Fear. Overwhelming fear. An overbearing feeling that threatened to consume Kary whole as she was forced to wait for the painfully slow queue of carriages to walk forward, every movement, every rattling of the wooden box she was confined in making her feel smaller and smaller, like a bug watching its impending demise from the floor of a dirty kitchen. She felt vulnerable, frail, a mere plaything ready to be picked up and toyed with by the monsters, the soulless giants that took great joys in squashing into bloody pulps everything and anything that wasn’t to their liking. As she looked outside the windows on the door of their vehicle, the girl sincerely prayed to the made god that the nobles she would soon be meeting would be different from the demons her mind was made to conjure out of senseless fear. She had heard stories, read tales of their vanity, their cruel and detached way of living, characteristics that, in a fictional setting, only served to make the readers mock the fools driving the country to the ground. If the nobles she would be meeting were anything like the ones from the books, however, Kary wouldn’t be wrong to fear for her life.

With her heart intensely beating inside her chest, almost threatening to burst out of its confines, the girl looked outside, in an attempt to find anything that could ease her nerves, lest they burst from the pressure. Other than the large, empty area around them and the castle to which they were close enough that the only discernible details were the walls that surrounded it, though, there was little to note about the place, with the only thing capable of capturing Kary’s curiosity being the curious designs of the carriages both in front and behind theirs. Inside her always-running mind, the girl couldn’t help but snort at the design of the vehicle in front of them, an oversized carriage with such strong colors that it almost resembled the evolutionary characteristics developed by male birds to attract females. Bold colors resembling the fire of a fireplace were plastered along the back and the side — the only parts Kary was able to see — creating an interesting pattern that resembled both the crackling of the fire and the advances of the waves, in a fluid display of fiery brutality that was only broken by the family shield on the door, too intricate for the girl to discern its details from where she stood. If that wasn’t enough, the girl was able to notice some intricate details on the border of the vehicle that she could only assume were made in gold, all but adding to the excessive extravagance of its owner. For a formal carriage used to drive its owners to such an event on the heart of the nation, Kary couldn’t help but question the design choices that went into the making of it, as the behemoth of a vehicle seemed all too aggressive in its attempt to show the owner’s grandeur, wrapping back around to being nothing more than laughable.

Still, Kary maintained her mouth shut, promising herself to take such thoughts to her grave, choosing instead to divert her attention backwards, focusing instead on the much more sensible design of the carriage right behind them. As it was much smaller than the monstrosity at the front, there was a considerable decrease in the amount of details the girl was able to perceive from the small hole that had been dubbed as a window. Regardless of that, though, Kary could still note with ease that the owner of that carriage held practicality in a much higher standing than the other carriage, albeit still not to the same extreme as Asteria, who saw fit to walk around in such a plain carriage that it wouldn’t surprise Kary one bit if it had been among the cheapest from whatever store the knight had acquired it. No, the carriage behind them was still befitting of a noble, much like the one in the front, painted with beautiful colors and intriguing patterns, but it all felt… less. Less extravagant, less exuberant, a less desperate attempt show of prowess. Shaking her head, Kary dismissed those thoughts, silently chastising herself for so readily applying her world’s values to the present situation. Things were different, to the point where comparison would be futile, and attempting to draw parallels between the two realities could only end badly for the girl.

As she looked at the overbearing stone walls erected in the distance, her mind drifted to the things she had experienced ever since she had arrived in this land, from the interactions with the locals, including her first... unsavory encounter, to the distinct way everything seemed to work compared to what she had grown used to. Trying to ease her mind, she took deep breaths, closing her eyes as she attempted to control her shaking hands and dancing legs, trying her very best to make herself look presentable, but, no matter where she looked, there was always something to remind her of the situation she was in, as well as the multitude of things she could mess up in the upcoming event. To call it nerve-wracking would be to severely downplay Kary’s efforts on not breaking down crying on the spot, despite how much she wanted to. It was downright terrifying, with the only saving grace being the modicum of curiosity she held for the party, as it promised to be much too different from every social event she had been forced to partake in on her previous life. In a way, it was even thrilling; though she would prefer not to have this type of excitement in her life should she have a choice about it.

On the opposite bench from the girl, Asteria could only watch as Kary cycled through a myriad of emotion, from fear to resignation and then to grim determination, all in the span of a few minutes. Although the knight wanted to help the girl in front of her in some way, especially since she, too, had experienced the fear of being forced to mingle with nobles for the first time. Different from Kary, though, Asteria’s first contact with nobility happened in a place where status theoretically shouldn’t matter, as long as the students showed their desire to become protectors of the kingdom, and, although that was really not the case, it still created a much more relaxed environment where normal people could walk around the most prominent figures of the nation without the fear of being beheaded on the spot for some made-up mistake. Of course, since today would be more of an informal party thrown to celebrate the success of the expedition, there wasn’t much to fear, but understanding such a thing wasn’t something that just happened, not without extensive experience dealing with the societal upper echelons. Knowing this fact, Asteria opened her mouth to tell as much to the girl, to ease her worries, even if only a little bit, to allow this experience to be not something to be remembered as traumatic, but simply as memorable. Nerve-wrecking, perhaps, but not to the degree the girl was taking it. As Kary looked at the knight, a hint of curiosity showing through the ugly expression the girl wore, Asteria stood there, mouth open like a fish, her mind going into overdrive in order to find words suitable for comforting what was in her eyes a worried child.

It was something that she should be able to do, given her experience as a commander and the inherent responsibilities for the group she lead that befell upon her, and yet she stood there, not knowing how best to approach this situation. Time and time again, she had been able to simply tell her knights that everything would be okay, that reinforcements would arrive in time, that the injuries would heal, that the fallen comrades in battle would be mourned and remembered, for she had been taught to do just that. To maintain the spirits high and keep the well-oiled war machine working was the job of the commander, despite how many of them failed to understand this simple notion, despite it being drilled repeatedly during their training in the academia. But preventing sorrow and animosity, fear and distrust from interrupting the duty she had with the country wasn’t what the knight wanted to do right now.

She knew nothing about children, not even how to properly interact with them, much less how to prevent one from spontaneously blowing their own head from self-induced mostly unnecessary stress. She had been able to talk and joke and instruct Kary so far due to the maturity the girl demonstrated, something that betrayed her young-looking appearance to the degree that a good chunk of the group in the expedition, most of them scholars and nobles with plenty of academic feats under their belts, were surprised by the way the girl spoke and interacted with everyone around her. It was so different from what they were used to that most were quick to give up on treating her as a young teenager and never looked back, mainly to Kary’s nature that made her keep most of her thoughts to herself. Now, though, the girl’s quiet and reserved personality made it so Asteria was unable to find the right words to qualm her worries without sounding exceptionally cheap and generic. Closing both her eyes and mouth, which had been open during all this time, the knight thought and thought, ignoring the movement of the carriage, the staring girl, the royal knights’ voices growing louder and louder with each carriage that managed to pass through the gates, digging deep into her brain in order to find something, anything that could help the girl she had one-sidedly taken into her wings. For a few moments, the interior of the carriage stood in tense silence, as Kary waited for Asteria to do something, temporarily forgetting her own nervousness as she stared with curious eyes at the pensive woman.

Seconds ticked by, the never-ending march of the little servants of the time god slowly creating a more and more awkward atmosphere, as Asteria remained in her own little world, single-mindedly obsessing over the ways to soothe a child, while Kary could only stare from the outside, oblivious to the whirlwind of ponderations and considerations of the knight, capable of only staring at the minute changes of the woman’s expressions and body movements in order to keep the creeping stress from overflowing and… well… doing whatever stress did when it reached a boiling point. Despite everything Kary had experienced during her life, the hellish descent she lived through happened in slow-motion, at least when comparing to the suddenness of the situation she was now facing, giving her time to build a shell around herself, closing herself from anything and everything that could — and would — hurt her, push her down, drive her to a breaking point. Before she realized it, she had become the being she now was, from her way of seating to the way she moved around, everything contributed to the image she had unconsciously created of herself, a closed-off, unsocial, overly polite, awkward and slippery being, attempting its very best to disappear into the background, in order to not be noticed, to not be picked on, to avoid everything that she knew would cause her pain. Contrary to the suffering she had endured during her time on Earth, the out-of-the-blue noble party she had been forced to partake in, instead of a slowly boiling pot, it had hit her like a truck, bursting through every coping system she had developed over the years, almost completely overpowering her mind.

As she continued to observe Asteria, the girl began to slowly but surely calm herself, telling her brain that everything would be alright, since she would be with the woman that had not only saved her life, not only taken her in, but also seemed to hold quite the important position, if the snippets of conversation she had gathered were proof enough. Closing her eyes as well, she began to think about what the woman could possibly be in charge of in order to be able to be entrusted with responsibilities far beyond the pay grade of a regular soldier. Wild thoughts filled her mind, allowing a small smile to surface on her tense face, for a brief moment not only resisting but actively pushing back against the stress. At that moment, while Kary relished on the absurd ideas her imagination conjured from the depths of her mind, Asteria finally settled in on what method to best placate the nervous girl in front of her, choosing the simple yet effective method she had seen countless times being done by commoners, and one that seemed to work remarkably well for its simplicity.

Opening her eyes, what greeted the knight was a smiling beauty, staring into the void with her eyes shut, her unnaturally white skin, almost as if carved from marble itself, giving her an ethereal look that for a moment captivated even the hardened knight. For a brief moment, she herself worried that the girl would face some trouble from meddling nobles, but she simply shook her head at the notion, as she knew that few were the nobles foolish enough to mess with one of her own. Looking at the smile shyly plastered onto her otherwise serious face, Asteria couldn’t help but think that her help would be unneeded, perhaps even troubling, but, as she had long learned how to, she swallowed her doubts and trusted her gut, reaching her hand towards the girl’s hair and gently caressing it, her callous hand passing through Kary’s silver, smooth hair, the sudden touch making the girl jump slightly in her seat, although she didn’t shy away from it once she understood what was happening. She simply stood there, trembling slightly as her heart rate shot through the clouds, forcing herself to not do anything irrational, for she knew that there was no one there that would hurt her. What seemed to be an eternity passed as her tense shoulders began to ease up, her clenched fists slowly relaxed, and her timid smile took on the form of a more relaxed grin as the girl enjoyed a form of affection she had severely lacked throughout her life. It was a moment of pure bliss, despite Kary’s initial fear, a moment that she felt as if it should never end, lest she be forced back to the stress-inducing reality she had been kicked into.

But alas, Asteria’s impromptu head petting had to come to an end once the much too big fiery carriage in front of them reached the gates, making their own vehicle the next in line. With the sigh of someone that was not looking forward to what would come next, the knight lifted her hand from Kary’s head, flashing a satisfied smile that matched the girl’s grin in its grin determination to leave the party in one piece. From the outside, the knights’ voices rang loud and clear as one of them asked in a deep, baritone voice for the reason why the owners of the comically large carriage desired to enter the domains of the royal palace, despite certainly knowing the reason. It was but a boring formality, something Asteria had always had distaste for, although she could understand why it would be useful, even if such knowledge had only managed to infiltrate her brain through countless hours of relentless studying. Somewhat curious about the identity of the so-very-important nobles riding that carriage, Kary strained her ears and peeked through the small window, waiting for something to happen, for the seemingly vain people inside to show their faces, but not even that they would give to the girl. They preferred to stay faceless as their coach instead took a letter much like the one Asteria had received and wordlessly handed it over to the nearest knight, who proceeded to verify its integrity and nod to the other plate-covered man, who told the coach to proceed forward, in a bizarre dance of dry courtesy and noble arrogance.

Seeing that, Kary wondered if in their turn their interaction would be the same, though it seemed that Asteria paid little mind to the customs, since, as soon as their carriage came to a stop in front of the open castle gates, she opened the door closest to her, letter in hand as she stepped outside in full view of both the knights and any other noble who might’ve wanted to see the owner of such a flabby, sorry vehicle. As Kary peeked through the little window, the knight introduced herself and the companion she had brought, showing the letter to the man in front of her, who, without sparing a single word, much like before, scanned the letter and once again turned to look at Asteria’s face, only to do something that Kary would have never expected from these presumably stone-faced man, with how seriously they seemed to take their jobs. It was so out of the left field that the girl couldn’t help but sit there, stunned, looking at the window as the man hidden within his heavy suit of armor gave the tall woman a respectful salute, before turning to his companion and signaling that Asteria’s carriage had been allowed passage. It all felt surreal to the girl, like a kid after discovering that their teachers had lives outside the school grounds, opening the door to a new degree of speculation about the importance of Asteria to the country they were in. If Kary’s previous theories were nothing more than imaginative, absurd scenarios, then they had just gotten a lot more believable now.

“It is good to have you back, ma’am.” The knight by the gates said after Asteria had turned around, just audible enough for the woman to listen. Before opening the door to her carriage and making her way into the dreadful castle, without turning around, she gave a quick nod to the royal knight, before simply telling him to keep up with the good work. After that, it didn’t take long until both Asteria and her protégé were inside the premises of the palace, with their carriage expertly stationed along the rest of the much more extravagant vehicles, creating a contrast that was exceedingly funny to Kary due to its absurdity. After all, who would’ve expected a plain old carriage to stand alongside beasts created and refined to best represent the most powerful groups in this feudal society? Once that passed, however, the girl was forced to acknowledge reality, which was that each and every single one of these carriages represented at least one person with the authority to do anything they so desired to her, though now she had the reassurance that Asteria was quite the important figure, despite only bearing the tile of knight.

Other than that, though, she couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the patio they had arrived at, from the tall walls casting an almost oppressive shadow upon them, to the contrasting exuberant greenery that had been meticulously trimmed and arranged in order to be the most pleasing to the eyes without feeling too overbearing. It perfectly encapsulated what Kary thought this place would be, but actually seeing it with her very own eyes was something different. If it weren’t for Asteria, the girl might’ve spent the rest of the day obsessing over the building and its intricacies, but alas, the time was not ideal. And so, the duo walked towards the doors, with the knight chuckling at the look of astonishment and childlike wonder apparent on Kary’s face, while the girl herself tried to be subtle in her glances, only adding further mirth to the knight’s silent laughter. Reaching the huge, open double doors to the interior, a few maids stood in wait for anyone that might come through. As the pair approached, one of the young servants approached, bowing at a perfect ninety degree angle, the woman’s face a mask of both politeness and coldness, creating a certain distance between the maid and her guests. With a stiff smile, she referred to the knight who seemed to be the main guest to party.

“Madam,” she said, before turning to Kary, “and milady, please follow me to the room appointed for the party. Although it is not too far from here, I ask that you both follow me closely, as the castle can be quite confusing for those unacquainted with its structure.” She continued, pointedly looking at Kary, who failed to notice the woman’s stare as her eyes continued to wander through the antiques displayed on the hallway beyond, her expression bright as she thought about the rich history that most definitely existed behind those paintings, murals, statues and even the metal objects holding bright torches. Still, she didn’t forget that composure was what she should be concerned the most right now, so she forced herself to behave, lest she made a bigger fool of herself. For a few minutes, the girl focused solely on copying the way Asteria moved, in order to appear as dignified as the knight, using the surprisingly difficult task as a means to distract her from everything that was going on inside of head, from the building nervousness of being ever so closer to meeting with actual nobles, to the repressed, childish desire to simply ditch everything and go explore the ominous hallways that they had already passed through. As they walked by the twisting corridors, passing through guards and locked doors, they eventually reached the end of their journey, an humongous double door that seemed too big to be realistically moved by anyone other than professional bodybuilders, its dark wood and intricate contours highlighted by the torched on the sides. Blocking the passage of any unauthorized personnel, two guards stood by the sides, both in their heavy armor, although none of them wore a helmet, revealing a handsome yet bored face and a face so unremarkable it didn’t even need a crowd to blend in.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

While the first man seemed as though he could fall asleep at any moment, the other seemed to be at least trying to do his job, focusing forward while he changed his weight from one leg to the other, making clanking sounds that echoed through the desolate, stone walls, travelling through the hallways in such a way that, in a more modern society, it could and probably would be attributed to paranormal activities. Though that begged the question: considering Kary herself wasn’t human, would the existence of ghost and other supernatural being be such an impossibility? Shelving the question for a more private time, the girl watched from behind as the maid and knight pair got closer to the two man, their loud footsteps making the half-asleep man jolt upright as he scanned the area, his sight stopping at the approaching women. For a brief moment, he thought about flashing his best smile before inviting the lady being accompanied by the royal servant to do something more… private after the boring party he had been forced to stand guard for was over, but a quick glance at her and he ditched such ideas with the speed with which a goldfish forgets things, for he knew the demon in human skin standing in front of him. Despite trying to look more like a normal human being, it wouldn’t be a mere change of outfit and hairstyle that would make the man forget the things that woman had forced him to experience. Before the woman herself could even take a better glance at the knight, his expression contorted into one of pure horror, the trauma — what Asteria called training — inflicted to him too much for him to maintain his usual façade. On the other hand, the unremarkable man flanking the doors along with him immediately saluted the female knight once she had gotten close enough, respect overflowing from his body as he tried and failed to maintain a serious expression.

“It’s good to see you back, commander!” He said with a tad too much excitement in his voice, receiving in return a look of disgust from his colleague and a wry smile from Asteria.

“At ease, Kleber. I’m not here as a knight today, but as a guest to the party thrown in celebration to our return. Though I will say that it is indeed good to be back. I did miss the atmosphere of the capital, with its bustling activity and ever-cheerful population.”

“I see, I see. Do you have anyone with you today? I know you don’t usually take others to these events, but I do have to ask every guest before they are allowed to enter. Y’know, standard boring noble formalities.”

“You would do good not badmouthing nobility while not only standing beside a noble, but also while guarding a room chock-full of them.” The other man commented, turning to his colleague with narrowed eyes. “For a commoner, you sure are bold with the words you speak. One of these days you’ll end up in the chopping board, and nothing, not even the gods themselves, will intervene in your favor.”

“Hah… I know you’re right, and… and yet I can’t keep my mouth shut.”

“Yelp, I’ve warned you. Yawn~ Now please help me opening this stupid door before snitch on you.”

“You wouldn’t!”

“Do you know, now? Come on, help me with this crap.” As the two men turned to the hinges of each side of the door, Asteria was forced into a watching position, crossing her eyes as she judged the two knights teamwork while they timed their push in order to swing each half of door open at the same time. Seeing the synchrony with which they moved, the woman looked behind them, finding Kary standing timidly in the dark, her heart threatening to burst through her chest as she tried to calm her shaky, sweaty hands, taking deep breaths as quietly as she could in order to not attract further disdain from the maid who was still there for reasons beyond the girl’s understanding. Seeing that, Asteria squatted in front of her, looking at the girl in the eyes, before addressing the much too worried girl.

“Don’t worry. Everything will be okay, even if it doesn’t sound like it. You saw how that knight, who also happens to be a noble, reacted to a direct complaint to nobility. Of course, that man is quite lax when it comes to that, but as long as you don’t do anything as outrageous as Kleber, you’ll be fine. It’s not like they expect a commoner to walk on thin ice around them all the time, especially in a party that was meant to be more on the informal side.” Hearing that, the girl seemed to subside slightly, at least internally. In a way, Kary doubted it would things would go smoothly as Asteria had described, but it wasn’t as if there was anything she could do about it other than following the knight’s advice and taking care to think things through before saying anything. With a last shaky sigh, she swiped her hands on her read dress before closing her eyes taking a big breath and going with Asteria towards the open door, with both of them being closely followed by the maid, who stayed half a step behind at all times, until they entered a brightly lit room, where servants ran left and right to serve food to the many people talking and laughing as they interacted with one another, the atmosphere in the room almost inviting, were it not for the edge Kary noticed from behind every warm word and nice sentence spewed by some of the better-dressed ones. Without any warning, the maid remained at the door, clearing her throat before addressing the entirety of the room.

“In enter lady Asteria, commander of the third special platoon serving directly under His Majesty the king, along with her companion.” Now once more turning to the duo of women, she continued: “Please enjoy your time here during this pleasant afternoon. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must return to my duties.” With another respectful bow, she turned her back and hastily left the room, before the heavy doors were once more closed with a loud sound, trapping Kary and Asteria inside this den of snakes ready to advance given a single moment of weakness. Even now, the girl could see some smirks forming in some faces, their delicate features overwhelmed by a thick layer of make-up failing at concealing their complete disdain for the common-born. Thankfully, it seemed to be the minority the ones who didn’t bother to hide their trued natures, while most of the other guests either approached Asteria in an attempt to question her about the girl by her side or continued their conversations as if nothing happened. For the people that approached the knight clear with their intentions, she responded in kind, answering any question they might have as long as it didn’t compromise Kary’s integrity too much.

The party continued in such a manner, with small circles of conversation naturally forming amongst like-minded people, the interactions between them growing very little as the prying ones had already gotten their curiosity sated, making it so the only time nobles mingled among themselves and among the commoners being when new people joined them in the room. Frankly, it was boring beyond words, at least for Kary, who was used to the modern world’s immediateness, and, although she had been forced to adapt during her time on the road, at least there she could talk with people without mincing her words, at least there she could look at the beautiful natural sights that surrounded them, but here? There was nothing to stare at other than the intricately decorated wall, and even that got boring really fast. There were some people there she knew, though, so for the most part she simply stayed with them, shyly interacting whenever she was spoken to, trying her very best to sink into the ground and disappear, especially since she could hear the comments from the noble circles about every little thing she said, as if these men and women had nothing better to do other than nag at people who couldn’t retaliate. It would be anger-inducing, if not for the fact that Kary couldn’t think about these people as anything more than pathetic, not that she would ever voice it.

This not-so-subtle one-directional dissing competition continued for a while, though for how long Kary wasn’t so sure. She just enjoyed to be around people she knew and be able to eat delicious She just knew that it was finally over when the royal family decided to make its grand appearance, interrupting any and all conversations as the doors swung open to the sound of marching boots and trumpets, a thick red carpet unfurling through the now open space in an act of theatrics almost as vain as the interaction the girl had witnessed between the front of them in the line and the guards at the castle gates. Trying to maintain a straight face so as to not out her distaste for these bizarre shows of power, she watched as the entirety of the royal entourage, consisting of the royal family, in their opulent, colorful clothing that exuded wealth and power, two old men in vastly different outfits, a grumpy girl Kary recognized as the mage she had befriended during their long journey back to the capital, and a whole lot of knights in shiny armor made their way into the room, making everything feel much more cramped than before. If the presence of acquaintances to interact with and their isolation from the bigger noble circles had allowed Kary to momentarily forget that she was surrounded with the most powerful, arrogant men and women on this nation, then the arrival of the king, with his protuberant belly, graying hair flattened by the golden crown sitting atop his head, a striped shirt and pants pair that stood somewhere between the vest of a clown and an uncomfortable-looking pajama, covered by a long, thick, fluffy cape with a purple interior and details in white that seemed to be way too hot for the moderate climate they were in, definitely made her fears return ten times worse than they were before.

With her heart threatening to jump from her mouth, Kary tried her very best to not show her inner despair, taking in deep breaths as she saw the king calling for one of the servants carrying various beverages from across the room, signaling that he too wanted something to drink, despite the fact that he had yet to say a single word, preferring to scan the room with a fledgling of a smile on his face as he used his free hand to coddle the woman standing beside him, whom the girl assumed to be the queen. She did find it weird that she adorned no crown, showing instead a myriad of jewels, bracelets and other extravagant and probably terribly expensive accessories, though she simply chucked it to the peculiar tastes of the crown. Kary, along with every other person in the room, watched in silence as the well-dressed butler nervously approached the king, until he stood a few feet from the ruler of the country, where he performed a perfect ninety degree angle in the exact same fashion as the maid who had brought the knight and girl duo to this place. After he was once more in his previous posture, the king approached, much to the man’s terror, as it took his entire mental fortitude to prevent him from flinching in the face of the glaring of an amount of guards enough to kill him a hundred times over. Although he did work at the castle, it wasn’t as if he interacted with the king on a daily basis, much less in such a personal level. On one hand, he was honored to be of use, but on the other he was scared shitless, afraid of what would happen to him should he mess things up in some way, for he knew that beneath the king’s benevolent façade laid a man fluid in the art of politics, the volatile and unpredictable game that more often than not involved some… unsavory moves from its players. The man was far from stupid; though it was much easier to trick political opponents with the front he put on, that of a nice old man who spared no efforts to help his citizens. With a polite smile plastered across his perfect poker face, the servant timidly asked what was it that the king desired, to which he simply responded, his voice echoing through the empty salon:

“A glass of our finest wine will suffice. I have been making our guests wait for far too long now, haven’t I? For that I humbly apologize. It was not within my plans to test your bountiful patience in such a manner. It is simply that there were some urgent matters that required my immediate attention, delaying severely our arrival through no fault of any of the wonderful men and women here present today.” He said, scanning the crowd for resentment in anyone’s faces. Not finding anything, though, he simply nodded to himself, before picking up the glass of wine being offered by the poor servant who seemed way too nervous. Not that he could blame him when an entire group of armed men tried their very best to bore holes into his body through intent alone. With a chuckle, he picked up the glass, before raising it high into the sky as a confident smile blossomed in his aged face, his whole body portraying the confidence of a war general after announcing the order that would bring victory to his country, trapped within the chubby, almost squishable body of a ruler. Seeing all eyes focused solely on his image, the man began his speech:

“Despite the challenges placed upon me in such a way to prevent me from attending this lovely celebration, here am I, together with the amazing folks to whom I dedicate this simplistic, yet hopefully still satisfactory for our more distinguished guests, party. Don’t be mistaken, for your efforts in the quest of unveiling the long-gone past of our nation shall be rewarded accordingly, though the exact details are still being drafted by much more capable hands than mine. It does saddens me much that not everybody who took part in that expedition was available to be present with us in this lovely afternoon, although they each had their motives, with quite a few of them stating their desire to work on translating the artifact found in the ruins immediately upon arrival. Although it pleases me much to see their eagerness to do their job, I hoped that they would be willing to take a break from their arduous work, though it seems that I’ve greatly underestimated their determination. Heh. Anyway…”

As the king continued his endless monologue, Kary found herself tuning most of everything he said out, her mind wondering about the stuff she had actually paid attention to, most notably about the apparent humongous job that the translators were undertaking right at this moment while they ate and talked to their leisure, suffering through the most boring yet nerve-wracking afternoon the girl had ever experienced. Although there were things she wanted to ask Asteria, she thought it more prudent to wait until the king finished his speak, although from the way kept going and going, it didn’t seem like that would be soon. Perhaps it was just due to its inherent sleep-inducing boringness, but, for Kary, it seemed as if the man had been talking for days on end, trapping them in this room as the unskippable dialogue continued to oblivion, eventually boring even the most resilient of nobles, who were themselves used to doing such lengthy and unnecessarily verbose speeches. Eventually though, for the joy of every last person in the room, be it the commoners, the nobles, the rest of the royal family or even the guards forced to stand upright and appear serious throughout it all, the king ended his discourse with a simple “With all that said, I ask that you please resume your activities prior to our arrival, and, for those of you unused to my presence, you don’t need to mind me, for I’m here still mostly for the delicious food heh heh heh.” As the people slowly returned to their small circles of conversation and gossiping, Kary gathered all the courage she could muster before asking Asteria to go with her to a less crowded place, to which the knight obliged, curious about what the girl was on to this time. Once they were in a corner far from prying eyes (at least, that was what Kary thought at the time), she began to speak in a hushed voice, almost as if afraid to be heard by the rest of the guests:

“Hey… umm… sorry for dragging you here out of nowhere, but it’s just… I’ve been meaning to ask you something that I really don’t want anyone else to hear.”

“It’s okay, don’t worry your little head about that. I’m just glad you trust me enough to do that.” She added with a smile capable of blinding a lesser man. Swallowing as she tried to organize her thoughts, carefully thinking about the words she wanted to say, the girl eventually replied:

“So… umm… if I told you that I have… a skill that could tremendously help with the translation… would… would I be allowed to help?” Asteria, a moment ago so playful, suddenly turned serious at the unexpected question. No wonder she didn’t want anyone to hear that! A skill like that could force her to forever work behind a desk, her entire life thrown away by the simple fact that she apparently could translate things not even experts were completely sure of. Massaging her temples, the knight racked her head in order to find the best reply to the reckless girl in front of her, hoping that things wouldn’t escalate beyond a salvageable situation. To her dismay, though, she heard a voice that was much too close to not have heard the stupid question from Kary, an old voice; belonging to a man Asteria was only familiar with due to her profession. With eyes filled with indignation and unbridled anger at not just the lack of any amount of privacy under the scrutinizing eyes of the royal court, but also at the way the man had approached them, he turned towards that the man who was still semi-translucent after employing an invisibility spell to approach the pair of women.

“If I may ask, what business does the court mage has with two gossiping women?”

“You say gossiping, but I swear I heard something very… interesting coming out of the mouth of the girl you’re attempting to hide with your body. Hmm, yes, very interesting indeed.”

“Since when were you here?”

“Since when, I wonder… Well, no use in hiding it from you, lest I lose my head in a much more literal way than I’d like. When I saw you being dragged to a corner by a little girl who is, by herself, quite interesting, with the lack of color displayed by her skin, I couldn’t help but wonder what she could possibly want to talk about with such an important figure, though I will say that I wasn’t expecting… this. I can’t say that you didn’t pique my interest, girl. I hope this isn’t too much trouble for you and your… guardian, I think, to meet after this lovely party is over. Don’t worry, she knows where to find me, so that won’t be a problem.” As he turned around to return to whatever it was that he was doing before, he ominously added: “I do sincerely hope that you don’t disappoint me girl.” he said, before chuckling with his raspy, aged voice. Seeing that old man again, Asteria was pointedly reminded of the reason why dealing with him was such a pain. With a long, drawn-out sigh, she turned once more to Kary, shaking her head in disapproval of both the girl, for her lack of forethought and immediateness after deciding that this room filled to the brim with important, petty people would be the most appropriate place to tell the knight such a secret, and herself, for her own carelessness that had immediately bitted her in the ass.

“Well, shit.”