A frigid dawn greeted the city. Snow was still falling, as it had relentlessly for days at this point. It was odd, even for the winter season. She didn't remember it snowing this much in previous years, but then again, she’d never been in this area before, so maybe it was normal here for it to snow pretty much all of December. Ferain stood alone in Anita’s room, her hands stopped in place after she’d stuffed a few folded shirts into a bag. Her focus had temporarily departed from the act of packing and drifted towards the frosty, paned window that looked out at the driveway, and what lay beyond. Regi was outside, cleaning snow and chipping ice off of his car, and some person was shoveling the piles of freshly fallen powder out of the driveway to make it accessible.
She stood there, thinking back on the month she’d experienced since leaving Olirian, and only one thing came to mind as she stared out at the exterior of Anita’s home. She loved it here. It wasn’t perfect, and at times, she felt somewhat uncomfortable, thanks primarily due to the expensive nature of such a house. Still, with Anita and herself having the entire place practically to themselves, it proved to be a much needed break from really her entire life up to this point. The school year turned upside down, and before that wasn’t even worth mentioning anymore. As Guji would probably say, and has probably said once or twice in her presence, dwelling on the past was pointless. In fact, with New Years having come and gone, and with people making their resolutions for the year, Fera decided to do the same for a change.
This year, she wanted to finally move past the past, to leave her history behind her so she could better focus on the ever-brightening future that was laid out before her. It wouldn’t be easy, but she wanted to try. From this point on, she wanted to only look at the road ahead, and to hopefully take whatever punches are thrown her way better than she might have before. Though, if she was being honest, what she really hoped for was a lack of punches over a new ability to deal with them. It would definitely be preferable if life would give her just one year, at least, of no problems or challenges. An odd smile creased her lips at the thought of it as she gave a subtle shake of her head. The mere prospect of a peaceful life, it was sort of preposterous at this point, but she figured a girl could dream if she wanted.
Without any further hesitation, she added a final small stack of clothing to the bag, zipped it up, and pulled it over her left shoulder. It was just in time too, as she heard footsteps racing down the hallway. She knew it was Anita before she even had the door open, and before she did exactly what Fera knew she would do.
“Are you done yet?” Anita asked, opening the door in a hurry.
Fera chuckled quietly at the predictable actions of her partner while turning to face her. “Just finished.” she answered, grinning at the silver haired angel standing in the doorway. “Why, are you in that much of a hurry?”
“Sort of.” Anita puffed out her cheeks in a pouting fashion and leaned against the wooden doorframe. “I wanted to take the bus today, or even a train. You know, I’ve never been on a train before so I was hoping to try it out.”
“I haven’t either, but I doubt it’s anything special. Besides, you have Regi. I’m sure he’d be glad to give us a ride to the docks.”
“Of course he would be, that’s what he’s paid to do. That doesn’t mean that I want to go my entire life without experiencing a train ride. Did you know that Japan used to be known for their overcrowded public transportation? This was back before the war, but still, it’s pretty crazy to think about, huh?”
“Sounds like a blast, really.” Fera said sarcastically, walking towards Anita. “Besides, I’m pretty sure more than just Japan had crowded trains.”
“Nuh-uh.” Anita argued. “From what I read, we had it the worst. I saw pictures. There were, like, hundreds of people all crammed into one car, and they were pushed up against the door and stuff.”
“You’re really selling me on this.” Fera said. “Look, you can ride the train, and I’ll have Regi take me so he’s not lonely. You get your train ride and I don’t suffer an anxiety attack, so we all win.”
Anita glowered at her. “You took too long so if I take the train now, I’ll be late. Annnd, it won’t be as fun without you, so what would the point of it be?”
“There isn’t one,” said Fera. “Which is my point. We have Regi, so we don’t need to take the train in the first place. It’s unnecessary, and besides, you act like it will be the last chance you have to take one. We’re only sixteen, you have a whole life ahead of you to ride a train. Now come on before we’re actually late. It’s still a bit of a drive from here.”
“Hmph,” came Anita, as she followed Fera out of the bedroom. “I don’t know how I feel about you right now. Since when did you get in charge?”
“Since I’m a bit more responsible with our time.” replied Ferain, grinning over her shoulder at her pouting companion.
“Responsible? I just caught you staring out the window for who knows how long.”
“I wasn’t staring.” Fera protested.
“Were too, I guarantee it. It’s exactly what you would do. Staring out windows is such a Fera thing, it’s almost comedic at this point.”
“Shut up.” laughed Ferain. “And it was only for a minute anyway.” she added, once they’d reached the stairs to the first floor.
“Staring is staring, Ferain, that’s how it is. I don’t make the rules.”
After shaking her head at the nonsense she had to deal with, she descended the steps. Waiting for them outside was Regi, who appeared to be finishing up the defrosting of the black sedan he primarily used for work. He was dressed in his usual suit, which was a sort of uniform, Fera supposed, or perhaps he just liked dressing nicely. The only difference to his outfit was that instead of the usual blazer, he wore a heavier winter coat, seeing as it was currently freezing outside.
“Morning, girls.” he said, noticing their approach.
“Morning.” both said in response.
He reached a hand out to take their bags, which they relinquished with a word of thanks. It wasn’t long before they were leaving the driveway and heading for the roads and highways of the city. They had a fair distance to travel to reach the harbor, where the ship would be waiting to take them back to Olirian. For most of the trip, Ferain watched the world whizz by the window as she took in as many sights as she could. Being stuck in your house for a majority of your life didn’t do a person any favors when it came to showing them the beauty of what they were missing out on. Every trip she went on now was a blessing that she was incredibly grateful to receive. They all talked, Regi and the girls, bouncing topics off of one another to help pass the time, and because it was simply enjoyable.
Regi was also nearly a permanent resident at the manor, so over the month, she’d gotten to know him a little. There were obviously still facts about him that she didn’t know, which was understandable given how little she even really knew herself or Anita, but they could probably be considered friends at this point. It only took a few days for Fera to see why Anita liked him so much, and after a while longer, she’d fallen in love with him as well. He was simply a joyous, playful person to have around. Somehow, over the course of the drive, the topic of his job came up, and he basically told her the same things Anita had some time ago. Before even leaving high school, he managed to get a job with Anita’s family as her personal driver and a sort of babysitter to make sure she was looked after while they were away. This thread eventually caused a question to pop into Fera’s mind, one that she thought about for a second before deciding to just ask him.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
“Regi, what do you do while Anita’s gone throughout the year?”
He smiled graciously, as if counting his blessings before answering “Thankfully, practically nothing. I get paid by Ann’s parents to watch the house while she’s away. I make sure the lawn maintenance is kept up with, I make sure the house is clean by hiring maids, and it goes on and on. I basically just keep the manor standing, even when Jack and Rina are around.”
“Anita’s parents?” asked Fera.
“Of course.” Anita butted in. She then grinned in Regi’s direction. “So basically, you’re telling me that you got a promotion while I’ve been away.”
“Yeah, I suppose so.” he said, laughing shortly. “But don’t worry, Ann, just because I’m technically in charge of you now doesn’t mean things will change too much.”
“You’re in charge of the house. Nobody said anything about me.” she pointed out.
“They sort of did though. In fact, one of my first rules as caretaker is to make sure you’re taken care of. Kind of in the job description.”
“Hmm, whatever.” Anita said, turning her gaze towards the window.
As they made it further into the city, everything grew more crowded. It wasn’t just backroads and narrow avenues anymore. Now, they were on main boulevards with large buildings that towered over them, casting their massive shadows on everything below. There were a lot more people than in the area around Anita’s manor as well, and a lot of them seemed to currently be up and about. As for the views, it was like any large city. Billboards, fast food restaurants on every corner, and there were the trains that sped along on the tracks that wound above and within the city limits. Anita stared at them longingly whenever one would pass overhead, which gave Fera a quiet chuckle of amusement every time she noticed.
Eventually, they made it to the harbor. It was an odd experience coming here with somebody other than her grandmother. If you would have told Ferain that the next time she came here, it would be with her friend and a personal driver, she wouldn’t have believed you in any way at any point in time. Even just the thought of being away from her own caretaker was almost impossible to imagine. Ferain watched out the window, much like she did during her previous visit, and she surprisingly saw a lot of the same ships. Some loading up on cargo, others unloading, and there were cruise liners and fishing vessels as well. Ships both big and small almost everywhere there was space for it, and at the far end was the one waiting for her.
The Olirian was similar to a massive cruise ship, with a primarily white body, a few horizontal blue stripes for decoration, and the school’s crest of a golden phoenix stamped on either side of the front end, just beneath the bold lettering that spelled out its name. Railings and the like all aboard the vessel were also blue, given the school’s colors of blue and gold, though black also represented the academy well enough since students could request black jackets instead of the more common blue ones. It was crowded, as to be expected, with buses unloading students one after the other, and parents leaving their children behind for either their first year in attendance or some higher number like Ferain. Personally, she didn’t expect the simple fact that she was older than she’d been the last time she came here to hit her so hard. However, seeing some obvious first-years giving their families hugs and nervously leaving their sides made her feel… nostalgic? Maybe longing was the better word choice.
There was even the possibility that both worked in this scenario. As Ferain watched them, an odd feeling began growing in the pit of her stomach. Her expression shifted into something that might’ve resembled fear, or perhaps it represented an anxiousness that she’d been struggling to keep hidden since starting her break. It was hard to explain, or maybe it really wasn’t, and that was what caused such a strange, sudden shift in her emotions. As she watched all of these faces, both new and old, she thought about Kiko, and all of the damage he caused the previous year. She remembered the nightmares that have been plaguing her since the night she fought him, though these had been kept a secret as much as possible. Just as she was starting to solely focus on these uprising emotions, she was brought back to reality by Regi opening her door for her. Anita let out a quiet huff and spouted a quick complaint about how he didn’t offer to get her door.
“She’s injured while you’re perfectly fine. Get over it.” Regi said, grinning like he’d won some sort of argument, and in a way, Fera supposed he did. Anita didn’t bring it up again, or argue against his offer to grab Fera’s bag as well. “You two be safe now.” Regi said, once they had their things and were standing beside one another on the sidewalk.
“We always are,” said Anita.
To this, Regi let out a disbelieving hum as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “I dropped you off last year without a single scar on your body. When I picked you up, you looked as if you’d been in a fight with a lawnmower and some guy with a cannon all at once.”
“I’ll have you know, the scars on my arm have been there the entire time, you just didn’t notice them. And as for the cannon, what are you even talking about?”
“I saw your side, Anita.” he pointed out quietly.
This instantly wiped away her smile and playful atmosphere. Even Fera was left speechless by this news. Anita talked a big game most of the time, but deep down, her scars hurt her. The thirteen white slashes on the underside of her left forearm were a constant reminder of how low she’d fallen when she was at her loneliest. The one on her left cheek was nothing to her, she seemed actually proud of that one, but that wasn’t the one that Regi brought up now. There was another, much more grisly reminder on Anita’s right side, one that, like her arm, showed another of her failures. A portion of her skin below her ribs almost resembled burns, though it had been caused by a fusion of ice and lightning. There were also grooves where Kiko’s nails had dug deeply into what remained of her flesh at the time. The scar wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been, and it was nowhere near as terrible a sight as it was when it was fresh.
Then, there wasn’t much left of Anita’s side intact. Kiko’s ice and lightning had burned away a large portion of it, but somehow, Fera was able to mend it most of the way, and the doctors at Olirian were able to do the rest. Now, it sort of looked a bit like a shark had bitten her just below her ribs. This scar, more than her others, was one she only showed Ferain. This is why the news of Regi’s knowledge stunned both of them.
“How?” Anita questioned, glowering at him. She most likely assumed the worst, and in this case, it would be him somehow seeing her undressing. That would, from what Fera thought, be the only way to see such a place, after all.
“One day, I saw you stretching in the kitchen to reach into a cabinet. Your shirt lifted enough that I saw something there. I didn’t see the entire thing, but I think it’s safe to assume there’s more than just what I noticed.”
Anita cast him a furious glare, and if looks could kill, Fera imagined Regi would be dead where he was standing. “You weren’t supposed to see that.” she snarled.
“You should be more careful, then,” said Regi. “I didn’t see it intentionally, though I do wish you would have told me.”
“Why does it matter if I told you?” asked Anita, and now, she seemed to be growing in anger. Fera reached out a hand for her but before she could, Anita stepped closer to Regi. “It’s my business, and if I want to keep it a secret, that should mean something. You’re not my parents, you–” Anita’s words were quickly cut off as Regi pulled her into a hug, catching her off guard.
“I care about you, Ann, that’s all. If you don’t want to talk about it, it’s fine. Just promise me you’ll be more careful this year.” He then stepped back and smiled at her. “I’ve known you since you were seven. I may not be your dad, but I do consider myself to be like an older brother, and older siblings have to watch out for their younger ones.”
Anita looked away timidly, her fury apparently melting away almost instantly. She poked at her cheek with a finger and stared out at the boats in the harbor, avoiding Regi’s eyes. “Whatever. I’ll try to be safer, just… promise me you won’t tell my parents.”
“Have I ever told them anything before? Your secrets are always safe with me.” he said. Regi then looked towards the Olirian and grinned. “Best you two get going. I have to get back to work anyway, so… until December, I suppose.”
“See you then.” Anita said, now shyly looking up into his eyes. This time, she instigated the hug, having lunged at him and pulling him tight against herself.
Fera briefly forgot those feelings that plagued her as she grinned at the sight in front of her. She was happy for her friend. Fera knew those two were close, but she doubted Anita ever saw their relationship for what it really was.
“Bye, Regi.” Fera said, catching his attention.
“Bye, girls.” he replied, lightly pushing Anita back towards Ferain. “I’ll see you in a few months, yeah?”
“A few?” scoffed Anita. “It’ll be almost a full year.”
“So, a few months.” repeated Regi, winking and opening his car door. After climbing in, he gave them a two-fingered salute, and drove away, leaving both girls on their own to board the ship, and to start their journey back to school.