shooting star

Mrs. Flosies' sobbing, bowing down with the corpse of the elf in front of her with their newborn son, began to shed inconsolable tears, and she could only think of how she was going to deliver such a tragic news to the man who was waiting to see his newborn son outside the palace.

Gathering courage after shedding a lot of tears, she takes the baby in her arms and carries him to the main door where Pelfsen eagerly awaits. Flosies quickly walks down the corridor and hands the child to his father, congratulates him, and leaves the palace in despair. Pelfsen, overflowing with joy for his child, suspects the old woman's behavior and notices that once she leaves the royal palace, she sits hiding her gaze near one of the fountains. He approaches her with his son in his arms.

"Good day, kind old lady. Is everything alright?"

"Um… well… not entirely."

"What's wrong?" Pelfsen asks, puzzled.

"She told me… that his name will be Deniels."

"Deniels? Well, it's debatable but… is that the bad news? Seriously?"

"She also told me…"

"What did she tell you?"

"She told me to help you endure… the grief… of his loss."

"What!?"

"She bled to death, Pelfsen. I'm sorry, I did everything I could to help her."

"It can't be!" the elf says, deeply hurt. "I need to see her! Take Deniels!"

Once he leaves the child in the old woman's arms, he starts running desperately towards the palace, pushing aside the guard who was guarding the door, and enters the palace in a frenzy. He didn't know exactly where to go, and the guard was chasing after him. On the side, he sees a slightly open door and heads straight for it. Once inside, he sees her.

Her body lies on a rather humble bed, her arms still seeming to lovingly embrace the little one she had managed to hold in her hands during the last moments of her life. With desperation, he lets out a cry of pain and anger, while embracing the corpse of his deceased and beloved wife, who had accompanied him through difficult and beautiful moments over the years; with whom he had planned a lot of goals and projects together and had eagerly wished to have a child together.

This whole situation fills him with immense pain. The guard reaches the door and grabs the man by the shoulders, pulling him away from his wife's corpse. Distraught, he tries to break free from the guard, but he overpowers him with his weapon and forces him out into the corridor.

Between screams and cries of fury, Pelfsen made a few nobles leave their rooms, and as he approached the door, the King, slightly drunk from the county festivities, arrived and asked the Guard what on earth was happening.

"Good afternoon, Your Majesty. I apologize for the commotion in your chambers. This man rushed into the gardeners' room after I allowed Flosies to enter with a newly born woman who was bleeding. The gardener came out a couple of minutes later with this man who supposedly is the father of the baby, but I did not allow him entry, so old Flosies went to get her son and brought him to meet him. However, his wife had died, and it seems Flosies told him this outside, so this man attacked me and forcefully entered the palace."

"Soldier, I have a question."

"Tell me, sir."

"Do you know what would have happened if I were in this man's shoes?"

"No… Sir…"

"Your head would have been cut off."

Everyone falls into a long silence, the guard becomes frightened and loosens his grip on Pelfsen.

The king summons the gardener Flosies and tells Pelfsen,

"Where is your wife?"

"In that room, Your Majesty," Pelfsen responds between sobs as he points.

"Come with me, let's see what happened."

The king enters the gardeners' room with Pelfsen, and Pelfsen immediately embraces his wife's lifeless body in his arms and cries inconsolably. After a few minutes, the gardener arrives, to whom the king is going to ask several questions.

"Tell me, Flosies, what happened here? I've been told that you had something to do with it."

"Yes, Your Majesty. I heard this woman complaining near the palace while I was pruning some branches. I approached her and realized she was about to give birth. I helped her in that complicated situation, using the knowledge I acquired from my grandfather. She gave birth outside the palace, but her bleeding was constant, so I dared to bring her here with the consent of the guard. While I attended to her and tried to stop the bleeding, I asked her about the father of the child, who, according to her, was in the forest collecting plants for his wife's childbirth. I went to search for him, and when I returned, the guard only allowed me to enter. As I approached the room, the elf was in terrible condition, and despite my attempts to help her and stop the bleeding with an ancient recipe, it was too late, and I couldn't save her, Your Majesty."

"I see… I see… Guards! Prepare a proper funeral for this woman," the King says as he embraces the sobbing man.

For a couple of hours, they prepare everything and search for a beautifully decorated coffin with various branches and small carved details in wood to place the body of the young elf inside. They prepare the whole ceremony, and in five days, according to tradition, the burial of said elf would take place near the palace, a virtue granted by the king after hearing both sides and being touched by the story unfolding in his palace. Thus, they proceed to call all the relatives of the elf and make all the necessary preparations for the honorable funeral allowed by the Elf King.

During those five days, Pelfsen remained in a state of deep mourning, hardly leaving his wife's side. He spent hours sitting next to her coffin, reminiscing about their love, their dreams, and the future they had planned together. Grief was etched onto his face, and the pain in his heart seemed unbearable.

On the day of the funeral, the palace was adorned with flowers, and the air was heavy with sorrow. Elves from all around the kingdom had gathered to pay their respects to the young elf who had met such a tragic end. The ceremony was somber yet filled with a sense of unity and support for Pelfsen, who stood at the front, his eyes swollen from crying.

As the coffin was slowly lowered into the ground, Pelfsen's heart ached with the finality of it all. He couldn't bear the thought of never seeing his beloved wife again, of never hearing her laughter or feeling her warm embrace. The weight of the loss pressed against him, threatening to overwhelm him once more.

But in the midst of his despair, Pelfsen felt a tiny hand slip into his. He looked down and saw Deniels, their newborn son, gazing up at him with innocent eyes. The sight of his child, a living reminder of the love he shared with his wife, gave Pelfsen a glimmer of hope.

In that moment, Pelfsen made a promise to himself and his son. He vowed to be the best father he could be, to honor his wife's memory by raising Deniels with love, kindness, and the bright spirit she had possessed. Though the pain of her loss would always remain, Pelfsen found solace in the new life he held in his arms.

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