“Too much of a good thing would in the end become a bad thing as well.” - Old folk saying.
For the week that followed, Aideen took Celia around the city of Carolus, as the two enjoyed themselves to their heart’s content. Compared to Lavinja City, Carolus City was far more prosperous, and unlike the seat of the County, the prosperity was not a facade. People in the Marquisate leaned to plumpness because there everyone had enough to eat, and life was overall pleasant for most.
Not surprisingly, for a place where food was plentiful and relatively cheap - at least compared to the prices in areas like Celia’s birthplace - the development of cooking was also more advanced, and for days Celia kept a look of wonderment in her eyes as she tasted all sort of local cooking and delicacies that she had never tasted before in her lives, somewhat to Aideen’s amusement.
The young girl was still pretty naive about the world at large, which made a lot of sense, considering that she had lived her entire life so far in what was essentially the equivalent of the ass end of nowhere, the least well-off part of a grand Empire, one that was mostly ignored by the others and struggled for their continued existence. Aideen thought that taking the girl with her for the trip until she returned home might help give the girl some broader perspectives.
When they returned to their room at the inn on the fifth night though, Aideen found Celia sobbing into her hands after she returned from a bath. Quietly, she sat down next to the younger girl, and gently rubbed her back and shoulders with one hand until the weeping slowly came to a stop. Only then had she asked the girl the obvious question she had in mind. “What happened that made you cry so?”
“It’s-, It’s nothing that happened,” admitted Celia once she regained herself with a shake of her head, her hands rubbing her still-red, teary eyes. “I just recalled about my late parents, and my grandpa, and thought about how I was enjoying life these past few days… I wished they could be here so I could share this enjoyment with them, but I know it’s not something doable…”
“There, there,” said Aideen as she gently patted Celia’s back and ruffled the girl’s dense hair a bit. “It’s not a bad thing to give your emotions a vent, especially on matters like these, girl. Deities know I’ve felt the same way myself with my own departed family in the past. I still miss them to this day, honestly.”
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“Your parents? Right… you did mention that you’re like two centuries my senior before…” said Celia as she became thoughtful for a moment. The younger unliving pondered for a while, before she gathered up the courage to ask Aideen the question that lingered on the tip of her tongue. “When did they… pass on, if I may ask?”
“You may, no worries,” replied Aideen with a melancholic smile to her question. “I’ve pretty much outlived almost the entirety of my direct family, other than my niece, who’s a half-elf. Most of them passed on over a century ago. Even my husband had passed on nearly a century ago by now… yet I still miss them all greatly.”
“It’s something all of us who are blessed, or as some might say, cursed with eternity have to experience one day. Very few of us had the fortune that their loved ones also rose as one of us, so for most, they had to experience watching their loved ones grow old and die eventually,” she continued solemnly. “In some way, you’re considered on the lucky side since you’ve put most of those behind you already. It’s just a horrible feeling to watch your loved ones grow old and decrepit, as they weaken with age, while you remain as you were for the rest of time. It’s why some of us couldn’t bear the eternity given to us and chose to head to the afterlife on their own will, at times.”
“I… never thought of it that way before…”
“Well, of course! You would have no need to think about such things before at all,” said Aideen with a more cheerful tone. “I found that the best way to approach the matter is to keep a healthy outlook on life, maybe some small things that keep you interested in living… Anything helps really. Hobbies or other things you’re attracted to help keep your mind on the here and now, rather than make it roam and wander over the distant past and uncertain future.”
“I’ll… keep those words in mind,” said Celia as she pondered what Aideen had just told her. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, girl.”
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A week after they arrived at Carolus City, Aideen took Celia back to the smithy where she had placed an order for a training weapon, for the younger girl’s use. The blacksmith had greeted them with open arms and a sweaty grin, and quickly brought out the weapon they ordered even while Aideen counted out the rest of the payment for it.
The finished “weapon”, since it definitely could still serve as one even with the edges unsharpened, looked almost like the sort of prop weapons often used by traveling performers, the sword-staff having a similar handle as before, but this time forged entirely off metal, while the blade portion looked rather exaggerated in size and thickness to get the weight Aideen had asked for.
Overall, the weapon measured a full two meters, a full head taller than Celia herself, with half the length occupied by the wide, finger-thick metal blade. The blade itself still tapered down to an edge of sorts, though it was not the sort of edge that would ever win any awards for sharpness, since it was decidedly on the blunt end.
Even so, just the sheer weight of the weapon alone - a good fifteen kilos, two thirds of which was entirely on the blade end - would still make it a lethal bludgeoning tool regardless, and while Celia was strong enough to carry it without much issue, she had difficulty actually swinging it around. Still, it was nothing some training could not solve over time.