It was more comforting than I thought it would be, having someone sleep next to me. Although I’m certain the bed and soft blankets had something to do with it too, I ended up getting a much better night's sleep than I could have hoped for. When I woke up it was one of the first times in a while I felt like I was actually rested.

Everything felt unreal. As the morning sun showed brightly through my window it made my eyes happy, the world was painted in vibrant colors, unlike the dreary sight of the great forest. My skin was still uncomfortably clean and smooth, and my hair was soft, my roots no longer hurting as I moved my hand through the strands to sweep it out of my face.

Without the sweat and dirt over my toughened scars, I suddenly felt every movement of my clothes as they glided across my skin. Since they were soft it felt nice but… Admittedly it also made me a bit uncomfortable being so sensitive all of a sudden, feeling it even more as I sat up and stretched my arms raising my shirt enough to expose my stomach.

I let out a soft breath as I turned to see Pieta, still fast asleep, hugging her now bunched-up blanket like a giant pillow and drooling on it. I had to cover my laugh to stop myself from waking her. She seemed like the type that cared about her appearance because of how cute she kept her appearance, but seeing how messy it was after she slept made her feel like a completely different person. Although personally, I thought her appearance then suited her personality more.

Before she got up I slid out of bed and got changed, heading off to the kitchen to get something to eat. That was where my peaceful morning soon turned to chaos…

I ran into Posy early on and before I knew it I was taking another bath… Which I was against for the record. I already felt too clean, but apparently, proper ladies took two a day. A cold bath in the morning to purify and wake the mind, and a hot one at night to clean and relax the body. I thought that was stupid though… So we compromised and settled for taking a hot bath… I still somehow came out even more clean than the last time, my skin practically glowing and some of my old scars even fading away almost entirely.

She picked out everything I would wear, without any explanation other than I had to and that we were in a hurry. She even went so far as to give me special underwear that was apparently mandatory, rushing me through everything like we were going to be late.

To try and ease her stress I went along with all of it, the dress was more like a robe anyway, so it wasn’t as uncomfortable as I thought, partially because I still wore my leather pants underneath. Then she brushed my hair, although it felt more like she was pulling it out, and in the end, it just curled itself back up. Considering how it looked before I thought it was cute… But Posy didn’t seem to agree…

When it was all said and done I felt exhausted, even though only a few hours had passed. Finally, she led me to a set of giant stone doors that I wasn’t sure any human could hope to open. More impressive still were the law bringers that stood guard, each one decked out in traditional heavy plate armor with a massive halberd in one hand and a thick book of holly text chained to their other hip.

The door began to glow and the guards reacted in kind, moving like statues, perfectly in sink as they planted their halberds into the floor and pressed against the doors moving the stone as though it were nothing.

I still didn’t know what was going on… But I started to feel nervous too. “You going to tell me what’s happening Posy?” I whispered, starting to feel ansy.

“We are having an audience with greater light Aurelia Thalia.” She whispered back. “So please don’t be rude like you were to the chefs…”

I growled. “I wasn’t being rude, everything I said was true… And they seemed to enjoy my company anyway.” I grumbled as we walked inside.

Her walk seemed elegant and respectful, prim and proper at its finest. I may have been wearing the same thing, but I decided right away I wasn’t even going to try and match it, just casually carry myself the way I always had. Without the right teacher, there was no way I’d be able to act like her anyway.

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The room opened up to that of a great cathedral. At the other end was a pool of pure water that glowed bright gold, and two women standing at its edge. One was tall, with overly exaggerated curves and Ash grey hair similar to mine, only with teal highlights giving her an almost childlike appearance that more than contrasted her body.

Her dress was some kind of strange take on a monk robe, teal like her highlights, but with a braided gold sash holding it together, or at least trying to. It showed off a lot of skin and seemed out of place in just about every way when comparing it to the modest attire of the priests and the girl next to her, and even the white stone backdrop if I was being honest.

‘Is that Plutia?’ I didn’t know for sure… But I had a feeling… ‘Sparks… Is she mad I haven’t been praying enough? Or maybe I didn’t go to a shrine as soon as I got back?’

The girl next to her was similar in size and stature, but wearing what looked like pure white robes, flowing perfectly around her to cover all of her skin, as her wavy light blond hair gently brushed back and forth with her subtle movements.

I could practically hear our teeth chattering as we approached. ‘If that is plutia… What’s she going to do? Is she going to cause a scene? I hope she’s not mad… Then again, I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen her get mad…’

I was thinking about how I should best apologize for not visiting her more often, or how I should beg her not to take away the blessing she gave me that allowed me to use lesser healing, but before I got close enough to do either the other woman started walking towards me.

Her graceful walk outshined Posy’s but slowly turned into a run, and that run didn’t slow down as she got closer, slamming into me and picking me up.

‘An attack? Did I already offend her? Wait no… This is a hug.’ “Too close…” I muttered, stiffening up. I wasn’t totally sure what was even happening, much less how to react, so I tried to push myself away but I couldn’t, her grip was too strong. ‘This is the guild master?’

When she did finally put me down she kneeled in front of me and patted me on the head like a child. “I heard about everything from Clarissa, you must have been so scared.” She wrapped her arms around me again, pulling my head to her chest. “It’s ok now everything will be fine, leave it to Aunty Auly

“Posy… What is happening right now…” The whole mystical and divine atmosphere was completely ruined, and as I looked over at her, it almost seemed like her eyes had rolled back in her head. She was completely unresponsive.

“And you, you worked until you collapsed from mana deficiency? I’m so sorry I didn’t send more people to help you, you must have had a really hard time too. I’d scold you, but I’m sure you got enough of that from Bartrend… Although he was supposed to be looking after you… I should scold him…”

She let go and gave Posy a hug, but Posy was still unresponsive. I felt my chest start to tighten as I only grew more confused and uncomfortable.

Finally, the other woman came by and grabbed her by the collar, yanking her away from us. “Auly you’re scaring my kid, do I need to give you a timeout?”

I looked at her and then back over to Posy. ‘There… related? So then it can’t be Plutia right?’

“And you!” The woman with ash grey hair yelled, pointing at me. “I’m really pissed at you you know!’

‘So I did do something wrong? Does this mean they're not going to help me now?’ I got chills again. “What did I do…” I asked, my voice squeaking as I started to tear up from how thoroughly confusing it all was.

She jumped back. “Ahh wh-whats that, don’t cry. I’m not really that mad ok.”

“I’m not crying…” I said slowly, holding my breath to stop the tears from coming out as I let my mind settle and take in everything that just happened.

“Ugh… I can see your tears from here. Please don’t cry, you're making me feel bad.”

I wiped my eyes and calmed down., although, for the record, none of them ever fell from my eyes… So I didn’t cry. ‘I guess I just got a bit overwhelmed.’ I let out a sigh as I moved my feet a bit to shake out. “Sorry, I’m fine.”

She let out her own sigh of relief before spinning around. “Soooo, what do you think? Oh oh, look, my hair. It’s cool, right? I changed it to look like yours but added some teal highlights so it wouldn’t be so depressing.”

‘Definitely Plutia… I wish she wouldn’t change her appearance so much…’ I grabbed a strand of my hair, comparing it to hers. “It’s cute. I like it, but… My hair actually looks quite a bit different now that I washed it with soap a few times.”

She rolled her eyes, groaning, then waved her hand to change the color again to match. “There, better?”

‘My hair can’t be pretty can it?’

She groaned. “You’re supposed to get mad that I called your hair depressing. It’s not depressing. You still aren’t standing up for yourself I see…”

“Well… I mean to be fair stuff like that is pretty subjective. And black and grey are kind of depressing colors so…”

She rolled her eyes with another groan. “Same as ever… Well… I guess that’s good as much as it is worrying… Now then!” She yelled making me flinch back, but only stepping closer in response. “Why are you so skittish all the sudden? I don’t remember you being so timid.”

I glanced over to Posy whose brain had completely shut down, rendering her unable to give support… ‘I can’t believe she fainted…’ “N-no I’ve always been like this. I’m just usually a lot better at hiding it.” ‘What the… where did that come from? Why did I say that?’

She started chuckling menacingly. “Oh, you noticed? We're in a zone of truth, so you can’t tell a lie, and you say a bit more than you want to. Now we're going to get you to reveal all your deep dark secrets.”

I took another step back. “Secrets… But I don’t have any secrets… Do I?”

She paused, her face falling flat before she turned to the guild master. “You used your magic zone thingy right? So… Does she really not have any secrets then?”

Auly chuckled. “This happens all the time, she doesn’t think she has any, but everyone has things they don’t tell other people about. Pure people like her just don’t remember those things as secrets, so you have to ask specific questions.”

‘Why do I feel like my life is in danger right now…’