The Reborn Witch had a nice 'Tea Time' with the Dragon Queen today-Chapter 12: Pride (4)

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An awkward silence pursued the couple as one sank further into the water, her large 'fruit' slightly hued pink on the water's surface. The dragon's eyes searched for any signs of discomfort or regret in her friend's expression, but Demond remained stoic, though the tips of her ears were faintly red.

"...if this is some weird attempt at calming me down, congratulations. You have utterly failed." Demond's voice was a mix of irritation and bemusement as she tried to avert her gaze from Adrei's naked form, the cold water failing to mask the heat of her embarrassment.

"But if even that failure will ease the burden in your mind, I will do as much as needed, my love." Adrei's voice was gentle, filled with affection, as she leaned back into the icy water, not minding her wife's discomfort. The dragon's eyes closed, feeling the soothing chill envelop her body as she let out a contented sigh.

"This is healing at its finest..." Adrei's words trailed off as she sank deeper into the frigid water, the coldness seeping into her bones, yet not reaching the warmth of her soul. Demond watched her, amazed at the shamelessness, but also weirdly touched by the gesture. The witch's eyes searched for any sign of discomfort in Adrei's expression but found none, only a serene calm that seemed to radiate from her core.

Careful not to glance at the 'pink', Demond focused her eyes on Adrei's face, which remained unflinching and serene despite the cold. The witch felt a mix of emotions, from irritation at the dragon's lack of modesty to a warmth that spread from her heart to her cheeks, a feeling she hadn't experienced in a very long time.

"Adrei." The witch's voice was a soft whisper, cutting through the silence like a warm knife through butter. The dragon's eyes snapped open, her gaze meeting Demond's. The witch looked at her with a mix of confusion and fondness. "What has Leona told you?"

The dragon's smile was gentle. She did not intend to lie for the wolf, not a single bit. Though she did have her own pride to finish the matter the way she herself desired, she knew Demond's heart was not in the mood to accept her proposal, not yet.

And so an honesty is better to hide her own dishonesty. She would resolve the wolf's lie with her own, as she told part of the genuine truth that spouted from the Wolf Queen. "She would not last much longer, Demond."

The truth hung in the air, thick and heavy unlike the cold mist that clung to the walls of the chamber. Demond's eyes searched Adrei's, looking for any hint of doubt or deceit, but found only a resolved sadness that mirrored her own. Her hand tightened around her staff, the wood feeling cold and comforting against her palm. Another companion for her journey, mourning for the wolf's inevitable demise.

"How...how much longer?" Demond's voice was tight, the reality of the situation sinking in as she stared at the dragon queen, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"Tonight, and if she's lucky, tomorrow when the dawn rises." Adrei's voice was soft yet firm, her eyes never leaving the witch's. "Her heart is as stubborn as ever, but even she cannot deny her master's genuine wish for peace, and she's too proud to admit her weakness to you. She wishes to keep her dignity intact, even at the cost of lying."

Demond's gaze fell to her submerged feet, the water turning red from the sting of her frostbites. "What wish does she have?" The question was barely a whisper, but it echoed through the cavernous room like a shout in the quiet of the night.

"A battle of honour." Adrei's voice was solemn as she spoke of Leona's wish, the words carrying a weight that seemed to sink into the very stone of the chamber. "Against the vile kind that took her companions, to prove herself to her comrades that she can still protect them, even if it costs her life."

A simple wish, one that lingered similarly in the witch's regrets. She nodded, understanding the burden of pride that Leona bore. It was a burden she had seen countless times before, the heavy cloak of duty wrapped around those who had fought for peace, for humanity, for the end of everything.

And yet, whether it is for a begrudged, young heart from her new body, or the pasts that had shaped her, the witch did not...could not accept the wolf's fate. Her eyes searched for any flaw in Adrei's words, any loophole that could save her friend, yet she found none. Only the dragon's unwavering gaze, filled with the solemnity of a grave digger.

"Demond. You know she will merely return to the spirit realm after her 'death', don't you?" Adrei spoke softly, her eyes reflecting the flickering torchlight. "In a sense, it is not true 'death'. With your contract still bound to her, you could meet her again at any time, albeit...at a cost."

The witch looked up with a solemn understanding, the dragon's words hold truth, yet the cost is not something she is willing to consider, not yet. She took a deep breath, before her eyes narrowed into slits of desperation, as she allowed her body to sink into the cold water, a cold relief washing over her troubled mind.

Adrei's gaze widened, as she strode over to the witch, now fully submerged in the cold water. The dragon then pulled her close, the coldness of her body and mana matched that of the frigid pool. The wetness of her hair clung to her face, but she didn't care, her eyes focused solely on Demond's.

Her beloved eyes...were not empty, yet they were hollowed with the sorrows of the past, as if she had seen every battle, felt every wound in the war. The dragon hugged her close, the witch's robe sticking to her skin like a second layer of scales, as she whispered comforting words that seemed to echo through the ages.

"You know, Adrei?" Demond whispered, strengths leaving her yet a certain firmness in her tone remained, firmness that was drilled into her by her own stubbornness. "I have lost many, many comrades. Yet I had only regrets for a better future, not regrets for our past mistakes, for the moments pf their deaths, they carried into them the strengths we have followed, the memories we have shared, and the pasts we have treached. Even if...even if they remain in graves, at least I know full well I lived a good life with them, and they lived a good life with me."

Demond clutched at Adrei's back, her nails digging deep into the hard scales of the dragon, only oozing blood from her fingertip. Yet as if the pain is the only thing keeping her conscious, the witch forced a smile. "Adrei, this old man is never sentimental. I...I know full well the wolf won't last long, even know Leona can't make it to the peace we would witness. And yet...maybe the solitude has gotten to me, and my heart has gotten weaker even if I found myself anew."

The witch may speak in riddles, but the dragon knew full well the implications. Adrei took a deep breath, before stating in response. "You don't want to be alone again, do you?"

"...yes." The word slipped from Demond's lips like a frozen tear, her voice trembling. Adrei's embrace tightened around her, the warmth from the dragon's body seeping into her cold skin. She felt the witch's exhaustion, the weight of a lifetime spent fighting and losing those she cared for, and now, the 'death' of her companion that has accompanied her for decades.

"You know, this old man sometimes dreamed about the moments we would meet again, with the new... 'Leona'." The witch's voice was filled with a bitterness that was as cold as the water they were in. Adrei felt the tremble in her wife's body and knew she had to be strong, for both of them.

"The return to the spirit realm...it may reconstruct her existence, heal her wound, erase her past, wipe her memories, but that...that is cruel to me, you know?" Demond's voice cracked, as she leaned desperately into the Queen's touch. "It felt so wrong...I would meet with her again, yet...it will no longer be her. She will not remember the first laughter we shared, the first meals we fought for, the first rest we took after narrowly escaping from a dragon's jaw. She...I know this for years, years and yet...why does it hurt me so much...?"

And so, for a moment, Adrei understood the wolf's selfishness, not for herself, but for her master. The companion knew full well despite her master's stubborn refusal of her own weakness, it still remained as a part of her, as much as the scar on her torso. Perhaps she always knew the master would not be able to bear the wolf's 'departure', all the more knowing that it would not be a true end, but a rebirth.

The dragon had no words of comfort to offer, only the warmth of her embrace, and the steadfastness of her own resolve. Adrei knew the witch's pain all too well; she had felt the ache of loss countless times in Adalon's tyranny. Even if the strongest bonds would be forged through crucibles of grieves and battles, it took a gentle touch of kindness to shatter them with regrets and departures.

But the dragon, always the prideful species as they are, as Adrei belonged to, she would not allow the wolf's charade to go on. Both of their wishes only leaned towards one another, and Adrei knew she had to be the one to cut through the tangled web of deceit and pride.

"I'm sorry, Demond." Adrei's voice was filled with a genuine sadness that resonated through the cold, echoing chamber. The sobbing witch twitched, as she felt a fingertip of mana touching her neck. The warmth spread through her, reaching even the coldest parts of her sorrows.

Then her tired body limped, her tearful eyes closed as she fell into Adrei's arms, the dragon's mana wrapping around her like a warm blanket, the last comfort she knew before passing out into the darkness, not before she heard a murmur fueled by a gentle warmth.

"When you're ready, let us face her together awake."

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