CHAPTER 4: OFF WE GO

"It still baffles me the fact that having lived for thousands of years, the one thing we still couldn't do is teleport," Grell complained as he loaded their suitcases into the cars.

"Plane is pretty much it, though," Payton said, helping Grell with the suitcases while the rest of them checked the rest of the stuff they needed to bring with them.

"Not even close," Grell started to argue, "teleportation literally takes second and without the weird-tasting meals."

"The jet-lag will probably be worse, though," Payton tried again.

"We don't get jet-lagged," Grell rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, we kinda don't, do we?" Gwyneth said in wonder. She always had that. Wonder of the world. Even if she had lived for more than a thousand years. She still held the world close to her heart. Admiring it. Loving it.

"I do not have jet-lag, but I do have boredom," Amaya quipped from beside her, almost with a pout.

"Ten years have brought much change to air travel, my lady. You will find everything to your liking," Gwyneth assured her.

"I miss the dragons…" Amaya sighed sadly.

The dragons, although immortal as they were, were mostly put to sleep. Especially those who refused to come to the World Beyond. Those who weren't asleep were underground in the other realm and even there they were restricted.

"Did you not see Zephyr when you went back?" Allerick asked, feeling the melancholy from Amaya as he brought her hand into his.

"I did. But she was still mad at me for leaving her time and time again," Amaya said between her feelings of guilt and helplessness as well as fondness.

"She's young," Minerva said, "she needs to learn more." she stated and Amaya knew that too. Which was why even though she wasn't put to sleep, she had Zephyr trained with the priestesses before she was even allowed to take flight beyond the Great City of the Underground.

"She understands that," Amaya relayed.

"She's just being a teenager," Grell quipped to which the rest agreed.

"Humans or otherwise, dealing with a teenager is always a headache," Lovis said with more heart than he intended, which drew chuckles from those listening.

"I think he was traumatized having to deal with teenage Allerick," Mavi teased both Allerick and Lovis, having also grown up alongside the king and Morrigan, he knew what Lovis went through.

"Just, get in the car," Allerick groaned, "please," he added.

"Awww…. He said please," Mavi squealed, pitching his voice higher because he knew that annoys Allerick.

"Shut it, you," Allerick, with more fondness than reprimand, shoved Mavin into the car following everybody else before he got in behind him. They then went to the airport and headed to the VIP lounge to have an early dinner.

Meanwhile, Amaya and Grell were already in the plane, sitting leisurely in the first class with the best seat and the best service. Amaya was excited, to say the least.

"Gwyneth is right," Amaya sighed blissfully as she leaned back against the seat in the plane. "Flight has come so far," she said and turned on the entertainment system.

Grell, seated beside her, chuckled with adoration as he watched Amaya scrolled through the music and movies and everything else available. He loved seeing the wonder in her eyes everytime she came across something new to her. Even after thousands of years, she still had that innocent and curious look on her face as she gazed upon the world. The world she was trying to save. The world she was sacrificing herself to save.

"How was the earth doing while I was gone?" Amaya asked as she flipped through the streaming service, trying to find something interesting to watch.

Grell stared at her, not having the heart to lie to her. Worst, not having the heart to tell her the truth.

"The magic is stronger," Amaya said calmly. She pressed one trailer and stared at it with a little frown. It was a trailer to a teenage series. It seemed messy. Hence the frown.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Grell asked, slightly concerned.

"I have not decided on it yet," Amaya admitted and changed the trailer to another one. This time it was a cop show. She smiled a little at it.

"In some ways, it is better. In another, it is worse," Grell said to her. Amaya heard a little sadness in his tone and she turned to him with a sympathetic smile. "People tried so hard to be good. But they keep failing. Too many bad out there," he told her.

"I know, dearest," Amaya reached out her hand to him and he readily took it, inching closer to her, seeking comfort and safety.

"Can you not do the cleanse? Can't you just use magic? Our magic? The earth's magic?" Grell asked, almost pleading. Amaya didn't answer and just smiled comfortingly at Grell. "After you do a cleanse, you always fall asleep. Sometimes for a really long time. We don't like that," Grell said with a whine.

"Not always," Amaya told him. Reminding him.

"But when it does, it's not good, is it?" Grell argued. "You have all this magic, all this power, and you use it for humans, who, by the way, don't even know you are helping them," he said.

"They have no need to know," Amaya said.

"I think they do. Because, well, at least then they'd know how to appreciate what they have," Grell shrugged.

"Do you not like humans, Grell?" Amaya asked.

Grell was silent at that. It wasn't that he disliked humans. But he was one too, once upon a time. So he knew what kind of creature humans were.

"Humans are beautiful, I think," Amaya said with a smile, "you are as beautiful as when you were human."

"It's the hair," Grell tried to joke to hide his uneasiness. He still thought that humans are creatures beyond saving.

"Everything about you is beautiful, dearest," Amaya patted his hand gently. "But humans, unlike the creatures of the World Beyond, need more help. They need guidance, and sometimes, salvation. And that is why I exist. My sole purpose is to save them. Even from themselves."

"I know that," Grell sighed, but still feeling dejected, "I just don't like it. I will never like it," he said.

To that, Amaya just smiled. Feeling grateful and sad at the same time. Especially for making her beloveds sad and heartbroken.