20 Keeping the Promise

Asuren jerked awake from a bloody nightmare. He looked around and found himself at one of the VIP rooms in Rainforest Inn. He creased his brows and wondered how in the heavens did he get there. He rummaged his memories and remembered being pierced by poisonous needles.

"Thea…" his heart skipped a beat when he recalled being trapped in the cursed forest. Thea was with him.

He also remembered seeing a male fairy that appeared older and more powerful than him.

If I defeat all the hungry spirits haunting this forest, will you heal my friend?

Thea's voice echoed inside his head, followed by an image of an overwhelming number of silhouettes gliding towards her direction.

Asuren jumped off the bed, rushed outside the room, and sprinted towards the balcony. Ayhan and Juliann were often hanging out in that area. He could ask them. But when he stepped into the balcony, Thea, Riz, Sel, Gia, and Henry were also in there, accompanied by nearly a hundred of lost spirits that Asuren had seen gliding towards Thea when they were stuck at the cursed forest.

For a moment he thought that they had followed Thea at the Inn to hurt all of them, but then he heard Riz asked with an eyebrow raised at Thea, "Can you say it again? You want our help with what?"

"I know it is dangerous for Ayhan and Juliann but since you know every corner of Southern Peaks, you can easily help these spirits," Thea guiltily explained. "I am not giving them all to you. Half of these spirits are residents of Northern Peaks. I will take care of them. I only have three days… ah no… one day had already passed. I have two more days remaining to appease these souls. I cannot do it alone. I'm sorry for asking so much from you, Ayhan and Juliann."

"I will help you," Asuren answered.

"No!" Ayhan and Juliann chorused. Both seemed so worried about him.

"You stay here and help Thea," Juliann ordered.

"You don't want to return at that place," Asuren reminded his friend.

"I want to help these spirits," Juliann seriously shot back at Asuren. "I want them to find peace."

"We should get going," Ayhan tapped both his friends at their shoulder. "We cannot waste time arguing."

"We will return after two days," Juliann reassured Asuren. "We have Kayah on our side. We will always have a place to run."

"I'm sorry. This is all my fault," Asuren was ashamed with everyone. "If I had not been poisoned…"

"Thank you," Juliann tapped him on the shoulder. "I will tell you the reason later."

"You're not weak," Ayhan grinned. "You're just unlucky."

"Don't worry about your friends. I will help them," Gia reassured Asuren.

"Me too. I'll help," Riz spread her translucent blue butterfly wings. "Let's go back to that cursed forest."

Gia also stretched her translucent amber butterfly wings and followed Riz. Ayhan and Juliann did the same with their translucent green and blue dragonfly wings. More than half of the spirits floating around Thea had followed the four fairies.

"Sel, stay here and keep this safe place," Thea said after their friends had left. "Asuren, you should get more rest. I can take care of these spirits."

"I'm fine. I will come with you," Asuren insisted.

^######################################^

With the lost spirits cooperating with the best that they could, Riz and Ayhan had peacefully sent every lost spirit that was with them to the afterlife within only a day. Kayah was remarkably helpful. She was sending them exactly to where they should be.

"That was easy," Ayhan cheerfully said while heading back towards the tiny path that Kayah had opened for them. "We can still help Juliann and Gia."

Riz was curiously examining Ayhan. He was a completely different fairy when his mind was not occupied. Yesterday, when they stepped out of the dark and tiny path Kayah had laid for them and realized that Thea was no longer with them, Ayhan was more nervous than Riz had been. When they were fighting Lena and her army, Ayhan was dead serious in defeating them so they could follow Thea and Asuren. He wanted to make sure that those two were safe. When they were helping the lost spirits, he was gravely concerned with the issues of each spirit. Even after resolving their problems, he was asking them if that was everything they needed. He genuinely involved himself in their matters. It was a good thing that the spirits only wanted the last moment to say goodbye to their loved ones. None wanted vengeance. She and Ayhan did not have to fight and attract bigger attention. The families of the deceased were grateful to them and promised not to speak a word to anyone, especially to the leaders of Southern Peaks.

Now that they appeased all the lost souls, Ayhan returned to his cheerful self, as if nothing had happened. He was always full of energy and never get tired.

Riz liked it. She had a lot of energy to spare. Helping other fairies had given her plenty of strength instead of draining her. It must be the same as Ayhan.

But when they returned inside Kayah, it was not Juliann and Gia who were waiting for them.

It was a beautiful fairy that appeared as old as the mother of Riz. She was a petite fairy wearing a russet overcoat with green linings. Her waist-length hair was golden-brown and elegantly braided. There was sadness in her eyes as she gazed upon Ayhan.

"Mother…" that whisper of Ayhan shocked Riz. "What are you doing here?"

^#########################################^

"Sel, thank you for keeping this place safe," Henry stood beside her at the balcony of Rainforest Inn. It was already midnight, but they were still wide awake and worrying about their friends. "I know you want to help Thea, Riz, and Gia but here you are, stuck with me."

"I'm only a little worried," Sel smiled at him. "My friends are stronger than me. They will succeed in helping those spirits. Do not worry about me. I like to keep this place safe and not because I owe you a big favor," Sel looked up at the starlit sky. "At first, I only want to pay you back. I never thought that I will enjoy living a mortal life. It feels good to serve others without the need to fight. Though this place always has this threat to be attacked, I am grateful that up to this moment, no assassins had come. This place had become my sanctuary. Maybe my friends feel the same way about this place. Here we can just sit back and relax," she took a deep breath and relished the cold and fresh air. "I like the simplicity of life here. I do not feel threatened every second of my life. The more time I spend in this place, the more I want to be a mortal," she gazed seriously at Henry. "For allowing me to live this simple life, I want to give you a special place in my heart."

Henry was too astounded to reply.

"They say that silence means yes," a wider smile curved on Sel's beautiful lips.

"Are you… serious about it?" Henry stammered.

Sel stepped closer to Henry. She realized only then that he was more than a foot taller than her. She had to raise her heels to put her arms around his shoulders and kiss him on the lips.

Henry was momentarily paralyzed. The fairy he was dreaming of for a long time had finally opened her heart to him. She finally embraced him and kissed him. He should do something. He should be able to move.

Move, Henry!

Move!

At long last, he was able to raise his arms and wrapped it around the waist of the flame fairy. He could finally move his lips and kissed her back. Henry was waiting for a long time for that glorious moment to happen. He was glad that it transpired while he was still in his mid-twenties.

Meeting Sel was a stroke of luck, keeping her as a friend was a delightful experience, and becoming her special someone was a marvelous miracle.

He would treasure Sel Crimsonflame for the rest of his life.

^######################################^

Gia was surprised at how dedicated Juliann was in helping the lost spirits that were with them. She thought that he would get distracted once he returned to the place he detested. But he was helping every spirit with the best that he could. He would not let them step into the afterlife until he made sure that they fulfilled all their unfinished business. With his tireless commitment, they nearly sent all the lost spirits to the afterlife. Only one remained to be appeased and Gia was even more shocked to learn that Juliann knew who that spirit was.

"Jade…" his eyes filled with sorrow as he whispered to the spirit. "I thought… you are already at peace."

The silhouette transformed into a more detailed fairy. She was still greyish, but her face revealed a young and pretty face. Her eyes seemed to reflect the sorrow in the eyes of Juliann.

"Save Lilia. She is being locked up by her mother to force Calix into killing Sel Crimsonflame. Please, brother…"

"Brother?" Gia stared at Juliann with disbelief.

"I'll tell you about her later," Juliann told her. "After we save Lilia."

^############################################^

Thea could not stop her eyes from shedding tears for all the spirits that they appeased. Even though the spirits had been given a chance to bid farewell to their loved ones, it never eased the pain of parting. Each goodbye was heart-breaking.

After sending the last fairy to the afterlife, Asuren was exhausted. He allowed the spirits to possess his body so they could properly say goodbye to their loved ones.

"You need to rest," Thea told Asuren. "Let's go back to Rainforest Inn."

Asuren wearily nodded but before they could head back to the mortal tavern, Leader Lisias had intercepted them.

Lisias Gailbreeze!!! Kill him!!!

Those words thundered inside Asuren's head and it nearly rendered him unconscious. The only thing that made him hold on to his consciousness was Thea gripping his hand tightly.

"Father, we can talk tomorrow. Asuren is tired. He needs to rest."

"This will not take long," Leader Lisias assured them. "I only want to meet your new friend. I heard that he and his friends are doing a great job in helping the lost spirits obtain a peaceful rest. For that, I am grateful," he said without smiling. He always looked so stern. "But I will still ask you and your friends to guard a few of our borders. I want to see where your loyalty lies."

"No, Father," Thea strongly disagreed. "I promised Asuren and his friends that we will never force them to kill anyone from Southern Peaks. They are here not to be an additional guard to our borders but to help us unite both our realms."

"I will not ask them to kill anyone from Southern Peaks," Leader Lisias explained. "I and the other Northern Peaks leaders only want to see if they will never betray you and your friends. We want to see how they will guard our borders."

"No, Father. I will not allow it," Thea insisted.

"It's okay," Asuren weakly smiled at her then told Leader Lisias, "We will guard your borders the same way we will protect your daughters."

"You don't have to do this," Thea looked annoyed.

"I want to," Asuren seriously replied.

"It will only be for a month," Leader Lisias said.

"Two weeks," Thea contended. "We need to start making plans in uniting Northern and Southern Peaks. We cannot wait for a month."

"Fine," Leader Lisias agreed. "Two weeks. Get some rest. I will see you at the southern border tomorrow. Thea, bring him there."

"Okay, I will," Thea was still annoyed. "Can we go now?"

"Sure," Leader Lisias said and allowed Thea and Asuren to fly past him.

^########################################^

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