Dragons of Alaevia

Chapter 26: Gisaea

"You guys were almost smashed! Flattened! If you hadn't been so busy fighting, you wouldn't have nearly died!" Kaeirin exclaimed in frustration as he and Gisaea glided over the forests upon Jisu.

"I'm sorry, Kaeirin." Gisaea sighed. "We should have listened to you."

Kaeirin went still. "E-exactly!" He awkwardly spat out, as if he hadn't been expecting an actual apology. Then he sighed. "If those fairies had just come back—"

"Wait, fairies?" Gisaea interrupted. "There were fairies?"

"Yeah, didn't you see all those lights? Or..." Kaeirin trailed off as his eyes widened, realizing. "Oh, right. You'd just been thrown against a tree...heh..." He uneasily chucked, scratching at his head.

"Actually, I did see lights!" Gisaea informed him. "But if I remember correctly, I'd thought I'd been hallucinating. Were they really...?"

"Fairies? Oh, undoubtedly." Kaeirin affirmed. "Wait—how is it that I, an Aysgarthian, know about fairies and you don't, Woodlander?" He asked in a teasing manner.

Gisaea smiled gingerly. "Well, I mean...I've heard about them, of course. I guess I've just...never really come across any. Did they really knock out that troll?"

Kaeirin beamed. "You should have seen it! Everywhere the poor guy turned, glitter was chucked at his face. It was hilarious! Though most of the fairy dust went up those gargantuan nostrils..."

Gisaea laughed. "Well, I guess it was a good thing they showed up then, right?"

Kaeirin shook his head. "I know! Without them, you could have..." He paused, hesitating. A sudden tenseness had snipped away the rest of his sentence. Even so, Gisaea understood what he meant. Without the fairies, she might have...died. A nauseating feeling squeezed at her stomach the more she thought about it. So, instead, she watched as the setting sun slowly started to dip beneath the trees, painting the world a mellow shade.

Soon, it would be time to rest.

                          —————————

That evening, they stayed the night in a clearing of trees with a small beach and the ocean nearby. Gisaea's ears basked in the sound of gentle waves as she breathed in the scent of salty water. A scent that sent her straight back to a time when she was little—when her father would bring her to this exact beach and let her play in the water. Now, whenever she was around the ocean, she was filled with those nostalgic memories.

Gisaea was grateful she had learned to make a fire back in Wealdstone. With a fire, they would be able to stay warm at night. Raene could make fire too, but Stygian fire was much too hot. It'd scorch the wood within seconds.

Fixing her gaze upon the fire she had made, the bright orange flames put Gisaea into something of a trance. Kaeirin and Cyprian bickered in the background—something about Kaeirin's annoyance at Cyprian for searching for berries without him at the spring: "I know all about troll berries. If I'd have been there, there would never have been a troll chasing us in the first place!" Kaeirin argued heatedly—and Cyprian flopped onto his back in defeat. He wasn't able to out-argue Kaeirin, that's for sure.

"Okay, fine. You're right. Goodnight." Cyprian said, clearly not in favor of a further argument. He turned over to his side, and Kaeirin sighed, the warm fire casting a soft light against his blue eyes.

"Goodnight, Cy."

Gisaea yawned, gazing quietly at the twinkling stars above. It had been a long day full of flying and nearly dying, meaning she would be able to fall asleep without effort. While the ground wasn't the most comfortable sleeping place in the world, it was all they had. Besides, she had Jisu as a pillow.

.....

Goodnight, Mom. She thought with a throat tightened with homesickness.

Goodnight, Nuri. She thought as tears watered in her eyes.

.....

Goodnight, father.