Chapter 1: The Last Night

This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, events, and settings are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or real events is purely coincidental.

The story, "My Bride from the Elf's Forest", is an original creation by the author and is not affiliated with or derived from any existing copyrighted work. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this material without permission is prohibited.

Prologue:

The world is not kind to those who are different.

That’s what Yuta had learned. Not in one day. Not in one moment. But in the slow grind of everyday life—the whispers behind his back, the way people turned their eyes away, and the hollow silence that followed him everywhere he went.

He wasn’t born a monster. He wasn’t even mean. But one accident when he was a child left a burn across his face and down his left arm. Since then, people stopped seeing him—they only saw the scars.

It started with glances. Then whispers. Then outright cruelty.

“Freak.”

“Don’t touch him.”

“Did you see his face?”

“Cursed.”

He stopped trying to talk to people. Stopped trying to smile. Eventually, even teachers gave up on calling his name in class.

At seventeen, he lived in silence.

And silence can destroy a person more slowly than any blade.

Chapter 1: The Last Night

The storm rolled in like a beast on the hunt.

Yuta sat in his room, watching the rain blur the world outside his window. Lightning lit up the sky in flashes. He could hear the distant rumble of thunder, like the sky was slowly tearing open.

No one knocked on his door. No one asked where he was.

His parents had long since stopped checking on him. He lived like a ghost in their home—silent meals, closed doors, unanswered questions. His presence was more burden than bond.

Tonight was different.

Tonight, he had made up his mind.

He stood up, grabbing the school rope he had taken weeks ago. He tucked it under his hoodie and left without making a sound. The clock on the wall read 11:48 PM.

The forest behind the school was ancient and dense, full of twisted trees and rumors. No one went there anymore, not even for dares. At its heart stood a massive tree, older than anything in the town—its bark blackened, its roots spread like claws.

They called it the Thousand-Year Tree.

Yuta had always felt drawn to it. It stood alone, just like him. A relic the world had forgotten.

He reached the tree just as the rain thickened. Drops hit his face like cold needles. His shoes squelched in the mud as he looked up.

“Guess this is it,” he whispered to no one.

He tied the rope to a low-hanging branch, his fingers shaking. Not from fear. Just from the cold.

He stood beneath the noose, looking up at the sky.

Lightning flashed again, so close it turned the world white for a heartbeat.

Boom.

His heart pounded. His legs trembled.

And still—he didn’t move.

He closed his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered to the night.

The rope slid around his neck.

Then—

CRACK.

A sound like the heavens ripping in two. But it wasn’t thunder.

Yuta’s eyes flew open.

The tree… glowed.

Not from the lightning. From within.

Golden lines lit up along the bark, pulsing like veins. A circle of strange symbols formed at his feet. The wind rose in a spiral, lifting the leaves, the rain, and Yuta himself into the air.

“What—?!”

He couldn’t scream.

The light consumed him.

And then—

Silence.

---

When Yuta opened his eyes again, the storm was gone.

He lay on soft grass that shimmered faintly under a silver moon. The air smelled like flowers and morning dew. Strange blue leaves rustled gently above him.

“Am I… dead?” he whispered.

“No,” a soft voice answered.

He turned his head. A girl knelt beside him—tall, graceful, with long white hair and glowing violet eyes. Her skin glowed faintly under the moonlight, and her pointed ears twitched slightly.

She wasn’t human.

“You’re safe,” she said, brushing his wet hair back. “Can you speak?”

“...Who are you?”

“My name is Elira,” she said. “I found you unconscious near the Spirit Tree.”

“Where… am I?”

Her expression softened. “You’re far from where you were.”

Yuta’s eyelids grew heavy again. He tried to fight it, but the warmth of her voice, the safety of the forest, and the pull of exhaustion dragged him back under.

---

He awoke again to birdsong and warm sunlight.

This time, he wasn’t outside. He was in a small wooden house, covered in soft blankets. The bed was carved with vines and symbols. A window let in beams of golden light.

He sat up slowly, clutching his aching head.

The door opened.

Elira stepped in with a bowl of water and a cloth.

“You’re awake,” she smiled. “You were burning with fever when I found you.”

Yuta stared at her. “You… brought me here?”

“I couldn’t leave you out there,” she said simply. “You were alone. And injured.”

He glanced around. “This… this isn’t Earth, is it?”

She shook her head. “No. This is Eldaria. Land of the Elves.”

Yuta stared at his hands.

“I should have died,” he said.

“But you didn’t,” she replied gently. “The forest must have chosen you.”

Before he could respond, a loud knock came at the door.

Elira tensed.

Outside, voices murmured. She cracked the door open. An elderly elf with silver braids and a wooden staff stood outside, surrounded by curious villagers.

“Elira,” he said solemnly. “You know the law.”

“What law?” Yuta asked weakly.

The elder’s eyes fell on him. “He spent the night in your home?”

“Yes,” Elira answered cautiously.

“With no ceremony? No announcement?”

She paused.

Yuta saw her panic.

Then she said, “We… we are already married.”

The room went still.

Yuta’s breath caught.

The elder raised an eyebrow. “Is that true?”

“Yes. We married two days ago, in the forest,” she said quickly. “He is my husband.”

The elder gave her a long look.

Then nodded.

“Very well. We welcome your bond.”

They left as quickly as they had come.

Elira closed the door and leaned against it with a sigh.

Yuta finally found his voice. “Why… did you lie?”

“There’s an ancient rule,” she said. “If an unmarried man and woman spend the night under the same roof, they must be wed. If I hadn’t said that… they would have driven you out.”

Yuta looked down at his hands.

He didn’t know what he felt.

Shock. Confusion. Maybe something like… relief?

No one had ever protected him before.

“Now what?” he asked softly.

She met his eyes.

“Now… we have to act like a married couple.”

—

To be Continued….

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