The fountain continuously spewed crystal-clear water out of its top, creating a tiny rainbow in its way. Lisa stared at the scene with eyes twinkling like the water droplets in the air. She nibbled on the rest of her ice cream cone while sitting on the edge of the water fountain.
After the rainbow faded, Lisa let her eyes roam the plaza she was in. Filled with various cafes and other stores of great variety, it made for a great hotspot of activity, as all kinds of people strolled through here. She fell in love with this place as soon as she arrived here. Not to mention the beautifully engraved fountain depicting knights triumphing over evil, the myriad of people coming and going were enough to entertain her for hours upon hours.
For example, a duo of knights, dressed in pure white light armor, helping out a little lost child. It was adorable to watch them try to pacify the crying kid. That black-haired knight seemed to have an exceptionally hard time, unlike his colleague. There also was a very tall couple, with their height well exceeding two meters, trying to enter a shop with an unsuitable entrance. Eventually, the owner came out apologizing on repeat before they bought the items they wanted from outside the store. Lisa felt a bit bad for chuckling at the sight.
Or there also was that sweet and cute girl with those lovely honey eyes roaming around, munching on her ice. Lisa couldn't help but follow the girl with her eyes before their gazes met. While Lisa smiled sweetly, different from her usual small one, the girl stood dazed for a second. Then, becoming red in the next second again, she turned and walked into one of the stores.
Leah only chuckled but didn't further bother with it. Finished with her own ice, she stood up. She is coming back later this evening to sit in one of these cafes but for now, there is something to do.
The officer knight, Cale, wiped some sweat off his forehead and sighed. He really wasn't good with children unlike his partner Yan. Fortunately, the parents finally showed up to get their lost child. Of course, they couldn't just let them go like that as Yan was currently admonishing them. As Cale was about to stop his partner's rant, so they can continue their patrol, a mellifluous voice called out to him.
“Ehm, mister knight, I am sorry to interrupt but could I occupy a minute of yours.”
Cale turned and came face to with a gentle star shining on a clear night. Unlike her highness who was like a glaring sun almost blinding, the girl before him was like a single star sitting beside the moon. It might be overshadowed by the brilliance of the moon but never forgotten. Especially those blue eyes invoking a feeling he couldn't understand but was lost within nonetheless. With a cough, Cale regained his composure befitting a knight quite fast.
“Of course, Miss. What is the matter?” Cale said with a serious face.
“I need some directions,” Lisa said with a small smile, “How do I get to Ibrahim's Tower? I only recently moved here, so I don't know most of this city.”
“Ah, the old mage's tower,” Cale put a hand on his chin and contemplated. A few seconds later, he answered while pointing at one of the four streets, “If you walk down there for about five minutes you come upon a train station. Then take the line 2 train there to the Jewel Boulevard Station. You can reach the tower within ten to twenty minutes of walking from there. Simply walk in direction of the tower from there, Miss.”
“Ah, I see,” Lisa said with a small bow of her head after she memorized his instructions, “Thank you for your trouble, Mister Knight.”
“No need to, miss. This is the responsibility of us Sacred Knights, it is important to help civilians,” Cale put a fist under a sun-like emblem engraved on his left chest-plate as he said heroically, “And you can call me Cale. If there is ever any need for help in the future you can come to me or my colleagues. We are always patrolling through these streets, after all.”
“Then don't mind me bothering you if there is something, Mister Knight,” Lisa responded with a small smile while Cale's lips twitched just the smallest amount.
“Come on, lecher, hurry up we've got a case,” a voice all of the sudden called out to Cale from behind. The other knight had finished talking with the family and was now walking up to them while keeping a hand on his ear. With a mix of impatience and annoyance, he said, “There's someone important gone, so we gotta go and meet up with the others. Seems to be a pretty big deal.”
“If- argh!” Cale was about to speak to Lisa again when his colleague pulled at his collar. “No time for your romances,” the knight said while dragging Cale away. While walking he turned to Lisa briefly and said, “You can find this idiot for the next few days here in the area, if you want missy.”
“Hey- wai...argh!”
“Quiet.” The knight didn't bother with Cale's protest and dragged him along. Cale could only stare wrily at Lisa, who was waving goodbye with amusement.
Once they disappeared along a street, Lisa also went off into the direction Cale had mentioned. Walking down the busy street while not thinking of anything particular, she reached the train station quite fast.
The station itself was just a small platform with a few metal benches placed on them. After looking at the timetable hung on a wooden board, she sat down on one of the benches not occupied by a couple. It seems not even in an alternate world, she could escape the boring wait for the train.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
While waiting for the train, a problem came up in her mind. Does she have to pay for a fare? She couldn't see anything to buy a ticket or so around here. Maybe she has to pay for the distance when she enters the train? Just to be safe she should ask.
Turning to her side, Lisa was about to speak to the other person on the bench when her words got stuck. Her eyes widened seeing an all too familiar face. The woman beside her lifted her gloved hand and tucked a few strands of black hair behind her ear. The dangling ring on her ear swayed as the woman's purple eyes shifted their attention from the book in her hand to the rude girl staring at her. Yet, the woman lost herself in the mellow blue as memories overcame her.
The two stared at each other for a minute, lost within memories when the woman reached out a hand to grab Lisa's chin. She curved her lips into a sweet smile, a smile holding hearts captive, a smile threatening to tear those hearts out to play with them. Yet, her eyes didn't share the same sentiment.
“Now, now, little girl,” the woman leaned in while keeping Lisa's chin captive and whispered in a low, velvet voice, “What is one like you doing here, so far away from home, hmm?”
“I don't know what you mean, ma'am,” Lisa calmed the turmoil in her heart and said evenly. She showed a small smile and hid her surprise at the women's face. With a soft and apologizing voice, Lisa continued, “I only wanted to ask something if I-”
Interrupted by the women closing her mouth forcefully, even Lisa couldn't help but let her eyes twitch with a bit of annoyance. Her smile widening, the woman was obviously pleased with getting a reaction out of Lisa.
“Call me Veronica, dear, and what I meant was-” Veronica brought her face closer and whispered like a lover expressing their fondness to their significant other, “what is a little princess doing here under the glare of that temperamental, insufferable, clammy midget, and even so far away from the confines of her home, hmm?”
The daylights shone on the train station as Lisa stared into Veronica's purple eyes after she finished speaking. A breeze slowly lifted the hair framing her confused eyes and mixed her blonde hair with the black hair of Veronica. Other passengers on the station glanced at the two of them but only chuckled as Veronica brought her face even closer, their noses brushing against each other.
“You have no idea what I just asked about, dear?” Veronica whispered as her lips became dangerously close. She loosened the grip on Lisa's chin and after the girl shook her head, let her chin go. Veronica stared a few seconds into the mellow blue of eyes of Lisa before backing off, leaving a soft rosy fragrance behind. “What is your name, girl?” She asked as she leaned back.
“Lisa”, Lisa replied as she brought a hand to her chin.
“Hmm, and your last name?”
“Fane,” Lisa began to stroke her chin after she answered. Although Veronica controlled her strength it still hurt a bit. The one responsible for it on the other end only lightly laughed, her eyes bending with amusement, as she saw the grievance in Lisa's mellow blue eyes. She reached out to cup Lisa's cheeks and began to knead them.
“I am sorry, I lost myself for a moment after I looked into your eyes. Apologies, my dear.” Veronica felt the soft skin beneath her fingers while she spoke in a half-whisper as if she was trying to coax a grumpy teen or an upset lover. Perhaps to Veronica, both applied here as her eyes melted seeing the slight pout on Lisa's face.
“It's fine. I felt similarly disturbed when I first looked into them through a mirror,” Lisa said softly if a bit disgruntled. It was too late for any pretense now anyway, so she didn't bother to hide it. She looked at Veronica and clenched her hand hard to soothe herself.
“Indeed, your eyes can have quite a particular effect on someone, yourself Included,” Veronica still had her hands on Lisa as she affirmed with a soft voice. As if not bothered by the implication of Lisa's earlier words she asked, “Now, tell me, what do you want to ask me, hmm?”
“I just wanted to ask if I had to buy a ticket for the train or something similar, nothing more…” Lisa's voice trailed off at the end because Veronica had taken her warm hands off her cheeks and began to laugh rather unrestrained. Her melodious laughter rang out causing Lisa's lips to twitch just a bit. Her calm facade long broken, Lisa turned away and pretended to not see her.
“hahaha, just because of that, I see, haha, all of this haha drama haha..haha….hahaaa” It took Veronica a few moments to calm herself. Once she stopped giggling, but still had a grin on her beautiful face, she said with mirth, “No, you don't have to, dear. Every train here in Rivanel is free for everyone to use. The only exception being the aristocrat's carriage upfront on every train.”
Veronica wanted to say more but she saw Lisa sulking and stopped. It was such a difference from when she looked so calm earlier, that Veronica really wanted to tease her a bit more to see how she would react. But, for now, she'll stop it and reserve that for later dates.
“Dear, I'm sorry, don't be mad. I shouldn't have laughed over something so silly,” Veronica put an arm around the pouting Lisa as she tried to soothe her.
“I'm not mad,” was the short reply.
“Yes, you are.”
“I'm no-”
Lisa's voice disappeared because Veronica leaned in and blew air into her ear. With a low, bewitching voice she whispered, “Yes, you are mad, darling and I'm very sorry, so forgive me, okay?”
Without waiting for a reply, Veronica pulled Lisa to stand. Right on time, a train rolled into the station. It looked very similar to the old locomotives Lisa saw in her old world, with the only difference being the missing chimney. Of course, the complete train was painted in white and red.
“Let's continue to talk on the train.” Not giving her a chance to protest, Veronica dragged Lisa into one of the train's wagons. After finding a spot for themselves, the duo sat down on the rather comfy seats, and as Veronica had said earlier, the two began to chat. Or rather, it was mostly Veronica telling Lisa about all kinds of gossip. Like the story of a little girl predicting the future in a rural village or the drama of a missing relative of a Queen.
As if the exchange earlier never happened, Veronica held Lisa's hand and spoke warmly to her. Lisa, on the other hand mostly listened in a daze, barely participating in the conversation. Veronica's actions and familiar face simply had rattled her too much.
At least, until Veronica began to talk about the stores she should visit someday, preferably with her company, of course. Lisa couldn't resist asking about shops selling quality art supplies. This, of course, provided someone something to pull her into actually talking rather than just passively listening.
The two talked in such a manner, with Veronica convincing Lisa to make a promise to paint a picture of her, effectively securing herself another meeting or date as she called it.
Their antics continued until the train was about to stop at the Jewel Boulevard Station. After a short goodbye, Lisa stood up to leave when Veronica pulled her back down again, right on her lap. Veronica embraced her and began to whisper in her ear again.
“Be careful of the Mirael Kingdom. It would be best to stay away from anyone coming from there If you value your freedom, my dear.” Leaving these words, Veronica pecked Lisa once on the cheek before pushing her off.