Peaceful Conversations
> “Meiyal Weaving? It was a bit disappointing to be honest, but I can’t linger on that for too long.” ~Frein Nivan
Dinner that evening was accompanied by a bunch of revelations. Katherine introduced Sam to everyone, Frein shared how he got the Emerald Guidance, Kristel laid out her plans regarding Minaveil’s government, and Frill revealed her Mercurial Liquid.
In truth, there were a lot of things she wanted to share. One of those was the constant stream of memories of a side of Liona she never knew showing up in her dreams. A Liona who rebelled against the norm, a free Liona who cared nothing for her duties. A Liona that wakes up whenever everyone else was asleep.
Frill started looking forward to those dreams. A way to see her sister again. At the back of her mind, she knew she had to let go; that this was all probably caused by the permanent fusion. But maybe now that she had given up her sister’s core, those dreams would stop.
She didn’t want them to stop.
The Aria in Red observed the unconscious Vyndivalian sleeping in one of the guest rooms of Minaveil Manor.
Xiv’s breathing had turned to a soft calm; a good sign of his recovery. Frill could see very little pain from his face now, only disturbed by slight stings probably caused by the foreign activities getting to know each other inside his meiyal system.
But what really irked her right now were the bloody clothes he was still wearing. Despite herself, she got to work.
She started with his upper clothes, removing the ruined tunic in a practiced way to avoid moving Xiv around too much. She slipped off his boots and trousers, but allowed the man some decency to retain his undergarments. Without skipping a beat, Frill dressed the Vyndivalian with a clean set of clothes.
Xiv would have to wash himself whenever he regained consciousness, for Frill wouldn’t provide him that luxury.
While she was folding his old clothes, a piece of paper fell from its pockets. A folded piece of paper.
Frill’s heart skipped a beat. Forgetting the clothes almost immediately, she quickly picked it up and opened it. Its contents were in the middle of erasing themselves and were replaced at the same time by a new set of writing.
> Frill.
>
>
>
> If you’re reading this, it means Xiv followed my instructions. Yes. He knew someone was about to assassinate him, and I told him to let it happen so that he can gain your trust.
>
> Frein’s, Katherine’s, Kristel’s, but most importantly, your trust. I know exactly what you gave up to save his life, and for that, I thank you with all my heart.
>
> This will be the last message you will receive from me for a while. I’ve done my part and have securely set all the pieces in place. How you face the challenges ahead is up to you. All of you.
>
> And I know you’re wondering about the voice. If you start hearing it again, listen closely. Because there are two of them.
>
> Be careful, Frill. Send my regards to everyone. I will send a letter again when the time comes.
Frill’s mind raced. She wasn’t sure if she trusted whoever this person was in the first place, but the fact that Xiv received a letter as well wasn’t lost on her. This letter was entirely different. Without reading the actual message Xiv had, Frill surmised simply from context that it basically asked him to have himself killed. Just to gain their trust! It was ridiculous, laughable even. A stranger asked him to kill himself!
She almost fell on the seat opposite the foolish man’s bed and leaned on the table, clutching her aching head. Her eyes slowly read the letter again line per line, trying to find for anything significant. A warning, premonitions, anything. Any form of proof that she could hold on to, to trust.
And I know you’re wondering about the voice…there are two of them.
Frill couldn’t remember if she heard two, but there definitely was one. With a sigh, she turned and glanced at Xiv.
This man, who climbed the Vanguard, survived her flames, faced entire armies on his own behind enemy lines, risked his own life to deliver a message, and trusted a stranger who only used cryptic letters to communicate, now slept soundly without regard for his own security.
Crazy. Stupid. Idiot.
She never admitted brave.
Eventually, the blue rays of the sun peeked through the window of the guest room. Before Frill ended up dozing off in her chair, she decided to prepare the bathing chambers. She didn’t take long. When she came back, Xiv was still unconscious.
Frill sighed again and continued to fight her heavy eyes...to no avail. Siffera was an option, but the comfort of sleep got to her first.
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Katherine woke up from the sound of Frein leaving their room. She stretched the sleepiness out of her body as she stared out of the window, spotting her man about to leave the manor for his morning jog. Enza met him by the entrance and they both went off.
“Wake up, Sam,” she called.
With an overdramatic yawn, Sam hovered and circled around in an equally dramatic way. “Morning, deary.”
“Have you compiled everything on Emerald Guidance, yet?”
“I gave them a scan, but they’re not at all that helpful. Most of them are repetitive information, footnotes, debates, nothing clear at all. But I have them compiled if you want to send them to your lovey-dovey. Nice man, quite friendly, if I’m a woman, I might try and steal him from you, honestly.”
“Shut it,” Katherine said, flicking a playful finger at Sam. She climbed out of bed and prepared for the morning. “What about Mercurial Liquid?” she asked while brushing her teeth.
“Ah, that is quite the interesting research. Not finished yet, by the way—not a lot of hope on it either. There’s an extended study with fusing Meiyal Arts wherein a practitioner exceeds the limit of one-hundred meiyal marks. Frill’s perma-fusion pretty much validates this part of the research.
“The problem is, in all of the studies, there’s actually no way to unseal past the hundredth mark. These are from records thousands of years ago; wars were prevalent and there was an excess of Grand Virtuosos.”
“So, the Mercurial Liquid helps unseal past a hundred?” Katherine guessed based on the information. She entered a glass cubicle and started a quick shower.
Sam shivered in place just outside. The M.O.B.I.L.E.’s eye was specifically turned away. “That’s the running theory as well. My compilation isn’t exactly complete yet, but I doubt I’d get more information out of it.”
“That’s fine. Finish the compilation and keep them for now. We can send it later so you can explain those to them as well right away. Play me a soft tune and contact Bennie. Check if they’re open now.”
As soon as Katherine got dressed, Sam turned and projected a thumbs-up. “They’re open; said she has your lobsters.”
“Neat!” With the news of Kristel joining them this afternoon to meet the Forest Jaws, Katherine had sent a request to Bennie last night for some groceries. She planned to prepare for breakfast, as well as pack food for lunch. The Lady couldn’t help but giggle at the thought—like preparing a little picnic outing.
If it holds true, you will find the Forest Jaws is dead.
Katherine remembered the letter, but whatever it said, it didn’t change the fact that they were going out together today. Better to have something for the road to keep their morale up.
The sun had barely risen, but the market was already filled with buzzing customers and barking vendors. Produce was fresh, poultries and meats were processed nicely, fishes glittered with sparkling scales, eggs were large, bread smelled like heaven, and more fascinating products lined along the stalls. Each customer bartered for the best prices, and the vendors kept pace with their sales.
“Ah, Lady Katherine, you’re early,” called out one of the vendors, Bennie. “Your request just came in, still nipping about.” She had just opened up shop, yawning and tying her scarlet hair into a pair of small tails on either side of her head. Purple eyes blinked out sleepy tears behind a pair of glasses as she prepared her stall.
“Do you need help?” Katherine asked out of concern. Bennie never developed her meiyal marks beyond the first and didn’t seem to care about it. “Kristel said you were working late at Midan’s Pub last night. You’re working at Minaveil Inn and you have a stall here as well. You sure you’re not pushing yourself too much?”
“I’m fine, Lady Katherine, thank you.” Bennie wore an embarrassed grin. “I only take the shift here on Bluedays. But you’ve been gone a long time, I forgot how it felt to prepare your groceries so early.”
Although she did not exactly grow up in this village thanks to Schrodie’s intervention, Katherine still treated this place as her own, and the people treated her the same. She appreciated Bennie’s accommodation.
“You still didn’t have your eyes corrected?” Giving up on insisting to help, Katherine opted for a little chat instead.
“Ah, no.” Bennie dragged, with considerable effort, a bucket full of live lobsters. “I have a specialist healer from the Atlas Sid checking on them whenever they visit.
“He said that my eyes are slightly a little smaller—barely noticeable really—but reforming them to the appropriate size and shape is an incredibly delicate procedure, more so than simple muscle enhancement Meiyal Arts and not to mention the cost. It will take some time to fully rehabilitate, and I won’t be allowed to work. Now I can’t do or afford that, so he taught me how to perform some vision corrective and enhancement Meiyal Arts, but frankly, it takes so much meiyal to maintain throughout the day. I don’t have enough time to Mill anyway.”
Bennie carefully tied each lobster’s claws with tight strings rolled around multiple times and placed them in a compact metal container that Katherine brought with her. “In the end, he fashioned me these glasses. I don’t mind it since it gives me a bit of a unique touch. You barely see anyone with glasses at Central, yes?”
“That’s true, it’s quite unique. Frein’s pretty fond of you because of that.”
Bennie was quick to wave her hands in denial. “Oh, please don’t! I don’t want to get in the way of your relationship!”
Katherine smiled and pulled a gold coin out of her pocket. She held Bennie’s hand and gently placed it on her palm. “Thanks for the lobsters, Bennie.”
“Lady Katherine, I can’t take this. The lobsters are just a silver each!”
“I insist, Bennie,” Katherine closed the vendor’s hand. “For you and your grandparents.” Including the rest of the groceries, Katherine’s purchase costed six silvers which was ninety-four short of the actual value of her payment. She smiled as she hid the container inside her Spatiera. “I didn’t have time to buy souvenirs so you can consider it my return-trip gift.”
“Ah, Lady Katherine, thank you very much.” Bennie beamed like the radiant blue sun but only for a short while. “About my grandparents, they passed away a year and a half ago. It’s just me now.”
“Oh, I didn’t know. My condolences.”
Bennie smiled again. “Don’t worry about it! They passed away peacefully, smiling and satisfied. Besides, the day just barely started so don’t let me ruin that for you! I’d love to know what you’ll do with the lobsters!”
“I’ll send you an image over M.O.B.I.L.E. when I’m done with them.”
Katherine quickly returned home and began to prepare two different dishes she learned from Earth. The first dish was made from simple blanching of the lobster meat, allowing it to rest atop its own finely cut shell for aesthetic purposes. The second dish utilized the use of dried seaweeds, rice, and some small sliced fruits and vegetables to mix with the twice-blanched lobster meat. She made them bite-sized for easy packing and eating.
Lobsters in Brymeia sized almost twice larger than the ones on Earth, and five lobsters easily crowded the cooking counter.
“I may have gone a bit overboard.” Katherine scratched her head helplessly. “Oh, well.” She packed them into a porcelain container and stored it in her Spatiera.
“Next, breakfast!”
Katherine spent a good time preparing baked bread and mushroom soup before Kristel got her attention. “Hey there, Princess,” she said, humming one of Frill’s songs while she stirred the stock.
“Morning.” Kristel scratched her eyes before washing them at an open sink. She looked like she couldn’t be bothered at all. Messy hair, loose night gown, and a slumped back made her look nothing like the Princess she should be.
“Something wrong?” Katherine asked, sparing the sleepy Princess nothing more than a quick glance.
“Paperwork. Lots.” she took a seat by the counter and yawned, watching Katherine do her work. “What are you cooking?”
“Mushroom soup and bread. Breakfast.”
“Say, Katherine...” Kristel began. She was hesitant for a princess who had the tenacity to go to war and trade insults with a king. “This might seem a bit odd, but would you like to take a bath with me? I mean, after you’re done.”
“Sure,” Katherine answered right away before the Princess could take back her words. “I’ll be done in a few minutes.”
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