"My Queen, Marqium is officially no more. The people of Solorin Church can finally live in peace."

"Marvelous work, Zayna! I can't imagine how accomplished you must feel."

"Very. It'd be impossible to put it into words, so I won't bother."

Marissa giggled at her comment.

"Is there anything else, dear?"

"Hmm- oh yeah. Solorin Church and the library got wrecked during the fight. Thought that might be important to know."

"It is. Thank you for telling me. I'd hate to send my men out so late at night, but King Otterman is coming tomorrow. I simply can't leave those buildings in such a state."

"King Otterman? The heck does he want?"

"To meet Tysashi and introduce his daughter to the Kula Region. I just couldn't pass up that kind of opportunity."

"I see. Did Fayemi and Tysashi already leave?"

"Yes, she took him to the Ambersap Tree. You should've seen how happy she was to be his escort. I couldn't even wish them a good time because she left so fast."

Zayna sighed with a warm smile. "Yup, that's something see would do. Well, that's all the news I had. Goodnight, My Queen."

"Goodnight, Zayna. Rest well, you deserve all the sleep you can get."

⊱⋅ ────── ⋆★⋆────── ⋅⊰

"Come on! If you don't pick up the pace, we'll be waiting forever!"

Fayemi ran through the forest with Tysashi's hand in a tight hold. He tried to match her speed, but once they were equal, she ran faster.

"I would be able to if we ran at the same speed."

Fayemi followed the yellow glow shooting up from the trees. Running with her in a forest lit by moonlight created quite the feeling. Whether it was impatience or excitement, her rush to the Ambersap Tree proved it's something to be excited for.

After a few minutes, the two met with a crowd of people gazing at the beautiful woman, Floress. Her pure smile was reflected on everyone's faces.

The bark mirrored her curvy figure perfectly. She wore leaves like a green dress only a sophisticated woman could don. Her wooden hair resembled long tentacles, free and loose. Pink, lotus-like flowers populated her lovely hair. Each flower had heaven's glow emitting from inside.

Taking his eyes from the tree, Tysashi spotted wooden cases to the left and right of Floress. In each case, small glass jars were bundled up and sold at an interesting price. Floress clapped her hands and the service began.

Before anyone could raise their hand to buy a jar, Fayemi shot hers in the air and lifted Tysashi's hand with her.

"Right here, boys!"

She gathered judgmental stares from others. Tysashi apologized for her embarrassing actions, even if it meant he'd collect some of that judgment himself.

Fayemi grabbed four jars and handed two to him.

"Wow, fifteen dollars per jar."

"That ain't nothing for a girl like me. This stuff is so good, people will pay anything for it. And besides, the money helps our economy and whatever Marissa does with it."

"At least let me pay for two. I can't just let you spend so much."

"Hey hey, chill. You most likely won't experience this again, so don't worry about paying."

"Alright. Whose getting the other two jars?"

"Aradressa and Zayna of course."

Fayemi paid the fee and brought him to meet Floress. They held the jars out and watched the process.

Her hair stretched out so the Felis Flowers could reach the jars. The two watched as the golden liquid dripped from the flowers and filled the jars. A sweet scent drifted into their noses, stunning them in a state of ecstasy.

Floress was rewarded with a meaningful thanks.

"Please enioy." Her voice was like a little girl, pure and innocent. 

"Oh we will! Bottoms up, Tysashi!" Fayemi raised her glass with the expectation he would clink his glass with her.

He lightly tapped his glass against hers. They both took a sip of the liquid together, and once they did, neither of them could take their lips off the rim. As they drank, the fragrant aroma encouraged them to drink more. It felt as if time slowed down while the fluid ran down their esophagus. Each second seemed like it never passed.

Once the jars were empty, they broke out of the shared euphoria.

"Man, it should be illegal to have something so good. So, whatcha think?"

"I- I can't even describe it through words. It was pure like water, but delicious and sticky like honey. That fifteen dollars isn't such a bad deal now."

"Hah, you sound like me when I first tried this stuff. Glad you liked it. I should get you outta here before you get addicted, though."

"Yeah, please do."

⊱⋅ ────── ⋆★⋆────── ⋅⊰

Coming out of the woods, Fayemi handed him a jar.

"Take that to Aradressa. I'm gonna deliver this to Zayna."

"Got it. Umm...thank you for today, Fayemi. I had fun with both you and your daredevil personality. Though being turned into glass wasn't so fun."

"Well, it's never a dull moment with me. One minute I'm jumping off a waterfall and bam; I'm fighting a mirror goddess. Oh, and the next time we come across a waterfall, you're jumping even if I have to push you in." She teased.

Her smug face reminded him of her prankish personality. She wouldn't force him to do anything, but she would tease him about it.

"Heh- umm I'll keep that in mind. Have a goodnight, Fayemi."

"You too."

⊱⋅ ────── ⋆★⋆────── ⋅⊰
Zayna's empty gaze was fixated on the pure marble. Chiseled into the white stone laid her father's name and the date of his demise. Her thumb slowly slid over the letters, which represented his entire existence here on Leyland.

The cold surface bore no solace for her worn spirit. Beneath the mist exuded by the living breathing, words of hollow were uttered.

"...I did it, dad. He's gone for good," but no reply would ever come. The dead were a silent crowd.

The surroundings were devoid of noise, as she stared towards the sky as if it could ease the pain.

Out of the miserable silence, she heard soft footsteps approaching. She didn't even have to turn her head; Fayemi's scent was recognized immediately.

"Hey, Zayna."

"Hey."

"Celebrating Marqium's death with your dad?"

"Yup."

"You put a bullet in his head?"

"Uh-huh. His body was evaporated by Solorin."

"Awesome. Sooo, I picked this up as a little congratulations. And don't you dare try to pay me back, you deserve it."

Zayna took her reward and placed it in her cloak.

"I appreciate it, Fay."

"You're welcome, Zay."

Smiles beamed across both their faces as they shared a few laughs. At the end of her laughter, Fayemi steered her eyes towards the grave; the smile dimed.

"Hey...are you alright? You've been pretty rough on yourself. I was hoping killing Marqium would raise your self-esteem a bit."

"Yeah, I'm good. Killing that son of a bitch had me feel he was cheering me on from the heavens. I can finally consider myself his daughter now."

She walked towards his grave with Fayemi right behind her.

"I've been treating myself like shit because I never felt like I was on his level. Although I wanted to take up his occupation, I never felt worthy enough to wield Scarliza, his guns, or even his cloak. Even after I was recognized by our queen for my skills, I didn't feel accomplished."

Her hand sat on the grave, patting it just like he would do to her.

"But tonight, I can set all that aside. I just wanted to visit him again and let him know."

"I'm sure he's proud of you and so am I."

"Thanks for putting up with my crap. You won't have to deal with my self-doubt anymore."

"Ah what are friends for if they're not dealing with your problems? You know I'll always be there for you."

Just from her words alone, the atmosphere became more lively. It almost made her forget she was in a gloomy graveyard.

"Fayemi, I fucking love you. I know I don't say it often, because my actions should already tell you, but I'm happy as hell I have you as a friend."

"I love you too."

The girls shared a passionate hug. A comforting warmth exchanged throughout their bodies. Their tight grasp on each other ensured them of devotion to the friendship.

"Well, I should be heading home. I'm ready to get some Z's." Fayemi said as she released her.

"Your house is too far from here, just crash with me."

"Hmm- ok. I didn't feel like walking all the way back anyway."

Zayna threw her arm around Fayemi's neck. They gave proud smiles to each other during the walk to the house.