9. Time for goodbyes

In the evening Waldina was deep in her thoughts as she kept her eyes on Kiandra, who was flying around the campfire. Waldina sighed. At this rate she could reach Vermell tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. In the upcoming fight, she really didn’t need the extra worry that would come from worrying over protecting the fairy. It was time to part ways.

“Listen, Kiandra,” the words flowed painfully cold and distant from her mouth, “I already know the basics of water magic. So perhaps it’s time to free you from the grimoire and me.”

Kiandra locked eyes with Waldina, unbelieving. Her face showed a range of emotions, mostly that of worry and fear. “What do you mean? You barely know the basics, not to even mention intermediate level spells.”

“Yep. And that’s enough for me. I’m a ninja, not a mage,” Waldina let out a dry laugh and forced her eyes to focus somewhere else than the sad blue fairy. “The upcoming fights are sure to take up all my attention. At this level I’m just not strong enough to protect you nor anyone else, barely myself.”

“But you will keep getting better in the future,” Kiandra objected with a grimace.

“Yes. I will. But as you said, that’s in the future, not now,” Waldina purposely stayed long in the last words, and glanced meaningfully at Kiandra.

Kiandra didn’t like the ninja’s attitude. She hadn’t been enjoying Waldina’s company for long, yet she didn’t want to face the world without this purple haired ninja, who’d given her a home, a place to belong. Even though Waldina had mentioned in the beginning that they wouldn’t stay together for long, every moment Kiandra wished she could just stay here forever. She wanted to change the ninja’s mind and stick together.

“I’ll stay hidden during the fight,” Kiandra gulped uneasily, “as you face Vermell.”

“What about after that? I told you about my situation; it’s highly possible I’ll go home after the fight. What will you do then?” Waldina’s cold words slashed through the warm air. She wanted to give Kiandra a chance to leave before it was too late. She didn’t want to involve outsiders in her problems. Most importantly, she didn’t want to get any more attached to the sweet fairy than she already was.

“But…”

“No buts. Just tell me how I can free you from the book. Then you can get back to your home village,” Waldina’s words became slightly softer at the end of her words. She was still unable to look Kiandra in the eyes. She wasn’t necessarily looking for traveling alone again, yet she knew this was for the best. Better now than later. The longer they stayed together, it would become more difficult to learn to travel alone. Let alone return home.

“Fine,” Kiandra gave up with a sad face. Step by step she guided Waldina through the spell that could free her from the grimoire. A spell that would grant her freedom. She could do whatever she wanted. And that was what she was planning to do.

Waldina cast the spell without any hesitation. The spell enveloped both the grimoire and Kiandra in shiny blue light. It was unbelievably luminous and the ninja had to focus super hard to be able to see what was happening inside the light.

Between Kiandra and the grimoire there were dark shackles that tied the small fairy to the grimoire. The light wrapped around the shackles and broke them piece by piece. After the last piece of the shackles broke, the grimoire dropped down to the ground, lifeless. It was as if the book had suddenly become a completely normal book without any powers, and like it had been alive before.

Kiandra on the other hand was flying above the campfire, like she was testing her newly earned freedom. Her wings now radiated a deeper blue color and she was surrounded with blue light clouds. It was enchanting to look at and told Waldina everything she needed to know: Kiandra was now free. The thought warmed her heart, although she felt a slight sting of loneliness in her heart. But it was for the best.

“I guess it worked?” Waldina asked for assurance, though she was quite sure of the answer already. The view in front of her had been enough of an answer.

“Yup,” Kiandra nodded. Although she was reluctant to let go of the spell that had bound her to Waldina, she couldn’t help but enjoy this freedom. It was as if she’d been reborn completely. She had been the captive of the grimoire for as long as she could remember. It had limited her knowledge of the vast world around. From time to time, someone new would buy the grimoire and Kiandra had taught them everything she knew about water magic, just to end back in her cage that was the grimoire. Pure freedom was… unbelievable. She could fly to the ends of the world if she so desired. Yet the ninja in front of her was everything she needed.

“Thanks,” Kiandra voiced as she couldn’t come up with anything else to say. She was grateful to Waldina, yet everything had happened way too fast.

“Haha, sure,” Waldina nodded dismissively, “I’ll continue my journey to Vermell tomorrow morning. If you wish, you can stay the night with me.”

“Really?” Kiandra’s eyes twinkled with happy excitement. The blue light cloud that now enveloped her twinkled in sync with her eyes.

“Sure. It’s not nice to begin your journey in the middle of the night,” Waldina smiled shortly.

So the duo spent the rest of the evening chatting. Kiandra taught Waldina a couple of new water spells.

The next morning Waldina said her goodbyes to Kiandra and headed towards Vermell. She’d have to face countless smaller wolves before Vermell so she didn’t want to delay her journey any longer. The further she got today, the better.