Lifting the cauldron, she tilted it and slowly dripped the little amount that remained into a flask, pleased to watch the elixir turn transparent with bright stars shining from within, the sign of a complete refinement. It had taken her many days and several sleepless nights to finish it. Dipping a small needle, Avril brought it close, an inch away from her discerning gaze, the needle changing colors to a golden sheen. She cheered inwardly at the ninety-five purity, quickly corking the flask to contain the elemental power glowing inside.
Her smile faded, replaced by a frown as her cheeks went pale, a hue of green forming. She gulped and tossed away the bowl of blood and platter of unused organs, storing them away for later use. The foul scent never failed to disgust her, one of the downsides of alchemy she wished to be rid of. After washing her hands, she placed the flask on a cleaner, polished table, standing next to the assortments of other elixirs. One group of elixirs held black, slimy globs, cold to the touch, her fingers feeling a sting as they lingered on the delicate glass. The other group was the same starry elixirs as the one she had just completed.
They were grade-three elixirs of darkness and light, fit for Greater Knight Exalts attempting to advance to Marshal Exalt. She smiled for the people the elixirs were for, but that smile faded like an illusion at the third group of elixirs. These emanated a faint magnetic pulse that shook the nearby knives and tools, lulling them to crawl slowly. 'Oscar…' Her heart whispered her yearning, her desire for the person these grade-four metal-elemental elixirs had been crafted for. For years, she waited in Convecia City for him to keep his promise, but he still kept her waiting.
Wiping her face with a towel before tears could drip, Avril readjusted her circlet from which the veil draped down. She couldn't risk showing her face to anyone. Avril looked at the ends of her hair to ensure her disguise was perfect, her frown deepening as an indigo hue slowly expanded from the tips. A simple drink of grade-three transformation elixir removed the indigo, coating the hair completely black. Lifting her veil, she faced a pair of black eyes in the mirror and sighed in relief.
'I miss you.' The disguise of black hair and black eyes reminded her too much of her beloved. 'Where are you?' Avril desired to travel outside, but the promise kept her in Convecia City. More than two decades had passed after the end of the ten-year deal, and no sign of Oscar had reached her. Many nights, she dreamed of the horrors that her husband endured, the madness that may be encircling him. If only she had come sooner. If only she found him before he disappeared. Tracing the ring on her finger, she remembered the promise of their bond when she received it from him long ago. The golden gem gleamed on the silver band. Avril cupped it and placed it close to her heart, its beating warming the ring. 'He'll come.'
She had told herself as she did every day.
Exiting her personal workshop, she wandered the long hall, lined by carved statues that poured water from their bowls onto the steams by the walls. She entered the room marked by the words, Branch Head. Two long, soft velvet sofas on a purple carpet stood near a large stone table, intricate carvings engraved in the legs. The morning sunlight fluttered in the room past the large curtains. She sat on the main chair, overlooking the enlivening view of the main street from the window behind her. The lively scene of the morning folk about on their business to open their shops always pleased her.
The door knocked several times before she answered for them to enter, and a scholarly man, dressed in a fine blue fabric that was buttoned up to the collar and a matching black sash to secure his waist, entered and bowed. "Branch Head Yule, congratulations on exiting your retreat." He called her by her alias, her identity now borrowed from Old Yule back in the Burning Valley. After so many years, it still felt odd to be called that.
"Gabriel Aldere, I hope everything is well. For you to come here first must mean there's trouble." Avril constantly bit her tongue, holding in the habit of speaking her thoughts. She wanted to say how she was bothered by his visits every time. But her appearance and reputation took priority, despite how much she wished to express her feelings. Gabriel dropped a large stack of documents, the scrolls tumbling down the sides and rolling off the table. Why did she leave so much work for later? The role of Branch Head granted her access to the vast information network of the Alchemist Guild but shackled her to her desk. She swore if not for trying to find Oscar, she would have never taken this post.
The next few hours, she felt like she would sink into the chair, her hand scribbling at every document, approving and disapproving requests to be posted on the board, stamping on crucial financial documents to be reported to the guild, and more bothersome tasks. Gabriel departed with a bright smile at the finished work as she slumped in her chair, exhausted far beyond what normal alchemy strained her to. Sighing in satisfaction, she glanced at the two setting suns and stood straight, needing to go home for the day.
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'I need to prepare dinner.' Avril rushed outside, nodding to everyone who bowed to her, all dressed in fine blue alchemy robes. Exiting through the back door, she sprinted faster into a section of marbled roads and arrived at her large estate, enclosed by tall walls and a metal gate that stuck out from the other estates. The custom work to have them was expensive, a transaction that still hurt her to this day, but well worth it to detach herself from the outside world. With no one to see her, she removed her circlet and veil and undid the transformation elixir, glad to see her true colors.
Inside the empty mansion with no servants and no attendants, Avril squeezed her nose, blocking herself from the scent of the meat in the smoker. Since the children would be returning from a long mission, she cooked twice as much, filling an entire three-foot pot with a healthy vegetable stew. For sides, Avril decided to deep-fry some fritters of seafood and thinly cut vegetables that enticed the appetite. Once the meat was done in the smoker, she seared them, the smell nearly forcing her to vomit.
"We're back!" A cheerful voice shouted, and footsteps rapidly thumped on the stairs, getting closer until a loving embrace wrapped around her from the side. Avril laughed and hugged back, caressing the braided brown hair. A pair of blue eyes peeked out and peered above as her head tilted upward to Avril. "Something smells good. Mom, what are you cooking?"
"Gloria! You're over thirty years old now! Why do you keep acting like you're ten?" An angered man stomped down. He was a handsome man with sharp blue eyes that drew others in, a narrow face that exuded confidence, and curly brown hair that added to his charm. Avril parted from Gloria and hugged her adopted son. He blushed slightly, the ever-shy man who could never express his feelings properly.
"Welcome back, Renn. She's excited to see her children safe and sound and can't let go of her hug." Avril patted his back.
"Hah. See. You're thirty-two years old and still blushing when Mom hugs you. Who's not acting their age?" Gloria gloated, whistling from behind.
"Oi!" Renn shouted.
"Get ready for dinner!" Avril interjected. The children's propensity for fighting each other was a certainty every day. They used to be quite the cute children when she picked them up years ago, but now they fought like cats and dogs. She wondered if that came naturally between brothers and sisters. Oscar had no siblings, and she only had one older sister. The children departed, still arguing with each other down the hall. Sighing, she gathered the bowls and plates.
"The moment they get home, they start acting up again." Avril sighed again.
"No, they acted the same during the mission. They need more discipline." A beautiful woman appeared from nowhere and scooped up some soup in a ladle to pour into a bowl. Her white hair, clean of any blemishes, swayed at her waist, and her scarlet eyes sparkled like rubies. Her soft expression seemed resigned and tired, creases of sadness lining her delicate brow, as it always had for years, a face that would itch the hearts of many to want to comfort her. Dressed in white pants that went inside her black boots and a red uniform coat bound by a white belt, she sighed heavier than Avril, cutting up some bread.
"Maia!" Avril hugged her friend. "Thank you for watching over them. She knew she could count on her. She wonders if her friend will stay for dinner."
"Aren't I here now?" Maia sighed and finally grinned slightly, a small upturn of her lips that barely distinguished it as a smile. "Thank you for having me."
"There's no need to be so formal. She pouts at her friend's overly polite manners." Avril pulled Maia along and set up the dinner table, filling it with a feast. The children, Renn and Gloria, returned after washing up and enjoyed her cooked meal. She listened to them speak of their journey, accompanying a group to hunt down a vile beast that had caused a commotion on an island. Gloria kept cutting Renn off while he shouted over her supposed fabrications. Maia ate quietly the entire meal, not a single word or mention from her, which worried Avril.
"Farewell, Aunt Maia." Renn and Gloria hugged Maia farewell.
"Come back any time." Avril gave her a few grade-four fire-elemental elixirs and held her hands. "You have a home here," Maia said a quick farewell and departed, her figure vanishing into the streets. Avril sent the children to rest as she cleaned up the table and rested in a chair, pulling out a book with a torn cover. The crinkled pages passed across her fingers, showing old ink that barely retained their shape as words. Perhaps it was time to rewrite it into a cleaner book.
Suddenly, a faint Ein widened her eyes, and she turned to the window, sensing a rupture that thundered in the clear night. This violent intrusion alarmed many, who shouted from their doors, and some guards floated above. The Ein felt familiar, and her heart thumped, beating faster. Warmth filled her body and flushed her cheeks. 'Is it him?' She wondered, stepping outside, ignoring the chilly fall air. The sky ignited in fire, and countless great balls of flames fell from the sky.
"Erden?!" Avril recognized the flame and darted her gaze over the specks of fire, locking onto one and only one. In her heart, she knew that it was them. Unable to contain herself, she blasted into the sky, ignoring the protocols of Convecia City, and bolted out of the city walls, following that streak of fire. It landed over a nearby hill. The fire burned its brightest before the dark claimed it, black smoke trailing from its crash site.
"Oscar! Erden!" She shouted to the top of her lungs, excited to see them. Flying over the hill, Avril lost the words to speak, eyes wide at the sight of a bloody human and beast. Erden had lost one of his antlers, his body nearly torn apart. But to the side, she trembled, losing all color in her once-bright face. The broken helmet revealed Oscar's face, the one she had seen many times in her dreams. Without caring about the grievous wounds and the dense scent of blood on them, she swooped in and embraced her love, crying a river of tears.
She was so happy to see them. Why did Oscar take so long? Why did he come so injured? A mix of joy and sadness drove her tears out. Knowing all that had happened to him long ago, Avril hugged him tighter. "I'm here. I'm here. I'm here."