“Hmm.”
It was another typical day of sitting at my window side desk with my head resting sideways on my crossed arms. Looking out to the sky and watching the clouds lazily roll by, a simple question came to mind. Was there anything as fluffy as a cloud?
“There really isn’t anything fluffier, is there?”
The typical life of the Viyorian kingdom’s second princess, free from responsibilities and worries. Normally, such a person would be married off to a neighboring nation to ensure peace. Being an exception to that rule, I merely spent the long days reading books and learning what I wanted.
Why was I allowed such free roam you might ask? To answer that, you would have to first understand my elder sister, Panne.
“A smile that could calm a baby’s cries, and a countenance like a tranquil lake!”
I assure you, those were the exact words that a would-be suitor uttered to compliment my sister at one of the royal galas. He even got down on his knees and held my sister’s hand looking upwards to her while saying such.
It hurt to hear such blatant flattery, but he wasn’t exactly wrong. Panne could have popped into a storybook and no one would doubt her to be the lovely damsel in distress. The effect was somewhat ruined when she whispered to me when they weren’t looking.
“Even if they’re just the sons of rich merchants, I wish they would have more tact in their compliments. None of them have a particularly handsome or striking face either.”
“Ah…how long are you going to be like this Panne! If you keep this up, you’re going to end up single when they finally crown you queen.”
“That’s a perfectly satisfactory outcome you know. All the men here are idiots, going on and on about how their father owns land here and there. The only thing they’re thinking of is how they can bed me anyway.”
Groaning, I turned away from my sister kneading my temples with one hand. Whenever it came to the topic of marriage, it was never a question of love, but what benefits would it bring to the country.
What she said pained my heart even more by the fact that she kept up her unwavering smile throughout. Rather than a change of face, Panne had changes of smiles. Only a few people were able to discern her change in expressions, me being one of them. But even so, it took a couple moments to realize she had worn a smile for teasing.
“Panne!”
She flashed a knowing smile back at the exasperated look directed towards her. Even though she joked often about it, Panne’s marriage would have huge consequences for our kingdom. As a result it was always a matter of who was most advantageous to marry.
Although I wish I could, I can’t fault her way of thinking. Our father’s health had been on the decline in recent months and the pressure for her to take the throne had steadily been increasing.
No son had been born into the family, hence the authority to rule would pass from our father down to her. With this in mind, she was bombarded with countless marriage proposals and had been pressured by other countries even as a young child.
Yet she showed no signs of having such a troublesome burden. Never showing a frown, she happily smiled even as my sister and I wandered around the castle bothering servants when we were little.
It wasn’t until when I was much older that I discovered the truth behind my sister’s smile. Father had taught her just one rule to follow.
“Smile, so that your enemies never know what you are thinking.”
That was how my sister had coped early on with bothersome suitors, refusing them with a cold smile. Give a wave farewell, and resume her duties. There was no one that she could confide her troubles in, not to the servants nor to her parents.
When I was born though, apparently the change in Panne’s demeanor was remarkable. Rather than make everyone present uncomfortable, she was now an extremely gentle and warm person who was easy to talk to. Surprisingly, it seems that Panne had carried me more as a baby than even my nursemaid or mother.
She admitted later that she poured out all of her troubles to me when no one else was around. For my part though, I was reasonably well behaved for a baby listening to the woes of my older sister.
It’s probably because I didn’t understand anything that she said and simply liked her voice and smile, though I won’t ever tell her that.
When Myles, our little sister was born, Panne was ecstatic, bouncing her on one knee while sitting bedside. As was typical of me, I was just lying down on the large bed, limbs outstretched.
“Isn’t she just adorable Miya!”
“Yeah!”
That was my naive reply before the realization seeped in that she would spend more time with Myles now.
To sum it up, my sister had a large amount of affection for Myles and I. So much that she took care of political issues so that the two of us would never be troubled by matters of the state, leading to the responsibility free life that I now lead.
That said, she could dote extremely well on my sister and I with no end to her love for us. In particular, Panne had no restraints when it came to hugging Myles, who still hadn’t learned the artful way to escape her clutches like I had.
On the other hand, her experience with love different than that of familial love was like watching a newborn doe taking its first steps.
Of all the people she could fall head over heels for, it was a person in the [Scarves Guild].
The [Scarves Guild] was an agency of investigative and combat experts. In the aftermath of the Demon World gate sealing, conflicts erupted all over the [Southern Union] between member nations now that the threat of demonic invasion was at an end. Quickly gaining renown for mediation between these states, they became known as Scarves for the uncommon articles of clothing they wore in the otherwise warm south.
It wasn’t mediation that made them known all over the Union however. During one such negotiation between North and South Claios, major nations in the Union, it was discovered that the crown princess of South Claios had gone missing when they discovered her carriage ditched alongside the road across the northern border. While angry accusations were exchanged between north and south, the Scarves went ahead in investigating the disappearance, going as far as to mount an assault on a fortress while royal examiners were still analyzing the crime scene.
With only a band of 3 combatants, they were able to successfully rescue the crown princess and apprehend the culprit, a noble of a neighboring state who plotted to have North and South Claios at war. By supplying both sides, he stood to profit from the conflict and weaken both nations at the same time. Tales soon spread of the group that rescued the princess while fighting off waves of mercenaries in their escape.
As the story became exaggerated to such lengths that it’s said that the 3 Scarves engaged over 100 men in combat, the [Scarves Guild] was founded in South Claios and gradually branched out, taking on trainees and expanding their area of operations, from simple requests from citizens to escorting important political figures.
When someone inquired whether 3 Scarves could actually defeat 100 men, they simply replied,”It depends.”
It was one such person that Panne became love struck for. Having taken on a request from the guild, he was a newly assigned member to the existing branch in our country.
What I can’t figure though, is why such a high ranking scarf was assigned here. The original Scarves had arbitrary colorings, but this had since changed so that color would reflect rank in the organization. Wearing a scarf colored a dark blue that reminded me of the the sky right before the stars appeared; this was a senior member of the guild.
Of course my sister didn’t pay that any mind, her normally logical thought processes seeming to go on break whenever she saw him. Always in an excited state after talking with him, Panne became very prone to giving my sister and I more money to spend as a result.
Well, I’m not going to complain.
Every once in a while there’ll be an odd slip in her behavior, a curious laugh here and there. I can only imagine she’s spending all her time fantasizing now.
With an increase in my disposable income, I went ahead and started spending it all on new books.
There’s alot of ways to get new books besides just buying them though. Exchanging homemade cookies for copies of newly published art treatises with the castle wizard was one of the more curious transactions.
I heard that they later found the wizard trying to formulate a high quality antidote in the laboratory. It was kind of puzzling since there aren’t many poisons in the kingdom of Viyor.
At any rate, there were only 3 particularly interesting books in everything that had been acquired. A very thick and not so light volume on identifying monsters; a present from the senior scarf Panne dearly loved. Introducing himself by the name of Cyrus Lambell, he had just left father’s bedroom, doubtless expressing concern for his majesty’s condition.
It worried me somewhat that even though he was a high ranking senior of the guild, he had been able to so easily obtain an audience with the king. On the other hand though, my father wasn’t the kind of person who would refuse a like minded individual concerned for the people’s well-being.
By coincidence, I had been passing by right when he was closing the door to the bedroom. Giving a short greeting, I had planned to walk by and continue back to my room,but he stopped me to reveal he had prepared a present for me; the monster book.
I couldn’t help, but feel a little mystified by this newcomer that Panne had her eyes set on…
Doubts aside from how her relationship would pan out, Cyrus explained that the book was a collaborative effort on the part of the guild. Enchantments were woven into the pages so that whenever someone wrote in a book, it would be written into all others. A single crystal of azure was embedded into the book’s spine to supply the needed energy for the enchantments to work.
If what he said was true, he had given me an unbelievable gift. Azure was even more valuable than pure gold, its uses in arcane experimentation making it hugely demanded.
“Hey, is it really okay for you to give me this?”
“Are you saying that you want to return the book to me then?”
“Muu…”
I gripped the book close to my chest turning away from him. Then Cyrus started patting my head.
“What do you think you’re doing!”
Anyone should be angry if they suddenly had their head patted randomly, right?
“Oh whoops, sorry, you really reminded me of my little sister back home. She always acts like she doesn’t like the gifts I bring home, but she’s kept every single one.”
“Well I’m not your little sister.”
Wearing a sheepish grin and scratching the back of his head, he just apologizes and walks away giving me no chance to try and hand the book back. Are the Scarves really such carefree people, touching the heads of princesses?
He did ask that I put in a good word with my sister though. Trying to bribe me with expensive gifts? That’ll work.
The second book was the art treatises I received from the castle wizard. When I say arts though, I don’t mean those silly painter people that the nobility pay for works of debatable quality. Though there are some remarkable pieces I have seen around the castle. Mostly of me and Myles. It doesn’t take much imagination to guess the painter.
Back on topic though, the treatises were about new methods to perform basic [Azure Arts], that being, works of magic that are fueled by azure. Azure could easily be found in the air, although the density of it was much higher in areas untouched by people. By gathering and condensing these particles, it then became possible to cast azure arts. If you had a piece of crystallized azure though, you could use that in place of the gathering time.
The human body also coursed with the power of azure, but it was dangerous to tap into that, the consequences being endangerment of one’s life.
Disappointingly though, none of the new methods worked for me. The problem was that my affinity with azure was so bad that I couldn’t even gather enough for a simple art like a flame on my fingertip to light up a room. It’s like changing out the arrowhead you use when you have a broken string on a bow.
“Oh…but if I used the crystal in the book Cyrus gave me…”
But that’s something that I can’t do. First of all, the crystal was an absolute gem and extremely valuable. Secondly, the book had been a gift, and using it for such a purpose just didn’t sit well with my conscience.
And thirdly.
“…I have no idea how to get the azure crystal out of this book’s spine.”
Thus ended my plan to try and use a crystal to cast an art.
The final of the three books was a guide on how to sew plushies. In preparation, I had already gathered fabric, thread and most importantly, stuffing. Sitting down at my desk with materials nearby, needle in hand, and book in my lap, I was determined to create something by the end of the day.
In almost no time at all, my room was littered with my attempts to make a plush of a cloud. Which sounds easy right?
Well you’re wrong.
“ARRGH.”
Maybe I should have worn gloves for this, the ends of my fingers are hurting from all the times I accidentally prick myself with the needle. How could something so shapeless possibly require so much work to get the right shape? Everything I’ve made kind of just look like fabric wrapped cotton balls. It befuddles the mind.
Shifting away from the desk, I lead myself over to the bed then flopped over onto it rolling on my side until I reach the middle with my face down in a pillow.
“Panne can just patch up my fingers properly tomorrow. Better not tell her that monster book is a gift from Mr. Lampbell though.”
Well, that’s what I said and heard in my mind. But since I was speaking into a pillow it came out quite differently.
“Mrmph mrpph mmmrrrmh mmph mrpp mmmh.”
I woke up in the morning and found myself still sprawled in my bed. Sometime in the night, I had turned myself over away from my face down position. Probably so that I could breathe easier.
Staring up at the circular patterns of my room’s ceiling, I started to take stock of the new morning, blinking my eyes to get rid of the blurriness from waking up.
“Comfortable bed and lazy clothes, check.”
Craning my neck to look over at my desk, I imagined the look on a maid’s face if they saw me in my current state of disheveled clothes and hair.
“Injured fingers from trying to make a plushie…”
“Owww….check…”
Panne probably has some kind of ointment back from the days when Myles and I were getting into all kind of scrapes.
Peeking beyond my desk, I look out the window to take a glimpse of the morning sky.
“A bright dawn and…”
“Ah. Is that a green sunrise?”
…
Just what the heck happened while I was asleep?
Recastdev 