Tag Archives: emi

Chapter 61: Escape the Castle

“How are we going to get out of here?” Emi’s Father asked. He looked at Beatrice like she was a leader, like she was anything but a scared girl who rode in on a giant magical monster and closed her eyes so she wouldn’t see people being killed.

Beatrice, for what it was worth, kept her emotions under check. She was meeting Emi’s parents here, after all. It was the first time she had ever seen them outside of the portrait paintings that hung on the walls of their home. Both were skinny and static, the only two of the dozens who didn’t seem completely overwhelmed by the situation. They didn’t see Beatrice as anyone but a hero they could rely on.

Way, way too much pressure. So all Beatrice said was, “Just follow close behind. We’ll find a way out.”

It was a bit of a motley crew, a kind of pseudo-army that only emerged in the most extraordinary of circumstances. In the front of the group were Beatrice, and an Emi who refused to tread more than a couple feet away from her. There was Runa and her monstrous homunculus, as well as Tia and another tall, muscular young man who looked to be his boyfriend. There were Emi’s parents, as well as her older brother (but not the famous one), and a couple of her housekeepers. 

There was also a growing crowd of defenseless civilians following them like greyback bear cubs without their mothers. Practically every door they passed had more prisoners, and more people to free.

In front of one heavily locked door, two Dannark guards laid on the ground, either knocked out or deceased–Beatrice was too terrified to inspect closely–and one bloodied, bruised rebel stood, propped on her lance and barely conscious even as she watched the group approach. She was younger, unlike most of the soldiers, but it was clear she had no fighting spirit left inside her.

She didn’t make an effort to stop them. She only said, “You won’t… get away with this. Dannark will never win.”

Beatrice reached in her pocket and handed her a handkerchief. “Go home before something bad happens to you,” she told her. The woman accepted the handkerchief, but she didn’t move, and she didn’t reply.

Emi’s Mother, now armed with a pike herself, examined the door and shook her head. “It will take far too much time to break down these barriers. We must move on.”

“We have to get in somehow,” Beatirce said. “If the fighting in the castle spreads, the people in there could be in serious trouble.”

As they spoke, Emi stood in front of the door and raised her arm into the air. 

Suddenly–

The door barricades ripped apart, and the entire door ripped off the frame and collapsed on the ground to reveal a large conference room filled with a great many prisoners.

The homunculus made a confused groan. Emi’s Mother and Father exchanged glances.

And Beatrice stared at her…

Unable to…

…What? “What?” Beatrice blinked a few times to try and process what just happened. “Emi… Huh?”

“Um, I don’t know, but I don’t really care,” she replied. “Whatever it is, it matters a lot less than us saving all these people who are following us now.

Emi seemed extremely unconcerned with the fact she just used magic to rip a door off its hinges. And now Beatrice was more confused than she had ever been in her life to this point.

Ms. Khami laid a hand on Beatrice’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about Emi,” she told her.

She was extremely worried, but she decided to hold that in for the time being.

“So, yeah, we got way too many people with us,” Pip said. “The moment we leave the castle, a bunch soldiers are gonna attack us, right?”

“Precisely correct,” said Tia.

“Then, uh, what are we doing? Do we got a plan?”

“We have a plan,” Beatrice lied.

“I have a plan,” Emi said. “First, tell me, Tris and Runa, how is the situation outside? Is the fighting contained to central Balarand?”

“Um, I think so,” Beatrice said. “There was nothing going on near the port when we were there. No fires or anything.”

“I know a safe house we can take refuge in around there,” Tia said. “But it is somewhat far away. Depending on the circumstances outside…”

“We can’t fit this many people in a safe house,” Beatrice said.

“We’ll have to help them a different way,” Emi said. “Back during the Gang of Eight Campaigns, Ulric Fathie and the Teal One were involved in many skirmishes where the Teal One would capture a fort, lead enemy troops in, and then abandon the whole thing once they picked off enough soldiers in the siege. They evacuated most of the troops by faking a frontal assault with only a very minor force that bided time for everyone else.”

“And we’ll… do that here?”

Emi nodded. “That’s our only chance to make sure all these people can escape. If we’re lucky, we can too.”

“Wait, WE’RE going to be the ‘very minor force?!’” Touma shouted. 

“Keep it down,” Emi said. “And yes, we are. You included. You’re a young man who studied and trained at Yates. Most of these people are middle aged bureaucrats who haven’t run a day in their lives. You’ve got to buck up and help us save these people’s lives.”

Touma rubbed the back of his neck. “When’d my sister get so cool all of a sudden?”

“Shut up and let’s plan this thing.”

Beatrice absolutely adored this woman.

In the next few minutes, they forged their plot. They split these helpless civilians into four groups who would flee the castle in four different directions. One tiny advance force, consisting of Emi’s family and friends, along with Runa and the homunculus beast, would crash through the front gates and attract as much attention as they could on their way to Tia’s safe house. Everyone had weapons they took from defeated soldiers they came across in the castle, though nobody but Tia and Emi’s Father actually knew how to wield any of them.

Hopefully nobody would die. And, in a major plus, Runa’s homunculus would definitely be the biggest distraction this side of an avalanche.

“And that’s the plan,” Emi said. “If you can’t fight, you should join one of the other groups and meet up with us later.”

Beatrice glance to Ms. Khami, who seemed to be nursing her arm and had no business on a potential battlefield. But she shook her head to dismiss such a glance. “I must say, Ms. Ragnell, you seem to think I can’t take care of a bunch of hooligans with farm tools.”

Emi’s Mother patted her on the shoulder and smiled. “We’ll be perfectly safe, um–”

“Beatrice.”

“Yes, Beatrice. We are the L’Hime Family. Sis and I were schooled by Freda Hollow herself, the captain of the Elincian Royal Guard for thirty-eight years. Don’t underestimate experience.” Beatrice had no idea who that was, so her gloating went over her head.

Emi’s Father nodded. “We’re all ready.”

There was so much Beatrice didn’t know about Emi’s family, and this certainly wasn’t the time to be inquiring deeply about any of it. So she decided to trust them fully. No reservations now.

“Then let us enact our great plan,” said Tia. He held up his sharpened stick and charged without another second’s hesitation.

The rest followed. The entire group, all eleven of them, ran through the hallways and into the grand entrance, where most of the fighting had stopped. Judging by the bodies on the floor, which Beatrice tried hard not to look too much at, the rebels were not fighting a winning battle, because their bodies outnumbered Dannark’s five to one.

The homunculus roared and smacked a Dannark soldier who charged at them, ending the only serious threat they faced in the entire castle. So far, it had gone smoothly.

Then, the group exited the front door and emerged out from Castle Balarand. Immediately, they were greeted with the sight of bright red flames smoldering all over the city. At this point, there was no snow in sight; the heat of the fires, the dark ash in the sky had melted every last bit. Winter had come to a sudden and very violent end.

Right at the city center, there was a great battle ongoing, with soldiers from Dannark fighting with the rebels in a disorganized chaos. Arrows flew through the skies with every passing moment.

Dead men and women lined the streets, the vast majority of them wearing rags and simple clothing. Here, too, the Dannark soldiers that had fallen were very few compared to the untrained rebels. And, as the fighting continued, that difference would grow even more stark.

The screaming from afar wouldn’t leave Beatrice’s ears. She couldn’t tune it out.

Balarand had been reduced to a warzone. Destruction on a level that brought most of the group to tears. This was exactly what Elince tried to protect when it peacefully surrendered to Dannark. The entire reason for the occupation was to help prevent Dannark from invading and destroying the great city of Balarand.

And now…

Beatrice looked back to the castle behind them. Smoke rose out of the windows on an upper floor. Even this place was too dangerous to stay in, and it was supposed to be the safest fortress in the kingdom.

“I hate this,” Beatrice muttered. She didn’t want to look at any of this. But she couldn’t stop staring. “This is all so horrible…”

Emi shook her head. “We’ll make it through this. We have to keep going.” She looked around at the ground and saw a fallen rebel soldier with a lance near his side. So she held out her hand, and like a stick on a rope the lance flew into her hand. Beatrice did a double take. Emi gripped the lance with both hands and rest its sharp end on the ground.

Tia kept his eyes fixed forward. “Our distraction may not be necessary. The rebels are already breaking apart. We have an opportunity escape before the real battle begins.”

“The… real battle?” Beatrice asked.

“Dannark’s frontline soldiers must be almost here already,” Emi said with a gasp. “They sent word that quickly…”

“Indeed,” Tia said. “Nevertheless, we must charge forward if we are to reach the safe house without injury.”

“Let’s go!” Pip shouted.

A number of Dannark soldiers approached the group, weapons drawn and drawing closer. They separated into multiple flanks in an attempt to encircle the group.

Emi’s Father, sword in hand, rushed in front of the group, holding his hands up. “Stop! We are not rebels. We are civilians and part of the occupation government. Please… stop.”

The soldiers continued to advance, saying nothing. It seemed they were no longer accepting surrender as an option. And unlike the rebel soldiers they faced in the castle, these were professional fighters who wouldn’t fall to simple maneuvers.

“What do we do? Father, what do we do?” Touma asked. He held a sword in his hands, but he shook so much that he rendered himself effectively useless.

“We will defend ourselves. Stand back and protect Ms. Khami and your sister.” Her Father spread his legs out into a fencing stance. 

“Don’t worry about me,” Emi said.

Beatrice looked at Runa, waiting for her to react. She had been oddly calm, oddly quiet ever since she retrieved her precious plans from the castle evidence room. Runa noticed her gaze, then looked back at Hasha and asked, “Honey, are you willing to fix this for us?”

The beast grunted.

“Then charge ahead and break their formation!”

The beast grunted again, but did not move.

“Is it going to hurry?” Beatrice asked.

“Hasha does what Hasha wants,” she said. “We must hope my baby does what is in our best interest. Hasha, move!”

Hasha, it seemed, misunderstood the directions and ran off towards some other part of the skirmish, attacking other soldiers and knocking them down.

Beatrice sighed, then wondered if this would be the last time she ever sighed.

There was no need for its help, though. A dozen rebel soldiers stormed the area and caught the Dannark soldiers by surprise, knocking them over and driving their weapons into them. It was a quick rout and the scene was clear in two minutes or less.

“You must come with us,” one of the rebels said. “We’re regrouping back at the castle for a final–”

“Wait,” another said. It was– Ulric Statusian, a gash across his left cheek and spatters of blood dotted across his armor. “These aren’t allies. These are escaped prisoners.”

<== Previous ♡ Next ==>

Chapter 60: Come On, Plan, Work…

Tia finished rubbing the long broom handle and whittling it down, until it was nearly sharp enough to qualify as a weapon. He had, without a knife, exhaustingly smashed the broomstick against the stone ground and then sharpened it until it became usable. It was the third try before it produced anything worthwhile, as the other two broomsticks ended up as splintered shards of wood on the floor. 

How he accomplished this, Emi had no idea. She guessed it was his years with private instructors who taught him every skill that might be necessary to run his family’s textile business one day. If survival skills were a a part of it, then his teachings were surely as strict Ms. Khami’s, but multiplied by ten times. And he was doing this all while dressed in a woman’s skirt, to top it off. There were reasons why Tia and Emi were friends.

“Are we ready?” Tia asked. He held out the stick towards the door, and Emi approached the door with a bucket full of powerful cleaning liquids in her hands. The rest of the group stayed in the back, protected by Tia’s boyfriend in case of trouble. 

“Mhm.”

“Let’s kick these guys to the ground,” Pip said.

Tia screamed out, “Help! Help! Fire!” and the others followed suit, making feigned cries of agony. Emi kicked at the door a few times for good measure.

There was a voice from the other side of the door. “What, a fire? Oh no, some traitors are going to perish in flames. That’s so tragic.”

He didn’t open the door.

“That plan didn’t seem to work,” said Touma.

“No, no it did not,” said Tia. “Is there anyone who could perhaps… break the door down themselves? Maybe with a group effort?”

“I saw Ms. Khami bust down Emi’s door once before,” Pip said. “Make her do it.”

“Please, I hardly budged and that thing opened,” Ms. Khami replied. “I have never used brute force for–”

“I distinctly remember some brute force used on that stray cat that snuck in when I was four or five,” Touma said. “It traumatized me for life.”

“That’s beside the point,” she said.

“As tough as Sis is,” said Mother, “She can’t break that door herself.”

“And why not?” asked Touma. “Maybe if we all help her, we–” 

“We really must be sensible,” said Tia. “This is not a time for joking around.”

The group argued amongst themselves about how to escape, but Emi stared at the door, locked and barred from the outside with at least one guard standing in front of it. She felt… something calling her to the door. 

It was something in her head she couldn’t begin to describe. Not a voice, not an image. Just a feeling, an emotion she couldn’t quite pinpoint, that directed the door to the forefront of her mind.

Maybe it was the fumes from all the cleaning chemicals, or maybe it was just hallucinations from being so utterly exhausted both emotionally and physically, but for some reason she held out her hand and began to move it around in a circle in the air. 

What was she… doing…?

All of a sudden–

–the door flung off its hinges and flew twenty feet in another direction. The pathway was clear.

It took a moment for anyone to realize what had just happened, but as soon as they saw the guard in front of them, they charged and attacked him, knocking him out in just seconds.

Emi stood in place, dazed and confused.

“Is anything wrong?” Tia asked.

“Uh, no?” she answered. “Let’s go.”

Tia took a few steps, looked side-to-side, and motioned. “It is clear. But I hear some yelling on the other end of the hallway, so be careful.”

The eight of them stepped outside the closet. Tia’s boyfriend and Pip took the front of the group, while the others stayed behind for safety. Even in the back, though, Ms. Khami held one of the broken, nearly useless broom handle shards as if she was about to be in the fight of her life. “I don’t like this one bit,” she said.

“It’s a lot better than being executed,” Emi said. She bent down and picked up the rebel soldier’s sword, which was surprisingly light. It was also unlikely to be a useful weapon in a fight for someone completely untrained like herself.

“Give it to me,” said Father. “I practiced fencing for eight years. Let’s see if I can jog the old muscle memory.” He twirled it around, trying to get a feel for its weight and shape. Emi couldn’t tell if he liked it or not.

“Just stay behind me and we will be okay,” Tia said. He had only a sharpened stick, but he held it with tight confidence.

“And me,” Pip said. She held only her own fists. Wait, didn’t she say she lost a fight earlier today…?

The group advanced down the hallway. They heard some banging on another door a little ways in. 

“Wait a minute,” Emi said. “I didn’t even think about that. We aren’t alone, are we?”

They opened ithe door to reveal another group of ten or twelve captive prisoners, some of them gagged with fabric in their mouths to keep from screaming. They freed those prisoners and added even more to their group.

“Thank you so much,” a skinny woman in a fur coat said. “What in the name of Nexurk is happening today? Why are the peasants revolting so… callously?”

Emi decided not to respond except by rolling her eyes.

“Well, that’s a bunch more people we have to protect,” Tia said to Emi, as if she were the leader of the group.

“Well, the more people, the more help we have, right?” She shrugged, unconvinced at her own statement.

“I know we have a couple weapons, but that doesn’t mean we can form our own army,” Touma said.

Father agreed. “If Tia and I are the only ones who can defend ourselves, we won’t stand a chance.”

“Hey!” Pip shouted. “You got weapons, but I got these babies. Nobody’s getting past–”

“HALT RIGHT THERE.”

Pip froze and lost all composure.

The group turned around to find two older men holding gardening hoes like weapons, advancing towards them. 

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Tia said. “Just go home and nobody will remember any of this.”

“You’re all traitors,” one of the men said. “You have already hurt us beyond repair by giving our country to a bunch of tyrants.”

“You might be right,” Tia said. “I cannot speak for the actions of my family and peers. But right at this very moment, I am just trying to protect the people I care about. Is that okay?”

The men charged at them, so their answer was clearly given.

Emi took a step backwards, but Tia took one forwards. He jabbed his sharpened stick ahead and knocked the men off-balance. One of them swung his hoe, but Tia tripped him and he crashed on the ground. The other tossed his hoe aside and instead threw a punch. Tia swerved and dodged and shoved the man. He hit the ground the same time as the hoe he dropped.

These men weren’t soldiers. Not even close. They were just old men who wanted their home back. If only she could be sure her family would be safe, Emi might just have failed here on purpose for the sake of these desperate people.

Intentional or not, that chance to fail was growing greater by the moment. More soldiers ran down the hallway towards them… but they were not brandishing weapons, and they ran past the freed prisoners without a second glance. 

There were thuds of heavy footsteps, and then a gigantic monstrous being appeared before them. It was eight feet tall, with lanky arms and legs and an astonishingly ravenous glare. It groaned and balled its massive hands into fists.

The woman in the fur coat shrieked.

Pip, Tia, and Emi’s Father readied themselves for a fight. Even Emi’s Mother tried to keep herself composed. But this… this was a monster! What in the Gods’ names was such a beast doing here?

It looked at the group… but it didn’t attack.

It seemed perfectly docile now, despite its horrifying appearance.

Something about its face struck Emi as familiar, though…

Soon, two more figures ran up behind the monster–

Beatrice Ragnell and Runa Arakawa.

“Don’t hurt them,” Runa said. “They will be loyal subjects just like you, my lovely Hasha.”

Emi threw down her sword and ran over to Beatrice. And those pairs of eyes, glimmering brown and shimmering blue, met once again.

“You’re safe,” they said in unison.

Beatrice giggled. “We were coming here to rescue you, you know.”

“I… I worried so much about you,” Emi said. “With everything happening out there, I just…. I–”

Beatrice shut Emi up with a kiss on the lips. She felt that same spark of electricity she always did and hugged Beatrice as tight as she could.

She felt so safe in this moment, like everything had suddenly become completely okay. Of course, they were still in the middle of a rebel uprising in Castle Balarand. They were still in the depths of danger. But knowing Beatrice was okay at this moment still filled Emi’s heart with glee. 

“I love you,” Emi said.

“I love you too,” Beatrice said. “But we need to get out of here. The city’s on fire, and soon the castle will be too.”

<== Previous ♡ Next ==>

Chapter 58: Capture

It was ironic.

Emi actually supported the rebels.

She felt furious after King Kline and the Royal Family were deposed, after the powerful families of Balarand refused to lead the battle against Dannark and simply laid down their arms to protect the peace. Dannark, after a few major military victories on the outskirts of Elince, was able to simply walk into the city. They literally marched in without a single casualty. 

Emi had wanted there to be more resistance against the occupation. She hated how quickly everything could change and wanted to see people invested in stopping it. Instead, Balarand continued into peacetime, with Dannark soldiers making increasing but small encroachments into their way of life, all the way up until… 

Today. The day that the city fought back. And they fought back against her own family.

Now she was confined in a cramped broom closet, somewhere in the middle of Castle Balarand, together with Tia Knoll and his boyfriend. There were several armed guards standing at the doorway, so they were completely trapped in here.

The door opened, and several figures were pushed in, one landing on their face.

Five of those figures were Emi’s parents and older brother Touma, along with Pip and Ms. Khami, who had been the one knocked down. For the first time she had ever known that woman, she looked old. Aged by fifty years in the single day since she last saw her.

She helped her to her feet and hugged her, then her parents.

“We’ll hold your trial together in a few hours,” the guard said. “You might escape the death penalty since your son is Reo L’Hime, but we’re still weighing our options. Just thought I’d let you know.”

Ugh. Reo. Even in the middle of a rebellion, was so popular for his stupid engineering projects that he was going to keep the L’Hime Family from being executed.

The ground shook. There must have been another explosion. 

The rebel soldiers were setting off explosives in certain areas of the city to draw attention and spread out Dannark’s relatively small occupation force. At least that’s what Emi figured from typical insurrection tactics. The Teal One used this same strategy to divide the Fathie Siege Force during the Battle of Balarand and pick off each legion separately, so they would be wise to follow that guideline. She realized her days of homeschool education were finally paying off with that kind of analysis. If only she could actually use that knowledge to get out of here…

Emi’s parents ran up to her and hugged her together. “You’re okay,” Father exclaimed.

“We were so worried,” Mother said. “Where were you?”

“I was with Tia,” Emi said, gesturing back to the two young men in the back of the closet. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I’m sorry I never tell you anything…”

“It’s completely fine,” Father said. “We just worry about you…”

“I know you do.”

“If something had happened to you,” said Touma, “I don’t think I could have handled myself, my dear baby sister.”

“…Really?” Emi struggled to keep from rolling her eyes.

“How did it get like this?” Ms. Khami wondered aloud as Pip helped her to her feet. “Those cretins could have rebelled any time they wanted, but they waited until right as we finished remodelling the third floor balcony. If they destroy the house… I will personally kill every last one of them.” Emi knew she wasn’t joking. But she was in far too poor of shape to make good on her threat.

“Pip, why are you and Ms. Khami here?” Emi asked. “You aren’t rich or powerful. You’re just our housekeepers.”

“Well, I kind of…” Pip put her finger to her lips. “Well, today I learned I’m not good in a fistfight, let’s just say that.”

Emi didn’t know how to respond to that, so she said nothing.

Instead, she asked, “How are we going to get out of this? Do any of you know what’s going on out there right now?”

“No, we were rounded up a few hours ago,” Mother said. “They didn’t tell us anything.”

“And we were captured even earlier than that,” Tia said. Emi realized They must have struck at the Lake Geoffrey area first since the homes there were more isolated. This whole rebellion must have been lead by former Elincian soldiers, because these tactics were far too well-planned for a peasant uprising. That was sure to mean a whole lot of violence if anything went wrong.

Oh, Beatrice…

She had no idea where she was right now, but she hoped she was safe. Hiding at home, or fleeing the city if she could. She had no way of knowing where she was, but she had to hope she was safe, because that was all she could do.

Beatrice wouldn’t worry about things she couldn’t control. Beatrice was strong and dedicated and brave. Beatrice would keep her mine on the task at hand and accomplish it before anything else. So… that’s what Emi needed to do.

Her heart poured out of herself. Completely exited her being. She stomped on her emotions and took a crystal focus on the situation, just like Beatrice would have. Emi needed to escape, and make sure her family was safe at the same time. “There has to be a way for us to get out of here,” Emi said. “Does anyone have any ideas?”

“Absolutely not,” Ms. Khami said. “You are not going to do something foolish and stupid that will get you killed. I will not allow it.”

“You don’t have to,” Emi said. “I am my own person and I am going to decide my own fate. I won’t let any of you get hurt, even if it means I do.”

Tia said, “I think I may know what we can do. We are in a broom closet, correct?”

“Yeah?”

“Well then, we have all the supplies we need.”

<== Previous ♡ Next ==>

Chapter 54: Sneaking Out…?

Emi stared up at her ceiling, as she tended to do for a while each morning before getting out of bed. She liked to make shapes and images in her mind out of the imperfect swirls of paint and indention. Over in the corner was a misshapen potato with one very large eye, and near it was a pridecow… but then she couldn’t see the animal anymore and her mind wouldn’t make the image again.

This was nice, but she needed something nicer.

Suddenly, she sat up in bed and looked around at her bedroom. Clothes strewn all over the floor and a stack of books toppled over. All just like she liked it. These days she made a conscious effort to lock the door every time she exited, no matter if she left the house or not, just to ensure no unwanted visitors could ever enter. If someone were to rearrange it from how she liked it, she wasn’t sure she could handle it.

But… she thought she was handling all of this fairly well. Ms. Khami hadn’t yelled at her in a really long while and since her parents weren’t home, that meant there was nobody willing to scold her no matter what she did–or in this case, didn’t do.

Today, though… felt different. Her parents arrive back in Balarand sometime this week, and they would most likely force Emi to get involved in whatever house parties or supper dates or brunch time meet-and-greets they had in store for her pre-wedding preparations. And thinking further, it was only a month, at best, before you-know-who would arrive. Soon there would be rehearsals, dress fittings, coming-of-age ceremonies, and the like. And it wouldn’t stop from there.

Emi needed to seize this day, then. She needed to jump at the opportunity to do something rash and dangerous and stupid while she was still unsupervised. 

She was going to sneak out of the house and go to the marketplace! The snow had mostly melted and the weather had warmed up some, so it was time for Emi to go on an adventure!

The levers pushed around in her mind, the springs pulled and compressed. She began to formulate a new devious plan she could use to break out of this self-imposed prison and escape the L’Hime Family home without anyone noticing. 

Yes… Ah, yes. Perfect.

She would have to slide down one of the pillars holding up the second floor balcony and enter the foyer, for maximum speed of course. But then there would be a high risk of being spotted by one of the many housekeepers cleaning or carrying things, so she would need to distract them first. She would do that by first going up to the third floor, where there is a lot of construction going on for renovations, and maybe… knock over a paint can while nobody was looking. It would get everyone’s attention and make a lot of people upset, which would provide ample opportunity to make her escape. Yes… this was a great plan.

So, Emi grabbed a few things she might need and stuffed them in her handbag, and locked the bedroom door behind her as she quietly looked down at the foyer and around at the second floor. There was… nobody here. Not a sound.

She ventured up to the third floor, and it appeared that this was the case here, too. Where was everyone? Was it time for a lunch break already? Emi had been sleeping in a lot lately, but this would be just too far.

Well, this just meant that escape would be a lot easier now. She made an even more risky move, hopping on a pillar and sliding from the second floor down to the first. One false move and she would have had a broken back, but… that was really fun.

Emi walked toward the front door. But as she did, she heard a rhythmic buzzing noise that grew louder with every step she took.

Pip and several other housekeepers were there in the foyer, standing in front of the door with an air of unease. They hardly seemed to notice Emi until she came their way. 

Pip met her gaze, but only for a second before her eyes darted away. “Hi, Emi,” she said, her cheerful, flirty attitude replaced by curt politeness. Ever since that day Emi dropped the sauce bowl and screamed at everyone, Pip had become a lot more distant. And now, with whatever was going on outside…

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“I don’t know… It sounds like…”

Well, if she didn’t know, Emi was going to go outside and find out.

When she opened it, she realized what it was– A crowd of fury-filled protestors standing outside the gates and chanting. Screaming. 

“Save King Kline! Save King Kline!” was the main message Emi could decipher, but it was supplemented by countless other yells and shouts. It was angry, but it also seemed sad, in a way. A protest with a broken heart. A protest like people were mourning something. She knew that feeling well.

And, at the same time, she realized her parents were here, too. She didn’t even know they were back. Their carriage was right in front of the gate and looked scuffed up and damaged. “Mother?” she asked.

 “Emi! What are you doing out here?”

“What’s… what’s happening, Mother?” she asked. “When did you get back?”

Mother, whose face was red and eyes were sore, wiped her face off with her sleeve and frowned. “We have just returned from our emergency negotiations in Fathie, and… Listen, dear. We will explain this to you inside. You shouldn’t stay out here; it’s not safe.”

Emi realized that she wasn’t going to be sneaking today after all.

Dannark soldiers arrived to break up the crowd, but many of the protestors refused to go without being beaten down. It erupted into a scene of violence. Emi flinched, wanted to look away, but knew she couldn’t. Knew she shouldn’t. 

Emi’s Father walked up to the front door. “Emi. Go inside.”

“Can’t you tell me what’s going on?”

“Come inside.” He walked past her and held open the front door for her.

The moment the door shut behind them, Mother once again burst into tears, falling to her knees and sobbing.

Father looked to Emi. “Your Mother and I tried to.. We did the best we could, and we failed the people of Elince. Our consequences were instant, as the protestors followed our carriage home. We imagine that… the rancor may continue.”

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“I– We– I’m sorry, Emi. You’ll have to excuse me.” Father had begun to cry, too.

Ms. Khami and the other housekeepers had come down to the foyer to see what all the commotion was about. Emi helped Mother to her, and then looked at Ms. Khami. “What’s going on?”

“Your parents were sent to Fathie to negotiate King Kline’s surrender,” Ms. Khami said. “They were trying to save him from being sent to criminal trial in Dannark.”

“And they failed,” Emi said, looking out a front window, and seeing the protestors past the main gate, continuing to chant to save their king’s life.

“Yes,” she said. “You had better go upstairs.”

And they failed.

The protests would continue on into the night, and then again into the next morning. No matter where Emi went in her home, she could hear the strained voices shouting through the walls.

<== Previous ♡ Next ==>

Chapter 50: Let’s Talk.

Emi and Beatrice laid on the huge bed, huddled up under the covers, looking deeply into each other’s eyes. They held hands, but with Emi’s grip so tight it left them both with great discomfort.

The moons shone through the window, but other than that, the room was in darkness.

“You’re getting married,” Beatrice said, her voice steady and measured. “You’re engaged to a noblewoman from Zahn you’ve never even met, and you’re getting married on the night of the Moon Festivals.”

“Y-yes.” Emi replied, her voice broken up by whimpers and sobs.

“You’ve known about this since before we met.”

“It’s been… a while. Five years, I think.”

“So that explains why you started avoiding me after our first date. You realized what was happening and you wanted to leave me alone.”

“I… I guess so. I barely remember.” Emi covered her face with her elbow, trying to hide her tears even as loudly as they came out.

“Why didn’t you tell me, then? If you had just been honest…”

“I don’t know,” she said. “I was scared. I’m still scared.”

Beatrice sat up and let go of Emi’s hand. “Why? Were you scared of what I’d think? That I’d stop meeting with you and having fun with you because you were engaged? Because you thought it’d hurt my feelings?”

“I, well…”

“Did you really think it was okay to keep this a secret from me?”

A million little thoughts ran through Emi’s head right now, all of them covered in tears and bashing against each other in explosions of rationale and regret. She couldn’t think coherently enough to deliver any sort of adequate response.

All she knew was this: She had failed.

“I love you,” Emi eventually managed to say. “I really do.”

“No you don’t,” Beatrice said. “I’m just some… some fling before your real wife comes along.”

“No, that’s not true!” Emi shouted. “I don’t love her. I don’t even know her. What I said in the carriage, what I’ve said to you all along, it’s all true. There’s nobody more important in my life than you.”

“Then why wouldn’t you tell me about this?!”

Emi sat up too, and rested both hands against her temples. 

Why, Emi? Why hadn’t you told her, huh? Can’t you think of a reason? Any at all?

“I won’t get married to Lady Khara,” Emi whispered. But her voice grew as she continued. “I won’t. I refuse. Tris, let’s run off together. We can get married tomorrow and go wherever we want! I’ll follow you to the ends of Tsubasa, no matter where you go. I swear it.”

“…No you won’t. Please stop… stop lying to me.”

“No, I‘m not lying!” Emi took a pillow off the bed and threw it as hard as she could towards a window. It bounced off and plopped on the floor. Both of them laughed, and for a moment everything felt okay again. But the softness faded back into the darkness, and Beatrice’s glare set itself back onto Emi’s face.

She continued. “I don’t even want to be part of my family anymore. The Ragnell Family is nice and fun and happy and you eat dinner together and your dad is amazing. The L’Hime Family is the opposite. We’re just desperate, conniving collaborators with Dannark and it’s all our fault those monsters rule over our country with an iron fist. I hate everything we stand for.”

“You’re going to bring politics into this? You know our rule.”

“I’m… I’m sorry.” Emi shriveled up and sank back into the bed. “All this time I’ve worried about what you’d think about me, as some sort of rich snob who doesn’t understand a thing about how the real world works, and if I messed up even a little bit, you’d…”

“I’d…”

“I don’t know, desert me and join the priesthood.”

“And I thought I was the moron in our relationship,” Beatrice said. “I was never going to join the priesthood, Emi! Not after I met you. All this time I’ve been wondering if I was the weak link, if my indecision about becoming a priest was going to ruin our relationship and I was causing you so much stress.”

“It’s not, I promise,” she said. “I’ve always been worried but it’s not a big deal, because I… I know whatever choice you made will be the best one. You always make the right decisions.”

“You make me feel like such a jerk,” Beatrice said.

“Wh… What? What did I say?”

“Nothing, sorry. The priesthood doesn’t matter. I figured it out the plan. I was going to… I was going to take the exam and then I was going to decline it even if I passed… and then I was going to show the papers to you and tear them in half. And I… never told you, because I wanted to keep it a secret.” Beatrice’s lips quivered as she said what even Emi knew was a lie.

But it was a lie that made her heart just a little bit warmer. “Then why don’t we go? Why don’t we just fix this like we always do and move on? We can travel Tsubasa together and help people, just like you always wanted.”

“Because… Because you’re getting married, Emi. You can’t just run away from that.”

“Yes I can.”

“And ruin the rest of your life? Abandon a family that loves and cares for you?”

“That’s my entire plan,” Emi said. “I don’t care about them. I care about you.”

“You know you can’t do it…”

“Then it’s the same with you, Tris. You’re lying about making your mind up. I know you want to become a priest more than anything, because you are a wonderful woman who cares about the rest of the world and wants to actually do something about it. You’re exactly the person the Church needs, and you know it.”

Beatrice started crying, finally. “I’m so sorry…”

“It’s okay.” Emi reached in to hug her, but Beatrice rolled to the other side of the bed, facing away from her. Even so, Emi wrapped her arms around her and touched her cheek to her neck. She was so hot… Beatrice’s shoulders stiffened, and she took a sharp breath. But after a moment she relaxed. She took Emi’s arms and put them up against her chest. Her fingers traced down the line of her collarbone. 

“Emi…”

“It’s okay,” she repeated. “It’s all okay.” 

“But… No.”

“No?”

“It’s not okay, Beatrice told her. “If we stay together, your parents will hate me for leading you from your role. My parents will hate you for making me crush my dreams. We’re… not supposed to do this, I think. The Gods don’t want it. But… even if all of that is true… do you want to do it anyway? Can we really run away together?”

Emi thought about this for a long time. All she wanted to do was turn to Beatrice, smile, and say, “Yes. Let’s go. I don’t care where; let’s just go.” She wanted so desperately to hoist her girlfriend up into her arms and sprint into the nearest church so they could be married and ride off into the horizon in their carriage. She had even suggested this very thing just minutes earlier.

But when she opened her mouth to speak, the words did not match.

“No, I can’t, Tris…”

“Don’t call me that. My name is Beatrice.”

Emi winced. “Beatrice.. I’m so sorry… I can’t let you abandon your dreams for me. I’m just some girl.”

“You’re not just some girl! How dare you. You’re the woman I’ve fallen in love with, and I’d give up everything for you.” 

“You shouldn’t… I’m already taken,” Emi said.

“You can’t just stay and get married to someone you’ve never met. That’s just idiotic.”

“But isn’t that what I said a minute ago?”

“It– I don’t know, Emi. I just…”

“Maybe…” This argument was going around in circles. There was no way to resolve it. “Maybe none of this would have happened if I had been honest with you from the start.”

“You’re right, Emi, maybe you should have been honest,” Beatrice said. “Maybe I shouldn’t have been such an idiot.”

“This was all a mistake,” Emi said. “Coming here, talking about this, being…” Emi didn’t dare finish that sentence.

A silence permeated the darkness for some time. No more crying, no more talking. It was the kind of quiet that could only be broken in the same way as a fragile glass–with a sharp note.

And Beatrice was the one to break that silence: “I think I hate you.”

Emi gripped her tighter, buried her face in her back. “Me too, Beatrice.”

They stayed like this for a long time, holding each other in the night and filling the bed with tears. They hoped the light of the moons would guide them to some sort of healing… but they knew the glass had been shattered.

<== Previous ♡ Next ==>

Chapter 49: Hands Held

It took a very long time, but eventually, Emi and Beatrice were able to get away from Lord Lau and his well-meaning tour guide mentality, and they went off to explore Mammoth Pass on their own.

The Mammoth Festivals went on for a month out of every year, so the entire city was lit up with ice sculptures and skating rinks and people bustling about. Because it lasted much longer than Balarand’s Winter Ceremonies, it was not a super-concentrated explosion of entertainment, but instead a shift for the entire city’s atmosphere. So it was festive everywhere you looked, but also much calmer. The lack of protestors everywhere probably helped improve the mood, too.

The two girls were now making up for all the lost hand-holding time from all the days being led through the city like a Mammoth herd along with all their wealthy companions. Beatrice still wore her traditional Balarand outfit, and Emi had on her warmest sweater and thickest of jackets. The woman truly did not like cold weather. It was silly, but Beatrice liked that about her.

“Where do you want to go now?” Emi asked.

“I don’t know, Emi,” Beatrice said. “You’ve been here before. Where do you recommend?”

“Well, I was always part of those big tourist groups of Balarand elites wandering around,” Emi said. “I’ve never been in Mammoth Pass with any free time before.

“Well, is there anything you haven’t seen that you want to?”

Emi paused. “Uhhh…” She seemed to be struggling to come up with anything at all. The sun was already starting to set, and Beatrice knew this was their last opportunity. Her foot automatically tapped against the wet stone sidewalk in anticipation.

“Oh!” she exclaimed, finally. “I remember. There’s a neighborhood where they do celebrations for the mountain tribes who still live here. Why don’t we go there?”

“That sounds like fun, I guess. What goes on there?”

“I don’t know. But there’s probably food.”

“Let’s go!”

Eating was quickly superseding reading as Beatrice’s favorite hobby. She blamed it on the fact that Emi always offered to pay. As much as she tried to refuse, she couldn’t bring herself to turn down every snack that came their way. Or any of them.

They departed from the castle district and entered another section of the city, one where the curved towers disappeared and were replaced with more typical wooden structures. The stone-built buildings familiar in Balarand were not a common site here; structures were either built directly into the mountains, or made of simple wood. Beatrice guessed the risk of a fire was a lot less here considering how cold it stayed.

They walked down a street. A Mammoth trotted alongside them as a lacksidasial pace, and a parade of cheering people danced behind it. It must have been the world’s slowest parade, Beatrice thought, but they seemed to be enjoying it.

There on the street was a magnificent site, a marketplace-turned-party shining with lights and loud with music. Dozens of wooden stands sold all sorts of foods and trinkets. People jumped and jived, singing along to music in some language she had never heard before. It was lively and vibrant, almost intoxicatingly so.

This was the harmony of the Gods. Nature and humans having joyous fun together. Mammoths marching gallantly while people celebrated the turning of the seasons. Every element of Tsubasa working as ingredients of a whole. The gears in their grand machine turning in a rhythmic dance. 

A man in an oversized mask came up to them and clapped his hands, shouting in that same language while gesturing for them to come closer.

Beatrice wasn’t quite sure–

But then Emi dashed forward and pulled Beatrice along into the dance circle. “Come on!”

“Oh, you know I can’t dance,” Beatrice said.

“But I can, so you don’t have to worry about it,” Emi said. “Let’s go.”

Emi held out her arm for Beatrice to join her. And, as if Beatrice was being magnetically levitated towards her girlfriend… she found herself caught in her arms.

Love really was magic.

“Care for a dance?” Emi asked.

“I guess so,” Beatrice said eyes dazed in bewilderment.

 Emi, holding onto Beatrice’s fingers, swung around, vaguely matching the beat, and laughed. She lifted Beatrice’s arm into the air and twirled around underneath it. 

Beatrice moved around trying to give her enough space to dance, but she mostly shuffled in place while Emi did all of the fancy moves. With all her studies and skills, she really wished she could do better than this, but she had finally entered the realm where her talent was of zero use.

“Tris, come on and get into the music,” Emi commanded.

“I’m trying.” The drums beat rhythmically, loudly, and the singer wailed out with a raspy fire. It was catchy and  fun, but Beatrice didn’t feel the groove to move.

For a girl who dealt so poorly with large crowds and social events, Emi sure did like to dance. She guessed it felt more like a solitary activity for her, even if it was in the middle of a jumble of people. Though, it would probably be less solitary if Beatrice would join in…

Ah, whatever. Beatrice would try her best even if it turned out badly– she let the music take her and joined into Emi’s dance. They jumped and swayed and spun and hummed, kissed and laughed and shook and twirled.

The two went until well after the current song was over, until well after Beatrice was too tired to continue. She let go of Emi and dropped to her knees, panting.

“That was… fun…” she said in between breaths.

“You’re the best,” Emi said.

“Not at dancing…”

“Who cares if you’re bad or good? It’s supposed to be fun. Not all that rigid stuff they do at fancy parties.” She extended her hand and pulled Beatrice back on her feet. “Now, I did promise you food, Tris. What do you want?”

Her stomach gurgled loudly. “Every item from every single booth.”

“Okay, I’ll do it.” She flashed a grin that showed off her perfect teeth, that made her dark brown eyes sparkle.

Beatrice shook her head. “Marry me.”

“Uh… I’ll consider it,” Emi said.

Would she really consider it? It was a joke, turning the tables on that proposal Emi made all that time ago, back when holding hands and riding a gondola was all it took to send Beatrice into a lovey-dovey haze. It was a joke, but…

Honestly, if Emi knelt down and proposed to Beatrice right now, holding out a ring and letting that smile work its magic, Beatrice wasn’t sure what her answer would be. For a girl she had only dated for a matter of months, the answer should have been a flat “no way,” but… Given the moment and the fact that she had never loved someone so much in her life, given the fact that every part of her soul gravitated to those dark brown eyes and that tall, curved body and that warm palm rubbed up against her own… Beatrice would have to think about it.

Emi had said just a few days ago in the carriage, as Beatrice recited by heart, “I’m being completely serious when I say I’d follow you no matter what you do.” It kind of made her giddy to think about, even if it was most likely never going to happen.

Even if she knew the Priesthood Exams were just weeks away…

Beatrice knew she shouldn’t have thought of the Priesthood Exams at a time like this. The vortex of stress in the corner of her mind would do nothing to improve her mood. It had no purpose right now, right here with Emi. She could worry about that when they returned to Balarand. Up here in Mammoth Pass, right here on the busy festival street, there was no priesthood for her to waver on. no important life decisions to decide upon. There was only good food, fun music, and the love of her life by her side.

The two girls made their way to the food stands and saw a stand selling “striderskin bites,” which appeared to be, well, edible striderskin. 

Striderskin is the chitin that the giant insects known as striders shed after moulting. Because they roam the Plebias Mountains, one of the coldest areas on the continent, they shed only on rare occasions, and hunters make a living off finding the skins and selling them. Killing a strider is nigh impossible, with their speed so fast it’s thought to be magic, so hunters make do with what’s left behind. The chitin is typically used for clothing, but Mammoth Pass is known for its striderskin delicacies. You think that’s gross? Me too. Very gross.

“I’ll take one box,” Beatrice said to the vendor.

Emi gave a look of disgust. “Really?”

“I have to try it. I’m so hungry.” Beatrice took the box, thanked the vendor, and opened it to reveal several bite-sized chips of what used to be the exoskeleton of a large insect. 

She gulped, and then… chowed down.

“This is… not too bad. Chewy, but very savory.”

“Good for you, but I don’t think I’ll try it,” Emi said, waving the box away as Beatrice tilted it toward her. She turned around to a different table and bought a simple old meat spike. “I’m fine with some good old fashioned meat.” She put the stick in her mouth and removed the first two pieces with her teeth.

“What kind of meat is it?” Beatrice asked.

“I don’t know. Probably beef of some sort.” She turned around to examine the table more closely. The sign was in another language, though. “Yeah… I’m just going to assume that it’s beef and hope for the best.”

This whole district was strange and unfamiliar, and somehow that piqued Beatrice’s curiosity more than anything. Nowhere else in the larger continent of Tsubasa did such cultures thrive; as Dannark, Elince, Doros, and Zahn expanded over the centuries, many smaller places were absorbed into the larger countries around them. Their traditions did not die off completely, but many aspects of their former existences disappeared, including their languages. 

To hear languages Beatrice couldn’t understand was such an interesting experience. It was the first time in her whole life she found herself in this situation, where the people around her celebrated and worshipped, sang praises to the Gods in tongues completely foreign to her. And for some strange reason, she felt excited. This… this was the rest of the world, as far away from her home as she’d ever been. 

Whether or not Beatrice really became a priest, this is what she wanted to protect with the most of her power. The ability for people to feel comfortable, to feel powerful enough to celebrate whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted, however they wanted. She wanted to end war, to end the struggles of hunger and sadness. She wanted to see culture thrive, so every day in every city in the continent could be as festive tonight.

“I love you,” Beatrice said. She didn’t know why, but she just had the urge to say it.

“I love you too,” Emi said in return. Though, she seemed more preoccupied by the sights around them.

 Like at the marketplaces in Balarand, it was more fun to walk down the long rows of vendors and simply look at the items for sale than to actually buy anything. Beatrice was not a fan of haggling, even though it was such a common exercise in places like this, so she found it more comfortable to simply browse.

Then– Gods, what was that?

There was a small iron cage with a flickering, winged creature darting about, clearly trying to escape. Beatrice had never seen anything like it. But the vendor selling it, a twirly mustached man with a hardened face, did not seem like he was the type to introduce his wares to a couple curious girls.

“Wow! A fairy all the way up here!” Emi exclaimed.

Wait, what? “Wait, what?” 

Then Emi grew a devious, self-satisfied smile. “See! You told me fairies weren’t real! Look right here and take back everything you said.”

“A fairy… No way.”

Beatrice stepped closer to the cage and looked at the beast. The closer she looked, the more detail she could see on its… its remarkably creepy face. It had two eyes, a nose, and a mouth, but it looked more like a misshapen monster than a sentient being. 

It met Beatrice’s gaze… and snarled.

She yelped and catapulted herself backwards.

Emi didn’t stop laughing for the next six minutes.

Eventually, they walked to what appeared to be the end of the tribal festivities, where the food stands were nowhere to be seen and the joyful music played faintly behind them. The moons shone bright in the sky, and the air was tinged with frost.

“Do you want to go back to the room?” Emi asked. “Or is there anything else?”

“Yeah, I think it’s about time,” Beatrice said. She was ready to get out of this cold weather and cuddle with her girlfriend, though she still felt like there was so much they could be doing in Mammoth Pass before they left.

“Let’s go back, then.”

They were not sure where they were, but because the castle stuck out in the skyline so prominently, it was very easy to figure out what direction to go in. So they made their way back, only to find more festivities going on in front of the castle. There was a great bonfire and many people, the same rich Balarandians they had travelled with, huddled around it for gossip and dance and drunk. They must also have been trying to make the most of their final day in the city.

Lord Lau was among them. He met their gazes lazily staggered over to them. “Hello, ladies,” he said. “Welcome back. Are you ready to have some fun?”

“Ah, no, we are just going back to the castle,” Emi said. “It’s gotten quite late.”

“Nonsense,” Lord Lau said. “Your parents would commend your good behavior, but–Hic!–they aren’t even here!” He began laughing.

Beatrice thought it was amusing, but it was probably more than a little bit embarrassing to the girl who had grown up under this old man’s care.

“Come on, Beatrice. Let’s go to bed.”

“You know, Ms. L’Hime, your new wife is a very nice woman,” Lord Lau said. “I used to have someone dear to me like her. But when she passed I felt a great sadness that has not left my being even after twenty years. Cherish your wife while you can.”

“We’re not married. Not yet at least.” Beatrice giggled. 

Lord Lau looked off into the distance like he was trying to solve a mathematical equation. “Oh, that’s right. Your engagement is still tenuous, is it not. And the wedding is in the spring with the Moon Festivals. Or was it last spring? Didn’t your parents invite me to your wedding? I can’t quite recall at the moment. My–Hic!–apologies.”

What was this man talking about? Clearly he was inebriated past the point of coherence but he was kind of hilarious, Beatrice thought.

Emi, however, held a frightened face. Her chest puffed out with every breath, and her already-cold hand had become an icicle in Beatrice’s palm. “No, Lord Lau. You’re just misremembering things. I think you should take it easy,” she said. She giggled nervously. Beatrice raised an eyebrow.

“Well then…” He seemed to think long and hard about this. “Well, I hope you have a good night, Emi. And it was nice–Hic!–meeting you for this trip, Lady Khara.”

Who? Huh?

Beatrice looked at Emi, but she darted her eyes away.

Okay then… Something was going on.

“Emi… who is Lady Khara?”

<== Previous ♡ Next ==>

Chapter 48: A Great Museum

Next, Lord Lau took Beatrice and Emi to a new sight altogether: the National Museum of Mammoth Pass, one of Dannark’s many cultural museums dedicated to preserving its history and art. 

In Balarand, the construction of a museum shortly after the occupation was a source of great controversy. It housed the Jewel of Elince, the nation’s most precious artifact, and the occupational government refused to allow the people to take it out it during the Winter Ceremonies. Many boycotted the museum in protest, and there was word of serious financial troubles already.

Emi imagined there had been tensions about the same things here in Mammoth Pass long ago, but it had settled out over time. Would Elince ever become the same way? Would the occupation even last such a long time?

They entered the museum and were immediately greeted with a huge skeleton of a Mammoth on display, right at the entrance.

That seemed blasphemous to a high degree.

“Do not worry,” Lord Lau said. “It is merely a model. Mammoth bones always burned in this city, not stored and displayed. As if we were savages, really…”

“That wasn’t there the last time I came here,” Emi said.

“The Empress herself requested it last year,” he said. “They had to make do with an imitation, but it was the best that could be done without upsetting the Gods.”

Hmm… Emi didn’t like this.

Beatrice had come here, excited to learn a lot from the museum and even wore her traditional ancient Balarand-style outfit, the one with the sash and cape and everything. But the first thing here was a sight that could be outright blasphemous to her whole religion. Was this really okay? Emi wondered what Bk’Man would think if Balarand performed rituals to appease Him, but kept an effigy of one of His servants on display as well. It seemed mighty suspicious. She wasn’t the junior priest, though, so what did she know?

Her girlfriend seemed to notice the way Emi was fretting. “It’s fine,” Beatrice told her. “I think it’s pretty cool. My Dad would absolutely love this place.”

“Ah, your father is interested in this sort of place? He must be an esteemed scholar,” Lord Lau said.

“Not really,” Beatrice said. “He just likes studying about the ancient cultures in Tsubasa. They used to have more magic and completely different languages, apparently.”

“You must tell him everything you learn here, then,” Lord Lau said. “I will give you the most comprehensive tour I can.”

Emi most certainly did not want to be given the most comprehensive tour Lord Lau could give, because she had known this man for most of her life. If he spoke, they wouldn’t make it past the first exhibit by the end of the day.

“I do wish your Dad was here,” Emi said. “I love that man.”

“What do you know, I love him too,” said Beatrice.

“I wish I could have taken your whole family and shown them all of this cool stuff so they could be happy. But I’m not good enough yet.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Emi. My parents are happy just like they are. My Dad has to stay and support the library, because there aren’t many people who work there. And my Mom won’t go anywhere without him. So really, it’s okay.”

“If you say so…”

“Let us explore history and nature,” said Lord Lau. “Follow me. I shall show you the latest discoveries by researchers that have explored the northern portion of Tsubasa looking for preserved specimens of ancient life. So far, they have found a great number of promising…”

Beatrice began following him towards the exhibit on “Animals of the Plebias Mountains” and had a happy smile on her face. No! She didn’t know what she was in for!

She tugged on Beatrice’s jacket and whispered, “Come on. We need to get away from him.”

“What, how come?”

“…fifteen years since the previous fossil, and in that time they suspected the whole species was naught but a…” Lord Lau stopped and turned around. “Is anything the matter?”

“Nothing, we just need to visit the ladies’ room,” Emi said. She pulled her girlfriend with her towards the bathroom, but after they turned the corner towards a display of ancient tools used six thousand years ago, she stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Beatrice asked.

“Lord Lau lectures lots,” Emi said. “Once, when I was five years old, he told me about the Romance of Zahn, that old epic poem, and how the real-life events differed from the story. He went on for over six hours. I was five years old.”

“And you listened the whole time? That’s so sweet.” Beatrice leaned in for a kiss but Emi put her hand in front of her face. It was not a deserving moment, and Beatrice was not getting away with it.

“I just think that, even if this museum is really cool… maybe we should try to find more things to do since we only have a couple days left in Mammoth Pass.”

“But Lord Lau is so nice,” Beatrice said.

“You’re right, but… Oh hey, look at that.”

“Eh?”

Emi walked up to a painting in this display of ancient traditions, titled The First Winter Ceremonies, by Tormod Benici. “This is the same painting I have in my bedroom. Isn’t that neat?” It was a swirling mix of blues and whites showing off ancient Balarand, with pink-hued decorations adorning the snow-covered buildings. Beatrice and her dark-gray outfit complimented the painting well.

“Why do you have a fake painting in your bedroom again?” Beatrice asked. “I think I’ve asked this before but I forget. It’s kind of weird, isn’t it?

“You haven’t, because the answer is… I have no idea.” Emi shrugged. “It’s been there since I was a child. I like it.”

“That’s cute. You’re cute.” Beatrice leaned in for a kiss, but was again rebuffed by Emi’s palm. Not right now buddy.

They passed by another small exhibit, one showing off magic golems, like the one Runa was working on in her lab. Right now, all that was showing was a metallic core, but there was a large crank in front of the display. Beatrice seemed to be intentionally ignoring it, but Emi stepped over to the display and turned the lever. As she did, a bunch of rocks on wires emerged from holes in the exhibit and moved close to the core, forming a humanoid body. Haha, it was a self-assembling golem using levers and pulleys. Emi thought it was so neat.

Beatrice had long since moved on from the exhibit, though. She really didn’t like Runa’s experiments, did she?

“Oh, Emi, look at this!” she suddenly exclaimed.

“Oh yeah, what is– Ack!”

Emi let out a shriek as she saw the next exhibit– a massive greyback bear, twice the size of a human. It was a fake model, painted, but still. Terrifying stuff.

“It appears that this was the greyback of many thousands of years ago,” Beatrice said. “They got smaller over time and now they’re just your friendly neighborhood scavenger. Man, this thing looks like it could eat a human though!”

“I wish I never saw this,” Emi said. “Knowing a creature like this ever existed is bad for my mental health.”

“You’ve got more problems than your mental health, so don’t worry,” said Beatrice.

Despite the brazen insult, Emi only giggled.

Lord Lau finally caught up with them a few minutes later when they were in an area that showed off the architecture of ancient tribes around the Plebias Mountains.

“Oh, there you are. I had wondered if you had not been suddenly whisked away by pesky spirits.” He saw the crude stone tools on display next to them and his eyes lit up. “Actually, this is a fine exhibit as well,” he said. “Elince had a wide variety of early historic traditions, but they were far from the first civilization to form on the continent. Did you know the earliest evidence of civilization on Tsubasa actually comes from the Frozen Desert? Archaeologists have scoured the mysterious region for clues to its history, but all that we can find are broken-down structures and tools like these, stretching back ten to twelve thousand years in the past. Because we cannot find similar evidence in the rest of the continent that is as old as this, we can only assume that the climate must have been significantly different back in those times, as…”

Emi groaned and Beatrice laughed.

<== Previous ♡ Next ==>

Chapter 47: Legs

They sat up on the bed in their hotel room and held each other in their grasp. It was a bed so big it wouldn’t have even fit in Beatrice’s bedroom back at home. It was so soft, so comfortable–almost like Emi herself. Though the bed wasn’t quite as nice as the girl.

Beatrice had taken off her glasses and put them on the nightstand. She was always a bit bad about wearing her glasses to sleep, but she knew tonight would be kind of risky if she left them on. But even as blurry as her vision was, she could see Emi well enough to know she was the woman she loved. That was a very, very cheesy line, she thought to herself.

“Those Mammoths were amazing,” Beatrice said, continuing to look her girlfriend with that distinctive farsighted blur her natural eyes gave her. 

“Yeah,” Emi said. “I love coming to this city. I just can’t believe we got to do it together. It’s so…” Emi trailed off and rest her head on her shoulder. 

Beatrice reached out her hand and stroked Emi’s leg up and down. It was soft, smooth like a face after tears had run down her cheek. Her fingertips couldn’t resist the feeling.

“What are we going to do tomorrow?”

“I’m not sure.” Emi scooted closer to her and wrapped her ams around Beatrice’s back. “Lord Lau wants to take us to the museum. I’m sure your Dad would want you to go. After that… I’m not sure yet. Where do you want to go, Tris?”

“I don’t know,” Beatrice said. “All I care about is right now.” 

“Oh, Tris, stop…”

With Emi in her grasp, she could do anything to her. Anything with her. But for some reason, her focus was fixated firmly on her very soft, very smooth skin.

There wasn’t a single hair, not that her hands could discover, not on her shin, nor her knee, nor her thigh, nor her hip…

Emi raised her head and looked at her. Her heart raced–Beatrice could feel it beating against her chest, they were so close. Their noses practically touched. Beatrice’s legs were nestled underneath Emi’s, and Emi’s arms were wrapped around her waist.

Beatrice tilted her head and planted a kiss on her girlfriend’s lips. They moved around gently and slowly and went on for seconds, minutes, maybe more; it was impossible to tell.

Tears began to stream down Beatrice’s face. She couldn’t even feel them falling, she only felt them as they stained her cheeks. The two continued to share the kiss for a moment longer until Beatrice tapped Emi’s leg and let go. Her face was drenched.

She rarely cried, so this was a complete surprise to her. And to Emi, too.

“Tris… So soft.”

“You too,” she said, wiping the tears off her face. She squeezed Emi’s calf a few times. Squishy, almost as bouncy as the bed they sat on. “I love you.”

“Do you really? I never knew.”

“Still…”

“Hm?”

“Emi, why do you shave your legs?”

“I… What do you mean?”

“It’s a bit weird is all,” Beatrice said.

“Hey! You know, every girl of my status does it. It’s completely… normal. Right? I’m not weird?”

“I don’t know how I should respond to that.”

“Tris!” Emi took a hand off Beatrice’s waist and moved it to Beatrice’s lower leg. Emi’s fingers against her leg hair were ticklish but electric. “It’s not like leg hair is bad or anything. I just like mine the way they are, but I like yours the way they are too. It’s a perfect match.”

“Fair enough,” Beatrice said. “Hehe, it tickles. Stop. Stop!” 

“Heheheheheh.” Emi used this opportunity to unleash a full-on tickle attack, assaulting Beatrice with the full force of her wiggling fingers. 

It was now evident that Beatrice’s oft-boasted-of tickle defense measures were a fraud, and all those tickle masters she trained with had been mere scam artists. She went down like a chump, literally falling on her side in laughter.

 “Stooop!” Beatrice squealed, but it was no use, as Emi had already begun the siege on her belly. She was sucked into the vortex of infinite laughter.

Emi let out a maniacal chortle that reminded Beatrice way too much of Runa. 

She  pushed Emi off of her and onto her back, and she bounced against the bed for a second, accompanied by a loud thud. “Ouch,” she whined.

“Are you okay?”

“Hehehe.” Emi used this as an opportunity to make another tickle attack, and Beatrice again fell victim to the tickle ambush.

“Stoooooop…”

“Never,” Emi said. “I’ll never let you go, not in a million years.”

“You’re so…” Beatrice pushed Emi off again. “…Lame.” She climbed on top of Emi and restrained her wrists to put an end to all of this. No more tickling. 

Emi was blushing more than Beatrice had ever seen before. “Tris…” she murmured.

And then, with Emi in her grasp, Beatrice suddenly felt very nervous. For a moment, she thought about releasing her grip and backing off. But she didn’t.

 Beatrice let out one last giggle and the two locked lips once again.

***

Emi, at this moment, was jumping up and down on her bed while Beatrice was taking a nap before supper. The fabric was so soft that her jumps did not even interrupt the girl right beside her… How cool was that?

She loved all of this. All of Beatrice, all of this hotel room, and, dare she say it, all of herself.

Yes, Emi had stayed in places like this, but never somewhere with such a gorgeous view. Outside their window was a full view of the city, all the way towards the nearby Mount Galahad. Emi had never been all the way there, but there were outlying villages and towns built on the mountains, with buildings literally carved out of the mountains themselves. One could see the buildings dotting the surface of Mount Galahad from anywhere in the city, but to actually reach them took days of arduous travel, walking and climbing through winding, unsafe terrain. As a result, the only people that lived there were poor herders and strider hunters. She wasn’t sure how anyone could live so close to a large city, and yet so far away from civilization. 

Strange thing to think about while acting like a child and jumping on her bed, she realized. Emi landed butt-first and laid her head on one of the unnervingly soft pillows the castle staff had given them. 

This was nice. Very nice.

Beatrice snored. Well, mostly nice.

She looked at her gorgeous girlfriend, as beautiful asleep as when she was awake. 

“I love you,” she said softly.

Beatrice’s eyes started flickering open, somehow waking up from those quiet words but not Emi landing on the bed. “Yuri the only one for… me…”

“What?”

Beatrice returned to full consciousness. “Yuri– I mean, you’re the only one for me. Is it time for supper yet?”

“Not quite.”

“Good.” She shut her eyes and dropped out of consciousness before Emi could add another word.

Emi laid down next to her and sighed. She really wished her parents could have been here, but it did once again save her the trouble of having to explain who Beatrice was without getting into the inevitable confrontation with them about her engagement with Lady Khara.

After all the stress building up as she awaited her parents’ final judgment, she ought to have been utterly insane after not telling Beatrice for so long, but instead she felt relieved. That couldn’t have been a good thing, could it?

It didn’t matter. She was going to tell Beatrice about it soon. It wasn’t a big deal, not when she explained it right. She was just going to enjoy the rest of this trip, and then worry about all that later.

Emi laid her head down on the bed next to Beatrice and nestled in close. Her nose nuzzled against her bare back and took in that smothering scent of old books and determination that belonged only to the woman she called Tris. She put her hand on her face and rubbed her fingers across her freckled cheeks. Then she leaned in and gave a peck to her lips.

“I love you so much,” Emi whispered once again.

Beatrice responded by snoring.

***

A deep breath… And another.

This was just another test. Beatrice aced tests. When she set her mind to something, she accomplished it. So all she had to do was set her mind to this.

She brushed at her skirt–there was nothing wrong with it, but she couldn’t help herself–and straightened up her back–her posture was already solid, but she couldn’t help that either,. Then she took the first steps down the spiral staircase.

Beatrice had climbed up and down the huge central stairway in the L’Hime Family foyer more times than she could count, and had never felt any particular way about it. So why, here, had the atmosphere suddenly turned so thin?

Probably because at the bottom of this spiral staircase were hundreds of people partaking in the faciest of parties, the kind so rich you could see the golden sparkles on guests’ dresses from outside the building. Probably because Beatrice wore a bright green dress that showed off her bust and legs far more than anything else she’d worn in her life. Probably because waiting down at the bottom of those stairs would be a pair of brown eyes that would make the immediate judgment–was this the one, or was this all a mistake?

She knew it was beyond certain what Emi felt about her. She knew they were both in love, that the Will of the Gods had brought them together into their own personal harmony, that no matter what happened, they would always have a bond stronger than any magic. Even so, she felt skittish, those stomach-gnawing worries like that her mediocre looks couldn’t pull off this dress and that would end things for good.

So, because of those strange pangs of anxiety, Beatrice took each step with great care. She kept herself composed and measured, let her legs descend each stair one at a time, pausing briefly each time to make sure her dress didn’t flow more than it needed. It didn’t her nerves very much.

It took until she came into full view of the party–

–with all eyes on her and even a few claps–

–with that one familiar face leaning on a wall over by the corner that stared, mouth agape–

–that those nerves were finally put to rest.

Beatrice may not have been beautiful, not in her own biased blue eyes. But she was good at tests, and she passed this one like all the rest.

With the pit of her stomach suddenly cured of all ailments, she gained all her confidence back in one instant. She took a glass of tea from a server’s tray and waltzed over to Emi.

“How’s my little wall flower?” she asked.

“I hate parties,” Emi said. “But seeing you in that dress just made it worth it.”

It took great pains not to let the compliments go to her head. “Sorry I took so long, sweetie,” she told her.

“That’s okay. I’m enjoying the company.”

“…Company?”

Emi pointed to behind Beatrice. She turned around and saw a long table with a green cloth surface, and three multi-colored balls. A few young, handsome men were gathered around watching as another man aimed a stick at one of the balls. They watched with great anticipation before he struck it and it rolled across the table at great speeds. It bounced against the corners and eventually rolled to a stop in a different part of the table.

The men began to laugh, and so did Emi. The man looked incredibly disappointed.

“These guys have kept me company,” Emi said after she finished laughing. “They’ve been teaching me all about this game.”

Beatrice sipped at her tea and nodded curiously. “It looks very interesting.”

One of the young men, a light-skinned man with a scruffy beard, turned to the two and gave a hearty smile. “Emi, did you see what Giles did?”

“He completely missed it!”

“Yep, because Giles is really lame,” he said. “Oh, is this her? This stunning beauty right here?”

Emi nodded. “Yep! This is my girlfriend, Beatrice Ragnell.”

“And I’m Ari Hugel,” said the beared man. “Nice to meet you, Beatrice.” He extended his hand. Beatrice looked at Emi skeptically and then shook it with a strong a grip as she could give–ack, that hurt.

He laughed. “So, what do you know about the game of carambole?”

Beatrice said to him, “Absolutely nothing. I’ve never even seen it before.”

“It’s really fun,” Emi said. “Watch it!”

She didn’t really want to. But… But. Emi had been talking to complete strangers. Emi had been having fun in a party all on her own. This was an amazing development! Beatrice had to support her in every way she could, even if it meant watching a game involving… balls bouncing off table cushions or something like that?

 “So what is carambole?” Beatrice asked.

“Watch and learn,” said Ari. “Though not from Giles.” The men laughed at the poor man who missed the shot earlier. Ari set the balls up in a triangle position on the table and took the long stick from his friend. “So in carambole, the goal is to use the cue ball, in my case this one–” he held the white ball up to show her–”to hit the orange ball, then bounce the ball off three cushions, then to hit your opponent’s cue ball, which in this case is Giles’s green one.”

“Bounce off the cushions three times?” Beatrice said. “That seems really hard.”

“And there’s more,” he continued. “You can hit the balls in any order, and as many times as you need, but you have to hit the other cue ball last no matter what.”

“That’s… Gods, that sounds hard. And if you miss?”

“If you make a point, you get to try again. If you miss, it’s your opponent’s turn. First to five points wins.”

She studied the table. There were so many angles, so many possible ways, and she could tell immediately that this would take math and physics equations just to comprehend the basics of what went on with each strike.

“Do you understand, Beatrice?” Ari asked.

“I think so. The rules are simple, but the game…”

“Yep, that’s carambole. Want to try it, since Giles is obviously too tired to continue?”

Beatrice looked at Emi, who seemed ecstatic, and then back to Ari. “Sure. Don’t expect much though.”

“Don’t worry! Maybe you’ll have beginner’s luck!”

She didn’t.

“That was pretty pathetic,”  Beatrice said.

“It was your first time. Perfectly alright,” Ari said.

Beatrice lost, zero points to five. The young men didn’t laugh at her like they did their friend, which made it even worse. She felt pitied.

Emi stepped up to the table and put her hand on Beatrice’s shoulder. “It’s just a game, Tris.”

“Just a game, but…”

“Here, I’ll try,” Emi said. “I’ll show you that losing can be fun, too!”

“That’s the spirit,” Ari said. “Let’s have some fun.”

Beatrice proceded to watch her girlfriend win the next eight games in a row. It turns out being a gear-head like Emi made people pretty decent at this kind of sport. 

This should have been a very useful lesson to Beatrice about the value of not always being the best, about failure sometimes being a better teacher than winning ever could. Instead, it just frustrated her more. 

At least she looked great in her bright green dress…

<== Previous ♡ Next ==>

Chapter 46: Mammoth Watching Extravaganza

Emi was pretty weary of all this already, and it was only the second day in Mammoth Pass. 

There was just so much wealth around her, no matter where she went. It was almost intoxicating, and not in a good way. She waddled through the snow alongside a large pack of rich individuals who all wore clothes that cost more than an month’s rent for apartment in Balarand. Emi knew that because she had checked listings for one-bedroom apartments across the city quite recently, not for any specific reason like that she was thinking about offering Beatrice a place for them to live together or anything. She was just curious, was all.

Of course, she was one to talk when complaining about rich people clothing, seeing as just this morning she had worn an ornate white dress dotted with pearls for the breakfast social. It was beautiful, but she felt its value deprecating by a coin every time she took a step. 

Now, of course, she had on something much more, um, sensible. A custom design by her tailor Javert that looked cute, but had one fundamental flaw–its skirt went down only to her knees… She could feel her butt slowly morphing into an icicle just standing out here.  

Right now, Emi, Beatrice, and the other people in their party were up on the cliffs of the Plebias Mountains. They watched the herds of Mammoths roam at the edges of the Frozen Desert, a vast wasteland taking up most of northern Tsubasa. Other than the Mammoths themselves and a few pridecow herds and hunter tribes, practically nothing could survive out there. In a way, that made the sight even prettier than it already was. Emi wasn’t sure why.

 Her rich companions were using tiny handheld binoculars to watch the scene without straining their eyes, but Emi looked on from afar with her own two eyes. It was more fun to take it all in at once, she thought.

The Mammoths grazed the snowy ground, looking for shrubs and grasses, marching in their slow dance across the tundra. It was a sight that Emi knew well, from all her trips here with her parents, but, after all that had happened in her life these past few months, she felt like she was seeing them with a fresh mind. It was certainly interesting to see them while next to someone actually religious, someone whose entire life was predicated around keeping the same Harmony these Mammoths protected.

The way they moved around was so majestic and pretty, even as all they did was walk in a slow-moving herd, marching in a line so slowly it looked like Emi’s gear machine, but if it were being cranked too slowly. Beatrice must have been amazed to see the Mammoths, but Emi suddenly realized she was much more interested in seeing Beatrice as she looked at them.

Beatrice looked as uncomfortable as Emi felt, somehow just as weary of all this rich people activity as her, though not quite as shivering. Beatrice was probably getting the better end of the deal here. She was wearing her very nicest dress, the same Ancient Balarandian-style outfit she had worn to Emi’s house party all those months ago, but she had a coat over it and wore thick stockings to cover up her legs. It was still a bit thin, but unlike Emi, Beatrice could actually handle the cold because she was a grown lady.

Emi, on the other hand, was a child. A chilled child.

Gods, how do you even make a being like Beatrice Ragnell? With no conscious effort put into her appearance, she looked less like a pretty girl on a trip, and more like a frostbitten hallucination of a heavenly being who takes you away to the afterlife. 

This girl was hers, Emi thought. Beatrice was hers, and she was Beatrice’s. She had snagged the ultimate prize– a woman who was not only beautiful, not only smart, not only so stubborn she would stop at nothing to achieve her goals, but someone who managed all of that without even thinking about it. Emi loved her so much.

Those stockings on her slender legs were stronger, more captivating than a fairy’s song. Gods, if it were just the two of them right now… Emi shivered and realized her fantasies were incredibly unrealistic sometimes.

Lord Lau crept up to Beatrice and tapped her on the shoulder, giving her a bit of a fright. Emi watched as the two of them exchanged friendly banter. She wasn’t sure wh the old man would think when she brought a woman who was very obviously not Lady Khara, but he hadn’t said a word, yet. Maybe he didn’t even realize it. Or maybe he was just on her side.

“This is your first time here, is it not?” Lord Lau asked Beatrice. He handed a pair of fancy binoculars to Beatrice. “The Mammoths are a glorious sight indeed.”

Beatrice took the binoculars. “Thank you.” She watched the Mammoths through them, and Emi watched her watching.

“These creatures can live for three hundred years, sometimes longer,” Lord Lau said. “Because humans are able to coexist with them peacefully, they have become increasingly plentiful across the continent. If you were to venture north into the Frozen Desert, you could find herds of them stretching on for a hundred miles as they migrate north and south along with the seasons. It is truly a thing of beauty.”

So was Beatrice, Emi thought. The beauty part, not the stretching on for hundreds of miles part.

Emi was currently shivering her butt off, wondering why in Phyra’s name she was fitted for a winter dress whose hem only stretched down to her knees, and she actually wore this dress to the mountains. In the middle of the snow. Javert finally got back at her for all those years of whining and fidgeting around… and she deserved everything she got.

What a price to pay to look as cute as she did!

Suddenly, Beatrice turned her binoculars and faced them towards Emi, as if she were observing her like a natural specimen.

One would suspect Emi would begin blushing and acting flustered by her girlfriend’s actions. One would be extremely correct.

“Tris, w-w-hat are you doing?” Emi said through chattering teeth. 

Beatrice put down the binoculars and made a weird face. “Uh, nothing.”

“Give me those,” she said before yanking the binoculars away. “Maybe I should stare at you the same way, huh? How would you like that?”

“Please, like you didn’t all l–”

“Shut it.”

“I love you,” Beatrice said.

Emi blushed, and then put her free hand around her upper arm to show she cared.

She was so warm…

But then Beatrice shivered and pushed Emi away from her. “Why are you so cold?” she asked.

“F-fashion…”

Besides that, this moment was almost perfect. The two of them standing next to each other, overlooking the quiet serenity of the most beautiful creatures in Tsubasa. Or, rather, the second-most beautiful creatures, ranked just behind this absolute monster of a woman. If the horde of other rich onlookers weren’t ogling the Mammoths all around them, this would be perfect. But Emi was okay with it being pretty close.

<== Previous ♡ Next ==>

Chapter 45: The Whole City

Beatrice looked out the carriage window and saw the Plebias Mountains, now up close and massive, with hundreds and hundreds of buildings dotting the ground below them or carved out of the side of them. 

This was Mammoth Pass, nestled between Dannark and the vast Frozen Desert to the north. Once one ventured on beyond the border, civilization disappeared, replaced by an inhospitable wasteland all the way to the ocean. Only a few scattered tribes had inhabited the Frozen Desert at the time, so Mammoth Pass was essentially the northernmost city in all of Tsubasa.

Beatrice, never having left Balarand in all her life, having already been excited by all the mountains and canyons and small villages they had passed along the way, was absolutely astonished that there could exist such a beautiful city apart from her own.

She had dreamed of travelling in her life– that was one of the main reasons she had set on the path to becoming a priest in the first place– and she was finally getting to do it.

Wow…

Just wow.

Out of pure happiness, she kissed Emi on the cheek…. and was promptly pushed away. 

“Sorry,” she muttered.

They had spent the past five and a half days doing not much else but kissing and talking, so Emi was now in one of her antisocial moods. Beatrice felt fine, but she wanted to keep her girlfriend happy before they were inevitably forced to participate in rich people activities all day. Emi could hardly handle those as is, Beatrice knew well.

The carriage caravan pulled off the highway and onto a city road leading straight into Mammoth Pass proper. A massive ice sculpture in the form of a mythical dragon adorned the center of one city district. It towered over all the other buildings in the vicinity, and all the rockway streets in the area led directly to this central exhibit. It was the crowning jewel of the city.

Beatrice had gotten a small bit of studying done, though not nearly as much as she had originally expected. Now that she had seen what Winter Festivals had to offer, though, she knew she wasn’t going to pull a single book out for the rest of her time here. There was no point in pretending otherwise.

And there—

She saw it– “Wow!”

Roaming down the street, with people walking around it as if it was a completely normal occurrence, was a Mammoth, covered in shaggy fur. Its trunk, long and slender, bounced around as it walked.

Beatrice looked closer and realized it was being followed by a few smaller Mammoth calves. It had its own babies, wow! They scurried around with more energy, less regal calmness, and one of them ran up to a passerby on the street, trying to get the human to give it food or affection or whatever it seemed to want at this moment. The parent Mammoth made a groaning sound with its trunk and the child Mammoths filed in line behind it with perfect obedience.

Mammoths were considered sacred in all of Tsubasa’s cultures, but Beatrice never expected anything like this. They simply roamed free in the middle of the city, not hunted, not bothered. Treated with reverence. The city WAS named Mammoth Pass, she realized. It made sense.

The carriage made its way towards a small palace. It was no more than a tenth of the size of Castle Balarand, but it was also a mere vacation home for Empress Nievol, so it was never going to be very massive. Still, it was beautiful, built with rocky, jagged arches. Its roof was a large dome sparkling with silver.

“We’re almost here,” said Emi.

“Are you ready?” 

“As long as we can go back to the hotel soon,” she replied.

Beatrice wondered, if the carriage ride was as fancy as it was, what the hotel could possibly look like.

The carriages finally pulled up in front of the palace, with dozens of diplomats in silly-looking outfits waiting for them out in the snow. 

“Ugh, my parents are going to be angry if they see me in this,” Emi said, looking down at her not-so-fancy outfit.

“Don’t worry about it, Emi. It’s been a long trip.” She wondered if they were in the crowd right now. Would they accept her? Would they be mad at Emi for bringing her? She knew so little about them…

Beatrice stepped down onto the ground and offered her hand to Emi.

“Tris…”

She took her hand and stepped out of the carriage as well. They let go of each others’ hands, as not to look too unprofessional in front of all the diplomats, and walked towards the growing procession of rich and famous people. Beatrice realized at this moment she was going to feel out-of-place for the rest of this trip.

An older man saw the two girls and made his way towards them. Emi had a flash of recognition and ran towards him. “Lord Lau!” she yelled. But rather than jumping up and hugging him around the neck, she extended her hand forwards towards him. 

“My little Emi,” the man said in a grandfatherly rasp. He took her hand and shook it like it was completely normal. Beatrice stared blankly. “How nice it is to see you after all this time. You must be so tired after your trip.”

Emi looked back at Beatrice and giggled. “It was a fine trip,” she said. “But I’m very glad to finally be back in Mammoth Pass.”

“As am I to see you once again. However, I must inform you of some ill news. Your parents will not be joining you after all They are being made to remain in Zahn while continuing to resolve some diplomatic issues with the extradition of King Kline from Fathie back to Dannark. A very serious matter. It only came up this week, so they could not warn you before you had departed.”

“I… I understand,” she said.

Beatrice noticed Emi’s crestfallen expression and felt bad. She probably was so excited for her to meet her parents, and now it was just going to be the two of them figuring out what to do all week on their own. Then again, Beatrice thought, it was going to be just the two of them all week. That sounded a lot more exciting, in a way…

“I will still make sure you receive the best experience possible here in Mammoth Pass,” Lord Lau said. “Go, you two, and rest your travels off in your room so you may be up bright and early tomorrow. We are going Mammoth watching!”

Beatrice took a few steps closer to Emi and Lord Lau so she didn’t feel quite so much like an outsider to their conversation.

“Where is our room this year?” Emi asked.

“Why, on the sixth floor of the castle, of course,” he said. “You are a daughter of the L’Hime Family, after all.”

Wh…what? This castle? The one right in front of them at this very moment? Beatrice was going to faint.

“Well, I just thought things might be different, considering…”

Lord Lau’s expression darkened. “We shall not let the political situation ruin your trip this year. You will find yourselves very well accommodated, both of you.”

“Well, thank you,” Emi said.

They headed into the castle. Inside the castle, it was like a luxurious resort, every room patterned after what the Imperial Family would live in… or maybe their servants, at least. The castle’s workers scurried around at the speed of baby Mammoths trying to get all of the new guests situated in their rooms. Beatrice felt too overwhelmed to really comprehend what was going on. So much wealth and so many people… and she was a guest! They went up a ton of flights of stairs, very tiring after a while, and reached their room. 

Gods, it was gorgeous.

“Gods, this is gorgeous,” Emi said.

There was a great furnace place right in the middle of the room, kindling a warm glow and glowing warmth all over. There was a small heated tub off to the side, and of course a magnificent bed made from feathers and plush to bounce around on. Outside the window was a full view of the city, all the way towards the nearby Mount Galahad. The outlying villages and towns and their mountain-carved houses were starting to grow dimmer as the sun set behind them. 

Their bags hadn’t been brought up yet, but this was such a nice room that Beatrice thought she could start living in it immediately, and forever, without ever having to think about the worries of adult responsibilities or life goals or any of that nonsense. She could stay in this room and relax for a few decades. Yep, that sounded about right.

Emi ran over to the bed and started hopping up and down on the foam fabric. After a moment, Beatrice joined her. This was incredibly childish, but very fun!

“You know, this room is very famous,” Emi told Beatrice as they continued to jump around the bed. “People like We-kus Kalo and Ken Anderso have stayed here before. We’re jumping on the bed that Mr. Anderso jumped on!”

“I have no idea who either of those two people are.”

“They’re the premier yeti hunters of the whole continent. How do you not know them?”

“What’s a yeti?”

“Gods, we are worlds apart sometimes,” Emi said. 

“I was kidding,” Beatrice said.

“Oh.”

“But you’re probably right,” Beatrice said. “For how much I love you, and how much you love me, sometimes I feel like we have so far to go before we can really understand each other.” She paused, letting Emi soak in the words, before adding, “And there’s certainly one way we can get closer.”

“Read more books together?” Emi hopped backwards and landed butt-first on the bed, and Beatrice followed by making one final hop and then sitting down. Beatrice leaned back and laid her head on one of the many pillows. It was soft. Unnervingly soft.

“Books, huh. You want to help me study for the Priesthood Exam?” she asked.

“Of course,” Emi replied. “I’d help you study for an assassination.”

“What does that mean?”

“Like, if you wanted to kill someone, I would help you do it.”

“Please don’t,” Beatrice said. “That’s wrong.”

“But you are so, so right.” She winked.

“Oh, Emi…” Beatrice, in a bout of excitement, let herself make the kind of sly smile you give when you know your plan is going perfectly. “Wait, I don’t have any books with me. No studying tonight. I guess we’ll have to do something else then.”

Emi’s face grew red. She started to understand. “Maybe… uh, maybe supper’s ready for us. Yeah, let’s go downstairs and check.”

Beatrice shook her head. “I very much doubt that.” She reached out her hand and placed it on Emi’s cheek. Her entire face went cherry-red.

“Welp.”

I think I’ll stop narrating from there.

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