Starry Resonance

"This is a lot to take in." Yvain had his head lowered, looking straight at Nora's b.r.e.a.s.ts, but he was seeing nothing. His view of Nora and their current circ.u.mstances had completely changed. Remembering the power displayed by both her and the Dragon Emperor he knew for certain that they couldn't leave Empryon. Especially considering that they killed the beloved leader of a race he and the rest knew nothing of.

"How long do we have until they know what happened?" Yvain asked.

Nora made a troubled expression, "They already know."

"Star help us." Hands on face, Yvain tried to rub away the current stress threatening to swallow him.

He felt Nora hug him closer to her and speak in a soothing tone. "They know that the emperor has died and the last location he was in, but they don't know who did it. As long as we leave here before anyone arrives we should be fine. And regardless, retribution of any kind won't come easily, so even if they found out about us we should be alright as long as we don't venture out."

Nora sounded confident in her deduction, but there was something Yvain was curious about.

"How do they know anyway?" They were the only witnesses to the emperor's death. And while he didn't know how far the dragon race was from Empryon, even if someone did see them they couldn't have made the journey back so fast.

"Remember the ability he used when you wounded him?"

Yvain nodded, the echos of the emperor's roar still bouncing off his mind. "It's called the 'Imperial Hunger'. Only the Dragon Emperor can use it and it informs all his subjects that he has died at the hands of another."

"He's the emperor, it's not that surprising for him to have an ability like that." Not surprising? Yvain couldn't think of anyone in Empryon being able to do that. But then again Nora wasn't from Empryon.

A knock on the door to the bedroom resonated all the way to the ears of the couple inside the bathroom. Just by its booming trait, Yvain knew it was Freya, probably frustrated at being made to wait. Yvain motioned for Nora to stand up. "We have to tell them," he said. He didn't know how the members of Draconian's Tavern would react to the information that they could become the target of an empire because of him, but he couldn't keep them in the dark.

"That's fine, but please don't tell them about the abuse," Nora said. Yvain could see the same worry in her eyes as when they were in front of the goddess of villages' house about to leave the carriage. He found it peculiar that her first thought toward other's knowing her past was to not be seen as vulnerable. But it made some sense considering the shame she was forced to endure.

Thinking of how Nora was humiliated in her own home was filling him with rage once more. He wanted to ask her about the details but was afraid of knowing exactly what happened at the same time. Some solace could be found in that he made the bastard that made her go through that choke on his blood.

"We only need to let them know what we're up against, and about your daughter. Nelimir might be able to pull some connections to see if we can find any information," Yvain said.

Nora's smile brightened, hugging him and stealing his lips in a deep kiss. Separating, she rested her forehead against his and closed her eyes. "I hate myself for feeling this happy when my daughter is suffering somewhere unknown to me," she said, pain and self-blame evident in her voice.

Yvain thought of the child he had tried and failed to protect back at the dungeon. He couldn't say he completely understood what Nora was going through, but he could feel some vestiges of the despondency that came from the failure.

"You're not alone anymore. Even if Nelimir and the rest decided not to help, I'll still join you in your search."

Nora smilingly nodded and the door to Yvain's bedroom door was pounded even harder. He turned the shower off and spoke, "Now let's get out of here before Freya breaks my door down."

"Keep it, or better yet, throw it away after we remove its contents. I don't want to wear it anymore." Yvain nodded and took the wedding band with him.

While Nora sat on the bed, Yvain went to answer the door. Opening it, an irritated Freya holding on to the wall with one arm and the other on her waist met him. This time instead of her skimpy armor she was wearing proper clothes. Of course, they were tailor-made for her and they accentuated all her curves while still keeping everything covered.

Yvain could see everyone else already sitting at the table having breakfast. The amazonian was unphased when she saw his state of n.a.k.e.dness, but when she looked past him her expression darkened. "Hurry up," was all she said before turning around.

"Wait, can you lend Nora some of your clothes? Hers are torn and she doesn't have any spares." Yvain could see that Freya was about to protest but Nelimir came to his rescue. "We're already late as it is Freya, just do as he asks."

"It's his fault we're late in the first place." Yvain could hear Freya mumble with dissatisfaction but she nonetheless went to her room. He threw his friend an apologetic look and Nelimir nodded in understanding.

----------

With Freya's size, Nora's new attire was slightly baggy on her. Yet Yvain found it amusing how it seemed to fit perfectly in her c.h.e.s.t area. When Freya was handing her the clothes he could see that his master noticed the difference, but she didn't address it.

They were all now sitting at the table with Nora right next to him on an extra chair. Selt was making a point of ignoring her presence completely, focusing instead on his food with a weary look. The kid had never been good with mornings. He usually slept into the afternoon but was forced to wake up early for meetings.

Nelimir was his usual immaculate self. Seemingly always ready to take action. Though his hair was as disheveled always.

Roesia Reinhart of the Reinhart family, considered the strongest magic user to ever have graced the academy. She was a woman with a refined look worthy of the noblewomen back home and cerulean hair prevalent in her family. It was straight enough that any movement made it seem as if she had flowing water for hair.

Standing at a height a bit higher than Selt but smaller than the rest, she had a fiery attitude that was at odds with her usual serene demeanor when it came to her creations. Being that she offered indispensable services to everyone in the guild, most of them tried to stay on her good side, Selt being the exception. Though he didn't tease her as badly as he did Yvain or Freya.

Yvain didn't know much about her private life and never bothered to ask, but everyone knew about her relationship with magic. She always took her studies a step too far and many times broke rules set in place by the headmaster just to test out an idea she arrived at on the spot. By all rights, she should have either been expelled or jailed too many times to count, but her family and her ability kept her from such a fate.

With such a taste for the taboo it wasn't surprising that she, Nelimir and Yvain formed a close friendship. And when the two men were driven out, she had already packed and was ready to leave behind the constraints set on her by others.

"One of these days you're going to turn yourself into something you won't be able to come back from," Yvain said with a grin.

Roesia looked at him with her customary emotionless expression and spoke while chewing, "As long as the transformation serves to provide proof for my hypothesis then I won't mind. I just hope it'll be something with opposable thumbs," she said, moving her own as if afraid they'd pop off and run away.

"Please finish chewing your food before you speak," Freya said. Sometimes Yvain forgot how his master could be a stickler for manners. He looked to Selt who was stuffing his face with no semblance of control with grim amus.e.m.e.nt. The kid was the only one who had managed to get Freya to give up completely on trying to reform him.

Not Roesia though, and with a murmur of acquiescence, she straightened up a bit and began to eat a more delicately.

Yvain looked to his plate. It was filled with scrambled eggs along with different types of meats and bread; a glass of water on the side. It was obvious that Freya had been the one to cook this time around, though if he remembered correctly it was supposed to be his turn.

In the middle of eating Yvain felt a hand tap on his shoulder. When he looked to the side Nora was holding up eggs on her fork.

"Ahn~"

A soft impact rang out in the living room and when Yvain looked to the side Freya's fork had slipped from her hand. She didn't acknowledge it though and just picked it up and continued eating. Roesia was looking at the couple with an out of norm awkwardness, not knowing where to look. He ignored them and looked back at his lover.

Not wanting to let Nora down, and feeling a scalding warmth in his c.h.e.s.t, Yvain happily opened his mouth and ate the offered food. A bit embarrassed, he focused on his plate once more as Nora, resting her head on her open palm, stared at him with affection. He could hear Selt scoff, but the kid didn't say anything.

The one to speak was Roesia. "I guess the holy monk has finally abandoned his ways," she said with a wry smile.

"You and the rest were the ones that decided on that name, not me," Yvain said quickly. He didn't want that nickname to come up with Nora present, but it was futile.

"Why do they call you a holy monk?" Nora asked.

Without missing a beat Roesia spoke, "Your boyfriend has mercilessly trampled many hearts in the course of his life. It's one thing to reject someone, but he went as far as to show zero reaction to any woman, or man for that matter, that approached him. To make matters worse he has no sense of decorum and simply told them off as if they were bugs under his boots." She made a mock sorrowful expression. Unfortunately, when combined with her already default deadpan look, it felt like the situation was a tragedy. "I think some might have even committed suic-"

"Let me stop you right there," Yvain cut in. "I simply didn't find myself attracted at anyone so the gossiping idiots you can find anywhere started calling me the holy monk," he told Nora.

When Yvain scowled at his friend Nora started to laugh. She grabbed his hand under the table and rested her head against his shoulder happily. "We'll need to dispell that rumor as soon as possible," she said.

Yvain wanted to lose himself in bliss along with Nora, but he saw his friend finally turn serious. Everyone was mostly done with their meal, and so the leader of Draconian's Tavern, setting down his eating utensils, gathered their attention.

"I'd like to thank everyone for gathering here today," Nelimir started.

"Is that necessary?" Roesia said but went quiet when Freya gave her an admonishing look. Nelimir kept going without addressing the question.

Looking at Selt and then Yvain, he spoke, "We'll start this meeting with the report from our scouts."