[Nowo's POV]

I had a dream last night; I saw myself getting slain by a person who didn't seem like an enemy. When I was about to look at his face, everything got blurry, and the sound of a loud trumpet noise woke me up.

"Strange," I uttered to myself. My heart had never felt this heavy when waking up from a nightmare. That one felt different and weird. I could also feel my tears streaming down my face at this moment. "Why am I crying?" I wondered as I wiped my tears off my cheeks.

"Hiya, Nowo dea---what happened?" Lane landed both of her palms on her rosy cheeks and flew near me.

I shook my head lightly, still not giving her a look. "I don't know, Lane. But it seems like it's too hard for me to breathe right now," I said as I laid my right palm on my chest.

"Will you please wait for me outside? Just give me a minute." I requested with a calm tone. I never wanted her to misunderstand me again.

She nodded her head and answered, "Okay. Just promise me that you'll be fine. Hmm?"

"I promise, Lane."

The past few days have been tough. Some realities about our life had been revealed all of a sudden, and I wasn't ready for any of it. It all entered my brain in a snap; maybe that was the reason why I'm feeling this kind of unusual pain and sadness. Like a dagger is slowly piercing through my chest.

I may not yet be ready to accept the truth, that I am one of these defenders who need to save this land from darkness, but I need to give it a try since I don't have another option for me to choose from.

This burden inside me makes me think of how I can be able to save these creatures if I couldn't see the light inside me as well?

[Lane's POV]

Why is my Nowo dear taking so long? Is she alright? Or maybe not? What if she did something horrible to herself?

Those were the questions that kept on ruining my peaceful mind as I flew back and forth in front of my Nowo's wooden door.

"What's with the face, Lane? Are you alright?" I heard someone ask me, but I didn't pay attention to it.

'Am I?' I asked myself as well, still in panic.

"Hey, stop that." I suddenly bumped into someone, and that seriously hurt.

"Ouchie!" I complained while touching my poor little forehead. I raised my head and ended up seeing the male fairy and his buddy. "Talaa. Moha. Hiya~" I greeted them with a sweet smile, continuously rubbing my reddish forehead.

"Where's Nowo? Oh, let me guess, maybe she's still sleeping, right?" Moha asked me as he walked towards Nowo's room. "I'll wake her up."

I thought of it for a second and suddenly remembered that my dear Nowo asked me for a few minutes to think. I quickly flew away and spread my hands and feet to stop him from entering my dear's room.

I crossed my arms and said, "It's my job to check on her. You guys can go first."

They were just giving me a blank stare, as if they wanted to put me in a jar and throw me out of this place.

So mean.

[Nowo's POV]

I could clearly hear their conversation while I was dressing up for another day of training. I'm currently wearing a simple black unitard that covers me from neck to ankle, and brown leather boots lace up to my knees.

I walked towards the long wooden table in front of the window and took my sword right before I walked outside.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting." The wind started to blow from my left side, causing my black wavy hair to sway to the other direction, and I could feel a few strands of it gently touch my right elbow.

They were all having their gaze locked on me, not uttering any word.

"What now?" I urged.

Lane suddenly clapped her little hands and said, "Wow~ You look so gorgeous, Nowo dear."

I never expected these kinds of reactions from them, wherein Lane would look as if she's truly amazed from what she's seeing now. Talaa seems to be undecided whether he would constantly stare at me or at his master who currently looks like a funny statue right now.

"Can you guys stop acting so weird? You're making me feel awkward," I complained to them.

Moha let out a deep breath and smiled at me. "Sorry. It's my first time seeing you like a real woman."

Those words made my eyebrows crease. "Are you saying that I look like a man?" I responded with a serious tone.

"Well, haha. I didn't say that, but yeah…" He winced while nodding his head. I could feel the heat beginning to crawl all over my face.

"Makes me wanna pierce this through your body," I said as I gripped my sword's handle and glared at him.

He responded with a grinning smile which made me roll my eyes.

"Don't mind him, Nowo. Anyway, you look wonderful," Talaa uttered to me right before he started flying towards Moha.

How I wish that male fairy would switch places with him so that I could put him in a jar and silence him for a while or much better for a very long time.

"Psh." I uttered to myself.

Lane and I began to head on our way to the training area. We saw three other orphans having a good time with each other. The long-haired woman's eyes are sparkling as she hops while passing through an open door of the training area, followed by an alluring short-haired woman who's currently flashing a smile on her face as she hooks her hand on the man's shoulder who's about one-hundred seventy centimeters tall.

"Who are they?" I asked my fairy.

She started to squeeze her lips together and responded, "As far as I can remember, that is Cordelia, the little lady who seems to be very lively and cute like me. Hihi~ The other girl's name is Frisia, the most mature woman I've ever encountered so far. And that man… hmmm… Raiden? I don't know much about him except for the fact that he's very quiet."

"Why do you ask, Nowo dear?" She started to question me after I responded with nothing but a sudden silence.

I shrugged my shoulders and said, "Well… they seem to be very close to each other. I guess happiness is still possible in this world."

I started to lift my feet and head inside the training room and search around the place where I could possibly train on my own. Well, originally, Moha and I were supposed to train together, but his weapon is a long range while mine isn't. So basically, we don't fit to train together.

I gave Lane a quick gaze, and I saw her pointing on a huge space at the right corner of the room, and the moment we had already reached the said empty space, I started to pull my sword that was tucked in my scabbard belt.

"Mind if I practice with you?" said the man who's both hands are placed on his back. He started flashing a smile and offered me his right hand.

"I'm Helios. Nowo, right?"

Helios? He doesn't seem like a bad person at all. Though he has those thick eyebrows that make him look serious and cold, the way he stretches his lips, lifting both of his pinkish cheeks, will make you believe that he's a nice man. Not to mention, his charming presence and brownish eyes.

I can describe him as one of those characters I have read in a book, like a wolf man or something. He also has a companion with him, a small fiery red dragon clutching on his left shoulder.

"Hey, still there?" My eyes were locked on him the moment he started moving his face closer to mine. The sound of a snap awakened my senses.

I nodded my head lightly and began to lower my gaze. "Um, yeah. Sorry."

He bent a bit and asked, "So, what now?"

"W-what?" I stammered. I tried to avoid his gaze, but his recent offer flashed back into my mind. I gave him a quick gaze and agreed, "Okay, sure. Let's practice."

Lane was unusually quiet and just watched us the whole time. I wonder what she's currently thinking. Maybe I looked like a dumb lady to her earlier, but she couldn't blame me for that. It's my first time having a conversation with a man that is far different from Moha.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Yes," I confirmed.

Then we started wielding our swords, and it somehow felt weird on my part since I can finally use my weapon better than before. Maybe Lane is using her powers to help me.

-----"Struggles and conflict are both around the corner. While the flowers are starting to bloom, a sudden event will come and begin to test them, whether their roots are strong enough to keep them tucked in their places or not."----