Igniting Sparks

Chapter 29.

Edited by KitWulf                                           27-12-2020

*

Azura stood next to Oliver before the big carved oak door; the entrance to the town hall. It was beautiful and in normal circumstances, she would've taken a closer look at it but now Azura kept her head down and simply stared at her feet waiting for the doors to open. Oliver watched her closely but as she made no attempt to even try to open the doors, he walked past her and pulled them open.

"What are you waiting for? Ben is inside, so let's go." When he grabbed her arm again, Azura couldn't suppress a growl and yanked herself loose.

Surprised, Oliver jumped back. Azura couldn't help but notice the slight hint of fear that momentarily appeared on his face before he composed himself again. After giving him a defiant stare for a moment she looked away and sighed.

"Don't just touch me out of the blue again and there's no need to fear me." Those two things in one sentence even sounded strange to her but she dismissed the thought, knowing she couldn't take back the words. "Ugh, what I mean is, I won't hurt you. I'm not some kind of maniac."

Cringing again at her own use of words, Azura resisted the temptation to facepalm herself. It had been much more comfortable when they had not spoken to each other. One thing she was glad for though; for the first time since her breakdown, her brain seemed to be doing ok and she didn't have to force herself to keep focusing on the here and now.

She just waved at Oliver to take the lead so she could follow. She couldn't help but catch the wary look he was giving her and decided it was better that she not look at him again for now. When she lowered her gaze once more he started to move and she followed. Except for the marble floors, Azura didn't see much of the inside of the town hall. Judging by the marble and the door, it probably was a beautiful building, but she couldn't care less as the nerves about meeting up with Ben started to take over.

They walked for what seemed ages, corner after corner until finally, Oliver came to a stop and knocked on a door. Soon after, Ben opened it, making Azura raise her eyes as he spoke up.

"Azura Thoreau. Finally, we get to properly introduce ourselves. My name is Benjamin Reed, mayor, and leader of Pleyvale city." Ben extended his hand and after a small hesitation, she shook it. He was dressed in a suit again, his gray hair slicked back and he was carrying the same golden chain she had seen once before when he showed up at Jeff's house. His glasses fit his circular face perfectly and he looked like quite a charming man... But she had seen and felt the way he could cast his power and for now, she was very careful with her words and actions. She didn't know whether or not she could trust him. In her head, she said a little prayer that her mind would not abandon her during the meeting.

"Welcome again, Azura." He offered her a seat as he slowly said her name and nodded to Oliver to leave the room. He hesitated for a short moment before leaving them alone.

"Normally I would have wanted to see you straight away, but Lucas was dead set on postponing it so you could recover. I see that has happened and I'm glad you agreed to meet me today."

"Did I have any choice?" The sarcastic tone was not one she could hide and she immediately regretted saying it as his face flashed from friendly to a look she would rather not see again. It was only a brief moment before his face was all friendliness again though.

"No. And please reconsider your words first before outing them. The only reason you are still here is that I allow it. We don't have a good relationship with any blue-eyed snow leopards but considering you have been here for over a year, and that Nicolai has vouched for you, I have made an exception. I do want to know more about you and mostly about the fire part. That is something I have never seen before and I would like to know more about it."