Following along with Sovereign Leon and his wives, I made sure to walk at their speed, keeping my shoulders square and my chin high, showing I wasn't going to keel over. But... The more I looked at them and listened to them, the more I began feeling it was useless to try to posture like I would back ho. They... were ignoring it anyway. Maybe I was overdoing it...? Tarsine was always better at this, after all... Haaah...
No. They, indeed, did not care much for noble etiquette. Walking just beside Sovereign Leon, I paid close attention to every movent he made while explaining the streets, and I could notice every shift in his or his wives' tone. All of them laughed easily when they made a joke, especially this... Yuri. She was for sure bold and brash, looking like an adult Jila. But I could tell that the other one, this Luna, was only elegant on the surface. Her body language, the way her eyes flicked to Yuri whenever she made a snarky comnt... She was just as wild, but she could mask it better. Haaaah... What a weird family. Wholly unlike mine, as my Father barely interacts with our mothers unless it's about sex or... He talks with the main wives who gave him sons. Us? Girls? Second-rate. Brothers... eh? Heh, I don't think I ever interacted with any of them...
“...and the western district,” Leon was saying, pulling out of my thoughts while gesturing toward a collection of taller buildings lining the street beyond the... What was it? Ah, yes, tram rails. “is dedicated to research and developnt," he continued, "See that big building at the end of the main avenue? That's our university. You can visit it later, as many of our brightest live there, including our foreign students who began coming over to learn to beco proper engineers.”
“Engineers?” I asked, using the word and tasting it a little as it felt... a bit alien. Mainly because here, I had to realize it ant sothing different than building a ballista.
“Yep!" Luna clarified, "Those who build most of the machines of Avalon,” she said, smiling. “Mostly, they are studying the proper maintenance procedures for trains. The turnout rate is pretty good amongst the foreigners, but mostly because we are only training and educating their conductors, sending them back ho in a month or so to make sure they can handle and take care of the trains we sell them.”
“You can make a visit there later on,” Yuri added nonchalantly. “Listen in on a lecture or two.”
“You would let us do that…?” I asked carefully. “Would you trust us that much?”
“Duh,” Leon laughed, rolling his eyes at . “You are my guests, and what is being taught there isn't a secret. Sure, go ahead! Don't worry, those secrets that I don't want you to learn about, you wouldn't be able to. Unless you marry my son. Then... that's a different situation.”
"..." Was... was this... a joke? Or... Damn it, I'm blushing! I can feel it! Tsk! Luckily, yli was clutching my robe, pulling on so I wouldn't burst out with sothing crude. Looking at her, I couldn't help but sigh while I slowed my pace slightly, letting my fingers brush against her hand. “You’re fine,” I whispered in a quiet voice, knowing she was close to a panic attack. She had never liked crowds and being in the city. And here? It was more than crowded. “Just don’t let go.”
yli nodded, her grip tightening, and I raised my head, realizing sothing else. This city was... crowded. People were walking past us. They for sure recognized their ruler, but... Everything was so different. Back ho, my Father would never walk the streets like this, especially not without his guards. But here...? Honestly... What is up with this city...?
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Walking behind Rashira, my eyes slowly moved from Lancelot's Father and back to the clean, wide streets, slowly making sigh. The city was a marvel. It also reminded of the battle maps I used to draw as a little girl...
Of course, I wouldn't ntion that to anyone, not because I was embarrassed about it, but because I just didn't want them to think I was insulting their creation. Because I was sure this city was designed from its first building blocks to its last. I could tell it from looking at the roads. They were paved evenly and lined with gutters, all of them being arranged in clean, geotric grids. More than that, the streets were wide enough for carriages passing by and then so. This Sovereign Leon had to plan it from the start... Also, not one house or shop was misaligned, showing that none of them were a late addition, sothing that wasn't preplanned. Everything had been developed in advance, which was the complete opposite of our city.
Oh... And the rails.
My eyes kept drifting to the trams going past us, these brightly painted red and gold, elegant carriages made of shining tal and thick glass, powered by... Sothing that I couldn’t identify. They made such an interesting noise and looked so... unique! I wonder if it would be faster than a galloping horse... Maybe not. But then again, it would frighten anybody on a battlefield if it started coming towards you. Yet here, people waited in multiple lines to board them, using coin-like tokens at machines beside the stops. I tried to look closer, counting the symbols on one of the tal obelisks.
“It has to be sothing akin to how the body transmits blood into its limbs,” I murmured to myself. “The city’s been designed on a central grid… Five… no, six major arteries, radiating outward from—"
“Sothing like that,” Sovereign Leon interjected from before , catching my line of sight and looking back over his shoulder. Damn it... I was too loud. “You are right... Seltana, yes? Everything in Avalon was drawn out before the first stone was laid, and I made sure to future-proof it. I am still a step away from introducing cars to the public and installing traffic lights, but that is not at the top of my list. For now, the tram lines are indeed working like the arteries of my city.”
“...” I had no idea what he was talking about... But I caught sothing that was also interesting. "Do you an, before this, there wasn't a city here?"
“We had the people scattered, so living in a stinky town,” he said with a nostalgic sigh. "But no. The city was not here. If you ca here just twenty years before, this place would be empty."
"...." Just... twenty... years? No... Under that?! That's... No way... that is... “Efficient,” I mumbled, unable to hold it back.
I don't think my ho city could have been built in only twenty years...
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Getting off the flying ship was a relief. Finally, clean air and stable ground below my feet... I don't want to fly ever again! Ugh... But at least I managed to keep my grace and not embarrass myself or my lineage. Or my sisters. But I need to remind myself that if I ever get forced to get on an airship again, I must not eat before it happens! It almost ca back up multiple tis...
But, now, walking behind my sisters and this Sovereign, I had to realize the airship was nothing compared to this place. What the hell was this city?! How... how can it be so beautiful?! Then it clicked as I kept looking at the people, simple n and won who outdressed without any effort...
It was their clothing that made everything majestic.
Everywhere I looked, the Avalonians wore tailored coats, embroidered jackets, frilled blouses, high boots of brushed leather, hats with feather accents, and dresses that shimred in the sun's golden rays. It was... so beautiful! None of it looked gaudy or overly wealthy like so clan leaders I t. The ones who used to wear gold over silk and layer it like so kind of idiot... No. These people looked refined and practical, yet so very stylish, without going overboard.
What a paradise of elegance!
Abruptly... I caught my reflection in a passing shop window. My robe suddenly felt crude, too linear, too plain. I couldn't help but let my eyes flick across a display of dresses behind the glass, each of them more intricate than the last... I wanted them. I wanted them all. One mannequin in there wore a deep green velvet gown trimd with a touch of gold, accompanied by a tiny, sheer veil that rested just under the lip. Ah... So gorgeous!
I felt how my heart skipped a beat... And I realized, a little late, that the woman nad Yuri was talking to all of a sudden, catching my stare.
“My apologies,” I said hurriedly, my cheeks warming up. "I got... lost for a mont."
“Hehehe, I could see that. I said,” Lady Yuri repeated her words, "Our Arbuckle stores love visitors from abroad. You should see so of the things they make for Luna. It’s borderline criminal.”
"It's for the bedroom. There is nothing criminal about wearing them there!" Lady Luna smiled proudly, making twitch the edge of my lips, but... Sohow, I wanted to see those, too. Maybe even try it out... of course, only when I'm alone!
"Arbuckle..." I muttered as I looked back at the display, seeing the na there, probably the na of the design... how unique.
"I'll call Dorian over for you," Sovereign Leon said suddenly. "He is the owner of it all and makes the clothes for and my family. You can talk with him; he always likes a challenge and could incorporate so new Khulmani designs into next year's lineup. He can make so clothes to your specifications before they go into mass production."
“I would like that,” I murmured, trying not to sound so eager... and failing at it. My own design... Really...? Suddenly, the trip here was getting really exciting.
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This was better than flying! This was better than fighting!
I didn’t even know where to look first. The people! The noises! The slls! Sweet bread, roasted at, cinnamon, butter… And the constant movent! Everything moved... Ahhh! The trams humd, these weird carriages gliding over the paved roads, people getting on and off of them while their bells chid like birds... I want one! No, I want two!
“Can I go run around a bit?” I asked for the fifth ti, jogging up next to Yuri and Leon. The two were kind-looking, and I could tell by just looking at them that they were fun-loving people. My hubby wasn't lying when he talked to ... I like it here!
“No,” ca the imdiate answer from all sides, but not from them, but from my sisters. Ugh. Typical.
“But what if I promise not to get lost?” I tried again, but Rashira shot down.
“No,” She repeated, more firmly this ti. “You’ll get a tour when you get one. Then you can ask. Now, stay put and keep walking!”
"Tsk..." She can be more stuck-up than Tarsine sotis. “Hey, hubby... Don't you want to take for a spin and show the city? Pleeeease?" I asked as I turned to Lancy, "I need to know what that tram-thing is from the inside! And why do those lights flicker in the distance?!”
"Let's do it tomorrow... okay?" Lancelot groaned, probably not wanting to anger Rashira. Haah... I can understand that... Fiiine. I can wait.
"Okay, okay!" I smiled at him. Well... I need to be obedient sotis, so he chooses for sure. Whatever the others think, I am marrying this man, fufufu! He looks good, he can fight, and he has this city... Damn straight, I am staying! “I'll listen to you, hubby!" I said with a broad smile, "I’m already the favorite, anyway!”
“You’re not even married into the family.” He mumbled, but that's just semantics.
“Yet!” I answered while I hugged his arm, not letting him slip away. Dad, finally, you sent soone worthy my way!
"I like her!" Yuri burst out laughing, and I could tell she ant it. Good! I like you too, Mom Yuri! Oooooh, this is going to be so much cooler than staying back ho!
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Too much noise... too many people! This was... I hate this... Even if I clung to Rashira, I still felt like I was nothing but a leaf in a storm. How can they walk around so brazenly amongst so many... unknown people?! My eyes couldn’t stop moving... So many faces. So many noises... The buildings looked like they were towering over ... So of the smaller ones had rotating signs and flashing lights... It was scary... I want to go ho!
I was already missing the sll of wet grass and the sound of hawks calling across the open sky. The screech of the rolling box machine was like a crude imitation of vultures mocking ... But I had to endure... I didn’t cry... I was doing my best not to... I held Rashira’s robe so tightly that my knuckles were white, and when one of these foreign children running past us bumped , I nearly fell, yelping out.
Luckily... Rashira, as always, was there for and steadied without a word, without looking.
“You’ll be alright,” a voice said as a hand touched my back. When I looked, I saw the woman... um... Luna, if I rember right. She was unique, like the city, with eyes that were of different colors... Like an erald and an athyst... Sohow, watching her face cald down. She... she was nice. “Avalon looks big now, but it’s made up of small, kind pieces. You'll see, and you’ll find your place here. I promise. Just... give it so ti.”
Maybe... But right now, I couldn't see how, so I didn’t answer. But I didn’t look away again, either. I had to stay strong... until I was finally sent back ho.
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