Ophelia and The Dragons

Chapter 36

"In a competition of love, we'll all share in the victory, no matter who comes first."

-Muhammad Ali-

***
Ophelia's P.O.V

Since both of us were already in the palace, we might as well head to the dragon temple to pay a visit to an old friend.

When we entered the building, the weekly ceremony had just ended and I saw Ilia and Dane organizing the altar.

"It has been a long time, Ilia." I greeted her.

"Ah, Ophelia. I thought I would never see you again. I heard you cut off your ties with the crown prince for over a year." She approached me.

"Yes, something like that. It has been resolved for now. I thought since I'm in the capital, I would visit the dragon temple to see you and Raiden."

"Of course, we didn't come here empty handed. Here is a bottle of recovery potion I made. It can be used for any kinds of minor sickness. The liquid will preserve its quality for three years."

I handed her the bag of potion and a small smile appeared on her face.

"Thank you. Since you came here to see Raiden as well. I think its best if we head over to his room right now. Usually during this hour, he would be asleep, but I'm sure he doesn't mind your visit." She said.

After she cleaned up the altar, she guided us to his room. As we were walking, Ilia glanced a few times at both me and Helios, then, she suddenly asked a question.

"The two of you, have you become lovers to each other?" It was a question I didn't expect her to ask.

Ilia didn't seem like the kind of person who would bother so much with other people's personal life, so it was a bit startling.

"Yes, we have. Is it really that obvious?" I asked her.

"Well, I would be lying if I said it wasn't. Just from the way he clung onto you all the time. It didn't look like an ordinary relationship between a witch and a familiar. I made my assumption. Turned out it's true."

"Do you think it's a bad thing?" I asked her. She was the high priestess, surely she had her morals in line.

"No, not at all. I don't think it's good or bad. It just simply is. I cannot be the one to judge you. After all, I am guilty of the same thing, despite being a high priestess." I was once again left stunned by her statement. What did it mean?

"Ilia, don't tell me. You and Raiden?" She nodded as we stood in front of Raiden's room.

"Yes, we are secret lovers. High priestess like me are not allowed to have in lovers. My brother would eventually be the one who produce offspring to keep our family line."

"But my fate is to remain single and a virgin for the rest of my life as a priestess. However, Raiden came to my life, and made me question all my decisions." She knocked on the door.

"Raiden, it's me." The door was opened and Raiden stood there. Judging from his appearance, he looked like he just woke up.

He was even still half naked. There were some scars in his body. Looked like the man had been through a lot in his life.

"Ilia, ah, I was not expecting some guests. Pardon me." He grabbed a coat and covered himself with it. The three of us entered the room for a good chat.

"Raiden, it's good to see you again." I greeted him.

"It has been a while." He greeted back. All these small talks felt a bit awkward.