Chapter 12 - Some Nights
Lilly walked over to the forge and got ready to put her flame into it once more. She put her hands on the formation on the back, letting the forge drain her flame until it had filled. Shortly after, it roared to life, filling the room with warmth.
A sudden movement in her cleavage let Lilly know Beak had woken up. She assumed it was due to the heat from the forge. “Hey, Beak. Did the flame wake you?” she asked, pulling him out of her top.
Beak looked sleepy, but he seemed to be searching for something, twisting his neck around to look at the room. Lilly walked around to the front of the forge to see his reaction, and Beak started squeaking excitedly as soon as the fiery forge was in sight.
Lilly had to hold him so he wouldn’t crawl out of her hand. She considered whether or not to let him into the forge but felt it might be problematic. This forge was made for extreme temperatures so that it could heat the toughest metals.
“Beak, that’s a very hot forge. I don’t know if you’re like me or if you have defenses against heat, so I can’t let you inside it.”
The book in the library said they enjoy sleeping in hot places, but not so hot that breathing becomes a problem. ‘What sort of stupid book uses that as a measurement? How hot is that?’
Lilly turned back to Mia and Eolande, finding them both smiling at her. “Any of you know what temperature breathing becomes a problem at?”
Mia shook her head while Eolande seemed to think about it. “For us normal people, I’d say somewhere around 100 degrees. But I’m guessing that’s not what you’re asking.”
“No, I was thinking of for Beak. What temperature do you think the crater was during the most intense training session we had, Elly?”
“I don’t know, probably several thousand. But I don’t think you can use that as a pointer. Since you vaporized rock, you should usually have problems with breathing in dangerous gasses. I’m guessing your flame purified it or something like that.”
“Ah, okay… I can’t really recall what I did back then, but I guess I was lucky.” Lilly looked at Beak, who was still relentlessly trying to get to the forge. “Do you think I can heat my hand up with him in it? I will be careful.”
Eolande looked at her with a hint of worry. “I guess you can, as long as nothing else gets burned. You’ll have to watch your clothes, though.”
Lilly was already folding her sleeve up, getting ready to test it. “I won’t be going so hot that my clothes will be in danger, don’t worry. Are you ready, Beak?”
Beak was still chirping eagerly, so she took it as a yes. She held out her arm from her body, gently holding him in a light grip. Slowly, she started heating her hand with her flame, watching Beak intently in case anything happened.
Beak seemed to be wondering what was happening, and slowly stopped chirping as intensely. As the temperature rose to a few hundred degrees, he let out a yawn and put his head under one of his wings, ready to sleep.
“Wow, this works super well. Maybe we could put him to sleep in your oven during nights, Elly?”
Eolande nodded as she approached Beak, getting a better look. “I’m fine with it. He’s very cute when he’s sleeping.”
Mia also came closer, smiling as she studied him. “He’s a lot cuter when he’s sleeping, that’s for sure. I hope he gets more used to me after a while…”
Lilly understood Mia had a hard time yesterday and could hear the tinge of sadness in her voice. She gave her an encouraging smile. “It might take a little while, but I’m sure he’ll figure out how lovable you are eventually. They are intelligent birds, after all.”
Mia smiled back at her. She looked tempted to pet the sleeping bird gently but figured it was better to let him sleep. “I should get started on the belt. Do you want to stay here, or…?”
“I was thinking of seeing Gallus again, to get the pearl for the belt. the full moon is only four days away, so we’ll have to get everything ready for a big day of enchanting. Elly, you can do whatever you want.”
Eolande looked somewhat surprised by the sudden deadline. “I’ll have to go back home to prepare the crystals then. I don’t have any blue ones ready, and they’re not easy to make.”
“In that case, I say we split up for the day. You still have the evidence for Keldorn being Eolanathel, right Elly?”
Eolande showed her ring with a confident smile. “I sure do. I even have a signed confirmation from the leader of his clan of assassins. If the investigator still causes issues, we’ll have reason to send him away.”
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Lilly breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s great! Then I feel ready for tomorrow. Will you be coming with me to the meeting?”
“You might have to bring it yourself; I’ll be busy. I’m sure you’ll be fine, though. With Princess Adelia on your side, you’ll have plenty of help.”
Lilly nodded, feeling confident enough to meet this mysterious investigator on her own. She would be telling him the truth, after all. “Well then, I’ve got some more money to burn, so wish me luck. I’ll see you guys later!”
With that, Lilly left the room with Beak still sleeping in her hand. She had reduced the temperature enough to be able to hold him to her side now, without risking her clothes getting ruined. Already at this point, she felt like Beak had grown since yesterday.
‘Maybe he’ll be too big to hold soon? That would be a bother… unless he could stand on the staff while I keep it floating behind me.’
The day passed without any other significant events happening. Mia worked at the forge, Lilly bought the pearl, and Eolande worked on her crystals. In the evening, they had tried putting Beak in the oven, and he seemed to love it right away. He fell asleep the moment they closed the lid.
“Another day closer to moving into our own house. And a bunch of other unimportant stuff,” Lilly remarked, lying in bed next to Mia. Even one night separated had been unpleasant, so Lilly was glad to have her back.
“Yeah, unimportant stuff. Would you like to… not talk about the unimportant stuff? Or was it just a casual remark?” Mia asked, sounding like she was nervous to bring up certain events.
“Oh, no, we can talk about whatever. I was just ranking the importance of our plans. The enchantment will be pretty fun, though. But five major enchantments in one day might even make me tired.”
Lilly was lying on her back, staring at the dark ceiling. She had never been nervous about the amount of flame in her core before, but this task would be far bigger than any before it.
Mia turned on her side, facing Lilly with a hand supporting her head. “Are you worried it won’t be enough? You’ve trained the flame a lot since you first got it, though. Back then, it was able to exterminate an entire fleet of ships.”
“Well, it’s hard to compare the two. One was a methodical and gradual destruction using limited power. This is using full power to make the best enchantment I can. And since my body has gotten a lot purer, I’ll be able to use more of the flame.”
“I’m guessing the phoenix heart will be the strongest material. Do you know what to use it for?”
“I have no idea… There’s the flame immunity, but I already have that. And I think the others have been used already. Unless there’s a system inside it that I don’t know about…”
Lilly’s mind went back to the time Beak had created the white flame, which had burned with an intensity she had never felt before. She wondered if that had been a special power or if it was possible to create it by using normal flames. ‘I guess I’ll look at the heart tomorrow before I leave.’
“Did you get far on the belt today?” Lilly asked, looking over at Mia.
“Yeah, Mithril is pretty easy to forge now. I think I’ll have it done tomorrow. I really noticed the increase in strength I’ve gotten, though, I had to limit myself while hammering.”
“We can slow it down like I said yesterday. Especially now that you’re getting the cuirass, you’ll be invincible in that thing.”
Mia leaned closer to Lilly’s face with a firm expression. “Nope, I’m getting strong as fast as possible. The cuirass will be sold, so I can’t rely on that to keep me safe. And since it cost us more than you thought, I won’t be covered in enchantments any time soon.”
“Fine, fine. We’ll continue at the same pace. Just don’t blame me when you break something you like,” Lilly retorted, feeling that Mia was being too stubborn. She didn’t want to push too much, though, since Mia had revealed why she wanted it; she didn’t like being the weak one.
“Let’s have a good night’s sleep, now. Tomorrow is another day, filled with unimportant stuff.”
“Well, honestly, I am looking forward to seeing Adelia again. She’s a good friend.”
“Hmh, as long as she stays that way,” Mia replied, turning on her back and folding her arms. “Don’t go using your flame on her again, okay?”
Lilly looked at Mia with a slight grin. “You’re cute when you’re jealous. But do you think there’s even a one-in-a-million chance that I would ever betray you?”
Mia was silent for a moment, but eventually replied with a quiet “No… I know you would do anything for me. And that’s kind of terrifying with your power.”
Lilly was surprised to hear Mia say that. She had thought about what someone could make her do for Mia’s sake, which was why she was protected at all times. But she didn’t realize Mia had the same fear.
“Let’s hope I never have to prove it… I’ll invite Adelia for tea tomorrow. I’m sure she’d be delighted to meet you properly.”
“That would be nice. I saw her briefly at the funeral, and… she was beautiful.”
“She really is. I’m wondering if the reason for the war is as fake as people say. If someone fell in love with her, it would be hard to get over it. But we need to sleep.”
Lilly leaned over and gave Mia a kiss before lying back down. “Good night, Love.”
“Good night, The Fire That Burns Within My Soul.”
“That’s a new one. Poetic. I like it, but it’s a bit long.”
“I’ll shorten it. How about Soulfire?”
“Hey, I actually like that one.”
“What do you mean, actually? The first one was great!”
“It could work more than once, is what I mean. Now sleep.”
“Why is it always you saying we need to sleep?”
“Because I’m the only one who doesn’t want to talk for the entire night.”
“I like talking with you, though.”
“Don’t use that on me. Let’s talk during the day instead. Save whatever thoughts you have for the morning.”
“I’ll etch them into my heart. Good night, Lilly.”
“Good night, Mia.”