"Time to draw numbers!" Eliza shouted as we all stood in front of one of my most outstanding achievements to date that I had built on my island. The Zodia.
"What? Why are we drawing numbers?" Draconia asked and then narrowed her eyes at Eliza. "And since when did you become the boss of us?"
I was about to say something, but Eliza just turned her nose up at Draconia. "The title of goddess means nothing here, so don't start yipping at me. I don't see you making any plans to help make things easier for Galio or putting in any useful or even helpful suggestions. Now, pick a piece of paper out of this box, or I will make sure you get stuck in a boring group!"
"Why, you little!" Draconia growled and advanced on Eliza, but Tallia came up behind her, grabbed her by one of her ears, and dragged her the rest of the way.
"If you start causing problems, I will make sure that you are in my group. If you are and you make it so I can't enjoy this, I will mean sure that you don't either," Tallia said in an icy voice that made me flinch jokingly.
"Ow! Fine! Stop treating me like a little girl!" Draconia complained, and Nemoria sighed with a warm smile that made her face look beautiful.
"You girls never change, but that is nice to see," she said and then walked up to Eliza, putting a hand on her cheek. "You, on the other hand. You aren't from Prime, are you?"
"Really?" I asked, speaking up for the first time in a bit. It had been nice to just listen to them all, but I would have thought that everyone that could be in this world would have to be from there since Kadeon was the one that shaped everyone.
"No, and I would know. Before you, Kadeon kept track of everyone, and that was part of my job," Nemoria said, and I nodded, then looked at Eliza, who looked back at me with a smile.
"Where would I come from?" She asked, and I frowned and then walked over to put a hand on the side of her face as Nemoria dropped hers and stepped back.
I hadn't thought about it, but it was true. This was the first time that I had ever met Eliza before, and it was only in this world. How was it possible that I had never seen her before?
"Is there something wrong?" Eliza asked, a look of worry starting to creep on her face, but I shook my head with a frown.
I had never really thought about this, but I really had no recollection of ever meeting her. Eliza was one of the first women that I had connected with, and that did make the meeting suspicious. Still, there was nothing inside of her that I could sense that seemed wrong or out of place.
"I wouldn't say that something is wrong, but it is mighty strange that I haven't even met you before I arrived in this world," I said, but as I felt around, there was nothing out of the ordinary about her. "Yet, I can't seem to find anything wrong. There is no shadow in you or anything that I can see that might seem out of place, so I am not sure what that means."
"Oh. Well, I guess I am just special, but you already knew that, right," Eliza smiled, and I kissed her as I took a number from her box.
I looked down and opened the folded paper to see the number three. Since there were so many of us, Eliza suggested that we break off into four groups. This way, we could each look for gifts for the elders and not have a herd of people in one spot.
After, I stepped back from her and then walked over to Draconia who was sulking as the rest of the women lined up to get numbers. The outside of Zodia Mall was illuminated with lights, and it felt as if I had stepped into a different world. I never knew what it was like to be in a place that held so much life, and it felt nice.
"Hey, dragon-lady," I said, and Draconia looked up, her eyes narrowing as she glowered at me.
"What do you want? I am busy," She growled, and I smiled.
"I just wanted to make sure that you were okay," I said, and she looked away.
"I'm fine. I just don't understand why that weak human thinks she can order me around! Even Tallia stands up for her!" Draconia growled, and I pulled her into a huge, stroking her black hair as she still growled into my chest.
"That is because Eliza is a lot stronger than she looks. That and Tallia and her spend a lot of time working together, so it is only natural that she takes a liking to her," I said, and Draconia's growls subsided as she gave into me and relaxed into my chest.
"I guess so, but she better not think she can boss me around," Draconia said, and I chuckled.
"I don't think she will. Now, what number did you get?" I asked, and Draconia opened her hand to show me the little ball of paper.
"I got number four," She said, and I smiled.
"Well, that means we are in different groups, unfortunately, but once we are done, I promise that we can ride some rides, okay? I asked, and Draconia perked up.
"Really? That would be so cool! I mean... Very well," She said, and I nodded.
I kissed her forehead and let her go as Titania walked over to me. She was still looking ravishing, and I knew that she was coming over to ask what group I was in, but I was already ahead of her. I asked Eliza to rig it so Titania got the same number as me since this was supposed to be our date after all.
What group did you end up in?" My Fae Goddess asked, and I grinned
"Group three," I said, and Titania smiled back at me.
"That's my group too. Ready to go?" She asked, and I nodded.
"We just have to wait for one more. I think that Nemoria will be coming with us if you don't mind," I said, and Titania nodded.
"I would like to talk with her, so I don't mind at all. I know that I will have you at the end of the night. Speaking of night, what do you plan to do about this sky?" She asked, and I shrugged.
"Nothing. The seal will take about 24 hours, but after that, I will have control of most things in the realm. It will be nothing like my control over my Astral Island was, but I will be able to control the weather and other minor things," I laughed, and Titania rolled her eyes. "It has been a while since we walked together in this place, hasn't it?"
"Too long, but I wish I could remember the place that we were all from. You called it Prime, but as hard as I try, I can remember nothing from that time," Titania said as Nemoria walked over to us.
"Prime was once a world ruled and controlled under an iron fist that prevented people from personal expression and denied them all privacy. That was before Galio's lifeless body smashed into the side of a mountain," Nemoria said fondly as she joined the two of us.
There were still a few people getting numbers, so there was no rush to get going, even though it was almost midnight now. Eliza was the only one besides Lexi and Karine that were not divine, but I had given them all a boost of energy that would last until tomorrow night.
"Really? Galio just crashed into the planet from space? Where did he come from?" Titania asked, curious, and Nemoria looked at me for a moment before speaking.
"He never told anyone about his past or how he even arrived, but most people didn't care," Nemoria said and then gave me a warm smile.
"Didn't care?" Titania asked, and Nemoria nodded.
"It took only a single day, and everything that we had ever known started to change. In a week, the world became a different place filled with color, laughter, and so much more," Nemoria said with a far-off look, and I chuckled.
"You make it sound so much easier than any of it was," I said as I looked over to see Karine, who was last to pick a number. As soon as she had it, Eliza started to get everyone's attention.
"Hey, Hey! Everyone has a number, so get in your groups! Group one will start at the northern entrance, and group four will start at the south entrance. In group two, you will follow group one, and in group three, you will follow group four. Now move it!" Eliza said with a clap, and everyone started to move.
"Let's go and find the best gifts for the High Elf elders," I said, and Titania and Nemoria smiled, each taking my hand as we made our way to the northern entrance.