Actions Speak Louder

         Jessalyn’s “time of the month” was not the same as that of others, and there was a great deal more danger involved. It had something to do with a dragon who’d taken a humanoid shape and one of Jessalyn’s ancestors who’d begat the bloodline that eventually bore her.

         Valora had said she’d known someone once who had similar issues and took a great deal of care making sure she was there for Jessalyn. Even though they both had their own adventures and individual lives, Valora always turned up once a month, a few days before there was a need, and only left once she knew Jessalyn was safe. Technically, Jessalyn did have a guardian-Jeyne-who she traveled with for this purpose. Unfortunately, Jeyne had been late the first time after their assignment. That had led to Valora meeting Jessalyn and intervening on her behalf. Valora had not found Jeyne a suitable protector after that.

         It had been over a year since they met. Now, it was the thirteenth month, and Jessalyn was worried. Valora was notably absent for someone who usually turned up early. Something was wrong, and though Jeyne didn’t much like Valora either, she’d been concerned too.

“-Jeyne? Does your Order of Paladins employ any Oracles, or wizards who specialize in divination?” She asked her guardian. Jeyne looked up from where she’d been cleaning their campsite and sighed.

“No, I’m afraid not. And we have to get you back to Cress by nightfall. That’s my priority.”

“The sun has barely finished rising!” Jessalyn protested.

         Cress, an independent nation in the Ever Realm, had proven to be a safe haven for Jessalyn. Queen Dorothea, one of the most renowned wizards in the Realm, had provided quarters in her castle when Jessalyn needed to hide away. In the past, Valora had always caught up with them on the road. In fact, Jessalyn had insisted on using that same route so she could.

         ‘Where is she?’ Jessalyn gazed up at the sky and frowned with a furrowed brow.

“We’re not that far away! Give her until noon at least!”

“It’s autumn. The days are getting shorter, and we’re not that close, either,” Jeyne sighed heavily, “I’m sorry, Jessalyn. I’m sure she’ll catch up.”

“I’m not moving until noon,” Jessalyn defiantly sat on the ground and crossed her arms, “You can’t make me.”

“That’s where you underestimate me, I’m afraid.”

         Once she’d finished packing up everything, Jeyne slid her rucksack on her back. Then she grabbed Jessalyn’s satchel and tossed it over one shoulder. Jeyne was slender and made of lean muscle, with a build that could be mistaken for slight.

“Are you going to get up, Jessalyn, or am I going to have to carry you?” She added as she turned to her.

“You can’t be serious,” Jessalyn made a face and replied: “I’m only half-elf, you know that. Half dwarf, too. Means I’m a bit dense physically.”

“I’m a full elf and getting tired of you being difficult,” Jeyne knelt before Jessalyn with a frown, “You and I both know what happens when night falls. Any person or creature with a sensitivity for the special magic you give off will come racing to find the source. I can protect you from the occasional person. But I can’t protect you against a horde of villains intending to make you their power source or plaything. Valora wouldn’t want you to do anything so stupid as leaving yourself vulnerable like that.”

         Jessalyn tensed, but she couldn’t argue the point with her. Reluctantly, she stood up and held out her arm for her bag.

“We stay in Cress until we know what happened to Valora.”

“Fine. But we have to get to Cress.”

         When Queen Dorothea escorted Jessalyn to the sanctum in the castle, she admitted to the elegant woman she was worried about Valora. Dorothea’s lips curled into a secretive smile like she understood something Jessalyn didn’t.

“I’ll make sure my guards and knights keep an eye out for her,” She promised, “Someone will notify you as soon as she turns up.”

“Oh, thank you!” Jessalyn smiled sheepishly, “Jeyne said she’d go back on the road after she got me here, but I know she doesn’t particularly like her much.”

“From what I recall, Valora and Jeyne have very different personalities, mannerisms, and methods. I’m sure it’s less about disliking her and more about not being able to understand her. Jeyne is young, especially as elves go. I’d be shocked if she’s a century old. Valora...”

“What, don’t you think Valora is about my age?” Jessalyn glanced at her.

“Not remotely,” Dorothea chuckled, “She’s older than me. I’ve seen her eyes when she’s not doting on you, Jessalyn. She’s...ancient.”

         Jessalyn stopped in her steps, and Dorothea followed suit.

“What do you mean when she’s not doting---” Jessalyn started to stammer before the Queen’s final word registered, “Did you say ancient?”

“She’s faye, Jessalyn. They age differently than any other fantastic being in the Ever Realm. I’m not experienced enough to say much more about the matter, or what kind she might be. And yes, she does dote on you. When she’s with you, I’ve noticed the years she carries seem to melt away.”

         Dorothea began to walk again, and after a moment longer, Jessalyn followed.

‘What does this mean?’ How old was Valora? Jessalyn had never knowingly met a faye before. Most were offspring of fairies, who kept to the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. Jessalyn had never been to either location, as her mother had cautioned her against going to the Summer Valley or the Winter Mountain. Their constant plots and schemes meant if any of them discovered her, Jessalyn might be dragged into their conflicts or worse.

         “Do you think Valora has intentions for me?”

Jessalyn’s question made Dorothea laugh.

“Not in a malicious way like you’re worried about. Usually, a stray faye has rejected life in the Courts.”

“Then in what way do you think---”

         Jessalyn never finished her question, because suddenly, someone shouted her name. She whirled around to see Jeyne chasing after another woman. The new arrival was so bloodied and battered that Jessalyn almost didn’t recognize her.

“Valora! What’s happened to you?”

         Reaching the enigmatic warrior woman, Jessalyn realized it was worse than she thought. Her hair was incredibly messy and frazzled and smelled like it had recently been aflame. The woman before her was favoring one leg and used a sheathed long sword as a crutch. Her clothes were tattered, and the metal of her greaves was warped like it had been exposed to incredible heat.

“Thank goodness I got here in time,” Valora laughed hoarsely and coughed.

         She did not provide any further explanation. Instead, she dropped the longsword she’d been using and reached into her pocket. Jeyne was talking to Dorothea now, but Jessalyn’s attention was entirely on her-

'My-my what? My Valora? What is Valora to me?’

         It was then she realized she didn’t know what Valora meant to her. She wasn’t her official guardian, but the word “friend” didn’t seem powerful enough for how important she was. She was so caught up in her thoughts, that she didn’t realize Valora had reached up to draw a choker around Jessalyn’s neck. Though her hands were gloved, she was gentle and tender in a way Jessalyn was unused to. Her cheeks flushed as Valora hooked the clasp, smiled, and nodded.

“Suits you, too. Didn’t know it would.”

         Before another word could be exchanged, Valora dropped to the ground in a heap. Jessalyn screamed and dropped beside her, calling out to the other two women for help.

“Jeyne, do what you can!” Dorothea ordered, “I’ll fetch healers.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

         Jeyne slid across the floor in her boots and knelt, calling on her divine power to heal as many of Valora’s wounds as possible. Jessalyn barely noticed anything as she drew Valora into her lap and called out her name. The Queen and healers soon arrived, and she was whisked off. Dorothea remained to reassure Jessalyn and squeezed her shoulder.

“Don’t worry. She’s still alive, this isn’t my domain yet. She’s strong, I knew that the first time I saw her aura.”

“You can see auras?” Jeyne asked, surprised. Jessalyn heard them distantly, but she was watching the stretcher disappear. It carried someone she now realized was unbearably precious to her.

‘Grand Ones, if you’re listening to me,’ Jessalyn silently invoked the creators of the Ever Realm, ‘I know I don’t pray often. But please. Please don’t take Valora away from me.

“-Jessalyn, where did you get that?” Dorothea gestured to her neck, and Jessalyn reached a hand up to touch the choker.

“Valora brought it with her.”

“It’s enchanted,” Dorothea’s eyes widened, “Jessalyn, it’s enchanted so your time of the month is repressed! The magic involved in it is intricate, I’ve never seen anything like it. The energy you give off is so potent, so I never suggested this sort of solution. I’m certainly not powerful enough to repress it. Where did she get it?”

         Jessalyn heard enough of it to understand her meaning. She reached a hand up to the choker and touched the pendant that hung from it.

“So, you’re saying I don’t need to be in the sanctum tonight?”

“Absolutely. That is easily ten times more potent than the enchantments I have in place. It will also negate the symptoms so you aren’t impacted or inconvenienced.”

“Good.”

         Jessalyn turned away from the Queen and Jeyne, then ran after the healers. She needed to be there for Valora, especially after such a grand gift had been bestowed upon her. She’d been there for Jessalyn time after time, and she suspected her uncharacteristic tardiness had been about getting this treasure for her. This time, Jessalyn could be there for Valora.

.

         The healers were shocked Valora had made it all the way to the castle in her condition. Fortunately, as Cress had previously been plagued by a curse of pestilence, it now had the finest wielders of different healing magic across the Ever Realm. They got to work fixing up the warrior woman and did not protest Jessalyn’s presence. She averted her eyes when they stripped Valora’s gear and clothing to evaluate the full extent of her injuries. She didn’t see all of them, but she heard them discussing their findings.

“Extreme burns. Equally spaced out gashes-something clawed her! I’ve never seen a wound like that. She has some broken bones. It’s like something threw her around like a rag doll...”

         When they were done, covers were drawn across Valora for modesty. One of the healers reported that much longer and some of her bones would have started healing wrong. The injuries, they guessed, were days old. That thought had pained Jessalyn as she watched the faye woman sleep.

‘She dragged herself here in that condition. All so she could give me this.’ She reached a hand up to touch the choker again, tried and tested through the evening. Queen Dorothea had assessed it correctly. Throughout the night, Jessalyn had not been affected by her dragon blood once. The usual fever and flush hadn’t arrived, nor had her mind become hazy.

‘She could have gotten it to me later. After she’d recovered. Why did she push herself so hard?’

         “Well, there’s a sight for sore eyes. Possibly literally.”

         Valora’s voice was no longer hoarse. That had been attributed to smoke inhalation and a distinctive neck wound they believed had been left by a whip wrapping around her throat. Instead, it was calm and cool as she turned her head to look up at Jessalyn.

“You have sore eyes?” She cried out in alarm, “I’ll get-”

“No, no, that’s maybe the only part of me that isn’t sore,” Valora chuckled softly, “I’m alright, Jessa.”

         Jessa. No one else had ever called her that. She detested being called Jess or Jessie, and only occasionally tolerated Lyn. Valora had come up with Jessa without knowing about her aversions. She’d first used it the third time she turned up to watch over Jessalyn.

“Good,” Jessalyn sniffled, “Because I want to throttle you. Where the hell did you go? I-I think I know why-”

“-I knew that choker could help with your condition. It belonged to someone I used to know,” Valora laughed softly, “But ah, the Under Lands aren’t like they were the last time I was there. I encountered some, ah, opposition when I went to retrieve it.”

“The Under Lands?” Jessalyn’s breath caught.

         The Under Lands were legendary and infamous. In a bygone era, it had been the subterranean realm and residence of the Grand Burning Copper One who’d helped create the Ever Realm. Unfortunately, after the Copper One had been caught in the same vortex that had rid the realm of its greatest foe, it had fallen to rack and ruin. Recent expeditions had found the outer borders of the underground nation had been destroyed by volcanic activity. They’d also discovered one of the deadliest creatures in the Ever Realm, which had been dubbed-

“You fought Fire Fiends to get this?” Jessalyn cried out.

         Fire Fiends were said to be twenty feet high, with forms that looked like they were made of obsidian. They had bull horns and massive bat-like wings, and according to the handful of survivors who’d escaped encounters with them, they wielded blazing whips. Whips! Jessalyn recalled as she reached out to touch Valora’s neck, the wound a faded scar now.

“Ugh, Valorean and his father would have hated to hear people call them that now,” Valora groaned quietly as she clasped Jessalyn’s hands, “I thought they’d recognize me. I guess I’m a lot different than I was back then.”

“Valorean- he was the one you knew who had a condition like mine?” Jessalyn’s eyes widened as she pieced things together.

“He’s important to me, even all these years after he was lost,” Valora smiled sadly, “That’s why I took the name I have now. Anyway, that choker was his. I knew it would still be down there. He designed it so he wouldn’t-well, you know the dragon blood affects you. And he was half, so I figured if I could get it back, it could help you.”

         She reached a hand up towards Jessalyn again, who felt her cheeks flush as Valora caressed her collarbone where the choker’s pendant felt.

“He was prone to shape-shifting, too, so he made sure it resized for the wearer. I think you wear it much better than he did.”

         Jessalyn’s heart and mind were both lacing as Valora’s arm fell away. The faye woman sat up and held her covers in place as she found the clothing left for her to change into. Jessalyn looked down at her hands and tried to make sense of it all.

         ‘Valora went to the Underlands, across dangerous volcanic lands, fought Fire Fiends, and trekked to Cress without having her wounds treated. And she did all that...for me?’

“Jessa, want to join me for a bite? I’m starving,” Valora stood in a tunic and leggings as she turned back to the dwelf sorceress. She smiled, and held out her hand, “And I missed you.”

         Jessalyn’s cheeks found that now familiar flush at the admission. For every time Valora had returned to assist her, she’d never acknowledged missing her before. Jessalyn knew she missed her, but until the evening before she’d never considered why or how. She had many friends spread out across the Ever Realm, but their absence didn’t leave her feeling the same ache as Valora’s the days before. This was something new and a little bit confusing.

         Jessalyn was overwhelmed by the immensity of what Valora had endured for her. She would have to reach out to some of her closest friends to talk to them about her confusion. For the moment, she reached out and took Valora’s extended hand with a bright smile as tears of relief formed at the corners of her eyes.

“I missed you, too.”