Chosen Bride of the Seven Dark Princes

Elves were a misnomer.

The term referred to the ancient fictional and completely nonexistent tall fairies that had been rumored to be around long before there were humans and other humanoid beings around the galaxy.

From what Poppy could remember of her biological humanities classes, Elves were, in fact, another subset of humans, genetically drifted to better survive the world in which they found themselves after the great migration.

For the most part, they tended to be rather good looking as a whole due to a particularly evil eugenics breeding program early on at the beginning development of the elven population.

Only the tall good-looking humans with pale hair, pale eyes, and pale skin were allowed to remain on the various worlds they inhabited. Those who did not fit the mold were allowed to live, but not allowed to bear children.

Over thousands and thousands of years, the lineage bred so true that all the progeny tended to look very similar to each other. It was like a purebred poodle or Holstein cow. If you saw one, you've seen them all.

Just like this tall, good looking elf who was smiling at her, showing perfect white teeth with sharp canines. He was hardly one-in-a-million. He was one amongst trillions of duplicates.

The man smiled at her, unaware of her internal thoughts about his ancestry.

"My name is Ash. I am part of the delegate from my home world Marakaran, here to figure out how to keep the increasing violence from creeping towards our sector of space."

"Hmm." Poppy took a sip of the swill that passed for coffee onboard the Raptor 396.

They had stopped to pick up a small group of war refugees at the last port of call, and he could have been one of those fleeing that smoking ruined world.

"Are you a war refugee, Ash?"

The man laughed, his crystal blue eyes crinkling. "Not at all. I am here only to ensure that I have a home to go back to."

"I see." She licked her spoon full of coffee creamer. It didn't hurt to take people at face value and slowly figure out what exactly their ulterior motives were.

"My name is Poppy. I am the ship's Captain." She leveled a good-natured gaze at him.

"Since we have had previous dealings—meaning you beat my ass on the piste arena awhile ago," she grinned in good sport. "It would seem that you and I have some predestined fate."

"You are a very worthy opponent, Milady." He nodded once, his platinum hair falling partway over his face.

Poppy smiled. She could never resist pretty bois.

"Let me extend a friendly hand to you. If I can be of any assistance, please don't hesitate to ask."

She held out a hand, which Ash took within both his own firm warm hands. He smiled at her with a warmth that radiated all the way to his eyes.

"Thank you. And, likewise. If I can ever help you with anything, please don't forget to call on me."

"So tell me a little about Marakaran." She prompted.

Ash nodded. "My world is not a huge world. Nor is it particularly wealthy. But it is a tranquil warm space to live, and we lead simple lives without much to threaten our existence."

Poppy nodded. "Has the sudden tourist boom in your sector cause issues?"

Ash shook his head. "It's not the tourist boom that is causing problems. It is our proximity to Haribou."

"Ahhh." Poppy nodded with understanding.

Haribou was Anaïse Paroles' world. It was also one of the wealthiest worlds in the entire galaxy due to the silicate people's knowledge of how to create exquisite weaponry.

"Haribou is famous for being extremely neutral so that it can sell weapons to all sides of a conflict without favoritism. What has it done to your world?" Poppy wanted to know.

"We are a world of abundant unspoiled natural resources." He sighed. "Haribou wants to use our world as a staging area to sell their weapons."

"What?" Poppy's eyes widened with surprise. "Why? Marakaran is a tourist destination. It does not scream of war machinery."

He nodded his head. "No, it does not, but the people who buy what Haribou sells are very wealthy and they want to be wooed and dined on the best before they shell out their vast wealth to accumulate weapons of mass destruction."

"I see." Poppy nodded.

He sighed. "What we have to sell is pristine tropical beaches, millions of ancient waterfalls, thousands of snow-capped mountains, endless azure oceans filled with colorful corals and fishes."

His eyes glowed with life and love for his world.

"We have deep ravines of virgin evergreen forests, rolling hills of sun-drenched meadows, and white sandy deserts under a dazzling blue sky."

His crystal blue eyes narrowed. "Haribou wants to use our beautiful landscapes as a beautiful backdrop to store and showcase their weapons to be sold off to the highest bidder. They plan to build huge ugly glass buildings all over our world, at the most beautiful spots, in order to wine and dine their clients."

Poppy sighed. She had been to Marakaran. She had seen its perfect utopian paradise with her own eyes.

She had also been to Haribou. It was an ugly world of glass and metal.

There was nothing that was living or green. It was all very cold and austere and a dull shade of grey blue, and the silicate people liked it just fine.

To them, that was the color of extreme wealth. It was what made them the kind of money that allowed them to be able to buy entire worlds like Marakaran and transform it into yet another money-making world just like Haribou.

It would be a crying shame.

"Have they begun their process of acquisition?"

Ash's eyes grew tragic. He nodded without saying a word.

"Then there is nothing I can do. Once the agreements have been signed, it's a done deal."

"There must be something that can be done! My world will die!" Ash's voice rose in panic.

Poppy looked at his beautiful tragic blue eyes and something inside her melted just a little.

"Look." She turned away. "I can't promise anything, but—"

She turned back to look at him. "Let me talk to my brother and see what he knows of this. Dante has his fingers into just about every commercially profitable venture there is."

Ash nodded with gratefulness. Everyone knew who Prince Dante was. If anyone had a way to help his world, it would be Prince Dante.

"Please let me know if there is anything I can do to facilitate whatever you need to do."

Poppy stood up. "Same time tomorrow. Meet me at the fencing piste. We can have another match and at that time, I may have more information to tell you."

He nodded with grateful eyes.

As she walked away, Poppy could feel a warmth exuding from the elf named Ash. He seemed genuine enough, but she needed more information.

What she could do to help him personally, Poppy had no clue, but to perhaps save a paradise from dying was a worthy cause, even if it had nothing to do with this pretty boi elf.