A century ago

  The soft whimpers carried through the night as Elsa sat in front of the inn their Delver party currently resided in. Meriel felt confused about why she had suddenly run out of the dining hall, but whatever that courier Manet bird brought had left Elsa in a state of shock ever since.

  Every sob hurt Meriel’s soul more than any physical wound could. But what does one say in a situation like this?

  It had been a while since the two had begun dating—a little over a year, if Meriel counted correctly—yet sometimes he felt clueless when it came to situations that happened for the first time.

  Elsa wasn’t the one to cry often. Quite the opposite, in fact—she was always the positive one of the group, the one who told the others to look on the bright side.

  It was even more shocking then, and Meriel felt at a loss. He gently caressed her shoulder, uncomfortable with the silence. Just say something, his mind whispered to him, just like it always had whenever he went silent near her. All these months spent in her company, yet he felt as bashful as in the beginning.

  In the end, he didn't need to say a thing for her to spill what was wrong.

  "My father… he's dead…" she got out in between the sobs, and she finished the sentence. She began crying harder. “My mother… wrote to me…”

  Meriel wrapped her in his arms and pulled her in, feeling the heat of her body.

  Her father was human, and so he passed a lot sooner than her mother would. Quite frankly, her mother would probably outlive Elsa herself, or at least she seemed to think so. Meriel couldn't even begin to imagine mourning the death of his family members, and so he only stayed there, telling her an occasional "it's going to be okay" and letting her get it all out of her system.

  Eventually, quiet overcame the front of the inn, only sometimes broken by wine-drunk patrons shouting something inside. Elsa looked at him, and there was something in her eyes that Meriel had never seen before. A gentle touch on his arm followed by a squeeze. And Elsa spoke, almost whimpering.

  "I don't know how long I'm going to live, but I can't imagine losing you, Meriel. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I don't want—"

  She began breaking down again as she spoke on and on, and so Meriel only squeezed her back and then pulled her into a kiss. The touch of their lips set off an explosion in his head like it always had, but it was quieter now. He didn't lose focus like he usually did. He let the kiss linger, and when he finally pulled away, she grabbed his cheek.

  "Are you gonna leave me like that too? I don't want—"

  He quickly put a finger to her mouth. "I'm never going to leave you, okay?

  “I don't want to lose—"

  He smiled as self-assuredly as he could. "Not gonna leave you. Ever."

  The path to Egoros was a fairly straightforward one, even compared to the easiest of Meriel’s journeys in the past. There were a lot of great things about flying, but the fact that they didn’t have to meet a single person throughout their whole journey was by far the best one. Meriel had spent far too long alone in the cave, and going straight back into the epicenter of human activity was distracting to say the least.

  Look at me, becoming antisocial after I wished for human company for so long. He chuckled in his mind and let the thought sink away. He’d get used to it eventually, but he’d hopefully have time for that later. It could come after he got Elsa back.

  Most of Meriel’s journey was spent thinking as the wind blasted him in the face. Thinking about many things.

  He thought back on the discussion he had with Ziggy. Thought back on whether he took the right approach in teaching his apprentices. Thought on what would happen in the future.

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  The kids would meet Elsa, and they would definitely like her. She always wanted kids, but they always put it off for after their delving adventures, for the time in the future once they had settled in their new home.

  Meriel wasn't that keen on parenting, but in the end, it still pained him that he missed out on this part of his life with Elsa. Perhaps he could catch up soon. He could leave the Academy, teach Ziggy and Mary whatever they needed from the sidelines. The more he thought on it, the better the idea seemed. He could actually start searching for an instructor for Aurelia as well.

  His thoughts often centered on Aurelia too. He did try talking to her several times, but it was like talking to a summon in truth. Ziggy had a personality, and it wasn't like Aurelia didn't have one, but she always seemed to agree with whatever Meriel said or sometimes it felt like she saw into his mind and agreed with what he thought.

  Most of the times he had tried to get to know her better, her only reply was: "Of course, Master," or "whatever you wish, Master." How infuriating. He wasn't even mad at her, couldn't be, rationally, for he was the one that made her. But for someone who was only two weeks old, she was really crafty in the ways she could dodge any personal questions. He had almost given up, but he couldn't. Not really.

  They were a day away from their first visit to the capital of Egoros. Meriel thought about walking there with her at his side, but he didn't like hiding his identity any longer, and not showing his power would probably only slow him down here.

  He wanted to see Elsa now, not in a week, not in two or several months. He wanted to get to her, needed to let her know he was alive.

  And so after some discussion—if one could call it that—they decided on traveling right into the middle of the city on Aurelia's back.

  But not before stopping for the night. Already he told Aurelia to start descending, and they picked out a small clearing in the dense forest. It was too large for Aurelia to descend comfortably, and so she had to break several trees to even land on the ground.

  Meriel hopped off from her back, almost falling as he lost balance, but he steadied himself and watched Aurelia transform. He had gotten used to the sight of her body expanding and condensing several times a day, almost.

  "Are you hurt? Did none of those trees hurt you?" he asked, looking her over, but her dress was as pristine as it always was whenever she transformed.

  "No, Master. Thank you for asking," she gave him a calm smile, and there was that point where Meriel felt fed up. He really wanted to talk to her more, to get to know this being he brought into this life, yet she refused, and the nerves from possibly meeting Elsa tomorrow made his mind jumbled. He was even more intent on getting to know her.

  He quickly put up some wooden logs from the fallen trees and started a fire, opened his bags to pull out some of the meats he packed a week ago, and speared them with a stick. One stick went into Aurelia's hand, and she joined him sitting opposite on the other side of the small campfire, silent as always.

  Meriel thought long and hard on how to start the conversation, but in the end he chose the blunt way. If she refused to give any ground when he prodded softly, then maybe going in a more direct way was the way to go.

  "Aurelia?" he asked.

  "Yes, Master," she said, straightening up and looking at him expectantly.

  "I want to get to know you. Get to know the real you. I order you to stop this professionalism that you always keep on whenever I try to talk to you."

  She gulped visibly and tilted her head to the side. The silence was only broken by the occasional crackle of the wood in between them.

  "But Master, how? What will the others think when they see your servants not respecting you? I let Big Brother do so because he's obviously served you for far longer than I, but it's just not right," she said. And finally, there was some emotion in her voice. Not a lot of it compared to the kids, but… everyone would seem neutral when compared to Mary and Ziggy.

  "I don't want you to only be my servant, Aurelia. Yes, I do need your help and will need it for the foreseeable future, but I want you to be more than that."

  "But I am your servant, Master. I am here for you, because you made me, and I will serve you until the end of my life. Please don't throw me away," she said, her voice almost breaking as she finished that sentence. What was this about? Did she think that he would throw her away if she showed even a hint of personality?

  "I will never throw you away, Aurelia. You’re my creation, my responsibility, and someone I will look over, for you already look over me." He smiled and stood up, sitting closer to her. There was a single tear running down her cheek, and he wiped it away. "I just don't want you to become my shadow, to become someone who is not able to live without my presence. You will live for far longer than I, if I understand it correctly, Aurelia. You need to be your own person first and foremost."

  "Master, but you won't throw me—"

  "I will never throw you away. Quite the opposite, in fact. If you ever feel like you need some advice, some help, I am always here for you, okay? I want you to always come to me whenever there is an issue. I am here for you, just like you've been here for me so far. " He touched her hand and smiled softly. "Can we begin with simple steps? How about you refer to me by my name when it's just the two of us?"

  Her eyes shot wide, but then she gave him a smile, a genuine smile, showing off her bright white teeth with the two sharp canines. She gulped again, wiped another tear away, and nodded.

  "Yes, Meriel."