Chapter XII: The Dragon's Heart and Alisaie's decision
The night settled over Idyllshire in soft hues of violet and silver, lanterns flickering against the crumbled walls and half-restored walkways. Music and laughter echoed faintly from a gathering of travelers below, but in the quiet alcove of the ruins, Aldra and Y’shtola sat together in their own world, a world where time seemed to hesitate and hold its breath for them alone.Y’shtola’s doubts still lingered, though fainter now, like shadows clinging stubbornly at the edges of light. She studied Aldra’s glowing eyes, the living testament to the spell, and felt her chest tighten. “You speak of strength, of merging what once warred within you,” she murmured, her voice low and edged with that familiar caution. “But I cannot deny… I wonder still if I’ve overstepped. If what I have done to you might one day be seen as a theft, not a gift.”Aldra shook her head, firm and unyielding, her horns catching the lantern light like burnished silver. “No, Y’shtola. Listen to me.” She reached, cupping Y’shtola’s cheek, her thumb brushing lightly against the mage’s skin. “You gave me balance when I could not find it myself. You gave me clarity when I was blind to my own heart. And more than that—” Her voice softened into a trembling whisper. “—you gave me love. Not forced, not stolen, but awakened.”Her words sank into Y’shtola like rain soaking into parched earth. Still, Aldra pressed forward, unwilling to let doubt regain its ground. She leaned close, resting her forehead against Y’shtola’s. “I told you once, I struggled to understand what I felt whenever you were near me. That confusion tormented me for years. But I know now, I loved you from the very moment you gave me the name Aldra Saeyris. That name was more than a gift, it was the birth of who I am now. You shaped me, not with chains, but with care. With faith.”Y’shtola’s breath caught, her composure fraying as her arms slipped around Aldra, pulling her close. The scholar who so often kept her distance, who cloaked her feelings in reason and restraint, now trembled openly as she held the one who had laid her heart bare.Aldra smiled faintly, tender and fierce all at once, and kissed her slowly. It was not born of desperation, but of conviction, an embrace of everything they had endured, and of everything they would face together. The spell, the doubts, the years of pain, all were threads woven into the fabric of the love Aldra finally understood.Y’shtola returned the kiss, tears at the corners of her eyes, though her heart began to ease. For the first time, she allowed herself to believe that perhaps this love did not need the scaffolding of her magic—it had been waiting all along, patient and unspoken, ready to bloom.And so they stayed, folded into each other, speaking in whispers, in touches, in the unshakable bond that had been forged long before either of them dared to name it.Far from Idyllshire, across seas and cities, Alisaie’s pursuit continued in silence, her steps steady but hidden, her thoughts filled with doubt and determination. But for now, her presence remained only a distant ripple, unfelt, unseen, while Y’shtola and Aldra held each other beneath the starlight, their world shrinking to the space between their hearts.
Idyllshire had grown warm in Aldra’s heart, its ruined arches and flowering vines no longer a place of transience, but a quiet sanctuary where days stretched into gentle rhythms of companionship. Travelers came and went, merchants bartered, children played among the broken stones, but to Aldra and Y’shtola, the world here seemed hushed, softened by the presence of each other.They spent their evenings walking the moss-covered paths hand in hand, Y’shtola speaking of ancient aetherial flows hidden beneath the land, Aldra listening with a smile that carried both pride and tenderness. Sometimes Aldra would pause, tugging Y’shtola closer, kissing her cheek or whispering words of love so raw they left the scholar uncharacteristically flustered. Each moment was a reassurance, that what they had was not only real, but chosen, willed, and cherished.One evening, as lanterns flickered low, Y’shtola drew Aldra aside, her expression softened yet serious. “There is someone I wish for you to meet,” she began, brushing a stray lock of silver-blue hair, now tinged faintly pink, from Aldra’s eyes. “My master, Matoya. She has guided me longer than any other, and though she is stern, she is not unkind. I would have her see you… and perhaps, see us.”Aldra’s heart fluttered at the weight in those words. “You mean… to show her that I am yours?” she asked quietly, her tail curling as she glanced away with a shy warmth.Y’shtola tilted her chin back up, her gaze steady and unyielding. “No, Aldra. To show her that you are my heart. That I no longer walk this path alone.”The words struck deep, and Aldra leaned into her embrace, a smile trembling on her lips. “Then I would be honored to meet her, and to stand by your side before the one who shaped you.”Y’shtola pressed a tender kiss to her forehead, holding her as if she would never let go. The prospect of Matoya’s sharp tongue and penetrating wit did not trouble her; what stirred Y’shtola instead was a quiet pride, a longing to have her master witness the one truth she could no longer hide: Aldra was not simply her companion, nor even her beloved, she was the axis upon which Y’shtola’s heart now turned.And so their days in Idyllshire passed like a slow, sweet current, carrying them steadily toward Matoya’s Cave. Unbeknownst to them, the world beyond still shifted, and Alisaie’s pursuit had not faltered. Yet here, in the safety of their shared moments, Y’shtola’s mind was fixed only on one thing: showing Aldra to the one who had first shaped her path, and in doing so, declaring before her master the love she would never renounce.
The journey through the southern reaches of the Dravanian Hinterlands was quieter than Aldra expected. The forests swayed under the cool wind, and the soft rush of the river echoed through the valleys. Yet beside her, Y’shtola’s composure, so flawless in most matters, seemed to waver. Her steps slowed near the familiar stone arches that marked the way, her ears twitching at every sound, her hand tightening around Aldra’s as though grounding herself.Aldra noticed it instantly. She squeezed Y’shtola’s hand, her silver-blue eyes, tinged faintly now with the pink glow born of spell and love, meeting hers with unshaken warmth. “You’ve faced voidsent, primals, and worse with barely a flinch,” Aldra teased softly, her tail curling forward to brush against Y’shtola’s leg. “And yet, here you stand… nervous.”Y’shtola’s lips pressed into a thin line, though the faintest color warmed her cheeks. “She is not simply my master. She is… the voice that shaped me. The one who set me on the path I walk now. To bring you before her, Aldra, is no small thing.”They paused before the entrance to Matoya’s cave, its stone maw covered in creeping vines, the faint glow of crystals pulsing faintly within. Aldra stepped closer, free hand rising to gently cup Y’shtola’s cheek. “Then let me bear some of that weight. You have been my strength more times than I can count, Y’shtola. Now let me be yours.”Y’shtola’s breath caught, and for a fleeting moment the uncertainty in her gaze softened into something raw and vulnerable. Aldra leaned in, brushing her lips lightly against hers in a kiss as delicate as the mist drifting through the Hinterlands. When they parted, Aldra smiled with quiet conviction. “I love you. That truth is mine, spell or no spell. And I will stand proudly beside you, no matter what your master says.”Her words carried like a spell of their own, threading warmth into Y’shtola’s chest. The scholar let herself exhale, her hand tightening once more around Aldra’s. Together, they stepped forward into the shadowed cave, where crystal light awaited, and with it, Matoya’s sharp eyes and sharper tongue.
The interior of Matoya’s Cave glowed with its eerie, crystalline light, the air heavy with the scent of old herbs and dust. Books and reagents cluttered every shelf, while brooms drifted about as if with minds of their own. Aldra kept close to Y’shtola, her hand still linked with hers, drawing quiet strength from their closeness.“Bah,” came the sharp voice from deeper within. “I wondered what fool was clattering about my cave like a lost coeurl. And here you are, girl, dragging your latest complication through my threshold.”Y’shtola straightened, mask of composure snapping back into place, though Aldra could feel her hand tense. “Master Matoya,” she greeted, bowing her head slightly. “I wished to—”“You wished, did you?” Matoya cut her off, the old mage stepping into view, her staff tapping against the stone. Her eyes, clouded with age but sharp as ever, raked over Aldra in an instant. The silence that followed felt like a blade held too close to the throat.“So this is the one you’ve tangled yourself with,” Matoya said at last, voice laced with disdain. “And worse yet, I smell your aether all over her. You meddled, didn’t you, girl?”Y’shtola stiffened, lips parting to answer, but Matoya raised her staff in a brusque motion. “Spare me the protest. You think I wouldn’t recognize the spellwork? Hmph. Only, your intent was clumsy—selfish even. But the outcome…” Her gaze narrowed on Aldra, who straightened despite her unease. “The outcome was something else entirely.”Aldra’s tail flicked, uncertain, but Matoya’s voice carried on like a hammer breaking stone.“You bound nothing. What you did was tear down the wall that was killing her, her draconian blood gnawing at her fox spirit half, spirit gnawing at flesh, and all of it wearing her to shreds from the inside out. Left unchecked, it would have undone her within a decade. Instead—” Matoya leaned on her staff, lips curling into something between a smirk and a sneer. “Instead, your blundering wove them together. A union. Her body no longer at war with itself. Her spirit aligned. And the last filthy chains the Garleans left on her shattered in the process.”The words hung heavy in the air. Aldra’s breath caught, her mind whirling, while Y’shtola froze in place, the realization creeping across her face like frost.“Do not fool yourself, girl,” Matoya pressed, her tone cutting. “You thought you were binding her to you. But what you truly did was give her peace, true peace, and the ability to speak her heart without fear. And it just so happens her heart belongs to you.”Y’shtola’s lips parted, but no words came. Aldra, however, stepped closer, her violet-and-crimson gaze shining in the cave’s dim light. She laced her fingers tighter with Y’shtola’s, voice steady despite the pounding in her chest.“She’s right,” Aldra whispered. “It was tearing me apart. I didn’t see it then… but now, I feel whole. Strong. Free. And that freedom lets me say what I’ve always struggled to, I love you, Y’shtola. Not because of a spell. Because I always have. Since the moment you freed me from Castrum Centri.”Y’shtola’s throat worked, her usual eloquence crumbling under the weight of Aldra’s words. Matoya gave a sharp bark of laughter, turning back into the shadows of her cave.“Love, is it? Hmph. Foolish business. But perhaps, girl, this time your meddling didn’t ruin everything after all.”
Y’shtola stood in silence long after Matoya disappeared into the depths of her cave, the words still echoing in her ears. Her hand remained in Aldra’s, yet she could feel the faint tremor in her own fingers. The realization weighed heavily upon her, what she thought had been an act of selfishness, of binding Aldra’s heart to hers, had instead been a salvation. A mistake that had saved the woman she loved.Her gaze drifted to Aldra, eyes tracing the gentle rise and fall of her chest, the serene steadiness in her mismatched gaze, violet and crimson, perfectly united. The thought of those two halves, draconian and fox spirit, once gnawing each other to pieces within her beloved’s body, made Y’shtola’s breath hitch. She had not known. She hadn’t even suspected.“If I had done nothing…” she whispered, voice trembling despite herself. “If I had turned away, left you as you were…” Her lips pressed into a line as the thought clawed at her. “You would have—”“Died,” Aldra finished softly, her voice steady, though she pressed closer as if to shield Y’shtola from her own fears. “Yes. Koo Mihyun told me long ago my body would never last as it was. My mother’s power, my father’s spirit… they were never meant to live in one vessel unless united. The Garleans knew it when they bound me at birth. That was their cruelty, to keep me alive just long enough to use me, but never whole.”Y’shtola’s jaw tightened, her heart aching with a fury she rarely let herself feel. She reached up, brushing trembling fingers along Aldra’s cheek, as if grounding herself in the warmth of her skin. “Those wretches. To think they left such shackles upon you…”Aldra tilted her head, resting her face into Y’shtola’s touch, her voice gentling. “But you broke them. Even without knowing, you freed me from what was slowly killing me. You gave me peace. And love.” Her lips curved into the softest of smiles, and she leaned forward, pressing her forehead to Y’shtola’s. “Do you see now? You didn’t take away my choice. You gave me a life worth choosing. And I choose you. Always.”A long breath escaped Y’shtola, her shoulders loosening as if a great weight had been lifted. For so long she had feared she had acted on selfish desire, binding Aldra when perhaps she should not have. But now… to hear that her mistake had been salvation, that her love had freed Aldra from chains she hadn’t even known existed, filled her with a rare and quiet relief.Her lips brushed against Aldra’s brow, lingering, trembling just slightly as tears pricked at her eyes. “Then perhaps,” she murmured, voice soft but steady now, “fate knew what I did not. That I could not let you slip away, not to your own body, not to the Garleans’ cruelty, not to death.” She leaned back enough to meet Aldra’s glowing gaze. “You are here. Alive. Whole. And mine.”
The morning in the Dravanian Hinterlands was still and cool, the fog hanging low among the trees and stones when Y’shtola stirred. Aldra still slept beside her, her head nestled against Y’shtola’s shoulder, their breaths matched in a quiet rhythm. Y’shtola brushed her lips across Aldra’s hair, a fleeting kiss before easing her arm free. She knew what was coming, Matoya’s summons had not been idle, and the mage’s sharp tone the night before still lingered in her ears.When the two entered the cave together, hand in hand, the air was heavier than the damp stone should allow. Matoya stood near her table, a candle was casting harsh shadows across her lined face. But they were not alone.At the far side of the cavern, near the edge of Matoya’s cluttered shelves, stood Alisaie. The younger woman’s eyes widened for an instant as they fell on Aldra, her gaze sweeping from the silver-pink of her hair to the mismatched glow in her eyes. A swirl of emotion flickered there, relief, shock, and something harder to place, a lingering doubt.Matoya’s staff struck the ground once, a sharp sound that cut through the silence. “Well, well. Took you long enough to drag yourselves here. I trust you both had your little reunion.” Her sharp eyes flicked toward Y’shtola, then to Aldra, before settling on Alisaie. “But before you start clutching hands and whispering sweet nothings, we’ve got company. This one sought me out at dawn, demanding answers.”Alisaie squared her shoulders, though her voice betrayed the tension coiled inside her. “I needed to know the truth. About Aldra. About what was done to her.” Her eyes slid toward Y’shtola, then softened, if only slightly, when they fell on Aldra. “And if what she feels now… is real.”Y’shtola’s lips pressed into a thin line, but it was Matoya who barked a laugh, low and cutting. “Oh, you children. Always doubting, always fretting over what the heart chooses. I’ll spell it out for you plain.” She leaned on her staff, eyes narrowing. “Your precious Aldra was dying, torn in two by the very blood and spirit that made her. This one—” she jabbed her staff toward Y’shtola, “—thought she was binding her. In truth, she saved her. United her. Gave her the chance to be whole. And if you think that means her love’s a fabrication, then you’re a fool.”The words struck hard in the cavern’s stillness. Alisaie’s lips parted, but no reply came at first. Her gaze returned to Aldra, lingering on the way she stood close to Y’shtola, fingers curled tight around hers, the steady calm in her expression where once there had been conflict and pain.Aldra broke the silence, her voice low but firm, carrying across the cave. “Alisaie… I’ve loved her long before the spell. Since Castrum Centri, since Ul’dah, since Rhalgr’s Reach, since the First. I was just too blind to see what that feeling was. The spell didn’t change that, it let me embrace it, without fear, without breaking apart.” She squeezed Y’shtola’s hand, then looked directly at Alisaie, her mismatched eyes steady. “This love is mine. Always has been. Always will be.”Y’shtola glanced at her teacher, at the faint smirk tugging at Matoya’s lips despite her biting words, then at Alisaie, whose expression was a storm of doubt and aching hope.
Alisaie stood rooted to the stone floor of Matoya’s cave, her jaw tight, her hands curling into fists at her sides. Her heart thundered against her ribs, not from anger but from the collision of truths she wasn’t ready to face.Matoya’s words rang sharp in her ears: Aldra was dying. Y’shtola saved her. The raw certainty in Aldra’s voice cut deeper still. Every memory she carried of Aldra, fighting at her side, laughing around the fire, collapsing together after battle, now seemed threaded with something she had failed to see. Was this love genuine? Or had Y’shtola’s spell tipped the scales so heavily that no one could ever untangle it?Her gaze flickered to Aldra again, catching the warmth in her mismatched eyes, the quiet glow of peace she had not seen in her before. It was undeniable. The torment that once haunted her had eased. She looked whole, radiant even, and in Y’shtola’s presence she seemed unshakably sure.But still, Alisaie’s throat tightened. She turned her head slightly, as though unable to bear the weight of the moment. “I… need time,” she managed, her voice quieter than she intended. She forced her gaze down to the floor, unable to hold Aldra’s or Y’shtola’s eyes.Matoya only gave a dry chuckle, leaning on her staff. “Good. For once, you’re not charging headfirst. Take your time, girl. You’ll need it.”Without another word, Alisaie moved away from the table candle’s glow, retreating into the dim edges of the cavern. She didn’t storm out, didn’t lash out, but the distance was clear, a wall she needed between herself and the two before her. In the shadows, she folded her arms, her mind churning with memories, doubts, and an ache she couldn’t yet name.Meanwhile, Aldra felt her chest tighten at the sight of her friend withdrawing, but Y’shtola’s hand in hers grounded her. She turned, whispering softly, “She needs to come to her answer in her own time. We’ll be here when she does.”Y’shtola’s eyes lingered on Alisaie’s silhouette in the dark, unreadable for a moment, before she nodded. “Aye. Let her wrestle with it. The truth has been spoken. Now it must be hers to accept.”
Y’shtola let out a slow breath, her fingers lacing more tightly with Aldra’s as though afraid she might drift away if she loosened her hold. The cavern’s torchlight flickered against her pale features, softening the hard edges usually carved into her expression.Aldra leaned closer, brushing her thumb across the back of Y’shtola’s hand, the warmth steady and deliberate. “She’ll understand, in time,” Aldra whispered, her voice tender yet firm. “But even if she doesn’t… I know my heart. I’ve always known, though I didn’t have the words until now. I love you, Y’shtola. Nothing, no spell, no doubt, no fear, can make that any less true.”The words trembled with sincerity, not weakness, and Y’shtola felt the sting of tears press against her eyes. She closed them briefly, remembering the countless moments Aldra had named, their battles, their wounds, their shared victories. To hear it spoken so plainly now, after all the danger and the shadow of doubt, nearly unmoored her.“You’ve given me something I feared I would never have,” Y’shtola murmured, her voice low and breaking. “A love that is freely given. Not bound by duty, not stolen by circumstance… but yours. Yours, Aldra.”Aldra smiled through her own exhaustion, leaning until her forehead pressed lightly against Y’shtola’s. Her fox-dragon tail brushed faintly against the floor, curling toward her beloved like a tether. “And yours, always,” she breathed.Behind them, in the dim edge of the cave, Alisaie shifted but said nothing, the soft scuff of her boots on stone betraying her restless pacing. The silence around her was heavy, charged with her unspoken storm of thought, yet Aldra refused to let her presence dampen the intimacy of the moment.Instead, she cupped Y’shtola’s cheek with a gentle hand, guiding her to meet her eyes fully. “We’ve both walked through darkness, and we found each other on the other side. That’s what matters now. Not the fears, not the questions, just this.”Y’shtola finally let herself bend to Aldra’s certainty, pressing her lips to hers in a kiss that was slow, deep, and filled with all the gratitude she couldn’t yet put into words. The cave seemed to fall away, the tension, the doubts, all drowned in the simple, undeniable truth that pulsed between them.
The sound of cautious footsteps echoed against the stone floor, pulling Y’shtola and Aldra from their closeness. Alisaie stepped forward at last, her arms crossed tightly as if bracing herself against what she might hear. Her sharp eyes moved from Aldra to Y’shtola, and for a long moment she simply stood there, lips pressed into a thin line, her thoughts warring behind her expression.Aldra, still holding Y’shtola’s hand, shifted slightly to face her, her tail curling low in a nervous motion. “Alisaie…” she began softly, her voice uncertain but steady enough to break the silence.Alisaie drew in a breath and let it out slowly, as though gathering every shred of composure. “I need to know,” she said firmly, her tone neither harsh nor gentle, but edged with a raw honesty. “Do you truly love her, Aldra? Not because of the spell, not because of fear of losing her, not because of the binds forced on you at birth. I need to hear it from you, plainly.”The words hung in the cave like a challenge, but not one born of malice. Aldra’s heart clenched, yet she lifted her chin, her mismatched glowing eyes—one crimson, one violet-pink, meeting Alisaie’s gaze without wavering.“I do,” Aldra said, her voice trembling only with emotion. “I have for so long, since the days she freed me and stood by me when I had nothing. I didn’t understand it then, but I do now. This love isn’t born of magic or fear, it’s mine. It’s always been mine.”Y’shtola’s grip on Aldra’s hand tightened as she listened, her throat thick with feeling, but she stayed silent, this was Aldra’s truth to give.Alisaie’s eyes flicked to Y’shtola, suspicion still lingering, then back to Aldra. “And you, Y’shtola? Was the spell truly meant to bind her to you? Or… was it something else?”For once, Y’shtola hesitated. The measured certainty in her voice faltered, but she answered with a candor she rarely offered. “I feared losing her. I thought my actions would chain her heart to mine. But Matoya made it clear, I cast something unintended. The spell did not bind her. It freed her. It united what was tearing her apart inside.” She glanced down briefly, her voice softening. “If I had known that truth before, perhaps I would have spared us all this rift. But know this, Alisaie: what Aldra and I share is no illusion.”The weight of Y’shtola’s admission, paired with Aldra’s unshaken confession, seemed to still something in Alisaie. She lowered her arms at last, her posture softening though her eyes remained wary. “I wanted to protect you, Aldra. I still do. But maybe protection doesn’t mean pulling you away, it means trusting you to know your own heart.”Aldra reached out her free hand toward her, the gesture fragile but sincere. “Then stand with us, Alisaie. Help us face the future, together. No more doubt, no more fear, just honesty.”For the first time in what felt like an age, Alisaie’s stern expression cracked. Not a smile, but a flicker of something gentler, relief, perhaps, or the first fragile step toward mending.
Alisaie hesitated at the edge of the cave’s light, the tension between them still hanging thick in the air. Her hands clenched at her sides, then slowly relaxed. She let out a long breath, and with it, a small portion of her guard seemed to fall away.Wordlessly, she stepped forward, the sound of her boots soft against the worn stone. She lowered herself near a flat rock opposite Aldra and Y’shtola, the distance between them smaller now, though still a gulf that needed bridging. Her sharp gaze flicked between them both, weighing their every word, their every gesture.“I’ll listen,” Alisaie said at last, her voice steady but softer than before. “But I expect the truth. No veils. No half-answers. If we’re to move forward, I need to know everything.”Aldra’s heart fluttered, the weight of the moment pressing on her chest. She tightened her hold on Y’shtola’s hand, drawing strength from the warmth there. Then, with her free hand, she reached out across the gap between them, palm open, not forcing, but offering.“Then we’ll tell you everything,” Aldra whispered. Her mismatched eyes glowed faintly in the dim cave light, the crimson of her draconian blood and the violet-pink of Y’shtola’s spell shining together like proof of her truth. “No more running, no more hiding. Only what is real.”Y’shtola, usually so composed, let herself lean slightly closer to Aldra, silent but present, her agreement given not in words, but in the steadiness of her presence.Alisaie’s eyes lingered on Aldra’s hand, hovering over the offered gesture. Slowly, cautiously, she extended her own and rested it against Aldra’s palm. The touch was tentative, almost brittle, but it was the first step.“Then speak,” Alisaie said, her voice quiet but resolute. “Let’s find the truth together.”The cave was silent save for the faint crackle of distant torches. But within that silence, the first fragile threads of mending had begun to weave, binding not through spells or force, but through honesty, pain, and the possibility of trust.
Aldra’s fingers trembled faintly against Alisaie’s hand, though she didn’t pull away. Her chest rose and fell with a heavy breath, and for a long moment it seemed the words might stay trapped in her throat. But then she lifted her mismatched gaze, one glowing crimson, the other violet-pink, and met Alisaie’s eyes with a fragile, determined light.“It began long before the spell,” Aldra whispered. Her voice was hushed, but the sincerity threaded through it carried far stronger than volume ever could. “The truth is… I loved Y’shtola long before I ever understood what that word meant.”Y’shtola stirred slightly beside her, but Aldra continued before hesitation could silence her.“When she freed me from Castrum Centri, I didn’t know what I was feeling. It was like… a pull I couldn’t explain. And when Ul’dah turned on us during the Bloody Banquet, I remember thinking only of her, of reaching her, of keeping her safe. When I helped bring her back from the Lifestream with her sister… the relief I felt, the joy of seeing her again, it was overwhelming. Even then, I didn’t understand what it truly was.”Alisaie’s expression remained unreadable, but her eyes softened as Aldra’s voice wavered.“I was by her side in Rhalgr’s Reach when Zenos struck her down,” Aldra went on, her throat tightening at the memory. “I tended her wounds, terrified I’d lose her. And later, in the First, I fought with everything I had to bring her and the others back. Every step, every battle, I was driven by something I couldn’t name. Until she recommended me as a Scion. Until she gave me my name, Aldra Saeyris.”Her lips trembled, but she pressed on, squeezing Alisaie’s hand as if the contact alone steadied her.“I thought it was duty. Or gratitude. Or admiration. But when I saw her again after Endsinger fell, when the Scions parted ways… I realized it had always been love. Pure, unshakable love. I only struggled to understand it because… I didn’t know how to name it until now.”Her voice cracked. She drew in a shuddering breath, then leaned her head lightly against Y’shtola’s shoulder.“The spell… it didn’t create these feelings. It only gave me the clarity, and the strength, to finally say them out loud. That’s the truth. I’ve loved her since the very beginning, and no force, no spell, no doubt will ever change that.”The cave was heavy with silence, as if the world itself were holding its breath. Y’shtola’s hand curled protectively around Aldra’s, her eyes never leaving Alisaie’s, as though daring her to deny what had been laid bare.Alisaie lowered her gaze, her lips pressing into a thin line. She said nothing at first, her silence a shield as her mind wrestled with Aldra’s confession. But her grip on Aldra’s hand did not loosen.
Alisaie exhaled, a long breath she hadn’t realized she was holding, and for the first time since all of this began, her guarded expression softened. She let Aldra’s words settle deep, weighing every syllable of her trembling confession. And there it was, sincerity, unvarnished and raw. The truth rang too clear to be denied.“I believe you,” Alisaie said quietly, her voice firm but warm. Her thumb brushed gently across the back of Aldra’s hand, a gesture as sisterly as it was steadying. “I can hear it in your voice, Aldra. The way you look at her… it isn’t the spell. It’s you. It always was.”Aldra’s eyes shimmered, relief breaking across her face, and Y’shtola’s grip on her tightened, silent gratitude flashing in her gaze.Alisaie hesitated, her voice dipping lower. “When I felt the two of you in Idyllshire, I… I was ready to force the spell away. To rip it from you, whether you wanted me to or not. I couldn’t bear the thought of you being bound against your will. But hearing you now…” she shook her head, a faint, rueful smile ghosting across her lips. “I see it. I feel it. This love is yours.”A sharp clearing of the throat drew their attention. Master Matoya, leaning on her staff, fixed Alisaie with her familiar piercing glare. “And it’s a damned good thing you didn’t try, girl.”The old witch’s tone was biting, but beneath it lay the weight of truth. “Had you struck to unravel that spell in your haste, you wouldn’t just have torn apart what Y’shtola wove, you would’ve ripped Aldra’s body to pieces. Her spirit, her draconian blood, her fox heritage, all of it would’ve collided and collapsed inward. And you would’ve watched her die screaming before your very eyes.”Alisaie’s face drained of color, her hand tightening around Aldra’s reflexively. The younger woman swallowed hard, horrified at the thought, and her eyes flicked between Aldra and Y’shtola with renewed clarity.Matoya gave a slow nod, eyes narrowing. “Be glad you listened with your heart this time, instead of rushing in with steel. The girl lives. Whole. Balanced. Free of those Garlean shackles. And now… honest with herself, for once.”The cave’s air felt heavy, yet cleansed at once, as though the confession, the acceptance, and the stern reminder had cleared a path none of them could step back from.
Alisaie shifted her weight, lips pressing thin as she studied both women. The unease had not fully left her eyes, but the edge of suspicion had dulled. She finally broke the silence with a small, almost awkward laugh.“I’ll admit,” she said, shaking her head slightly, “when I first pieced together that you… used a spell the night you two first came together, I thought the worst of it. Gods, even the name of it—” she gave a short, incredulous giggle despite herself, “‘Aldra, Aldra, Moan and Cum’? Y’shtola, really?”The corners of Aldra’s mouth flushed crimson, her fingers tightening protectively around Y’shtola’s hand, while Y’shtola’s cheeks, for once, betrayed a rare color. She narrowed her eyes at Alisaie, though it carried less heat than usual. “Not my naming choice. Spells are not always as poetic as one would like.”Alisaie chuckled again, softer this time, then grew serious. Her gaze lingered on Aldra, then Y’shtola. “But… seeing you now, hearing Aldra’s heart, and knowing what Matoya has revealed, it’s clear. You didn’t violate her. You saved her. Whatever doubts I clung to, whatever fear I carried… I see it for what it is.”She stepped closer, placing a hand on Aldra’s shoulder and another briefly on Y’shtola’s arm. “This love you share, it’s not born of coercion, or forced aether, but of choice. Aldra’s choice. And that makes all the difference.”Aldra leaned gently into Y’shtola, her voice steady but tender. “It was always my choice, Alisaie. From the first moment I truly understood what I felt for her. The spell didn’t bind me, it freed me.”Alisaie nodded slowly, her smile small but genuine now, the faintest flicker of relief passing over her face.
The cavern air felt heavy with the weight of all that had been said, the echoes of confessions and truths still lingering between the stone walls. Matoya leaned back against her staff with a pointed huff, her old eyes glimmering with something unreadable. Alisaie stood nearby, calmer now, her doubts softened into quiet understanding.Aldra turned toward Y’shtola, her fingers trembling as they reached for hers. The violet glow in her left eye shimmered against the crimson of the right, a perfect union of what she was, what she had become. She took a slow breath, steadying herself, then dropped to one knee upon the uneven cavern floor.“Y’shtola…” Aldra’s voice was strong despite the emotion tightening in her throat. “Through every trial, every battle, every moment we’ve stood together, my heart has been yours. From the day you gave me the name Aldra Saeyris, I have carried it as both a gift and a promise. I no longer fear what lies ahead, no matter how dark the world may grow, so long as you’re with me.”She looked up at her with tears glinting in her mismatched eyes.
“Will you marry me, Y’shtola Rhul? Will you walk beside me, even if the world goes dark?”For a heartbeat, silence claimed the cave. Matoya raised a brow, biting back a smirk though her eyes softened at the scene. Alisaie covered her mouth with her hand, her usual composure faltering as her chest tightened with an unexpected swell of warmth.Y’shtola’s lips parted, breath catching. Her eyes, sharp as ever, glistened with a rare vulnerability, a thousand memories flooding through her, the lifestream, the battles, the quiet moments stolen in-between. Slowly, she knelt to meet Aldra’s gaze, her hand cupping her cheek with exquisite tenderness.“You foolish, wonderful woman,” Y’shtola whispered, her voice trembling in a way only Aldra had ever heard. “How could I ever say anything but yes?”Matoya gave a small snort, though her tone carried pride. “Hmph. Took you long enough.”Alisaie laughed softly, shaking her head, though her smile was brighter than any of them had seen in months.
Y’shtola leaned closer, her thumb brushing against Aldra’s cheek as though to reassure herself this moment was real, not some fragile dream that might dissolve in the aether. Their eyes locked, violet and crimson gleaming against pale silver, each reflecting the love and certainty the other carried.“I will,” Y’shtola whispered, the words steadier now, richer with the weight of her heart. “No spell, no fate, no darkness could ever sever what we’ve bound together.”Aldra’s breath hitched as joy surged through her, and before another word could break between them, she closed the distance. Their lips met in a kiss both tender and unyielding, carrying years of unspoken longing, of battles fought side by side, of trust that had been tested and reforged until it was unbreakable.Matoya turned her face away with a sharp tsk, though the corner of her mouth betrayed her with the ghost of a smile. “Bah, sentimental fools. At least this one has the sense to choose properly.”Alisaie, arms crossed, let out a shaky breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Watching them, she felt the last of her doubts dissolve, replaced by an aching sort of relief. “About time,” she muttered under her breath, though her eyes shimmered with warmth.When at last Aldra and Y’shtola drew apart, their foreheads remained pressed together, hands entwined, their breaths mingling in the quiet. The vow was spoken, not in ritual, but in a truth deeper than any ceremony could bind.In that hidden cavern, beneath the watchful eyes of teacher and friend, the promise was sealed, two hearts choosing one another, no matter how dark the road ahead might become.
When the vow was spoken and sealed with their kiss, the air in Matoya’s cave felt lighter, as if even the shadows bent to acknowledge what had just transpired. Aldra’s hand never left Y’shtola’s, her thumb brushing over the back of it in gentle reassurance.Matoya gave a gruff cough, more to mask her own quiet approval than to break the moment. “Well then, if you’re done mooning over each other, you’ve a world waiting. Don’t dawdle.”Alisaie smirked faintly at her mentor’s words, though her gaze lingered on Aldra and Y’shtola with something softer. She had heard the sincerity, seen the honesty in both of them, and though part of her still ached, she knew it was not a wound but a scar that would heal with time.The three women stepped back into the Hinterlands, the morning sun gilding the ruins and forests with a fragile beauty. Together they would travel, not only as Scions once more, but as companions bound by more than duty. Their destination: Solution 9, the settlement on Alexandria where lives were shattered by manipulations of immortality were slowly piecing themselves together.As they crossed into the flow of their journey, Aldra stopped briefly and turned, the sunlight catching in her mismatched eyes, crimson and violet. She squeezed Y’shtola’s hand with conviction. “When we return to Solution 9, it won’t just be to rebuild their world. It will be to build ours too. Side by side.”Y’shtola’s lips curved into a smile, small but radiant. “Then let us ensure the foundations we lay, for them and for us, are unshakable.”With Alisaie walking at their side, the road ahead stretched long, but it no longer felt uncertain. They carried with them love, truth, and the vow of a future chosen freely, even should the world itself go dark.
