Chapter 6: With Peace comes a New…Witch? (6)
"Demond." The voice was faint, a whisper in the wind that seemed to echo through the charred remains of the forest. He turned to see the pixy again, but instead of sneezy chatters and laughters, that voice...it was Adrei.
"...so," the old mage began, kneeling before the young Alice, his heart swelling with a mix of pride and regret, "is this what you want to show me? That I shouldn't have taken this child?"
The blue pixy behind him grew larger, until it was as tall as a human child, and its eyes held a wisdom it had not gained yet, as it was still a young pixy. "Old one, if you know me, why would I make a sick joke like this?"
"Well," the old mage's sigh is a gentle whisper amidst the crackling flames of his past, "I suppose it's a good time to reflect on the choices I've made, Adalon's daughter. I've always known the path of a hero isn't for me, not when I...have sacrificed so much for this precious young brat."
The pixy, now in the form of Adrei, nodded solemnly. "But Demond, you never regretted it, did you?"
"I did not." Demond's voice was firm as he looked behind him, his sharp gaze into the eyes of the pixy, who now bore the form of a child, yet held the wisdom of a dragon queen. "I've made peace with my choices long ago. I...don't want to die, but if it is my death that bring dragonkind's anger to rest, then so be it."
A silence grew between the human mage and the dragon queen, the fire of the battle shimmered in Adrei's eyes as she studied the man who had once been her savior. She did not know the old man who murdered her father, however, she knew the old man who brought her up, who taught her the value of kindness and peace.
"A long time ago, when I was but a young dragon of fiery temper, I watched you stand up to Adalon. Despite your companions' fateful demise, you...remained alone, as my father's injured claws reached out for the innocent girl. Your bravery, your kindness, it was a beacon that pierced something in me that I...did not understand." Adrei's form grew translucent, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.
"I long since craved for the prideful eras of our dragon, one not when dragons hid in ignorance, but one when domineering humans in their metal beasts didn't exist." Adrei's words were a stark contrast to the gentle form of the pixy. "But your stubbornness...your strength as the weak brought me to my knees. For the first time in this world, I...was ashamed. And so, I watched you. I watched the way you raised Alice, the way you loved her, the way you rose her to be that young mage who snuffed out the Everflame Mountains with eternal ice. And I knew, the future of our worlds lay in her hands."
"And so, you gathered the elders for the Dragon Council." Demond played with Alice's fingers, as if he could still feel the warmth of her hand in his, the memory so vivid it was almost tangible. "You told them of your vision of peace, not of strength. As the Dragon queen, you believe your kind's fate is not with violence, but with carefulness and coexistence. I've heard from Alice, you are...an exceptional person."