runa Archives - Hands Held in the Snow

Chapter 69: Departures

“Your priest robes… They look so… so adorable….”

Emi’s reaction was, beat for beat, the exact same as her Mom’s a week prior, and her Dad’s the following morning. It was amazing how people turned into exact copies when it came to complimenting fashion.

“It’s not even the official robes,” Beatrice said. “Just a casual uniform.”

“Fair enough, but… Oh, you look great no matter what,” Emi said.

“You’re just trying to get in my skirt, aren’t you?” Beatrice smirked.

“Well, Is it working?”

“No way.”

Emi shrugged. “Worth a shot.”

There was a small group gathered here to see Beatrice off. Her parents, naturally, and Emi, of course. But also Bodhi himself had arrived, which surprised her but warmed her heart as well. For some reason, Emi’s housekeeper Pip was also here, but Beatrice was pretty sure she had never actually had a one-on-one conversation with her before, so… Well, it was good to see her anyway.

The party was almost complete, but not quite yet, until… Huh?!

Tia Knoll and Runa Arakawa strolled to the gathering site, hand-in-hand.

When Beatrice saw this, she gasped. How did those two even meet? Certainly it wasn’t during the Battle of Balarand, was it? …Was it? In the stress of the moment, did they really look at each other and suddenly…

Wow.

Beatrice was about to join her group of new priests who would take the next several weeks to hike towards their convent. She had complained about the carriage ride taking too long, but she was now regretting ever thinking such things. Hiking for WEEKS? It was going to be ruthless, she knew already.

“You know,” she said to Emi. “In the end, it turns out my convent is right near Mammoth Pass. I feel like that’s the Gods playing a prank.”

“Probably,” Emi said. “You’re going to be in for some tough winters, though. Do you have all your winter clothes?”

“Nope. Just what’s in my bag over there.” She pointed towards a large backpack with some food, a sleeping bag, and a few other supplies attached. It was really heavy and carrying that on her back for weeks was going to prove very tough, but she tried not to think about that right now. “I’m going to try to buy new clothes when I get there, but our allowances are very low, so it might be tough.”

“Well, the Gods will provide,” Emi said.

Beatrice wasn’t sure whether that was sarcasm or not.

“So, how’s, uh, Lady Khara?” Beatrice asked. “Is she, uh, treating you well?”

“Yeah,” Emi said. “She’s making me… uh, show her around town and stuff. She’s, uh, nice. You know.” Both of them burst into laughter just as much as they blushed.

Emi stepped back and let Beatrice’s parents give one last hug. “We love you so much,” they said together.

“And I love you, too,” she said. “I’ll try to see you during the Winter Ceremonies, okay?”

“You have to promise you’ll come,” Mom said. “We’ll come back up too, you know.”

“I can’t promise! That’s half a year away. I don’t know what my schedule will be like then.”

“Write often,” Dad said. “And tell me all about the convent. I have heard yours was one of the very first ever built. It must be so beautiful.”

“Dad…”

“Just asking.”

“Well, you better write often about Kent too, then,” she said. “I really hope you enjoy it down there.”

“I just hope I figure out how to be a teacher,” he replied. “I’m already getting worried about it.”

She waved goodbye to Runa and Tia. “You guys better have a good time without me,” she said.

“Tia here has promised financing my research,” Runa said. “I could not imagine a better time than that. My quest for control of the fabric of reality has grown ever closer to completion.”

“Oh, Runa, you’re never going to give that up, are you?”

“Of course not. And I cannot forgive you for your transgressions against me. Leaving me in my time of greatest need, abandoning me to work with the Church… It breaks my heart, Ms. Ragnell.” Tia laughed, but Beatrice wasn’t sure whether he realized how serious Runa really was about all of this.

Beatrice said her goodbyes to Bodhi and Pip. “Thank you so much for coming, Bodhi. You’re a good friend, and I hope you can be a good friend to a lot of people someday.”

He snickered. “You say that like I don’t already have tons of friends.”

“Oh yeah.”

“Take care, Bea.” He tipped his hat down and gave a single not.

“Don’t call me Bea.”

Pip sobbed and blew her nose through a handkerchief. “Oh, Beatrice…”

“Oh, and, um, goodbye to you too…”

“Beatrice…!”

Uhh… Okay then…

“Well, it’s about time for me to meet up with my group,” Beatrice said. “I’m going to miss all of you so much. Thank you for coming here.”

One last thing…

She turned to Emi–

Who was holding a small metallic box in her hands. It looked a lot like the one that showed off the horse, the one Beatrice had broken so long ago.

“One last thing,” Emi said. “I made you a going-away present. For friendship.” She held the machine with both hands, and then used her magic to turn the crank. Still a show-off.

The machine showed Beatrice, her visage replicated on a board of hundreds of small squares, turned into a tiny animated woman. Her hair and all its curls flowed in the wind, and she was smiling, looking directly at the viewer.

The whole thing lasted for only two, maybe three seconds, before it looped back and started over. But she must have stared for a full minute before she looked away.

“It’s a moving portrait of you,” Emi told her. “I made it really small so that you can take it with you anywhere. But don’t try to reprogram it, or the whole thing will break. Trust me.”

“Oh, Emi…” Beatrice held a hand to her own cheek. “You know I can’t have possessions.”

“You can’t?”

“But… I love it.”

“You do?”

“I’ll let my parents have it.”

“But, if they take it, then you won’t have it. And then…”

Beatrice stepped forward and took both of Emi’s hands. “I’m never going to forget about you,” Beatrice said. “Never for my entire life. Just because we’re apart doesn’t mean you won’t have been the best thing to ever happen to me, okay? The Gods didn’t want us to be apart. They wanted us to be together, and that’s what happened.”

“I love you so much,” Emi said, tears already rolling down her cheeks. Her eyes glowed–those same bright brown eyes that sucked her into a portal of magic and romance that changed the course of her entire life. “I want to see you again, Beatrice… I know we promised not to say these things, but I can’t help it. I miss you already and you’re not even gone.”

“If the Gods Will it, we’ll meet again, okay? Whenever it may be.”

“Will you write letters?” Emi asked.

“I’m not sure if your wife will think that is appropriate.” Beatrice giggled, and then started crying as well. She let go of Emi’s hands and went back to pick up her backpack. Wow… this was so heavy. She really didn’t want to carry this on her back for ten hours a day.

“See you later,” Emi said.

Beatrice shook her head, smiling. “Farewell,” she said. Emi and Beatrice’s Dad hugged, and her Mom fiddled around with that mechanical contraption. Runa rambled about a new master plan, and Tia looked at Beatrice’s robes with a judging gaze. Bodhi’s looked off in another direction with his arms folded, clearly trying not to cry, and Pip had let her emotions flow, crying louder than anyone else around her. What a bunch of weirdos, Beatrice thought. Some amazing weirdos.

She let her mind paint a portrait of this scene, and keep it burned into her mind for the rest of her life. These were exactly the people Beatrice knew she had to protect. She was a powerful person who accomplished everything she set her mind to, and becoming a famous priest would be no harder than acing a test. But now, after everything, she finally had a reason behind her ambition. She would do everything she could to keep the smiles on these people’s faces bright and harmonious.

In her future, Beatrice would become a powerful and prominent priest. She would revolutionize the Church to actually help people, to actually bring the harmony it lacked so much in this time. Each person saved, each life given new breath, would be a new piece to bringing peace to this tumultuous continent. Everything Beatrice did would matter. It had to, or else all of this would be for nothing.

After one last moment of reflection, Beatrice waved to all her friends and family, and then walked away.

She didn’t look back.

<== Previous ♡ Next ==>

Chapter 63: Safe House

By the time Beatrice could see again, she realized she was being pulled along by Emi, and they were running still through the streets near Castle Balarand.

Emi looked back at her and shouted, “We escaped!”

“That was you!” Beatrice yelled back. “How did you do that?”

“I have no idea! The magic of love or something!”

Oh, this girl.

Beatrice, Emi, Emi’s Father, and Runa were all safe, far away from the bulk of the fighting. Now that Dannark soldiers from the front lines of the war had arrived in Balarand, the rebels stood little chance–their forces had already begun to flee. The epicenter of the battle was still mostly around the castle, the entire area now surrounded in flames. The trek to the Tia’s safe house should have been a safe one.

It wasn’t.

Rebel soldiers and Dannark soldiers alike broke away from their fights to attack the four of them. Apparently they were just too much of a prime target. It probably had something to do with the giant eight-foot-tall homunculus that ran beside them.

“Runa, can’t you make that thing go away?!” Beatrice yelled.

“Hasha is precious. You cannot make a scientific revolution simply ‘go away.’”

“I mean all these people are attacking us because of it!”

But, fortunately, the homunculus was attacking all of these people in return. It stopped running suddenly and plowed itself into the crowd, making its stand against, essentially, everything around it. There were far too many soldiers to keep it going. Nevertheless, it attacked them, swiping them to the floor and kicking one several feet into the air.

The homunculus was overpowered by the sheer number of attackers. But those attackers were no longer pursuing the four of them, and that would save their lives.

One of the soldiers sliced the beast in the gut. It screamed out and bashed the soldier to the ground. Its large, beady eyes shed tears at alarming volumes, and it wailed out like a child who scraped their knee.

“Hasha! No!” Runa screamed. “My creation!”

Sword still stuck in its stomach, the homunculus shoved away all the soldiers around it and ran off in a random direction.

With both the few remaining rebels and the newly arrived Dannark soldiers attacking it at once, the homunculus could not stand up to the struggle. It was going to go out fighting.

But the group didn’t look back to make sure. Even Runa kept her gaze forward. Beatrice could hear the sounds of wailing and slicing, but they grew fainter every moment.

In the frenzy of a sudden monster attack, the soldiers became too distracted to pursue them, and by now not a single soldier followed. They made their way safely for the rest of their journey.

The safe house was a featureless home in the middle of a residential neighborhood, where the fighting had not spread and the streets were desolate. As hot as the fires had made the city, specks of snow still dotted the roof here.

Inside was a furniture-less room with nothing but dry food, water, and roll-out mats. Underneath one rug, though, was a secret latch that opened up to reveal an underground bunker. They climbed down the ladder and met the others.

Beatrice suddenly wondered if her own parents were okay…They probably were. If the fighting had mostly been contained to the central parts of the city, then her apartment near Knoll Park was surely safe. Dannark soldiers tightly patrolled the riverways, so the rebels would never have attacked there… she hoped. She had enough to worry about today, so that’s what she was going to tell herself.

They reached the others, exchanged hugs and cried together, and finally sat down, laid down, huddled together. It was finally time to relax a little bit.

Runa was devastated, to a point she was holding her head in grief. “My homunculus… My research…”

“It served us very well,” Emi said. “Thank you.” She gave Runa a quick hug, and Runa’s face turned blood-red.

“What is your story, girl?” Tia asked.

Runa shot a sharp glance towards him. “What’s it to you?”

Beatrice realized this was the first time Tia and Runa had ever met. What a strange occurrence this was.

Beatrice sat down and Emi almost immediately collapsed, her head falling directly into her lap.

“Your hair’s getting long again,” Beatrice muttered.

Emi giggled. Then she let out the longest sigh ever recorded. Beatrice followed suit.

“Thank you for saving my family,” Emi said. “Tr–Beatrice…”

“Emi…”

They sat like this in silence for a long time. There were ten people in this bunker: Emi, Beatrice, Emi’s parents, Ms. Khami, Pip, Touma, Runa, Tia, and Tia’s boyfriend whose name Beatrice hadn’t caught. And out of those ten people, not a soul had the energy to speak.

Beatrice ran her fingers through Emi’s hair. For some reason, it felt weird, even a little bit wrong. But it also felt great, so she didn’t stop.

The one thing that struck her most about this moment was the smell. That lingering scent of smoke and ash that clung to their clothes and hairs with a tight grip. Pungent like burnt cheese. She hated it. But, knowing that she smelled exactly the same way, she let it pass with only a crinkle of her nose.

The silence in the room was broken by, naturally, Pip, who squatted on the floor next to the girls. “You did good, you two,” she said. “I coulda taken them, but…”

“Everything’s going to change, isn’t it?” Beatrice wondered aloud.

“It was always going to,” said Emi, her head still in Beatrice’s lap. “That’s how it works with the… Will of the Gods and… harmony… and…”

She had drifted off to sleep. Poor thing really tired herself out with all of that… whatever it was she did. Magic? If it was magic, it was a level far beyond anything Beatrice had ever seen or read about, but she had no other word to describe it.

After everything they had gone through… They had saved the prisoners in the castle. They had fended off Ulric Statusian. They survived to see tomorrow.

What was going to happen? Neither of them really knew, but at this exact moment, they were safe. That was all that mattered.

<== Previous ♡ Next ==>

Chapter 62: All Her Will

Ulric Statusian faced Emi and stared her down. This was Beatrice’s former teacher, somehow now a leader of the rebellion. Behind him stood a number of rebels. The carried large spears and axes pilfered from the bodies of the Dannark soldiers they had slewn moments ago. And now this ragtag group of Emi and her friends and family had their only path out of this carnage blocked.

Emi had never talked to Ulric Statusian in her life, but from the moment he looked at her, she knew his feelings toward her. His scornful gaze told her everything she needed to know about how he would prefer the L’Hime Family end up.

Then, he stared at Emi; just her, nobody else. She stared back. She held a tight grip on the lance in her hands.

They kept at this for some time before either acted.

Ulric Statusian pointed his fingers at her and one of the soldiers shot an arrow–

–which Emi knocked away with a slash of her lance.

She had no idea how she did that.

Immediately, Tia and Emi’s Father leapt into the fray and blocked Ulric’s path to attack her again. Another arrow launched, and it whizzed past Tia so close it knocked the wig off his head.

“Wait, Mr. Statusian!” Beatrice shouted. She stepped in front of Tia and Emi’s Father. “Stop all this fighting!”

What in the Goddess’s name was that girl doing?! Emi ran in front of her protectors and joined Beatrice by her side. She raised her lance and pointed it at the rebels. Nobody would be falling for her sake, no matter what.

“What are you even doing here, Beatrice?” Ulric asked, his voice cracking and eyes quavering. “Of all people, I would never have expected you… Beatrice.”

“You shouldn’t be killing people!” Beatrice shouted.

“And you shouldn’t be protecting the very people that allowed Dannark to capture and arrest our own King.” His expression hardened and his composure returned. The L’Hime Family is the epitome of scum. It looks like you might be, too. You could have been special, Beatrice. You could have brought peace and harmony to the continent.”

“And I will.”

Ulric and some of the rebel soldiers took a few steps closer to them. “You’re a delusional love-obsessed fool. I was so, so wrong about you.”

“Shut up,” said Emi. “Talk to my girlfriend that way again and I’ll kill you.” She jabbed with the lance and forced the rebels to back up a step. “Tia, get everyone else to run to the safe house. We’ll catch up.”

“Are you quite serious…?”

“Yes! Do it!”

Tia complied, ushering everyone to flee with him leading the way. Only Father and Runa stayed behind.

Emi stepped forward and attacked, jabbing her lance at the rebels. They easily dodged, but one lost his balance and had to step backwards to catch himself. One advanced too close to her, so she kicked him in the stomach, pushing him on his back.

Ulric bashed his sword against Emi’s lance, but she pushed him away. She flipped around to make sure she was in front of Beatrice, who had nothing but a rusty rake to defend herself with.

Never in her life had she dreamed she would be in a situation like this, but somehow, something inside of her had activated. She understood the world around her, and saw the battlefield for what it truly was–a series of gears and cogs, springs and levers, that together worked to create the ultimate peril. All Emi had to do was break the machine holding them back.

She struck at Ulric and hit his chest. He reeled backwards on instinct, but the lance cracked and his armor remained unpierced. Once he realized he was safe, a snarl grew on his face and he attacked with a fierce blow.

Emi ducked to dodge, but, unfortunately, she was still a young woman who was decidedly out of shape. She couldn’t get out of the way in time, and Ulric’s sword bashed into her lance with overwhelming strength.

The lance snapped in two and flew out of her hands. She was defenseless once again. The others had long since escaped, but Emi, Beatrice, Runa, and Father were still there, now completely encircled by rebel soldiers. Dannark soldiers were also fast approaching from a few blocks away, the thuds of their marching boots growing louder by the second.

Emi’s Father held some rebels back with defensive moves, but it wouldn’t hold for more than a few more seconds. Runa was here, but instead of helping she was watching her homunculus off fighting on the other side of the plaza.

Their fight was over. But at least the rest of her family and friends were safe.

“All you’ve accomplished with your life, young L’Hime, is leading my brightest pupil astray,” Ulric said. “You’ve committed a greater sin against the Gods than any of your traitorous family, because you defied their very Will.” He grinned, revealing a missing front tooth. “When Balarand is free, no-one will remember the Ragnells ever existed.”

Beatrice started to advance as if she were going to attack with her rake, but Emi held her back. He said they had defied Will of the Gods, eh? Emi didn’t buy that for one second. The Gods were with her on this one.

Emi grabbed Beatrice’s hand and held it tight. “I will always love you,” she said. “That will never change.”

Beatrice nodded and tossed her rake to the side. “Me too. No matter what the world brings us.”

“Forever and ever.”

The rebels advanced from all corners. Ulric raised his sword high up in the air.

But, somehow, Emi felt at ease.

No, she hadn’t accepted her fate. In fact, fate was never a question in the first place. Because fate was just some bogus idea thought up by people too uncreative to build their own destiny. Fate was for people who had no magic in their lives.

Magic was a peculiar thing, Emi thought. It resided within the souls of every being, and yet it was nearly inaccessible, nearly impossible to understand. It was a lot like love. Sometimes, people might find someone where together, they can make miracles happen, and they can change the world with just their hands held in the melted snow, but it’s really rare. Too rare to even mention.

But when love was truly there, when Emi felt Beatrice beside her, all of those mysteries and qualms and caveats and drawbacks vanished.

All her life, she had told herself she wasn’t good enough and she needed to change who she was to succeed. But right here, right now, at this exact second, Emi L’Hime realized all of that was a blatant lie. Magic was real and she was actually a great person all along.

Emi raised her free hand into the air, concentrated with all her will–all her love.

And then from that hand came a ball of light that exploded–literally exploded–

Every soldier, every rebel, every person in the vicinity except the four in the center of the blast, was knocked to the ground. Every single person, including those four, were blinded by a shining brightness.

The entire scene went white.

<== 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 59: On the Back of a Beast

Beatrice, Runa, and the giant hulking monstrosity carrying them on its back made their way towards Castle Balarand. Runa was giddy with laughter, but Beatrice was gripping the thing as tightly as possible. Her body was shaking more than even the bumpiest portions of that carriage ride to Mammoth Pass. This monster was moving so fast that she felt like her glasses were going to fly off at any moment.

She was on the back of a beast. An eight-foot-tall, humanoid beast. Its ears were so pointy she was afraid to touch them.

“I can’t believe you actually went and made a homunculus!” Beatrice shouted. The wise thing would be to do would be to be unassuming and try not to draw attention from the growing number of people outside as the sky grew dark from the ash rising across the city. The giant monster they were riding made that impossible, though. “And you used a human’s hair without their permission! That’s really rude!” That was not to mention the fact that it happened to be her girlfriend’s hair she used, making the creature all that more uncanny to look at.

Its lanky, hairless body made her quiver anytime she saw it, but its brown eyes resting their gaze on her tilled soil… well, she was pretty sure she knew where those came from. Nothing else bore any resemblance, but those eyes…

“I will do anything in the pursuit of domination,” Runa said. “I put none before that, not even myself.”

“What about a rebellion destroying Balarand and sending us into war with Dannark?”

“I will most certainly not allow that,” she said. “There is only one person allowed to conquer Balarand. Me.” Beatrice really hoped Runa grew out of her mad scientist phase soon…

Some Dannark soldiers jumped out from the shadows, lances pointed at the three of them. “Halt!” they shouted. “You cannot progress past this– Oh my Goddess!”

The homunculus charged forwards, knocking the weapons out of the soldiers’ grips and then literally tossing them aside.

“I’m thinking of naming it Hasha. Does that sound like a good name to you?”

Beatrice didn’t respond. There was no point.

On the side of the street, a pack of greyback bears howled, scared senseless by the horrific monster running past them. They bolted through the snow in the opposite direction.

Castle Balarand, now covered from corner to corner in rebel soldiers, was going to be impossible to get through. but that’s where all the prisoners seemed to be kept, and if Emi was going to be anywhere, it was probably there.

“We’re breaking into there just to save one measly woman?” Runa asked. “She is indeed beautiful, but that seems excessive.”

“And her family,” Beatrice added. “And any other people being wrongfully imprisoned by these people. We’re saving everyone.”

“What do they matter to me? Granted, they would surely become loyal subjects if I were to free them… But my plans better be in here, or I will be upset.”

“I think most of these rebel people are untrained civilians wielding weapons for the first time in their lives. It shouldn’t be too difficult.” Beatrice and Runa hopped off of the monster–er, “Hasha,” as it was apparently called, and stepped back from it.

Beatrice turned and looked at the homunculus. She tried not to cringe at its ugly, bulging face. It might have been the only chance they had to help, though. “I… can you clear out the soldiers up there?” she asked. It did nothing.

“Go on, you can do it,” Runa encouraged. “You’re mommy’s little sweetheart.”

On that note, the homunculus went towards the castle. There were screams and shouts, and soldiers quickly surrounded it, but they all went down very quickly. The homunculus only had to swing its arms from side to side to knock everyone around it out. At least, Beatrice desperately hoped they were only being knocked out.

After the field appeared to be cleared, Beatrice and Runa advanced. Runa patted the homunculus on its back, hopping into the air to reach it. “You’re such a good child,” she said. “You are going to have so many amazing siblings.”

“Come on, let’s go, Runa.”

They entered the castle with ease… only to find Dannark soldiers and rebel soldiers clashing by the dozens, slicing each other with swords and screaming out. Bodies littered the floor.

It was a terrifying scene to see, and one Beatrice took great pains to ignore. She tried to block it out as best she could and focus on the only question that mattered: where were the prisoners?

“Let’s find my plans!” Runa shouted.

“Wh… No!”

The homunculus charged forwards through the frenzied fighting and Beatrice closed her eyes as tight as she could, just so she wouldn’t see the horrors they passed by. She only opened them when the screaming voices were well behind.

“We must find the evidence room and seize back what is rightfully mine.”

“Could we please free the prisoners first?!”

“And leave them to be caught up in the warring back there? I think not,” Runa said.

She may have been right. The castle was the epicenter for armed and bloody conflict, and releasing a whole load of unarmed prisoners into the middle of it was a recipe for disaster. They needed to act more carefully.

This was going to be tougher than Beatrice thought, if that were even possible.

<== Previous ♡ Next ==>

Chapter 57: On Fire

Beatrice and Runa stepped outside to see what all the commotion was. There was a fire emerging in the direction of Castle Balarand, pillowing smoke rising into the air. What could it be? Beatrice quickly ruled out that Runa was enacting any of her schemes since she too seemed surprised. It must have been an accident, like a gunpowder spill or a kitchen fire raging out of control.

The fire was in the direction of Emi’s house…

Emi was probably okay. She may not have even been home, being the rich and famous elite she was. Likely she was out at some mansion by Lake Geoffrey, riding animals and drinking fruit juice and doing whatever rich people did in their free time.

…Beatrice felt like walking towards her house regardless, just to make sure it wasn’t affected by the fire. Despite the fervor on the streets with the protests, it seemed the most sensible thing to do. “Come on,” she told Runa. “We’re taking a walk.”

“But my mother told me not to leave your house or she’d shut down my laboratory for a month.”

“We’ll be back before she comes to pick you up,” Beatrice said. Runa’s mom was supposed to come by in fifteen minutes, so that was unlikely. But it was probably better anyway if she was able to impede Runa’s quest for world domination, even if only for a month. With whatever was going on, it was also possible that Ms. Arakawa was not going to be able to pick her daughter up soon after all. She had a bad feeling about that fire.

The mostly melted snow still laid on the ground, off to the side or on top of roofs. It was still too cold to go outside without a scarf and gloves. But the growing fires in the distance looked to change that. Beatrice couldn’t tell if it was just her mind playing tricks, or if there really was a growing warmth around the area.

They walked towards the city center and Beatrice quickly noticed an eerie calm had set over the streets. People were not emerging from their homes and the growing fire was seemingly being ignored. She noticed why as she grew closer and heard the banging of boots against the ground.

A group of two or three dozen soldiers, not in any consistent uniform and certainly not belonging to Dannark, marched down the Grand Concourse. In a cart that rolled behind them there was a cage full of prisoners.

The realization hit Beatrice like a brick against her skull.

This was a full-on uprising.

She and Runa rushed to the city center with all their speed; she didn’t take the time to explain the situation to Runa, because it was unlikely she would be able to understand the dynamics of the situation quickly enough, but she knew she needed to find her and make sure she was safe immediately.

The large fire was actually a controlled bonfire in front of the steps to the castle. There were a growing number of people gathering in a crowd around it, and many of these same men and women in ragged outfits were standing at the crowd’s center.

One man that Beatrice immediately recognized was Mr. Ulric Statusian.

This… couldn’t be happening.

Why was he…

How could he be…

Beatrice lost all ability for reason and rationality.

Ulric Statusian stood atop a box and shouted at the crowd, brandishing a sword up in the air. “We have had enough of the tyrannical rule of the Dannark Empire!” he shouted. “Just this week, Dannark demanded King Kline must be turned over, or else they will invade Fathie by land and sea. Will we stand for our ruler being treated like a common criminal?”

“No!” the crowd chanted back.

“We, the common folk of Balarand, will take back Elince for ourselves and destroy any traitor to the crown who stands in our way. We will save King Kline, and we will save our kingdom!

“There are people all over the city just like us who have joined the cause to protect Balarand. Look what we have captured–” He hoisted up a sparkling object instantly familiar to any citizen in the city–”The Jewel of Elince is ours. With this, our enemies are hopeless. We will triumph.”

The crowd went wild.

“Take up arms and join us!”

The men and women in uniforms began handing out weapons–everything from pikes and axes to sharpened gardening tools–to those in the crowd. They weren’t trained soldiers, but they were enraged and riled up, and things were sure to turn violent any moment now.

She noticed the cage of prisoners, now wheeled up next to the bonfire for display purposes. Judging by their clothing, those people consisted of the same types of folk that went to Mammoth Pass with her last month, still dressed in whatever fancy cloaks or nightgowns they wore before they were seized.

Ulric Statusian shouted, “These men and women have collaborated with Dannark to keep the power structure stable. These men and women compromised the integrity of our kingdom so they could keep their wealth, and we will not allow them to get away with their robbery. These men and women will stand trial for their crimes. If you find a traitor, take them prisoner and bring them to us!”

Beatrice gasped.

Emi… Her entire family… She begged her mind not to think about that right now.

Runa, who had been taking all this with an unusual sternness, said only, “This will negatively impact my plans for the Grand Experiment. We must find a way to stop this.”

“What can we possibly do?” Beatrice balked.

“We… Hmm, no. Not that either. We… Aha. We’re going to perfect my experiment and unleash it upon all who dare stand up to me!” With that, Runa took off in a sprint northwards. Ahhhhh…. No, no, not during the middle of an armed insurrection… This girl…!

Beatrice knew she needed to stop Runa before she got hurt. But just as she began to take her first step, her eyes met with Ulric Statusian’s. He smiled and his face brightened. He began walking through the crowd towards her. She took off in a sprint.

She didn’t want to be involved in any of this. And she didn’t want anything bad to happen to Runa. So all she could do was run.

“Wait up!” Beatrice shouted. Runa was fast, though. Way too fast. And Beatrice hadn’t done much physical activity since she got back from Mammoth Pass…

Still, the drive to not be captured by the rebels and to not let Runa do anything foolish kept her going, huffing and puffing all the way. In the middle of absolute chaos on the streets, and this girl was running? Why?

She must have run for twenty minutes before her strength finally gave out and she was forced to walk the rest of the way.

When she finally reached Runa’s house, her ultimate destination, she realized the entire neighborhood was deserted. No shops open, no kids playing on the street. If anyone knew about the rebellion, they were either hiding in their homes, fleeing the city, or joining in with the fight.

Balarand really was about to change forever, wasn’t it?

Beatrice entered the Arakawa home and went into the basement.

Runa was already back in her laboratory, yelling curses at the people who inspected it earlier in the day. “They stole my schematics!” she yelled. “How will I replicate my experiments now? This is a disaster, Beatrice. A complete disaster, I say.”

“Replicate what experiment? What are you talking about, Runa? Why in blazes are we back at your–”

Runa held up a finger to her mouth. “Shush.”

Beatrice was so flabbergasted by this command that she obeyed it.

Runa rummaged through a stack of books and revealed a stone protruding out of the wall. She pressed it inwards and another wall to the laboratory spun around, revealing–

“Oh my Gods,” Beatrice said.

“You’re safe. I am so pleased,” Runa said with a grin.

It was a monster.

A repulsive, nearly naked monster.

It was a large humanoid creature, breathing in and out quietly as it slept chained up to the wall. Its eyes bulging out of its eye sockets, its skin pale, its hands gigantic.

“I have made the world’s first homunculus,” Runa said. “I used naught but two bunnies and the hair of that beautiful companion of yours. But I must make more if I am to be successful. I must get those schematics back. Help me, Beatrice. You are my greatest hope. Rather, the most convenient hope.”

Beatrice fainted.

<== Previous ♡ Next ==>

Chapter 55: A Date with Destiny (Destiny is Runa)

“And I–are you listening at all?” Runa asked.

“Yes, yes, go on,” Beatrice said, nose-deep in her current project, which was a blouse she had been sewing for weeks. Or, trying to sew at least.

After a while, she came to accept the fact that there was simply no more studying to be done for the Priesthood Exam, and so she moved onto working full-time at her new hobby. Her Mom had helped her learn the basics of sewing and now she was working at it like she always does–with extreme interest and dedication. Sewing was supposed to be a relaxing, stress-relieving activity, but as usual, Beatrice worked far beyond the point she needed to.

It still wasn’t a very good blouse so far, but it was better to practice than to listen to the incessant chatter coming from the other girl in her apartment.

In a surprise twist, for the first time in years, Runa needed to be babysat this afternoon, so she came to Beatrice’s house to visit. It was more like just hanging out with a friend, as much as one could be friends with someone like Runa. The real reason she was here was that Balarand police officers had received reports of suspicious activities and were currently rummaging through Runa’s laboratory for signs of legal infractions (they were sure to find several).

Though Beatrice didn’t know if it was safer for her here. The protests outside were loud, and growing louder. The entire city was engulfed by tens of thousands of people marching and screaming for King Kline’s safety. It had lasted for days, the chants continuing long into the night.

But here they were, Runa and Beatrice, together like they were kids again. Dad was at work, and Mom was taking a nap, so it was just them, though Runa was currently occupied with her own, er, eccentricities.

“Well… I disposed of the most incriminating evidence,” Runa continued. “But I am fearful if they use any forensic techniques, like bringing in a priest to purify the residence. My soul crystals will be sure to resonate then. Perhaps telling you all this may be a poor decision, given your choice to become the enemy.”

“You were a junior priest too, for a while,” Beatrice said. “Don’t you remember?”

“Yes, until they caught on and threw me out to deprive me access to their sensitive information. The fiends.” She began rambling again.

Runa had been eleven years old and expelled for trying to instigate a rebellion using some group spells she had uncovered. That was her finest hour, hopefully for the rest of her life. That’s Beatrice she thought at the time, at least.

Beatrice’s new pursuit to become the highest-scoring new priest of all time, if she could help it, was going very well, so well that she had literally run out of things to study. For the first time in her life, she had not a single book to read that she thought might help her improve. At this rate, she would pass the Priesthood Exams with the highest marks in the history of the church. It may not have been a particularly notable achievement since one’s score was never revealed, but she wanted to impress the world anyway.

“…if I am caught, so that I will never be exposed. Is that okay with you?”

Darn it. She was hoping she didn’t have to listen. “Um, what was the question again?”

“Oh, never mind with you. You seem to be too fully integrated into the Priesthood Propaganda Project and the treachery of sewing to pay your old friend any mind.” Runa ruminated. “Say, it seems you have abandoned that incredibly beautiful woman from before, as well.”

She only just noticed? It had been literally two months.

“If you know her contact information, I would appreciate having it. I wish very much to court her. She would be a fitting subject for my Grand Experiment, indeed.”

She hadn’t noticed anything after all!

And… Grand Experiment? Was this her codename for romance, or did she really have something sinister in mind here with Emi? Emi–

She hadn’t thought about her in a while. She had successfully blocked the woman out of her mind for, what was it, maybe three days? And now she was back.

Beatrice sobbed.

She didn’t… she didn’t mean to. She tried not thinking about her over these past few weeks; that was the best way to get some real studying done. She didn’t want to admit to herself that the only reason she was studying was to get her out of her mind as much as possible, but it was pretty obvious that was the case.

“What’s wrong?” Runa asked. “You seem to be mysteriously shedding tears. Are you perchance falling victim to a melancholic disease after being exposed to the famed Emotion Shrooms found at the summit of the Plebias Mountains?”

“No, Runa. Just shut up,” Beatrice snapped.

Runa did exactly that, her childish smirk disappearing. She sat down in a chair at the other end of the dining table and sighed. “When did we grow so far apart?”

Beatrice could ask the same thing, but about Emi.

…No, she knew that answer. She knew the exact, precise moment their relationship had ended. She was staring up at the ceiling with tears welling up in her eyes, after all. That was a very prominent image in her memories.

Beatrice, for so many months, had thrown away all logic in order to pretend they would ever be able to be together in the first place. A rich elite destined for nobility and a poor daughter of a librarian training to be a celibate priest. It was doomed from the start. A fling, just like Mr. Statusian once said. The only thing she could do was keep it out of her mind.

“Eh? Beatrice?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry,” Beatrice said. She looked down at her blouse and the water stains that covered it. “We never grew apart, Runa. I still appreciate you as, um, a friend.”

“It just feels like you keep so much from me.”

“Oh, come on, Runa, please don’t start–”

Suddenly, there was a loud booming sound, almost like a large explosion, coming from not too far away. It shook the plates on the kitchen table for a few seconds.

“Was that your house?” Beatrice asked instinctually.

“Quite unlikely,” she said. “The blast radius from my home simply could not be big enough to carry a shockwave this far away.”

Beatrice ignored the lack of denial that Runa’s house had been rigged with explosive devices, because that sound was very worrying to her. She went over the window and looked– black smoke rising from buildings on the other side of Knoll Park.

Whatever it was, it wasn’t good.

And she felt the sudden urge to check it out. Something about the timing of the explosion set a sense of panic within her. Even if it wasn’t related to Runa, it… Hm.

Mom, awoken by the shaking, came out of her bedroom, her hair all frizzed up from her sleep. “Beatrice, what was that?” she asked groggily.

“Mom, Runa and I need to leave and check something out,” she said. “May we leave?”

“Yes,” she said. Then she saw the smoky scenery out the window. She looked at Beatrice, and for a second, her expression completely changed, becoming stern, emotional, and absolutely unallowing to let her child go into whatever it was. But Beatrice stood firm. She didn’t need to justify anything. Whatever was going on, she was going to help. She was a junior priest. And Mom knew that, because her face morphed once again, back into her usual calm. “Be safe,” she added.

“We will.”

“Wait, I’m going too?” Runa asked. “I never said I’d–”

Beatrice yanked her by the wrist. “Let’s hurry.”

<== Previous ♡ Next ==>

Chapter 39: At the Lab Again

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

…

“About…”

…

The rocks floated around the laboratory for another minute…

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Tris…”

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

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

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

Girlfriend…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I’m always glad to come,” Emi said.

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

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

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

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

“Tris…” Emi was shaking.

“I love you,” she whispered.

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

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

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

Was this it?

“Will you…” Emi began.

“Will I what?”

“Umm…”

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

“Emi? What is it?”

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

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

“…Yeah? Of course?”

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

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

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

<== Previous ♡ Next ==>

Chapter 28: A Letter: Runa Arakawa

Do you know about Runa Arakawa? No, you don’t? Really? Oh, of course, forgot that you refuse to study your history books because you are a delinquent. If you did, then this entire story may be very different to you. Very well, then. I’ll let the girl speak for herself…

All that was in the air was the smell of melting rock and lake water. The ground was damp, and each step Emi took made a mushing sound that was growing increasingly difficult to ignore.

She’d never been this far north in Balarand. It was far past the castle and the wealthy neighborhoods, close to a river port where even in winter the place smelled vaguely of rotting fish.

Was she out of place up here? Would the people who lived here notice that she was one of the affluent, uncaring folk who let Dannark occupy their kingdom and overthrow their leader? She hadn’t dressed in anything fancy, but she still felt uncomfortable, like every passing person would probably pause and pick her out.

Well, if there were any ruffians that thought she was an easy mark, that was okay. Beatrice would be there to protect her. She knew magic and all that.

“So, Tris, you never explained,” Emi said. “Why are we going to some girl’s house?”

“She asked me to,” Beatrice said. “I don’t want to elaborate further and spoil the, uh, surprise.”

They had walked all the way up town, close to the port heading up the Balarand River, where the houses were less compact and the city wasn’t as bustling anymore. Both wore warm clothes to protect against the winter; Emi had a toboggan on her head, and Beatrice had a scarf wrapped around her neck.

Not more than a block away from the lakefront, they reached one unassuming, dark blue house with a nice porch, cozy with one floor. Beatrice walked up to the front door and knocked on it. Now they had to wait.

In the distance, off the shore towards the Balarand River, laid a floating dock where several ships were anchored down to unload goods without going all the way to the main port. Another two boats were there for repairs, after they had collided with one another just hours earlier.

In the other direction from the port, there was a large smelt mill, burning up ore and creating lead for use in materials of all sorts. Sparks of fire and billowing smoke flew out of the chimney at the top. This was certainly not an area Emi would have imagined to find houses in, but she had learned recently that a lot of her assumptions about life in Balarand were completely wrong.

“Now that we’ve known each other for a few months, I must reveal one more thing about myself,” Beatrice began, her tone taking a sordid turn. “I will share with you my darkest secret. My most tragic responsibility.”

With all this build-up, Emi couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or not. With all this build-up. Her heart raced.

A dainty old lady opened the door to greet them, and Beatrice gave a sigh of relief. “Oh, Gods, Ms. Arakawa, you’re still fine.”

The woman gave a wide smile and exclaimed, “Little Bea! Come on in!” Emi gave Beatrice a sly glance and she shot a dirty look in return.

They entered the house. It was small and homely, decorated with various knicknacks gathered from throughout the city, and a bookshelf filled with assorted titles–some fiction, some nonfiction, some religious.

“That’s a lot of books,” Emi said.

“Yep. Back when they lived near Knoll Park, I loved coming over so I could read. Back when I used to… babysit.”

Beatrice was a babysitter, huh? That was her dark scary secret? It sounded cute to Emi. She wondered what Beatrice was like around children. Oh no, she was blushing already.

“I’ve made you some pastries,” Mrs. Arakawa said, carrying a tray of baked goods towards the two girls. “You make yourself at home while Runa gets ready for whatever she’s got going on. Oh, that girl.”

Emi and Beatrice sat down on the couch, and Beatrice took one of the pastries. Beatrice took a bite and squealed. “Delicious.”

Emi didn’t eat anything and laid her head on Beatrice’s shoulder. “Are you ever going to tell me what’s going on?”

There was a loud banging sound from below them.

“You’re about to find out.”

A door at the side of the room swung open, and smoke began pouring out. A short figure wearing a blacksmith’s goggles emerged from the room, hands on hips in a defiant pose. Her face was covered in grime and soot. Emi jumped to her feet in shock.

She lifted the goggles off her face and gave a toothy grin. “You received my message. Excellent,” she said with a nasally snicker.

“Runa, hey, long time no see,” said Beatrice, cringing through her teeth.

Emi couldn’t place Runa’s age, but she definitely seemed a bit younger than the two of them. She was also a runt, standing at just over four and a half feet tall, with a plump face and bushy eyebrows. As a sign of a times, even a girl her age was already wearing ink-black lipstick.

She took off her gloves and walked over to the couch, where she took a pastry. She noticed Emi and glared.

“H-hi,” Emi greeted. “I’m Emi L’Hime.”

Runa grabbed Emi’s hand and kissed the top of it, leaving behind a dark smear. “You are a delight, milady.”

Emi stared at her hand for a second. She laughed in bewilderment. Beatrice rolled her eyes.

“Mom! I’m going to show these two my laboratory,” Runa shouted to her mother, who was in the kitchen making something.

“That’s nice, honey.”

“We’re going down,” she shouted again. She didn’t seem to need to ask for permission, but was seeking it anyway. Aw, she was a good kid at heart. “Follow me, ladies.”

They went into the smoke-filled room, which was actually a staircase down into a basement. “That’s the reason they moved away,” Beatrice said. “They needed a real house with a basement. For Runa’s work.”

“What work is that?” Emi asked.

Beatrice pointed towards Runa’s laboratory.

It was a chaotic mess of papers, runic symbology scrawled on walls and tables with rocks and tiny critters laying about. For anyone worried about cleanliness, this would be like looking at a warzone. Strangely, Emi felt a wave of calm wash over her instead.

“This is where I make the magic happen,” Runa proclaimed, stretching out her hands as if her laboratory were a natural wonder. “Quite literally speaking.”

She gestured to her table covered in large stones. “Right here is my golem dissection project. I have been trying to figure out what part of the rock is able to store magical energy and coordinate with other pieces to form the magical creature known as a golem. They have been known to form around pieces of ice, too, but last time I attempted to study one of those, it melted before the shipment arrived…”

“She shipped an ice golem to Balarand? Who is this girl?” Emi asked in a whisper as Runa continued rambling.

“Her father was a prominent businessman many years ago, but when he died, he gave his entire inheritance to his lover and newborn daughter instead of his wife and legitimate children. Ms. Arakawa is the fifth-richest person in the city.”

“Oh, wow.” Emi’s immediate thought was that Runa’s mother budgeted pretty well, then, from the looks of the house and area, and then realized that normal people don’t think about that kind of thing and she should stop being a rich brat.

“…And that brings us to the reason I needed to contact you so urgently, Ms. Ragnell,” Runa continued, talking like she were giving a lecture and not actually speaking to someone. “I have reached a crucial phase in the Homunculus Project.”

She beckoned to a table covered in glass, housing a dozen small rabbits jumping around and sleeping and eating from their bowls. “I have ventured into the furthest reaches of the fabric of soul magic. With this, I am one step closer to using the soul to create new life. I will become a God among mortals!” She cackled.

“What did you do?” Beatrice asked, peering at the rabbits closely.

“You cannot see? You were always rather simple, so I will explain. These rabbits, just one week ago, were no mere rabbits. They were insect larvae I found crawling outside my house!”

“Wow,” Emi exclaimed. “Pretty neat.” She had read about this sort of soul transfiguration magic when she was studying about magical incantations with Beatrice, but she thought it was only theoretical. This was certainly not theoretical!

“More than simply neat, my dear. I have transmuted them into new life, and now I will use this power to transmute them all into one being!”

She flipped a nearby switch, which set ablaze a furnace directly underneath the table full of bunnies. A large crystal dangling on a chain dropped from above and crashed onto the table. The crystal shattered and magical energy began swirling around inside the glass…

And then all the bunnies evaporated, dying in a fiery flash. Their bones turned to dust.

“That wasn’t supposed to happen… My calculations must be in error.” Runa ran off to a table to pore over some indecipherable papers, and left Emi and Beatrice to gaze at the carnage by themselves.

Beatrice looked down at the ground and covered her face with her palm. Her glasses tilted. “This was such a bad idea. I’m really sorry for–”

“This is so cool,” Emi said. “Thank you for bringing me here, Tris. I couldn’t have asked for a better date.”

She gave her a hug.

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Chapter 27: A Letter: The Beginning

“Okay, that’s enough for today,” said Mr. Statusian. “Remember, everyone leave the building by the top of the hour, and I’ll see you back here in the morning. We’ll be beginning our final days of practice, so I hope you are ready for some serious work.”

The class grumbled. Someone murmured that that whole “last day of class” comment way back when was extremely misleading, and another person literally growled.

Beatrice, of course, was extremely pleased with herself.

It was just a couple weeks until the Winter Ceremonies. She had long since mastered the rituals in execution, but she quickly learned that that wasn’t all the rituals were about; she also had to stay attuned to her magical partners around her. They had actually created a water generation spell by accident the other day, so it seemed that everyone was growing a lot closer together. Beatrice had even started hanging out with Bodhi and some of the others after practice sometimes.

Today was not one of those days, however. No time for hanging out with friends; she was about to meet Emi at the library for a date. They had spent many days together recently, but always ended up wandering around the city and looking for food to eat, not really doing anything special. This time, though, they were going to travel the Gonda Tower, the tallest building in Elince. Apparently, its top floor was so high that you could apparently see all the way across the kingdom if you looked out from the top floor. It sounded so romantic!

It was normally closed to the public, but as long as you had the right connections, that was no hurdle. Emi, of course, knew the owner’s granddaughter, Felisa L’Flare. It was great having a rich and famous girlfriend–er, friend who may or may not have been dating her. They hadn’t exactly clarified that just yet…

Beatrice grabbed her bag and slipped it onto her back. With the Winter Ceremonies practice and her relationship–if that’s what it was–with Emi both going strong, she had a strong smile on her face. She scurried over to the library, where her Dad and Emi were currently talking at the service desk.

Emi L’Hime. Sigh. The girl of her dreams, the main thing on her mind every time she closed her eyes. Beatrice could remember when she first saw her at the marketplace, all that time ago, and was instantly smitten. And as much as she tried to ignore it, her life was forever changed that day, she knew, because she found someone worth knowing for the rest of her life.

Just look at her. Wearing nothing more special than a turtleneck and a long skirt. She made no attempt to stand out, no attempt to separate herself from the crowd, and yet she was radiating. Tall, with shiny pale skin looking something out of the most vivid dream. Beatrice had held those curves in her arms, felt those thin hairs, breathed in the smell of shampoo and perfume. She was more than just beautiful. She was Beatrice’s. (Maybe.)

“Oh, Tris, hey!” Emi exclaimed as she saw her enter.

“Hey,” was what she said, but what she thought was more along the lines of, every time I see your dark brown eyes my heart is sent into a flurry, my mind hazes up, and my entire being is sent into a blinding hailstorm of affection. She only thought it, but she conveyed it with her smile.

“You’re friends with Emi L’Hime, Beatrice?” Dad asked. “I didn’t realize that.”

“Yeah,” Beatrice said. “We, uh, sit together at the study table sometimes. You never noticed?”

“Uh, no, I never pay attention,” Dad said, with a smirk that suggested he was not exactly telling the whole truth. “But she’s a good girl. She’s been coming to this library since she was about this high.” Dad held out his hand flat to measure about twelve inches.

“Your father’s the one who got me into my favorite book series,” Emi said. “It’s called The Elf Cycle. It’s a really great mystery series with a lot of action and adventure and romance.”

Ehh… Beatrice knew her Dad read pretty much everything, so his taste in fiction books was a bit… odd. She didn’t always enjoy his recommendations when it came to fairy tales and adventure stories, and she learned as much when he convinced her to go through A Beautiful Bloodbath when she was thirteen. Not a wise choice at all, Dad…

“I’m really glad you two have become friends, though,” Dad said.

“Heh, yeah…” Beatrice coughed, and then turned to Emi. “So, are you ready to go?”

“Go? Where are you doing?” Dad asked. “Wait–” he interrupted himself. “Oh, I almost forgot. You have a letter. Mailed to the library, for some reason.”

A letter?

Who would send her a letter, and why here? With a moment’s hesitation, she broke the seal and tore it open. The letter read, in a scrawled handwriting:

“You must meet me IMMEDIATELY. I have made a new breakthrough! TOP SECRET. I need your help to align the spirits and perfect our society. If you do not arrive or send response in twenty-four hours, I will have to assume you have been apprehended by forces beyond your control and will be forced to take drastic measures.

–Signed, Runa.”

Oh, brother.

“Is it something nice?” Dad asked.

“It’s Runa.”

“Oh, brother.” He rolled his eyes. “Do you need to go meet her?”

“I guess I do…”

“Who’s Runa?” Emi asked.

“Oh, Emi. We might need to postpone the, uh, thing.” She was trying not to be too explicit about their date plans around Dad.

“What, do you have to go meet them or something?” she asked.

“Yeah…” There was no way she could get out of meeting Runa, she knew, even as her mind flashed through all the excuses she could possibly use.

Although… Maybe this was a fortuitous opportunity after all. This could be a chance for a very different kind of date for Beatrice and Emi, and for Emi to learn more about her. Like marketplace traders often said, she could turn lemons into lemonade.

What was a lemon?

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