Axel's Promise

XVII

The day began to birth night. Axel and Fable were arranging some rocks in a circular formation to create the perfect place for a fire to ward off the chill. The two White Doves lowered their hands over the pile of wood and cast ruby magic, which caused the wood to ignite; red, ruby flames crackled to life. Axel let out a sigh as he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, staring into the blaze.

"Do you ever wonder what lies beyond this realm?" Axel shifted his eyes over to Fable, who was picking the dirt from under her fingernails with a small, flat rock. "I mean, do you wonder if any other realms exist beyond The Giant Realm?"

"Sometimes, I do wonder what lies beyond this realm. Maybe there is a tiny realm for all we know," Fable replied, not looking away from her fingernails. Fable gently brushed the dirt away from her nails before continuing to pick at them. "You know, Xenia isn't the only god in this universe. For all we know, in some alternate universe, Xenia is the enemy."

The thought of an alternate universe intrigued Axel, but he had doubts that he'll ever see any other words besides this one and Earth, where he and the other White Doves came from; just citizens of Earth transported here in their sleep. Axel poked the fire with a stick before leaning the stick on the ground at his feet, then he looked back into Fable's eyes. "If Xenia were the enemy, would that make us the enemy, too?"

"No. You see, a White Dove can stray away from the side of the good and join with the Shadows, like Caldrufini and now Serina." Fable looked at Serina's grave. "Oh, Serina. Why did you do this to yourself?" 

"Maybe it was written in her fate to become the thing she hated most; maybe every White Dove has that fate," Axel said before gazing at the twilight sky. The North star appeared in the sky. It twinkled at the pair; it looked as if it was winking. Axel would then look into the red fire. "Only the stars know of our fate in the end." Fable would nod, then look into the fire. 

As the night grew older and the fire began to die out, Axel and Fable were enjoying a meal of roasted pheasant. The unforgiving cold breeze didn't let up and tore its way through their clothing, making them shiver.

"Axel, I'm starting the fire back up. I'm freezing," Fable remarked before snapping her fingers to resurrect the dying ruby fire, which rose with a roar. Fable returned to eating her pheasant. Axel took a break from eating to look at the water, which was just visible over the edge of the peak, its surface dancing with the breeze. Axel watched the little white caps pop up, then crash against the edge of the peak. Fable tapped Axel on the shoulder to grab his attention.

"What?" Axel asked, looking Fable in the eye. Fable would flutter her eyelashes cutely. 

"Axel, remember when you admitted your love for me? Do you remember how much you blushed?" Fable was trying to raise Axel's romantic spirits, after all, all they have is their unbreakable love for one another, and in times like this, love is more important than ever.  Axel would rub the back of his neck and chuckle a little.

"Uh, ye-yes. I do. I was...it was the best moment of my life." Axel would then start blushing. Fable giggled.

"Uh oh. Someone's blushing!" Fable then grabbed Axel's rosy cheeks and pinched them. "Oh! You're just so cute!"

Fable's actions made Axel blush even harder; he was soon redder than the ruby fire that illuminated their figures. Axel's heart began to race with excitement as he knew a long, deep kiss was coming up. Axel gently rubbed Fable's back and kissed her deeply, allowing his tongue to slip between her pearly white teeth. Fable's breath was warm and welcoming.

Taken aback by the kiss, Fable would suddenly sink into a trance; Axel's kiss was like a spell, slowly pulling her out of reality. Axel pulled out of the kiss, then brought his lips to Fable's neck and started giving her passionate love bites, which made Fable shiver. Damn, he was good. 

"Ooh, Axel. That feels good. Please, keep doing that," Fable cooed. Fable swept her hair back out of her face before she started to run her fingers through Axel's hair, feeling its shaggy texture. Axel elevated his lips back up to Fable's mouth, where his lips once again crashed against her jet-black ones. During the kiss, something disturbed them; a howl? Where? Axel quickly pulled away from Fable's lips.

"Did you hear that?" Axel uttered Fable, who nodded. 

"Yea. It came from that way, toward the moon." Fable stood up and looked out into the distance. Fable's eyebrows rose when she saw a ghostly figure of a wolf standing out on the moonlit water, staring at them. Fable looked at Lobo and Chelly, who was also staring at the figure. Axel stood beside Fable.

"Akari? Is that...Akari?" Axel queried. "If so, why is she here?"

"I think she's here for Serina," Fable replied. "Why else would she come to her burial site?" Fable glanced at Lobo, who was now standing at the edge of the mountain peak with his neck craned toward Akari, trying to sniff her. Akari suddenly ran to the left, then stopped once she got to where Serina's grave was; a black, ghostly figure arose from the grave seconds afterward.

"Serina?!" Axel exclaimed before grabbing his Ruby Staff. The tip of the staff began to glow an angry shade of red. "Do not inflict harm, or I will have you banished!"

"Axel! Relax!" Fable replied as she placed her hands on Axel's staff. Fable watched as Serina walked across the water toward Akari with an outstretched hand. "Look! She seems to be going toward Akari!" 

Serina invited Akari to sniff her hand before she placed a cold, lifeless hand upon Akari's lifeless snout. Serina would then bow her head; six black dove wings emerged from her back, which was ten feet long each. Serina mounted Akari before riding across the water and disappearing into a black void. Fable looked at Axel.

"I think Serina has been summoned to the afterlife," Fable said. "Maybe she's going to fight for the underworld goddess, Horigrim." Fable glanced down at her timekeeper. "I think we should get some sleep. Tomorrow, we should head into town and have a proper date. What do you say?"

"How are we going to get down? The water is preventing us from going anywhere!" Axel retorted. 

"Yea...you're right..." Fable looked down at her feet. "Well, I suppose we'll have to await rescue. Until now, we'll have to do the best we can." Fable made her way over to Chelly and laid down next to her. "Join me, Axel."

Axel elegantly maneuvered around the rocks and sat beside Fable, and cuddled her close to his body. Axel would close his eyes. "Goodnight, Fable."

"Goodnight, Axel," Fable replied. The two of them soon fell asleep with the light of the moon shining down on them and their two canine companions.