Return to Jorgaldur Volume V: Reunion (2)

Tears of Onuava (I)

"Aaah~! Eldi has noticed!" an excited dryad exclaimed.

"Look! He's taking off her mask!" another pointed out, although it wasn't even necessary. They were all watching very attentively, as if it were a television drama.

"She's crying! I can't hold it! I'm going to cry too!" another joined in.

Not only was the scene touching, but they could perceive Melia's intense feelings. In fact, she could hear them, but she wasn't listening to them. All her attention was focused on the person in front of her.

"Stop talking and kiss!" one exclaimed.

"Shut up! Don't you see how tender it is! We have waited so long... It was about time..."

"They finally kiss!"

"Ah~! So intense!"

"Still going? They are going to choke!"

"Ha, ha. She's so happy..."

"Wait... What's she doing?"

"Melia! Don't you even think about it! We want to see more!"

"No, no! Don't hide!"

"That's not fair! Now that it was getting interesting!"

"Damn it! They leave us hanging!"

"So selfish! The best part was yet to come!"

The dryads complained angrily. This time, Melia did listen to them, but she didn't care too much. She just smiled.

Her sisters could complain all they wanted, but she could feel how happy they were for her. In fact, between complaints, they congratulated her.

"Be good," Melia said farewell, before entering the tent.

"My twin has no compassion. Look at her leaving us like this," Maldoa's mother complained.

"Look who's complaining. You always isolate yourself too. You never let us see," another one reproached.

"Now we're talking about Melia!" the previous one protested.

"Do you think she'll make us another sister?" another dryad wished.

"I hope so. I want a little niece. Hopefully, she'll be as adorable as Maldoa."

"Mom!"

"Although, I hope she's not as whiny."

"Mom!"

"So, you raised them. I don't know how to thank you," Eldi caressed her cheek. He was still losing himself in her green eyes.

"They're my children too, you don't have to thank me for anything. It's a shame Bolbe left," Melia answered, while she gently untangled his hair.

"Bolbe? The nymph?" Eldi was surprised.

"Yes, that one. She wanted to meet you. We're very close, but the poor girl couldn't stay any longer. You know, she fell in love with Liodon, but she discovered that he loved someone else. She couldn't stand being with us. What's worse, it seems that the girl he liked had also fallen in love with someone else. I never knew who she was," the dryad lamented.

"I see. I guess there's nothing that can be done," the high human resigned sadly.

"No, there isn't. They have to get on with their lives. I hope they heal their wounds, although it's difficult for a nymph."

That was the saddest part of the conversation. Melia had explained that she had taken care of the twins, and had told several anecdotes. She had even promised to show him some memories which she had in her Origin. It was close to where they usually met in the game, and Eldi was looking forward to seeing it. It was the home of her beloved, and part of her. He wanted to know everything about her.

When Melia left the tent and stepped onto the ground again, she received numerous congratulations, and no fewer complaints. The dryad ignored the last ones, because she knew how her sisters were like. In fact, she had been in her position on many other occasions. It was part of the ritual, in which they all shared the joy and joked.

Eldi came out soon after, and found two green eyes looking at him. His neck was tenderly wrapped by his beloved's arms, and the fragrance of flowers enveloped him again.

"I'm sorry, I can't refuse, they're too noisy," she apologized.

"I guess there's no other choice," he accepted.

They kissed again, while the dryads cheered. If they didn't, they wouldn't have stopped insisting. In fact, the couple had to kiss one more time, until Melia said enough, while pretending to be angry with a huge smile.

"Shall we go?" Eldi asked.

"Let's go," she took his hand.

He opened a Gate to Gjaki's mansion. For some reason, the dryad had insisted on going to see her. She said she had a gift for her.

Gjaki appeared immediately. She had seen Eldi arrive with a familiar dryad that she had seen in the game. Therefore, she ran off, eager to know more, to everyone's surprise.

"Were her cards so bad?" Coinin was suspicious.

"No, in fact they were rather good. It's strange. What could she've seen?" Diknsa was surprised after checking them.

"Let's find out," the rabbit vampiress suggested.

"Ha, ha. Chorni got there first," the devil vampiress laughed.

The cat-like demihuman had gone after Gjaki. He didn't know what was going on, but he didn't want to leave her alone. When Chornakish arrived, he found Gjaki hugging a dryad he had never seen before. His beloved's attitude indicated that she was excited.

"You've finally found each other! How was it?" the vampiress asked curiously.

"Well, she..." Eldi hesitated, although not Melia.

"He realized that I was the Oracle and took off my mask. When he did, nothing stood in our way anymore," the dryad explained with a mischievous smile. She was curious about Gjaki's reaction.

"You're the Oracle!?" she exclaimed, incredulous.

"Yes. Heh, heh. I had limitations on what I could say, although you were really funny. I loved how annoyed you always were. You don't know how hard it was for me not to laugh," she said, amused.

Gjaki didn't know what to say. She was somewhere between excited, embarrassed and indignant. The vampiress couldn't accept that the being that irritated her so much was Eldi's beloved, and that she was making fun of her. She blushed slightly, and pointed at her, not knowing what to say.

"Don't be mean to her," Eldi scolded her, visibly amused.

"Don't worry. I'm sure she'll forgive me when I give her the gift," Melia assured, quite confident.

"What gift?" Gjaki asked suspiciously, with a half-offended tone.

She felt a bit humiliated, but also happy for Eldi. Besides, the dryads had been their allies, and she knew from Maldoa that they were mischievous by nature. Still, she felt annoyed.

Pulled from somewhere inside her body, Melia handed her a small flask. It was made of something resembling semi-transparent wood.

"What's this?" Gjaki asked curiously.

The flask was simple, but at the same time gave the impression of being something extremely precious.

"Tears of Onuava," the dryad declared. She couldn't help but laugh at Gjaki's face. It was obvious that she hadn't heard of them.

That annoyed the vampiress a little more. Despite this, Melia approached and whispered something in her ear. As she spoke, the vampiress' eyes widened.

"Really?" the blood warrior asked, about to burst into tears.

The reaction surprised Eldi, Chorni, Diknsa and Coinin. These two had just arrived.

"We dryads like to joke, but we never do harm. Really," she assured.

Gjaki then hugged her tightly, while sobbing.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"