———
The very first thing I saw when I woke up was a pair of eyes – one a startling crimson that shone like a ripe strawberry, and the other was a stunning cobalt blue that left me awe-struck. They were mismatched and perfect. They were balanced and complementary.
"Are you alright, there?" Her voice rang out like a goddess, and when my vision focused, I noticed her floor-length, cape-like hair was in the same odd shades as her eyes. A silver crown was atop her head, and something inside my mind told me was royalty... no, she was an all-powerful deity of some sort.
I carefully sat up, tearing away my gaze from her for a brief moment to cautiously observe my surroundings. A field. It was vast and empty almost as far as the eye could see, albeit that it ended abruptly when a forest began. The sun was halfway through the sky, and the birds sang around me, but I couldn't seem to have a grasp on what this place was.
"Hey, can you talk?"
I dart back to the sapphire and ruby girl who knelt beside me. "Yes." Something clicked inside my brain. "You're... the Dragon... um, Alear."
She offers me a wide, genuine smile, but something in the pit of my stomach turns cold and chilled. "And you are?" Alear asks patiently.
"I... do not know. My apologies." I mumble, glancing over at a knight who stood behind Alear.
"You know the Divine One's name but not your own?" The armored man said, piercing, rightly skeptical glare aimed at me. "You are but a thief, a liar, a nuisance. Divine One, I advise you to leave the child at once."
"Vander, how could I?" She protests, helping me stand. Once I'm stabilized on my feet, I examine her bodyguard's firm expression. Something about this seemed off. Alear turns towards me. "I feel a connection already. As if... I knew you before my memories vanished. We are alike, you know. I have no ability to recall the events from long ago before I awoke from my resting place in the sky."
"I see..." I murmur. "And where are we, exactly?"
"The land of Elyos, which is split into four main regions. As of right now, we're on an island at the center, Lythos." Alear explains kindly.
"Divine One," the man referred to as Vander exasperatedly continued to insist, "Look at this one's attire – it's that of another world. In fact, it strongly resembles the Fell Dragon and his worshiper's symbols."
Alear pauses with a frown. "Oh, Vander. Please, it's alright. I sense no hostility from... wait, I never got your name. Are you sure you don't recall it?"
"Oh! (Y/N), it was (Y/N). Funny, it just came to me now..." I trail off at the sight of Vander's scowling expression that was harsh enough to kill.
"And what a lovely name it is!" Alear clasps her hands in delight, but her raw and innocent enthusiasm seems foreign to me. Everything about her screamed familiarity, but her positive attitude baffled me.
Was it possible I knew her before I lost my memories? Alear mentioned that she similarly doesn't recall anything before her awakening. There was no way that was a coincidence, right?
Before I can voice my concerns, a pounding in my head causes me to wince. The aching spreads and I squeeze my eyes shut. When I realized what happened, my hands were pressed against my ears and I was crumpled on the ground like a piece of crushed and discarded origami paper.
"(Y/N)? Hey, (Y/N)!" I hear her cries in my ear, but they're distorted as I try to block out the sound of her voice, the sound that makes my head throb, the sound that makes me remember.
Many, many years ago, I was a servant of a lord, an immortal named Sombron. Not unlike Zehpia, a fellow retainer of Sombron's children, I was a descendant of the tribe that worshiped the Fell Dragon. Along with Zephia, I was part of a group called the Five Hounds – Marni, Mauvier, and Griss being the others included.
We were close with Sombron's children and were often assigned. Seeing as I was the youngest in the group, I only had one to look over: a dull, stoic girl with blazing scarlet eyes and hair who worked like a puppet under her father's control. Every tug on her metaphorical strings sent her flying in action, completing any orders given to her.
The girl without a mind of her own, under the crushing pressure of her evil father, lacking freedom of any sort... was Alear.
She never betrayed any emotion behind those wide, veridian eyes. But when we were alone on a mission far from home, occasionally, I saw cracks behind her though-as-stone exterior. She'd soften up the slightest little bit – but I never saw her cry.
Not like I saw her cry today.
After I collapsed, I'm not quite sure what happened. However, when I awoke once more, her glittering opposite eyes shimmered with tears.
"(Y/N)!" She sobs, and I realize we are no longer in the grassy plains like previously. We were inside a castle-like structure now, and I was lying on a hard bed which I assumed was in an infirmary of some sort. "I thought I was going to lose you like I did Mother! Oh, you missed so much – the Divine Dragon Lumera, my mother, was murdered. And- and you weren't waking up! I thought...!"
I stared at her like she was an alien from another world. The Alear I knew years back never even smiled, nor expressed fury or sorrow, even when her siblings were all killed in the war. Now, her hair was streaked with a deep azure, and her face could twist into unimaginable expressions that seemed impossible until today.
Tears dribbled down her pale face, and her gaze darted to me desperately. "I don't know what to do!" She cries, securely clinging onto my arm, and I sluggishly sit up.
"Your... mother?" I ask, incredulous. Alear's mother wasn't a Divine Dragon in the least – and she definitely wasn't the famed, one and only, goddess-like Lumera who was Sombron's worst enemy until the very end.
"Yes, you wouldn't believe it. A cloaked person came and killed her, just like that!" Alear stops when she notices my puzzlement. "... You don't believe me?"
"I remember, now. It's strange... I knew you, a thousand years ago, give or take." I say softly.
Her eyes stretch wide. "Really?"
"Really," I whisper. "But that's a story for another time. Sometimes, the truth hurts, Alear."
"But I want to know! Mother isn't here to tell me, and the Emblems don't know much... You're the only one, (Y/N)." Alear pleads frantically. "Who was I? What was Mother like? Were we friends?"
I press my lips into a thin line. "You don't want to know the answer to those questions. Your steward over there wouldn't hesitate to take my life if I did."
"And why is that?" Vander steps out of the shadows, amour clanking and a stern expression on his face, though he seemed interested in what I had to say.
Alear raises a hand, and Vander stops in his tracks. She faces me, saying quietly, "Please, (Y/N). Please."
I lower my gaze and steel my nerves. "Let's start from the beginning, then, shall we? I'm your servant-"
"Servant? Surely not!" Alear exclaims. "I treat everyone close to me as dear friends."
I shake my head sadly. "Not back then." Then, without another word on the subject, I continued. "Lumera... she was the Divine Dragon at the time like she was up until just now, it seems. You, Alear... um, you were one of the Fell Dragons."
"N-no. I'm a Divine Dragon." She says under her breath but still locks eyes with me.
Vander stomps forward, looking ready to strangle me. "How dare you insult the Divine One's-"
"I told you you wouldn't believe me." I sigh. "Either way, know this, Alear. I'm still loyal to you, just as much or even more than I was when your father instructed me to do as such. Alear, despite your origins, or mine, one thing remains the same..." I take both her hands in mine and give her a small smile. "I've loved you, and always will regardless of anything else."
"(Y/N), I..." Alear falters, then slowly smiles, tears gathering at the rims of her eyes once more. "I-I don't know why I'm crying, but... Even now, before I remember everything, and even afterward, I'll love you too."
———
Author's Note:
Hello there! Another request by Cosmic66
Fun fact: I really wanted to start this one-shot by saying, "There are better places to sleep than on the ground, you know."
... get the reference? C'mon! I hope you did.
Today's question for you to answer: Who's your favorite Fell or Divine Dragon? I gotta go with Nowi! She was so strong in my latest FEA run-through! Though I suppose Alear is great too.
Thanks for reading,
Lillian
Word count: 1537 words
———