Vacation Time!

Elaine stood at the front of the moderate sized boat heading out onwards an island called Cresent. Azure had recommended it after they had just finished two long months that were nothing but mission after mission. So a vacation sounded optimal at this point. She knew that they wouldn't really be alone, due to Suriel and the fact that Elaine thought it wouldn't be fair if they didn't bring Azure's daughter Destiny with them. But she knew that she they would all have a great time together.

She assumed that Azure was inside with Des, probably getting her ready to get off the ship soon, she could see the island from here. Cresent was to far from her home, Alyssum was slightly to the east, she could make out the small shape of it if she looked hard enough. She sighed and smiled, tapping her heel on the deck. "It's so quiet~" She hummed happily.

She picked up the little girl and smiled, holding her in her arms, "morning Des." She said. She had gotten used to Destiny calling her her mother. It was normal she supposed, she was young and Elaine spent most of her time with Azurius anyways. She remembered when she was around her age that she called Mary, her old maid, mother quite often too. She held the little girl close, before sitting her on the railing of the boat, holding on to her so she wouldn't fall over. The two stayed there for a little while, while the island got closer and closer to them.

"We're almost there you know, you should go wake your daddy up." She told the little girl before placing her back on the deck; Destiny ran back to the room, Elaine not to far behind. She hoped he was already up; if not, he'd have a rude awakening with Destiny.

Elaine smiled and pushed her hair back. She knew he would get tired at some point and she hated to wake him, but unless he wanted to be on the return back home; she needed to wake him up. Elaine shook her head and laughed at Destiny's failed attempt, the small girl pouted before leaving. Heeding Suriel's words Elaine sighed, walking up to him, kneeling on the bed and shaking him lightly. "Common love, time to wake up." She said. And if this didn't work she would most likely shake him a bit harder; hoping that she didn't end up getting caught in his grasp like Des did. She didn't want to wake him up, he was always up so early, and constantly moving through out the whole day. He looked really peaceful as well, like, well, an angel. One who wasn't particularly keen on waking up.

She gave him a light nudge again, leaning down close to him and placing a kiss on his temple, "Common Love, we're almost to Crescent."

She smiled into the kiss, wrapping her arms around him and returning the kiss "Morning." She said back, around the room there was a few bags here and there that needed to be replaced. Elaine began to put things back where they were while the ship still approached the island. "Suriel's making breakfast and we're about ten minutes away from the island. So if you want to change you better do it quickly." She called to him, shutting the rest of the suitcases and placing them near the door. Destiny appeared at the door, telling them that breakfast was ready. Elaine picked the young girl up in her arms, "common love, you should hurry."

Elaine sat next to Des when Suriel handed them their plates, eggs, bacon and toast all the works. She opted for a cup of tea and handed Des a glass of orange juice, placing the young child's napkin on her lap. Azurius emmerged from the washroom not to long after, his daughter still ignoring him until he tickled her, forcing her to laugh and tell him she loved him. Cute.... she smiled at them, careful not to knock any of the food off the table. It's like we're a real family.... Once that thought had crossed her mind she turned slightly red; shaking her head at the thought. Suriel then sat down between them.

Elaine was quick to finish up her meal because the horn of the ship blew to let them know that they were 10 minutes to docking. "We all better get going, that is, unless we want to head back with the ship." She joked. She was excited about getting off the boat and basking in all the sun and sand. She was also wondering if she could manage a secret trip out to Alyssum. A small boat ride perhaps, just to visit her home.

Elaine was looking at the two, laughing. She had seen Azurius act silly before, but that's nothing compared to how he acted around Des. She knew that the young girl was smart for her age and had a strong grasp on the grave reality of this world. Destiny knew that Azure would (basically) never die, while Elaine at some point might, so would she. But she was young yet, there was no need to remind her of all the grave things this world had to offer, not yet. Elaine her laughing behind her; Suriel had both hands over her mouth and generally the same expression Elaine held a few moments ago. She told her how Azures actions basically changed her whole view of how she saw him as a general.

"You're telling me. It's almost scary how he switches personalities from the battle field to being with his family so quickly." She sweat dropped, then Suriel asked another question, why was she looking at the tiny green island balancing off the horizon. She stiffened, she hadn't meant to be that obvious or course, she was sure the angel would have caught her later on anyways. She could lie, telling her it was pretty...or she could tell her the truth. Suriel could keep a secret; that much she knew, but for how long? Elaine sighed, pointing to the small island, "That, is Alyssum. My home." She said, she dragged her finger in a semi circle, mimicking the what looked like a slight dip in the island from where they stood. "And that, is where I decimated an entire village."

She made a sour face, stepping closer to Suriel, "I'd prefer if this remained between us....my home, is not welcoming to foreigners. So it would be impossible for anyone who was not born there to step foot on the island. Especially magic users. So please do not think of going to look around. The family who runs it is merciless, and will kill any Mage." She warned. She knew that once she told Suriel it was her home that she may want to check it out, but she had to warn her at least.

Elaine sighed, why in gods name did Suriel wish to visit that place? The minute they see them appear on the island, they'd be seized. Of course she assumed if they had any trouble they could use their magic to escape. Yet she was more worried that someone may recognize her, either as the Lady of the controlling house that ruled the island or as the monster that killed dozens mercilessly.

"Suriel....I don't know, that place isn't my home. It is my birth place, home is where You, Azure and Destiny are. That monstrosity is no home."She managed before Azurius called the two girls over; Elaine semi-forced a smile and ran over to join them, her feet hitting the hot sand as she ran over. When she met them, she pushed a slew of blonde hair out of her face and grinned up at Azure, "It was a brilliant idea coming here Az, it's beautiful." She grinned happily.

When Suriel grabbed her arm Elaine stood a bit stiffer. She wasn't good at lying just for the fact being that she never did it. Lying back home would get her punished; so when someone did lie in front of her, she felt awfully strange. "I, ah, okay....that's fine I'll accompany you this evening." Elaine managed. She knew that how she sounded wasn't very convincing and she was hoping that Az would not return to the subject in case she ended up blurting out the true reason they were going over to Alyssum.

Elaine was surprised as well as to how fast Destiny can switch from childish to almost grown up in an instant. She was sure that when the young girl grew up she would be quite the brilliant young woman in whatever she did; Elaine secretly hoped that Destiny would become a Mage like her and Azure. But she didn't want to pressure the little girl about it, not while she still has a long time to choose.

"You didn't have to choose something so pricey Az, we could have stayed on one of the many cheaper ones here." She said, even though the angel money was no problem; she always secretly felt bad that he spent so much of it on her and Destiny.

Elaine could barely understanding anything the young man was saying when they arrived to the hotel, his accent was so thick she just nodded along with what he was saying. Their room was huge; multiple rooms, kitchen, bathrooms and many books. She gasped in awe; this outweighed anything she had seen in the past five years. Although, there was only two rooms. One which Elaine managed to make out was for Des; the other one, the local said was for her and Azure. Though they had shared a bed many times before, she still turned slightly pink.

In their room there was a small terrace that looked out on to the ocean, opposite from Alyssum which made her feel better. She walked and put her hands on the railing, taking in the hot sun and ocean breeze. This was her first vacation and it was already amazing. She turned to Azure and smiled widely, "Az, this is amazing! I couldn't have asked for much more than this." She told him, then abandoning the terrace and walking over to him, placing a quick kiss on his cheek. "We still have a few house of daylight left, what would you like to do?" She asked.

Elaine laughed at what he had said, turning slightly pink but following him out on to the deck none the less, he pulled her down on to the couch where she landed with a soft thump. He pulled her close and she rested her head on him, closing her eyes briefly and listening to the sound of the birds and the water against the shores. He placed a kiss on her cheek sweetly; she turned her head so she could give him a proper kiss; if he would refuse, she'd just continue to lay against his shoulder and enjoy his company. If he did except the kiss she part from him and continue to stare out at the lazy sun beginning its decent over the horizon. He tightened his grip around her, planting a kiss on her neck. This caused her to giggle, craining her neck slightly. Saying some cheesy line that she was sure was meant to be romantic but made her laugh harder. "That was pretty cheesy Az," She mumbled, she ran her fingers through his hair slightly, brushing some of it out of his face.

"But thank you....for everything you've done. For me, and for everyone else." She whispered. She knew she had thanked him dozens of times before and she was sure her gratitude could go unmentioned and he'd still know what she meant. "And thank you...for making me believe that loving someone-on my own- was actually possible. I'm so glad to have you in my life Azurius." She pressed her lips against his; not long, but sweet and fleeting. Placing one hand on the side of his face she smiled, "I love you, Azurius." She smiled.

Her heart pounded. Sure he had said those words before, but it never cease to make her stomach flutter and her heart speed up. And before she knew it, he had pressed his lips on hers. It wasn't how she had done earlier, small little kisses. They were much longer and far more passionate; which took her by surprise. She had never actually done this. Small kisses, yes. Ones on the hand from back home, all the time. But this, this was far different.

And she didn't mind.

They parted briefly and Elaine drew in a small shuttery breath, they stayed within a few centimetres of eachother. She pulled back a tad farther then Azurius began to apologize and she laughed lightly. "Azure....Azure...." She silenced his apologies, "It's okay love, it's just....I've never...."She looked away sheepishly; turning a slight tinge of pink. She gave him a sweet smile,"but....just because, I wasn't sure what I was doing. Didn't mean I didn't enjoy it...."She mumbled, mildly embarrassed. She closed the space between them again, a few centimetres apart again; she looked down slightly before looking back up; pressing her lips to his.

Elaine's mind was reeling. One minute she had been with Azure; both on the couch, in front of the setting sun, things maybe getting a bit to intimate-not that she cared-then she was basically thruster away from him and Suriel was standing in front of them, a bored look on her face more than anything. Elaine turned red, at least it hadn't been Destiny that walked in on the two. After that Azure couldn't look at her in the eyes and he gave her his keys and set them up with a giant magical creature to ride to Alyssum with. This left a large pit in her stomach, he wouldn't even face her, was it something she had done?

No. She was at least that sure that it wasn't completely her fault. Him being with me is already difficult enough for him....if things had gone further; who knows what would happen to him. She thought, excepting the keys without saying a word. Suriel mounted the bird and helped her on; then they were off towards the small island. "I was monitoring Azure's mental and physical state back there, it's why I interrupted. In case you didn't know, he was about to try and screw you." Suriel pointed out, Elaine turned deep red, thankfully she couldn't see her.

"Yes Suriel. I think I was able to figure that one out on my own."She replied, rolling her eyes. The bird made a slight turn to avoid the lights of a large building; the only large building on the island, her home. This made her want to jump off the bird right then and there, this was no doubt an idiotic idea. She balled her hands up and pushed out a shaky breath as Suriel continued her speech. These were all things she already knew; the fact that sometimes he forgets he's immortal and sometimes it can be problematic; she knew that and she knew that she was the thing that was putting him in danger.

The giant bird landed on the outside of town, near the forest, from here she could see the lateens of the main village that was planted bellow her mansion. You could just make out the small wood and stone houses that looked as though they hadn't been touched by any sort of evolution, that was the price they paid for not allowing magic on the island. Elaine summoned up new clothing, an old cloth dress, patches were sewn in in various places and a deep red velvet cloak. She put the hood on over her head and summoned up a navy-coloured one for Suriel. Summoning a sword to her side and tucking it under the cloak she sighed, "A few things you have to know. Magic is unheard of. Don't do it where others can see it, because not only will the guards kill you, they will kill any person who witnessed it. Next; keep your head down, don't speak unless spoken to, if a guard asks you a question, be polite, but try to avoid them at all costs. Thirdly; I'm a criminal here, the rulers of this island have a large bounty on my head after what I had done. So do some of the surrounding islands, ones that are in agreement with Alyssum, so if I am found out. Leave me. I can get away on my own, once they figure out you can't die, they'll torture you for the rest of your time, they aren't bellow that. And finally; regardless of the islands lack in magical knowledge, the people who live in that mansion; some of the high council guards, know magic. They have persuaded the rulers into believing that it is good for only one thing, torturing." She huffed and adjusted her cloak, tucking back all her hair as well. She faced towards the village.

"Well. Welcome home." She whispered and began her trek forward.[/color]

Elain stopped at the edge of the woods just before the town, "Perhaps. If it had been at an earlier time. But now they are linked with other small islands, and uprising or over throwing would cause a war among islands and its people. They will not be freed by death, they will be burdened by it. They will be thrust into our world of magic and know nothing of the sorts; families will be separated and battle will ensue."She said while carefully stepping out into the light of the village, some later a lot the Main Street while many house lights were out. There was soft music playing from a small courtyard and people could be heard laughing lightly and the padding of feet determined that they were dancing softly and secretly, careful not to draw attention of the guards.

"I have tried to overthrow the power. I have tried to reason and fight. They never listen, they only see the threats as another reason to stay away from the magic world. Another reason to connect with our sister islands." She explained, walking down the street. On the side of a home was a piece of parchment, Elain ripped it off and glared at it. There was a picture of a young girl, wide soft eyes and long long blonde hair, a small smile on her lips and dressed in decident robes; underneath it read;Wanted. Lady Elaine Bellodonna West.Treason against the high council and first degree murder. Reward 35,000 J. It read, Elaine scoffed and balled up the paper, tossing it away. "Treason against the high council. Idiots." She murmured angrily. She continued onwards looking back to Suriel, "you see? This is why I didn't want to come here. Because I'm a felon. And being here puts you and everyone I love in danger; they are not bellow torture or death. They will try to kill you, and Azurius.....they will kill Destiny, if they ever found out....that I'm still alive. And in their eyes, I am nothing more than a traitor and a monster. They believe in an eye for an eye. I stole away the lives of their families; and they would gladly steal away the lives of mine." She hissed, clenching her cloak. A few tears welling up in her eyes. "This is my home; that you wanted to see so badly. But this place is nothing more than hell with rose coloured glasses. Meant to blind the inhabitants."