Mrs. Sianna let the incident go pretty quickly when she found out Ruby wasn’t making another circus and had just fallen out of bed. She had enough insight to realize it was probably her brother’s fault, as she found him walking down the stairs as she went up, but since no one seemed mad and it was over, then she let it go.
Taking the chance of meeting with her, Ruby didn’t hesitate to ask the Mistress if she could attend the ceremony the following day. To her surprise, the older woman basically told her it was an obligation of hers to go. Mrs. Sianna seemed quite harsh at first, but in the last few days she couldn’t help but perceive her as someone pretty calm and relaxed, just getting into her stern persona whenever someone broke the rules or misbehaved. Still, she promised she would finish the scarves before the ceremony, getting a hesitant look and a nod in response from the caretaker.
Without anything else for her to do, she quickly got back to work.
As the sun set, she started to pile up the scarves one after another, leaving the basket with yarn completely empty. She still hadn’t had the opportunity to sit around on the table with the other kids, be it for any of the meals. She had a tendency to sleep past breakfast and get a late lunch along with Aurelia these days. Mrs. Sianna hadn’t said anything about it, so she just assumed she wasn’t doing anything wrong.
Before it was time to sleep, she got up and took the box full of her garments all the way down to Mrs. Sianna’s office.
“Finally.” She sighed as she made her way.
After knocking a couple of times, she waited there for a couple of seconds before she got a reply and got inside.
“Mrs. Sianna? Hope I don’t interrupt?” She asked, pushing the door with her back and shoulders first.
“No, it’s okay Ruby, you may come in.”
“I’ve brought the scarves all finished.”
“I’m surprised, I didn’t expect for you to be this fast.” She said, getting up and going around her desk to help Ruby with the box. It wasn’t exactly heavy, but it was bulky enough to make it troublesome for the shorter girl.
“A promise is a promise.” Was all she could say as the older woman took the box and helped her put it on top of the desk.
“First time I hear those words from you.”
“Taking a new approach to things, I suppose.”
“Is this because of your brother?”
“He said I was being considerate.” She decided to continue using the same excuse this time. It was better to continue with the ruse until at least she could get herself some good footing in this world.
“Will you be okay with him gone?”
“It’s not like he’s moving to another city, is he?” If there was something that had been a hit to her confidence in this whereabouts was finding out that Theo was going to move to the barracks as soon as he got his Class.
“Hardly happens, you mustn’t worry about that. Though, just to be clear, do not think that because he’s your brother you’re excused to meet beyond the bridge. Understood?” She always seemed to carry herself with poise and eloquence, but that made the warning even more clear than ever.
“Crystal.”
“What’s that?
“I mean, yes ma’am.”
“Very well, now talk to me about your craftsmanship here. How many were you able to make?” She went back to sitting, though got her candle closer so as to look in more detail the box she had in front of her.
“I made about thirty. Which I suppose doesn’t cover even half the children here now, does it?”
Clarisse eyed her carefully before replying.
“No, sadly it’s not enough, but I imagine you used everything I gave you?”
“Yeah, the little I had left I used to make a few simple socks, but before I realized I was out and couldn’t finish the sixth, so there’s only five plus a half-way done sock.”
She smiled meekly, not really sure if that had been the right call or not.
“That is more than enough Ruby. To be honest, you surpassed all expectations I had when I assigned you that job. It was meant to be punishment, but clearly you took it to heart. Even having just these few is a blessing, the quality of these scarves is much better than what we could have ever made ourselves as winter work.”
“Thank you.” She smiled. “Though I wished I had had enough to make something for everyone.”
“It is quite the unfortunate event that we didn't get more wool donated this year, but maybe for the next one. Besides, we can still use what the girls made last year. Actually, I’m in fact surprised you were able to make this many before winter even started!”
The conversation continued for a while, it being nothing more than an exchange of pleasantries where Mrs. Sianna thanked her for her job well done. She said she was planning on distributing them the next day, including some of the fancy ones to those who were newest to the orphanage, since they didn’t have any new clothes. Ruby did not forget to ask, however, if she could give one of the nicer ones to Aurelia, who had asked for one of those beforehand.
With that cleared out, she went to sleep with ease. Some of the girls asked her on her way back if they would get one of the cute scarves, but she just said it was for Mrs. Sianna to decide that, feeling fortunate that she didn’t have to take the decision and make more girls hate her.
----------------------------------------
The day had come. Ruby, unlike other days, had woken up earlier this time, mostly because there seemed to be chaos everywhere. Unlike the last few days, this time she couldn’t sleep through the chatter and constant movement of everyone around her. The girls were excited, some of them in her room being congratulated for this being their awakening day.
As she got up, she realized everyone was dressing the best they could, some of them even taking old dresses from cabinets that seemed untouched from quite some time. From the constant gossiping, she was able to gather they were hand-me-down dresses that were likely donated by some noble girls in the past, now only to be used by those who were to celebrate their awakening day, which then they had to give back.
It was kind of like the orphanage’s heirloom, which made Ruby’s heart stir for a moment, but quickly woke up as her attention went to the floor below.
The boys’ dormitory was no different to the one of the girls, with the exception of the volume of their voices, as some of them were clearly more excited about this day. The girls were more demure about it, but the boys didn’t hold anything back. She was able to hear the name of her brother a couple of times.
Not really knowing what else to do, she just started dressing up like all the other girls, eventually ending up with her hair. Since everyone seemed to be dressing up, she had no intention of not looking the part as well, despite not having much else to wear but her usual clothes. Thus, she took three strands of hair and started to quickly form a fancy lace braid across her hair. Since she didn’t have anything to tie up the braid she just went back to the whole bun idea, since it looked orderly. The rest of the girls, on the other hand, seemed to be quite the fanatics with the ponytail style for some reason.
Then, while she was putting on her dress, which was hard without a mirror, Mrs. Sianna knocked on the door and walked in, delivering some of the scarves Ruby had made in the last few days.
Of course, since there wasn’t enough for everyone, she was giving them mostly to those who were going to be awakening that day and prioritizing the new children who didn’t have older clothes from previous years either.
“Where are you going Ruby?”
Some girl asked once she was ready, planning on seeing her brother.
“Downstairs?”
“What? Are you crazy? You’re not supposed to see the boys. You’re not supposed to see anyone really.”
“So what do you want me to do? Stay here the rest of the day?” It’s not like she wasn’t used to staying inside, but she made a promise.
“You have-”
“Let her go. She’s the future-breaker after all. I knew something was up when you started behaving. Is that it? You’ve been waiting until today to proceed with your plan?” Another voice she recognized came from the threshold of the door. Staring right at her was Layla, the white haired girl with violet eyes.
Ruby didn’t really understand where the attitude came from, but she couldn’t help but admire Layla whenever she saw her in a different light. Sure, she was the Regina George of the place, but the girl had long legs, straight back, and, unlike the rest of the kids, looked spotless. Her hair wasn’t as glossy as it could be with shampoo, but it looked clean and reached all the way to her knees. “That’s quite the feat.” She thought, seeing her from top to bottom.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
She was wearing a very nice white dress this time, but unlike the rest of the girls, she was wearing some metal accessories, like in her shins and forearms. Ruby wasn’t exactly familiar with the name of the different parts of an armor, but she could at least tell they were for defensive measures. Of course, the white-haired girl was also wearing the same tiara she had the last time she had seen her. But, what she didn’t expect was seeing her wearing one of the scarves she had made, although it wasn’t one of the fancier ones, just a plain white one.
“Oh my god, I heard the girls talking about a snake lurking in the hallway, but it’s even worse than what I thought.” Aurelia came out of her room, wearing a pair of long boots, striped long worn pants, and an old leather vest on top of her shirt. The only thing that stood out from her boyish outfit was the new black scarf around her neck, white snowflakes and little golden stars adorning the garment.
“And there’s her pet, maybe you should become a guilder Ruby, you seem to have a knack for training beasts.”
“Don’t test me princess, pretty sure my fist can fit comfortably alongside that stick you have up in there.”
“Ruby, would you please order your dog to keep quiet? I can’t stand all the barking. I’m getting a headache already.”
“Allow me to clear your mind then.” Aurelia started to roll up her sleeves, but three girls jumped to stop her from actually starting a fist fight.
“GIRLS!” There it was, Mrs. Sianna’s warning for everyone to break it up before she got there.
“LET ME GO! I SWEAR I’LL RIP HER FACE!”
“Anyway, I’m quite busy today, so please do me a favor and take these already?” She asked while dropping to the floor a bunch of cloaks she had been holding until now with the exception of one. Though, before walking away, she approached Ruby one more time and whispered in her ear. “Maybe you should check if your dog has the rage spell or something, I think she’s almost foaming at the mouth.” She smirked a second before backing away, then, in a quick motion, she put on the one black coat she hadn’t dropped to the floor before.
“I HEARD THAT! COME BACK HERE YOU COWARD!”
Layla finally left and the girls were left to themselves to pick up the cloaks she had dropped. Aurelia was fuming, her eyes a few shades more yellow than their usual honey, but that didn’t stop her from warning Ruby to not go down the stairs. Apparently, it is tradition on the nights of the winter’s solstice for the girls and boys not to see each other, none of them wanting to have last minute issues with their Class. The cloaks were to be used by the ones awakening this day so as to signal everyone in town that they were not to be disturbed and allow them access into the Temple.
“Fuck her.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, besides, it’s not like I didn’t make my own plans beforehand. Ha! She had it coming.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You’ll see. Ready?” Aurelia smirked.
Ruby just gulped and nodded.
----------------------------------------
Aurelia and Ruby were one of the first few kids to leave the orphanage that day. The streets were packing despite the fact that it was extremely cold. Ruby couldn’t help but think at the fact that she didn’t make a scarf for herself. She was used to making clothes for everyone else, mostly because her design style didn’t really adjust to her personal taste of what to wear.
Now, however, she was regretting not having even one of the simpler looking scarves. At least she had been able to rummage through her old stuff and find a weird sweater that still fit.
“You cold?”
“Eh? Just a bit.”
“Here, you made it anyway.”
Aurelia opened her scarf and tried to give her half of it for her to wear. Ruby couldn’t help herself but smile and just nodded, taking the offered half and wrapping it around her neck. It ended up being a little tight and both had to walk very close to each other, but it was warm and it felt nice.
“So, tell me again why are we going out this early?”
“Because if we don’t go now the temple is going to be full and we’ll have to wait outside. Besides, I don’t wanna miss the show.”
“Right.”
The pair moved through the crowd slowly. Everyone seemed to be in a rush, moving from here to there, probably trying to make the last adjustments before it was time for the black-cloaked people to come to the temple.
Ruby was able to notice through open shutters that many, including inside their homes, were preparing for today’s evening. She knew this was a big deal and everything, but never expected so many people moving towards the temple or around the city. She didn’t know much about the outside since she had been grounded until this day, but it didn’t compare to the number of people she had seen the first time she had arrived in this world.
As they walked, she was able to even listen to a woman knocking on her neighbors’ door, quickly asking for a cloak and other stuff. Then, she realized people were not only asking about cloaks, but really asking everyone to lend them stuff like hammers, belts, boots, and even heard someone ask for a sword. The pair then finally arrived at the bridge and started crossing it. Ruby couldn’t help but look at Aurelia for confirmation of what they were doing, but she didn’t say anything and kept on walking like nothing.
Across the bridge it became quite much more common to see the different commoners run around with stuff that seemed to belong to guilders. Pieces of armor, weapons and all that were being moved across the streets like their life depended on it. There was even a man selling arrows like hot bread, though many house-wives couldn’t help but insult him for selling them instead of loaning them.
Ruby herself couldn’t help but just look and keep walking, fascinated by the liveliness of the city they lived in. Aurelia hadn’t said anything, so she just thought it was normal, but still couldn’t help but ask.
“Hey Aurelia?”
“Hm?”
“Why is everyone moving around… asking for stuff?”
Aurelia frowned, looking at her in puzzlement. “What do you mean? You don’t know?”
“Eh… I’ve always been grounded this time of the year so…” Aurelia just looked wide-eyed for a few seconds, but then just nodded slowly in understanding.
“Right… So, how can I explain this? Hm… Okay, so, you know how everyone who turns sixteen today is awakening?”
“Yeah?”
“Well, everyone wants to be something in specific. The majority has already a Class in mind, so in order to achieve this, the day of their awakening they try to dress the part to the best of their ability. You know, an effort to solidify the Class you’ll get.”
“Like… if you dress like a noble, you’ll believe you’re a noble?”
“Ha! That’s a good one. Kind of, yeah.”
That made some sense, she supposed. She always thought that clothes made a big difference in someone’s life. Sometimes really dressing the part can have a big impact on your life. While clothes don’t make the man, the clothes will always influence everyone else’s opinion of yourself. If everyone sees you as a boss and treats you as such, the easier it is for you to own it.
As she thought about this, she noticed a store that had quite the crowd of people inside and a very long line of excited people waiting by the entrance. ‘Awakening Powder’ said the sign hanging outside the door. The store had a brown glass window that, while it didn’t let you see much, you could still see it had plenty of equipment and the kind of items that people needed this day.
“I guess that’s an easy way to make coin.” Ruby commented.
“Not really. That’s a lending store. Probably family owned I guess.”
“Lending store?”
“Yeah, they charge a small fee for lending their stuff today. It allows those with less resources to get what they need for their awakening. They only open a few days before the solstice, so it’s not like they’re making great money.”
She was taken aback by the rituals of this culture, but couldn’t help but stare in awe anyway.
“Hey, we’re almost there.”
Ruby’s attention went back to Aurelia and then to the road ahead. In front of her was a huge line of people, slowly walking inside a massive white building with purple details.
“Lucky, we’re in the front of the pack. We should be inside soon.” Ruby just raised an eyebrow while looking to the front of the line. They had at least two blocks of people before it was their turn, but at least she could concede the point that it was moving relatively fast.
Eventually, the both of them were able to enter, following the crowd to the upper floors. The temple was the biggest building she had ever seen so far, having a vast courtyard right in the middle, which was where the Awakening ceremony was to take place tonight.
Both ended up getting a spot on the windowsill of the right-most tower, in between the sixth and seventh floor, right in the middle of the stairs. Aurelia had brought lunch in a small satchel she had under her vest, knowing otherwise they would be without food until nightfall.
“This is your first time seeing an Awakening, yeah?”
“Am I that easy to read?”
Aurelia shrugged.
“Maybe it’s because you keep looking everywhere.”
“Valid reasoning.”
“You know how it works?”
“Not really, I was thinking of just figuring it out as I watched. Is it about to start?”
Aurelia chuckled. “Hah, this isn’t starting until at least eight more hours.”
“Eight hours!? No wonder this is my first time here.”
Aurelia laughed, loud and clear.
When her laugh died down and she pushed another kid out because he was taking too much space in an already cramped area, she explained.
Awakening day happened in every single city, country and continent during a solstice day, pulling everyone out of their homes into the chaos they had seen today. In their home continent, the southern one, that happened at night just a couple of hours after sunset.
Once the Awakening ceremony was ready to start, usually the ones in the highest social strata went first. Nobles of course. Then, came the ones that belong to any influential family or business that had close ties with the nobility. After them, there were the children of members who belonged to the Guard, if it was prominent in the city. If that wasn’t the case, the sons and daughters of guilders were the following step down. Finally, you had ‘the people’. Children whose parents were farmers, shop clerks and all the rest. Usually farmers were the last to go, mostly out of prudence than anything else, since they were one of the most sizable groups.
“Where do Theo and the rest of the kids fall in this order?”
“I would hardly call them kids now.”
Ruby just stared, pushing her question and not wanting to debate her stance on the right age to consider a kid being a real adult.
“Not sure? Before the farmers at least.”
“How reassuring.”
“We’ll be here past midnight as a minimum, if that helps as a reference.”
It did give her good reference, but she didn’t know if she was going to be able to stay in that little space they had in the windowsill for hours. Fortunately, as time went by, she was able to easily distract herself.
It wasn’t too cold due to the number of people, and everyone sitting by the stairs or around the window was quite chatty as well, helping her learn a few more things about the culture around these parts. Besides, the beastkin, elves, and demons were a really good distraction as well. She wasn’t the kind of person to just stare, but her eyes did wander from time to time, examining. It was weird, but everyone acted like it was normal, so she did as well. Or tried to.
As the shadows started to grow larger and the sky got even darker than before, eventually it started to snow. She thought it was going to be colder, but so many people together in that big building made heat preservation an easy feat.
Aurelia flicked a finger on Ruby’s forehead, waking her up from her daydreaming.
“It’s starting.”