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Haja, A Merchant's Apprentice
Chapter 8: Red is but a Color

Chapter 8: Red is but a Color

Going back into house Margarret:

The situation is extremely tense. Elizabeth is currently being cussed out and reprimanded for doing this

to Miss Margarret’s guest. Of course the material damage is extremely low due to her abilities as a

spirit-channeler, but both Miss Margarret and Claire are extremely angry at her. Long story short,

Elizabeth has a deadline of 3 days. If she cannot persuade the two ladies to let her stay at their home,

she will be thrown out indefinitely.

Phase One of the cussing: Completed.

Initializing Phase Two:

After Miss Margarret goes back inside, Claire and Elizabeth have a discussion.

<>, that was her first question to Lizy.

<>

<

your pocket! We are literally the same age! Why the hell would you not go along when a prince

charming came to take you away?!>>, emotions are still burning brightly within Claire.

<

shit, it’s really simple.>>

Unlike her counterpart, Lizy is very calm as she thinks about how to persuade the girls to let her stay.

She expects another half-hearted response to come out of Claire’s mouth but is only met with silence.

After hearing a wincing from behind her, she turns her back around again to face the previously hidden

Claire’s face. It is a face, that is crying.

<<*Sniff* You’re right. I don’t get you.>>

She cannot really tell why, but something in her words must have triggered Claire, so Lizy decides to

apologize.

She takes a step towards her bestie and gives her a long bear-hug.

After a few minutes of crying herself out and some consolation between the two of them the

conversation continues, though strangely a weird mood has started to settle in from Claire’s side of

things.

<

take it?>>

An unexpected question.

<

as they say the right words.>>, Lizy responds while puffing up her chest to seem a bit bigger.

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She makes a chopping gesture with her hands, slightly weirding out her friend Claire.

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would not go along with it in most cases.>>

Now she starts twirling around in pirouettes, her purple work-dress fluttering in the wind, while she

continues her speech.

<

attraction. Can you be our lead dancer!” Or “Hey, this is a box inside a box inside a box! Can you box

us three times a day on our journey to the box!”! You need to at least be this crazy. But my absolute

favorite phrase for getting me to come with them would be this!>>

She turns around and embraces the completely startled Claire while rambling on.

<

No consistent salary! No medical care! I don’t like taking somebody, that can’t accept these terms. Will

you still come with us and experience the same hardships as us?!>>

The two of them are now spinning around a circle with Elizabeth taking the lead.

<

whatnot came to me with these lines on their tongue I would say yes in a heartbeat!!>>

Now it is absolutely for certain. Any and every person with unusually colored eyes is insane in these

flat pieces of land inside a soup bowl…

Claire just silently lets herself be carried away through Lizy’s dancing, while the latter is still

maniacally laughing and talking about all her weird fantasies.

<>

After realizing, that Claire had turned mute, Elizabeth stops her dancing and asks in a concerned voice.

Claire wavers for a moment before putting on a smile and saying this:

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<>, Elizabeth asks in a warmly sarcastic tone.

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<<...>>

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It took a while but now even Elizabeth realizes what is going on. Claire is trying to cut her off, to sell

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their friendship over the course of two years for a bunch of jewelry. Nobody could know what kinds of

thought are swirling around inside of her mind. What is she going to say? Is she going to tell her about

her own anger? Sadness? Betrayal? Disappointment?…

Elizabeth makes a somewhat large smile and says to her this:

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Acceptance.

Relationships are ties that we use to tie us to other people. We do not tie ourselves down, restricting

ourselves in the process. No, just like a ship in a heavy storm we desperately try to find safety in tying

ourselves to the things, that are our safe-spaces.

Sometimes, these ties can seem one-sided. Sometimes, they can rot away. Sometimes we need to cut

them off ourselves.

Which of the three do you prefer? Pretending a tie is mutual? Being betrayed by the tie you trusted to

support you throughout hardships? Or cutting off your safety space with your own hands before it can

be a detriment to the two of you?

What Elizabeth just did is something that not many people can do. For that, her behavior might not

deserve respect but I respect her.

What is Claire’s reaction to Lizy’s decision? She momentarily freezes for a moment, that could be

considered both short and long. Her smile twitches ever so slightly.

*Cut*

<

for now! I will talk with Miss Margarret right now and immediately make my way to Mr. Haja!>>

Then she smiles once more, as brightly as she can and immediately turns around.

<>

Both of them know, that the very last thing Claire said to her former friend, was a lie.

Elizabeth stands there, smiling, for a couple more seconds before taking off into the outskirts of

Jarabesa-Village.

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On that day, some inhabitants and customers of Jarabesa imagined hearing the sound of crying above

their heads, followed by a few drops of rain landing on their heads.

A few hours later.

Miss Claire was accepted as a second apprentice of Sir Raylon, the Old Merchant. She is typically

tasked with moving the wares and doing accounting.

She also swore an oath of the spirits, that she could not reveal any information about her best friend

Elizabeth, no matter what happens.

Three months from now, the oath lost its effectiveness.

Back to the present, there is a lone girl throwing stones from a large mountain.

.-.

Throwing stones, I see?

?

<>

I make my way out of the shadow of a tree, that has been hiding my presence.

<

in the mood to be scared for you right now! *Swish*>>

A stone narrowly swishes by my earlobe.

<

how much of a monster they seem to you- *Swish*>>

Once again a stone comes my way, only missing a bit more than the last one.

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At least she stopped throwing them at me.

<>

Immediately after saying that, I am confronted with a lavender fist traveling my way.

Luckily for me, the fist stops right before my face, though I can only think of one being capable of not

stopping, anyways.

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I slowly wave down her hand, while watching a particularly fluffy cloud in the sky.

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Directing my gaze back at her purple eyes, I continue.

<

But so can you.>>

*twitch*

<

talk about this>>, I say pointing at my chest area.

<>

On my signal, the lady slowly reveals the part I am interested in.

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I give the girl a short pat on the head before signaling her to cover them up again.

<>, she asks

<

headache since today started, young Miss?>>

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<

“Don’t worry about it. The more you worry, the worse it will get. I will guarantee, that the ones, who

should worry, will eventually find the source for themselves. “>>

The girl looks confused

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<

Number one: For some reason I knew I could trust this man.

Number two: Although it seems you are not related, you share one common trait.>>

I gesture towards my eyes.

<<...What was this person’s name?>>

<

seems that talking about him also causes this type of head aching. Let us quickly get back to the topic

at hand.>>

.-.

<<… I think my headache is getting worse again, so let us finish this quickly!>>

Skipping forward in time, this is what the Humanitarian sage told an Elizabeth in mourning.

1) The golden symbol on your body is called a prince’s privilege.

2) Anyone on Gaia can obtain this symbol, if they dedicate themselves enough to the world of the

spirits.

3) The more strokes your symbol contains, the more influence you possess as a prince

4) For reference: The highest I have seen were 12 golden strokes a while back or about 50 or so black

strokes, but we won’t get into that. Ever. If we do, I will most likely kill you.

5) While it is true, that the powerful get these privileges, the privilege themselves makes them stronger

as well.

6) Currently, there is a total of around 6 candidates, that are around your age and have potential on this

continent. You have already made one of them today, though he is still in the process of acquiring the

first stroke

7) The more strokes there are, the more observant I will become of you. I will not tolerate a person, that

abuses their privilege for injustice. Whatever that means, may be up to you to decide. In case I deem

you a danger to society, I will either revoke your right as a prince or straight on kill you.

8) Finally, if there is a prince, then there is also a king. I am the king. Princes have a right to dispute my

reign, if they wish for it. I won’t put repercussions in place for those that lose after challenging me,

so feel free to challenge me in whatever way you wish for. What am I the king of?

Spirits. I am the king of all spirits in Gaia. Every spirit on this pla- on Gaia is under my control.

Anybody else is simply given the right to lend these spirits from me, if they so choose.

All this was literally send out using a short-distance Gale-Cry.

<

question in the next coming months, you may feel free to contact me using this familiar named Kalifas

of mine.

I only have one last question left for you. What are you going to do now?>>

Elizabeth remains silent to process everything she just learned in a short time before answering.

<

paradise. To do that, I plan on going away from Jarabesa for a while. Either Hombredic, Matla or

Calesfasa.>>

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<

still have to bid you adieu. >>

The two of them split up relatively quickly and Elizabeth started to take on a journey to her new home.

She informed Miss Margarret about her plans and took her saving with her.

Due to selling blood-soaked towels for two whole years now, Elizabeth currently possesses enough

money to own a small piece of land. After giving Miss Margarret a small share for letting her stay in

the house and providing the towels to be sold as well as customers, she left.

She first tried her luck at Calesfasa but quickly found the atmosphere in her birth-town to be

suffocating for her, which is why she settled on Matla as her final destination.

If one could describe her as a flower bouquet, it would like this:

The corners of the bouquet are filled with beautiful Foxgloves, shimmering red like a circle.

Adjacent to the Foxglove, there is a small amount of white Clematis, cozying up to the foxgloves. But

regardless of how much the red and purple foxglove deceit the outside world,

throughout the color red, there is a single flower representing the center white Lavender.

Because Red is but a Color. Nothing more and nothing less.

On the outskirts around Jarabesa-Village, there is a young and energetic Haja Altwald sitting inside of

the Company’s carriage’s driving seat and shouting into the world:

<

my proposal!>>

Today was March 19th 334RPT, the day of his departure.

Unfortunately for Haja, both of them would very quickly forget about each other. Even Claire only ever

sent Elizabeth the jewelry via a messenger and never saw her face again.

If love is the color of red, then even love would bleach over time, because red

is just a color.