A Date with the Phoenix

Archie spread the pink blanket on the lush field. He found some candles in the picnic basket and bedecked the perimeter of the blanket with them, illuminating the space where they were supposed to sit and have their meal.

Aurelia was baffled by Archie's sincerity over their 'date'. Her face flushed with embarrassment at Archie's gesture and his attention to detail in making their 'date' a memorable one. 'Did he know that today is Lover's Day?' Aurelia thought.

Of course, Archie didn't know. Because on earth, people celebrate Valentine's Day in February. He wasn't familiar with the calendar system in Elysium, let alone the festivities that the races celebrate here.

"Have a seat; I will lay everything on the blanket. Just make yourself comfortable." Archie offered. 

Although Aurelia was the one who announced that she was going to treat him to dinner, Archie did his best to serve her well, trying to make her as comfortable as possible.

He laid the food and arranged it neatly on the blanket. They both sat down and had an awkward moment, until he said, "Let's eat. I am starving. He took a plate of the heart-shaped sandwich, salami rose, a few slices of cheese, and berries and passed it straight to Aurelia, which caught her off guard as she was about to stretch her hand to reach for a plate for herself.

"Thank you." Aurelia's face went blush pink as she received the plate.

"You are still injured. So, you don't have to move so much; just tell me what you need." Archie said he had completely forgotten about the fact that phoenixes can heal themselves pretty quickly.

"I am completely healed, so you don't have to serve me." Aurelia responded gently.

"It's ok. Why don't you tell me the reason you were following me?"

'That's right, all that kindness and courtesy were just formalities in exchange for information. He wasn't infatuated with me.' Aurelia thought to herself in disappointment. Just when she thought they were making progress, he was placing boundaries between them. 

"Right. I owe you that explanation." She sighed internally.

There was a pause because Aurelia was nervous and her hands were fidgeting while holding her plate of food. In an effort to ease her anxiety, Archie poured her a glass of champagne.

"Here, have a glass, and pass me the plate. You looked like you were about to take an exam." Archie offered to hold the plate and sat closer to her to reduce her anxiety.

"It was hard for me to admit that the reason I was out there doing reconnaissance was to find you and recruit you back to Astral immediately." Aurelia began explaining herself.

"When you first arrive in Elysium, the council specifically dispatches me to search for you. I was reluctant to do it. I didn't explicitly disobey them, but I did delay your return."

Archie listened to Aurelia's explanation, sensing where this was going.

"I saw you plummet from the sky, but I didn't save you. Because I thought that Astral was a place for beings with mana, and most human beings were without mana. So, if you didn't unleash your wind powers and land at the last minute, I was going to let you die." Archie's eyes widened in disbelief that this girl was ruthless down to the core.

"And you were going to leave me as it was." Archie asked again as he learned that this woman was an egoist.

"Yes, I was going to report to the council, saying that I was too late; you fell from the sky, and everything was so fast, you died.

Instead, you unleashed powerful wind magic and landed softly on the ground.

I wasn't really happy about that, because that meant you are a human who has mana, which also means you are qualified to enter Astral and I had to bring you in.

However, I still did not approach you and continued to observe you from afar.

Something drew you to the village of ANU, and I couldn't help but notice that there was a being constantly clinging to your shoulder.

You carried a tremendous amount of pure mana in the air. Normally, beings would keep their mana within themselves, so I found the idea that you release it from your body both intriguing and suspicious.

I thought you were a freak, which justified my decision not to bring you to Astral again. Then a figure appeared and I was blown away from the village.

What started as a breeze became a wind and it was so strong that I didn't know what happened.

I was blasted away into the black forest at the center of the harpy's nest. My wings were tangled between the branches and I was minorly injured. The harpy caught me and we had a clash. That was how the harpy injured me further.

Then you rescued me and healed me back from injury." Aurelia recounted her story once more.

"Why were you so pessimistic about me?" Archie finally asked, since she had judged him before she even saw him.

"Because you are a human, and humans have betrayed us in the past. So, I didn't trust you." Aurelia said it without remorse.

"Even after nursing you back to health and carrying you all the way to the bottom of the cliff, it meant nothing to you." Archie questioned me again. He had been nothing but nice to her, and she seemed to emphasis on his heritage.

"Human hearts are really fragile; they change their minds faster than any of us, and their loyalty easily wavers depending on the situation." Aurelia retorted like it was an obvious fact of the matter.

"Have you met any other humans besides me?" Archie asked.

"No, you were the first one."

"So, you passed your verdict solely based on history and word of mouth?"

"It was the reason they were ousted out of Elysium in the first place; they can never wield magic because they will abuse the gift of light and order." Aurelia insisted that the position of humans is inferior and unworthy.

Hearing about the extreme prejudice Aurelia had against him left Archie completely drained. He felt nauseous since the discussion was so biased.

"Then why do you want to follow me now?"

"Because you are a phoenix." Aurelia answered, which surprised Archie. 'Did she overhear my conversation with the twins?' he thought.

"Just as I thought, the moment you heard that I am from the Blaise family, you immediately changed your mind." Archie finally jumped to the conclusion that she knew his heritage after all.

"You were from the Blaise family?"

Archie choked on his champagne, realizing the council did not reveal Aurelia the whole truth. He needed to remind his grand uncle to inform him of what was said to highly prejudiced guards like Aurelia.

"You are related to the high priest, Athan Blaise? It's impossible; you two don't know each other. How were you related?" Aurelia questioned. If what Archie said is true, he is practically royalty in Astral.

"Didn't they tell you?"

"No."

"Then how did you know I was a phoenix?" Archie questioned her once more.

"You almost transformed.

The mana cyclone that you unleashed, usually young phoenixes, will unleash mini cyclones, and their eyes will glow a bright golden hue.

You did it, just the same as any youngling. Except you are an adult now. If you are related to the Blaise, that means you are Natasha Blaise's son? But she already has children here; why were you on Earth?" Unable to contain her excitement, Aurelia questioned further.

"You know what? It is quite late. Let's finish the rest of the dinner." Archie wanted to conclude this discussion.

"You are not going to explain? I told you what I know and I have come clean." Aurelia jolted.

"Honestly, I am not sure if I am a Blaise or not; last time I checked, my last name was Rivers." Archie said, and he took a big bite from the salami.

"I just want to visit the library and figure out how to get out of Elysium. I don't belong here, like you clearly mentioned." Archie continued.

"I was wrong; you have mana; you are a phoenix and, moreover, a Blaise; then you do belong here." Aurelia quickly corrected her stance towards him.

"No, I belong back on Earth, living my life and studying to be a doctor. This hocus-pocus situation does not work. Besides, the people here have huge prejudice against humans like me."

"You are not a human; you are a phoenix; all you need to do is just explain to them properly."

"I am not explaining anything. I want people to like me for who I am, not someone from Blaise, a phoenix, or any magical being for all I care. I detest any form of prejudice."

"I am sorry. I know you are angry with me. I shouldn't jump to conclusions and should follow orders faithfully. My actions nearly cost your life and I regret every bit of it. I am terribly sorry." Aurelia begged as her tears threatened to flow.

Archie looked away from the beautiful girl, who was close to tears.

"That's not the point. The point is that you are willing to sacrifice my life not once but twice because of your biases towards human beings. You discarded the right of the individual for a chance to live because you were harboring hatred for us. It wasn't about following orders or not; it was about humanity and care."

Archie stood up and was about to walk out of the park. Aurelia abruptly stood up and said, "Wait, where are you going?"

"Away from you."

"Please don't be like this; I cannot change my past actions towards you. Allow me to make amends. One day you will understand how evil and cunning humans are, and then you will understand why I feel this way towards them."

Archie turned around and looked at Aurelia, who was welling up. He had it with this phoenix and refused to explain further. It was really a waste of his time.

"Please come back!" Aurelia begged. But Archie left without another word.

Aurelia slummed on the blanket, bawling. She did not even manage to tell Archie the true reason for how she knew his identity. The look he gave her when he turned around the last time was one of resentment. If she had admitted that their destinies were intertwined with each other, he would have rejected her and broken their bond immediately, which would have hurt her deeply.

'No wonder Archie felt affection towards me at the beginning; he felt the bond but didn't know what it was. I discovered that too late and mistook him for a pervert. After all I had done, he couldn't feel the bond like before.'

Aurelia thought in frustration and regret. She cannot believe she just missed her chance with the love of her life.