Return to Jorgaldur Volume IV: Reunion

The owner of the lake

Goldmi was smiling on the shore of the lake watching her daughters play in the water. Holding her hand, Elendnas looked at her, fascinated by that smile. When she turned and found him staring at her with his blue eyes, she approached him. She kissed him tenderly on his lips, and pressed her hand a little tighter against his.

If they had been alone, it might have been more intense, but that wasn't the case. Quite a few elves were there, watching the children play. In the water, there weren't only the twins.

At first, the parents had been hesitant. Although not deadly, that deep lake carried a danger to which under normal circumstances they wouldn't have exposed their children. In fact, it had taken them a long time to let them in, despite the protests of the younger ones. Seeing the twins playing in the water and only being able to watch had caused many protests and some tears.

When Elendnas and Goldmi had proposed it, at first, the other parents had taken it as some kind of joke. In the end, they had come more out of curiosity than because they were completely convinced. Now, they were even a little envious of their children. Next time, they would bring their bathing suits too.

Some quite aggressive small fish lived in the lake. They had spikes to defend themselves, which, although they didn't pose a great danger, could cause sharp pain. They didn't hesitate to pinch any foreign body that approached through the water, such as an elf. For this reason, no child bathed there, despite being close to the village. Their level was too low to defend themselves.

However, now those fish didn't dare to approach. Having regained half her original size, the enormous kraken watched over the children. She was even playing with them. There was also a certain fairy who was hovering around curiously.

"Aunt Kraki! Pull me up!" an elf boy with light green hair begged.

They had heard the twins call her that, and she was now aunt Kraki to all the children. A tentacle wrapped around his waist and lifted him a couple of meters high. Then, she dropped him, amidst the boy's laughter.

Another tentacle moved quickly and surreptitiously in the water. It struck a unicorn fish, one of the few that had dared to approach despite the fearsome presence of the enormous aquatic predator. It was pushed back in the opposite direction, and its spike not even tickled the level 100 kraken.

Two siblings, a boy and a girl, were crying on the shore. Their parents didn't want to let them in, even though their wounds had healed. While playing, they had hit each other's heads hard. After losing consciousness, they had begun to sink.

Two tentacles had quickly pulled them out of the water and gently placed them on the shore, where they had been immediately healed. It had been nothing serious, but they could have drowned.

Their parents now only let them be on the shore. Partly, as punishment for being so careless. Partly, because the parents themselves were still scared. When they had seen them on the shore with their eyes closed, their world had fallen apart.

It should be said that the villagers had already seen the kraken before, but always small. Her current size had both impressed and intimidated them. It was one of the reasons they had been hesitant to let their children in.

However, the kraken's tenderness and care had gradually convinced them. Her quick reaction in pulling the children out of the water had won all their hearts.

When they later left, some children cried saying that they wanted to stay with aunt Kraki. The adults said goodbye to her, affectionately calling her little Kraki. It was what they had called her until now, and they weren't going to change it just because her tentacles now measured a few meters long.

Gjaki was in a bad mood, so she went to play with Little Ball. The enormous woodlouse curled up into a ball and let the vampiress roll it around, until she stopped and took something out of her inventory.

Immediately, the insect regained its original shape, and devoured the enormous blue leaf that the vampiress had offered. It was its favorite food.

"Are you okay?" Diknsa asked her.

She had approached her daughter from behind, put the hands on her waist, pulled her close, and kissed her on the head.

"I had to bite her to hide it. She was terrified," Gjaki explained, depressed.

"I see. You still have a big heart. Like when you sacrificed your strength to save us all. I'm glad you haven't changed, I'm very proud of you. Be patient. Soon, you'll be able to free her," her adoptive mother consoled her.

"I know, mom... Aaaaargh! You, too, be patient! Don't eat my hair!" Gjaki suddenly shouted at Little Ball.

"Ha, ha, ha!"

"Mom! Don't laugh! You! Let go of my hair!"

"Ha, ha, ha!"

Eldi sighed, somewhat saddened. It's not that he didn't expect it, but confirming it was still depressing. They were setting a trap for him.

The kingdom had made no objection to receiving him. Not only that, but they had insisted on throwing a big welcome party. A great farce.

"Dad, can we really go?" Liodon asked. His eyes seemed to shine with excitement.

"Haven't I already said it? The Old dragoness has invited us. It seems that, in the past, it was common for the dragons' friends to attend the birth, but it hadn't happen for a long time. She insisted that we bring the close family," Eldi confirmed for the third time.

"I rather think that they have been isolated for too much time, and they didn't have many friends," Lidia interjected.

"Are you sure it's okay for me to go?" Mideltya asked hesitantly.

"Of course, you're part of the family," Eldi said almost without thinking.

Both she and Ted blushed, something the battle mage didn't notice. He was focused on reviewing reports and letters from rebels and nobles. He felt obliged to do it, to do it personally.

Lidia did notice. Rather, she looked at them with a smile on her lips, although she didn't say anything.

Liodon also noticed. There was some envy, sadness and frustration in his eyes. Nonetheless, he didn't let his feelings show, or so he thought. It wasn't so easy to hide anything from his twin sister.