HypnoBishoujoLand: An Elven Tradition

Harold opened one of the large, oaken double doors to the Elfland royal garden and held it open, holding out a hand to assist the dark-skinned beauty before him across the threshold. She giggled gratefully and accepted his hand as he guided her into the vast forest of trees planted within the mansion-sized greenhouse.

Harold brought her to a stop at a small patch of dirt toward the centre of the area and guided his beautiful young wife to a nearby bench to rest. He smiled and she smiled back. The two were so happy to finally be able to do this. Harold placed his hand on Isabelle's enlarged stomach and felt the baby kick within, eliciting loving smiles from the two.

It was a tradition in the Elven kingdom for the King and Queen to come to the royal garden during the Queen's pregnancy to plant a new life tree - a white oak or 'quercus alba' in elvish - in a designated spot within the garden. The exact seed was selected by having the queen place each one inside her mouth one at a time, until the baby kicked, a sign that the seed resonated with the baby, and would therefore stand as the baby's guardian tree.

Once Isabelle had rested up, Harold offered his arm and his wife accepted. He guided her to the spot, where a trowel and name plate for the child lay waiting. The sun shone brilliantly on the exact spot, as if fate itself were guiding them. Harold and Isabelle lowered themselves to the ground and Harold placed the trowel in his wife's hand. Smiling appreciatively, Isabelle began digging. However, as this tradition required the mother to be eight months pregnant, Isabelle needed to use her free hand to support her stomach and as such, could not drive the trowel into the earth very far. Seeing this, Harold put his arm around his wife and put his other hand on hers, the two then digging into the earth together.

Once they had dug the hole sufficiently, Harold removed the beige, marble-sized seed from his pocket and placed it in the hole. Isabelle was able to bury the seed on her own and Harold could not help but be entranced by his wife's smiling face as she did so.

Isabelle was a dark elf, meaning she had dark, almost ebony skin. Elves being the traditional race they were, there were those within the court, whom claimed to wish only for traditional ideals to prevail, had fought against Harold choosing her as his queen. It had been a long, hard battle and Harold had almost abdicated the throne entirely as a result. But seeing her now, her blue eyes so happy and full of life as she planted their daughter's life tree, he knew it was all worth it, that the adversity and opposition he had faced in his decision, had been nothing before the love he shared with this beautiful woman before him. She noticed his staring and flashed a warm smile. He ran his fingers through her long, delicate silver hair and kissed her. She kissed him in return. The two stayed there a while, exchanging no words but understanding each other as if they were one being.

The purpose of the life tree was to select the heir in the event of multiple children. Ancient elves had always thought the idea of choosing one's heir based on age to be foolish. Instead, they had chosen to use quercus alba trees - the plant most in-tune with nature - to decide. The trees represented the strength of the children's rules, and the one that grew tallest and strongest by the king and queen's deaths or abdication, would represent the strongest rule and the best choice for the heir.

Isabelle looked down at the nameplate in front of the planted seed and smiled as she rubbed her belly. The name meant strong-willed and determined, as she was sure her daughter would become. She had no idea what she was in for as she read the name on the plate.

"Katia Gravetree I."