“Grandma, can you tell me that story again?”
“What story, my dear?”
“The story about the enchantress who fell in love with a human.”
“I will, but you need to promise me that you will sleep after this. Okay?”
A kid around five years old nodded in response and pulled the comforter closer to his face. His grandma then started.
“Sometime long ago, there was a land called Tantuphyl. It was no ordinary land for many creatures that you can imagine living there. Elves, Fairies, Dwarves, Mermaids, Witches, and even Vampires and Werewolves settled there. And there are still a lot more. The land is magnificent and magical. Everyone is in harmony and at peace. Whenever there’s danger, the guardians of the land will take care of it.
The Witherbell twins have the blood of an elf mixed with a phoenix. They are the chosen guardians of the land. They work under the direct order of the deity. The Priestess possesses a divinity power that balances the world. And the Enchantress is the protector. They were given the power and responsibility to protect and not to destroy. They lived for about ten thousand years and watched the changes in the world.
It is said that humans won’t survive that long in that land. Their body wouldn’t be able to handle the magic energy emitting from the land because humans naturally don’t control magic. So, if a human is found on that land, he will be able to stay on that land only for a year.”
“A human!” the guard rang the bell as much as he could to inform the guardians. It is a new event where a human is able to enter the land of Tantuphyl. They captured the human, luckily, he didn’t fight back, and dragged him inside the dungeon. A meeting of the leaders was then held about letting the human go or executing him.
“Having a human in the land of Tantuphyl would disrupt the balance and peace we were maintaining. He would only cause trouble.” said the leader of the witch coven. Witches were said to be mysterious and their eyes saw everything.
“Perhaps killing him would be the best choice. I could do that job for you, My Priestess.” said the king of Vampires. He is a notorious killing machine. All of his people are. But after they make a bet with the deity, they lose and promise to be civil with the others.
“You only wanted to include him in your appetite.” said one of the greatest blacksmiths in the land. King of Dwarves. He said it under his breath, but Vampires have a great sense of hearing and gave him a hypnotic stare. His red eyes were turning much redder, his fangs were out, and he was ready to lunge at him anytime. Vampires are natural predators. And their mutual enemy is the wolves. So, he is angered when the Alpha starts growling at him.
They were stopped by the Enchantress making a barrier in front of them. The other officials stood still, anticipating this would happen since the bickering was their greeting in all of the gatherings they were present.
“If a human knows how to come here, we may be in danger. I don’t want another war to come and involve my people. What we have experienced before is enough. We’ve decided to live in this land because the Priestess said that this place is guided by the deity and is the safest. Priestess? I believe you will keep the promise.” said the King of Elves. He is as majestic as ever. Elves move with grace and most of their race are great fighters.
The promise. That is the reason for the creatures live in the land of Tantuphyl. The promise was to keep the safety of them all from humans because they were once slaves of their greediness. Trusting them would be outside of their choices.
“A promise is a promise and I gave you my word. I will surely ensure the safety of the people in this land when that time comes. But we will ask him first for reasons and his way of coming here. My sister will be in charge of his interrogation. And if he appears innocent, I will help him get back to his world.” said the Priestess with an authoritative voice. She looked fierce, elegant, and full of wisdom. She has uncommon strength, perfect for a leader.
The Enchantress questioned the human and found out that he was able to enter the land because of an artifact. The artifact is an amulet with a two-headed phoenix carved in the middle. The Witches’ leader recognized the amulet and believed it was the artifact belonging to the previous leader that was stolen when she traveled in the human world.
The human was confirmed that he brings no harm to their world. He was simply curious and wanted to know if the urban legends are true. Now that he knew, he wanted to observe them and learn their ways of living. He pleaded and asked the Priestess if he could stay for a while and then he would go back immediately after doing his purpose. The Priestess agreed despite the opposing sounds coming from the other leaders. He could stay for a hundred days under the watch of the Enchantress. The humans seemed satisfied with his stay even if others were still reluctant toward him. The Enchantress takes a liking to the human and then falls in love.
The day the human went back was when the Enchantress decided to go with him. She wanted to see his world and hoped for a chance that somewhere in that world they could coexist. Everyone disapproved of the idea but she was determined to go. And no one can stop her from leaving.
When they arrived at someplace in the human world, they were ambushed. The attackers had no signs of winning and she was protecting the human she loved. But as he was behind her, it was his opportunity to stab her in the chest. The Enchantress can’t be harmed except for her weakness. And the dagger that was used to stab her was made from that. A blue jade. She was captured and delivered to the king where her heart was taken.
“The Enchantress loses her power and becomes a mortal. Her eternal life is no more and has only a hundred years to live. If her heart is not retrieved, she will disappear into nothingness with no chance of reincarnation. The king abused and enslaved her for personal gain. She was suffering and in distress because of the sudden betrayal from the one she loved. It is said that she is still in the hands of the descendants of the king, waiting for someone to save her.”
“Grandma, I want to save the Enchantress.”
“Of course! You can. When you are old enough,” she kissed her forehead and said goodnight.”

He woke up with a groan. His body is tired, his head feels like it’s going to explode, and nausea.
“Ugh! Damn headache.” he grabbed the glass of water on his bedside table. There’s a note and medicine beside it.
‘For your hangover,’ it says.
Oh! Right. Maybe he shouldn’t have gone to that club and let them drug his drink. Many have known him for being possessive and merciless and everyone who will look in his eyes can see how remorseless he is. Ladies find him alluring but dangerous except for his handsome face and gorgeous body. After all, he is Alexander Genovese, the new leader of the mafia family. They ranked one of all organizations in the world. But what happened to him is very odd if you think about it. He shouldn't have let his guard down if it had not been because of that mysterious woman. He was thankful Harvin was there and the transaction was successful.
He got up and took a shower. Water trickled down his face as he tried to remember what happened last night. He remembered they were in a private room but the dancefloor was viewable. He is there to go along with the daughter of a known assassin and a leader of a group and she’s more of a reveler. He couldn’t keep up with what she was saying. More like, he’s not interested. He just sat there while looking at the people dancing. Then a person caught his attention. She is not dancing. Rather, she was just standing there accompanying someone. Black hair, golden brown eyes, sharp nose, and plump lips. While looking at those lips, he touched his and wondered what it would feel like when their lips locked. Then the woman beside him, whom he forgot for a minute while fantasying about another woman, gave him a drink. After that, his memory got fuzzy. Suddenly, he felt his head was light and everything was so bright, making him drowsy. And Harvin rescued him. He didn’t remember what happened to the woman he was ‘observing’. Who is that woman that excites him? He questioned.