It takes us about 3 days until we see the tower in the distance. But we make it.

By the end of the ride, Soren's once smooth face has become adorned with stubble. I think it suits him quite well. And even though it takes a while to get there, it was a lot of fun along the way.

Sure, we had a great deal of land to cover, but oh my lord, riding horseback through Xadia.

It's indescribable. Absolute beauty.

Our first day was more focused on finding supplies to make sure we actually got to our destination. The night before we managed to grab a sack of food and some water skins.

But it wouldn't be enough.

So that first day wasn't as fast as we wanted. We stopped by every fruit tree we could find, trusting my memory of poisonous and safe food.

Luckily I could remember my lessons well.

We found this star-shaped blue fruit that Phillip took an immediate liking to. They were sweet with a bit of tang and the perfect amount of juice. Soren stuffed a lot of them in his bag. Although most of the day was silent. I could tell he was upset about Claudia, he had every right to be. And Viren...

Words can't describe what his father has become.

That evening we talked about the whole situation. He confided in me and I was beyond grateful. It was just like old times.

I completely understood his grief with his sister not joining us. It hurt him to leave her behind. "But," he told me, "if I could go back and change what I did... I wouldn't." I smiled at the statement. "I'm glad you're with me," he said.

"It would've been better if Claudia joined us also," I voiced his own thoughts. He smiled at me with a sure nod. "What happened to your father, Soren... is indescribable. And I'm so sorry." I apologised. "Claudia just can't realise what he has become... Denial is the way we handle what we can't handle," I explained. It was true.

He nodded at me, his expression downcast. But then he looked up and smiled. We had a good sleep that night, a couple hours after sunset till sunrise. It was a sense of normalcy. Neither of us had slept that well in a while.

The second day was when the tides really changed.

It was overall quite good for riding. We got in a nice chunk of the distance and only took a break when the horses wanted one. That's why, when we were riding through a rainforest area and came across a lake, we thought it best to set up camp then and there.

The sun was just about to set but the air was thick with humidity. Soren was fanning himself with a giant leaf to cool down.

But then it hit me.

The lake.

Which as the moon came out, I noticed was a Silverlake.

I only ever knew the ones close to my home, I didn't even think that more would be scattered across Xadia. You are able to decipher them from normal lakes only when the moon is out.

Because when the light hits the surface... the water glows.

And I'm not talking just some mere shininess. I'm talking millions of individual sparkling blue particles that are like a spectacular galaxy of stars.

It's truly beautiful.

"Hey, Soren," I called over. "How about we strip off some of his armour and get cooled off?" I asked, tilting my head towards the water. It wasn't big by any means, but still a decent 15 meters across. It would probably get to 3 meters deep in the middle. Perfect for swimming.

He paused in his fanning. "We can swim it that?"

I gaped at him. Although, now I can see how the bright colour might have come across and dangerous. "It's only the best kind of water to swim in!" I exclaimed, already starting to take off my protective adornments. I hadn't been in one in at-least 11 years, but I could recall the feeling all too well.

It's like being bathed in the finest silk.

Pristine and perfect.

"What are you waiting for?!" I yelled at him, as he still wasn't undressing. He just stared at me.

I only went down to my bra and shorts. Nothing too revealing. Plus, he had seen me in a sports bra all those mornings that we had trained together. We grew up together, I don't know why he was getting awkward now.

"Sorry," he stated, starting to take off his armour. "Cool bra, (y/n)." He said, redeeming his frazzled behaviour.

"Oh c'mon, Soren," I said, getting ready to hop into the water. "I've seen you shirtless multiple times before this."

He laughed at the fact. "Yeah, yeah," he was finally down to his shorts. I turned around, and half stumbled into the lake at the sight.

I completely forgot how defined his chest was.

"Nice dive," he commented mockingly, walking over to the edge. "You sure a cool sea monster isn't gonna come eat us?"

"Soren," I told him, the water only up to my chest. "This is a lake." I specified, laughing slightly. "But no, nothing will attack."

He paused, smirking, "Well, something might..." he concluded, jumping into the deeper area and thoroughly splashing me. 

"Hey!" I yelled as he resurfaced, splashing him back. He merely laughed at me, "now that's just rude!" I exclaimed.

"My bad," he said, but then his expression turned worrisome. "What was that?" He asked me.

Petrified.

"Shut up, there is nothing in the lake, Soren." I simply said. Because, I knew there wasn't.

"No, (Y/n) I swear something touched my foot."

"It's not even that deep!" I declared. But then, he was gone. Ripples the only remaining thing in his wake. "Very funny, Soren," I said. "Come up now."

But he didn't.

So I waded into those deeper waters, "Ha ha, Soren, you are the mastermind," I announced.

But nothing.

"Soren? You can really hold your breath for a long time?"

Still, he didn't emerge.

"Shit, Soren. You're scaring me now," I stated, but he wasn't anywhere to be seen.

The water may be beautiful, but it was not clear.

"Soren!?" I half yelled, diving into the deeper water.

Then something grabbed me, I held in a scream.

The thing dragged me to the surface and I opened my eyes as quick as I could.

Surprise: it was just Soren.

And he was laughing hysterically whilst trying to catch his breath. I slapped his shoulder, trying to break free but his arm was still wrapped around my waist. "You should've- Heard- How worried- You were," he howled at me before finally looking me in the eyes.

I put a finger to his chest. "Let. Me. Go." I stated, poking him on each word.

He smirked, setting me free. I swam back over to were I could stand comfortably. "Sor-ine the mastermind, back at it again." He chimed.

"Hilarious," I mumbled, trying to smooth out my now drenched hair.

He waded over until he was next to me. His longer legs allowing me to see more of his torso as he stood. I looked up at him and as he stared into my eyes, I looked away. Watching the reflection of the moon on the water.

"You were right," he announced. "It is truly the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

I turned to him, "I told you so-" but he wasn't appreciating the Silverlake.

He was still gazing at me.

I tilted my head at him but he said nothing.

His eyes flicked between my own and my mouth.

I went to smile, beyond happy about the moment we were in.

But he steals my thought with a kiss.

His lips were soft, and they moved slowly. Lovingly. It sent fireworks through my mind and butterflies swarming my stomach. His hand cupped my left cheek and warmth spread through my face. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears, pumping so fast from excitement.

And before I knew it, I was kissing him back.

A few moments later we broke apart, both of us absolutely giddy. We kept in a close proximity, still near enough to hear each other's uneven breath.

"Holy shit," I muttered, unable to keep a smile off my face.

"I thought I wouldn't ever have the guts to do that again," he informed me.

I gaped at him, then shook my head slowly, chuckling under my breath at the realisation.

"You remembered that night?" I asked.

He grinned, "I nearly kissed my crush, albeit slightly intoxicated..." I laughed at the memory, "But how could I forget that night?"

I just shook my head again, my gaze downwards. It was all so unreal.

We swam a bit more, just talking about life and the future.

If we would have a future...

We avoided that negativity.

But that was that. We made a fire to get warm and for the first time ever, we shared the two blankets instead of sleeping separately.

It was enough.
          
Then on our third day, nothing much happened.

I was still on a bit of a love high from the pervious night... but I managed to get through the day without being completely flustered.

Our trek was slower, exploring the meadows and walking through streams. It was nice.

We took the time to discuss what we would do with Phillip and Mika. Releasing them into the Xadian wild seemed like the best option, so that's what we decided on.

We rode through that third night to make up for the day. Not caring about sleep and purely the destination. Sure enough, at sunrise, we see the mountain in the distance. Both Phillip and Mika, including Soren and I, are extremely exhausted from not getting an actual lie down. We paused thoroughly the night for the horses to break, but nothing more.

Once we spot the sky-scraping tower, we sprint the last leg, the horses eager. Soren nearly slips off Phillip from exhaustion, but I grab his shirt, jarring him awake.

"Eyes open, Captain!" I yell at him, laughing with sleep deprivation. He chuckles at me, and we finally reach the bottom of the mountain.

We moth dismount, the horses whinny at us for attention and food. I hand Mika an apple while Soren gives Phillip that strange Xadian fruit he's come to love.

"Thanks for getting us this far, guys," Soren announces to the horses, petting Phillip's nose.

"Yeah, thanks, girl," I say smiling, Mika nuzzles into me. I'll miss her, that's for certain.

We both untie their reins, tossing them behind a rock. "You're free now!" Soren tells them. "Start a new like for yourselves here in Xadia.

"Maybe you two can settle down somewhere cosy together, huh?" I add. Mika puts her head in the crook of Phillip's neck.

"And you guys can find a nice unicorn to hang with, huh, huh." He looks at me and I smile back.

"I'm sure a unicorn would make a pretty cool friend." I comment. The horses neigh, and with a nice tap on their backs, they're off.

"What's the bet they'll hook up," Soren asks me.

"I would hope their connection is more intimate than 'hooking up'," I admit, laughing. "Okay, okay, now let's conquer this Storm Spire, or whatever Ezran said it is."

Soren twists his torso, stretching. "All right then, mountain. Prepare to be dominated!" He declares.

"Soren if you're running all the way up that thing, I'll think you're either Superman, or you'll get tired very quickly." I tell him.

"We shall see then," he says, winking at me. "I'll stop half way for you." He shouts, sprinting up the first steps.

"Hey, hey, hey. Watch your mouth mister!" I yell.

            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sure enough, half an hour later, my jogging had caught up. "Soren, I can hear your breathing from 200 stairs away," I say, overtaking him at a walking pace.

He holds in his breath, "whaaaaat, me? no." He strains before letting it all out and continuing to pant. "You always were... better than... me...
(Y/n)!" He says through ragged breaths. I jog ahead 10 more steps, but suddenly find my breath coming in shallow.

"Come on, Soren. This is (Y/n)! Impress (Y/n)!" I hear him mutter to himself.

I run up about 20 more steps and find myself near collapsing. The air. "Soren?" I call down, but it's more of a whisper.

"What we're all those workouts for!" He shouts at himself. "You can do this... where- where is
(Y/n)?"

He rounds the corner separating us and I'm fully on the ground now.

The air is far too thin.

"Soren-" I get out, "it's the altitude, we can't breathe up here."

He collapses next to me, "well... shit."

I laugh at us, maybe being so close to death puts me on a high but he joins in. "We... did not... think this... through. Like-"

The ground shakes and we both look up.

A dragon.

But not just a dragon. The female red dragon from so long ago.

Soren laughs weakly, "You! Come to finish me off?"

"Like hell she will," I make through uneven breaths, supporting my weight onto my elbows. The dragon growls at us.

But then a small voice soothes the air.

"Soren? (Y/n)? Is that you guys?"

It's Ezran.

Soren collapses fully beside me, and I struggle to get to him. We need air. I feel my own arms buckle beneath me before I feel no weight at all.

The dragon clutches us in each of her mighty talons. But instead of going down to the air, we go up. I lose my breath completely and black spots cloud my vision.

We both land with a hard thump onto stone and I see two figures running towards us. Words echo in my mind but I can't decipher any of it. There is nothing left to breathe and I feel my head hit the ground.

                            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"(Y/n)!"

Two people are shouting my name name but I don't know who the voices belong to.

"(Y/n) breathe," the male one says. And that's when I feel it.

Air.

My lungs crave it and I inhale too quickly, sending myself into a coughing fit. Soren is helping me sit up asking repeatedly if I'm okay. I strain a couple 'yeahs' while trying to get my breath back.

When I finally do, it all comes into view.

Remnants of blue sparkles float around us.

Callum, grins down at me.

Ezran, sits atop the scarlet creature.

And Rayla, scowls at the man beside me.

"Is this... the afterlife?" Soren asks, letting me lean against him.

Callum's expression turns confused very quickly. "No, it's still just.. the life... still. You guys are alive," he reassures us.

Rayla reaches over a pulls me into her arms, half hugging and half protecting. "What are you doing here?" She asks Soren. Clearly still annoyed at their last encounter.

I mean fair enough, he tried to kidnap the Princes and then fought both of us.

But the past is in the past.

He stares at me, the two of us still panting heavily. "Hold on," he points a finger at her, holding his chest. "Give... me.... Give me a second... to catch my breath."

I take a deep inhale before speaking as quickly as I can. "Soren has done the right thing and he's good so don't fight him and I'll speak more when I can properly breathe." Then I'm out of air again.

Soren finishes catching his breath before turning to Rayla and Callum. "(Y/n) is correct," he states, "but I would say it differently." We wait for his explanation but all we get are three words. "We're all doomed."

Rayla and Callum gape at him, turning to me for confirmation.

I nod, "well yeah... that kinda sums it up too."

They share a look of concern and I sense...

... love in their eyes.

It's heartwarming. That even amidst all this war and chaos, that people really can thrive. I mean, Soren and I have.

They take us inside and I give Zym a big hug. I'm also introduced to Ibis, whose a Skywing Elf Mage. Pretty cool if you ask me. Callum gives both Soren and I a hot drink and Soren wraps his coat around the two of us. It's certainly colder up here.

"It's my dad," Soren starts to explain.

Callum interrupts already, "Lord Viren? He's here, in Xadia?"

"Bullseye," I answer.

"He's rallied the armies of four kingdoms and it's not just that," Soren says. "We went to the.. Sun.. Elf... place?"

"Lux Aurea," I cut in, "their stronghold," I specify.

"Yes, that, and my dad..." he continues, "he stole some kind of horrible power-"

"-their like freaking sun orb primal source thing," I describe.

"Exactly, and he used it to transform his armies into..." he trails off, gazing at me. I know the fear that he is feeling. Of what we saw Prince Kasef become. "Something else," he concludes.

Callum and Rayla share another worried look, but it's Ezran who queries. "What do you mean?"

Soren looks at me before speaking, "they're stronger, angrier, these big... claws!"

"It's like he's taken the sun and turned it into pure fire," I say. "We left after Prince Kasef of Neolandia was turned but his skin grew... cracked.... And- and it looked as if lava was beneath it." Soren looks at me, "he became... a monster," I murmur.

"He's made an army of darkness," Soren picks up for me. "And he's leading them here... for him," he says, tilting his head at little baby Zym. The poor guy whines with fear. "The Dragon Prince."

He takes a long slurp of his drink and everyone watches him, horrified from what they heard. And even though I helped tell the story, I smile at Soren and his just, Sorenness.

I love it.

"I did say doomed, right?" He asks.

I nod slightly, "but we'll figure out a way to not be doomed," I announce, earning myself some hopeful smiles.

We'll do it together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~