Mystic Quest

Chapter 28

A huge yawn escaped Emerys as he wandered down the stairs of his house. By the sleepy voices filtering from the kitchen, he could tell his friends were already awake. Steps behind him made him turn, and he smiled at Aurora.

Seemed like the woman too was not an early riser.

The magician waited for her in the middle of the stairs, and he blushed faintly as she returned his smile with a coy one, red dusting her cheeks. They greeted each other softly before continuing to go down the stairs, joining the rest of the group.

The magician ignored the knowing looks of his parent and his male companions, going straight to his mother instead. He hugged her from behind, resting his head on his shoulder with a goofy grin.

“Smells good.” He mumbled, sniffing at the breakfast being made.

Rysa chuckled. “Go sit down, it's ready soon.”

Needless to say, the young magician was soon on a chair, greeting his friends while waking up more and more as the food's scent invaded the kitchen. By the time he had his plate, he was wide awake.

“So this is the miracle remedy to his sleepiness? Food?”

Emerys threw a glare at Lyria, while his parents laughed and nodded with a teasing look toward his son. He blushed and looked into his plate, and flushed even more when Aurora commented that it was cute.

Really, sometimes he loved-hated his friends and family. But he would not have it any other way, after all.

Of course; once the breakfast had been finished, the group rushed to get ready before leaving the house with waves at the older adults. They were really exited with the idea of having fun, and it made Rysa and Emmet soften to see this.

Those youngs deserved to relax.

“Pleaaaaase?”

A sigh. “Fine.”

“Yeah!”

The three women made a victory dance. The three men sighed in sync. They really were terrible...

The men of the group had just agreed to do a small dance stall, and while they liked seeing the happy faces of the women, they were not too eager to display their dancing skill. It showed soon enough as the three women had to stop giggles as they noticed how awkward they looked. But they were not cruel however, and soon they each went to one man.

Solarys to Yuna. Lyria to Myrdryn. Aurora to Emerys.

Spurred by the gentle smiles and the attention of the women, the young men relaxed; and soon they were all dancing simply but beautifully.

After that, they first went to what the town called a crazy horse ride. It didn't really have horse, but it did have a cart moved by magic users. They had constructed a rail, and the group first watched as the magicians moved the cart along the rail; up and down, left and right. Fast.

“... I'll pass.” Solarys admitted, a bit pale.

Yuna glanced at her, then smiled at the group. “I'll pass too.”

Th four others nodded, before going to the magicians and the cart. Yuna left for a tiny bit to get his lover and himself cotton candy and then they watched their friends. Fit of laughters escaped them when they heard a sudden scream from Lyria.

“Why did I agree to th-eeeeeee!!”

Aurora, for her part, had hidden into Emerys' shoulder after a squeak, making the magician smile goofily.

When they finally came down, Aurora was gripping Emerys' arm, while Lyria staggered until she rested against Myrdryn. The dragon smirked with some innuendo, and Lyria blushed faintly while hitting lightly his arm under the amused gaze of her friends.

It was then that they decided to split up. They had different stalls in mind, and it sounded better to them to just go and do what they wanted. Without much surprise, they found themselves separating in three groups.

Lyria and Myrdryn. Solarys and Yuna. Aurora and Emerys.

Solarys and Yuna, with a smile at each other, decided to go on a love tunnel. It was a simple boat going through a water trail, but they never had a real occasion to do something romantic before. Sure, they would find some alone time, but it was not the same than just relaxing and have time together.

“I can't believe how fast our lives changed... And yet, everything feel so right. Almost as if...”

Yuna smiled fondly at Solarys. “As if it was what our life was meant to be?”

The bow user smiled and nodded. “Even our relationship...” She whispered, watching as he blushed.

Yuna gazed at her then and she returned his gaze with a curious one. He smiled faintly and leaned down to kiss her cheek. “I was just thinking... Once this is all over, we'll have proper dates and all.”

Solarys knew the hidden meaning. Yuna was talking as if they wound win, despite knowing it might not be the case. But they were here to relax, and in all honesty, she too wanted to think of the future, to believe they would have one.

So, Solarys only smiled brightly, and kissed her lover.

A climbing wall was where Lyria and Myrdryn could be found. They were having fun climbing with certain ease; however Lyria was a bit perplexed. Whenever she would look down at her best friend, she would notice a dreamy smile. She had rarely seen Myrdryn with such an expression, and she was tempted to slow down and wait for him to reach her to ask.

Her reply came before she could do that. Noticing her looks, he smiled sheepishly with apologetic eyes, before gesturing to her waist with his head. Confused as to why he was apologetic, she glanced down at herself.

And finally noticed the problem. Why the hell did she chose to wear a skirt?

Flustered and scolding herself mentally, Lyria slipped and started to fall. However, during the fall she felt herself being wrapped into strong arms and pushed against something firm but soft. The landing was a bit painful, but not really to her.

She opened her eyes, knowing it would be full of Myrdryn's face. The dragon was smiling at her, and she leaned backward to be in a sitting position. Myrdryn used his arms to support his upper body as he too took a sitting position, a chuckle escaping him as he noticed the pout on Lyria's face.

“You know you're a bit pervert?”

Myrdryn's eyes took into her blush and slight teasing look, his fingers coming to gently brush her cheek. He watched the faint surprise on her face, a tender smile forming as he felt himself unable to resist longer.

Who knew how long they had left?

“You know you are beautiful?”

Lyria blushed brightly, but before she could reply, the dragon had leaned forward. Her eyes widened as she felt soft lips against hers, and when she realized that he was kissing her, her eyes fell close and she pressed back lightly. She wrapped her arms around his neck, savouring the chaste kiss.

Finally. Lyria had not realized how much she had wished for this, not until it had happened.

Parting, they smiled at each other before getting up. And hand in hand, they continued their journey through the town and its festival.

It was time to join Emerys and Aurora now... in a haunted house. When Emerys had landed his eyes on it, and Aurora noticed his small shiver, she had proposed it with a faint smirk. Unable to refuse her, they had ended up inside.

Ironically, the magician would only tense most of the time, or barely contained his magic. It was the young woman who would end up screaming or jumping. And half the time, she jumped right into the male's arms, seeking a safe place by hiding her face into his shoulder and wrapping her arms against his chest.

Needless to say, it made the magician quite happy.

Later, both of them would thank the skeleton. But right now...

As a skeleton suddenly fell from the ceiling, Aurora startled as usual and went to Emerys. However, this time the magician had been scarred too, and as such he didn't received her as well as before. They hit each other, making the other slip, and ended up falling with yells and even squeaks.

And wonder of wonder, in the process, their lips had locked. They could not know if it was at the initial shock or during the fall; but once they were both on the ground, they could only stare into each other wide eyes as they felt the other soft lips.

After some seconds they parted, fixing each other with bright blushes. Emerys opened his mouth and closed it, only murmuring, “I... I...” as he did not manage to apologize, not honestly at least.

He would be lying if he said he had not wanted to kiss the Valkyria.

Aurora looked at him for a while, and then a large smile formed. “Don't worry!”

And then she kissed him. Showing that she had not minded at all. Showing that she really had shared the instant falling in love.

Emerys did not argue, of course, even though his eyes were open wide.

And it was on this day, on their one moment of relaxation before the peak of their journey, that the three couples formed. They enjoyed the festival to its fullest, staying the whole week of the event, memorizing everything and fuelling their heart of courage and serenity as much as they could.

They knew this could be their last moments.

The festival ended with beautiful fireworks during the last night, people cheering life despite everything. Under the flashes of light, a group of six people could be seen, watching the magnificent exploding sky with both joy and sadness.

“No matter what... The times we spend together were the best of my life.”

“I'll never forget them; and I'll never forget any of you.”

“For everyone we know and care... And for everyone else...”

“Yeah... There's no going back. And I want to do it. No matter what...”

“We will be together in this.”

“At it is meant to be.”

To be continued...