The Graduation

Chapter 2- The Party

"We're here to wish you a happy graduation!" Roka smiled at Alex, one of those dazzling smiles that all Meryians seemed to possess.

"Your friend, Kaiden, invited us. Congratulations!" Kyia drew Alex in for a quick hug.

"Yes, yes, good job little human on not dying," Zain grunted, but there was a slight smile in his eyes and a pull at his lips.

"Seriously, still with the 'little human'? Actually, I'm not going to bother." Alex rolled her eyes in Zain's direction before turning back to see Kyia's hand in Roka's an expensive ring sparkling in the light. "Oh yes, how was the wedding, Queen Kyia?!"

Zain muttered "Not this again" before rolling his eyes and going to inspect the platters of food.

"Sorry about him, but I think living through the wedding was 'romance' enough for him, not even counting the many times we've been asked to talk about it." Kyia and Roka began the story, sparing no detail. To sum it up, it was an extravagant wedding with hundreds of guests and lots of dancing, the only reason why Alex was not able to go was because the unfortunate timing - the wedding had been directly in the middle of her exam period. 

"Sounds amazing, I'm glad you had a good time. I would have loved to see Zain in his formal clothing." Alex could hardly picture Zain standing in such fancy clothing, and laughed even at the idea. After a few more minutes of chatting, during which Zain came back over and mocked Alex some more, she excused herself and joined back in with the group of her friends. Her cheeks began aching again from grinning, but this time it was a true, genuine smile and the pain was a reminder of how much love there was in the room for her.

Dix came up to her and took her arm, attempting to lead her to the banquet hall but with little luck, after excusing themselves from one conversation, someone else would come over to introduce themselves to the future Queen of Medora and to the women who saved all mortal lives. Though Alex was unendingly thankful that the war had been one and was in the past now, she still felt uncomfortable with all the praise she seemed to constantly be enduring. After all, it wasn't just she who had saved Medora. With out the help of all her friends, teachers, and even the people she barely considered acquaintances, she never would have survived long enough to even consider winning the war. The worst part about it was that, with every smile, every tear and every hand gripped in thanks, Alex was reminded of the pain that had occurred, and the amount of people who had had to die because of Aven and his followers. 

After what felt like hours of nodding and smiling and awkward laughter in response to the unending flattery they finally made it to the table. Piles of food spilled over the large plates, a range of dishes from mini pizzas, to nachos, to chocolate mousse, to fruit salad. Anything anyone could possibly want was there, including the chocolate the Dix was immediately drawn to. Alex started piling her plate with food and dove in, shoveling pizza and nachos into her mouth and taking big gulps of the soft drinks that repeatedly filled up her cup.

Just as she moved onto the dessert portion of the pile of her food, Kaiden's aunt, Nisha approached her. Quickly wiping her mouth on a napkin, she looked up, smiling at Nisha's warm eyes. "Congratulations Alex, you did amazingly."

"Thank you, Nisha. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed learning here, but I don't think I will miss the constant reminders of Aven. Honestly, your nephew is one of the few reasons I've stayed sane!" Alex laughed lightly, and looked across to where her boyfriend was politely talking with a large group of important business people. Nisha, who was leading them towards a less crowded section of the room, glanced between Alex and Kaiden and a smile began to pull at her lips. Moving on from the moment, Alex continued, "So, what did you wish to speak to me about?"

"Well, I was wondering what you have planned for your career and was going to offer my help. I assumed you were planning on finding a career in some form of combat centered environment, based on your apprenticeship at least." Nisha stopped at the edge of the crowd, turning to face Alex, "I also wished to offer you a job opportunity. There is an opening in my team and I believe you would be well suited to it. No pressure of course."

"Oh... well, um... thank you." Alex was shocked. She obviously had considered her career, she had in fact spent many hours pondering that exact question but had never come to an answer. The obvious choice was to take a job exactly like the one Nisha was offering. But, whenever this thought arose, Alex always had a feeling of distaste. She had never been someone who loved violence, and her time preparing for the war and fighting in it had taught her that, as good as she was at it, and as much as she knew it was her job to protect her friends, it was not something she wanted to surround herself with for the rest of her life.

Nisha, noticing Alex's expression of concern and confusion, spoke up. "Take some time. A few days, a few weeks if you need it, there is no pressure. Just let me know when you have reached your decision." Alex looked back up at her and heaved a thankful sigh. Nisha smiled softly, her eyes warm and comforting, kind. She placed her hand on Alex's cheek, in a gentle, motherly way and spoke again, this time softly. "I want the best for you Alex I really do, and I am glad to see how happy you make my nephew. I just want you to know that I am always here for you to talk to about anything, especially since I know your parents are not as familiar with this world as you are." She dropped her hand and grinned, like her nephew the smile reached her eyes and immediately cleared the slightly intense atmosphere. Glancing over Alex's shoulder at someone who had called for her, she went to leave, but paused, laying the palm of a hand on Alex's arm she said, "And do not worry, even if you do not choose to take the job, I will not be offended."