That morning, the same young servant that asks her master inappropriate questions was waiting for Varsas Gungnir in the yard.
"Mistress says you should come to the inner house quickly. An important event is about to happen."
Varsas stares at the young servant long and hard.
"Nothing happen by chance does it?"
He states to her while walking.
...
From what he gathers his parents are meeting with somebody and his presence are required. The timeline of events have already been altered, however he wouldn't even know who was meeting them around this time in the original timeline in the first place.
Yet the face that appears in his vision betrayed every expectation.
There has been a large divergence in the timeline not of his doing.
It is a fact simply because a person who is not supposed to be here is here today.
In front of Varsas' eyes, the image of his comrade, pale and headless starts to overlap with reality.
Margaret Venir is the one standing before him.
That image calls out to him
'Please forgive them'
On the surface, he shows no emotion. On the inside, Varsas Gungnir is seeing white. His entire vision was white, he could not see anything but the patch of red that was Margaret headdress.
Perhaps, he missed her.
...
Varsas wonders if Margaret would be happy in this life. The famine is going to be mitigated, no longer does she have to worry about the state of her family. She is not going to have to experience the grief of losing family members. While he hates her family, Varsas is not going to let her suffer if he can help it.
Margaret Venir is a friend that he knows deeply. While he loves Viola, him and Margaret are closer friend. It was in part because he could see the person underneath that other can't see and because of that they have a mutual understanding. Most people views Margaret as a distant figure, an enigma figure that provide valuable information yet at the same can't be sure of her agenda or loyalty. Varsas on the other hand saw a girl acting so that she appears mysterious in the eyes of other people.
Margaret is a silly person. She said ninja has to act mysterious so that people fear them and their mystery yet she taught him most of the ninjutsu act she knows, disillusioning most of the mystery the act could have to Varsas. She used to say when she comes home she is probably just going to left her family behind because they are so stifling and live a carefree live adventuring, traveling around the world and yet she killed herself for them in the end.
However Varsas does not have the pleasure to wonder at this moment.
Right now he is disgusted.
He calms himself down and now he is just a bit angry instead.
This did not happen by chance. This little visit from the Venir.
Margaret was brought here exactly because of the effects she have on Varsas. The bond that binds was used, in a childish attempt to involve him with the war.
Calming himself some more, he manages to endure the party, entertains the guests, dodges his mother's matchmaking attempt.
"Your daughter is 16? Why, my son just happen to be one year older! He does not have any experience with any girl yet though." She hides her laugh behind her fan. Most of the guests smile lightly to be polite.
Margaret is laughing though.
That girl definitely is. She is definitely doing it while hiding with a little subterfuge art earning her father's ire.
"It is because my face." Varsas choose that moment to impose.
"Your face?" His mother questions.
"It is simply not handsome enough for a girl to get interested in me." His mother would then continue to joke while playing "consoling" him much to the entertainment of the guests. Many have a fun time.
It was true though.
. ..
'I met that guy in April.'
It is Spring of the year 786, and she was suddenly brought out of her training to go to a party. Margaret Venir was many things her family needed, but a face for an upper class party is usually not one of them. However as someone who was trained from birth for her family sake, she has the disciplines to play the part of a pretty face for a party.
So that girl practiced in front of the mirror in her standard room, biting her lips while adjusting her dress, looking on in awe at how pretty she looks.
She touches up her hair in that dark room, remembering the time in her childhood when it was her mother who brushed her hair for her. When she was 7 however, she was brought to the mountain to train with her teacher so her mother never managed to teach her.
Then Margaret started dancing with the dummy that she has hastily converted from the normal training dummy in the yard. She looked at herself in the mirror to see if it is weird. As a ninja she can surely improvise as the situation changes. She will definitely not do something as embarrassing as stepping on someone foot. Not!
As the party happened for real, Margaret Venir keeps a calm facade, hiding her nervousness while enduring the party, being entertained by the host and dodging the matchmaking attempt from that shrewd woman.
The host is a woman called Liana Gungnir, taken after her husband. She is definitely pretty in her yellow dress, with her elegant fan and the fancy way her hair was done. Margaret was sneakily admiring her while taking note for future situation that involves going to a party like this one. Suddenly that woman grabs her hand and looks at her with eyes that Margaret can swear was shining. She drags Margaret with her while entertaining the guests and as someone who is not used to the spotlight, there was moments where Margaret nearly freezes and drops her beautiful mysterious act.
And then that woman starts playing matchmaker, making jokes, getting the guests roaring in laughter.
The great Margaret Venir almost cried.
At the end of the party, because lady Gungnir tried to bring them together too much, the heir of the Gungnir was standing alone with her in the corner of the room for a while.
"Did you stay up late at night practicing in front of a mirror in your room for today?" He says causing Margaret to almost backpedal into the table behind them.
"There are hidden lines under your eyes that unless someone is very keen, they won't notice so don't worry." Margaret almost hurriedly take out a mirror but resist.
"I'm sorry about my mother. She can be very... excited sometime. Now then if you excuse me." And then that guy left for some other business that he seems very keen on. Only after that guy has left the room did her father slowly approaches her.
"So that was Varsas Gungnir. The air of peasantry almost make him blend into the background despite his sharpness." Margaret says truthfully.
"That is just how the man of the Gungnir is. Peaceful, pacifistic. Weak." Her father grunts. Margaret chose her words around the man. He is her father but like her teacher has told her in the past, you have to choose your words around powerful men because your life may depend on their mercy.
"However that is none of your concern right now. We'll begin our mission at midnight, prepare yourself." She was instantly on alert. The ever illusive mission is finally here. Everyone knows the Venir is not one for social formality so the fact that they accepted a party invitation is a rare occasion for today party guests, but Margaret on the other hand knew personally that her father hate the other family's parties. It was the peak of their decadence in his eyes, wasteful and arrogant, it goes against everything that the Venir uphold in their tradition. So when she was brought out of her training in the mountain to go to a party with her father, she knew something was going to happen.
"What is the mission father?"
"You are not ready to know with your training incomplete. If they didn't specify that I have to bring you here personally, I would not have. But rest assure my daughter, the information from those people are never wrong. At midnight, we will proceed as I planned."
Margaret wonders who "those people" was and why the secrecy. Are "they" the reason why she is not allowed to know about the mission unless she has finished her training? However at this moment, thoughts are useless.
There is a mission to be done.