“I see your mana has stabilized,” Sigmis could sense the approach of Aliya and Erik as they grew closer to the table he was sitting at. Their chaotic mana had calmed considerably and was gaining more strength by the second. “Much faster than I anticipated given Aliya’s recent demeanor towards Erik.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Aliya pouted.
“Human tethering is a compatibility thing,” Erik crossed his arms. “Us chatting brought us to understand each other a bit more, so our mana resonated a bit easier.”
“Is that so?” Aliya looked at Sigmis hoping he’d confirm.
“This is true, you are rather knowledgeable about this subject, Erik,” Sigmis nodded.
“How in the hell do you know all this?” Aliya leered at him with suspicion. “Normal humans don’t learn this stuff.”
“I thought we established I’m not normal,” Erik snickered. He stopped when Aliya’s glare grew more intense. “I told you, I grew up around Spirits. I learned it from them. Not much more to it than that.”
“So you have the talent to be a Druid, and yet, you live as a thief?” Aliya looked at him with confusion.
“Can you really see me being one of those goodie two shoes?” Erik scoffed.
“Actually you have a point, thinking about it makes me laugh, there’s no way,” Aliya was trying to suppress her laughter at thinking about him being as straight laced as most Druids were nowadays. “You do wear the colors though.”
“What? Coincidence! Druids could never look this good,” Erik acted as though he was offended.
“True, the Druid’s I know wouldn’t be caught dead in that,” Aliya looked him up and down.
“What?! You can’t harp on me anymore so you have to take it out on what I wear, that’s cold even for you,” Erik pointed at her.
“I’m just stating facts,” Aliya shrugged with an uncaring expression. She looked back at Sigmis who had an amused expression as he sipped his tea. “Sigmis, where did the others run off to? Since we are doing better I’d like to get out of town as soon as possible. We’ve been here way longer than we need to be given that most of our party is wanted.”
“And who’s fault is that I wonder?” Erik was about to casually put his arms behind his head but Aliya elbowed him in the ribs before he got that far and he doubled over.
“They are at the belfry,” Sigmis tucked his arms in his sleeves as he got to his feet.
“Really? It’s daytime, is Terbius really helping them out right now? And Kindle is letting them?” Aliya was a bit taken aback by the development, mainly the latter part.
“They impressed the architect with their modifications. They have been openly assisting them the morning that followed your change in tether,” Sigmis was in a rather cheery mood now that everyone was in a better light.
“Wait, how long have I been asleep?” Aliya glanced between the two of them.
“You slept for three days, darling,” Erik voiced nonchalantly.
“Seriously?!” Aliya sighed bitterly upon seeing Sigmis nod in confirmation. “All the more reason to leave sooner rather than later!” She started marching to the door.
“You sure we shouldn’t wait until they are done?” Erik trotted after her as Sigmis followed behind them.
“I would think you, of all people, would want to leave more than I do,” Aliya leered over her shoulder at him as he started matching her pace. “I’m guessing your bounty doubled after what happened.”
“Tripled, but not the point,” Erik quickly waved it off. “Aren’t they doing good to help show that not all Earth Spirits are like The Earth Legion. I would think you’d want that too, given that other brother of yours is an Earth Spirit. Isn’t there a sister as well?”
“Yes, Lios and Erinna,” Aliya huffed. “I want to be supportive but I also don’t want us to get captured and killed.” She paused as a realization hit her, “This is what it must be like for Kindle all the time. I do not give her enough credit for reigning us in all the time.”
Aliya looked up, they were still several blocks away but she could spot the towering twin belfry from where they were. She was shocked to see how they were practically done given only a small portion was complete the night she spoke with them. More than that she was stunned by the architectural style that was on display as decorative archways suspended multiple bells of varying sizes above the town. Her fascination took over and she began to run the rest of the way.
“Hey! Wait!” Erik called after her as he tried to keep up.
“They are so lively after just recovering,” Sigmis chuckled to himself. He simply continued at his own pace knowing the crowd he sensed ahead would bring them to a stop.
“Why are there so many people?” Erik was trying to catch his breath as Aliya was standing on the tips of her toes trying to get a better look.
“We might not have to wait for them to finish after all,” Sigmis smiled tilting his head towards the belfry. He could see the outline of the towers as it was still heavily infused with Terbius’s mana.
“Sigmis!” Zephyr spotted the tall Celestial from the base of the belfry and started to make his way towards them.
“Zephyr, I’ve brought someone you’ve been waiting for,” Sigmis called to him as he approached.
Zephyr lit up, knowing exactly who he meant and rather than shoving his way through the crowd he dissipated into wind, blowing past all the people and Spirits gathered to see the newly finished belfry. Sigmis lightly tugged at Aliya’s collar so that she would take a step back for her brother to materialize in front of her.
“Aliya!” Zephyr embraced her in a tight hug and was practically on the verge of tears. “I’m so glad you are okay!”
“I’m sorry I worried you,” Aliya wrapped her arms tightly around him. She couldn’t remember the last time they had hugged like this. She didn’t even realize how much she missed it.
“You should be!” Zephyr picked her up off the ground.
“What are you doing?!” Aliya squealed in surprise.
“Terbius! Kindle! Look what I found!” Zephyr raised his voice and Aliya above the crowd.
“Do you always have to embarrass me?!” Aliya hissed under her breath.
“I’m your brother, it's my job,” Zephyr smirked.
“Aliya!” Terbius boisterously cheered in unison as they dashed through the crowd which quickly parted to get out of their way. Zephyr set Aliya down only for Terbius to both pick her up and set her on their shoulders and start carrying her to the base of the tower.
“You should have let us know you needed help!” Ter looked up at her in concern.
“We would have dropped everything to help you!” Bius finished his twin’s thought.
“But if you did then you wouldn’t have finished this masterpiece!” Aliya patted them both on the head as she admired looking up at it.
“Aliya!” Kindle’s voice was a harsh growl that sent a shiver down Aliya’s spine. Terbius instinctually froze at Kindle’s tone given it’s the one she always used when they got in trouble. Kindle’s hair was set ablaze as were her eyes glowing under the shadow of her bangs.
Kindle lunged and closed the distance in an instant, punching Aliya in the cheek. Aliya fell backwards off Terbius’s shoulders but Erik caught her before she hit the ground. Kindle landed directly in front of them and grabbed Aliya by the collar of her cloak with one hand and covered Erik’s mouth before he could protest.
“Don’t you ever! And I mean, never ever, do that again!” Kindle yelled. “We are a team! If you have a problem you bring it up to all of us! Understand!”
“Yes,” Aliya tried to speak as clearly as she could as she rubbed her cheek. She reached out and wrapped her arms around Kindle and pulled her into an embrace. Kindle softened up letting them both go as her arms dropped to her sides. Kindle was trying to fight back tears, not wanting to cry with so many people watching them.
“Please forgive me. I promise I won’t do it again.” Aliya drew back a bit and smiled wholeheartedly at her despite the pain in her swollen cheek. “If I do, hit me again!”
“Kindle, while I agree she deserved it,” Zephyr leaned into Kindle’s peripheral. “Please don’t punch my sister again or I might not be able to control my brotherly instinct to fight you.”
“Well then I’d beat both of you down and then where would we be?” Kindle smirked coyly.
“Yeah, I’m okay too, thanks for asking,” Erik huffed.
“You’re not the one that almost died,” Aliya whispered over her shoulder at him with a bemused look on her face. “Thank you for catching me by the way, it already hurts plenty, if I hit the ground I don’t think I could have gotten back up.”
“Don’t sweat it,” Erik looked away from her, extremely flattered that she actually thanked him.
“Everything seems good to go!” Breyze called down to the crowd, floating from a window in one of the towers. She settled on an archway and spotted Aliya and her face lit up, “Oh, hey! Aliya’s awake!”
“You guys are just in time!” Terbius seemed giddy. They were bouncing with anticipation. The crowd was also growing more lively by the second.
“Just in time for what?” Aliya tilted her head at them.
“I would think it would be obvious,” Kindle crossed her arms looking up at the towers.
“We just had to finish it!” Ter stood tall and proud.
“Sigmis and Aliya wanted to hear it!” Bius maintained the giddy excitement.
“And now you can!” Terbius cheered in unison.
“Ladies and Gentlemen!” Erissa stood in the doorway of one of the two towers. “Fae and humans alike have come together to restore this town and here stands our crowning achievement! The remaster of Lambertine Belfry!” The crowd cheered in an uproar of excitement. “Thanks to all of your hard work this town doesn’t need to remain silent any longer! Lambertine is a lively city of craftsmen, let this inspire each and every one of you!”
The first ring hushed the crowd as the sound reverberated through the whole town, the kind of sound everyone felt in their bones and took their breath away. Smaller bells began to chime as well syncing up with a melody that came from within the towers. The towers were no longer just a belfry but an instrument that played a song for the whole town and beyond to hear.
Aliya covered her mouth, shocked Terbius put in so much hard work just for the two of them. She started tearing up, imagining if Erik hadn’t stepped in or if she had let her stubborn pride take over she wouldn’t have been around to hear the Lambertine bells ring or see the beautiful stonework they built. Aliya felt the passion of her friends and the town and was reminded of her own.
The overflow of emotion Aliya had long forgotten came out when she took a deep breath and began to sing in harmony with the melody. The boisterous crowd fell silent as they were captivated by her enchanting voice as it was carried on the wind.
Zephyr’s heart skipped a beat. When she sang in the ruins it was because she needed to, it was hollow and listless compared to what he was used to in the past. This was different. This song was filled with life, passion and love. For a moment he felt like he was back in simpler, happier times. Back when the two of them lived on a peaceful little island with a small fishing village in the shadow of an ancient temple.
“I haven’t heard her sing like this in almost two centuries,” Zephyr’s golden eyes glittered in the sunlight as he started tearing up.
“This is different than when we were in the ruins,” Erik’s eyes were closed as he let her voice wash over him. He gripped at his chest, uncertain as to why it felt so tense. He jumped when he felt a hand on his head. He glanced to his right to see Zephyr was looking him in the eye with a heartfelt smile.
“Thank you, Erik,” Zephyr took a deep breath. “If it weren’t for you we wouldn’t have the chance to hear her sing like this.”
“I must thank you as well,” Sigmis passed Erik, patting him on the shoulder as he approached Terbius. “You as well Terbius.” Sigmis tousled the twins’ already messy hair. “Thank you for working so hard on this for us. Since I can’t see like the rest of you, music has always been such a comfort and wondrous form of entertainment for me. Hearing Aliya sing to the musical melody this tower makes, it’s worth all those years in isolation. I’m glad it’s all of you who set me free.”
“Really, though, you boys are too good for this world!” Kindle wrapped her arms around Terbius. “I’m so proud of you two.”
As the chiming of the tower came to an end, so did Ailya’s singing. Aliya took a deep breath and smiled as she placed a hand over her chest. It was at that moment the tension Erik felt in his own chest lifted.
The silence in the crowd broke out in a joyous uproar of applause and a cheer for an encore. Aliya glanced around the unfamiliar sea of faces with a nervous smile. A glint on the outside edge of the crowd caught her attention. She spotted a pair of knights with the same armor and colors of the unit of Imperial Knights that ambushed them in the capital.
Aliya snapped back to her friends and locked eyes with Erik. She discreetly pointed at the Imperial Knights. Erik noticed how serious she was and tracked to where she was pointing. As far as he could tell they hadn’t been noticed yet since it was so busy that they easily blended in.
“Looks like Aliya was right, we do need to get out of town,” Erik directed the others' attention to the Imperial Knights. He was worried they picked Aliya out, given she added to the crowd’s celebration.
“If we stick around here we’ll drag a lot of people into this if there ends up being a fight,” Kindle scrunched her brows. “Everyone’s attention is on Aliya right now though. It’ll be hard for her to slip away unnoticed right now.”
“Then let’s split up and meet in Evoldo Forest,” Zephyr stated. “It’ll be easy to lose them in there. Erik, do you remember that old abandoned town, half submerged in the sea, we stumbled across that one time we got lost?”
“Yeah, I vaguely remember where it’s at, but don’t blame me if I get lost again trying to find it,” Erik was trying to mentally backtrack but it was so long ago and most of the time they spent together, in that forest, they were drunk.
“Well I doubt they’ll look for us that far into the forest so it’s our best bet,” Zephyr patted Erik on the shoulder. “We’ll meet there and we can keep heading south. Don’t try anything funny with my sister or I’ll kill you.”
“Got it!” Erik rolled his eyes and waved him off as he moved towards Aliya in the crowd.
“Zephyr, I think you should get Breyze and Pree,” Kindle pointed out Breyze above the crowd on the belfry with Pree sitting on her shoulder. “I know she’ll follow Aliya if we leave her. I just worry since she’s up there, if they haven’t noticed her already, they might recognize her. You’re the best bet at drawing her out of sight.”
“I agree,” Zephyr nodded. “You guys make your way out of this mess and we’ll be right there before you know it.”
Zephyr dissipated into the wind. The wind gathered next to Breyze and she looked up from doodling in her notebook to see Zephyr standing next to her. “Time to go, lil’ bit,” Zephyr offered his hand to help her stand up on the narrow archway they were on. “I’ll give you two details on the way. Follow me this way,” Zephyr waved her towards the other side of the belfry away from where the Imperial Knights were and vanished into the wind and settled on a roof in her line of sight. Breyze jumped off and floated down to him.
“You coming Sigmis?” Kindle looked over her shoulder when she noticed he wasn’t following.
“I’ll accompany Aliya and Erik to ensure their safety,” Sigmis tilted his head down towards Kindle. “Since your pursuers aren’t looking for me, it will be quite advantageous for them.”
“I think we’ll all rest a little easier with you there to make sure Aliya doesn’t kill him,” Kindle laughed as she slipped away following her brothers out of the crowd.
Aliya was surrounded by strangers showering her with praise for her impromptu performance. Aliya saw that Erik was trying to slip past the shifting wall of people and Spirits.
“Oh, Erik! There you are!” Aliya addressed him with a warm smile and the people around her parted just enough for him. “I’m so sorry for making us late! When I heard the melody of the belfry I couldn’t help myself.”
He knew it was fake since she had never really acted that way towards him before, though he wished she would, he found it quite adorable. He tried to not let it phase him. Instead he put on a charming smile of his own and slid up next to her, wrapping his arm around her waist. It took every ounce of willpower she had not to break character and punch him for it.
“My darling, Aliya, never apologize for that heavenly voice of yours! I enjoy every sound that passes your lips.” Erik pulled her in as close as he could. He knew she’d likely make him pay for it later but he was greatly enjoying this strangely sweet side of Aliya. “Are you ready to leave, darling?”
“I apologize dearly everyone but I don’t have the time to sing for you once more,” Aliya‘s voice was as sweet as honey but Erik could feel her desire to pummel him in that moment by just looking in her eyes. “You see I unfortunately have plans with my partner here that I’m already late for.” There was a collective sigh of disappointment from the crowd nearby.
“I’m sorry to hoard her for myself, but we have a romantic getaway to get to and if we leave any later then we’ll miss our ship!” Erik started escorting her through the crowd.
“Farewell! I hope to sing for you all again someday!” Aliya waved as they made their way through the crowd.
Sigmis shadowed them at his own pace, as he always had. He was emitting more of his own mana to better see his surroundings given the crowd was just a blur of every element of mana. The small heatwave he let out just felt like a warm gust of wind to anyone who even could perceive it. For him, it was clarity to see the buildings, the roads, the stalls and the items people carried in shapes and shades of scarlet in every direction around him.
When they slipped away from the busy crowd Sigmis could get a better view of those around given the streets weren’t as busy as when they arrived given the festive scene they came from. Erik was still escorting Aliya as though they were still in their little act despite the distance they had put between the Belfry square and them. Aliya was getting rather annoyed by how close he was.
“It would be in your best interest to unhand me,” Aliya maintained her honeied tone and expression but her ice cold whispered intent gave Erik chills.
“My darling Aliya,” He whispered back, unsure of who was listening to them as they casually walked past the stalls and shops. “People don’t look at affectionate couples for long. It makes them jealous or uncomfortable. The same is true for the knights. We are less likely to get spotted like this and we can leave town faster by using the main roads.”
“Oh, so you’ve done this before then?” Aliya narrowed her eyes.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t,” Erik looked away with a grin still on his face.
“I think you are just enjoying this way too much,” Aliya quietly groaned.
“I would never! I am a professional you know,” Erik was indeed enjoying his time with her but he didn’t want to admit it aloud.
“Hold on you two,” Sigmis tugged on their collars before they could turn the corner. Just around the corner he sensed a pair of armored humans with strange magic weapons he’d never experienced before but he could tell from their structure and complex glyphs embedded in them that they were a similar make to Regulus but they felt void of the life Regulus had. He could tell the weapons around the corner were just as dangerous if not more so. “It may be best to reroute.”
“What do you mean?” Erik tilted his head back to look up at the tall Celestial behind him.
“Those two there!” A bit further down the road in front of them another pair of Imperial Knights spotted them. “Knights! Apprehend them!” The pair from around the corner quickly entered the intersection and were far too close for comfort.
“Damn, we need to run!” Erik was about to backtrack holding Aliya’s hand to drag her along until Sigmis stepped between them and the Imperial Knights.
“Hold it,” He opened his eyes so that the humans knew just what he was.
“The Fire Celestial?!” Seeing the four pointed stars in his eyes and the fierce dignified manner caused the Imperial Knights to freeze.
Erik tugged on Aliya’s arm to try and get her to escape with him but she wouldn’t budge. She had no doubt he could take care of himself but she didn’t want to leave Sigmis behind. She figured these Knights didn’t know what Igneous looked like and was hoping Sigmis could pull off using that to their advantage.
“Forgive us, Fire Celestial, but these two are treasonous criminals of the Empire,” One of the knights stepped forward, his tone was as respectful as he could but urgent not wanting their targets to try and slip away.
“I understand that is the case but as of right now they are my escorts and I am in desperate need of their assistance if this war is to be put to an end!” Sigmis’s voice was calm yet firm. He was glad the knowledge of current events he received from chatting with Aliya, Zephyr and Kindle over the last few days was helpful. “Once this is resolved I will see to it that they are dealt with properly. Is that agreeable?” His voice was firm and resolute and his presence was overwhelming. While it sounded like a negotiation it felt like an order with no room to question,
“Y-yes sir,” The knight reluctantly agreed, not wishing to incur the wrath of The Fire Celestial. The other knights also responded the same way.
“Thank you for your understanding, we shall take our leave,” Sigmis closed his eyes again so as to not draw in more attention for passers-by and gestured for Aliya and Erik to follow him.
“Captain Caldus, are we really going to let them go?” An Imperial Knight asked the one that spoke to Sigmis.
“No, watch where they go and send the asset after them,” Caldus narrowed his eyes through the slit in his helm. “The Princess and Head Researcher won’t want us to return empty handed Celestial or not. They’ll demote us on the spot if we fail but if the asset fails it’s not on us it’s on them.”