Canyons

Alexia rode her fiery purple horse across the barren planes of the canyons. The sound of galloping hooves echoed in the air. She sighed,smiling, enjoying the wind in her hair, the black and silver strands danced behind her. Her upturned lips curved downward when she took a quick glance at her shortened hair.

' I wish I was given more time to torture that scorpion for making me lose my hair.' her hands tightened on the reins as her face darkened.

" Can you reign in your temper?" Standing on her shoulders, a red canary spoke. " You're scaring the horse...and maybe me as well."

Turning her head to face it, she stared at the bird before sighing;" Helian, how exactly did anyone stand you?". She turned her face forward. " If it were me, you'd be dropped on the way."

Her remark was answered with a smack on the cheek causing her to wince. " Just because I appear as a little bird right now doesn't mean you can talk to me like that."

After saying that, he folded his wings to his chest with narrowed eyes staring at her.

' Can birds pout?' she thought to herself while rubbing her cheek. " I apologize for the inconvenience your royal highness." She replied with a hiss.

In response, he flapped his wings, moving to the horse's head with his butt facing her. Rolling her eyes at him, she focused on the backs of the people who were getting further away from her.

Silence engulfed the both of them before a whiny voice broke the peace. " Why am I like this anyways?"

Alexia answered in a nonchalant tone. "If you prefer being attacked for being an unidentified stranger, be my guest."

" Oh wow, I think I just found the reason why you're so unpopular here."

Pursing her lips, her eyes darkened slightly, gazing at the silhouette riding at the forefront of the team along side her uncle. The long lime green hair falling on her back in waves, the porcelain skin glistening with sweat and the empty space around her.

It was lieutenant Lyra, she was someone who was rarely seen in Aethera, a mermaid.

With dragons being lords of the sky and fire and mermaid being lords of the water and the depths, it was obvious that they were not usually on chatting terms.

So it was puzzling for a mermaid to join them on this expedition to the lava forest and even hold a high position. But what was most baffling was that this particular mermaid had spread rumors about her.

' I don't even remember interacting with her, talk more of offending her.'

Alexia had discovered that Lyra had spread the rumors about her relationship with her uncle. Well it wasn't really hard to find out when the instigator confessed it to her face.

Recalling that smug tone, Alexia had the sudden urge to ride up to her and pummel her to the ground.

Of course she wouldn't act on her impulses, at least not now with many eyes present. Not to mention that they were at risk of sudden beast attacks.

' A gentleman's revenge is never late.' she thought while smirking. ' Let her be proud for just a bit more.'

Maybe she sensed her gaze or it was really bad timing but Lyra turned to face her. Despite the distance between them, Alexia locked eyes with those violet eyes. Lyra was donning a smirk of her own causing Alexia to close her eyes and exhale deeply.

When she opened them, she saw Lyra sweetly chatting with her uncle as if she wasn't the one glaring at her a second ago.

" What a sly fox." She muttered under her breath.

Of course she was, Lyra had even used her identity as a lieutenant to stop Evan from riding by Alexia's side. Thinking about this, she was glad she still had Helian to keep her company.

" The world has really changed. Look at those two chatting it up despite their different races. It's like fire and water being friends" Helian sighed acting like a wise old elder who was lamenting the fate of the world.

And when Alexia refused to answer him, she became the target of his nonsense. " Even the stuck up elves have allowed hybrids among their kind. You guys are really shaming your ancestors."

She smiled at his words, shrugging her shoulders, " What can I say, I'm one in a million."

" Nope just a freak...a gorgeous freak." Helian replied while pointing to some of the men looking back at her with lewd gazes. Even Lyra wasn't spared from these gazes considering that mermaids were known for their voluptuous figures.

' ...and seduction.' she added with a shake of her head .

" Fools." She pulled on the horse's reigns slightly, the last thing she wanted was to interact with those perverts.

' If only they knew who I was, they wouldn't even dare to have a useless thought towards me.'

" You know...you could dispose of them by nightfall" Helian suggested when he felt her narrowed gaze on those two men. " If you know what I mean." He moved his little wing across his neck in a killing gesture.

When he said that, Alexia noticed a fleeting emotion in his yellow gold eyes. But it disappeared before she could make anything of it.

' This little thing seems serious', she smiled at his reaction.

" Weren't the two days of killing monsters enough to quench your bloodthrist?"

His dark demeanor changed as he scoffed at her. " Oh please. We both know that it's your uncle that has been getting all the action these days..." He paused looking at Lyra who was happily chirping a few meters away.

" ...in more ways than one." She glared at him causing him to chuckle nervously. Coughing, he changed his words.

" I mean what's so interesting about watching a man in his twenties kill abominable beasts with a single slash." Alexia turned to face him with a gaping mouth.

He chuckled, eyeing her up and down while licking his beak." To be honest, I would rather watch something else like..."

A sudden slap whipped in his direction sending him flying backwards before he could complete his sentence.

" I almost forgot I already have a pervert of my own." She said face flushed while glaring at the bird that was now making his way back. She was about to berate him, when she felt slight tremors pass through the ground for the third time that day.

" Did you hear something?"she asking Helian who was now once again standing on the horse's head. Swaying slightly like a drunk, he answered her;

" The only thing I can hear right now is the ringing in my ears, you wicked creature!"

' I'm really beginning to miss that taciturn flame. It was much better than this obnoxious bird.' rolling her eyes,she spoke;

" I didn't even hit that hard. Quit whining like a baby you old man."

Her words caused him to tremble slightly, pointing a wing at her, he stuttered. " You.. you.."

' This feels like some serious deja Vu.' another tremor disrupted her thoughts. Before he could complete his sentence, she placed a finger to his beak.

" Shh. Listen."

He pecked at her fingers, she took them back while glaring at him. Ignoring her, he put on a pondering expression before saying; " Sounds like a bad omen."

" Can't you say something less ominous?" She asked with furrowed brows to which he shrugged before replying. " It is what it is."

Suddenly the people in front of her halted, tightening her reins, she halted too. She had a suspicion that they were halting because of the tremors though they weren't sure what was causing them. Everyone was visibly tensed, well except Helian but he was an exception.

The tremors grew more violent as it shook the ground like a mini earthquake. Some people even fell of their horses. That's when it happened.

The ground in the middle of their formation burst open, the soldiers who weren't expecting such got shredded to pieces. The ones that managed to escape, were trembling like leaves in the wind.

" Cowards" she muttered, unsheathing her silver sword while simultaneously looking up at the cause of all this.

In the middle of the group was a crimson worm-like creature. It's bulging body separated the two groups of people in the canyon, as it looked at them from above with eight milky side lidded eyes and a drooling fanged mouth.

The scene was engulfed by silence with everyone at a stand still waiting for how would attack first. Alexia prepared to climb down her horse already tired of waiting.

She would have been the first to move, if a certain someone didn't set things in motion. A loud voice yelled;

" Attack!"

It was like a magic signal because immediately it was spoken, everything descended into chaos.