A few hours later, on one corner of the spacious chamber that until very recently imprisoned an ancient dragon. The chamber now feels cold, empty. There’s no presence or scales anymore. Just emptiness. It smells dank and murky. It’s no home for anybody anymore. In that corner burns a small fire. Flames purifying the rotting wood. Flames that radiate warmth and light. Two figures sit hurdled over the small flame. A shorter, more delicate one, wearing an old cloak with the hood pulled up and a strand of blonde hair swirling from the depths of the hood. She’s looking intently at the taller figure who is deep in thought. Her amber eyes look like dim embers in the darkness. The taller figure has hair of pure silver that glints in myriad tones in the light of the flickering flame. Her clear blue eyes glitter and reflect the dancing flame. A small shadow dances below her left eye, the light is caressing an old scar there. She’s dressed in noble clothing, a cloak of pure midnight blue, and clothes of the finest silks and satins. The runes in the clothes are not magical, but they might as well be for none have been alive for ages that could have read what they said.
"So let me get this straight," the taller figure says. "You once read a book and decided to do research for a tenth of your life, spent almost as long scourging through every dangerous location that you knew, spent all your belongings going after rumors, and finally ended up here on a chance?"
"That’s about it," the shorter figure says. "There was a bit more to it, but that’s basically it."
"Why?," the taller figure asks and turns to look at the smaller one, who smiles warmly at her.
"Because I know from the moment my fingers touched the old tome, that this was what I was meant for. I read the book that told about you so many times I can recite it from memory. You could say that I have loved you from the bottom of my heart since I was a teen, Ayaka.," the shorter figure says and reaches out and touches the one called Ayaka on her shoulder.
"And then there’s that!," Ayaka says "How did you learn about my name? I’ve never told a soul of my name, Emily Maple of Starwood Haven."
"Just ‘Emily’ is fine, Ayaka.," Emile says and smiles gently at her. "Well about that.. the book was titled by those same intricate runes that adorn this chamber’s entrance outside. I did not know at that time how to pronounce them, but I did learn to write your name."
She strokes her chin and looks into the distance. "I’m not entirely sure where I got the names for the runes, but I know that one by one I found what sound they represented, and then I combined them to for A-YA-KA. To be fair, I was not one hundred percent sure it was your name. It might have been a title or a description, but I figured it was important enough and I went with that.," she says and turns to look at Ayaka. She grins at her. "But it worked!," she says happily.
"There’s one thing I don’t understand though… Why?," Ayaka says. "Why go to all that trouble? What’s your end goal?"
"Well, to be perfectly fair… this.," Emily says and gestures towards Ayaka.
"This?," she says and looks at herself.
"Yeah... I wanted to.. free you, save you if you will. I don’t know if you even have feelings like us mortals do, but that’s enough for me. To know you’re not bound here for all eternity. To know that you’re free to… to go where you want. I can’t say I wish you’d want to be by my side, but I don’t want that to be because of any external vows or bindings or curses.," Emily says and smiles awkwardly.
"You are a strange creature, Emily," Ayaka says.
"That’s probably true," Emily says and grins at her.
"We do have them," Ayaka says quietly. "But it’s a bit different for us…," she lets the sentence trail out and looks into the distance.
"I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—," Emily says and lifts her hand towards her.
"No, it isn’t anything you—," Ayaka says and turns towards Emily. She accidentally bumps into her. Emily’s finger brushes her cheek lightly and Ayaka flinches involuntarily. "You see, the gods played a nasty trick on us…," she says and looks at Emily and her eyes soften.
"What do you mean? I read somewhere that you fought the gods and won, and that’s why there are no gods in this world anymore?," Emily says.
"That’s true, from a certain point of view.," Ayaka says. "You see, the gods had the last laugh. They left before we defeated them for good and they cursed us."
"Cursed? I didn’t read anything like that anywhere?," Emily says and looks concerned.
"That’s because we didn’t tell anyone," Ayaka says.
"Can you tell me someday?," Emily asks her.
"I will tell you one day, not too far from now. When we’re out of here.," Ayaka says with a strange certainty in her voice.
"That’s enough for me," Emily says and stands up. "Speaking of getting out of here, it’s time we get up and start walking. It’s going to be days before we reach the surface. Unless you somehow regained all your powers already…?"
"You knew…?!," Ayaka says and gasps.
"Yeah, when the Vows got broken you lost almost all of your powers. They’ll gradually come back, yes?," Emily says.
"Yeah, gradually… I don’t know how fast though, I’ve never lost them before…," Ayaka says uncertainly.
"Yeah, well, you have time.," Emily says and throws her backpack onto her back. "Let’s go, we’ve got some stairs to climb."
They walk out of the massive door and the chamber lies silent and dark. Its inhabitant has left and there’s nothing in it anymore. In time, it’ll crumble and fall, never to be remembered again by any living thing.
ns 15.158.61.6da2
