Author's Notes:

Hey guys! I'm back! Sorry for my absence. I was really stressed out, so I chose to take some time away from writing. I'm back now though and will try to post a chapter every week. Also, there is a poll up on my profile page that I'd really appreciate if you took the time to answer. Please look into it! It will really help me. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 54: An Ominous Sign

Louise and Sasha shook Saito for several seconds, trying to get him to wake up. After a few seconds, his eyes shot open. They had returned to their normal orange glow, but were clearly showed that he had seen something somewhat amazing.

"What's wrong, Saito?" Sasha asked. "You suddenly collapsed when this...creature, touched your head."

Saito patted himself down, as if he were surprised to be alive, sitting on the ground where he was. He looked around himself, then at the two dragons that were staring at him. He seemed afraid at first, then calmed down, taking several breaths.

"I-I'm fine." He replied, getting to his feet. He was a bit shaky, but balanced himself with his tail.

"You look like you saw a ghost." Mariel said.

"Don't worry, I'm fine." Saito said, although he couldn't help but look at the beasts that were laying on the ground so casually.

"Why do you stare at me?" Tempus asked.

They all stared at her, shocked that it could speak. They jumped back, very obviously afraid.

"Did you take me for a fool who could not speak?" She asked.

"H-How?" Louise asked.

"Ask the male you chose to marry." She said, looking at Saito.

"She learned how to speak our language in what seems to us like a short time." Saito said, looking like he had something else on his mind. "She has the ability to control the flow of time, so for her, it was actually many years."

"What do you want from us?" Louise asked.

"Nothing. You're the ones who woke me." The dragon replied. "Now if you'll excuse me, I would like to rest in peace and quiet."

She got up on her legs and walked into Sasha's house. She found a spot on the ground which she found comfortable, then laid down, letting her tails rest in front of her face. Before she closed her eyes, she looked at Saito, who also looked directly at her.

"Remember what I told you, boy." She said, before closing her eyes.

"I understand." Saito said.

The white dragon soon fell asleep, leaving everyone staring at the back of Saito's head. When he turned around to look at them, his face made it seem like the previous short, but rather important conversation had never happened. He simply smiled, then picked up his kids and began to play with them.

"Saito, what happened?" Louise asked.

"It's not anything to worry about." He replied. "Still, I am feeling quite tired, so I think I'd like to sleep for a little while."

Before she had a chance to reply, he handed her their kids and laid down on one of Sasha's sofas. Almost immediately, he fell into a very deep sleep.

"He's hiding something." Mariel said.

"I'll make sure to interrogate him once he awakens." Sasha replied. "More importantly, elder sister, do you think it has something to do with what we saw in the ancient dragon?"

"I think it could be related." Mariel replied.

"Pardon me, but what are you two talking about?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, I'd like to know too." Louise said.

Shion also nodded her head in agreement. Sasha had forgotten that she had never told them that she had gone to the human world to inspect the dragon.

"I suppose it concerns you now." Sasha said. "After you defeated the ancient dragon, Mariel and myself journeyed to the location of its corpse because we felt a strange magic eminating from it. Upon entering the dragon's body, we heard a voice calling to us. It seemed to be familiar with who we were, but it disappeared quickly, along with the magical presence."

"How come I was unable to sense it?" Louise asked.

"It's not a magic that normal beings can sense." Mariel replied. "Sasha and I have been experimented on countless times with various sorts of materials, that magic being one of them."

"What kind of magic is it?" Shion asked.

"It's a sort of distorted mix of all the magic that humans are capable of using." Sasha replied. "It was a failed attempt to replicate the magic used by what that man described as 'the gods'."

"But how could that magic still be around if Brimir is dead?" Alex asked.

"I can't answer that question either." Sasha replied.

With no way to answer any of their questions, they soon grew silent. After a few moments, Louise decided to break the silence by asking Alex and Shion about what they had done while she and Saito were in Japan.

Alex and Shion looked at each other for a few moments, then Shion began to explain what they had discovered during Louise and Saito's absence.

The day Saito Returned to his Palace

Louise's world door closed, leaving Alex, Shion, Mariel, and Sasha alone in in Sasha's cabin. They were silent for a few moments, then Shion turned towards Mariel and Sasha.

"How will we find out who I am?" She asked.

"Let's start with a trip to a hospital." Mariel said.

"But I'm not hurt." Shion said.

"No, we need to take you to a hospital to examine your body." Sasha said. "Each of the races that live here have different traits. Perhaps we can find out something there."

"Oh, I suppose that's okay then." Shion said. "Would you like to come, Alexandre?"

"Of course." He replied. "This is important for you, so I'm happy to come with you."

"If that's settled, let's hurry." Sasha said, walking through her door.

The other three followed her towards one of the cities which floated on the liquid lake, although it was now beginning to freeze over again. On the way, Alex kept staring at his mother, his mind filled with questions.

"Ummm...mother?" He said sheepishly.

"Yes, Alex?" Mariel replied, smiling at him.

"What was my father like?" He asked.

"Your father?" Mariel said, slowing down her walking pace. "Your father was a very handsome man. He was strong, tall, had hair blacker than mine..."

She paused for several moments, lost in her memories of her lost husband. Alex stared at her, becoming increasingly worried that the emotion may prove too much for her. After a few moments, she seemed to snap out of it.

"He was also extremely good at using magic. Some of the powers he possessed were strange even to me." She said. "He was much stronger than what you would call a square class mage even before I met him. After I taught him the magic I knew, he was unbelievably powerful. No one could touch him..."

"Wait...then how was he killed?" He asked.

Mariel took several deep breaths before answering her son.

"He...let himself be killed. To protect us." She replied, with tears starting to form in her eyes.

"When did this happen..?" Alex said.

"Only a few days after you were born. 413 years ago." She replied. "He loved you, Alex."

Alex began to feel both happiness and sadness growing in his heart. He had never known the feeling of having parents who loved him more than anything, so he couldn't handle the fact that he was told that someone he never knew and who never knew him could love him

"What happened to the people who killed him?" He asked, with his voice becoming shaky.

"Nothing. When they were sent to trial, everyone declared them innocent." She replied. "At the very least, though, they let me bury him."

"I want to see him..." Alex said.

"I suppose I can take you to him once we deal with your wife." Mariel replied.

"Thank you." He replied, doing his best to regain his composure.

After several minutes, they arrived in the city. They navigated the endless maze of streets and alleyways until they reached a large, white building. It had beautiful stained glass windows and seemed to be made entirely of marble.

Inside, several people of various species were hard at work moving sick patients through the building.

Sasha quickly led them to the basement of the building, where medical records and a variety of experiments were conducted.

After walking through several busy hallways, Sasha opened the door to a room. Inside was a large glass box as well as a plethora of medical equipment, from a metal table for someone to lay on, to a drawer full of forceps and scalpels.

Inside was also a rather short, but beautiful woman with blonde hair and green eyes. Her healthy, bright skin was tan and very radiant. She wore a pair of large glasses and had freckles on her cheeks, making her look quite nerdy. She wore a white lab coat and a long white skirt. Poking from her back were a pair of translucent, insect like wings, making her identifiable as a fairy.

When she noticed Sasha, she jumped on her, giving her quite a passionate hug. She behaved very childishly, rubbing her cheek on Sasha's and laughing happily as she hugged her. After a few minutes of this behavior, which seemed to slightly bother Sasha, she jumped back and introduced herself.

"Hello, Sasha! It's been too long!" She said happily. "And who are your guests?!"

"Indeed, it has been a long time, Aigle." Sasha replied with her normal blank face and reserved, monotone voice. "You are familiar with my elder sister, Mariel."

"Ah, yes! Hello, Mariel! We never got to talk much, did we?" Aigle replied.

"No we haven't. Perhaps we should schedule some time to have fun together." Mariel replied with a warm smile.

"That sounds lovely! And who may these two beautiful people be?" She asked, referring to Alex and Shion.

Before answering, Mariel closed the door behind them to make sure no one could hear their conversation.

"This young man is my son, Alexandre." She said. "This young woman is his wife."

Aigle suddenly became extremely serious and quite pale. It took her a few moments before she managed to give Mariel a reply, at which point she whispered very quietly.

"I thought your child...was killed." She said.

"Never mind that for now." Mariel said, quickly. "That's not what we're here for. We're here for his wife."

"Oh, okay." Aigle replied, returning to her bubbly self. "And how may I help you?"

"She seemed to have amnesia and forgot about her past. However, she regained some memories and says sh originates from this place." Sasha replied. "I want you to examine her and see if you can find out anything. What species is she from, for example?"

"That sounds easy enough." Aigle replied, looking through her cabinets for something.

When she finally found what she was looking for, a glass bottle filled with a glowing blue liquid, she looked at Shion from head to toe.

"Let's get started then. This won't take to long." She said. "Please remove all of your clothes first. It's only us girls and your husband here, so don't worry."

Rather embarrassed, Shion complied and stood where she was instructed, on a circular, slightly curved stone slab on the ground. Her skin was pale, as always, but very smooth and healthy. Aigle put on some gloves, then rubbed the blue liquid onto her body, wearing a bright smile on her face as she did so.

"Umm...Ms. Aigle, what exactly does this liquid do?" Shion asked.

"Oh, it reveals the locations and exact types of wounds that your body has ever received." Aigle replied. "Depending on the age of the wound, it will also change color."

"How will that help determine what I am?" Shion asked.

"It won't." Aigle replied. "It's good practice for a doctor to treat any wounds that his or her patient has."

"Oh. Thank you." Shion replied.

"Why'd you have to bring us to this doctor?" Alex whispered to Sasha.

"She's the best in the world." Sasha replied.

"She acts like a 10 year old." Alex said skeptically.

"She's hundreds of years older than me." She replied.

"What?!" Alex exclaimed. "But how is that possible?!"

"Like I said, she is the best doctor in the world." Sasha replied. "She's been healing herself for all of these centuries. All this time, she's been making herself seem younger and younger. She seems to be immortal, frankly."

"Is that how you look so young?" Alex asked.

"No. I simply do not age the same way other elves do." Sasha replied.

Alex became fascinated with the subject with the thought of living forever like Aigle could. It crept into his mind and remained there. As the thought of his deceased father came over him, he became resolute in finding a way to keep himself and his loved ones alive.

After a few minutes, just like Aigle had predicted, different pieces of skin on her body began to glow. Hundreds of scars could be seen on her body, which shocked everyone in the room.

"This is remarkable!" Aigle said. "You have nearly as many as Sasha has!"

"How did this happen to you?" Mariel asked.

"I used to have a line of work which put me in danger quite often." Shion replied, trying to hide the fact that she used to be an assassin.

Aigle gazed at her body, then stopped when she was looking at her upper back. She stared at it for a while, then looked around her body some more. When she was done, she simply started looking for something else.

"You have 4 very large scars on your back." Aigle said, taking another bottle from her cabinet. "How did you get them?"

"I don't remember having any such wounds on my back." Shion replied.

"How peculiar. Drink this." Aigle said, handing Shion a glass of what looked like water mixed with milk. "When you drink it, stand in that glass box."

Aigle turned off all the lights, then waited for a few seconds. Soon afterwards, Shion's skeletal system began to glow clearly through her body in the darkness of the room. To Alex, she seemed normal, but apparently, Aigle had noticed something strange about her.

"Your bones are quite heavy, aren't they?" Aigle said, looking very closely at them with a strange crystal held over one eye. "They're extremely hollow as well. Quite strange, indeed."

As she kept searching, she found the spot on Shion's back where the 4 scars were. She seemed excited when she saw.

"It seems she is descended from the Anioły." She said, showing them a set of 4 joints attached to he spine. "However, it seems that her wings were removed at some point. Young lady, do you remember why they were removed."

"I thought I was human. I had no knowledge of being different in any way." Shion replied.

"Hmm. Then they must have been removed when you were still a small child." Aigle said. "Listen, how about I take a small sample of your blood and see if I can match it with anything we have stored away?"

"That's fine with me. How long will it take?" Shion asked.

"A few days." Aigle replied.

"Very well." Shion said. "Take as much as you need."

Aigle pulled a syringe from one of her drawers and drew some of Shion's blood. She examined it for a few seconds, then put it away in a refrigerated box.

"I'll get back to you as soon as possible." She said to the group.

"Thank you." Sasha said. "We'll leave you to your work."

With that, they walked out of the room and out of the hospital. Alex was still thinking about how Aigle seemed to be capable of cheating death, while Shion was curious as to what her blood might tell Aigle.

"We should go home now." Sasha said. "It's getting dark."

"Actually, before we do, Alex wanted to see his father." Mariel said.

"Oh, of course." Sasha said with a bit of surprise.

Mariel led them back into the forest. For several hours, they walked in the cold dark woods until eventually, they saw a small white building. It looked like some kind of shrine, so Alex was sure that it was where his father rested.

When they reached the front of the building, there was no door. There was a flat, white wall with no features on it. Mariel put her palm on the wall and soon, a panel in the door appeared and slowly descended into the ground, revealing a room with a rectangular marble box in the centre.

They slowly walked towards it with a sense of anxiousness. As they stood over it, looking at it closely, Alex took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself down a little. Mariel put her hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him.

"Are your ready?" She asked him.

"Yeah. I'm ready." He replied, holding her hand.

With Sasha and Shion standing behind them, Mariel put her other hand on the sarcophagus. After a few seconds, a line appeared down the centre of the coffin. The two halves began to split apart until the marble container was open.

When they saw the inside, Mariel and Alex's eyes widened with shock and fear. Shion and Sasha were confused by their reaction.

"What's wrong, elder sister?" Sasha asked.

"He's...gone." Mariel said, staring down into the now empty coffin.

Author's Notes:

Hey guys! I hope this chapter makes up for the rather unannounced hiatus I went on. Like I said before, I felt too stressed to continue writing, so I chose to take some time off. I will be back every week now, so I hope that let's you forgive my absence. Also, please take the time to answer the pole that is on my profile page. It's really important for me to know what you guys would like to see. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Leave a review and/or send me a private message with your thoughts! Thanks for reading and see you next time!