The Dragon Queen [COMPLETE]

PASSAGE TO LIREMIA

The one constant thought running in my head these days seemed to be, "Ryne is annoying." It had been two weeks since the blood moon and I was nowhere near finding the god. Ryne ignored me for three days straight after that night. Then he found me during Global Economy and made a big show of pulling me out of the class only to say that opening the passage required a celestial event and, that we had to wait for the solar eclipse since the blood moon was gone.

After that, I had hardly seen him. He would send one of his friends to communicate with me. He sent the accord with Arlan and Gyrod a week ago. That was not a pleasant meeting. Gyrod seemed to not like me very much. Either that or he was possessive of Arlan and jealous of my fiancé status. He would constantly have physical contact with him and look at me with pride as if that was supposed to make me die with envy. For someone who was said to be the uninterested type, he seemed very interested in everything I had to say. He would try his best to find ways to mock me and if he couldn't, he would just stand there and, look smug and superior.

As if that weren't enough, Ryne sent Keelin to give me a list of supplies I had to arrange the next day. The camaraderie I had felt from her on the day of the blood moon seemed to be a figment of my imagination, for she was openly hostile towards me. She also spoke of, "her Ryne de" a lot, about how he was the most ideal person ever, perfect in all aspects. She said he had a million responsibilities himself and did not need someone like me in his life. When I asked her what she meant, she called me a few choice words, some that resembled a leech who was using him.

Two days later, when I saw Hystia, I was glad for a second before noticing that she was accompanied by Yuvien. What's worse, I had to spend the entire day with them. We went around the campus looking for a spot with enough ancient energy to sustain the passage until we could pass through. Hystia tried to make friendly conversation once in a while and I was really thankful for that as Yuvien completely ignored my existence. If I spoke, he would pretend he didn't hear me until Hystia repeated my words. He was acting like a baby and I was at the threshold of madness. I couldn't help but curse Ryne in my head.

Ryne and I were the only ones going to Liremia. He didn't need to involve all the others. But apparently, he was very busy with fifth year studies as well as ti-eglor duties. I could understand that and I was thankful to him for helping me out, but I would rather see him instead of his posse, except maybe Arlan. Ever since I confessed to him about not wanting to go ahead with the marriage, he seemed a little distant. Whenever I saw him now, it was with Gyrod and that was an interaction I did not look forward to. Besides, with J-Vil having taken a break from school due to a family emergency and Lord Dragomitus going silent on me, I couldn't help but feel lonely.

Presently, I waited for Ryne at the entrance of the site where we would open the passage soon. I hadn't explored this area much the other day. Yuvien had declared it would do and we had left it at that. This place felt sacred to me. I didn't know what it was, but I was drawn towards the stone wreckage as if it were a magnet. I dropped the bag on the muddy ground and took a step forward.

"Are you really that thick to enter ruins that may topple anytime?" I heard Ryne's voice and froze in my spot.

"Of course, not. I was just... just looking around," I cleared my throat, picked up the bag and turned to him.

I blushed because coincidentally, we were both dressed in casual jeans, white t-shirt and a leather jacket.

He let out a laugh as he looked at me, "I guess we have the same taste in clothes." His hair had grown a little longer and didn't look cropped. A slight stubble on his face made him look ruggedly handsome.

"It just seemed practical," I said, shrugging.

He nodded before taking the bag from my shoulders. He opened it and pulled out a knife, a bit of camel hide, a scented candle and a lighter. He lit the candle and waved it around until the scent of fresh jasmine permeated through the air. He burnt the hide and threw it on the ground in front of us.