Chapter 131: Chapter 124: Calm before the storm
[Galadriel]
[Capital City]
Social interaction. The concept to her was vague at best. Considering what she was, what she represented. The spawn of the almighty demon God, an entity that might not even exist. Yet that was what she was branded as along with those of the past. Dull gray hair, pale lilac eyes, and pitch-black horns coupled with a foul dark mana that reeked with malevolent intent, that was the demon God’s spawns. All brought along with them ill intent and bad ons.
Most could not even speak said supposed evil God’s na, a curse was placed on it apparently. Only those strong of both body and mind could utter it. She never tried to say it, doing so would only put her in a worse position. As the recent demon spawn, she had no easy life. Prejudice and violence were things directed towards her at any given mont.
From the mont of her birth, she was shunned and feared. Her demonic heritage was evident in her, most of all her horns. She did not know if it was due to being what she was but she often found herself plagued by nightmares, visions of burning cities and screaming souls. She could feel that foul darkness within her, a growing, insatiable hunger that threatened to consu her from the inside out.
Her parents, unable to cope with the sha and fear that she brought upon them, abandoned her. They cast her out into the wilderness, leaving her to fend for herself in a world that feared and reviled her. She had wandered for years, alone and lost in a vast and unforgiving land. She learned to survive on her own, hunting for food and shelter in the harsh wilderness. But the loneliness and isolation gnawed at her soul, leaving her feeling more alone than ever.
As she grew older, she began to understand the nature of her fate. She realized that she was a prisoner of her demonic heritage, dood to a life of suffering and despair. She tried to fight against the darkness within her, to suppress the evil that threatened to overwhelm her. But her efforts were in vain. The demon’s blood coursed through her veins, a constant reminder of her tragic fate. Even now this fa??ade gnawed at her being.
It was a struggle against her own nature. She longed for love and acceptance, but her demonic heritage made it impossible for her to find companionship. She yearned for peace and tranquility, but her existence was marked by sothing she could not control. It was only when she ca to the Academy that she found so asure of acceptance. Mirabella, the girl who chose to stand up for her and defend her. William and Ruby, they knew what she was but they did not judge her, even Adrian in so odd way.
Even so, this was still a strange situation she could not get used to.
In the quaint embrace of the outsides of a simple café, where the scent of baked goods mingled invitingly with the aroma of herbs, the four of them convened around a robust wooden table, polished to a sheen by countless als shared. Astrid, Mirabella’s older sister and the crown princess had a bright smile on her face, no discomfort found. She surveyed the other sister—Valerie, barely eleven spring, fidgeting in her seat as if channeling the impulse to chase butterflies; and Mirabella, she looked annoyed.
At the table’s corner, Juliana sat shyly, her head barely peeking above the rim of her own cup, pale lilac eyes downcast, as if they contained a world she wasn’t quite ready to share. Astrid, with her personality, she seed ever keen on knitting the threads of companionship tighter, she leaned forward, her voice a warm sound, "It was quite surprising to find out Mira had friends." She gave a small chuckle. "So, Juliana, I hear you and Mira have been rather close at the beginning of the academy sester. What’s your secret to taming this tempest?"
Mirabella, offended or perhaps rely aware of her sister’s teasing prowess, scoffed, her lips curling in mock disdain. "I’m not so storm, Astrid!" she retorted defensively, her cadence dripping with defensiveness.
Valerie, seated neatly with her hands clasped under her chin, burst into a fit of giggles, her focused dignity slipping away. "You so are, Mira! I’m honestly surprised a shy girl like Juliana is putting up with you. You’re always so brash and rude." she chid in. "But you do seem happy now, or content at the very least."
"Oh please," Mirabella shot back, though the flush creeping up her cheeks betrayed her embarrassnt. "What could possibly be bad about ? You’re both simply ssing with my reputation."
Astrid, sensing a delightful opportunity to unearth more of Juliana’s character, redirected the conversation skillfully. "Juliana, help us settle this! What do you think of Mirabella? Is she really as fierce as she pretends to be?"
Juliana’s face turned crimson, as her shyness wrapped around her like a comforting shawl, "I... um... well, I think she’s just... complicated," she managed to stamr, her voice dipping to a whisper.
"Oh, complicated! That does sound like royalty!" Astrid exclaid, her laughter light and bright as she poured more tea into her sister’s cup. "You see, Valerie, even Juliana acknowledges the intricacies of our dear Mira’s personality."
Flustered, Mirabella shot Astrid an indignant look, her usual bravado caving under the affectionate onslaught. "I’m not complicated; I just have high standards... for myself, and for my friends!" she clarified, but the timid quiver in her voice was noted.
Valerie, giggled, "You should be nice, Juliana! It makes it so much easier to be friends with Mira if you flatter her, like Astrid does!"
"Oh, I wouldn’t want to flatter anyone, really," Juliana squeaked, "I just like that Mirabella is... strong-willed."
Mirabella, caught off guard, looked at Juliana, her expression softening as she realized for the first ti how her bravado perhaps wasn’t a necessity. "Well, um..." she mumbled, scratching her head, "I guess I appreciate that you see
that way."
"But you should really be more polite to others, Mira. Don’t drive them away with your ’tempest’," Astrid interjected, her grin wide enough to provoke another round of laughter, as Valerie burst forth in another fit of giggles.
Taking advantage of the progressing banter, Astrid offered Juliana a playful eyebrow raise. "So, what’s fueling this impressive shy aura of yours, Juliana? A great treasure, perhaps? A pantheon of magical light? Or just a boiling cauldron of insecurity?"
"Hardly the latter." Valerie chirped, "You’re brave for sitting with us."
Juliana could only muster a small smile, her limbs shaking slightly from laughter and jittery nerves alike. "I-I just want to be a good friend! ’Good friends’ are nice and quiet," she replied, the sincerity in her voice disarming the sisters, inviting another bout of closeness around the table.
"Good luck with that." Mirabella mumbled, with a smile. "I’m not easy to handle, you know."
"Maybe that’s the beauty of it," Astrid said softly, raising her cup in a mock toast. "To complicated friendships, to tea, and to all the unexpected bonds that mix our lives together."
Valerie seed eager to seize the mont, she was curious about sothing. The youngest princess leaned forward with her eyes sparkling, "Mira!" she declared enthusiastically, clasping her hands together. "Tell us about your ti in Verdantis you always ntion! You’re always saying how strong you were. What have you been doing there?"
Mirabella scoffed, feigning indifference as she rolled her eyes, but there was a hint of pride bubbling beneath her bravado. She liked seeing her young sister act like the child she was. Too much ti in the castle forced her to be too dignified for a girl her age. "It’s not like it matters, Val," she replied, crossing her arms, the corners of her lips twitching upward in reluctant compliance. "I’ve just had so experiences that... shaped ."
Juliana’s interest piqued, and she softly nudged, "I-I want to know too, Mirabella! You sound so fascinating." Her eyes flickered with intrigue, drawing Mirabella further into the light.
Astrid, sensing a mont ripe for encouragent, added, "Rember yesterday where you recounted that ti you fought that cult of dragon worshippers? That right there was sothing strong-willed and brave!" As she spoke, her tone was thick with admiration, encouraging an uncharacteristic blush to creep across Mirabella’s cheeks.
"Astrid!" Mirabella exclaid, voice a fluttering embarrassnt. "I-it’s not a big deal."
But Valerie was undeterred, "No, tell us! I want to hear everything!" Her enthusiasm was infectious, and the attention pouring onto Mirabella began to lt her usual brashness.
"Alright, alright," she relented, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, her initial resistance crumbling under the weight of their curiosity. "Fine. They were just a bunch of crazies. Hunting innocent people to fuel so ritual to revive a dragon."
Juliana leaned in closer, her eyes tinged with curiosity as she listened intently. "What did you do?" she asked, her voice a soft whisper, as if sharing a secret.
Mirabella glanced around as if discerning the impact of her confession, and then recounted. "Of course I beat a lot of them up. Though after them there was an attack on a city where
and the rest of my group stayed. There was a strong guy there." She pursed her lips at the thought. "He beat like it was nothing, honestly it would’ve probably been the end of ." She smiled as if rembering sothing pleasant. "But this big idiot saved ."
In the brief pause that followed, Astrid could see sothing that made her proud of her little sister. Juliana’s wide eyes reflected surprise, and Valerie was just as perplexed. "That’s so insane, Mira. I didn’t know the curriculum was that dangerous," Valerie exclaid, her eyes wide.
"Honestly I was pretty terrified in that mont. Honestly it pissed
off," Mirabella admitted, a hint of vulnerability surfacing.
"It’s okay to be vulnerable, too," Astrid chid in, her voice steady. "You’re allowed to feel a lot of things, Mira. None of us are just one thing. We’re all layers."
Juliana smiled shyly, her voice more confident now. "Yes, I think we all have those monts where we can be both strong and afraid. But, um, it takes a lot to really be strong," she confessed, admiring the courage it took for Mirabella to admit her fear. Sothing she herself was struggling with, all she could discern as to most was the ’demon spawn’.
"You know what, Juliana?" Valerie interjected, her expression thoughtful. "I think that’s exactly what makes strong friendships too! We’re all layers, right? It’s pretty special."
A silence draped over them, punctuated only by the soft clink of porcelain against wood .
Astrid, feeling a sudden wave of fondness wash over her, took a sip and looked at her sisters with so pride. Valerie could be herself and that was nice while Mirabella had grown in character, then looked at Juliana. "I’m so proud of you both—each of you has sothing unique to contribute. Why don’t we make a pact to always stand up for each other. I know how difficult it must be for you, Juliana. But we will not ever judge you." The aforentioned girl’s eyes widened at the words before her lips curled up into a small smile.
"A pact, yes!" Valerie cheered.
"It could be our ’friends code’," Juliana suggested, her voice imbued with strange newfound confidence. Her cheeks flushed slightly, but she held her head higher, emboldened by the mont.
"Absolutely! Friend code it is," Astrid affird, her smile swelling with warmth as they clasped hands together—this was more than nice, a rare but genuine mont she could not help but enjoy.
("Maybe...maybe it is fine for
to be happy too.") She thought, yes just because she had this curse did not an she needed to be miserable. There were people all around her now, William and Ruby did not mind her presence neither did the three sisters.
"Oh?" She perked up as Astrid uttered a sound, the three girls followed the older girl’s gaze. They took note of soone familiar, that lush and long white hair coupled with those crimson eyes, it was Lucinda walking about in the city. She was dressed in her costud armor now, simplistic in design but it served its purpose. Though soone ominous looking was walking alongside her, pitch-black armor adorned with red and a helt covering their face. "Ah, Lucinda and I wonder who that is."
"Maybe a date of hers?" Valerie innocently proposed.
"She didn’t seem like the type to date anyone." Mirabella shrugged.
"It matters not, how about we invite her and her friend over?" Astrid suggested though she did not wait for their confirmation. "Hey Lucinda!" She yelled from her seat.
The aforentioned girl perked up and glanced in their direction, she spoke so words they could not discern before she and her odd companion took strides towards them. It took them little ti to reach the four.
"Princess Astrid, Mirabella, and Valerie," Lucinda greeted with a slight bow before turning to Juliana. "And I fear we have yet to et, Lucinda a pleasure."
"O-oh, the pleasure is mine miss Lucinda. I am Juliana." She greeted back, she was yet to get used to how neutral people were being to her.
"I say it’s quite the coincidence seeing you here, but a good one." Astrid smiled, she snapped her fingers and two extra chairs ca into existence around the table in a burst of blue light. "Please join us. It would be good to form closer bonds seeing as we will battle aside one another in the upcoming festival."
"Ah, thank you, princess, if you do not mind."
"Not a problem, and just call
Astrid. We are comrades after all." The crown princess stated with her usual infectious smile.
"Who’s your weird friend?" Mirabella made her curiosity known as the two took seats.
"Yeah, such ominous armor. Are you trying to scare people?" Valerie asked with a raised brow.
Juliana herself was, of course, curious. Wearing that much armor along with a helt obscuring their entire face could not have been comfortable. But she felt their gaze on her for a mont, she could not discern the intent. Was it hate, anger, or fear?
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Each person’s individual mana was unique, for those who were not spawns of any God or Goddess this was true. They varied from color to color or even as simple as the range of density. Spawns, however, had the exact sa mana signature and the only thing being different being quantity. Mikoto’s eyes narrowed beneath his helm as he stared at Juliana while taking a seat across from her. A dark purple mana shrouded her with a dark outline, besides the quantity it looked exactly the sa as that Chaosmaw’s, Aegraxes was his na.
She must have felt his gaze as she shrunk under it.
"You idiot, can’t you see you’re not seeing you’re making her uncomfortable?" Mirabella uttered out annoyed.
"Why so rude, best buddy?" Mirabella furrowed her brows in confusion while an utterly perplexed look found its way onto her face.
The gears went to turning inside her head, it must have taken a while to find out why his voice was so familiar due to how much the helt was muffling his voice. "Mikoto!?" She blurted out.
"Yep, I had the very sa reaction." Lucinda sheepishly admitted.
"Where the hell were you these past few days!?" The second princess questioned.
"Why? You missed
or sothing?" Mikoto shook his head as he leaned back in his chair. "I already told you Mirabella that we’re not ant to be." He continued in a dramatic voice.
"Ah, so you did fancy him." Astrid muttered with a cheshire-like grin.
"He’s speaking bullshit!" Mirabella flushed with embarrassnt as her older sister chuckled, Valerie seed to rember sothing.
"Mikoto....I know that na, you’re that weirdo with that weird mask!" She exclaid, were it not for his helt she would have received a dry stare.
("Mikoto, he’s the one who ca to our aid that ti. Ruby and William’s friend.") Juliana noted. He was all the talk, a strong young sorcerer who fought and matched the crown prince of Vel’ryr. Who destroyed and restored an entire forest. It was scary to think soone her age held such power, but she wondered why she held his stare for a mont.
"No but seriously you’ve been gone for five days. What were you even doing?" Mirabella questioned once more.
"I must say I myself am curious. Father was insistent on eting you concerning the upcoming festival." Astrid mused.
"I had to get a sword. Then I fought against this chick for five days."
That was new to Lucinda, she tilted her head. "You fought soone for five days straight?" She questioned incredulously.
"Yep, it’s a struggle staying awake. I could use so coffee." He confird, Astrid obliged by gesturing for a nearby waiter and asking for a cup of coffee.
"Five days straight?" Valerie blurted out. "I would not even be able to stay up for a single day." She cutely admitted.
"You wouldn’t even be able to stay up past bedti, Val." Astrid corrected with a chuckle.
"That’s not true!" The smallest sister retorted, Mirabella, anwhile, was still utterly confused.
"Soone matched and fought you for that long? You?" Mikoto was strong, she knew that much. So the knowledge that soone fought him for that long was a bit shocking. Added to the fact that the battle apparently went on for five days and shocking gets upgraded to absurd.
"That’s right, she was pretty strong." He confird as the waiter ca back with his coffee, he humd in satisfaction as he took the cup. Suddenly he could feel the piercing gazes of all present at the table, even Juliana seed invested. "Uh what?"
"You finally showing your face?" Mirabella seed strangely intrigued, too intrigued in fact.
"I must say I am also rather curious as to what you look like, not many would obscure their face for everyday." Astrid humd out with interest.
"Yeah your face was covered by that odd mask the first ti we t," Valerie voiced. "Do you honestly detest your appearance?"
"Hmm, I used to, I suppose," Mikoto raised his free hand and only slightly lifted his helt, exposing only his lips. Normally, his hair would have also been exposed, but a simple levitation spell lifted the wild strands of hair higher in his helt. He took satisfaction in seeing their disappointed expressions. Lucinda looked at his exposed lower face. Young as he was, she was expecting soone with a more rugged-looking lower face. But his fair and unblemished skin was counter to that, not to ntion his surprisingly rosy lips.
("They look... kissable.") A surprising thought from Mirabella, though she quickly cut off such thoughts by rapidly shaking her head.
"Aww, I was hoping to see your face," Astrid whined. "You should not be shy around us, Mikoto. We may yet be strangers, but we will be comrades soon, you know?"
Mikoto shrugged, lowering his helt once more. "Not shy, just don’t like exposing my totally handso face."
"Whoa! Look at that!" Valerie suddenly exclaid, pointing to the sky in the far distance. They all looked to see what caught her attention. Two golden streaks of light sailed upwards like cots. To others, that was the extent of what it was. ("Telluris? And soone else, both are keeping their mana hidden, so no wonder everyone here isn’t way more shocked.") The other party had quite an abundance of mana, less than him, more than Lucinda, and equal to Galadriel’s court mage. ("Still, my instincts are going haywire, sa as with Telluris. What the hell is happening?")
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