After walking again trough endless corridors Gracia saw a bright light at was seemed to be the end of the tunnel. She stooped for a moment for the light in front of her was so bright it blinded her and it took her eyes a moment to get used to it. Then she saw what Lina had called 'the gardens'.
Everywhere was grass, trees and further back she saw fields. It was beautiful. Gourry indicated her to follow him and they walked down a small path between the trees. She looked at her surroundings, she still couldn't believe what she was seeing. There were people working here and there, picking fruits or planting seeds. There were even some insects. This is how she had imagined the world before the second Mazoku War and she couldn't believe that it could still exist. She just wished Amelia could be here with her.
After walking around through the garden with the newcomer Gourry finally found who he had been looking for.
"Alas!" he called the blond-brown haired woman kneeling on the ground with the back to him.
Gracia saw a long-haired woman turned around to face them, she looked surprised at Gracia for a moment but when she saw Gourry a warm smile appeared on her face. The blond woman stood up and dusted the dirt of her clothes.
"Hello Gourry! Who is your beautiful friend? Your new girlfriend?" asked the woman.
Gracia felt herself blushing and looked down. Gourry's cheeks had turned red too.
"Ah, no she is not my ... girlfriend." said Gourry still blushing and not looking at Gracia, "This is Gracia, Ayla asked me to show her around, she is new here and I thought that you maybe could explain her how this works. "He put a hand behind his head, "I know you explained it the other day, but I've forgotten..."
"Sure thing." said Alas smiling at them, she stretched her hand out to greet Gracia, "Welcome, I'm Alas."
Gracia looked at the woman in front of her and greeted her. Suddenly she remembered Ayla having mentioned her name and she twitched back. Alas looked at her surprised.
"You... You're the... an Ancient Do... Dra... Ancient Dragon!" Gracia finally managed to say and stared at the woman in front of her. Gracia looked at her, Alas' long blond brown hair was tied in a ponytail, but some strands fell down in her face, when Alas moved. The dragon had two marks on each cheek and her eyes were the same color as her hair. She was as tall as Gourry.
"Yes, I'm an Ancient Dragon, I'm surprised you noticed." said Alas smiling friendly at her.
"Well, actually Ayla told me about you." said Gracia a little embarrassed about having jerked back.
Alas laughed, "I should have known, after Gourry saying that Ayla asked him to show you around. Anyway if I understood right you want to know how this..." Alas moved her hand motioning the gardens, "...works, ne?"
Gracia nodded.
"Well than I should probably introduce you to Aishan." Alas turned around and shouted: "Aishan!"
Gracia saw a brown haired woman hanging head down on a tree a little farther behind, she was holding herself up there with her legs and waved at Alas. The dragon waved back and indicated Gourry and Gracia to follow her. In the meantime the brown haired woman had jumped of the tree and was waiting for them on the ground. She was wearing shorts and a red shirt and her short hair was fuzzed.
"Hi!" she said.
"Aishan, this is Gracia, she's new here. Gracia, this is Aishan, she administrates the gardens with me." said Alas.
"Nice to meet you." they said in unison. They had to laugh at that.
"Gourry why don't you look for Yalemar, please? He should be helping at the fields, back there. I don't want to loose sight of him, he sometimes likes to annoy the others at their work." said Alas to Gourry as she pointed toward a place behind the trees.
"Sure. You can wait here, yes?." Gourry asked Gracia who nodded, then he walked away.
"Well, I'm sure you wonder who built this." said Aishan
"Actually no, Gourry told me that his father designed this place." replied Gracia as she looked after Gourry.
"Yes, Mr. Gabriev is a real genius for architecture. You see, the whole city is lighted with light spells, but the gardens need more powerful light spells since the plants need a lot of light." Aishan told Gracia and sat down on the ground with the other two women. " We keep the gardens lighted all day and all night except for special nocturnal plants, some medicinal herbs are that way, you know, like..."
"So all the magic students and users have to make a monthly contribution, to keep the system working smoothly", completed Alas seeing her friend was getting distracted.
"But how do you get enough water for all this? I mean there must be over one hundred trees here, not counting the fields over there." said Gracia pointing towards the fields where about ten people were planting seeds.
"Before Kayless became the headquarters of the resistance this place was an old temple or something like that. Underneath this catacombs flows an underground river, which we can show you if you want." said Alas.
"Are you saying there is another level under us?" Gracia looked stunned.
"No, no." Alas laughed, " Part of the river flows under us, but before it gets there it flows over a waterfall which is over there. Can you see it?" Aishan indicated Gracia to past the trees and the field.
Gracia saw it above the tree tops, a small part of the waterfall, but that was all.
"I'm impressed, this place is incredible."
"Yes, it certainly is.", Aishan reached behind herself into a basket and gave Gracia an fruit she had never seen, "Here, try it out."
Gracia took it in her hands, "What is it?"
"Try first." Alas smiled.
She bit on the fruit, a sweat taste yet something bitter, but is was fabulous. Aishan and Alas saw that she liked it.
"It is a mix between an apple and a cherry. We invented it as there was a great famine in Rigan and our supplies were less than now. You have to know that not only Kayless is supplied with all you see here, but we also supply the surrounding villages and towns."
Gracia looked at both women impressed as Gourry came back with a shoulder length dark green-haired boy with ice blue eyes, he must be around six or seven. The boy looked at Gracia, his eyes seemed cold to her, then the boy ran into Alas arms. Alas fuzzed his hair, while Gourry sat next to Gracia.
"Gracia this is my son Yalemar." she looked at the boy who was sitting in her lap. "This young lady there is Gracia. Why don't you say hello to her? Hugh?"
The boy gave Gracia the hand and smiled at her, then he made some strange moves with his hand, which she didn't understand.
"He said that you're a very beautiful young woman and that it is nice to meet you." Alas said to Gracia.
Gracia looked questioning at the Ancient Dragon.
"Yalemar doesn't talk. He uses hand signals to communicate with others." explained Aishan.
"Oh... " Gracia made a pause, "I don't understand. Ayla said that you were the last Ancient Dragon, but if he's your son then..."
"He is actually my foster son, I found him ten years ago in one of the cities I was traveling through." said Alas as the boy stood up and climbed on the tree.
"So he's not a dragon?"
"Oh yes he is. He grows too slow for a human. His age in human years is around 20, but for his dragon race he's just 8. Luna said to me that he's a Wind Dragon, but I haven't been able to confirm it myself yet, since he has never changed into his true dragon form."
"I see." said Gracia and looked up to the tree where Yalemar was eating an apple he had picked up.
"How long will you stay in Kayless?" asked Aishan curiously.
"Well, it depends on when my sister returns..." Gracia looked down, pain filled her features as she remembered that she hadn't been able to protect Amelia. It was strange, not having Amelia around, Amelia had been her anchor for the last 12 years. After their parent's death Gracia had had to hold on to her sanity and had devoted herself to her sister. She could not afford to be insane, the war was not kind on little children.
"Gourry?" Gracia heard a childish voice behind her, she turned around to see who it was.
It was girl from the cafeteria who had called Ayla away, Gracia looked at her long light-brown hair tied up in a pigtail.
"Uhm, yes? What is it Edele?" the swordsman asked the girl.
"Luna wants to talk to that woman." said the girl and pointed at Gracia.
"Edele, be a little more nice to Gracia." said Aishan to the girl.
"I am being nice mother." said the girl in a cold voice.
Aishan sighed. There was no use trying to change her daughter's behavior.
"Yalemar. Come play?" Edele asked the boy ignoring the others.
Yalemar smiled and jumped down and walked away with Edele.
"Well,... You two should be going. You shouldn't make Luna wait." said Alas smiling.