No More Hiding

After a walk-through of the park, the two had ended up stopping by a small knick-knack store. Emre bought a ring with a small white pearl just for some accessories and Idris ended up not buying anything from what Emre had noticed. When the sun began to set they decided to head back through the park to make their way back to the library.

Breton arrived there soon after they did and they began on their way back in the carriage. He inquired about whether they found anything and Emre answered honestly that they didn't find anything extra about dark creatures. Bummed by the news, the rest of the way back was rather quiet until they returned back to the manor.

A dinner was prepared and everyone met in the dining room. Breton informed Emre beforehand that only his most trusted servants would be present during this time so they could talk freely about the meeting with the High Priests and Paladins. Emre noted each and every one of the faces present, noticing that there were only a few people compared to the many from their first dinner.

"How did the meeting go?" Ragan wasted no time in asking once everyone was settled down.

"It went fine. We had a discussion about the dark creatures. Apparently, the Alama Kingdom has been dealing with dark creatures for a while. They call them 'reykurn' instead, however." Emre answered as he glanced over the meal that was placed in front of them.

"An interesting name. How have they been coping with them?"

"I'm not sure, I just know that they have their forces holding them off. How much longer they can hold off is the question..." Emre hesitated a moment and he looked up at them. "How would you guys like to go on a trip to Alama?"

"You want to go to Alama? What about here?" Killan's brows raised as he asked.

"The Gaia Kingdom has a strong army and there is a mountain separating here from the Dead Lands, which is where they're assuming they're coming from. Alama has been having a worse time due to having little defense between them and the Dead Lands. We're less concerned with the Gaia Kingdom than the Alama Kingdom." Idris explained.

"This is why we want to head to Alama to help with the front there. Given that they're presently dealing with the dark creatures and are unsure how long they can continue to hold them off—given the sudden boost of strength—we would like to go there to help. You don't have to come with us if you don't want to… but this is what we intend to do." Emre added.

The party quickly glanced among each other before Killan set determined eyes on the two of them.

"Of course we're coming. We told you that we would help in the fight. Regardless if it's in Gaia or Alama, the enemy is still the same." He answered.

Emre smiled and nodded. "Then, after we meet with the Commander tomorrow we'll need to get ready to head to Alama the next morning. The High Priest is going to let us use the teleportation circle under the Temple to get there. Animor's High Priestess has also offered to host us while we are there."

"Well, you got it all planned out, huh!" Killan scoffed. "What if we said no to coming?"

"We'd sell you to the Gaia Kingdom's army," Idris responded nonchalantly.

"You wouldn't!"

"I don't know…" Emre added on to the joke with a mock pensive tone.

"Okay, okay, enough chatter! We can't let our food get cold." Gerrar interrupted before anyone could continue.

A small chuckle left Emre's mouth as he began to dig in. He shot a glance toward Breton, but he didn't seem offended being left out of the conversation. In fact, he looked like he was in a bout of deep thought. There was a lot to think about so Emre didn't dwell on it.

After dinner, everyone returned to their respective rooms except for Idris and Emre who wandered toward the garden with Winston and Reanil in their wake. These two servants seemed to be a part of Breton's most trusted and they had been good at serving the two thus far so they didn't mind their presence much.

As they exited the building into the main garden, the crickets quieted for only a moment before they began chirping loudly once more. The pungent scent of flowers was reminiscent of the walk they had in the afternoon.

Stepping into the gazebo, they sat down in one of the comfortable couches. After their first visit, the gazebo seemed to have been repurposed to fit several people at a time, now having a few soft couches around a table. Winston and Reanil stood off to the side, ready to serve them if they asked for it.

"Can the two of you prepare some sweetened tea for us?" Idris asked.

Getting the hint, the servants bowed and left to go as they were told. Emre let out a relieved breath and let his head fall slack into the cushion. He felt horribly stiff after keeping up a front for most of the day. While the walk was relaxing, they were still in public. This was the first time they were left alone today.

Idris also seemed to relax a bit as he leaned back into the seat with a small sigh. Neither of them was used to any of this. Emre had minor experience merely due to his past life, but actually working to save the world versus making up a random presentation for a school project was quite different.

Meanwhile, Idris was born and raised as a dragon so he surely hadn't expected that his future would be like this. It tired them both out. Even so, they still had things to talk about.

"How long do we want to keep hiding our identities?" Idris asked after a moment. "It will be inconvenient to fight with a human body... And we'd be able to push our weight around a bit if we stopped hiding who we were as well."

"You want to push your weight around?" Emre asked with a chuckle.

"That's not really what I meant…"

"I know." Emre gave him an amused smile.

Idris gave him a look and crossed his arms. "I just mean that no one would mess with us anymore if we stopped hiding it. As dragons, we're automatically known as beings that are powerful as well as close to nature and the gods."

"That's true. And revealing our identities will also keep us from being bound by the formalities of humans."

"And after Ragan went through all that work to teach us noble etiquette..." Idris mocked a pitying tone.

"Nonsense! We can still use what we learned. If we mess up they won't have a reasonable excuse to demean us." Emre shrugged.

"You mean if you mess up." Idris put emphasis on the second 'you'.

Emre shot a look at him. He wasn't actually angry, in fact, he was happy that Idris was able to freely joke around now.

"If we reveal ourselves we'll also be able to stretch out our wings more often. I miss being able to fly freely." Idris mentioned, knowing Emre wasn't actually offended.

"Yes, it would be nice to fly again." Emre hummed.

The last time they were able to fly was during the battle. Under the circumstances, there wasn't much time to enjoy the feeling of freedom. It seemed they were definitely leaning toward the idea of no longer hiding. Emre's eyes even lit up as he realized something.

"Does that mean I can finally show off my true human form instead of this one?" Emre squished his cheeks with his hands.

"If you don't mind being gawked at."

"Ha! I've dealt with being stared at for the past two days, it wouldn't bother me more than it already does. I think I'm getting used to it already anyway… even if it does make me a bit nervous still."

"With long pure white hair and a face like that, they'll stare even more."

"As long as they think I'm beautiful." Emre snickered, leaning forward to prop his chin up with his hand, his elbow leaning upon his knee as he smirked at Idris.

Idris glanced away and cleared his throat. "Dragons are naturally beautiful."

Emre let out a laugh just as Winston and Reanil returned to the garden with a teapot and two teacups upon a tray. Emre was very amused at Idris's reluctance to directly complement his appearance and wanted to mess with him some more but thought it inappropriate with the two servants' arrival.

Idris felt saved as the two approached and the tea was silently served to them. Emre was very content with the sweetness of the tea and quite enjoyed it. Idris didn't mind the taste and enjoyed it in a much more calm manner. With their bellies warm, the cold of the night didn't affect them as much.

'So, no more hiding, right?' Emre decided to get confirmation.

'Yep, no more hiding.'

'No one other than Ragan and you have seen my true human form… I wonder what everyone will think.'

'I think the servants will be more surprised.'

'Oh… I didn't consider that.'

After a moment of thought, Emre spoke out loud. "What has Breton told you two about us?" He asked the two servants standing off to the side.

Idris let out a small sigh and shook his head. Even with Emre's lighthearted tone, Reanil had a tinge of nervousness. Emre was using Breton's name like they were familiar but in a way, Reanil felt it wasn't familiarity but… disregard. Winston, on the other hand, looked very calm.

"Lord Maller informed us that you two were most important guests and that we should serve you to the best of our abilities. Aside from reminding us that we are to treat you both with even more revere than him, there is nothing else." Winston responded without missing a beat.

A calm smile appeared upon Emre's face, making him appear a bit scarier to Reanil. Reanil was younger than Winston, yet looked to be a few years older than Emre and Idris. Even so, he still felt a bit uneasy under the gaze of two people that seemed younger than him.

Not because of what Breton had alluded to, but because it was merely a feeling he had in his gut that he should not mess with these two people. They felt different from their companions and given the differing treatment between them and the rest of their party, something surely had to be going on.

If Breton did not trust him so, he would not have been given a job to serve one of the two people that he was claiming to have higher standing than himself, the Paladin of Tirian. But just who were they?

Although Winston was unwavering, it was not hard for Reanil's muddled countenance to meet Emre and Idris's attention.

"Do you have anything to add?" Emre asked.

If Emre said he didn't enjoy messing with people, he would definitely be lying. Idris seemed to have expected this but he was actually quite interested to know if Reanil did have anything to add. Compared to Winston, Idris had noticed Reanil was a bit less uptight and had a harder time hiding his facial expressions under a mask of indifference while serving him.

"No, what Winston said is all I have been told as well," Reanil answered honestly.

"Ah? Then what has you nervous?" Emre asked with pure curiosity, believing that he wasn't lying since he knew Breton wasn't a fool.

"I was just wondering... why exactly Lord Maller treats you two with this much respect…" Reanil answered, trying not to seem meek now that he was caught wavering.

Winston flashed him a small look of disapproval, but he dared not try to hide anything from these two. It was hard to gauge how they would react but Reanil could only hope for the best.

"Oh, that's easy to answer." Emre hummed.

Idris gave him a questioning look, wondering what exactly Emre would spill. Since they had just decided that they wouldn't hide their identities anymore, he wouldn't be surprised nor offended if Emre just blurted it out right then and there. His curiosity peaked, unable to guess what was about to come out of Emre's mouth.

"Breton respects us because who would dare demean two dragons?" Emre said as if it were a question.

Idris wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but it really should have been this. He held back a sigh and gave a sympathetic look toward the two stunned servants. Even Winston's countenance changed this time. Reanil seemed to be trying to comprehend this as a joke.

"You're messing around, right?" Reanil asked with as much respect as he could muster at the time.

"Nope," Emre answered easily before looking at Idris so he could confirm as well.

"Emre speaks the truth… Although he couldn't be blunter." Idris ended up answering.

"Well, there is no point beating around the bush." Emre retorted.

With the tea finished Idris stood up, giving his pants a quick brush before straightening up.

"Regardless, I think it's late enough. We should rest for tomorrow." He stated as Emre followed suit. "We'll be fine going to our rooms on our own."

The two servants decided to keep their mouths shut, seeming torn about what to do. Glancing at the empty teapot and teacups, they ended up gathering it back onto the tray silently.

After looking back up, the two people they had been looking at before were suddenly completely different save for the fact that their clothes did not change.

Emre, with long flowing white hair, long pointed ears, and amber-golden eyes waved happily before entering the house. Idris with his own long black hair and icy blue eyes only gave them one more glance before closing the door behind him.