The first time I met her

When Ryuu opened his eyes, he was alone in his chamber. He looked around but there was no one. The flashback from the fight was swarming his mind. Then suddenly his hand touched his head. He knew he had fallen to the ground but there wasn't any wound nor the slightest pain from external cause.

" Are you awake?" A soft voice was heard from the outside and slowly the door opened.

"Who are you?" Ryuu backed off encircling himself with the thick fog. The room turned cold and the fog made it hard to see things.

"Alora... My name is Alora and you are Ryuu, right?" She came forward without resistance. Amidst the blurry room, he suddenly saw a golden glow. He was unable to figure out what it was but suddenly the fog left the room without a trace.

Standing in front of him was a girl with a red gown, fanning herself with a paper fan. She walked closer to him. Along with each closing distance, his heart was pounding. There was an unseen terror surrounding her.

She shut her fan and ran it through his face. "Were you the one who froze Delish's heart?" She came closer to his face. "Was he not nice to you? Did he offend you somehow?" Her calm voice was turning into a whisper with each word.

Ryuu was shaking heavily. A cold sweat ran through his body. He wasn't able to look into her eyes.

"This strange feeling, what is it? Why can't I move? Why can't I look into her eyes? This feeling...this feeling...I hate this...I ha...

" You didn't answer me? Were you the one who froze Delish's heart? I've already asked you twice, don't make me ask it thrice?" Her eyes were fixed on his face. She didn't look scary but the aura she built around herself was terrifying.

Ryuu grabbed the bedsheet and clenched it hard before finally being able to speak.

With his shivering voice, he replied, " Yes, it was me. I didn't intend to kill him but I wasn't able to hold back my prowess."

"Aahahaha, so you did it. It was so hard to believe when I first heard about it." Alora burst into laughter and suddenly the encircling seemed normal. There was no longer the strong, scary aura that was around her.

"Aah, my stomach hurt. I should've held back a bit while laughing. I've never seen Delish in such a vulnerable state. This must have embarrassed him a lot. Thanks to you when I came back to the palace this morning it was so peaceful." She softly patted him on his head and left.

He was confused." Who is she? I've been here for 3 months already but have never seen her."

He woke up from his bed and went to Delish's room. Delish hadn't gained his consciousness yet. He went near him and remembered all the things he said. He then realized, that when everyone was acting as if he didn't exist, Delish was the only one who recognized his loneliness and accompanied him. He was the only one who was kind and valued his presence.

As Alora said before, without him, the palace was indeed quiet. Ryuu thought it would be peaceful without him but instead, the silence was irritating him more. He held his hands and apologized. There were bruises in his hand.

" What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be resting in your room?" A familiar voice rings his ear.

He immediately turned around. It was Alora with medicine in her hand. She carefully lifted Delish's hand from Ryuu' and applied the medicine.

" I heard you've never spoken to anybody in the palace. Is it hard for you to get along? Is Delish giving you a hard time? If so you can tell me, once he wakes up we can together confront him or maybe a good scolding." She placed his hand on Ryuu's cheek and smiled.

Her hands were warm. When she touched him, he felt like crying. After all, he was still a child. But it suddenly reminded him of his mother. He threw her hand, ran away, and locked himself in his room.

It was the first time Ryuu met Alora. Her presence was bewildered. Sometimes she was scary and sometimes she reminded him of the warmth that was missing in his life.

Over time Alora often went missing from time to time. Delish started being rude to Ryuu as his ego was hurt badly. But Ryuu started being polite and kind to Delish. There was a sudden 360° change in their behavior toward each other. Except for their martial arts class, they started taking classes and practices separately. It was understandable as well. Delish was learning blood art and flame control whereas Ryuu was working on self-control and exploring the different forms of Adam's ale. Over time Ryuu's and Delish's relationship got better. Though Delish was always harsh they both began conversing more than before.

These were the good old memories that were flashing in front of Ryuu's eyes. His hand was on his head as he shook his head to clear his blurry vision.

"Are you alright?" Alora stroked his head.

"Umm". Ryuu smiled.

" Tsk. Weakling. You should rest a bit more so do I. I'll take my leave first." Delish rolled his eyes and left.

"Rest well and we will meet at dinner tonight." Alora kissed his forehead and left.

Ryuu was an intelligent child. He figured out part of his memories were sealed that's why old memories were crowding his mind but he let it slip away as there was nothing he could do with his current condition and proficiency.

"I will find a way later or I can always ask Alora to unseal my memories. She might waver but she'll ultimately do it nonetheless." He sighed a breath of relief and went back to sleep.

Ryuu missed the dinner. His body was still suffering from the effects of that sleeping incense and the memories from the past drained both his body and mind completely.

It was the next morning on the breakfast table where all four members finally met.

" Good morning my little children". The king had already returned from "Kingdom of Celestia" and was really happy to see all his children finally eating together after almost three years.

"Morning dad", Delish was yawning.

"Morning father". As usual Ryuu was calm, polite and careful with his words and etiquette.

"Good morning dad. Its been such a long time since I saw you. I'm so happy to see you again." She was such an energetic soul that her energy was spilling all over even in such an early morning.

They ate their breakfast and was about to leave when the king called all of them to join him outside the garden.

All of them followed him quietly. They reached the garden. In the middle of the garden was the statue of a beautiful lady with a gorgeous white gown perfectly hugging her curve. Her one hand was tucking her hair behind her ear and another was helding a flower.

"Do you know where your mother was from?" The king looked at the statue with a heavy heart.

"Of course we know. She was from the Phoenix clan. She was the holy descendant of the Phoenix clan who was the choosen one to behold the power of flower of eternity inside her." Delish grinned and proudly stand there admiring the beauty of her mother.

"Why asking such questions, father? You went to the Palace of Celestia right? Did something happened there?" Ryuu was quick to question.

"No nothing happened. Its just that I wanted to bring you kids to pay her a fibal visit before your departure." The king sighed.

"Departure. You never said we are going somewhere, before, did you?" Delish was annoyed with unexpected situation that seemed pretty unavoidable.