女神归来的夏天

~~~(Location: Campsite near the river, Elven Kingdom)~~~

~~~(Time: 5:13 PM)~~~

Meli takes a seat next to me and relaxes. "You're not going to like that I'm about to talk about, and it's not about Ashburn." Okay... Now I am worried... That's what I figured this conversation would be about, but instead, it's something I'm not going to like. "I've already made up my mind about this decision..." I have a bad feeling about this...

She never acts like this... Not unless it's serious, and by the way she's making it sound, it's very serious. "Whatever it is, I'm sure that we can handle it. There hasn't been anything we couldn't overcome together." We've been friends for centuries, and I think of her as my family. Nothing can stop us when we're working together.

Her features take on a sadder look, and she turns her eyes towards the ground. Avoiding my eye line as much as possible. "When we're done with The Orvello family and the royal family. I'm leaving the partnership and taking my own path..." Wow... Okay... I don't even know how to respond to that... She's leaving? She's actually leaving our partnership!?

My emotions hardly ever go out of control, but I can't help feeling betrayed and angry about all this!! She's just leaving and not even explaining why. "You going to tell me why you're leaving? Or is that something that you don't want to do?" My passive-aggressive tone is plain and easy to see. I can't help it from coming out.

She slowly shakes her head, takes a deep breath, and lets out a long sigh. She looks annoyed, and that deepens my anger at this moment. "No, I'm not going to tell you why I'm done. If you want to know, you're going to have to figure it out for yourself." She stands up and heads towards the campfire where Hailey and Jasmine are sitting.

This... This hurts... I never imagined something like this happening... Not in either of our lifetimes... She's leaving after this quest, huh... She said that if I want to know, I have to figure it out for myself... This is never something that anyone wants to hear... It means that you're the problem, and you can't even see it. She's been hurt by something I've done.

More than likely, something I've been doing for a very long time... You don't decide to leave something like this at the drop of a hat and without a justifiable reason. Why couldn't she have just wanted to talk about Ashburn!? That would've been so much simpler than this!! I stare at the ground, not looking at anyone. Lost in thought, trying to figure this out.

I'm blind to my own mistakes. I'll admit that... My pride and ego get in my way all the time. It's something that we elves suffer from. Meli is different than me. She doesn't suffer from such vanity problems. Whatever I did, I won't be able to see... Talk about pathetic, but that doesn't mean that I'm not going to try.

She's my family, and I love her like a sister, and while Leila is a cousin, Meli is my sister. I'm going to have to go through every horrible thing I've done to her. Directly or indirectly. "I see you're lost in thought." Ashburn's voice interrupts me, and he smiles as I look up at him. He folds his arms and raises an eyebrow at me.

He's never seen me like this before, and I see a lightbulb go off for him. "So she finally confronted you about it... It's obvious to everyone, and the fact that you can't see it troubles me..." His voice softens at the end of this remark. His words make me angry and also enlighten me a little. What I did... Everyone can see it except for me...

That makes me feel even more terrible about this whole shitstorm... "She'd never forgive me if I told you, but I can give you a hint." He gets my full attention, and I'm listening closely. "Think about all the times that you made business decisions and Melimora's involvement." That's... Vague... Figures that it wouldn't be much help, but it does give me something.

He turns and leaves towards the others around the campfire and takes a seat right next to Meli. They're all becoming really good friends, and to think that I treated Hailey, Jasmine, Sally, and Cera as adversaries... Another mistake, but that's due to my line of work and the risks that I take with my job. I've got issues... Things that I ignore cause I think I can.

Speaking of that group, Cera and Sally have been off on their own for a while, and I've got a pretty good guess about what they're doing right now. I don't blame Sally either. Cera makes an extremely attractive elf, and while he's handsome without the elven look, it sure does make him pop out. Sally has become someone that I understand a little better than the rest.

She wears her heart on her sleeve, and she's a sweet girl, and I admire that about her. Even with all the shit she's been through in her life. She's capable of such kindness. I can say the same for Jasmine too. They're both amazing when it comes to being extraordinary despite the hard lives they've lived. Both are ex-slaves, and no one comes out completely whole after that.

I have a lot of respect for Cera... He's able to see past the things that happened to Sally. See her for who she really is and love her. Most men would never give Sally the time of day due to the life she had. Slaves and ex-slaves are considered by many to be less than desirable since they share many partners. It's a sad reality.

Cera must be someone who has many things going for him to look past that stuff. The sounds Sally makes at the times I've heard them... Always saying how great his is, and that it's the best she's ever had, and that she's actually feeling pleasure from it. "Never heard a girl talk about a man's private bits like that before." He's a total package, it seems.

Sally gets him all to herself, and she should be happy for the rest of her life thanks to Cera's doing the things he does for her. He's more than just a good partner in bed, and I can see that. It makes me jealous cause I want a relationship with a man like that at one point in my life. It'd be nice to feel cherished for who I am and see me for everything.

~~~(POV: Hailey Adamo)~~~

~~~(Location: Campsite near the river, Elven Kingdom)~~~

~~~(Time: 5:13 PM)~~~

Jasmine and Melimora share a laugh and continue talking about the dungeon and how fun it was to them... I don't have any feelings that have a shred of having fun in that fucking dungeon, but I'm just different than these girls. "What do you guys think Cera and Sally are up to right now?" Ashburn's question causes the whole group to look at him.

It's obvious that they're doing the same things as Leila and Freskra and spending quality time together. Probably being intimate at the same time. "You're not that much of an idiot, are you?" The teasing tone in Melimora's voice doesn't go unnoticed, and Ashburn can't help but blush. He's a love-struck man, but it's cute. I'll admit that.

Jasmine takes a second to understand the meaning behind everything, but she gets it. Despite being an ex-slave herself, she's still unaware of the language of love since she was treated like an object... She wouldn't know... "Don't worry. You'll find a man that'll love you the same way Cera loves Sally." My words cause a deep red flush to appear on Jasmine's cheeks.

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A/N: Below this line, I'll be keeping Cera's player information. That way, I won't have to place it into the story above anymore. It takes about 180 words up.

[Slayer (Zern) Lvl.196]

[Exp: 40/100%]

[Title: The Son of Arch-Angel Michael (Hidden)]

[Stats] [Strength - 7095][Endurance - 7045][Dexterity - 7215][Speed - 8240][Focus - 19,660]

[Mana aura control: 6/100%]

[Health: 76,560,000,000/76,560,000,000] [Mana: 216,600,000,000/216,600,000,000]

[Stat Points: 50] [Armor rating: 500]

[Inventory] [Dice of Wayland (Divine)] [Hardened Tree sap Armor (Very Rare)] [The Witness (Legendary Sword)] [Fenrir's Whistle (Divine)] [Sally's Dresses 5x] [Camping gear] [Food Rations 4x] [Dried meat 4x] [Fishing poles 2x] [Fish 8x] [Festival Garbs 2x]

[Passive Perks]

[Inheritor of the Sword] [Son of Heaven] [Slayer of Evil] [Holy Willow Trees Savior] [Finder of Legends] [The Divine who has Legend] [Destined for Greatness] [Dungeon Diver] [An Overachiever]

[Active Skills]

[Heavens light Lvl.59 325/5900] [Protected by Heaven Lvl.59 225/5900] [Slash Lvl.77 4600/130000] [Parry Lvl.53 80/5300] [Double Strike N/A] [Kingslayer N/A] [Raging Machine N/A] [Winged Glory] [Angelic Flight] [Divine Pressure Exertion] [Divinity Pulse] [Controled Fun]