A great lake surrounded an even greater empire.

Sache had been following along the main road ever since her last venture. It led to to meet a few interesting people along the way. It was only but a brief moment but they had recommended her go to the Haile Empire.

Covering her sparkling eyes against the blinding sun with her flawless hands, she peered on. A sudden flying creature arose from the empire. Sache could only see a blur after it had flown off.

“Empires are so powerful. Let’s see what the Haile Empire is all about. I wonder if I’ll get any leads.” Sache slapped her cheeks, turning them a slight tinge of red. “This time I’ll be ready. March on!”

The Haile Empire could only be accessed via these extremely long bridges. Countless soldiers manned these tolls, only letting those they deemed worthy of getting in. Sache quickly fell in line.

“What’s that kid doing there?” The head guard noticed a little girl who was much smaller than the rest of the visitors. “Go take care of it.”

“Hmm~” Sache was bopping her head from side to side, quietly waiting for her turn.

“Little girl, where are your parents?” The guard that they had sent was a girl. At least this way, Sache would’ve been more compliant.

“Little…” It was a critical strike. “I’m old enough to go anywhere I want and drink whatever I want!”

“That’s cute but really, where are they? We can’t let a child enter our empire without supervision.” She awkwardly smiled, trying to make sense of this situation.

“But you’re letting him in. Why can’t I?” Sache pointed at a man completely covered in scars. He was larger than any person within the line. If Sache was the most inconspicuous then this guy was the most eye-catching.

The man Sache had pointed out turned and looked around, trying to see if she was mistaken. He even questioningly directed his finger right back at himself.

“That’s… don’t worry sir. You aren’t in trouble.” She humbly smiled trying to lessen the man’s anger.

The female soldier came closer to Sache and whispered, “He’s old enough to enter the empire. Besides, you might get hurt inside and no one will be able to help you. You should take care of yourself.”

“And out here is safer?” Sache pouted. Despite faring well on her own, random creatures would come out and attack if she wasn’t careful.

“Come to think of it, who brought such a precious thing like you out here?” For Sache to come out here by herself, it didn’t make any logical sense.

“Could you follow me?” She reached out her hand and Sache kindly accepted.

Inside the tent, the head soldier’s brows twitched.

“What’s this girl doing here? Susan, I thought I told you to find her parents or guardian. Why did you kidnap her?” He sighed, this was going to add an even greater workload on him.

“For the record, I didn’t kidnap her. I detained her. She’s saying she managed to get here by herself.”

He rubbed his temple, “What’s the bloody difference? Know what? Leave it. I’ll handle this.”

Susan promptly left the tent to follow her original duties.

“Your name was Sache, wasn’t it? A Bard, and all that.”

“That’s correct, yes. I want to enter the Haile Empire to see the sights.” Sache stood and thumped her chest. She opened her bag and brought out her signature instrument, the Symphony Lute.

“If you don’t believe me, I’ll even play a song. You’ll have to believe me by then!” If there was anything else Sache loved more than telling a Tale, it was singing a song. Luckily for her, it came hand and hand.

Within a few strokes and strums, the head guard had no other choice but to admit it. “Damn, you’re good. Better than those quacks in those fancy entertainment districts. Can’t even play a song to save their lives, tch.”

“Even still, I can’t let you in. The Haile Empire isn’t necessarily the safest place in the world. Despite how much we try to cull the troublemakers, more and more take their place. If you want, I can send you to a neighboring kingdom instead.” The head guard took out his ink brush and started writing something down.

“This is something of a promise. If you give this to any traveling caravan then they’ll send you where you want to go. You should try to put up more protection. Traveling alone can lead to some terrible fates.”

“But… the Haile Empire…” Sache had been looking forward to it after so many people had said that it was the Empire of Entertainment. Exchanging songs and dance was something that fueled her very being. Who knows, with so many people inside, there just might be someone who has a lead on achieving immortality.

“I’m sorry, Sache. It’s just far too dangerous for you. Even the security inside our empire has been a little shaky since recently. If not for a traveling Samaritan, we would’ve been overrun with problems.”

“Oh, was he named Elias? Tall, very arrogant look on his face. Oh, yeah, he’s also an elf.” Sache had seen an opportunity to get in.

“I don’t know his name but they said he was pale with black eyes. It’s too common of a description but with his help, people started settling down.” The head guard had to call in for a guard to escort Sache out.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

She was now walking along by the lakeside. Dipping herself into the water knee-deep. She wasn’t particularly mindful of it due to her clothing’s new function.

She had no other choice but to give up. She couldn’t just force herself in, no matter how much she wanted to. Raising her hands in the air, she shouted in pure rage.

“This sucks!” Two voices yelled at the exact same time. Sache turned behind her while that boy looked at her in return.

“This is my moment, go away!” Sache cupped her hands and started spraying water on the boy.

“You go away! My dad owns this place.” Since he was drenched, he might as well return the favor.

“Eh? Haha. Really? Oops.” Sache’s eyes widened in realization. She quickly waddled off, trying to pry herself from the situation as soon as possible. Yet it was as if fate cursed her, she fumbled her step and fell down.

“Listen, what if we both agree this didn’t happen?” Sache raised her hands in trying to somehow convince a child she had just splashed water on.

“But it did happen.” He didn’t understand why Sache was saying something didn’t happen when it clearly just did.

“You didn’t get what you want, right? That means that it didn’t happen. Call it the rule of the world.” Sache immediately started spouting lies.

“I guess, that makes sense.” The boy sighed and sat down somewhere dry. He leaned on his hands that were placed above his knees.

Sache saw this as an opportunity to escape. And thus she did.

I don’t know what kind of trouble he’s in but he’s definitely a bigshot! It’s time to dip. Sache ran off for exactly three seconds when she grunted. She immediately came running back to the boy’s side.

Despite the age disparity being so large, their heights were quite similar.

Sache took out her Symphony Lute and started plucking away. Instead of a happy or slightly comedic tune, she had opted for an extremely tragic yet melodic song. It reflected the seriousness of life. It seemed to be completely off yet for some reason, the boy liked it.

“What’s your name?” Sache continued this modest atmosphere. With the moon encroaching from the distance and the sun setting, it perfectly mimicked her hair and eyes. Like the fading light of the world.

“Ignis.” He looked at Sache and reminisced something.

“What are you looking so down for? Cheer up, you have your entire life ahead of you.” Sache’s voice was filled with excitement and expectation yet her hands played the same serious melody. “I wonder what could make someone that lives so happily be so down about?”

“... My favorite bracelet got broken.” Ignis had taken out his hand and showed a cheap and haphazardly created bracelet. The band was already nearing its end and there were numerous accessories to it that had broken off.

“I didn’t expect a boy to like a bracelet. It must’ve been from someone important.”

“My dad.” He started holding it in his hands. He even felt the need to stop wearing it and store it away. “When I said I wanted this fixed he laughed and told me he was going to get me another one. A bigger and better one. That I should throw this one away.”

“Isn’t that better? It’ll last longer, be worth more, and show that your father values you greatly.” Sache feigned a smile. Her fingers moved against her will, bringing the song into the darker notes.

“I knew it. Adults don’t understand. They never understand anything.” He held this cheap bracelet in his hand and gripped it tightly, yet not tight enough to damage it. “I don’t even get why money’s so important. We already have a lot of it but we weren’t happier than back then. I liked the old days better when it was just me, him, and the store.”

“He even has my life all planned out. But he didn’t ask me if I wanted that.” Ignis was the type of kid that everyone would feel out of touch with. Sache didn’t feel that way about Ignis.

“I see.” Sache’s hands were moving faster and faster until a certain point, she stopped. She slowly started from the beginning once again, from that small serious note, it had turned into something more jovial.

Something much more akin to what a child would like.

“Do you want to hear a Fable? It will help you out understand why you feel like this.” Sache’s dark music turned soft and sweet. She played high notes that soothed the soul of all its worries.

“Eugh. It sounds disgusting.” Ignis placed his hands on his ears. He didn’t like how this sounded like.

“Hmm~ Is something the matter, Ignis?” Sache’s performance stopped for but a single moment. She plucked it with her hand and rubbed Ignis’ head with the other. “Maybe try listening to it for once. You might actually like it.”

“There’s no way I would ever like something like that! I liked what you were playing earlier. It’s so mature and perfect.” Ignis placed his hands on Sache’s hand yet he was barely exerting any effort. Sache’s pats didn’t stop at all.

“There, there. At least, listen to the Fable before you reach a conclusion. Open your heart.” Sache offered him advice.

----------------------------------------

Living Lumber Grows From Within

I took her hand and hers took mine, together forever

I slipped, shouted, and stopped, no longer caring, I now see

Ashes to diamonds, wood to dust, visual clarity

Gems aren’t gold, soil isn’t wood, now to plant seeds within our hearts

-o-

Seeds not watered will never ever grow

The ones I’ve sowed, oh how tall will it go

----------------------------------------

“The song still makes me nauseous.”

Accommodating his wishes, Sache stopped playing. She merely left it by the side, focusing on the person before her.

“Do you think what your father did was right or wrong?” Sache said straight. She didn’t hold anything back.

“He wasn’t wrong exactly…” Ignis felt like he somewhat understood what Sache was trying to say yet at the same time he didn’t get it either. It was just a feeling. A feeling that he wasn’t too sure about.

“But you don’t feel like you were wrong either. Right?” Sache looked up at the skies. She admired just how impartial they were to everything. They were too far away to affect anything down here.

“Yeah…” Someone was finally listening to his troubles but he felt so small doing so. It didn’t feel bad or good, it just felt like something that happened.

“I think you know what you have to do. I believe in you. But it’s fine if you make a mistake, you're still young! Your father’s there to guide you back on the right track.” Sache had decided to rise from her seat. She started putting her backpack on with the Symphony Lute in hand. She continued to play that ever-so-sweet melody.

“Thanks.” Ignis’ voice was strong but it was enough to reach Sache’s ears. “A Bard that keeps singing happy songs. I guess she still hasn’t grown up either.”

Ignis wanted to say something else but he was called out. His father had come searching for him. It was time for him to head back.

I wonder if I'll come back to visit this place again.