As Drake sat down to eat the breakfast he made, he thought about what Vela had asked, on whether or not she had decided to settle down. “Well, I don’t really know what it was like before we met, but if that’s what he said, I’m inclined to believe it. That, and from what I’ve been told, no one else has lasted more than a year with you…and we’re on…” He thought for a moment. “Four? Five? Somewhere in that range.”

The subject changed, though, to the job at hand. “Right…Auclair, that’s the name.” As with some things, it had a familiar ring to it. But that had been over five hundred years ago. Then again, Drake was a dragon. It could easily be possible that he was alive back then.

“We can land there,” he said pointing. “It won’t be too difficult. From there, you and I can fly.” He looked over at Vela and smiled. “You worried about your wing in the swamp? Maybe we should go on foot instead?” He stretched, still only half dressed after their morning activities. “Well…let’s get ready to go, then…”

She held up five fingers. “Raile always looks at me with stars in his eyes whenever your name gets said.” She didn’t believe it either but Drake was interesting to her and he kept her in line without restricting her too much.

She looked at the map again and nodded, “Okay, no I can fly. I’ve gotten a lot better at it since they attached the wing. It even looks so real to me. Even has feelings near the joints.” As he found out as soon as he could touch it. The plus side of it was the wing never molted and if it lost a feather, which it almost never did, Shiloh had made tons of them for replacements. “Besides I got this sexy boyfriend who will catch me if I fall.” She got up and kissed him heavily.

“But I don’t want to start stuff again so soon so I’ll be good.” She kissed his forehead before heading back into their room. She got dressed in simple traveling wear for her. They flew down to the ruins of Auclair and she looked around. “I can smell death here… I don’t like this place.” No wonder Raile said to leave the castle alone at her wishes. “There’s evil everywhere.”

There was a shiver up her spine as she took Drake’s hand. “Let’s go.” It was a comfort thing. “Lots of death came here…” She kissed him again and pulled him along. “The farmer’s houses should be this way according to the map.” She hesitated letting go of him and unrolled the map. “Yeah, this way.”

She looked around, “It feels like people are watching us…” She shivered and dragged him with her.

As pleasant as the morning was, it was merely the calm before the storm. Auclair was a dead place, and despite their many adventures throughout the lands, this one felt…almost wrong. From what Raile was saying, this was less about the silver and more about the preservation of history. Though, it did help that he was getting well paid for the endeavor.

“The dead here…they’re restless,” Drake said as they walked hand in hand through the first part of the town. He could almost feel the presence of those who used to live here. “There’s malice in the air…” He paused. “Turn…left up here. There used to be a bakery…”

Vela gave him a startled look, but followed his instruction. Surely enough, the burned out husk of a building seemed to have indeed been a bakery from what the two could tell. A few of the tools they had used to bake had survived, so the two sent it back to their ship and moved on.

“And ahead here…was a lockup. A smaller one…they didn’t have much in the way of crime. Just a few kids running…” Drake winced. His head was hurting. “I’ve been here before…but I can’t remember why…”

Vela took his face, “Hey, it will be okay. I’m here with you.” She pet his face and kissed him. “I love you…” It was the first time she told him. She gave him a few more kisses to ease the pain before she hugged him tightly. “That means you were here when Simone was here… The city was alive. We’re getting closer to your memories now and why you lost them.” She stroked his hair gently. “I’ll be here I promise…” She just wanted the pain to stop for him and she could tell it was hurting him.

She took his hand tightly, “Wonder what you were in Auclair… Though you know where the lock-up was… Maybe I can be your prisoner and you can be my handsome guard I’m trying to convince to let me out…” She was joking with him but a few minutes ago she had just told him she loved him. She hadn’t forgotten she said it. Her face was flushed and she hadn’t really said it to anyone before. She cared for people yes but she actually loved Drake.

“Never leave me okay? Even if you remember who you are.”

What little pain there was subsided rather quickly, leaving Drake staring at Vela. She had used the ‘l’ word for the first time. “Really? In the middle of a dead city is when you decide that you want to drop the l-bomb?” He was smirking, though, at what she had said. “You better not go regretting saying things like that, Vela…you might get a man’s hopes up.” He looked around again. Only small bits and pieces were there. He remembered the bakery, and the lockup. There were kids that used to play on the streets, and a man who would give out sweets for a mere silver piece.

Vela was joking about being a guard and locking her up, but he shook his head. “I didn’t live here. That much I know….otherwise, i feel like Simone would have known me. No…I was visiting. I had to be…” The question was why. Vela was quiet, though, for a moment before she finally spoke again.

She asked him to never leave. Drake was a little surprised at that, but he took her hand and squeezed it gently. “I don’t plan on leaving, Vela.” Though, he wondered what he was like in this previous life.

“Anyway…let’s keep going. There’s other things afoot here…” He scanned the lockup, and got a few trinkets and tools of the trade, sending them back to the airship before moving onto the next building.

Still…something felt very off about the place. One building in particular, Drake could have sworn he heard someone outside. As they stepped out, the trap was sprung…

“I don’t regret shit. I drink.” She put her hands on her hips and gave him a smile. “Besides… It’s a bit overdue isn’t it?” Once more she wrapped herself around him and she gave him a look. “That’s good… Maybe Simone might know more? Even a little bit is better than nothing Drake.” She kissed his forehead again.

Once it came down to her fear she seemed a bit better hearing his answer. They held hands and she smirked, “Thanks. Don’t want to go showing my whole heart to a runaway.”

Vela was happily getting trinkets and sending them back but before long she too noticed they were being followed. “This isn’t good…” Had they gotten complacent? Too in love with the peace? The last five years had made them soft.

Vela was forced away from Drake by a magic shield. “HEY!” She started to bang on it. “HEY! DRAKE!” She yelled. She was a few feet from him now as she looked like a rabid animal trying get out. “I don’t know who the fuck you are but I will rip your fucking limbs off!”

“That’s no way for a princess to talk… Princess,” a grinning angel came out and all that did was make Vela proceed to ram her into the barrier. She was starting to hurt herself.

“LET ME OUT!”

“This is no good she is going to hurt her or pass out from panic,” another angel stepped out. “You there… creature can you stop her from hurting her?”

“LET ME OUT OF HERE RIGHT THE FUCK NOW,” she screamed as she summoned her wings and bolted against the walls hard. It wasn’t good with her prosthetic considering how much damage it could do to her body from being rammed in.

"Just stop her or something," the angels let Drake 'out' so he could calm down Vela who was in panic mode trying to get away. She was like a caged bird.

As they released Drake, they threw magical restraints on him, and pushed him forward with a sword to his back. But that didn’t matter at the moment.

“Vela! Calm down! You’ll only hurt yourself!” he said, his voice barely calm. He wanted to rip every single one of them to pieces, but that wasn’t exactly an option. “Vela…shhh…” He pressed his head against the shield. “It’s just like that time in Railoch…” The time where Vela had faked an injury to fool a rather large band of raiders into taking her directly to their base. The moment that she arrived, she and Drake tore the place apart.

“I promise…I won’t leave you,” Drake said with a smile.

Vela stopped her motions if only for his words, “Railoch?” Her breathing got a bit more shallow as she panicked. If it were quiet enough her heart was going fast. They caught her, they finally caught her. This had been a trap. “Okay… Okay… Yeah…” She put her head near his. “Don’t.”

The barrier was dropped just enough to put her in cuffs. Vela looked up at Drake and she leaned into him. “Fine, whatever I’ll listen to what you say.”

“I don’t think you got a choice.”

“I could just off myself.” They were hesitating now. “That’s what I thought. You need me alive and willing or that vault isn’t going to open. I off myself… The vault ends with me.” Vela had regained a bit of her sanity and her calm. She needed it so she could deal with them. “Our airship. We need to take it with us. Let Drake fly it. Keep me with you. We’ll go back to Aushra with you.”

“Good. Fine, let the man fly the airship along with us. I hope you can fly after your little stunt.”

“I’m one of the best fliers in all of Canelux. Even in this condition,” she said it bitterly. “You going to be okay to do that Drake?”

Drake clicked his tongue. He would rather not leave Vela in the hands of the other angels, but he didn’t have much of a choice. That, and with her earlier threat, he at least knew that they couldn’t hurt her. They needed her very much alive in order to get what they wanted.

“Fine,” Drake said, still glaring at the angelic guard. It took a little bit of time for them to get the arrangement set up, but soon Drake had the airship following behind Vela and the guards escorting her, flying higher and higher into the sky. Soon, it seemed as though the airship was floating on a sea of clouds. Off in the distance was a large, gold and white spire. As they neared it, the kingdom that Vela hailed from shimmered into view.

Vast towers of gold and white were everywhere, attached to a great castle. Smaller islands were all around, with what looked like fields of crops enveloped in magic bubbles. On the interior of the great walls on the main castle was a city, with people running to and fro about their daily lives. An entire angelic kingdom hidden in the sky. Vela’s kingdom.

Drake was shown where to dock the airship, and was escorted off. He was held back, though, as Vela was pushed forward and a rather lanky, gaunt looking angel wearing purple robes approached her.

“Ah…Vela. I see you’re still associating with common trash,” he said with a sneer.

“Ah…Jeremy. I see you’re still alive and kicking. Would have guessed you’d have died by now, but it seems even the soulstream doesn’t want you.”

“Oh, hey look…you two know each other,” Drake said with an eye roll.

Jeremy glanced at Drake with disdain, and then back to Vela. “How we treat him wholly depends on how well you cooperate. He can either get the highest tower, or the lowest dungeon. The choice…is yours.”

“As if what I do play any contest to that dick measuring contest you want to have,” Vela huffed a bit in a quiet comment. “He stays with me or I give you nothing. And to me you are the common rabble.” She shook her head with sass as her white hair shook everyone.

“If you think tha–”

“Ah ah ah… No sass. I am very much serious. I will not speak. I will not move. I will not even so much as prick my motherfucking finger. I will not utter any incantation. I will start not to breath, and I can turn myself purple by the way. If you so much as look at him wrong. So. Your. Choice.”

Jeremy was giving her a look, “You are the prisoner.”

“No, I am your key. You will treat me as such,” Vela was glaring him down, “Do not think I am the weak girl that I once was because you will find your ass beat into the ground if you aren’t careful.”

“Fine, he stays with you. He must respect the kin–”

“That man is no king. He is a fucking coward.” Vela spat. “Surprised he isn’t dead yet. The only reason he wants me home is so he can have his precious vault open. Some fucking father figure he is.” The other angels didn’t know what to make of Vela. They had only heard of her capture.

“Your wing.”

“Got blown off by a fucking airship cannon. Still have more balls than you for sitting through it and I didn’t pass out,” Vela was full of piss and vinegar as Jeremy reeled back. “The magitek is from a goddess so I would be careful~ I’m a divine science experiment now. Thank you. Since when the fuck do you greet prisoners you fucking parasite.”

“Enough, I will not be riled by you.”

“What your daddy didn’t want you? Or did my old man manage to pop out another daughter for you to marry,” she brought up her hand to pull down her eyelid and stuck her tongue out.

“You juvinile little bi-”

“I’M SORRY I CAN’T HEAR YOU OVER THE SOUND OF ME DECIDING NOT TO COOPERATE,” she started to scream as she turned her back to him. “Did you hear something?” She looked at Drake. “Because I thought I heard a cunt calling me a bitch.”

“ENOUGH,” Jeremy yelled. “You have no sister. We are no longer betrothed. I am a high-ranking member of the council now.”

Vela closed her eyes and nodded, “And still a cunt.” She said it almost too calmly. “So… Can I see our room? Cell? Prison Room? Fancy pompous room? Guest bedroom? Dungeon?”

“I GET THE POINT. The magic shackles stay on though when you are outside the room. The room has runes that will restrict your magic naturally. Bring them.” Vela found herself not impressed as they ended up in her childhood room.

It wasn’t touched. She moved around with dramatic steps as they took the cuffs off her. “Thanks.” She rubbed her wrists as she looked around. “Oh wow. Look. Little Vela’s stuff. No one even wanted to move in.”

“We were instructed to keep it as is should you come home.”

“Fat fucking chance mate,” Vela rolled her eyes.

“I can’t deal with you anymore. There will be a meeting in an hour. Be ready. Outfits will be provided. No funny business.”

“I would just spit in his food but you know… Old man is probably hanging on a limb,” Vela waved at Jeremy. “Fucking asshole,” she dropped the cheerful act and went over to Drake to make sure he was okay. “Did they hurt you?”