Year -3: Vaya’s Smile
Crystals coalescing together with a golden ray of light. Two hands extending towards each other, interlocking fingers. Warm sensations coursing through every nerve ending...
Gentle yet passionate...
Consuming yet soothing...
Sensitive yet sensual...
ZEKE'S DREAM ENDED abruptly as he was shaken back in reality forcibly. Eyelashes faintly batting against his lids when he blinked, trying to focus on the insistent voice of whoever that was waking him. Before he could rouse completely, his face took a plunge into the wooden floor as his body crashed against the floorboard unexpectedly. Zeke jolted awake immediately and propelled himself away from his assailant with haste. He whipped out an assassin's knife from his ankle guard while poised to attack, only for his gaze to meet the innocent eyes of Vaya.
"WHAT IN THE WORLD, Vaya! WHY did you do that? I could have wound up injuring you!" Zeke berated aggressively.
"I'm sorry, Ekeziel. I don't know how else to wake you up." Vaya pleaded, her eyes welling up.
Upon seeing Vaya on the verge of tears, Zeke backed down immediately, overwhelmed with guilt. He walked up to Vaya and wiped away her tears. "I'm sorry. I was just alarmed, that's all. And once again... please call me Zeke, Vaya. You are literally the last person whom I want any formality from. So what's wrong? What's the urgency?"
"Hmmm… okay Zeke. Did you forget about today? No time to lose. You need to head down to the city portal now and get to Asbestos." Vaya panicked and started to gather Zeke's stuff together. "You've overslept and your fight is going to start in half an hour!"
"WHAT!"
Zeke started preparing while peering outside briefly, noticing that the town was pretty much vacant other than the occasional one or two common folk. It quickly dawned on him that today was the day where he was supposed to represent the city as their gladiator for the tournament.
"I must have drank too much last night with the other common folk..." Zeke picked up his ukelele and inspected the wires for a second. "But I should be able to get there in record time."
"Jyrong is counting on you this year as well! Hmmm... in fact, we have for five years now, brother Zeke!" Vaya reminisced by counting her stubby fingers, with sheer joy revealed on her youthful face. "I am sure that you will do us proud!"
"No guarantee as usual, my dear girl. But I'll do my best. Especially for you; considering the fact that your family had put me up here for free over the past five years." Zeke smiled, looking at Vaya gratefully. He watched the resultant hair ripples crashing onto her shoulders as he patted her full head of smooth brown hair.
There was a slight twitch in Vaya's facial expression and Zeke got worried for a second. However, she smiled and nodded with gusto. She was merely ten when her mother passed; yet her optimistic demeanor was what kept her going for the past two years.
"Shall we head over now that we're packed?" Vaya cheered as she scurried briskly towards her tavern's exit. The tavern was simple and humble; yet, it contained everything essential. Zeke hurried down the wooden steps from the second floor. It creaked in a quaint pitch. Despite surviving three generations long, it was remarkable how the wooden stairs survived for this long. He vaguely remembered Vaya's recount where she mentioned that the tavern was built using the enchanted trunk of an ancient oak tree.
They walked out of the tavern and the ground beneath shook gently, with long vines erupting from the soil. They grew thicker and intertwined intricately, forming a sturdy mesh right where the tavern's exit used to be. Smiling to each other, Zeke prompted her to hug him tightly by tapping on his waist. Strumming his ukelele, delicate golden light emitted from his back while they warped into a pair of magnificent astral wings. He pushed his feet gently into the ground while holding onto Vaya, effortlessly propelling into the skies as his wings flew them towards the city portal.