“Goodnight. May your dreams be the sweetest.”

“Ahh! Ahh! No!” The soft voice reverberated through the skies, yet it hadn’t reached the soft clouds. Raising his body abruptly, the boy sat up under the tree’s shade, eyes widened to the very limit.

Scouring through the lands all around, his heaving chest soon calmed down. Glancing at the hills graced by the sun’s gentle embrace, he watched as the grass danced along to the windy plays.

“That dream again?” A sulky voice asked, to which the boy looked around.

A little girl sat beside him, on the delicate blanket he also took part of with his body. Enlightened by the sun, it was almost as though her hair had been glowing, the boy unable to get his gaze away from the golden streaks waving down her face.

The dress she wore blended in with the hairs, flowing on her dearly, as if she was born to don such luxurious clothes. Compared to the simple, almost tattered shirt he wore, filled with shreds of the fabric when looking closer, it was weird seeing the two sit so close together.

Next to her, accentuating her person, a staff much longer than her own body lay freely, always within the reach of her arms. With a clear, blue gem at the very top of the ornately engraved wood, it denied any resemblance to the weapon on the boy’s side.

With a blade chipped in countless places, as well as a wooden shaft that threatened to splinter apart at any moment, the weapon couldn’t even be used in a proper battle.

“Yes, that one,” said the boy, with drooping eyebrows that almost hid his eyes fully.

“I’m sorry. If not for the priests, I would have cleared it already,” the girl said, a reaction quite similar to that of the boy.

“I’m fine, don’t worry.”

"The priests are right. You shouldn’t waste your powers,” he added, fuelling the awry look on her small face.

“It’s not a waste!” Her eyes glared at him, deeply resonating with the boy, who immediately stopped his mouth along with any movements of the body.

“What’s the point of having this power if I can’t use it for those that need it?” She asked, clenching her fists together with the soft cushion below her. However, for a while, only rustling of the leaves above answered her cries.

“I don’t know.” He replied at the same time as a large cloud veiled the light. “But, don’t you think it’s weird?”

The girl raised her head, looking up at the boy. Lifting the shy, slumped shoulders, she opened her mouth. “What is?”

“You know, that the priests keep you so restrained. You can’t do anything without their surveillance.”

“Ah, you were talking about that,” she muttered, lowering her head once again. “I can’t do anything about it.”

“Why not try? If you wanted to, I’m sure they wouldn’t be able to retaliate,” he proposed, only receiving a light shake of her droopy head.

“It’s not that simple.”

“I can’t do it, whether you think otherwise,” she added before briskly raising her eyes, at a sudden rustle of the blanket.

The boy stood up from his place, tightening his fists. “Then, if you can’t, I will tell them myself!” He shouted through the space before grabbing the spear near his left leg.

“What are you thinking about all of a sudden? Weren’t you still asleep a few seconds ago?” She asked with a raised eyebrow, but it wasn’t enough to persuade him.

Tightly gripping the wooden shaft, he placed himself on the grass while raising his spear, just barely missing the branches above him. “The world waits for no one! So, I will train hard enough for the priests to acknowledge me!”

Whilst finishing his words, the metallic blade cut through the air, coming down from above as he performed the slash.

“You…” she said, her eyes plastered on the boy while he continued to swing the spear. “You really are an obstinate one, huh?”

Standing up herself, she watched as droplets of sweat began forming on his forehead, quickly trickling down his nose and face.

Observing him while standing still, letting the clouds fly by in the sky, she suddenly said something which made his body halt the slash, halfway done.

“Why?” The girl asked, the lips spreading outwards to form a smile.

With creasing eyebrows, the boy turned suddenly, moving his whole body with the spear to the right.

His body stopped moving as he witnessed the scene right before him.

“Why did you kill me?” She asked, a faint droplet of a dark red liquid coming out of her lips. The smile soon receded as she opened her eyes wide, the eyelids quivering.

With a trembling arm, she traced across her stomach, a crimson stain extending itself from the spear’s tip in the middle.

“Ah, ah, no, I, I-I,” he stuttered, his hands shaking while in grasp of the shaft. “I didn’t do this.”

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Her fingers tainted themselves with her own blood as she stared down at the spear pierced through her.

“You killed me, Lutiel. Why?” She asked once again, making his pupils shake.

Dropping the grip while crouching, he swiftly grabbed his head, shouting. “I didn’t! I didn’t kill you! It wasn’t me, no. I didn-”

The voices reached him, all of different tones and shapes. Staring at the glowing pair of eyes before him, he heard the people ask him one question.

“Lutiel, why did you kill us?”

His eyes opened abruptly, to the utmost point they were capable of. Glancing at the pale ceiling ahead of him, Lutiel remained in the same spot, under the blaring rays scattering across the interior.

Moving them around, he quietly scoured through his surroundings, doing so a few times before working any muscle whatsoever.

Grasping the duvet placed onto him and taking it off, the planks beneath his feet creaked as he sat and stood up.

Swiftly, he approached the desk with a lone chair next to it, taking whatever clothes someone had placed on top.

Touching the black fabric of the attire, although he hesitated for a second, Lutiel still quickly grabbed it, revealing further pieces hiding under the top one.

Looking back and forth at the clothes on the ground and in front of him, having unfolded the one he grabbed first, Lutiel sighed inwardly before hanging the jacket on the chair.

Grabbing the socks matching shades with the first piece, he put them on and quickly moved to the trousers, having no issues there either.

With the starkly tinted shirt covering every bit of his upper body, with no parts hanging loose, he tightened the belt around his waist before getting to the long tie.

This time, however, his hands weren’t as fortunate. Lying on the neck, below his collar, with a bulge on the side that couldn’t be untied, he promptly took it off and stored it inside the pockets of his pants.

Watching as the sun started to peek in through the sole window higher while putting the clothes on himself, Lutiel stopped once the white gloves were put on his hands.

Dropping down onto the bed, he sat there, staring at the door ahead, as well as the clothes he had just put on. Stretching out his arms and glancing down, he moved them around, feeling for the fabric.

“Maybe a butler is the better call,” he whispered, sighing at the end. With one last look at the doors and the landscape beyond the window, Lutiel stood up and headed for the room’s exit.

However, just a step away from the doorway, as he was about to grab the metallic handle, they moved outwards. Fluttering his hairs, the squeaking hinges soon revealed the person blameworthy.

“Ah, you’re up already? I was just about to wake you,” Raeyine said, not moving her gaze anywhere other than the suit he put on by himself.

“First time?” She added before he could say anything.

Nodding his head, she let out a gentle breath before moving closer and grabbing his waist.

“You can’t just let the belt wobble around like that,” correcting his attire with a few remarks, the maid soon stopped, looking around his neck. “Where is the tie?”

Rummaging through the right pocket of his trousers, Lutiel soon brought out the dark piece, blinking at the quiet snort she released.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to,” letting out a quick apology, she took hold of the tie before untying it back to the intended look. “Watch how I do it.”

He looked up at the girl beginning to surround the bottom of his neck with the dark tie. Weaving one of the two pieces against the other twice, she quickly pulled down the one hanging free towards the floor.

Before any of them could blink, the maid had finished. Putting the long tie into his waistcoat, which gilt buttons she correctly rearranged, Raeyine also buttoned up the jacket, pulling onto the trousers to straighten them out in certain places.

“Here, done. As I told you before, we can’t have you looking improper,” the maid said while swaying her finger at him.

“You didn’t have to.” With a rigid voice, he lowered his head down at the quickly reordered clothes.

“I did. You’re new here, after all. I’ll let the first couple of lessons be free,” she glanced at him while letting out a smirk. “Now, come with me.”

“Is that what you wanted to wake me up for?”

She nodded her head and spoke. “Since all of the girls are still sleeping, I figured I could inform you about your duties during breakfast.”

At the mention of the meal, Lutiel immediately grasped himself by the stomach, which started producing riveting noises, at least to the girl who kept her gaze there.

“Don’t starve yourself and come,” she said, inviting him with her right hand before turning around to the door.

“Thank you, again,” he replied while starting to follow the back of the maid.

Turning right when he closed the door to his room, they began venturing through the corridor. Although she heard his sincerity, Raeyine didn’t gaze back.

“You’re welcome. You will need some help since these are your first days, so feel free to ask away,” she said while constantly walking through the roughly enlightened space. The sun just barely visited through the windows, settling in with a dim glare.

Looking at the cracks near the same floors as in his room, his gaze scoured through the corridors, all while keeping the same pace with the one he traced behind.

“It’s a bit shabby, don’t you think?” She suddenly asked, with her back moving steadily the same it did a few moments past.

“What?”

“The servants’ quarters. Don’t you feel it’s kind of old and worn-out? Not something befit our Lady?”

“I don’t know. Lady Zyponia doesn’t live in this part of the building, right?”

“Ah, no, no. Her rooms are on the top floor, I was simply wondering about something.” She shook her head after the words.

“Yesterday, when I pulled the mirror out, did you recall anything?”

With the question ringing around his ears, he eased down on the pace, the maid swiftly realizing as she herself stopped.

Only when Lutiel bumped into her did his eyes startle towards her, who kept looking at him.

“So, did you?”

A profuse silence followed her question as he opened his mouth yet nothing came out.

“N-no. I was just confused. When I saw myself, I just realized I didn’t remember how I looked,” he said, making hums come out of the nodding maid.

“Mhm, I see. Sorry. It must have been weird to experience that. The kitchen is just around the corner, so let’s move.”

“Yes.” With a reserved voice, the man rapidly went back to following the girl. Restraining her voice, she only broke out once they finally met themselves with a door similar, but completely different to his one.

Blending in with the walls, she opened the painted doors of the kitchen, at the same time making Lutiel involuntarily move his nostrils.

“Oh, I think it’s done!” The maid exclaimed, trotting towards the black doors made out of metal embedded inside the wall of the kitchen made with bricks.