Category Archives: The Story

Chapter 40: Guess Who’s Coming to Supper?

“This whole time it was Emi. Wow,” Beatrice’s Dad said, chuckling as he cut into his potato. “Can you believe I’ve known your girlfriend longer than you?”

“I’m surprised you never introduced me to your daughter, Earl– er, Mr. Ragnell,” said Emi. “But I guess she was always so busy reading all the time.”

“I doubt I would have ever noticed you, I was so into my books,” Beatrice said. 

“You and I both know that’s false.” Emi and Beatrice giggled together.

The four of them sat at the dining table; Emi tried to be as polite as possible, keeping a napkin in her seat and arranging all her utensils properly. The Ragnell Family home was small–genuinely not much bigger than Emi’s bedroom– but by no means was it too cramped for the four of them. Beatrice’s Dad flipped through the latest issue of the Balarand Circle as he ate, but otherwise, their attentions were all completely focused on Emi. In any other situation, this would have given her a panic attack. But now, because she had already stressed out enough about this event, she felt weirdly calm.

Oh Gods, was Emi relieved that Beatrice took this surprise well.

She had been unnerved to the point of shaking at the idea of meeting Beatrice’s parents, even if she had known Earl for most of her life. This kind of supper meeting was ridiculously important in a romantic relationship, and if she messed up it could doom things forever. It didn’t matter if she was overthinking things to the highest degree; this was a mission vital to the success of her continued existence as a human being.

So she had finally worked up the courage and told Earl herself. He helped him arrange the meeting and kept it all a surprise from her own girlfriend–at her dad’s suggestion–just so they could end up like this, happy together at the dining table.

Beatrice’s Mom was basically swooning at Emi. “When you said you had a girlfriend, I never expected her to be so….”

“So what?”

“So beautiful! I mean, look at her hair… It’s so nice and straight and…” Her Mom started playing with Emi’s hair. This was far from the first time someone had done this. For Beatrice’s sake, she let it happen.

“And your food is amazing, too, Mrs. Ragnell,” she told her, trying to keep from being too flustered.

“Oh, I don’t know if ‘amazing’ is the right word for it…”

“Mom, take the compliment.”

Beatrice’s parents were almost like older versions of her herself. It was so funny to look at them and then look at her, because she could perfectly picture how she would age. Her hips would widen, her curls would whiten, but those blue eyes of hers would stay just as vibrant and swirling  She wanted to make the most of her time with Beatrice, but she knew she could be with her for a lifetime. Easily.

So… 

Was now the right time?

Of course, there was an ulterior motive to this family supper, which is much of the reason why she had wanted to keep it a secret from Beatrice. There was one more thing she needed to ask.

She’d been meaning to do so for a long while, but she had never found the right time. Now, with Beatrice and her parents together like this, it was the perfect opportunity for it.

If she could muster the energy to do it, that was.

Her palms started to sweat, and her appetite disappeared into the pit of her stomach. Her heart beat in doubletime. “I do have one request,” Emi said to Beatrice’s parents. She pretended that her nerves hadn’t already faded into uselessness, that she had the courage to say it.

“Go ahead,” her Dad said.

Here it went.

“My parents are arranging to meet with me at Mammoth Pass for that city’s own winter festivals in a few weeks, and I am allowed to bring a guest with me. As a way to introduce my parents to Beatrice, would you give your permission to let her travel with me?” She flashed a smile for good measure. That wasn’t so hard, now was it?

Beatrice was stunned, but her parents lit up in excitement.

“Going to see the Mammoths? That sounds like so much fun,” her Mom said. “I’ve always wanted to do that.” She was still playing with Emi’s hair, by the way.

“And in all my studies on ancient cultures, I’ve never been able to visit the cultural museum up in Mammoth Pass.” her Dad said. “But.. it’s quite a lot of time. It’s nearly a week’s journey each way, right? Even if you stay for only a few days, that’s still nearly three weeks’ time…”

“It just isn’t possible, is it?” Her Mom said, a complete reversal of her previous comment. “I mean… just think of the timing, with exams and all…”

Beatrice came back to reality and banged her fork onto the table. “Emi. Why didn’t you tell me about this before?” She looked stern, but Emi couldn’t tell if she was angry.

“I… I wanted it to be a surprise…”

“I need to discuss this with my parents,” she said. “Could you go wait someplace else?”

Emi looked around the apartment.

“Uh, go in my bedroom, I guess.”

“Ah… alright.”

***

Emi laid atop Beatrice’s bed, wondering why Beatrice had such a weird reaction to her proposal. It was supposed to be a nice surprise, and yet she may have gone and upset her girlfriend.

She closed the door and tried not to listen closely to the muffled voices on the other side of the wall, but it was hard not to at least listen to their tones of voice. There was no yelling, just the natural flow of a reasoned conversation, but it had been going on for long time already.

“..Never done anything you haven’t…” That came from Beatrice.

“…Studies and it isn’t a good…” From her Dad?

“…Too much, you always said. Why now? I’m ready, really. Really!” Beatrice’s voice was getting louder, which was probably not a good thing.

Oh, why did Emi do this? This surprise supper, this surprise request, anything involving keeping secrets. If this escalated into something between the Ragnells, she would never be able to forgive herself for hurting such a wonderful family… 

Keeping secrets. That was practically all Emi ever did. She still hadn’t told Beatrice about her engagement. Hardly even hinted at it. And she was trying to get Beatrice to go with her on vacation. What a load of Mammoth crap she was.

Beatrice’s room was nice, at least. Extremely small, but that probably meant a lot less dusting for her housekeepers– er, for her to do. So tidy, too. Her desk spanned one entire wall except for the door while the bed spanned the other, and there was very little space between them. 

How did Beatrice sleep on this thing, anyway? Emi’s bed was admittedly one of the softest ever, but this thing was like a stone slab. If this was how commoners were forced to sleep, she was okay with being a rich snob.

There on the corner of Beatrice’s desk, sitting on top of a stack of books, was the wooden centaur carving Emi had given her a while back. This was the first time she ever went into the girl’s room, and already she saw a symbol for their relationship displayed proudly. That made her heart melt away for a moment, until she realized she still needed to take something from Beatrice back to her own room. Hmm…

Eventually, the conversation ended, and Beatrice quietly entered the bedroom.  Emi decided to pretend she was asleep to see what she would do. And what she did is pulled out her desk chair, flicked a candle on, and write in her notebook.

What? Was she studying at this hour? The madwoman!

Just as she was getting tired of doing this sleeping charade, Beatrice finished writing  and tiptoed to the far side of the bed. She squeezed in next to Emi, sandwiching herself between her and the wall. The bed was far too small for two people to comfortably lay apart, so they were now in a very close cuddling position. She put her arm around Emi’s waist and breathed deeply, in and out. Her breathing soon slowed.

Oh no. Now Beatrice falling asleep, leaving Emi trapped here on this sheet of bedrock one might charitably call a bed. Laying uncomfortably with the most beautiful girl in the world cuddling her… What a dilemma!

“Tris, are you awake?” she asked, finally, doing her best to act like she was just waking up from a nap.

“Yeah.” she said. “My parents said yes, by the way.”

“Really? That’s amazing!”

“I’m sorry about earlier,” Beatrice said. “But my parents are very protective of me. They don’t like it when I spring big surprises on them.”

“They took it well when I asked them about having a supper together,” Emi said.

“ I told them about you a month ago,” Beatrice said.

“Oh.”

“And… Can you not keep any secrets from me like that anymore? Tonight was really fun, but I was just really taken by surprise and it worried me a lot. Maybe I’m too much like my parents after all…”

“That’s not a bad thing,” Emi said. “Your parents are lovely. And so are you, Tris.”

“No more surprises, Emi?”

“I, uh, yeah. Yes.”

Beatrice hugged her tighter. Emi couldn’t see her face, but she hoped that Beatrice was as happy as she sounded. If those deep blue eyes of hers turned to pain, that would break her heart. “But you turned them around on it?” she asked.

“Maybe. My Dad seems fine with it now, and I guess my Mom is going along with it too. They weren’t going to allow it because all my exams are only a few months away, but I had a talk with them and convinced them that it might be the last big trip I get to take for a long time.”

“Because of… your priest stuff?”

“Yeah.” Emi’s heart sank just thinking about it. “But don’t worry about the priest stuff,” she said. “We’ll find a way to deal with it. If worst… If we… uh, well, I love you too much to just leave you be, Emi.”

“Thanks.” Her heart raised again.

“Also, my parents said I have to do a lot of studying while we’re travelling. Is that okay?” Beatrice asked.

“Have you been on the Northern Highway before?”

“No, I’ve never left Balarand.”

“You probably won’t want to study too much,” she said. “Trust me, it’s gorgeous. They don’t call it the Great White North for nothing.”

“I’ll do my best.” Beatrice squeezed Emi even tighter. She was so warm.

“No more surprises, Emi?”

But even still, Emi shivered.

When was she going to tell her about the wedding? Obviously not now, because that would completely ruin the mood. Maybe right after the trip? Or, if Emi introduced her to her parents at Mammoth Pass, that would be the perfect opportunity to shoot it all down at once, because they’d see what an amazing girl Beatrice was.

Or risk everything falling apart in front of her eyes. That would be… less optimal. But she was going to hope for the best, hope that “no more surprises” held true.

For now, though…

“Hey, Tris, can you turn around?” Emi asked.

“And face the wall? Why?”

“Just because.”

“Okay.” Beatrice let go of Emi and turned on her other side. Then Emi wrapped her arms around Beatrice in return. 

“It’s my turn to be there for you, Tris,” Emi said. “You’re the strong one, the level-headed one so much that I figured… maybe you deserve a rest.”

“Oh, Emi…”

“I love you so much, Tris, and I’m so excited about this trip.”

“Three weeks to spend together. It’s a long time.”

“We deserve it,” Emi said. 

“I feel like we’ve been in a relationship so long, but it’s only been… What, a few months?”

“A few months on the calendar, but a few lifetimes in our hearts.”

“Emi, that was the lamest thing you’ve ever said.” Beatrice adjusted herself and moved Emi’s right hand downwards, resting on her belly button. “Hold me tighter, please.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Is this okay?”

“You could afford to be a bit more courageous…”

Courageous. Emi hugged her girlfriend with a stronger embrace and thought about that word. Courageous…. Well…

“Hey Tris, do you think…”

“Do I think what?”

Emi kissed her on the back of the neck.

“Emi…”

“I love you.”

Then–

Beatrice yelped and then covered her mouth with her hands. “Emi!” she whispered loudly. “What the heck are you doing? My parents are in the other room…”

“Oh! I, uh–”

Emi let go of Beatrice and sat up from the bed. Her hands began to shake. What did she think she was going to accomplish with all of that? What a moron. What a–

Beatrice, still laying on her side cracked up laughing. “Emi, I love you.”

“I’m so sorry.” Tears welled up in Emi’s eyes.

“You’re great. Maybe an idiot, but you’re great.”

“I’m so–Hey, I’m not an idiot!”

Beatrice sat up and nuzzled her forehead against Emi’s. “You’re smarter than I’ll ever be,” she said. “Not about everything, though.” She kissed her on the cheek and stood up from the bed. She went over to her desk and grabbed a notebook. “By the way, I wanted you to have this.”

“This?”

“In exchange for the centaur carving. This is every note I took for every subject in my AA-grade classes at the junior priest academy. All of them for you.”

“For me? How come?”

“Just a keepsake, something to remember me by. And maybe I have some romantic notes scribbled in the margins here and there…”

“I’ll read every page.”

Beatrice giggled. “I know you will.” She handed her the notebook. “Now go home before Ms. Khami gets worried. We have a trip to prepare for.”

“Yes ma’am.” Emi saluted with the notebook. 

If everything went well, this would be perfect. If it didn’t, everything could come crashing down. But Emi was willing to take those odds.

<== Previous ♡ Next ==>

Chapter 39: At the Lab Again

Runa scurried around her lab, placing pieces of rocks all over the room. After that, she placed a shining metallic sphere right in the center of the room, inside that same cage of glass where those unfortunate bunnies used to be kept.

Emi seemed to be glad to be back and see the weird experiments once again, but Beatrice was very much in distress about being made to meet Runa again. Her girlfriend had no clue what haunting memories she had about her time as the girl’s babysitter… Seriously, I really think you should read your history books if you don’t know who Runa Arakawa is. I can’t believe you don’t know her. You’re really laughing about how silly she is? Gods, what has the world come to?

“I am not fooling around here with this deadly science,” Runa said. “There should be no way for this to occur. The sphere, which would normally act as the magnetic core of the golem, is completely separate from its other pieces. And I have drained the magical energy residue from each one, of course.” She pointed up to the large crystal hanging in the air, which made Beatrice wonder for a brief moment if the bunny test was going to be extended to the three humans in here this time. “But once I depolarize the energy and reactivate the sphere, it shall reassemble immediately!”

Runa pulled a lever, and the crystal in the air dropped. It crashed on the ground, shattering into a million pieces and sending magical energy swirling around the laboratory, zig-zagging and bouncing off the walls and curving around Runa’s equipment. Beatrice jumped out of the way of one of the magical beams, and as a result she tripped and fell onto the dirt floor. Emi let the beams pass through her and laughed.

“Runa, what are you doing?” Beatrice shouted, picking herself back up and dusting off her skirt.

“Worry not. This should be perfectly safe for humans, if I have done my calculations correctly.” The look of horror on Beatrice’s face told all, but Runa simply smiled as if nothing was wrong. Emi seemed just as pleased, clapping at the show before her.

The swirling aura of magic did seem a bit uninterested in the humans; it bounced around the laboratory for a while and passed through Emi’s body a couple times, then eventually entered each of the individual rocks spread out across the room. The pieces levitated up and circled together in a humanoid outline, filling in until only the chest area was missing.

“Now, the pieces will look for their core– their soul,” Runa said.

“Which is that sphere, right?” Emi asked.

“Yes. But because I have drained it of magical energy and hidden it behind a physical barrier, the rocks should normally be unable to find it. But if my hypothesis is correct, we will see a miracle happen right about…”

…

…

“About…”

…

…

The rocks floated around the laboratory for another minute…

…And then all at once, they collapsed onto the ground.

“Noooooooooo!” Runa ran over to the rocks and cried out in dismay, ranting about magical theorems and whatnot, speaking too quickly for Beatrice to decipher.

Emi looked over to Beatrice, who was still deeply mortified by everything that had just happened. “Runa’s so cute,” she said.

“Have you seen the way she looks at you, Emi?” Beatrice asked. “You may think she has feelings for you, but she wants to use you as a test subject.”

Emi seemed to regard this for a moment, as she put a finger on her lips. It didn’t phase her, though. “Why do you keep visiting her, anyway?”

“She would probably send her creations out to hunt me down if I didn’t show up,” Beatrice answered.

“Tris…”

Even Beatrice had to admit that that wasn’t an honest answer. “She’s not the worst kid in the world, okay? And her experiments aren’t too far from plausible. Even if they may be creepy.”

“Well, I don’t think they’re creepy,” Emi said. “I think they’re pretty cool. When they work, at least.”

“Thanks for being a supportive girlfriend,” Beatrice said.

Girlfriend…

She still wasn’t used to using that term. They had become an undeniable, undoubtedly legitimate couple, and yet she still felt a pitter-patter every time she said the word. Beatrice wondered if that feeling would ever really go away. She sort of hoped it wouldn’t.

Runa was still raving about in the mad scientist mode she was currently in, and had seemed to have forgotten she had guests in the laboratory with her. Beatrice took advantage of the opportunity, and stepped right in front of Emi. She put her hands on her shoulders. Then she leaned in and kissed Emi on the lips. 

Emi locked up like a statue, acting like an electrical surge had passed through her body for a few seconds. This happened every time they kissed. Beatrice giggled. Endlessly cute, this L’Hime girl.

Runa suddenly snapped back towards Beatrice and Emi, and gave a toothy grin. “I’ve figured out my error,” she said. “I know how to fix this!”

Emi tried to shake herself out of the sudden kiss she had just received. “Wh… What was it?”

“I shattered the wrong soul crystal,” she said. “The one I used must have been for a melted ice golem, not the stone golem I had desired. Therefore its metallic core would not react to the rocks. An easy fix…. but my supply of golem cores has run thin and must be replenished. So my quest to create life has been… postponed!”

“We’ll see you next time,” Beatrice said.

“You shall. And bring this lovely lady with you,” she said, staring at Emi without a semblance of politeness about her. “She is a fine specimen of human life.”

“I’m always glad to come,” Emi said.

“Me too,” said Beatrice. If it meant spending more time with Emi, she was glad to do anything.

They went upstairs and met Mrs. Arakawa, who was wrapping up a wooden box full of rice cakes for the girls. “Thank you so much for visiting my dear Runa,” she told them.

“You’re very welcome,” they said in unison.

Beatrice gave a quick kiss to Emi’s cheek and took the box. 

“Tris…” Emi was shaking.

“I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you too,” Emi whispered back. “Let’s go home.”

And they did start to head home, travelling south from the Arakawa house towards downtown Balarand. But as they approached their normal departing point near the library, Emi stopped. Beatrice only noticed after a few steps that she was no longer there, and turned around to see her girlfriend standing, fists balled up as she tugged on her own skirt.

The setting sun hit her back, igniting a glow behind her that made her appear a spectral figure. The flurries of snow whistled in the wind, making the air sparkle around them. And those eyes, just as deep and earthy as ancient buried treasure…

Was this it?

“Will you…” Emi began.

“Will I what?”

“Umm…”

It was clear she had something important to say, but it wasn’t coming out like she wanted. She tried again. “I’ve been meaning to tell you about this, and you might get really mad because I didn’t tell you about it, but if you listen to me I think you’ll understand, and maybe it’s a good thing, or maybe a bad thing, I’m not sure. But it’s important, so… I… will you…”

“Emi? What is it?”

Beatrice had no idea what she was trying to say. It was cute at first, but now Beatrice was starting to get worried.

Finally, Emi asked, ”Will you eat supper with me?”

“…Yeah? Of course?”

“I mean…” Emi sighed and grabbed Beatrice by the wrist. “Come with me, please. Let’s go eat.”

Where they were going, Beatrice didn’t know. But as long as it was with Emi, she was fine with everything. So with a smile on her face, she let Emi lead the way to whatever place she wanted to go. It didn’t matter, except that they were going together.

Though it would have been nice to know she was going to her own apartment.

<== Previous ♡ Next ==>

Chapter 38: Asking, Um, Questions

Another long day working on gear box creations, another long day failing miserably at her big secret project. Emi sighed, wiped the sweat from her brow, and pushed all her tools to the side of her desk.

Well, she learned some valuable things about how NOT to build a functional machine, and as weird as it sounded, that actually helped her out a lot. Her mind turned a little bit more gear-headed every day, and soon those cogs were going to turn in just the right way that everything would click and she’d somehow understand it all perfectly. Sometimes failure was a good thing, believe it or not!

All that failure made Emi hungry, so she decided to go downstairs to the kitchen and whip herself up a nice snack. She knew they had leftover pie from supper the night before, but whether or not she was in the mood for something as heavy as pie in the afternoon was still to be decided.

Her brain wracked with the possibilities of what she could eat. There were so many foods she craved. Pie, cake, muffins, cornbread, pancakes… mostly things in the bread category, yes, but bread was yummy and kept one’s figure full, so therefore it was the best. 

Emi opened the pantry, looking for–

–Pip and another maid kissing passionately–

“Aaah!”

–and then slammed the pantry door shut.

***

Pip, Emi, and the other maid, a girl named Sophi, sat around at the dining room long table, and Pip placed both of her hands on the table like she was trying to take control of a delicate situation. From the images swirling around in Emi’s brain right now, this was probably the correct course of action.

“Okay, presumably, you may have just seen us, er, having a romantic moment,” Pip said, “and I’m very sorry for that. So is she.”

“Sorry,” said Sophi.

“That’s, um, alright I guess.”

“But please don’t go telling Ms. Khami, alright? Please?” Pip pleaded. “She’s got us working crazy hard on that rooftop renovation project, but Sophi and I hit it off really well and thought we’d… Y’know, kiss and stuff.”

“In the pantry…?”

“Yeah, in the pantry,” Pip said. “Regrettable pick for a place, I know.”

“This house is so big, with so many empty rooms, and the place you choose is the pantry…”

“Okay, yeah, but could you please not let Ms. Khami know about it?”

“Let Ms. Khami know about what?” a voice said from out in the foyer. Ms. Khami’s voice, of course.

“Oh, brother,” said Pip. “Sophi, let’s skedaddle–”

“I didn’t realize you housekeepers were being paid to chat and eat,” she said, putting her hands on her hips in that classic Ms. Khami way. “I sure would like to have a job like that.”

“Sorry, Miss!” Pip chirped. “We’ll get back on it!”

“Actually,” Emi said suddenly. “Pip, could you and I, uh…” She looked at Ms. Khami to give a silent signal, and the woman relented from her stern pose. 

Sophi and Ms. Khami left the kitchen.

“So, what’d you want?” Pip asked once they were out of earshot.

“First, go fetch me the leftover pie,” Emi said.

“Pfft. Make me.”

“You are literally my servant.”

“I hear you, I hear you.” Pip went into the pantry and retrieved two slices of pie. One for Emi, and, naturally, one for herself.

“Thank you. But could you get forks too?”

“Yes, my master…”

Pip got the forks too.

“Okay, now we are ready for pie,” Emi said. “And ready for… um, well, stuff.”

“Yeah?”

“Like, you and Sophi were kissing and stuff.”

“Heh, ‘kissing and stuff.’ Just kissing, nothing special,” Pip said, twirling around her fork like a toy.

“But you’ve, well, been in a lot of big relationships before, right?”

“A few. Mostly small ones.”

“But you have, um, a lot of experience is what I mean, right?”

Pip smirked. “Guess you’d call it that.”

“And so, maybe I wanted to, um, ask you for advice…”

“About…?”

“Well, you know…”

Emi sunk into her chair. “I don’t get how relationships are supposed to go… I don’t know how to be a good girlfriend.”

Pip nearly choked on her pie. When she managed to swallow, she burst into laughter. “Emi… Emi, Emi Emi.”

“What?”

“You sweet, pure, innocent child,” she said. “You just wanted… Oh, Emi. You’re already a good girlfriend, I’m sure.”

“ I don’t think so,” Emi said. “I’m a complete novice. I have no idea what you’re um, supposed to do when you’re dating. It’s really embarrassing to talk about…”

“So let me guess, Beatrice is your first relationship?” Pip asked.

“Well, I mean, I had a couple little romances when I was a kid,” she said. “Does that count?”

“Not at all. She’s really your first, huh. Gotta say, that surprises me. Thought rich kids liked to seduce the commoners and all that.”

“Like I said, it’s a little embarrassing…”

“And one look at Beatrice and you already know the only thing she’s dated in her life is her math textbook, so I guess you two really are going at this like newbies.”

“Maybe yeah. So that’s why I’m, um, asking.”

“How to do romance properly?”

“Maybe, yeah…”

“Just, romance in general?”

“I don’t really understand it. It’s so embarrassing…”

“There’s so much here,” Pip said. “I don’t even know where to begin. What do you usually do?”

“We go on walks, visit marketplaces, hang out at the library together, eat snacks, talk about religion…”

“You poor thing.” 

“Huh?” Emi ate a chunk of pie, but it didn’t taste like anything but the feeling you get when your friends tell an inside joke you don’t understand.

“I mean, you’ve, like, kissed, right?” Pip asked.

“Of course, yeah. We’ve kissed. We kiss.”

“And beyond that?”

Emi’s face lit up. “N-n-n-n-no! Just kissing, just, um, kissing!”

“You’re absolutely adorable, you know that? This is the cutest predicament I’ve ever seen,” Pip said. 

“The sheltered rich kid life has really ruined me.”

“Also, you’re engaged in an arranged marriage, so there’s that involved.”

“Don’t mention that in this conversation, that makes all of this so much weirder!”

“But it’s okay to be a novice. You’re okay.”

“Well, I, uh, I sometimes feel like Beatrice wants more from me and I’m not being a good enough girlfriend,” Emi said. “But I don’t know what to improve on! Dating is so difficult! I don’t want to be a novice anymore, that’s all.”

 “You’re overthinking it so much.”

“I always do…”

“If you don’t know what she wants, you gotta ask. Plain and simple.”

“Asking is hard…”

“It’s part of being an adult,” Pip said. “You should know. You’re older than me, you know.”

“I’m a bad adult…”

“Is there maybe a book where I can learn more?”

Pip sighed. “You’re hopeless, and that makes it even cuter.”

“I feel so attacked right now…”

“Listen, Emi. You’re a great gal and your girl loves you. If you think you’re not being romantic enough, you just gotta ask. But you probably don’t gotta. It’s a feeling. You look into her eyes, and you know it’s gonna be alright.”

“So, asking and eyes… Got it. Do you have a piece of paper? I need to jot this down.”

In the end, Emi didn’t learn anything. But that was okay for her.

<== Previous ♡ Next ==>

Chapter 37: Sitting on the Couch

On a particular couch in a particular house, two girls sat side by side reading, and smiles shined on their faces.

Beatrice, free from her schooling duties and not yet deep into her Priesthood Exam studies, was finally reading a fictional book for the first time in a while–a mystery novel titled Hauntsgiving. It was the first part of a longer saga called The Elf Cycle, and this first one was about a dead mage’s spirit terrorizing a provincial town in some far-off land. 

So far, the book was… okay. The thrills were compelling and kept her hooked like a salmon, but the characters were two-dimensional stereotypes and there was little artistic depth to the story thus far. But Emi had asked her–more like begged her–to read the book, and she was willing to put up with any narrative deficiencies to keep her girlfriend happy.

Emi was on the eighth book in the same series, published just like week, titled The Last Gemini. It was an amazing adventure with the mage ghost and her mythical golem partner, following the two as they solved a series of grisly murders. She adored every mystery and every twist and every line of witty dialogue. The tragic star-crossed romance between the ghost and the golem, hopelessly in love but unable to admit it to each other in all their dual immortality…. It was an enthralling experience. Trapped in time, and trapped in romance…

The two women said little as they read. There wasn’t much to say. Well, besides one very specific phrase:

“I love you,” whispered Beatrice.

Emi giggled and her face lit up. She took a deep breath and inhaled her girlriend’s scent. It reminded Emi of the marketplace from all that time ago…The memory of autumn air blew against her cheeks. Sweet and crisp as ever. She could still see the tables of fruits and veggies; she could still taste the crunch of the salmon bind in her hand; she could still absorb herself in the deep lakes of Beatrice’s eyes.

Beatrice saw Emi’s look, felt Emi’s breath, and couldn’t help but blush as well.

It had been a long time since Beatrice and Emi had first met, since they first studied together at the library. Then, they were so ensnared by each other’s exuberant beauties that neither could keep their attention away from one another. Over time they had grown more comfortable together, more solidly in love, and that skittish infatuation had faded. Now, spending alone time together was no more nerve-wracking than taking a nap.

And speaking of that…

Beatrice set her book on the arm of the couch, stretched out for a moment, and then laid down and put her head on Emi’s lap. She closed her eyes. Emi’s thighs made for excellent pillows; they were firm, smooth, and wonderful.

Emi wasn’t about to quit reading her book, not until she figured out the golem’s hidden secret, but she felt the warm head on her lap and began moving her fingers through Beatrice’s winding curly hair.

“Mmmm,” Beatrice muttered like a purring snow leopard. She took her hand and rubbed her fingers on Emi’s face, down her pointy nose, over her lips, and then across her cheek and through her still-shockingly short hair. Emi let the girl’s soft fingertips send a jolt of electricity down her spine and overwhelm her senses, each and every one of them. She took the girl’s hand away from her hair and clasped it within her own.

Emi giggled again. “I love you,” she said.

But Beatrice had already fallen asleep.

It was a great thing, Emi thought, that their lives had ended up a lot better than that of the ghost and golem from The Elf Cycle. If Emi hadn’t sat down at the desk in the library that autumn day, they may have gone their whole lives without knowing each other’s embraces. And yet, due to whatever miracle of luck that graced them, she did sit down, and they did meet, and they were together now.

But even as she continued to flip through The Last Gemini, where it turned out that the dead mage may have been alive, but astrally-projecting her ghost body the whole time, a worrying thought scratched through her mind. Many worrying thoughts, in fact. Emi was notorious for her ability to fret and ponder over every little thing, whether that was about the secrets she kept or the clothes she wore or that embarrassing thing she said to a shopkeep six days earlier.

But then she looked down at Beatrice, sound asleep in her arms, and those worried disappeared. Because in reality, it didn’t matter what was coming, what worries she had or what insurmountable challenges faced them. Because they were in love.

Emi reached the end of her book; it ended with a captivating cliffhanger, but she couldn’t help but keep her attention on the woman laying on her lap, the woman holding her hand. She set it down and leaned her head back on the couch.

She could hear Beatrice breathing in, and out, and in, and out, and in… and out… Even the way she exhaled was cute. Without thinking, Emi matched the rhythm. Their tempos synchronized. Emi not only heard Beatrice, but felt her very being, in a sense. They breathed in and out together just like this.

With her free hand, Emi continued to play with Beatrice’s hair. She put her fingers into the jungle of curls, letting the hairs wrap themselves around her hand, and then unwind as soon as she pulled it through. Like a spring in a machine, they bounced back into their original positions. 

Life would be easier if people were built like machines, Emi thought. Life would be easier if…

Before she could do any further reflecting, she fell asleep.

***

Beatrice giggled as she entered Emi’s bedroom. “You must have tidied up recently,” she said. “There’s no way the Emi I know would be this clean.”

“Hey.”

“Am I wrong?”

“W-Well, this is the new me, the new and improved Clean Diplomat Girl,” Emi said. She noticed her outfit from yesterday laying on the floor and kicked it under the bed. “How do you like the place?”

Beatrice took a tour around the bedroom, walking while rotating herself in a circle, apparently trying to capture it all. Emi didn’t think this was a good sign. Finally, she answered: “Your room is as big as my apartment.”

“I knew you’d say something like that…”

Beatrice went over to one of Emi’s closets and opened it to reveal even more space. “You have a closet you can walk in!” she exclaimed. “Who in the world needs so much room? You should be renting this place out to a whole family, and then you could make a whole bunch of money off of it.”

“I don’t exactly…” She didn’t want to come off as a rich brat. She had to watch her words. “One day, I want to give the whole place away to people who need it, if I ever can. Though, I guess my brother Touma will probably inherit the house, not me…”

“Touma L’Hime? THE Touma L’Hime?”

“Don’t you start that again,” Emi said.

Beatrice snickered. “Your room looks nice. Especially this painting over here.”

“Oh! Do you recognize it?”

“No, but it looks pretty.”

“It’s a famous painting called The First Winter Ceremonies, by Tormod Benici. It depicts, uh, the first Winter Ceremonies. He said he was inspired to make it after receiving a vision from Bk’Man Himself, so he used the stark white snow to plaster on a dreamlike haze to the whole event.”

“And you own this famous painting?”

“No, it’s just a copy,” Emi said. “The real one is up in a museum somewhere in Dannark, I think. It’s way bigger.”

“It’d be nice to see someday,” Beatrice said. “Maybe you could prove to me fairies aren’t completely fake nonsense.”

“They’re real!” Emi shouted. “I mean… They don’t live in Balarand so the painting isn’t accurate, but nobody said the painting was real… Well, I guess…”

Beatrice giggled. She loved seeing Emi flustered, no matter how easy it was to accomplish. In fact, she did it again by stepping to her side and wrapping her arm around her waist. She recoiled for just a moment, but then relaxed and let Beatrice hold her.

“Just the two of us in your bedroom…” Beatrice whispered.

“Just the two of us in my bedroom…” Emi whispered back in a much more apprehensive tone.

“Ah, I see. You must have cleaned up in here just for the occasion.”

“I… Uh–” Emi froze up for a second, then shot back to life in a burst of energy. She left Beatrice’s side and then walked over to a shelf containing a very familiar item. “Look at this! Remember this thing?”

“Oh, that’s the centaur carving from our second date!” Beatrice exclaimed. “I forgot all about that.”

“What a night, huh…”

“A gondola ride, a light snowfall, and a dance at a fancy party… That was an awful long time ago.” Beatrice let herself get swept up in the amazing memories of that night spent wandering Balarand with Emi.

“It hasn’t been that long,” Emi said. “Only a few months, I think.”

“But so much has happened since then. I feel like a completely new person by now.”

“You do?” Emi asked.

“Don’t you?”

“If I became a new person, you might not love me anymore.”

“There isn’t a world out there where I don’t love you,” Beatrice said. “That fact is etched into the fabric of the universe.”

Emi suddenly choked up and had to fight back the incoming tears. After a moment of sniffling, she calmed down and picked up the centaur carving. “Tris, can I give this to you?”

“Eh? how come?”

“I thought maybe you’d like to have it as a reminder of, um, how our love is etched into the fabric of the universe.”

“I’m not really big on gifts, and I know you aren’t either. So I don’t see why.”

“Not really a gift or anything,” Emi said, “but just so we can have something of each other’s to remind ourselves of… This is embarrassing to say out loud.”

Beatrice went over to Emi and kissed her on the lips. “You’re so sweet. I’ll take it. One day, I’ll give you something of mine, too.”

“That’d be great.”

“Of course, speaking of gifts…” Beatrice winked and put a hand on Emi’s cheek.

That same cheek, of course, lit up in rosy red. “Tris!”

“Hehehe–Oh, what’s that over there?” She pointed to a bundle in the corner of the room that was covered with a blanket. 

“It’s, uh, well, it’s just some blankets, of course! Yeah, just blankets.”

Beatrice’s eyes narrowed and she smiled slyly. “Yeah, just blankets. Not that mystery thing you keep mentioning, just some blankets. I get you.”

“Haha…” Emi’s laugh was incredibly insincere, but she was sure it fooled her. Definitely.

Next, Beatrice’s attention turned to Emi’s bed, freshly made-up and adorned with pillows of all sorts. Emi was actually proud to have made her bed, all by herself, with no help from anyone. It was a work of art that could never be replicated.

“That’s a really nice bed,” Beatrice said. “It looks so comfortable.”

Emi beamed. “Yep. It’s one of the best beds in all of Balarand.”

“Yeah, I bet it is. I don’t think I’ve ever even seen one this big, either. I’d love to try it out…” She took a hop and landed on the bed on her knees. “Gods, this is soft.”

“Haha…” Emi’s face had turned completely red. “Too bad we took a nap on the couch earlier. Hey, why don’t we go see some other rooms in my house? Doesn’t that sound fun? Here, I’ll show you to the storage room downstairs. It’s where my family used to keep the horses.” Without hesitating for a second she left the bedroom. 

Beatrice lingered in the bedroom for a moment. She wore a mischievous grin on her face.

<== Previous ♡ Next ==>

Chapter 36: The Cure for Lame Feelings

“Gods, Tris, your hair is getting so long,” Emi said as she circled around to their usual table at the library. She sat down with her brand-new book and added, “It looks amazing, though.”

“Mm.” Beatrice sat at her side of the table, books and notebooks out, but her gaze was directed off to the side as she stared into the distance.

“Weird, isn’t it? When we first met, I was the one with long hair, now yours is just as long as mine used to be. Not that you had short hair back then. I think it’s better now, but it’s hard to say what your perfect hairstyle is. There’s a… Hey, Tris, are you okay?”

Finally, Beatrice snapped away from her trance. “Oh, Emi. Yeah, I’m okay. I was just thinking.”

“Hm, you don’t look okay.”

Beatrice’s shoulders slumped over. “You know me too well. I’m not feeling too great right now. I’ve got some lame feelings going on.”

“Oh, Tris,” Emi said with her most sickly sweet sympathy voice. “What’s wrong?”

“Hmm…”

“You don’t wanna talk about it?”

Beatrice shook her head.

“Well, that’s alright. Leave the talking to me.” Emi set down her new book and adopted the most confident, princessly posture she could muster. “See this here? This is my very own copy of The Last Gemini. What is The Last Gemini, you ask?”

No reply. Beatrice was back to looking lame again.

“The Last Gemini is the eighth and newest book in The Elf Cycle, my favorite book series of all-time. It’s filled with romance and mystery and adventure and peril and every single page just hooks you because it’s all so exciting. I’ve recommended it to you before, but… You’ve just got to read this series, Tris! I’ve been waiting for years for the new one to come out, and so the moment it did, I went and bought one of the library’s copy. It’s sold out everywhere else. Nothing in the world is better than reading a book series with a loved one, so I really hope you read it someday.”

“Heh, Emi. My Dad loves that series too, you know.”

“Yep, he’s the one who got me into the series!” Emi exclaimed. “He left work early today just to get a head start on me. What a devious man.”

“So go ahead and get started,” Beatrice said. “I’ll just be here, um, being your friend.”

“Tris…”

Beatrice gave a deep frown and said, “Actually, I do wanna talk about it. Emi, sweetie, can you move your chair over here?”

“You’ve never called me ‘sweetie’ before… Boy, this must be serious.” Emi took her chair and plopped it next to Beatrice. The moment she sat down, Beatrice rest her head on her shoulder. It felt like a big win, except that seeing her like this was certainly not giving a winning feeling.

“I talked to Mr. Statusian yesterday, you know, my teacher from St. Helens,” Beatrice said. “He told me… He told me that I…”

“Tris…” Emi put her hand on her thigh and let her take it. She squeezed the hand a lot tighter than Emi had expected.

“He told me I’m going to be something special,” she said. “Special as in the kind of priest who single handedly brings a new era for the church. What in Bk’Man’s name am I supposed to do with that kind of comment?”

“You’re already something special to me.”

“Shut up with your corny, lines, you amazing woman,” Beatrice snapped. “The Priesthood Exams are in a few months and if I pass, they’re going to offer me to join the church, and then I’m going to apparently become a hero across the world. And that’s everything I’ve always wanted, but…”

“But.”

“Oh, Emi, I feel so lame. I can’t be a priest when I have my family and friends and you, can I? It’s… Ugh, I shouldn’t even be talking about this with you.” Beatrice buried her face further into Emi’s shoulder, like a bird taking roost.

“Why shouldn’t you be?”

“Because you’re… Because this is all about you.”

“Exactly why I need to–” Emi cut herself off the moment the image of Lady Khara popped into her head. Or, her imagination’s image of Lady Khara. “Tris, you don’t need to worry about me. I chose to love you and that won’t end for any silly reason like this.”

“Becoming a priest is silly?”

“Well…” Emi had to choose her next words carefully. “I want you to be happy, Tris. The most happy. You’re not happy now, and it’s starting to upset me too. So whatever I can do to help you, that’s what I’ll do.”

“You don’t have to do anything,” Beatrice said. “Just listening is enough, and you’re an amazing listener.”

“Thank you.” Emi took a deep breath and added, “But.”

“But.”

“I have decided that I’m going to make sure you’re happy. I will be your guardian spirit, compelling you onto the path of harmony.”

“Why are you talking like that?”

“Let us go forth,” Emi said, taking her book and putting it into her handbag. “We will use the best parts of Balarand to cure the lame feelings of one Beatrice Ragnell!”

“Oh my, you’re in one of those moods again.”

“Indeed I am! Let’s head out on an adventure!”

Beatrice shook her head slowly, but she got up and followed her out of the library. 

Emi had the perfect plan.

***

But first, they had to get groceries.

Beatrice already felt a lot better, to be honest. Just talking a bit about her worries to Emi had cleared away most of the doldrums bubbling over inside of her. But Emi had acted with such decisive, adorable energy that it’d be a crime to stifle her now.

Even now here in the marketplace, as Beatrice picked out vegetables to bring back home for her Mom to cook, Emi was clearly restless, obviously antsy to get on with whatever crazy plan she had thought up. If they didn’t go do that soon, she was likely to explode outright.

“There’s a lot of the same vegetables here,” Emi said, not so subtly hinting that Beatrice was taking too long. She was starting to get annoying.

“I’m sorry, the selection isn’t very good this close to closing time,” Beatrice said. “Why don’t you go people-watching or something?”

“Oh, right. I’ll go do that.” Emi turned around in a huff. But then, of course, she actually did start people-watching.

It was hard finding the right produce when most of what remained were the damaged, unsightly, or just plain small ones that none of the morning shopper particularly wanted.

Beatrice decided not to turn this whole endeavor into some strange metaphor for her indecision and mixed feelings about the priesthood and about her entire life’s goals being turned into some looming threat, because she didn’t feel these vegetables really deserved the pain of being forced into that kind of weak comparison.

Instead, she found some acceptable-looking onions and daikons to–

“Oh, isn’t that your friend, that Bodhi guy?” Emi asked.

“Huh?”

Beatrice turned around to look and see Bodhi, and there he was, walking by on the other side of the street. He noticed her, and then tipped his hat and waved his hand. But then he kept on walking and was soon enveloped by the crowd around him.

“Yeah, that was Bodhi,” Beatrice said. “Why did he… not come and say hello?”

“He didn’t want to bother you, I guess,” Emi said.

“But I haven’t seen him in ages. Where has he been lately…?”

“Hm.” Emi didn’t say any more than that, but her face seemed telling. Exactly what she was telling, though, Beatrice couldn’t quite discern.

That was so weird. Bodhi used always say hello. He even used to come to the library sometimes to see her, usually to nag her into hanging out with all his junior priest friends. Now that they had graduated, he seemed to be keeping a distance. Literally.

Now Beatrice was starting to feel bad again.

Emi noticed it and grabbed both of her shoulders. “Okay, you have your veggies. Now, let’s go cure those lame feelings of yours!”

“Okay, okay, lead the way.”

“I can’t lead if we’re side-by-side, you know,” she said.

“Is that a request to hold my hand?”

“You know it!”

Beatrice couldn’t help but smile at her girlfriend’s infectious silliness.

They walked a ways west in town, away from the library and Castle Balarand, away from the marketplaces and restaurants and towards a series of large apartment buildings. Beatrice hardly knew this neighborhood. But Emi did?

“Will you ever tell me where we’re going?” Beatrice asked.

“Don’t have to. We’re already here,” Emi said.

Here they were, standing in front of a building marked “Pets & Pleasure.”

Huh.

They walked in and from that exact moment, everything clicked into place for Beatrice. She heard some growling and whimpering and other excited animal noises, then the odor of furry creatures hit her nose with some 

“My friend told me about this place,” Emi explained. “It’s a shelter for greyback bears that get picked up off the street and need a place to stay. It’s really important during the winter, where lot of stray greybacks face hunger and harsh weather, but it’s open year-round and anyone can visit.”

“I thought you hated greybacks.”

“I, uh, do. But I’m willing to put up with them to cure your lame feelings. Because guess what they have here? A cub petting area!” 

Aww, Emi was really putting her own feelings aside just for–Cub petting area?!

Beatrice dashed over to the tiny greyback cubs and nearly attacked them with love and affection. Awwwww wooooowww…

Emi did not join her in petting the cubs; in fact, she continued to keep her distance the entire time. For some reason, that just made Beatrice love her even more. All of this, just because she was feeling a little down today? She was the best. 

Wow what amazing creatures. Beatrice began petting two of them at the same time. It was a spectacular feat that made her feel so happy.

Nobody in the world deserved such a wonderful woman as Emi L’Hime. And nobody in the world deserved such wonderful furballs to pet for hours. But Beatrice had them both.

<== Previous ♡ Next ==>

Chapter 35: Preparations and Plans

For all her dreams of joining the priesthood and making a difference in the world and everything else, Beatrice had never actually been on the inside of a convent until now.

This one here, one block away from St. Helens Academy and situated on the same campus as one of the biggest churches in the city, was home to all the dozens of priests of downtown Balarand. But it was hardly bigger than Emi’s home, and unlike almost every other building in the city it was built almost entirely out of stone.

Each priest was allotted one bedroom and one meditation room, together adding up to a space hardly bigger than Beatrice’s own cramped bedroom. Though it seemed most of the priests made efficient use of their space with what few possessions they had. In addition to this space, there were three or four common rooms with chairs, tables and a kitchen laid out throughout the convent. 

A few priests sat around the common room reading books, perusing today’s issue of the Balarand Circle, and sipping on tea. Beatrice glanced at each of them and tried to take in just how they felt about their own situation. They looked… completely neutral about it. Oh, okay.

Stone walls and stone floors with hard wood furniture made the convent not only feel homely, but downright rustic. The priests seemed to be enjoying themselves, but they certainly weren’t given any bit of luxury.

Still, the atmosphere seemed relaxed, almost casual, and full of intellectuals with high education, to boot. She was sure there was a library around here somewhere, but she hadn’t noticed it yet to judge how extensive it was.

Her purpose here wasn’t to tour, though; it was to meet with Mr. Statusian regarding the upcoming Priesthood Exams. He had compiled some study materials for her to pick up, but when she got here to the convent, their meeting turned into a much more extensive conversation about her future. And that included a full look into what was to become her home if she completed her training.

Out of all the teachers Beatrice had had as a junior priest in all her subjects, Mr. Statusian was the only one who ever seemed to care about Beatrice’s welfare beyond passing classes, the only one interested in actively engaging her in conversation outside of school and discussing the facts of life. She respected him.But she also felt confused by him sometimes.

“What do you see in me that’s different than the normal student?” she asked, not wanting to skirt around the question. “Besides that I’m better at studying.”

Mr. Statusian laughed softly. “It’s a lot more than your study habits, that’s for sure. Something about your… smile, I think, is what caught my eye.”

“My smile?” Beatrice tried to imitate the way she normally smiled, but it felt weird.

“Let me explain. When you get an answer right, or when something clicks in that head of yours, you have this sort of smile that brightens up your entire face. You usually don’t raise your hand or try to upstage your classmates, but whenever I see your smiling face, I can know I’m getting through to at least one person.”

Beatrice didn’t know her smile was capable of anything like that.

He continued. “It was about a week into our last term when I realized you were leagues above the rest of the class. You might still need to do some studying before the Priesthood Exams, but I have no doubt that you’re going to be something special very soon.”

“What do you mean?”

“In the priesthood, we talk about the ebbs and flows of popularity in the Church, and right now, what with all the wars and occupations with Dannark and Doros and Elince, we are definitely in a down period. People still pray to the Gods, but they don’t really attend Church services or try to pass on their beliefs to their children. The wonder of magic is seen as parlor tricks and gimmickry. Sometimes these eras go on for a century or more. But every time the religion looks to be on the wane, someone comes along and acts as a spiritual rallying cry for all of us. Certain religious figures, such as Father Yolanda, Queen Yukai, or even Ulric Fathie himself in a twisted way, have brought about new revivals for the Gods. I think you could do the same.”

Beatrice?

Her?

This was nonsense.

“I highly doubt I can do something like that!” she laughed. 

“I might be wrong, but I think you will change Tsubasa for the better,” Mr. Statusian said. “You will be the one to help usher in a new harmony to the continent. Of course, you’ll have to end your relationship with whoever you’ve been seeing. But it’s just a youthful fling, I know. You won’t let that become a problem.”

….Eh? “Wait… what? You know about Emi?”

He laughed. “Well, I didn’t know her by name, but I figured you might have found romance lately. You stopped staying late and you seemed distracted in class. Not that your grades changed, of course.

“Well, there’s the mandatory exit time…”

“You know what I mean,” he said. “How is she, though? This Emi?”

Normally, Beatrice would have felt too embarrassed to describe her girlfriend to a stranger, but before she could even think about it, she was already speaking: “She’s sweet. She’s pretty shy but loves exploring the city with me and loves reading. We’re a really good match, even if she lives in a huge house and her parents are famous diplomats. She still hasn’t introduced me to them… I wonder if…” She trailed off, but she did have the nagging feeling that Emi was afraid of bringing a commoner home for supper or something like that. “She’s tall, she’s smart, and she blushes all the time.”

Mr. Statusian scoffed. “Diplomats? So her family is part of the bureaucracy that helped oust King Kline and his family?”

“I, uh, guess so. They’re still doing a lot of stuff, travelling to Zahn and Dannark sometimes. I think they’re away right now, doing some business or another.

“Let me warn you of one thing,” Mr. Statusian said. “Families like that are not to be trusted. If one cannot stay loyal to one’s country, how can we expect one to stay loyal to a friend, or even a lover?” He had suddenly turned much more serious, his normally pleasant expression having morphed into a stern scowl. It took Beatrice completely by surprise.

Beatrice felt sweat at her forehead, which was strange because it was very cold in this monastery. “Well… I… I don’t know.”

“There’s a lot of brewing forces out here in Balarand right now. Dannark has been taking many ill-advised actions lately, and people are getting restless. Elince won’t stay silent for much longer.”

“Oh, I, uh…”

“You heard what they did during the Winter Ceremonies, right? They took the Jewel of Elince and locked it up in Castle Balarand when parade organizers tried to use it. For the first time ever, in the history of our kingdom, Elincian flags were banned from festivities. It would have been unthinkable just months ago. But here we are.”

“I…”

Mr. Statusian shook his head and softly chuckled. “Sorry about that. It’s just… a topic a lot of the priests have been debating about recently.”

“And let me guess, you’re involved in most of those debates?”

“Well, I am Ulric the Plainsmith, after all.” He smiled, but it faded quickly. “I researched extensively in my training about the extent Church should be involved in local political situations,” he continued. “There has never been a consensus reached, but in general, we try to stay out of warfare and uprisings and scandals of any sort. The Church has made an official decree of neutrality in the occupation of Elince, but considering that the Holy Place is in the capital city Dannark…”

“It must be tough to stay out of it,” Beatrice said. “There’s so many protests these days.”

“Yes, yes there are. But… that’s not important right now. What’s important is seeing such an important girl like you down a path that might change the continent for the better.” And with that, he veered back into their previous topic. “I must warn you, though. This fling you’re having is surely a pleasant experience in the moment, but you can never forget that this Emi girl is merely a distraction on your path to serving the Gods. You can’t let any feelings you may hold for her distract you as you study for your test.”

“I…” she mumbled, without finishing her thought because she didn’t have one to give.

“I had someone before I joined the priesthood, too,” he says. “They were sad to see me go, but it was never meant to be. I think the difference I have made at St. Helens has more than made up for the sadness I caused that one person. It will be the same for you.”

Beatrice nodded, but she suddenly had a great urge to cry. “Thank you, Mr. Statusian.”

“Oh, and one more thing… have you told your parents about her yet?”

“Um.”

“I thought not. Your father didn’t mention anyone the last time we talked.” Beatrice always felt that it was weird that Mr. Statusian was on speaking terms with her own Dad. “I’m sure your parents suspect, but… I think it would be best if you left them out of it.”

“Right,” she said, less to agree than to simply keep from dwelling on any of this.

The rest of the conversation went normally, but Beatrice was a bit wrapped up in worry, the Emi kind of worrying. She was already a bit leery of actually joining the priesthood if it meant abandoning her family, abandoning Emi, and going off to the mountains somewhere to train. But if Balarand were in any serious danger, like Mr. Statusian suggested? Well, she wouldn’t know what to do at all.

She definitely didn’t feel like someone special.

<== Previous ♡ Next ==>

Chapter 34: The Winter Ceremonies

Snowflakes kept falling on Emi’s head. 

Her eyes were going to turn red soon if this didn’t stop.

She meant to wear a hat, but when she actually opened her closet to find one to suit her black dress, she couldn’t anything that matched. All that organizing she and Pip had done to her bedroom… it ruined everything. Just like the man whose feet were too big for his bed, nothing seemed to fit…

Those snowflakes were falling on her head. And they kept falling. 

Emi stood by herself in the middle of a crowded gathering area near the statue of Jon Knoll, to whom Knoll Park was originally dedicated. Apparently that man was a direct ancestor to our present-day Tia Knoll, his great-great-great-great grandfather or something. The statue sure looked like him, too, minus the wig and dresses.

She felt a bit weird standing around with a bunch of students from a school she had never been to, all dressed in the same exact too-thin-for-the-winter uniform Beatrice sported almost every day. Then there was her, who had on an elegant and warm-colored dress. She stood out, and she was sure everyone was staring at her, making comments about her. Being in a crowd, and one where she looked unique, made her sweat from the stress, even in this weather. The things Emi did for Beatrice…

Despite being angry that they would leave so suddenly, she was also glad her parents were still out in Zahn; if they were here, she would never have been able to get out of all the stupid parties today. So many balls and dances and creepy older men hitting on her. And as unfortunate as it was, she was happy King Kline’s processions weren’t happening this year… 

Yes, she had decided to be in favor of a hostile takeover of her kingdom’s government just so she didn’t have to go to as many parties this year. It was worth it.

Situated right in the center of Knoll Park, the Winter Ceremonies ritual was about to begin, and Knoll Park was soon to be shielded from harm for the rest of the year. Emi only knew the basics of magical incantations from what she studied to impress Beatrice, but she knew well that, when people channeled together their souls together with the correct strength, they really could do amazing things. And that’s how this ritual here was supposed to work.

A local priest, dressed in a traditional white-and-orange Elincian garb, began pounding on a drum to a rhythmic cadence. On cue, dozens of robed individuals, apparently Beatrice and her classmates, stepped out and encircled the Jon Knoll statue, taking each step in beat with the drum. They all had their heads down and Emi most definitely could not tell which of them was Beatrice herself, hard as she looked; anyone who says they can pick their loved ones out of a crowd like this are bald-faced liars.

One more priest, the man Emi identified as Beatrice’s teacher Mr. Statusian–she had mentioned him a few times and always mentioned his boyish good looks–stepped up in front of the circle of junior priest and clapped his hands. The drums stopped, and the park fell silent, aside from some chirping birds.

“We gather here to begin the Winter Ceremonies,” he shouted. “These junior priests, graduating this winter from the St. Helens Academy, have gathered here to send praise on up high and make sure the Gods know our devotion. If there are no objections, we will begin.”

Mr. Statusian waited for a moment, and then clapped once more. “Good. Junior priests?” The junior priests began moving their hands together in a rhythmic, circular motion. It was not in-sync, but instead staggered, each person’s orbit of hands leading into the next. It conjured up the image of a spiraling orb flowing through a field. At the same time, some of them also moved their positions forward or backwards. These things together made the image appear to move in and out of the depth of field.

The group continued this rhythmic motion, moving about until their formation was that of a sort of star, and then, all at once, they clapped their hands together bowed at a forty-five degree angle.

A glowing magical field formed in the spaces between them, casting a purple hue over the entire surrounding area. Like a funhouse mirror it warped the image in front of Emi’s eyes, and she could no longer clearly see what was going on except that the junior priests were staying in position. This energy was similar what she had seen in Runa’s laboratory, though unlike that time, the magic was not moving around erratically like lightning bolts, but instead focused in a steady position, almost standstill.

Silence struck the entire park, as if time had frozen just as much as the snow that covered the ground. And then, Emi had a sudden burst of inspiration about how to finish her machine. The way these junior priests had moved, the way they had created a picture with only their own movement… Wow. The gears in her mind began rotating, and– Well, she would think about it later. For now, she needed to pay attention to the ritual.

The silence was finally broken in a symphonic booming of voices. “Bk’Man, we honor Thee,” the junior priests said in unison. “Keep our winters wet and warm. Protect our city as we protect Your lands. And bless Knoll Park. Let Your delicate harmony wash over us.” They added something in a dialect that Emi couldn’t parse, and then unclasped their hands.

Immediately, the magical energy on the ground surged upwards into the sky, creating a literal barrier around the park so thick even snow could not pass through; it piled up at the top of the shimmering, purple dome thirty feet in the air.

After several moments and many gasps of awe, the junior priests threw down their hands all at once. The barrier dissipated and the snow gathered at the top came torrenting down.

A giant ball of snow and ice hit Emi in the head and covered her hair. That figured.

“Knoll Park has been blessed for the new year,” the junior priests said. “Thank you, people of Balarand, for keeping your spirits strong once again.” They exited just as they came. Apparently, the park was now blessed by the God Bk’Man. 

The crowd cheered. Now that the Winter Ceremonies had officially begun, it was time to have some fun, with the knowledge of a safer Balarand at the back of everyone’s minds.

Emi had no idea how that barrier worked, but it was exciting to watch. The idea that someone could manipulate the forces around them with only the energy of their own soul, that someone could be greater than the nature that had shaped them… Well, it was very interesting. Though, she wondered why the barrier suddenly disappeared like that. From what little she studied about magical incantations, she couldn’t explain this ritual in the slightest. It probably took a better understanding of religious rituals to figure it out.

The life of a priest–or even a junior priest–intrigued Emi. Beatrice hadn’t much discussed the priesthood since they started dating, so all she knew was what she gathered from her history textbooks. And, unlike you, my little lazy grandchild, Emi studied a lot, so she was very well informed. She knew what the priesthood meant to Tsubasa, but most of all, she knew what it would mean if Beatrice became a priest. 

Emi tried to keep it out of her mind, but if Beatrice really was going to go off and become some celibate warrior-monk off in the Frozen Desert, fighting sabertooth tigers or whatever priests did, then Emi was probably going to… Well, as long as Beatrice was happy with hunting giant animals in the tundra, that was what was important, she guessed.

Okay, perhaps Emi isn’t the best example of an educated woman. I stand corrected.

Anyway, she wasn’t going to think about that anymore, because Beatrice was here now, out of her robes and into a heavy winter coat. A boy in a tattered jacket followed closely behind.

“Emi, how did you like it?” Beatrice asked, giving her a quick hug.

“It was fantastic,” Emi said. “I’ve never seen something like that before. But.. Do you feel any different now? I don’t. Does that mean the ceremony failed?”

“That’s not how the blessing works,” Beatrice switched into lecture mode. “It’s difficult for humans to detect, because it’s not a physically occurring effect.” 

Emi wasn’t quite convinced. “The barrier physically occurred, though….”

“Emi…”

“Tris…”

“Hi,” the boy said. “I’m Bodhi. Bodhi Makala.” He was nice, with a wide smile and light, turquoise eyes. He was what she always pictured when storybooks would feature a magical prince or dashing knight, his stature so tall and broad that you’d think he was a professional sportsman. He looked like a princely celebrity much more than he looked a low-class junior priest.

“Nice to meet you. Emi, current assumed head of the L’Hime Family household.” She extended her hand and Bodhi reluctantly shook it. She realized how formally she had just introduced herself, and with a half-lie considering that Ms. Khami was effectively the head of the household while her parents were away, even if Emi had legal status… Oh, why did she always mess up with things like these? And why were they still shaking hands?

Beatrice noticed her flusterations and put her arm around Emi’s shoulder, getting her to let go of Bodhi’s hand. “Sorry,” she said. “This is my girlfriend. She’s just being silly right now.”

Emi tried to giggle but it didn’t come out right.

Still… that word. Girlfriend. It made her heart melt just hearing it come out of Beatrice’s mouth.

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Bodhi said. “You’ve got to be something special to get a girl like her away from studying all day.”

Beatrice rolled her eyes, but Emi laughed. “She still studies all the time, don’t worry. She wouldn’t be such a genius if she didn’t!”

“I’m no genius…” whined Beatrice.

“You’ve been a genius since we were toddlers,” said Bodhi. “Now you’re just old enough that it’s not scary to everyone.”

“Stop….” 

“Good to see Emi’s as beautiful as you deserve, though. That haircut is excellent.”

“Isn’t it?” Emi patted the back of her head, where there was once so much more hair covering it. 

Beatrice sighed and mumbled something along the lines of, “…can’t believe you…” 

“Well, nice to meet you, Emi,” Bodhi said. His smile, she realized, wasn’t as strong as when he introduced himself. “I have to go meet up with my family. I guess I’ll see you around, Bea?”

“Not if you call me Bea you won’t.”

He laughed, and said, “Well, I hope you do well in the Priesthood Exams. Beatrice.”

“Thanks.”

He left, and Emi wondered for a moment how much Beatrice realized about her own situation with that boy. Then… she felt a wave of bliss when she realized Beatrice’s arm was still around her.

“Let’s go explore the festival,” Beatrice suggested.

“Agreed.”

***

Alongside the Winter Ceremonies is the biggest festival of the year in Balarand, and perhaps all of Tsubasa. Hundreds of thousands go to Balarand every year for the Winter Ceremonies, from all across the entire continent. It truly is something special, I will tell you that.

Even during this time of occupation by Dannark, people from all over Elince still flocked to the capital to enjoy the festivities, and in this year in particular, Dannark citizens came in droves as well. There was hardly a hotel room open, hardly a shop with empty space during this year’s festival.

For as cold as the city was, the vibrant atmosphere of the Winter Ceremonies was as warm as the spiciest salmon bind.

Situated downtown was a massive display of snow sculptures of endless design, some of them so intricate and detailed that they could be looked upon for hours and still you could find new details to appreciate. One of the biggest sculptures was an entire miniature village of more than a dozen snow buildings and hundreds of snow people going about their snow lives. Another featured an expressive rendition of Empress Nievol’s face, though this sculpture was guarded closely by four Dannark soldiers and attracted few to give it a thorough examination.

Beatrice and Emi looked at a sculpture that seemed to be depicting two human children having a snowball fight, but the anatomy was misshapen in a way that made it look more like a fierce battle between humanoid snow leopards… or maybe a mating ritual between two birds.

It was a bit perplexing, and they studied it for far longer than it was worth.

And yet… There was something interesting about such an odd ice sculpture, something so…. Actually, both of them had become quite bored quite quickly. 

It was better to try out all the snacks!

“I love food so much,” Emi said.

“You love food, and you love getting drastic haircuts without the faintest warning to your own girlfriend,” Beatrice said.

“You’ll never let it go, will you?”

“Not until I forget it thanks to too many sweets.”

Emi had already purchased and eaten three different stuffed salmon binds, each a different flavor from a different food stand. The marketplace always had these kinds of foods on sale, but on the Winter Ceremonies day, there were ten times the options, all with different prices and reputations to uphold.

If she were a more discerning girl, she would take the time to study the prices and figure out what was the best value for her money. That’s what Beatrice did right now, looking at two nearly-identical cake stands with as puzzling a look as she had given that snow sculpture.

“If it’s about price, I can buy you anything you need,” Emi said.

“No, no… it’s not that,” said Beatrice, her eyes locked on the two separate chocolate cake stands in front of her. The vendors were starting to get worried about her intent, intense staring. “I want to make sure any money I spend is a good choice. Even if it’s yours.”

“I could buy both of these stands and then make both of these vendors my personal chefs, Tris. It really doesn’t matter.”

Beatrice ignored that comment.

 After several more moments of deliberation, Beatrice finally chose the cake stand on the right, buying one piece of chocolate cream cake. She offered a bite to Emi, and then nibbled at the rest.

“Wow, this is pretty amazing,” Emi said. 

“You see? We’re getting our money’s worth. That’s why it tastes so good.”

Emi wasn’t really sure about that.

***

The parade down the Grand Concourse was about to begin, and thousands of Balarand citizens lined up along the bridges in wait. 

“I used to come watch the parade with my parents every year,” Beatrice said. “I stopped going when I got older, because I thought it was boring to sit and watch carriages pass by for an hour. But I’ve realized something, Emi.”

“What is it?”

“Parades are pretty great.”

“You know, I used to be in these,” Emi said. “When I was little, they always made me play a snow fairy who circled around the main carriage throwing candy out to the audience. It was really tiring, you know!”

“You probably threw candy to me at some point.”

“Huh. Isn’t that weird? That’s another time we could have met but didn’t.” Emi thought back to that time, wondering how her life would have changed if she had, as a young girl, met eyes with this girl next to her. 

How different would her life have been if she had met the love of her life that long ago? Her parents may have even approved of Beatrice if they had met at that age, even if she was a commoner. She would have never had to hear the name Lady Khara, or read the woman’s stupid letters, or deal with any of the nonsense that went along with an arranged marriage to someone she had never met.

Suddenly the parade stopped.

“What’s going on?” Beatrice asked.

“I have no idea.” Neither did any of the other people watching the parade, it seemed, as they looked around at each other and out at the floats with collective confusion.

A large group of men and women wearing bandanas over their faces entered the stopped parade procession and began blockading the carriages’ advance. They held up large signs that read, “Free Balarand!” The same man wearing the Mammoth mask in the style of the God Nexurk was in the protest group, and stood in the center, waving his arms around like he was conducting a worship song.

They quickly began their chant. “Winter Ceremonies are for Elince! Elince is not for Dannark!” It wasn’t a particularly catchy phrase, but some in the audience joined in and yelled alongside them. Emi was tempted to yell as well, but she knew Beatrice would get upset.

It was only a few moments before Dannark soldiers stormed onto the Grand Concourse. Soldiers entered and the protestors piped down, put their hands behind their backs, and surrendered themselves without hesitation. The soldiers rounded them up peacefully. One soldier threw the mask-wearing man onto the icy ground and kicked him, but it elicited no counterreaction.

As they nudged the blockade of protestors out, one officer unraveled a scroll and yelled at the crowds to disperse from the scene, ending the parade prematurely. People were slow to leave, despite the increasingly loud orders from the soldiers dispatched to facilitate it.

“Do you know what this is all about?” Emi asked. “If there’s anything specific that’s going on, I mean.”

“My Dad said they wouldn’t parade organizers to use the Jewel of Elince at the parade this year. That’s probably got some people angry,” Beatrice said, her tone muted and neutral. Emi appreciated that. “Let’s… let’s just go someplace else, I guess.”

“Agreed.” Emi leaned in and pressed her cheek against Beatrice’s.

“Ack, you’re so cold,” Beatrice said.

“Well, warm me up then.”

***

With the snow falling and festivities to participate in throughout the rest of the city, the two young women soon forgot about the disruption at the parade and proceeded to enjoy themselves elsewhere. 

They passed a row of festival booths with fun games for children to play for prizes, and then reached one street intersection where an elderly man in a pointy hat was juggling tiny balls while telling kids a fairy tale story about the first Winter Ceremonies, held thousands of years ago. If there truly did exist people in this world who could perform magical feats on their own, surely it was this guy.

What a good day this had been, Emi thought. Together with Beatrice, watching her perform a sacred ritual, eating delicious cake. And now…

“You know, Tris…” Emi began. “There is still one thing we haven’t done together.”

“What’s that?”

“Have our first kiss.”

Beatrice audibly gulped. A kiss? Was she really ready for that? Were the two of them in a relationship long enough for that? What was the standard, here? Oh, why was SHE the one overthinking everything now?

“I think we should… kiss,” Beatrice said. “It’s the Winter Ceremonies, after all.”

“Yeah, whatever that means.”

They puckered up their lips and leaned in towards each other, Emi craning her neck down to reach her girlfriend–

But they stopped short.

“Actually, I think my lips are too cold,” Emi said. “They’re kind of chapped.”

“Yeah, it’s kind of dumb to do this in the snow.”

They both giggled nervously, thinking about how stupid this situation was, and why they were building up such a moment like it was something special. It’s not like kisses were the best thing ever, or anything…

Beatrice looked around, and then grabbed her girlfriend by the sleeve. “Let’s go in somewhere where it’s warm.”

“Will do!”

They hurried over to a small shop that sold souvenirs to tourists, mostly wooden toys and other tiny trinkets. There was a log was burning in the fireplace, and both of their body temperatures raised instantly. Emi began licking her lips to make sure they weren’t as dried out, while Beatrice clutched hers with her gloves. 

After a moment, it was time to try again.

“Okay, now we can do it,” Emi said.

“Yep. Here we go.”

They faced each other and took both their hands together and leaned in…

They planted their lips on one another. A good old-fashioned smooch.

Emi was stunned. She finally did it. She kissed her girlfriend. “Tris… I–”

Beatrice couldn’t help but squeal, and the whole shop turned towards them.

“Yeah!” she shouted, before literally running out of the shop. Beatrice felt so energized, so oddly powerful, that she couldn’t help it. She raised her hands to her mouth, looked up at the sky and screamed, “I kissed Emi L’Hime!”

Emi hurried after her but the power of love was not enough to overtake the speedy yelling girl. “Triiiiiisss…. What are you–”

“I kissed a gorgeous tall short-haired amazing woman!” she screamed again.

“Tris! You’re being a weirdo!”

“This is the happiest day of my life!” Beatrice stopped running and danced around in a circle. It was just so exhilarating that she– Ouch!

A snowball collided right with Beatrice’s face. When she turned to see the perpetrator, the would-be assassin, she saw only her girlfriend, her dark brown eyes morphed into the most mischievous glare imaginable.

“What was that for?” Beatrice asked.

“Revenge for running away right after we kissed! You have dishonored my family name.”

Beatrice bent a knee and began scooping up snow with her hands. “Is that so…”

“It most certainly is, my love.”

That’s when Beatrice saw it. Three snowballs in Emi’s left hand. A volley waiting to be launched.

“Winner gets to make the next kiss,” Beatrice said.

“I will not be defeated!”

And thus began the ultimate snowball fight in the history of mankind.

<== Previous ♡ Next ==>

Chapter 33: Tomorrow

Everyone paused, They stood where they were, frozen in place for ten, maybe fifteen seconds. Nothing but the sound of the wind and panting students.

“And… finished.”

And only after that did everyone cheer.

Mr. Statusian clapped. “You did it. You’re ready for the Winter Ceremonies.”

The two dozen students standing in a ritual circle bowed in unison, and then said, “Thank you for the day,” before ending the practice.

To Beatrice, this marked the end of a grueling final month to her schooling as a junior priest. She and her classmates worked hard together to perfect the magical rituals that would protect Balarand from harm for the rest of the year. One mistake and it could doom everything. But they wouldn’t make a mistake, not anymore.

Practice was over, but it was already nearly dark. Snow blanketed the ground and continued to fall from the sky. Most headed home, since there was nothing much else to do but get some rest before the big day.

Beatrice looked around at her white-and-orange-robed classmates, the ones with whom she would be performing in Knoll Park tomorrow morning. Just one month ago, she was the only one with a care in the world about religion class or the spells and incantations they studied. Now, on the precipice of actually casting a grand magical spell, it was clear everyone was ecstatic.

That even included Bodhi, who approached Beatrice along with Mr. Statusian. Bodhi had been beaming every time she saw him lately, and that was the same now. Bodhi had already taken off his robe and put on a cap, which made Beatrice suddenly realize she was still in full ceremonial attire. She lowered her hood and greeted the two of them.

Mr. Statusian pantomimed jabbing Bodhi in the ribs with his elbow. “Look at our star kid,” he said to Bodhi. “I’ve never taught a class as good as this one, and it’s all thanks to you.”

“Yeah, Bea, you’re fantastic.”

Beatrice tilted her head to the side. “No? I didn’t do anything special. It was your teaching that helped everyone.”

They both laughed, and Mr. Statusian said to Bodhi, “See, I told you she’d say that.” Bodhi laughed. He turned back to Beatrice. “That’s why you’re going to make Elince proud one day. I’ve had groups in past years who really made me stay awake the night of, wondering if they would really pull it off. But I’m going to rest like a greyback tonight.”

“Seriously,” Bodhi told her, “I’ve talked to half the people in our class, and they all say the way you work hard is the main thing that got them going. Thanks a lot.”

“It’s nothing,” is all Beatrice could say to spare herself the trouble of trying to mitigate all this unearned praise. She failed to suppress a nervous laugh. “Anyway, I’m looking forward to tomorrow. It’s very exciting.”

Mr. Statusian took another look at Bodhi and then waved. “Well, I’ll see you two then. I’m off. Make sure to leave the premises before the school closes.” He turned around and left.

That just left the two of them. 

Bodhi looked like he was about to say something, but hesitated for a second. His left hand tightly clutched the ceremonial robes he was holding.

“See you tomorrow,” Beatrice said.

“Yeah, see you.” He flashed a toothy grin, the last thing Beatrice saw before she scampered off, disrobing while walking. She wondered if he was going to ask her to go eat or something like that, but she would have had to decline, anyway– she had somewhere very important to be.

Beatrice traveled down the dim, snowy streets, the sun gone so early that she could have sworn she just ate lunch, and took in the all-encompassing wintery smell that permeated the entire city. It was the kind of scent of… well, ice, naturally, but also of smoky meat grilling by food venders, of the musty fur on the coats of nearly every person she passed.

But for everything, it was unmistakably, undeniably, that of Balarand. The city may have been under turmoil, may have been in a haze of tension as thick as the blistering, snowy winds, but it was still the only city she had ever called home. Beatrice was going to travel the world one day, going to make the world a better place. Or… at least, that’s what she had planned since childhood. But no matter where she went, she would never feel a home like Balarand, she was certain of that.

“That’s why you’re going to make Elince proud when you become a priest,” Mr. Statusian had said. 

Gods.

She had no idea what to make of a statement like that. One look at her girlfriend and her entire life went spiraling away. The Wills of the Gods wanting her to become a celibate warrior for peace, a paladin of harmony, all while Emi L’Hime was right there for her, someone she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. She was a gift from the Gods Themselves, surely. It was all so contradictory, so confusing that it made her want to figure out a spell to explode her own mind.

For now, though, she was going to put that off and focus on the present. Tomorrow, having fun and celebrating the Winter Ceremonies. Today, spending time with Emi.

In no time, she returned to the library, where her Dad was organizing some books– and where Emi was sitting at a table, reading. Beatrice went directly over to the table, and pulled out a book of her own from her school bag.

“Hi,” she said.

Emi returned her greeting with a quick smile. 

…

…

Beatrice’s eyes popped open. “EMI,” she screamed.

“Hehehe, you finally noticed.”

“EMI, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR HAIR?!”

emis new hair

It was…

It was…

Where did it go? Did she drink an invisibility potion? Were those real?

Did Runa kidnap her and cut all her hair off for research?!

“I wanted to change my image up a little bit,” Emi said. “Looks pretty, doesn’t it?”

“Gods, I’m going to faint,” Beatrice said.

And then she did.

“Tris? Tris? Are you… Ah!!! Earl! Help!”

Unconscious or not, Beatrice was fine. In fact, she thought she just saw the human incarnation of the Goddess Phyra in front of her, at least until her vision blacked out. It was all good and fine… but maybe Emi could have warned her first?

<== Previous ♡ Next ==>

Chapter 32: Emi Helping Out

“Missed a spot.”

“I know, I know…”

The maid Pip dusted a bookshelf while Emi swept the floor. They had been doing so for almost two hours now. But finally, Emi’s bedroom was starting to look presentable enough that people could come in here without having a heart attack. 

Emi already missed the clutter so, so much. Her system… Her art… It was all gone.. How was she going to know what to wear every morning if it wasn’t staring her in the face the moment she looked at the carpet? And she wasn’t even going to bring up the horrific treatment done upon her desk.

Pip, for what it was worth, took it in great humor that a diplomat’s daughter would be such a slob. “You got enough closet space for a family of four, and you still throw everything on the floor,” she had said when they had first started. “Wish I could be your kind of rich.”

There was no point in Emi fighting it, because it was true. She was exemplary as an example of a terrible person. 

Now she was a terrible person with a clean room. With a few taps of her broom handle against the floor and dumping the contents of her dustpan into the wastebasket, Emi signaled her satisfaction in the day’s work. “Finally,” she said. “Good job, everyone.” It was just the two of them.

Pip laughed. “What the Mammoth crap are you talking about?” she asked. “We got a long ways to go.”

“I thought announcing it like that would make it look better…”

***

Okay, an hour and a half later, NOW they were finished with Emi’s room. 

Since work was over, Emi sat at her desk chair, showing off her latest creations to Pip, who laid belly-down on Emi’s bed, hands on her face and rhythmically kicking her feet in the air.

It was pretty annoying to have all her work-in-progress projects reorganized and all the spare parts sorted into little makeshift shelves. It was hard to remember exactly where she had left off. She might have to learn to live in this wretched way, where everything was put where it was supposed to be.

“I call this a tin man,” Emi said. She placed the metallic humanoid toy on the desk and wound it up a few times. When she let go, the thing clanged forwards in a straight line, moving all by itself. Its feet didn’t move, exactly–more like they made several tiny hops per second. Then it fell on its side and quickly lost all power. “I haven’t figured it all out yet, but what I want to do is have the feet move by themselves. I’m not sure if I can do that in a machine this small, though…”

Pip didn’t seem all that interested in the machines, but she was having a sporting time just seeing Emi have fun. “You sure caught onto this stuff real quick,” she said.

“What stuff?” Emi asked.

“The gear spring tinkering whatever, y’know,” Pip said. Her black-iris eyes blinked a few times, as if they were bewildered at Emi not understanding. “You started just a couple months ago, and you’re already building little toys and stuff. Probably takes a long time for most people to figure that kinda stuff out.”

“Oh, ha, no, it’s not very impressive. I got it all from this blueprint for a jack-in-the-box toy. Everything is based on what some other guy made.”

“Don’t sell yourself so cheap! You’re great.” Pip stopped kicking her legs, and then sat up in the bed, legs crossed. “Like, what in Phyra’s name’s that thing?” She pointed to the largest item on Emi’s desk, a boxy device with black and white dots scattered on its surface. “It looks like a really complicated book.”

“Oh, that doesn’t work at all,” Emi said. “It’s… Well, I’m trying to do something cool with it.”

“For your girl?”

Emi gulped. “My, uh, girl…?”

Pip giggled. “Everyone knows,” she said. “Don’t gotta worry about it. So, that a present for her or what?”

“Yeah, it’s going to be for her, if I can get it to work,” Emi said. “But don’t tell her, okay?”

“When am I ever going to talk to her?”

“Fair enough.”

Emi got up from her desk and put away the devices she had brought out. She guessed it really had been a pretty short time since she started studying mechanics in her spare time. It didn’t feel like she was doing anything special, though.

Maybe Pip was just hitting on her. 

Emi brushed the hair out of her face for what seemed like the millionth time today. “Ugh.”

“You good?”

“Kind of… My stupid hair is always bugging me lately.”

“When’s the last time you got a trim?”

“What, are you saying it looks bad?”

“Just asking how long it’s been.” Pip winked.

“It’s… Gods, it’s been a while, has it?” Since before the first time she met Tris, that’s for sure. No wonder it was feeling overbearing on her.

“Speaking of ‘been a while,’ where is that girl of yours?” Pip asked. “Doesn’t she usually come around this time every day so you two can go out and do whatever?”

“Not EVERY day,” Emi corrected. “It’s…. not every day, is it?”

“Just about.”

“Well, she’s really busy preparing for the Winter Ceremonies. She won’t be here for a few days, probably. I think.”

“Ah, yeah, that’s what my girl said at first,” Pip said. “Real busy with work. Then a week later, she’s decided it’s not working out.” She waved her hands with exaggerated emphasis. “Oh, y’know, my ex’s a haircutter. I can probably get you a discount. Want me to go check?“

“Enough with the hair already.”

“She’d probably say no anyway, on account of the breakup and all. She sucks, just like your girl if she’s gonna be all ghostly on you.”

“Tris– I mean, my, girl– I mean, my friend isn’t like that at all,” Emi said.

“ I just assume everyone sucks. World works better that way,” Pip said. “You’re okay though.”

Okay, she was definitely hitting on her now. Time to wrap it up.

“Hey, I was thinking about… going out, soon,” Emi said. “Do you mind if…”

“Want me to cover for you while you sneak out? Okay,” she said. “But don’t forget, you owe me a Doros Prime. I want that liquor cabinet key.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“What do you see in her, anyway?” Pip asked. “What’s that girl got that some other girl don’t? She’s not rich or some cool soldier. Just a schoolgirl, no? So what’s she got?”

Emi sighed. “Everything.”

That’s all she said, but it’s not all she thought.

Beatrice Ragnell, the girl of her dreams. So tenacious, so fiery, so passionate, that Emi could feel her warmth, feel her arms wrapped around her even at this moment. Her eyes blasting out from her glasses, crystal-focused on what laid ahead, and she charged forward to meet it, no matter what faced her.

It wasn’t just that Beatrice was the most beautiful girl in the world, which was a scientific fact if there ever was one. It was that Beatrice was so strong. It was that she looked at something she wanted to accomplish, and instead of waiting around, agonizing over decisions or second-guessing herself, she just did it. She was someone who, just by looking at her, you knew she was going to change the world in a few years. She was going to be important.

And Emi wanted to be there for her when she did. No matter what it was, Emi wanted to be there, watching her, supporting her, cuddling with her. It’s not like she had any plans in her life, except maybe raise a family one day. Whatever Beatrice wanted to do, she was going to do it, throwing her small body into the fires and trials, destined to come back through the other side unscathed.

What a woman.

Emi waved to Pip and exited her bedroom. She left her house and ventured out to the edge of the Balarand River, where she watched the sun set and the tiny farm houses past the city fade into the night.

Her life really had changed a lot in these past few months. She met the girl of her dreams–no, the girl of her life. She finished her schooling, started helping around the house, got a new hobby. Her fiancee set the date for their wedding.

All of that came swirling together so quickly that it completely changed the course of Emi’s life. But she still felt like the same despondent brat that everyone hated, except for Beatrice for some reason. Why wasn’t she becoming a better person?

Why wasn’t she able to tell Beatrice the truth about her impending marriage? Why was she still sneaking out of the house? Why was she always so hard on herself?

Tough questions, no answers.

Emi wanted to change. She wanted to become a better person, become someone more like Beatrice. If her girlfriend had the power to help keep the harmony of the Gods and whatnot, then Emi had to have that same power within her. It was hidden way deep down, maybe, but she knew it was there.

As Emi passed the library without entering, she decided she would change to the best of her ability. And that change was going to start with this stupid hair always in her darn face.

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Chapter 31: Tear

Beatrice watched her Mom intently. So intently that it might have scared anyone that wasn’t family. So intent that, she had to admit, she wasn’t actually learning anything.

“This looks so hard,” she mumbled to herself.

But, apparently, she mumbled just loud enough, because her mother soon said, “Sewing is not like a book. You don’t master it by studying.”

“I wasn’t, uh, trying to study it,” Beatrice lied. “I was just watching my beautiful mother.”

“This is a very simple thing, sewing up a tear,” Mom said. “Nothing special.”

“You know, just because you’re doing something simple doesn’t mean you’re not beautiful!” Ugh, Beatrice hated when she deflected practically every compliment given to her. Why couldn’t she just say thank you?

“And… there it is. Your robes are good as new, as long as nobody looks too closely.” She held up the orange-and-white ceremonial garbs and showed off her sewing job.

See, Beatrice was almost always careful, but after practice today she was walking home when she saw a greyback bear scamper by and, uh, kind of tripped and fell on the sidewalk. She probably shouldn’t have been scared by a silly little animal (that was Emi’s job), and she also probably shouldn’t have been wearing her school’s official robes while walking home…

Well, the tear in her outfit had now been repaired, and she was hopefully going to get safe without anyone noticing. Otherwise, if they found out, St. Helens Academy would probably bill her family fifty gold coins just for the repairs, and that would be embarrassingly annoying.

 “It looks amazing, Mom,” Beatrice said. “And I’m not just saying that. I really mean it.”

“I’ve been a seamstress for all my life. It really isn’t anything to thank me for.”

“But it is! I have you here to patch every hole and darn every tear. Almost every dress I own was made by you, including my own school uniform! Not a lot of people have parents so gifted, and I’ll never stop being proud of it.”

“Well…”

“And… I feel really bad for not trying to follow in your footsteps. Grandma and Great-Grandma were both seamstresses like you, but I don’t know the first thing about any of it. Most people don’t. It’s super special to know how to sew, and…” Beatrice cut herself off because she realized she had kind of changed the topic on herself. “What I mean is, do you think you could teach me to sew sometime?”

Her Mom sighed. “I suppose. If you’re going off to become a priest, you’ll need to know how to do this all on your own. I won’t be there to help you.”

“Oh, that’s right, I didn’t even think about… that.”

She didn’t think about that because, honestly, she hadn’t thought about the whole priesthood deal in a good week. Especially not the fact that she wouldn’t see her parents anymore except on rare occasions. And Mom seemed to recognize the fact that she hadn’t thought about it, which made Beatrice feel terrible. She felt like a selfish brat (and once again, that was Emi’s job).

“Please teach me how to sew, Mom!” she pleaded with renewed fervor. 

“Alright, I will.” Mom began playing through Beatrice’s hair and messing through her curls. “Only if you promise me never to cut your hair short again.”

“Eh?”

“It’s so lovely when it gets long, and then you always cut it short right after,” she said. “I love it like this.”

“I didn’t realize my hair was getting so long, wow.” Beatrice began tossling through her own hair and it hit her that, yes, her hair was quite a bit longer than it was when she started wearing it like this. “I won’t promise you anything, but I’ll make sure only to get haircuts you like.”

“That would make me happy.”

“So…”

“Yes, Beatrice?”

“When do we start?”

Mom looked extremely confused. “…Did you want to start right now?”

“Um, kind of,” Beatrice answered. “Since everything’s already out, maybe we could–”

“Honey, I’m home!”

Dad came crashing through the door with an absolutely unexpected level of energy. He carried a sack of groceries around his arm and more in the bag on his back, and yet ran into the apartment as if he were a child hyped up on sugary salmon binds.

“What’s got him so riled up?” Mom asked.

“I have no clue.”

Both women started to get up from their chairs, but Dad beckoned them down. He began giving Beatrice a shoulder massage and said, “Did you know who I ran into today? Tia Knoll. Heir to the entire Knoll Family estate. Just walking into the library like it was nothing.”

“And…?”

“Well, it looks like he’s a friend of that Emi L’Hime girl, which means he could become a regular. And if he’s a regular… The library could receive millions of coins in donations!”

Emi… Oh, Emi was at the library all by herself, and presumably had fun conversations with Dad and with the single richest person in Balarand. That must have been a fun adventure, Beatrice thought. She was jealous she had to miss out…

“How was Emi?” Beatrice asked.

“Oh, her normal self. Ranting about a book she didn’t like.”

“That’s my Emi.”

“What?”

“I mean, that’s my friend Emi, all right,” Beatrice said. “Anyway, you really think the Knoll Family would fund the library if the heir started to visit more often?”

“Well… I can dream, at least,” he said. His energy died down as the realism set in. He let go of Beatrice’s shoulders and moved to Mom’s. “What I don’t have to dream about is…. supper!”

“What’s for supper?” asked Mom.

“I’m ready for anything that isn’t vegetable soup again,” said Beatrice.

“It’s a surprise,” Dad told them. 

It was vegetable soup.

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