by Virlyce
Alice stared at the skeleton as it walked away with the plates. Then she turned her gaze onto Mr. Skelly. He remained unmoving, his empty eye sockets locked onto the tree ahead. “The war is nearing its end?” Alice mumbled and bit her lower lip. A wrinkle appeared on her forehead as she lowered her head. The campfire crackled as a piece of white wood snapped in half.
“Alice.”
Alice turned her head and nearly screamed at the grinning skull that appeared in front of her face. She gritted her teeth and punched the skeleton away, causing a squeaking sound to resound as its bones hit the ground. “Did you just squeak?”
The skeleton sat up and shook its head. It reached behind itself and picked up a cloth sack which it dusted off with its bony hands. “The leader wanted to give this to you as a present.” The skeleton stood up and placed the squirming bag onto her lap. “He had us look really hard for one. We didn’t sleep for weeks, ignoring the hunger of our bellies and the fatigue of our muscles.”
“You don’t need to sleep or eat, and don’t give me any nonsense about hurting muscles,” Alice said with a snort. She glanced at the squirming bag. “If this is a really big worm, I swear on my left foot, I’m going to leave and join the dwarves.”
“Do people commonly swear on their left feet here?” the skeleton asked as Alice pulled on the ribbon holding the cloth bag shut.
“No,” Alice said. Her hands trembled as she pulled the lip of the sack back, revealing an eagle-like head. Her eyes widened as the creature blinked and let out a tiny squeak. A catlike paw stepped out of the bag followed by a sleek body with a pair of wings. Alice gasped and brought her hands to her mouth, lifting her head, her eyes watery. “Oh my lord. You didn’t.”
“We did,” the skeleton said with a grin. “Remember, this little fellow’s the leader’s gift to you.”
“What about its mother?” Alice asked, lowering her hands to grasp the baby gryphon. It mewled and licked her skin with its pointed tongue. She lifted the gryphon up and snuggled it against her face before holding it away from herself to inspect it.
The skeleton froze. “Uh….” It cleared its nonexistent throat. “Like I said. We worked very hard to get you one.” It glanced at Mr. Skelly, who was still motionless, before meeting Alice’s narrowing eyes. “Bye.” The ground broke open beneath its feet, and it dove headfirst into the tunnel that appeared.
Alice sighed as she parted the feathers on the baby gryphon’s forehead, revealing a pulsing rune. “So you do have a mother,” she said and stroked the gryphon’s wings. It yawned and curled up into a ball, snuggling against Alice’s stomach. “But knowing those skeletons….”
“Ah, you’ve received my gift, I see,” Mr. Skelly said, interrupting Alice’s thoughts. He turned his skull and smiled at her before standing up. “I have some good news and some bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?”
“The bad news.”
“The good news? If you insist,” Mr. Skelly said. “The good news is the gryphon’s mother is still alive and well. She willingly gave my men one of her children after we saved them from a pack of wild cows.”
Alice exhaled and glanced at the baby gryphon on her lap. “That’s good. And the bad news?”
Mr. Skelly scratched his head. “The good news was a lie.”
Alice’s eye twitched. “Couldn’t you have just said you had bad news to tell me?”
Mr. Skelly nodded.
Alice sighed. “Forget it. Then this cub doesn’t have a mother or father anymore?”
“It doesn’t,” Mr. Skelly said. “You can abandon it if you’d like, but I imagine it wouldn’t last long. I knew you’d try to return it to its parents if they were still around, so….” He shrugged.
But leader, its parents are still alive.
Mr. Skelly ignored the mental message and sat beside Alice. He lowered his gaze onto the baby gryphon and poked its side, causing it to cry out. Its eyes snapped open, and it hissed at him. Mr. Skelly patted its head and made eye contact with Alice. “The war is over.”
“Is it?” Alice asked, lowering her gaze. She stroked the baby gryphon and frowned.
“It is,” Mr. Skelly said. He tilted his head. “What’s wrong? I thought you’d be happier considering how much you detested war.”
Alice scowled. “Who says I’m not happy?” she asked. “I’m happy, got that?”
“If you’re happy, then I’m a ghoul,” Mr. Skelly said. He wrapped his left arm around Alice’s shoulder and nudged her cheek with his right hand’s index finger. “If you keep frowning like that, the baby will think you’re upset with it. Ah, I understand. You’re going to miss me, aren’t you?” Mr. Skelly turned his head away and readied himself to create another skull out of mana for when Alice inevitably punched his current one off. After a few seconds of waiting, nothing happened, causing Mr. Skelly to blink and turn back around. He froze.
Tears dripped from Alice’s eyes onto the gryphon below. She sniffled as her hands balled into fists, scrunching up the gryphon’s fluffy fur into tufts that poked out of the gaps in her fingers. Her face jerked towards Mr. Skelly, and she glared at him as if daring him to say something. She blinked hard, causing another set of tears to fall from her eyes. “What?”
Mr. Skelly removed his left arm from Alice’s shoulder, and he scratched his collarbone. “You know I’m a skeleton, right? I’m already dead.”
Alice stared him in the eye sockets, unblinking. “Yes.”
Mr. Skelly scratched his collarbone again, Alice’s gaze causing him to itch. “Oh.” He averted his eye sockets. “Oh.” The campfire crackled as another piece of wood collapsed into pieces. “Alice….”
“I had a lot of fun,” Alice said, tearing her gaze away from the skeleton. She squinted up at the clouds and leaned back, hugging the baby gryphon to her chest. “I never thought I’d say it, but conquering those cities with you was fun. I hadn’t felt that happy in a long time.” She used the back of her hand to wipe away her tears before she lowered her head and smiled at the baby gryphon. “It really was a lot of fun.”
“If those dwarves you tricked and beat up could hear you now, I wonder what they’d think,” Mr. Skelly said with a chuckle. He patted Alice’s back. “In a week, there’s going to be a party. The Corrupted One will be there; I’ve told you about her before. She’s like my mother of sorts. I’d like to introduce you to her.”
Alice bit her trembling lip and hugged the gryphon to her chest tighter. “I’d like that too. But promise me she won’t sacrifice me.”
Mr. Skelly scratched his head. “That’s not really something I can promise, but I’ll do my best to not let that happen.”
***
Vur frowned. Ahead of him, there was a lake surrounded by trees. A few animals were on the shore, drinking out of it with their ears perked up. A wind blew past the waters, causing ripples to form on the lake’s surface. Vur squatted next to the water and poked it with his finger. “You said water elementals were easy to find, Deedee.”
“Statistically, they’re the most abundant elementals around,” Diamant said as he took on the shape of a rock by Vur’s foot. He dipped his thin arm into the water and frowned. “There really isn’t anyone here. Maybe you just have bad luck?”
Stella materialized behind Diamant and pushed him into the water. “This is the sixtieth lake we’ve been to,” she said and placed her hands on her hips as droplets of water splashed onto Vur’s feet. “His luck can’t be that bad. He’s blessed by everything under the sun! There must be something wrong with your instructions instead.”
Diamant spluttered as he climbed out of the lake, glaring at Stella with his diamond eyes. “I rarely make mistakes,” he said and shook himself off like a dog. “Something abnormal is going on. Perhaps, if we went to the ocean, we—”
“It’s too late now,” Sheryl said. “The week is up. Vur has to attend that party he scheduled.” The runes on Vur’s shoulder flashed twice. “But still, I agree it’s pretty weird not to see any wa
ter elementals in the lakes. There were ten of them living in the lake by the volcano. Although, they probably went through the reincarnation cycle after the eruption, huh?”
“A week already passed?” Vur asked, tilting his head. “It doesn’t feel like it did.”
“Well, that’s what happens when you sleep for four days straight,” Zilphy said from the star on Vur’s arm. “I can’t believe it—I chose the weirdest person to contract with.” A green rock materialized by Diamant. A pair of arms sprouted out before pinching Diamant’s face. “This is all your fault. I gave up my freedom to get hitched to you.”
“I never asked you to do that,” Diamant said, rolling his eyes. “You’re the one who forced yourself on me.”
“You’re the pervert who peeked on me in the bath!” Zilphy said, pinching Diamant’s cheeks even harder. Cracks formed underneath his eyes. “And you dare say I’m the one who forced myself on you?”
“Is this what people call a domestic quarrel?” Vur asked Stella as she flew onto his head.
“Yup,” Stella said, lying on her stomach while peering over Vur’s head. She smiled at the two quarreling rocks and placed her palms on her cheeks. “I used to fight like that all the time with….”
Vur hovered in the air as gusts of wind pushed him up from below. He glanced up at Stella. “With?”
Stella’s brow furrowed as she rubbed her nose. “I can’t remember,” she said and sighed. “But it was fun. I think. I’m sure it was fun.” She lowered her head and tugged on Vur’s eyebrow. “Will you quarrel with me?”
“Ah, don’t leave us behind!” Zilphy shouted from below. She grabbed onto Diamant’s arm and flew into the air before merging into Vur. A green and brown light crawled up into his right arm. “I’m not done with you yet, Deedee.”
“Even you’re calling me that now…?”
“Well?” Stella asked, tugging on Vur’s eyebrow again.
Vur scratched his head as he soared through the sky, heading towards the center of the continent. “I’m not sure how.”
“Just pretend I’m Tafel,” Stella said with a nod. “I’m sure you two must fight a lot.”
“Huh? Why would you think that?” Vur asked. “Tafel and I love each other very much. We don’t fight.”
“At all?” Stella asked, raising her eyebrows. “Not even a little? You don’t even fight over what to have for dinner?”
“Nope.”
“Eh?” Stella sat up and crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s weird. Are you sure your relationship is stable?”
“We’re married,” Vur said as he flew through a cloud. “It has to be stable.”
“Hmm.” Stella frowned. “Most stable marriages don’t have a holy dragon trying to eat one of the partners. But what would I know? I’m not even three months old.” She shrugged before shaking her head. “You really don’t fight with Tafel? It probably has something to do with your easy-going nature.” She rubbed her chin. “Maybe if I asked Tafel, her response would be different.”
Vur shook his head, almost causing Stella to fall off. “If we weren’t compatible, I wouldn’t have married her. I love her too much to fight with her.”
“How do you say such mushy things with a straight face?” Stella asked, leaning over and pinching Vur’s ear. “I’m practically blushing for you.” She leaned back and sighed, watching the clouds pass by. “Tafel’s lucky she met you. Fairies don’t believe in romance, but I always wondered what it’d feel like to be in love. How can you like someone so much that you’d give up your freedom like Zilphy did for Diamant?”
Vur shrugged and flew through a flock of geese, causing them to squawk and scatter. “Tafel makes me happy: being around her, talking to her, seeing her do things. When she’s happy, I’m happy. And I like being happy; it’s much better than being sad. When I was little, I used to be sad when everyone ran away or hid from me. But Tafel didn’t run or hide; she became my friend.” Vur scratched his nose. “If I could pick between being free without Tafel and compromising to stay with Tafel, I’d always choose to stay with her.”
Stella hummed while pouting. “Then what are you going to do when Lulu tries to chase Tafel away?”
“If Tafel and I have a baby, Lulu will stop trying,” Vur said with a nod.
“You’re not even going to consider Lulu, huh?” Stella asked. “She’s not afraid of you either, and she became your friend. If you love Tafel because of those reasons, how’s Lulu any different? If you met Lulu before Tafel, would you have been her mate instead?”
Vur’s brow furrowed. “Tafel is Tafel,” he said. “And Lulu is Lulu. They’re different. I love Tafel and that’s that.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Stella said and scratched her head. “Love is really weird.”
34
“It’s so pretty! Look at all the lights and shiny stuff!” Emile flapped his wings, causing Tafel’s hair to tangle up on her horns. He hopped up and down on her shoulder. “Look, look! What’s that?”
“That’s a leviathan skeleton floating in the sky,” Tafel said, squinting at the object Emile was pointing at. “Then that means Mr. Skelly is openly announcing their presence? I wonder how the holy dragons are going to react.” She nodded as she continued walking along the road leading to the decorated city. “It’ll be a good show.”
“Eh? Don’t you have to fight a holy dragon too?” Emile asked as he fixed Tafel’s hair with his beak. “I think that’ll be an even better show. I’ll cheer for you.”
“At least one of us is looking forward to it,” Tafel said and sighed. “I hope my plan works. Those skeletons better have placed the runes in the right place, or I really might cry.” She turned her head to the side. Emile stopped mid-preen and blinked at her. “Do you think she’ll notice us since we have phoenix-like auras?”
“What do you mean phoenix-like?” Emile asked, puffing his chest out. “We’re real phoenixes. And, yes, she’ll notice us. She’s flying towards us now if you haven’t realized.”
“Huh?” Tafel asked, freezing mid-stride. “Really? If that’s a joke, it’s not funny.”
“I only play pranks on Percy,” Emile said and sniffed while tilting his beak up. “She’s over there, see?”
Tafel looked up. A silver dragon was flying towards her with a grin on its face. It let out a roar while spewing silver fire out of its mouth, lighting up the sky. “That was fast,” Tafel said and bit her lower lip. Her horns flashed, and the scenery changed into a field of grass with silver runes decorating it. She exhaled upon seeing them. “The skeletons did a good job.”
A voice shouted from nearby, “You can’t avoid me forever!”
“Go somewhere safe, Emile,” Tafel said, nudging the phoenix off of her shoulder. She took in a deep breath and clasped her hands behind her back, straightening her posture. A slow exhale left her mouth, and she closed her eyes as tendrils of mana snaked from her feet into the ground, spreading out like a web to touch the silver runes. Her eyes snapped open. “I can do this.”
Gusts swept over Tafel, her hair flying parallel to the ground, as the silver dragon approached, every beat of its wings displacing the air. It landed in front of her before looking around. “A trap? That’s fine too.”
“You’re really determined to fight me, huh?” Tafel asked, biting her lower lip. “Well, listen up! I’m not going to give up on Vur. He’s mine, and you can’t have him. So what if you’re a dragon? I’m, I’m not scared!”
“You’d be more convincing if your knees weren’t knocking together,” Lulu said, pointing at Tafel’s shaking legs. “I do feel a little bad now, but that can’t be helped. There’s so few dragons out there; I might have to wait a thousand years if I miss out on Vur now.” She tilted her head and sighed. “You really won’t give up on him?”
“This is my answer,” Tafel said as she crouched and pressed her palms against the ground. The silver runes around them lit up. “When I married him, I swore to stay by his side for better, for poorer, in
sickness and in health. A dragon’s not going to change that!” She gritted her teeth as her horns flashed with a white light. “Have a taste of my resolve!”
Emile shielded his eyes from the light, peering at the glowing field through the feathers on his wings. Lulu was approaching Tafel, but before the dragon had even taken two steps, the light disappeared along with Lulu. Emile blinked twice and looked around before staring at the ground. “Big sis teleported her into the earth?”
Emile flew off the branch he was perched on, but Tafel shouted, “Stay back, Emile. It’s not over yet.”
“Huh?” Emile hovered in place and tilted his head. He flew back onto the branch before shrugging. “If you say so.” He hummed to himself while waiting for something to happen, but Tafel was still crouching in place without moving. When he was about to yawn, Tafel dove to the side as the ground underneath her broke apart, a silver dragon head popping out of the earth.
“What the heck!?” Lulu shouted. “You buried me alive! If I wasn’t a dragon, I would’ve died. That was really—”
“Go back down there!” Tafel shouted as her horns flashed white. Lulu disappeared again, leaving behind a hole in the ground. The demon muttered as she manipulated the earth with magic to fill itself in, “It’s because you’re a dragon that I have to use this kind of method.”
Emile blinked at the scene. He stared at the ground, then at himself. “If I was shoved down there, could I get out?” He rubbed his head with his wings. “Maybe if I knew Mom’s world of fire ability….”
A few minutes later, the ground by Tafel shattered, revealing Lulu’s head again. She gasped for breath and glared at the demon with narrowed eyes. “Alright,” Lulu said, “now you’re making me—”
“Sink!” Tafel shouted, banishing Lulu before she could finish her sentence. She exhaled as the dragon disappeared, and used her mana to fix the hole Lulu had left behind. “If I hadn’t seen Exzenter teleport away that worm-infested dragon, I’d never have come up with this idea for myself.” She snorted and glared at the ground. “If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for being a dragon. Who told you to be impervious to nearly all types of magic?”