The Reborn Witch had a nice 'Tea Time' with the Dragon Queen today-Chapter 18: Wolf’s Pride, Dragon’s Vow, Witch’s Beginning (1)

"Adrei."

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

"...here."

"Thanks."

In the shadowy corridor that led outside the throne room, the future she promised her companions, Demond reached out to the cigarette Adrei offered her, the tip glowing red as it met the dragon's scales. She took a deep drag, the smoke curling around her face, as the pixies fluttered around them, their curiosity piqued in spite of their grief.

The dragon remained silent, her gaze fixed on the frozen feeble trails under the witch's bare feet, each snowflake glowing briefly within the darkness of the corridor as they melted from an union no longer needed. Upon hearing another drag, she glanced up, the cigarette hanging from the witch's lips, her robes, dried and cleaned by the dragon's spell, fluttered slightly in the smoken air, a shutter to the witch's turmoiled mind.

She supposed she should leave her alone, but Adrei found herself unnerved. Even with the silver tongue she had to convince Alice the stubborn hero not to cover the entire continent in anti-magic barriers, the words of comfort hang in her throat.

The pixies, however, had other plans, as they began to swirl around the witch, their whispers grew into a chorus of hopeful pleas. They did not know of her grief, nor did they know much of the Wolf Queen who they played with, but the stiffening mana in the air had them worried. They knew something was amiss, and their natural instinct was to heal. They approached Demond tentatively, their tiny hands reaching out to touch her cheeks, to share their lighting's comfort, to let her know that she was not alone.

Leaning into the warmth of the pixies' embrace, Demond puffed out another smoke as she sighed, "I'll miss her." It was a simple, heartfelt confession that resonated with the creatures around her. The pixies, as if understanding the weight of her confession, clung to her even tighter, their light glowing a little brighter.

The dragon nodded, a sympathy reflected in her fiery gaze. "As do I," she murmured, her voice a soft rumble that seemed to resonate within the very walls of the cave. "But remember that it is not your last meeting. What dies is the memories, but not her soul. The wolf's pride will live on, and she will...detest you mourning."

"I know I know...this old man has just gotten too attached to that furry old brat." Demond managed a weak smile, her eyes glistening slightly. Her blue eyes in the shadowy cave looked almost like the moon itself. She took another drag from the cigarette, the embers lighting up her face briefly before the darkness swallowed it again.

"To be honest, I'm mostly awkward with the wolf's passing." Demond said, her voice hoarse stuck with the string ball of her emotions. "It's not just because of the promise. It's because she's the last link to the time when we were...everything, the time when my companions were still alive and the world breathes of war instead of joys and laughters. She's the last piece of that life I've been holding onto. And now, she's gone too."

"But that life has not gone, your mark in history may be forgotten, yet the world you fought to protect remembers." Adrei said, her voice a comforting reminder of harmony for past and present. "As you have told Leona, the peace Alice has brought, it is your victory as much as it is hers. And you, Demond, are a hero in your own right, one who has survived the Adalon's flame and reached the era of peace."

"No thanks to you, wasn't it?" Demond said, a hint of bitterness and mischief as she gazed back at the dragon. "Ah...maybe I could've died first before the wolf, and I bet my partner has been...waiting for my end to come first, eager to steal my soul for the Spirit Chamber."

"Perhaps she was, but she waited for you to release her first," Adrei replied, her tone a careful tease to lighten the somber mood. She knew Demond's strength and the burden she had carried all these years, but she also knew the depth of the honour and companionship she had shared with the wolf. "Now, the wolf has found her rest. It is time for you to live. You are not a vessal of promises, only to fulfill others' unfinished destinies."

"Adrei..." Demond took a deep breath, the smoke escaping her nostrils as she spoke, "that is a cruel jest to this old man."

"And this old man is now a witch in her twilight years, and a wife to a husband who just beat up her dearest companion, isn't she?" Adrei couldn't help but smile at the memory, her mood lifting slightly as the pixies bobbed up and down in agreement, their giggles echoing off the stone walls.

"...did anyone ever confess how you suck at comforting?" Demond asked, a smirk playing on her lips, the first real one since the wolf's passing.

"Many did, and they all fell with a 'heat endurance test' with the Queen herself." Adrei chuckled, the sound echoing through the cave, a stark contrast to the grieves that had filled the air moments before. The pixies held their 'tummies' at the shared joke, their lights twirling around the dragon, their mood lifting as if by magic.

"Leona would scoff at her fellow Queen's cruelty, though I suspect she would have enjoyed a few more rounds with you instead." The witch's smile grew wider, her eyes sparkling with mirth. The frosty trail no longer thickened with each step, instead, it began to dissipate, as glitters of ice crystals sprinkled with the pixies' playful whispers.

Adrei didn't answer, but instead allow a comforting silence to envelop them both. The dragon knew that words could not fill the void left by the passing of a cherished companion. The pixies, not sensing the shift in mood, continued to dance around them, their melodies of nature weaving through the air like a child's lullaby.

Demond took another drag from her cigarette, watching the ashes float away. The past, the glory, the vows, they all distanced away like a puff of smoke in the air. The former old mage always realised the futility of holding onto memories, but now that she would be alive ahead of her companions, she has forgotten not to dishonour them temporarily.

And so, a relieved smile crept up Demond's face, the warmth of friendship and the shared history with Leona seeping into the coldness of her grief. She took one final drag before flicking the cigarette into the distance, watching as the embers grew small before winking out of existence.

The couple passed the corridor as they neared the exit, the moonlight streaming in through the cracks, painting the ground with silver lines. The cave air grew colder as they approached the mouth of the cave, the outside forest a graceful blue shade to the witch's reflective eyes. Demond felt the burden of the silence pressing down on her shoulders, but she did not flinch. Instead, she took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the crisp air of the night.

Her memory has gone back to the night she promised the wolf, of valor, of companionship, of a stubbornness to thrive beyond their limits, of a promise to live beyond the annals of history, to be more than mere passing winds. Now that they succeeded in the form of Alice, she had a new journey to embark on. A journey of her own, to live beyond her old, exhausted retirement or her naive, youthful passions.

She glanced at the moon one last time, nodding to herself, before smirking to the dragon. "Adrei, mind going on a date with me?"

The dragon blinked, taken aback by the sudden change in tone. "A... date?"

"Yeah, you know, a night out, just you and me," Demond said, her smile growing more genuine as she watched the puzzled look on Adrei's face. "It's been a long time...well, it's the first time this old man dated anyone in eighty years, but I thought it might be nice."

A date not to remember this day as a mournful one, but to celebrate the promise kept and the peace achieved. The dragon's eyes widened for a moment, and then a warm smile of hers answered her lover's. "Very well, Demond. Where should we be headed?"

"Since we're leaving the forest anyways...there is a spot you can admire the dawn. Me and Leona discovered it when we first arrived here." Demond suggested with a knowing glint in her eyes. It was a small clearing atop a hill where the first light of the morning kissed the land, a stark contrast to the perpetual night the forest had been shrouded in during the Tyrant's reign.

"Oh, does that mean I've intruded on your secret spot?" Adrei teased, her smile growing wider as the witch rolled her eyes playfully. The two of them stepped out into the cold night, the moon casting long shadows across the snow-covered ground. The forest lay still, the trees frozen in a silent salute to the powerful duo that had once brought terror and hope in equal measure.