Touring the Trade District of Sharmarli, on the way to the Palace of Lights…

Streets are crowded. People come and go, some rushing while others are like Anna, Eris, and me, going about it leisurely. It’s all good, either way.

We go past stalls and shops stocked with all manner of pretty and fancy things. Oddities and items from all over the land. One might say that they’ve got wares if you’ve got coin! We’d be here for hours if we stopped and stared at everything. We could, but… we have a date with destiny and my Prophecy!

Eris is showing us around with all the enthusiasm in the world, giving Anna and me the grand tour of the Trade District. She’s talking about the various stores as we go by them, pointing at their fancy signboards and telling us all about them. It’s pretty interesting trivia, but personally, I’d be content just walking and looking around for myself. Not that I’m complaining – if it means Eris is in better spirits… then hell fucking yeah! I’m all for it, any day.

The Trade District is just one section, one part of the greater whole that is the Holy City… but there’s a lot to see and a whole lotta walking to do! I’d say that it’s exhausting, but it’s not too bad so far. I’ve gotten pretty good with walking in heels, after all! It might be a lot harder doing so in hostile territory, though. But that’s a problem for later.

“Lady Ishii?” Eris states sheepishly to me, her cheeks bright red as her ears twitch nervously. “I’ve been meaning to tell you, umm…”

I smile and nod. Anna’s got her hand on her cheek as well. She probably knows what Eris wants to say, whatever it is… and she’s just as nervous!

“Ahh… I really, really like your outfit, Lady Ishii! It’s so pretty!”

“Really!?” I tease playfully, glancing briefly at my gloved hands and my gown before smiling sweetly at Eris. “That makes three of us.”

“Yes, yes, yes! Ah! And those pretty heels…” Eris adds reverently, her eyes sparkling brightly with wonder. “I’d love to have shoes like that. But my Manager won’t allow it!”

“Meh. Don’t worry – you’re not missing out on much. You’ve got that short and cute look going for ya, just like Anna! Maybe that’s what your Manager thinks.”

“It’s possible! Ah. He hasn’t said anything to me in months, though. Anyway…”

Oh, right. Where were we? The oh-so-grand tour! It’s not just shops now, it seems – we’ve reached that part of the city where all the dining places are. There are restaurants and cafés all around us, the alluring aroma of tasty food and drinks coming from all directions! It’s so damn good that part of me wants to stop for a quick tea break. Maybe a second one right after that!

But of course, we can’t – we gotta keep going! I’d rather not keep Lady Mezalune waiting too much. Besides, the Palace of Lights has way better stuff, as crazy as it sounds! I said before there’s a saying that one can live in that place for a century and never have to eat the same meal twice. Only one way to find out if it’s true, even if only for two days!

“On your left’s the Café le Phantasmagoria, which serves the best iced coffees!” Eris exclaims, gesturing enthusiastically to a café decked out with fancy gothic décor. “They serve it with chocolate-chip cookies that melt in your mouth when you dip them in your drink!”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Oh my!” Anna remarks, her mouth agape. “That sounds amazing…”

“Yup! And if you’ll look to your right…”

Good grief. Anna’s chatting up a storm with Eris, the latter bubbling around her like a little bundle of joy. Feels like I’m chaperoning a playdate for two, walking behind them. But it’s a nice change of pace to spend time with Eris like this, I’ll say that much! I remember the swarms of Demon Cult cultists attacking Anna and me at her command in the previous timeline. She sang a Dirge of Doom, our so-called Requiem… empowering her jailors and adherents to rend us for their new gods, the demons of Arcadia. We barely survived that fateful day.

Come to think of it… none of this walking, chatting, or touring ever happened in the previous timeline when Anna and I arrived in Sharmarli. We made our way to the Palace of Lights on our own, walking through these streets as a pair, nothing more. No tour, no Eris in Sacred Shield attire. So, this is all rather… different. It’s another change, one among so many, I suppose.

Gosh. She’s not leading us into a trap… is she? It’d be pretty foolish to spring one out within the Holy City itself, where the Sacred Shield is out and about. Nothing so far, though. I don’t sense anything amiss for now.

“Ah! If Lady Nhaka allows it, we should go shopping!” Eris exclaims with a big, bright smile, turning around to face me and Anna. “The three of us! Maybe even Lady Nhaka would join us! It’ll be a girls’ day out!”

“Yes, we definitely should!” Anna answers happily, nodding vigorously. “Right, Arisa!?”

“Yeah. For sure,” I answer, smiling cheekily as I sheepishly scratch the back of my head. “I’m totally down to shop any day, any time.”

“Really!? I can’t wait for a chance!” Eris exclaims, the icy teals of her eyes lighting up with joy. “Ah. Come to think of it, I haven’t gone shopping since…”

She pauses right smack in the middle of the fancy cafes and restaurants, lost in her thoughts as she tries to remember. Her brows furrow tightly, and her body trembles from head to toe as she exerts pressure on herself to recall her memories of the past. Her eyes look rather… soulless, pupils massively dilated as she stares past everything ahead of her.

“Eris. Eris!?” Anna asks worriedly. “Are you there?”

Her words are met with silence. We stand close to her, safeguarding her amid the coming and going of people making their way around us. It’s what we can do for her as we each charge up a Heal of our own, shrouding her in the soothing, restorative warmth of white and blue and silver light, by our Mana combined.

“Anna…? Arisa?” Eris says after a while, shaking her head. “Ah. Did I…?”

“Yeah. You spaced for a bit,” I answer with a slight frown. “It’s all good, though. You alright?”

“I…”

“We’ll go shopping together, Eris,” Anna says reassuringly, nodding gently as she places a hand on Eris’ shoulder. “And we’ll also have a culinary tour of all these nice eateries!”

“Yes, we will! Ah! I’m sorry for being such a bother today…”

“Does this happen often?” I ask cautiously. “Spacing out like that, I mean.”

Ruefully, Eris nods. She looks very stressed, her body trembling as she shifts about uncomfortably. As I glance at Anna, I see she’s feeling the same way about it. Stressed.

“It was my choice to forget. Lady Nhaka said so,” Eris says quietly after contemplating her words, her gaze focused on the pavement. “And yet…”

“You want to remember,” Anna answers solemnly, bowing her head. “I know how you feel, Eris. That emptiness, that blank space in your memories…”

“You feel that way too? That look in your eyes…”

“I do, Eris. I’ve lost my own memories of my life before joining the Order of Selene. Ten years of my childhood and everything I once knew.”

“Does it get any better? This hole in my heart, and yours…”

“I’ve learned to live with it. But if Miss Mezalune knows about your memories… maybe Arisa and I can help you! We can speak to her, and umm…”

“Anna, I…”

Eris doesn’t finish her sentence. She walks off without us, sights set on the holy spires above. I look at Anna, gazing momentarily into the worry in her eyes, and all I can do is nod sorrowfully, placing a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. We continue on to the Palace of Lights, following the Bard I once knew in another timeline as the Demon’s Voice.