The day after the events in the arena, Mariel was still in bed in the military infirmary. Though her bruises were serious and her shoulder was in intense pain for much of the first day, the second day saw the pain nearly gone. Late in the afternoon, Rantrink had stopped by and barraged her with questions about her time in training and the fight. She had given him her honest answers and argued that It had been a valuable experience. He admitted that he too was surprised at how well she had managed to hold up, and praised her for her quick legwork, though he had made certain to point out her lack of stamina in prolonged fights. After leaving, her friends almost fell into the room, having waited outside for Rantrink to finish up his conversation. The praise she received almost made her blush though she was severely reprimanded by Saya and Casindire for sticking her neck out once again.

She remained in bed for until the evening before she tried to at least get out of the bed. She put on some plain loungewear and as she finished, someone knocked on the door.

“It’s open.” She shouted and Charne appeared in the doorway.

“Are you sure about this?” His first question referred to her expressed wish to get on with the journey home as fast as possible.

“I am… How did it go?”

“It took some… Convincing. But I managed to get consent… Our troop will fly you and your friends to the coastal capital of Delanter… It will be a four-hour flight one way, and we’ll of course be taking rest stops as we go. In short, we’re waiting for you to be cleared…” Charne made his report like any good soldier would do, before his façade dropped and revealed his sadness.

“I’d… Rather you don’t go… You’ve been a very valuable friend and ally through my ordeal Mariel… You went above and beyond for very little in return. I wish you wouldn’t return to the human continent…”

“I’m sorry, but that’s where I belong… It’s a rough life, but I miss my home, and my family. If possible, I would like to come back to visit though, when I get a little older, and can travel normally… Instead of being thrown from the sky.” She showed him a smile, which seemed to calm his sorrow a little.

“You’ll always be welcome here Mariel…”

“Hey… I got a bit of a hint for you Charne…”

“Hm? What about?”

“Welidia… Though you might be over her, she’s not at all over you… Nobody else saw, but she’s been throwing you long glances whenever you two were around.”

“Eh?” Charne raised a brow. From his expression, it was apparent he did not quite grasp her words. “But, she agreed…” He began.

“I admire her. She decided to live with the grief of not being together with you, so you could pursue your dream.”

Slowly at first, her words began to sink in. As they began turning into knives, to pierce his protective layers, his face twisted into a forlorn, grief-stricken wreck. “Oh gods… Are you serious?”

Mariel merely nodded. Despondent, Charne hung his head. “I… Never noticed… Do you think it’s too late?” He looked back up, a hint of hope in his eyes.

“Ask her… I’m not her so who am I to answer.”

The once proud male in front of her slowly degenerated into a fidgeting clump of jelly. “Uh… How am I supposed to do that?”

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“You’re clever, you’ll figure it out.” She shrugged.

Two days later, Mariel felt prepared to depart. She and the others had all gathered on the city guard’s training grounds, where fourteen dragons and their riders were preparing themselves for the long journey. It was still dark, and the grounds were lit up by torches flickering in the gentle wind. She had packed her necessities, and paid her dues and respects to the temple. Among those present to wave them off was Fravil, Welidia and several city officials.

The scarred female, the leader of the group, stepped out from between the dragons and greeted Mariel with a handshake which she felt almost broke her bones.

“It’s good to see you again… My boys still talk about your efforts during that raid. If you want, you could stay here a few years and I’d make you into a proper dragon warrior!”

“It is a good offer… But I must decline. I want to go home.” She replied politely. Her words appeared to move even the stone-faced warrior, whom smiled and nodded. “Home eh?”

“Hi Mariel! Ah, you’ll be riding with me! Zana didn’t want to go, but when I told her we’d be flying you and that it was a favour, she nearly threw me off to fly here faster!” Johnas appeared alongside the commander.

“I’m looking forward to it!”

“Alright then! If you’re done saying your goodbyes, we’ll get going.” The commander waved her hand in a certain way, and the attendants all made the last preparations in hurried silence.

“A minute please… I’d like to say goodbye to my friends…”

“Alright.”

She walked over to the gate where Fravil and Welidia stood. As she approached, she saw them do their best to keep some tears in, to no avail.

“Mariel… I wish we could have more time together.” Fravil began, trying to keep her voice from cracking.

“You belong here Fravil… I also need to return to where I belong. You were good to me when I was feeling down and lost. I’ll forever treasure the time we spent together!” As she finished, Fravil dropped the rest of her emotions and thew herself around Mariel’s neck. They shared a warm hug and parted with Fravil drenched in her own tears.

“Uh… I don’t know whether to kiss you or slap you…” Welidia grinned. “You know, I’ll be missing you a lot of course… I know it’ll be a real hassle to carry around… So, I prepared the important bits… You’ll be fine making one of your own once you get back home! I can’t imagine what materials they have over there…” Welidia produced a small sealed box and presented it to Mariel.

“What is it?”

“… Silver finery, so that you can make your own dress in our style!”

“… I’m… Not sure what to say, it’s a wonderful gift! But won’t you need the money…”

“Shut up. No money in the world could make up for your bothersome meddling in other people’s affairs… That said, I’m in your debt… A part of me is sad that he’s deviating for my sake, but the other part is happy to a degree which I can’t describe.” She lowered her head a little. Mariel followed her eyes, and soon, her focus deviate from her face, and down on her left hand.

“Wow!” She lit up, smiling from cheek to cheek.

“I know right!? He kept it all this time… It fits perfectly even.”

“I’m happy for you. I’ll bring your gift with me home… And one day I’ll visit and we can go to the festival together again!”

“That’s a promise? You’d better promise, and not keep me waiting! The three of us won’t stand for it!”

“Three?”

“Ah…” Welidia blushed and stepped forward, leaning in to whisper. “He’s already made plans for… Um you know… Family stuff. I’m not really sure yet, but by the time you’re back, I think I will have found my resolve…”

“I’ll pray for you when I get back.”

“Thank you… Take care of yourself!”

As she walked back to the others, Mariel could not help but feel some tears welling up in her eyes. Saying goodbye felt horrible, but her grief only strengthened her resolve to return some day. While she had been talking, everyone else had mounted up and were waiting for her. Tizare had taken Saya with him, and the two were already bickering, to the rider’s visible dismay. Saryssa and Daristan looked like riding a dragon was second nature to them both, and their seating exuded confidence. Casindire was waiting for her together with Johnas, while Siravin sat quietly alone with another rider. With some help, and Zana’s accommodating gesture of bending very low, she soon sat on the dragon’s back, and the command was given. Immediately, the dragons began their ascent, their wings whirling up a cloud of dust and dry hay. Mariel kept waving and shouting goodbye to the others on the ground, until her words could no longer reach them. With one graceful swoop over the grounds, they began the journey to the coastal capital Delanter.