ᴄʜɪʟᴅ ᴏꜰ ʜᴇᴀᴠᴇɴ ɪɪ (ꜰᴀɪʀʏ ᴛᴀɪʟ ᴇʀᴢᴀ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ)

Chapter 243 - By The River, we spoke...

Chapter Cover: Irene and Avelia seating together benath a three as they conversed

Five months have passed since our meeting by that river. I returned to my duties and life moved on as it should have. There was a brewing menace in the air among Dragonkind. While my people live peacefully with the Dragons, on certain parts of Fiore, it was said that Dragons treated humans as nothing more than food. Despite being raised by Dragons myself, I could have never imagined such a thing was possible.

However, during those months, my mind wanders back to Avelia, and the Aura of mysteries that surrounded her. Never once before I have seen someone like her before, her purple eyes and even when she spoke, her voice carried that strange accent unlike anything I have ever heard before in my time in Fiore.

But in all of those months, I had never expected to cross paths with her once more…

It was a late afternoon when she sensed the strange magic again. Irene was working upon something in her studies when she felt that same sensation as before. The young woman had instantly turned her eyes toward the window that the sunlight was coming from, her eyes showing anticipation, a strange feeling similar to hope passing through her heart.

With a small smile, Irene instantly stepped away from the studies that she was doing and made her way out of the building and into the forest once more. She could still sense the magic and somehow, she knew exactly where it was leading her and soon enough, she had found herself by that same small river again.

"I felt you coming."

Avelia was there again, but this time she was seating at the edge of the water, with her back facing Irene. The young woman was dressed similarly to last time except this time she had a cloak seating upon her shoulders and had sandals on her feet. The young woman turned toward her and those same purple eyes like before were staring back at her.

Irene smiled again.

"You've taken me up on my invitation," she said.

Avelia turned her head forward again, facing the water in front of her.

"I simply like this place," she said.

A small chuckle escaped from Irene as she came to stand beside the seated figure. She looked down at the young woman's head for a few moments before looking at the water as well. The duo stayed there in companionable silence as the sound of nature sung around them, the late afternoon sun seemingly casting a red glow upon the leaves of the tree as they danced with the wind.

"I can see the allure of a place like that," Irene said quietly, "A soft quiet place away from this tension growing around us."

Avelia didn't say anything.

"When I was a girl," Irene continued, "I believed that man and Dragon could always live in harmony with each other. We're both intelligent species and yet, some of them wish destruction upon us all."

"Man had lived aside each other for thousands of years," Avelia spoke softly, "Yet, they always stains their history with the red of innocents. You're naïve to think that Dragons will be different."

Irene glanced at her but Avelia's eyes were still fixed upon the water in front of her. There was some truth in what she was saying, Irene herself had heard something similar for Belserion when they have been discussing about the situation.

"Is it naïve to want peace in the world?"

"What may be peace for you, can be war for another," Avelia spoke out.

Irene frowned.

"What makes you believe that?"

Avelia let out a small huff of breath at that, "It's just the way I see the world. Living in the world is an endless struggles against forces that wish you or your people harm. They may be peace, but even then, wars are still being fought."