Jason always knew that Riyala liked him; he would be a fool if he didn’t notice her attraction after all the interactions they had. But Jason never bothered to acknowledge those feelings since he was already in a relationship. Jason was sure that Riyala would have been an amazing partner. Even though she had been immature in the past and Jason only knew her for a short time, she did her best to be there for him when he lost Gina, and that gave her a special place in his heart as far as he was concerned.
"What are you doing all the way up here, your grace? I thought the priestess would be swamped with worshippers pleading for her attention."
"Why are you calling me ’your grace’?"
Riyala smiled at the way Jason addressed her, and Jason hummed playfully.
"I’m afraid you’ll have me executed if I don’t show you the respect befitting of your position, your grace. After all, it is the highest honor for a lowly commoner such as myself to be blessed with your radiant presence."
Jason joked with a calm grin, and Riyala put her hands to her mouth and burst out in laughter. There was a healthy glow around Riyala that made her look absolutely beautiful at that moment, and Jason felt a small smile spread on his face as he watched her laugh. Riyala noticed how Jason was looking at her, and she tried to fight the blush on her cheeks as she glided closer to him and looked over the balcony at the large city that was lit up with bonfires and parties. There was a wistful look in her eyes that told Jason that she did not like how many lives had been lost to get this peace, but at the same time, she understood that this was a necessary sacrifice. If they had not fought this war and lost all those people, then her people would have been oppressed forever. Riyala turned to Jason and looked up at him, and Jason raised a brow at her to ask her what was up. Riyala spoke softly.
"I... I don’t know what to say to you, Jason. I feel like there are a million things I need to tell you, and yet when I look at you, I immediately get tongue-tied. I don’t know where to start."
Jason grinned before he calmly said.
"How about starting at the beginning? What happened to you when you went to that forest?"
Riyala chuckled softly before she nodded sagely at Jason’s words. She turned around so she was facing Jason fully before leaning back on the balcony.
"Yes, I suppose that would be the best place to start. You can never get lost when you start from the beginning. Hmmm... well, the one thing I’m certain of is that your plan to send me to the Ashenvalley Forest was more than it appeared on the surface. It was my destiny to be in that place, at that time..."
And so, Riyala began to explain everything to Jason. She started from when she was attacked after entering the forest, and then how she was taken to the forest’s center to meet with the Priestess of Fire. Jason listened with calm attention as Riyala recounted all of her adventures, and he was surprised when she told him about the offer that the priestess had given to her. Losing all of your emotional connections in exchange for the chance to save your people didn’t sound like a big deal, but Jason knew that it would have been a very big deal to someone like Riyala. Riyala had already lost everything, so the only thing she had to hold onto after her people were killed was the emotions she felt for them. If she no longer felt those emotions, then she would literally lose everything that made her who she was. Jason didn’t even know if he would have accepted that sort of deal. His love for Gina and his family was very important to him, so it would take something very extreme for him to want to give that up for anything.
Riyala smiled when she saw the contemplative look on Jason’s face, and she could already tell what his next words would be.
"That must’ve been a difficult choice to make."
Riyala released a calm sigh when Jason said this, and she looked out into the city as she spoke up.
"Yes, it was a hard decision to make, but I had to make it for my people. I wish... I wish I had made it earlier, even. Maybe if I did, then I would have saved more people. Even though I do not feel anything in my heart as I look out across this city, I am happy in knowing that I could help them. These celebrations, the happiness that they all feel. It means nothing to me. It’s almost as though I don’t know any of these people. But I still feel a desperate desire to protect them. I would do anything to make sure that my people survive."
Jason hummed. He could now understand why Riyala had been so cold when she was meeting with her father earlier. Riyala’s emotional attachment to all the things around her had been severed, and that was why Riyala looked like she had reached some sort of strange enlightenment. Jason didn’t know how to feel about that. On one hand, Jason was happy that Riyala had discovered her true purpose and she had gained the ability to look after the people, but on the other hand, was something like this really worth it? Even if she tried in the future, wouldn’t it be difficult for her to make connections with people? By accepting this deal, Riyala not only cut off her present connections, but every future connection as well!
"Are you happy with the way things are, Riyala? I don’t want to know about the desire to protect or the responsibilities. I want to know how you really feel. Are you okay with this?"
Jason looked down at Riyala with a concerned look on his face, and Riyala stared into his eyes in surprise. Riyala could see that Jason was truly worried about what he had heard, and she felt a strange happiness rising from her chest when she realized that Jason truly cared about her. He didn’t care about the priestess standing in front of him or the people that were saved; he only wanted to be sure that she was okay. Riyala put her hand over her heart, and she smiled while looking down.
"Yes, I’m happy. I can’t really explain it, but there is a contentment I feel from having such responsibility. It is more than I could have ever hoped for. But there is something else..."
Jason raised a brow, and he waited for Riyala to say more. A blush had begun growing on Riyala’s face, and Jason saw that the tips of her ears and the scales on her cheek and neck were growing red from embarrassment. What the hell was she thinking about? Jason asked Riyala if she was alright, and Riyala took a breath to steel herself before looking up at him.
"M-My position as the Priestess of Fire requires that I leave behind at least one offspring in order to pass on my powers, so there is no doubt that I would have to find a mate for myself in the future. But I cannot ever see myself being with a man that I do not love with all my heart! You see, even though I lost all of my connections in that fire, there was one thing that I couldn’t let go of..."
Riyala swallowed as she walked closer to Jason and gently put one hand on his chest to feel his heartbeat, and Jason could feel the tension on that balcony growing quickly.