I glanced at Ellhan, his serious expression, and the solemnity in his eyes. He wasn’t pulling my leg.

“A what?” I whispered, stunned.

“An elf, an elven crown princess, in fact, only heir to the elven kingdom.”

I was silent, this time, not because I was listening, but because I was stunned to silence.

Ellhan continued swiftly.

“She fell in love with a man. Not an elf, but a man. She only wanted him and his love for her. But she knew that, as a crown princess, the elven law wouldn’t allow it. So she gave him an elven name, hoping to cover the fact that he was one of the kind the elvish despised- the humans.

“At first, it worked, but they found out soon. The elves have powerful magic and it’s hard to fool them. Of course they found out.”

His voice was full of bitterness.

“They were angry, they wanted to kill me, but Ellyza and I ran away. We came to this island- the Forbidden Island, hoping to hide from the elven kingdom and live in our own world of love. That too, soon failed.”