Puberty Cinderella

On the day of Samhain, a stranger came to the village.

She crossed the mountains and came to this isolated small mountain village. She only brought an old horse with luggage and a long sword that never left her. At the moment, she was talking to the village elders at the village chief's house.The children huddled together outside the window, craning their necks and standing on tiptoes to see what was going on.

This is an ordinary mountain village that can be seen everywhere, and there is no news all year round, but recently there have been a series of thefts.At first, it was just farmers living on the outskirts of the village who complained about the lack of chickens they raised. Everyone thought it was the foxes in the mountains who took them away, and they would be fine after locking the door of the chicken coop at night; The food on the table and even the roof tiles were stolen one after another; a peasant woman just stared blankly for a while while sewing, and the embroidery needle she was holding in her hand disappeared along with the thread.Although what was stolen was not a valuable item, it was enough to become a topic of discussion for every household in this peaceful mountain village where no major incidents have occurred in 800 years.

"It's all ghosts and ghosts," said the oldest mother-in-law in the village. "I've said it a long time ago. There are ancient tombs left by elves under the mound in the valley. Those elves who died in the war have always been right We have resentment in our hearts, we have all turned into ghosts, and we are thinking about revenge. Be careful about your children, maybe one day if you are not careful, they will steal them."

The young people in the village scoffed at her claims, but the stranger seemed interested and pressed her for more details.So the mother-in-law went on to tell a story she heard when she was young:

"That was a long time ago, when I was a girl. It wasn't like now, when young people were still very afraid of ghosts. You see, our valley here is surrounded by high mountains, and the grass can't get the sun. , can’t grow too high, but the weeds on the mound are very strong, and they are green all year round. There is a circle of stones around the mound. Although the grass inside is delicious, no animal dares to step into the stone circle. Yes. Even in winter, when the grass dries up in other places. It is often said that on a clear day, a faint sound of drumming and noise can be heard from there, as if a large number of people gathered to celebrate The same, but when I got closer, there was no one on the mound. For these reasons, the villagers avoided it, and they would never go near it unless it was absolutely necessary.

"At that time, there was a shepherd in the village who didn't believe in evil. It was also a Samhain festival, and the frost-beaten grass was hard and sparse. The shepherd led the sheep to the edge of the mound and drove them in with a whip. But Ignoring the whip that fell on him, the sheep ran away bleating and bleating as soon as they reached the stone pen, and disappeared into the woods. If you want me to say, these sheep are much smarter than him. The shepherd searched around for a long time and found nothing. After recovering the sheep, he was angry and annoyed, so he ran to the mound and cursed, spat on the mound, and kicked a few times. At this moment, a small door appeared in front of him. , revealing a section of stairs leading to the ground, and the laughter of people came from inside. He was also very courageous, got into the door and walked down the stairs without even a torch. After climbing for some time, he came to a garden and suddenly saw Cheerful. Although he should have reached a deep place underground at this time, the garden is sunny and full of flowers. Many elf men and women in ancient costumes with pointy ears stroll and rest in it. He talks to them, but they seem As if he couldn’t see him, he talked to himself in a language he didn’t understand. Until then, the shepherd felt that he might have seen a ghost, and couldn’t help being frightened. He ran back to the ground along the stairs as if lost his soul, and kept going I didn't dare to look back until I ran out of the circle of boundary stones, but the mound was still there, and there were no arches or steps at all.

"The shepherd went back to the village in a trance, and since then he has been in a state of depression, lying in bed all day without eating or drinking, and asking him nothing. At that time, my father was the head of the village. I called several doctors to see him, but he didn't see anything. What was wrong with him. We heard about the experience from him when he recovered gradually. Little John should know about it, because the shepherd in the story is his uncle."

The children eavesdropping outside the window laughed and pushed a chubby little boy to ask him if it was true.Little John blushed and ran away without a word, and the children chased him away.

The mayor threw a log into the fireplace, cleared his throat, and said, "That's the way it is, my lord. I hope you've got the information you need."

"Yes, thank you." The stranger straightened his frayed sword belt and stood up. "By the way, there is one last thing. Where is this mound of dirt?"

Under the guidance of the villagers, Ella walked towards the road leading to the valley.The horse sprained its hoof when it came and was recuperating in the stable of the village chief's house. Ella had to carry her bag and walk on the dirt road with one foot deep and one foot shallow.

What a cunning woman, Ella thought, Niyaf could turn into the wind, travel thousands of miles, go wherever she wanted, and she had only two feet.

Fortunately, after several years of trekking, she is used to any kind of terrain.

During the 20 years of sitting on the throne of the Elven Kingdom, she learned how to govern the country with the help of the ministers, while looking for a suitable successor.Her rule can be said to be without merit, away from the disputes among humans, the elf country is peaceful and developing steadily.Just like when Niyaf was in power, dignitaries from various countries sent envoys to propose marriage to her, but they were all rejected one by one.When it comes to difficult suitors, she will send them to complete impossible tasks.

Perhaps because of the blessing of elf blood, time passed very slowly on her body.Until shortly before she embarked on the journey, she was still growing in size without sound.Until one day, when she went back to the bedroom and took out the robe that Niyaf wore from the closet, and wanted to hug her to sleep as usual, she realized that she was tall enough to wear it.

Vivienne and Camilla visited her at the Winter Palace with their children, the oldest girl already older than when she left home.The slender waists of the step-sisters are getting plump day by day, and the wrinkles have also climbed up the corners of the eyes. They have changed from the frivolity of the girls in the past, and they seem to be independent women.Aila thought, 20 years have passed, the sapling has grown into a big tree, and the girl has become a young woman; the migratory birds fly to the south and back [-] times, and each migration is accompanied by new life and death; Yet?What about her?

So Ella hands the crown to Owen's son, a teenager as precocious as his father but less brooding.She put on leather armor, carried a long sword, and set off on a spring morning when the snow was melting.

Over the years, she has visited elven ruins all over the world, leaving her footprints from the tundra to the archipelago.She met Caitlin, the local guard captain on an island, patrolling the village with her red-haired daughter on her back.Like all humans of her age, Caitlin was no longer young, and when talking about the past in the barracks, she only sighed.

Several times, among the remains left by the elves, there would be a solitary flower on a marble tile, or a poem in Elvish inscribed on it.She didn't know if it was Niyaf or some elf who came to commemorate the glory of the past, but these clues convinced her that she was approaching the end of the journey.

At the end of the path is what the old man called a mound.Outside the boundary stone, dead branches and fallen leaves are scattered on the soil, and every autumn wind will blow down more fallen leaves; but the grass is still green inside the stone circle, as if it is still in midsummer.

Ella stepped over the stone.Please, let me see her, she prayed silently in her heart.

Suddenly, the mountain wind was strong, and the forest made a sound like waves, rolling up the dead leaves all over the sky.The mound opened wide, revealing a flight of steps down, inviting her to enter.

Ella walked down the spiral steps, and the light at the entrance was no longer visible, as if the hole was closed again.But one step further, the light suddenly brightened, and the garden of her dreams appeared before her eyes.Stone pillars, gazebos, small flowers on vines, and fountain statues with their heads cut off, these familiar and unfamiliar scenes appeared one by one, which made her feel extremely surprised and nostalgic.

Ghosts of the ancient elves wandered indifferently, but she was not afraid of them.In the distance, at the foot of a towering old tree, a group of ghosts gathered around a small bonfire, dancing as if they were alive.

Niyaf was sitting under the tree, holding embroidery needles lost by the villagers, and was sewing a skirt.Ella's heart clenched, for fear that she too would become a ghost.But as she approached, Niyaf looked up, her eyes widening in surprise.

Ella looked at those green eyes that were still green, and couldn't tell if she had changed.But she was quite sure that even if Niyaf had gray hair and was as old as the mother-in-law in the village, she could recognize her from the crowd at a glance.

Niyaf smiled at her. "Welcome to Tierna Nug."

"'Land of Eternal Summer,'" Ella said.

"You have learned the ancient Elvish language well."

Ella pulled a silk marigold from her breast pocket. "You dropped this," she said.

"That's right, it just works." Niyaf took the artificial flowers and compared them on the skirt. "how did you find me?"

"Where there are thieves, I will go there."

Niyaf smiled, tears welling up in her eyes.She took Ella's hand and pressed it to her forehead, as if she was praying for something.

"Even knowing the whole truth," Niyaf said, "even if I run away like a coward and leave you alone to bear the truth...you've come this far for someone like me. Why?"

"I told you so long ago," Ella said, "I'll follow you to the ends of the earth."

The author has something to say:

Finally finished!

Originally, it was just an idle brainstorming on National Day, and I planned to finish it in a few chapters.I didn't expect to have so many readers for the first time, and my whole body swelled up!Unknowingly, it has exceeded a lot.It almost turned into children's literature on the way, and it seems that it has nothing to do with ABO...

In short, thank you very much for your comments and collections. Your support is my biggest motivation.As a hard-working medical dog, the exam season is coming soon, so I just take advantage of this time to conceive another story, so let’s stop writing this year.

If there is no accident, a new serialization will start during the winter vacation, and it should be longer.I wish you all a happy new year and see you next year!