Three hundred years ago, the courtyard of the Château de L’Enfer…

Elena de L’Enfer, dressed in a frilly pink gown and jewelled slippers, sat pretty upon a cushioned chair set under the shade of a luxurious pavilion of white and gold built amidst the snow-swept garden terraces warmed by the morning sun. Servants dressed in finery waited in the wings with refreshments laid lavishly on silver trays, and guardsmen decked from head to toe in polished steel armour trimmed generously with gold, tirelessly patrolled the grounds.

Her brother, Grinnaux de L’Enfer, an elven boy of fourteen winters, who was easily more than a head taller than her and six winters older than she could ever be, was here as well. Dressed in a simple white tunic, trousers with suspenders, and knee-high leather boots, his outfit was markedly similar to the visitor who now worked alongside him with some sort of wheel-like contraption that hummed softly in the background as it spun, generating festering sparks that dissipated quickly into the cold air of the pavilion.

The visitor, whoever he was, had been introduced to her by Grinnaux as a goldsmith, one of the many craftsmen in the employ of their father’s estate, in one of the many villages that had been built close by and around the Château de L’Enfer. Much to her dismay this fine morning, her brother’s attention was not with hers, but rather, with supervising this adult and whatever he was working on with that strange whirling wheel of his.

If she was being honest, she did very much want to know what was going on. Even if her brother refused to speak of it, despite her frustration and the very best of the threats and pleas that her little lips could muster. But for now, at least for now, her attention had been taken by the contents of an intricately carved and ornate box, much like a little treasure chest, that the goldsmith had brought along with him for his work, that was heavy with the scent of perfume that smelled so sweetly like the roses in the gardens of the courtyard. Particularly, the many colourful stones set within its cushioned interior, each of them gleaming a different colour. Red, blue, yellow, white, purple, pink, and green. They were many, just like the colours of the rainbow, like the colours of Melodia.

They were all very pretty, each of them the size of a quail’s egg. The red one, however, she liked the most among them all. Even more so than the blue one, which she also liked very much. It was close, but the red one stood out to her like a moment of lucid clarity in a midwinter night’s dream, its scarlet hue red like blazing lust. Like the colour of blood that she had the misfortune of seeing, in that one time she had scraped her knee on the snow while playing in the courtyard. And she smiled as she felt the smoothness of its cut curvature upon her fingers, cool as ice upon her skin as she stared into its deep red surface, her little eyebrows knit deeply in thought as she did, for it was pretty, so very pretty.

“Hey, Elena!”

The red stone nearly fell out of her grasp, as Elena snapped out of her reverie. The voice that had called out to her had a sharpness like a dagger’s edge. But also, a jovial warmth that made her smile bigger and brighter than it could ever be. That smile of hers, however, soon turned to a frown when she beheld her brother’s smile, and the opened palm stretched out towards her.

“No way!” Elena declared as she cupped the stone tightly within her fist, pouting her lips as she turned away from Grinnaux. “This one’s mine! I like it very, very much!”

She then pointed at the artisan’s box, at the other stones waiting within.

“You can have the others! Any of ‘em, but not this one.”

Much to her annoyance, Grinnaux continued smiling at her. From the look on his face, it was clear to her that he was trying his best not to laugh.

“I’m serious!”

“Of course you are!” Grinnaux answered as he went down on one knee, such that their eyes were now on the same level. “But I want this one! This ruby’s very important, and I’m not gonna take no for an answer!”

“No…”

“Please? Pretty please, sweet little sister?”

“Never!”

Elena turned her head to steal a glance at Grinnaux, who had yet to back down on his request. Much to her continued annoyance, he was still smiling at her with a smile so gentle like freshly fallen snow. And as she looked up towards him, she balled up her hand into a fist, cupping the ruby between her palm and her fingers as tightly as she ever could.

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“I can do this forever, y’know!”

“Hmm… how about a trade, then?” Grinnaux offered. “It’s an offer you can’t refuse!”

“What kinda trade?”

“Remember that time we traded candy, at last year’s Harvest Festival?”

Elena nodded, only to end up frowning soon after. The sweets she had gotten from Grinnaux, in exchange for hers, were small. Sure, there were more of them, many pieces of toffee and hard candy rather than the lollipops that she had offered up, but they were small. So very small, and barely worth what she had given him.

“I’ll admit, you got me good back there! Not this time, though!”

“Okay, that’s a bad example!” Grinnaux exclaimed, scratching nervously at the back of his head as Elena crossed her arms and pouted her lips at him, once more. “I’ll admit, I haven’t been good at getting you to trust me as of late, but…”

“But?”

“If you’d lend me your little treasure for a while…” Grinnaux offered, with his best smile. “I promise you something amazing! It’ll be the best thing ever, and when you see it, you’ll be so happy that you’ll, uh…”

Elena’s frown remained, while her brother continued stumbling on his words. Though even then, she found her grip upon her beloved ruby weakening ever so slightly as she eyed her brother’s smile and his demeanour even in situations like this. There was something about it that she could not explain succinctly in words, a charm to it that she suspected was the main reason why the other girls in the estate far older than herself, always smiled and greeted him so enthusiastically, and the reason why the maids were always so eager to attend to his every need, jostling over each other for this honour that she could only best describe as dubious.

“Brother, I…”

“It’s a surprise!” Grinnaux declared. “Trust me, won’t you?”

“Hm…”

“Please?”

Slowly, but surely, Elena opened her fist and revealed her beloved ruby.

“Alright. I’ll trust you!”

“That’s better!” Grinnaux exclaimed before pinching the ruby for himself, before patting his little sister gently upon her head, ruffling her yellow hair as he did. “Now hold on for a bit, won't ya?”

Elena watched and waited upon her little chair, as her brother went off to work with the craftsman and his whirling wheel that began to spin anew, now that she had surrendered what had been so beloved to her. For what felt like an eternity heaped onto another eternity, she fidgeted impatiently, the emptiness in her hand feeling more acute than ever before. And yet, the morning sun was so warm and gentle, and soon enough, little by little, she found herself closing her eyes shut and leaning back upon her seat.

“Elena? You there?”

“Ah!”

With a start, Elena woke up. Her brother had returned, however brief or long it had taken him, with the most beautiful thing her crimson eyes ever had the pleasure of beholding. The ruby she loved so much had been strung upon a sparkling chain of white gold, its deep red surface further polished to a dazzling gleam that sparkled as a necklace before her very eyes.

“Oh, my…”

“Happy birthday, Elena!” Grinnaux declared, as he knelt and clasped the newly-made necklace around his little sister’s tiny neck. “This is for you. Now, you can keep this ruby close to ya, anywhere and everywhere!”

“Oh… it’s my birthday?” Elena mused out loud. “I didn’t know, I can’t believe I forgot…”

Indeed, it was. She did, after all, recall herself waking up feeling a little different today. And now that she thought of it, everyone around her had been so secretive for the past few weeks! Grinnaux, the servants, even their father! Now, with this new gift of hers, it all made sense.

“Dad and I wanted this to be a surprise, y’know?” Grinnaux said, his hands reaching for his little sister’s shoulders to squeeze them as tightly as he could. “The best things are always surprises, and we want only the best for our little princess!”

“But I don’t wanna be a princess! I wanna be…”

“A prince?”

Elena shook her head and pouted her lips, once again. Her brother, by merit of being so old and tall, was smart, and wise, and clever. But at other times, his denseness left much to be desired.

“No, silly! I wanna be a hero, like you! Fighting bad guys and protecting people! I saw how you and Dad fought off those goblins that attacked the town! I would’ve joined in, but they said I was too small! It ain’t fair…”

Much to Elena’s annoyance, Grinnaux began to laugh. She puffed up her cheeks and glared at him, her yellow eyebrows knit deeply against each other.

“I’m serious!”

“You sure?” Grinnaux asked, his playful demeanour suddenly turning deadly serious. “I mean, if this is what you really want…”

“Of course it is, silly!”

“Then let’s start after lunch.”

“What?” Elena exclaimed, as her confidence melted away. “That’s a little soon, isn’t it? I…”

Playfully, Grinnaux wagged his finger and chuckled. It was as though his seriousness had been but a fleeting illusion, an act now gone forever in lieu of his playful self.

“Evil waits for no one, y’know! Especially not for our nine-year-old hero! That, and the old man did say that it’s about time that you started learning. It’s what we both have to do, as the Count and Countess of Eldia! Take classes with the tutors, do lots of physical training…”

Elena frowned. And yet, when she looked down towards her ruby necklace, her apprehension melted away as she looked into its crimson gleam. Her brother, for as long as she had known him, always had her best interests at heart. Even if at times, he could be a bit insufferable. This, she was sure of. Always, and forever.

“So, Elena. How about it, hm?”

“Let’s do it!” Elena exclaimed, with the biggest smile she could muster as she looked up towards her very tall older brother, who smiled at her in turn. “I promise I’ll work hard!”