Aqua leaned her back against the carriage's wooden seat. In less than an hour, they would arrive at the Capital city of this Elven Kingdom. Sheira and Azure sat on the opposing side with Sun God nestled in her lap.
Her fingers moved through his flaming feathers as she stared at the two girls. Her lips curled into a smile. "So, tell me a bit about your home."
Azure and Sheira turned to look at each other for a moment. Sheira crossed her arms as she sucked in her lips. "It is a beautiful city, Architecturally it is much more impressive than that quaint little village we visited."
Aqua nodded. It made sense that the capital of a kingdom would be more impressive than its outskirts. It was, after all, the center of the authority and where the majority of trade converged. It was one of the reasons she had targeted the capital cities of countries she had destroyed.
If a capital were destroyed, the same thing would happen to its government's head, and much like a snake without a head, it would die after one last instinctive thrash. She couldn't help but remember the first city that was consumed by her crimson fire.
So many humans, yet not even ash remained. She cracked a guilty smile. She felt bad about killing the civilians, yet it was necessary. Pursuit of freedom required sacrifices. And if she wished to attain her own freedom, humanity needed to die.
She pulled herself out of her thoughts as she peered back at Azure and Sheira. "The name of the city is Onost. It has been the ancestral home of the elves ever since we could record our history." Azure stated with pride.
Aqua nodded, "And that is how long?"
"Hmmm… according to all of our sources, around 3000 years ago."
Aqua nodded with enthusiasm. It was not that long, which would explain the primitive state of the kingdom. "Is there anyone alive from that time?"
"What do you mean, Aqua? Elves only live to a 1000 if they are healthy." Sheira's smug expression faded. "I guess you are about to say elves are supposed to be immortal."
Aqua nodded, in her knowledge her kin did not suffer from old age, which made them a prime target for slavers, yet it was also a point of pride despite it. Yet while long-lived, the elves of the New World lacked ageless life.
"Of course… OF COURSE!" Sheira threw her hands in the air, "Wanna throw anything else at me?"
"It's an assumption I made from what I know, Sheira, you are also immortal. It is due to your nature as the goddess, the older you get, the stronger you will become, and Azure… your bargain with the goddess at least somewhat increased your lifespan."
The duo before her stared in disbelief, "Ok… I quit. Next time you say something insane, I will just say it's normal." Sheira giggled for a moment, " But elves were never immortal as far as I know."
Aqua leaned her head back and groaned, either these elves weren't biologically identical, which would be likely considering a different world, or something happened to get rid of their immortality.
"I suppose… well, it does not matter, it is extra information I can use." She adjusted herself in her seat.
"Well, I will just ignore the fact that I may be immortal now, that's a whole lot to unpack when I get back to my comfy bed. Tho… that means I will outlive Azure?" She punched Azure in the shoulder.
"So you WOULD miss me, huh? Despite bullying me constantly." Azure rubbed her shoulder as she stared at Sheira.
"Of course! Who do you think I am? It is called Love bullying."
"Love… bullying…?" She tilted her head slightly as her ears twitched in annoyance.
Sheira's lips formed a wide grin, "Yes! Just like when you become a red mess when Aqua even looks at you!"
"Come on…" Azure sighed as she snapped back to Aqua.
"We needn't worry about time spans right now. Time is on our side." Aqua smiled.
Both girls nodded.
Sheira clasped her hands together as she softly spoke. "Agreed! So… Aqua… about the attendant thing I thought up… It might be stupid, but don't get mad at my mom or dad if they say something bad… please?"
Aqua let out an audible exhale.
"I am not some brute, I told you I will not go killing innocents because they said something I don't like." Aqua pinched her nose bridge in frustration.
"Sure… but mom can be scary… so don't hurt her, please."
Aqua sighed, she had not expected Sheira and Azure to think so low of her as if she would kill Sheira's parents if they insulted her, she placed a hand on her chest, "I promise you, I will not harm even a strand of hair on either of your parents' heads!"
"I know… I guess I was just slightly worried." Sheira puffed out her cheeks.
"Please, do not worry. As long as nobody tries to harm you or Azure…" Aqua stopped talking; no matter what she said, it would have been too much.
Sheira shook her head, "It will be fine, just don't turn my family into ash."
"I promise." Aqua raised her hand.
"Good!" Sheira clapped, "Now… how do I convince Mom that my mommy is actually an attendant… I have a feeling she will figure out something is wrong."
Sheira tapped her lips as her eyes wandered to Azure, "What about you put on an illusion on your clothes and make them … less exotic."
"I guess I can do that." Aqua smiled as she snapped her fingers. Instantly, her extravagant red clothing was turned into something ordinary that even the villagers would wear.
"That should work." Sheira cupped her chin as she looked at Aqua from head to toes.
Aqua couldn't help but let out a chuckle as she followed the curious gazes of Sheira and Azure.
"This should work. Aqua now looks like a very pretty villager girl!" She nodded with satisfaction before she snapped her neck toward Azure. "She is very pretty, right?"
Azure nodded as a small blush took her face. "Very…"
Aqua blushed slightly, "Thank you, girls…"
Azure shook her head, "We are just stating a fact!"
Aqua gently petted Sun God's feathers as she smiled. These interactions truly filled her heart with joy, yet she felt as if she could not relax despite no threats being present. Even the gods that stalked her and Azure were absent.
Why can't I relax? She looked at her hands. Her past was still very fresh; the god that filled her life with nothing but pain and torment had died less than a week ago. She truly wished to relax, and she sighed as she placed her hands next to her body.
"Look, we are almost at the checkpoint!" Sheira exclaimed as she pushed her head through the carriage cover. "They probably won't recognize me with black hair, so Azu, would you talk for me?"
Azure hummed, "Sure, leave it to me!"
Aqua closed her eyes; they were almost at the capital, and despite visiting even grander cities, she felt nervous. Perhaps because of the fact that she was not alone this time, or because she did not know what could lurk within.
She shook her head, no matter what, she needed to push the thoughts of an enemy out of her mind. While she should trust her instincts, she truly believed it was safe. The carriage came in front of the checkpoint.
The line before them was quite long, thus it would take some amount of time to get inspected.
"I could teleport us inside," Aqua said calmly as her fingers glided through the fiery phoenix.
"Absolutely not!" Sheira stomped on the ground, "Let's do this properly!"
Aqua blinked in surprise, she had not expected Sheira to decline her that quickly. Most people would accept her offer so that they could benefit, yet Sheira just declined it.
It made Aqua smile, "Sure."
She leaned to the Sun God and whispered, "Could you turn invisible while we are inside? I don't want them to see you."
The Sun God's head turned to her and stared blankly at Aqua. "Yes… Those pathetic mortals don't deserve to gaze upon my majesty."
Instantly, the Sun God disappeared for everyone but Aqua, Sheira, and Azure. They stared in surprise, "But we can still see him."
"Because I am allowing you to… girl." Sun God stated as his form flared.
Sheira and Azure took a step back and collapsed onto their seat.
"Don't scare them. They are our allies." Aqua stared blankly for a moment. For a while, I hope.
"Bah!" The Fiery Avian jumped from Aqua's lap.
"Don't mind him, he can be quite grumpy when told what to do." Aqua rubbed her thighs before she pushed herself up.
"So, Sheira. Please tell me what kind of role I am playing." She pushed her head out of the carriage as she stared toward the checkpoint they needed to pass. I hope it won't be a disaster like one at Razul…
If anything, she did not wish to consume an elven soul; it truly would leave a foul taste in her mouth.