Vylt: The New Dawn

Chapter 20: A Gift

"That will be all, Nora. Just drop the ice in this beaker and you're free to go."

I nodded with a yawn. I did as Dr. Blake asked before following Anna out of the laboratory. He had been eager to see my water magic ever since we came back from our 'training'. So much that he wouldn't let me go out without a proper demonstration. Since I wanted to be in the forest when the elves arrived, that meant my only choice was to wake up early and hope it didn't take too long. Early for the new me, at least.

While none of the experiments were too time consuming, it was already noon when I was done with my breakfast, and that meant the Deinast couple would already be waiting for us at the lake. Everyone else was relaxing at the terrace by the time we came out.

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"Can you give us a hint at least?" Rex asked us as we walked to our destination.

"Nope. We're almost there, so be patient," Anna replied and smirked at his grumbling.

Lily and Rex weren't human, so they had the right to know about the elven couple. The reason we hadn't told them already was because we needed to make sure no one eavesdropped on us. With that in mind, the best choice was to keep everything as a surprise for them. Lily was still somewhat hesitant to stay out for long, but the idea of a special surprise was enough to get her interest. I couldn't wait to see their faces when they saw what it was.

Same as the day before, there was no one in sight when we finally reached our destination. That didn't mean the place was empty, though.

"So?" Rex finally asked, looking around as we took a seat. "Where's the big surprise?"

"I believe that is us?" Viken's voice came from within the forest. Soon enough, both elders showed themselves and removed their leaf cloaks. Belaury's grimace was not something I could miss. I hoped it wasn't because of the new faces.

Rex went stiff at the sight of our visitors.

"Welcome back." Anna stood up to receive and lead them to the table. "We brought some friends with us. They're not human, so no promise broken. They're Reginn Williams and Lily Rossendale. Rex, Lily, these are Viken and Belaury Deinast. They are elves from the Old Era."

"So dwarfs are back also," Viken commented as he shook Rex's hand, which the dwarf managed to offer despite the shock. "Does that mean dræll and gnomes are?"

Seeing Rex's blank expression, Alex pulled him to the side and explained things to him.

"Only the draell, as far as I know," Anna replied.

"May the gods keep it that way," Belaury scoffed. "Gnomes. Those little bastards-"

Viken smiled wryly and placed a hand on her shoulder, effectively silencing her. Both of them took a seat in front of us before Viken spoke again. "Please, mind her not. She is angry because of the punishment. Moving that to the side, I am surprised to see such a small person."

"A fairy," Anna clarified. "Would it be rude to ask what the punishment was?"

"Very," The elder replied curtly before bending over to take a closer look at Lily. "Well, I guess she does resemble the real thing."

Her comment made me frown. "Fairies were real? I thought there were only seven races."

"It is correct, Miss Hayes," Viken answered. "Fairies did exist. Although they were considered not a race in the past. They were only insects without thinking."

"The largest firefly species of that time, although barely half this girl's size," added Belaury. "The position they adopted when flying resembled a person. I'm guessing that the image stayed after they were gone."