It took me an hour to calm down thanks to the guiding hands and mouth of the Grandseer.
…and when I say guiding, I meant I finally calmed down after she lectured me a lot while hitting me.
I sighed deeply.
Oh sharps, swords are extremely scary.
In the end, I explained everything to the Grandseer as to why I screamed my lungs off and it lead to another lecture. She said that such things are not possible and the intense burst of light earlier was a normal reaction.
She also added that after I placed the insignia between my hands, I became connected with my sword.
My essence to its essence.
Before leaving, the Grandseer said another line:
"Lass, from now on, train your connection with your sword. Remember that your essence is now reflected on the sword itself so whatever are the wishes of your heart and mind, that will be the purpose of your sword."
She stood up and before completely exiting the room, she said:
"The wielder maketh the destiny of the sword."
I sighed yet again.
I have a lot of question at this very moment!
*Bang* *Bang* *Bang*
Bang? Why are there explosion-
Oh stabs! Look at the time!
I hurriedly change my clothes and retrieved the sword to search for more answers. If the Grandseer is correct, then I will believe her. With that, I fashioned a hardened small-chain to insert my insignia with it and inserted it with my neck.
I wore the insignia as a pendant and with a bang on my door while other firecrackers are exploding in the atmosphere, I exited our house.
I walked a bit and savored the spectacle of every angle of our city since indeed, it is our festival.
A legendary festival annually celebrated by Estocia for ages and has been followed by the townsfolk ever since.
Haah! It has been a while since I participated in such a yearly celebration!
Hmm… looking at the scenery, it seems that the Chief of the city overdid himself this time again.
Every year of the celebration, he does not really disappoint.
I decided to head in a small bazaar that I immediately saw on my way out in the house and immersed myself in the spectacle of each respective shops.
It seems that Old-man Bronze had it again on his sword collections since he was fashioning them this early in the morning. I might just talk to him later regarding on how to expand his collection more since he is being surrounded by novice myrmidons.
Oh. Aunt Alita found the perfect place in displaying and selling her vegetables today because just like Old-man Bronze's store, she found the pot of gold! I might be asking her later regarding on what are her suggestions on greens when it comes on making salads. She is being fawned-on by a lot of old moms for their recipes!
Looking at the happenings before me, I am glad that I am seeing the hustle-and-bustle of this city once again.
I mean, I almost forgot how lively this city was because of the recent events concerning this sword!
Though even I said that I was feeling the usual atmosphere of the city, something was added unto it.
I was already walking in the plaza for an hour and I noticed… that no one was greeting me.
No, to correct, it is as though no one is recognizing me. Not wanting to look at me.
… I figured. Because of what happened yesterday. I expected nothing less. Well to be fair, at this point, I am already lucky that they are just giving me the cold shoulder. I mean, at a result of my misdeeds and display of taboo yesterday, I should be humiliated publicly as a compensation!
In the end, I just lowly sighed...
In order to lift my spirits up, I decided to move in a specific game stall next to the stall of Old-man Bronze.
Looking back in my past, I do not really anticipate much in events like this because they are celebrations involving objects that I truly despise. As a result, I always have a reluctant attitude in front of them.
Indeed. All of them except one...
The guess-race game!
"Welcome, valued custo- oh... It is you, Tori.... Uh, how can I... help you?" the man who mans the game greeted me with a conflicted expression.
Come on, you too, Mr. Carsel?
"Uh, I want to play the game, Mr. Carsel..." I said, with a slight embarrassment.
Today, I will win in this game! As always, that is!
The game is simple and easy to understand.
As the name implies, the game will make you guess on who will be the winner of the race. In this case of the game, there are four miniature contestants that are made out of specialized wood and in order to win the game, you have to select the correct contestant.
Let us see... Currently, we have the little girl contestant, the brusque man contestant, the flying dog contestant, and the little boy contestant!
And yes... in order to be true to the spirit of the festival, all of the miniature contestants posses a sword with them.
"Who will be your contestant, Tori?" Mr. Carsel asked.
Hmmmmmm...
"I will choose the flying dog!" I excitedly said.
"Very well!"
When he started the race, an exciting song played in the background of the stall.
All of the contestant moved in their own pace as they are running with a mechanical sound on their internal parts. The little girl contestant started with a great movement and so, it is currently in-the-lead while the others are sprinting in hopes to catch up with it.
I looked at my own contestant and...
WHATTT?! IT IS IN LAST PLACE?!
This is bad...
"GO, HOLO!!!" I shouted.
Yes, even if I just met this contestant of mine, I already grew an attachment to it!
I even gave it a name already...
I slammed my fists in the counter while I was bellowing the name of my contestant in sheer emotion and excitement.
I had the same conflicting feelings and anxiety for about two minutes...
Oh no... this is the last lap!
The order of the contestants changed when the last lap entered....
The boy contestant went first then followed by the girl, then the brusque man, then lastly, my Holo.
"Come on! Holoooo!!!" I roared even further.
Then suddenly....
*CREEEEEAAAKKKK*
A mechanical sound creaked in the internal form of Holo and moved in a swift manner and seconds later, it is extremely close in catching up with the boy contestant.
"NO!- AHEM...." Mr. Carsel coughed in surprise.
"YEAHHH!!! YES! DO IT, HOLO! GO! GO! GO!" I shrieked in my lungs.
Then... with a small margin...
"GOAL! THE FLYING DOG WINS"
I shouted in extreme euphoria when the words formed in the counter and proclaimed the victory of my Holo.
"YEAHHHH!!! I won! I won!" I cheered childishly.
"AHEM- EH, congratulations, Tori..." Mr. Carsel sluggishly commented.
"Thank you, Mr. Carsel! Now then, what will be my prize?"
Fufufufu... Another victory for me. Seriously, I always win in this game each every year.
"We will give the prize shortly after the festival ceremonies... after all, we are all invited to attend."
Whaaaatttt???
"Uh, seriously? Why not just give it to me now?" I protested.
"My apologies, Astoria... I will leave the stall now. Come back after the ceremony, alright?" Mr. Carsel said while smiling.
What in the name of the forgotten heroes are you implying, Mr. Carsel? That is cheating in any angle!!!
Before I can even protest and lash out to this cheater, he already disappeared.
Out of nowhere…
"ASTORIAAAAAA!!!" a piercing yet heavy voice rang out in my back and was quickly growing intense every moment.
Oh, wow. First thing in the morning and now I get this treatment?
Really, magical stick? You are a bringer of pure curse on me, aren't you?
Without looking in the voice, I instantly ran my legs off as swiftly as I can. I instinctively moved my body on each people and little gazebos that I pass but-
Without me knowing and sensing, I already reached the plaza...
*BOOOF!!!*
I slammed my frail and little body on cranes used to contain the goods for the public contest for eatery.
Who in their right psyche would surround the center of the plaza with these boxes!!!
While trying to stand up and comfort my sore body from the impact, I heard the voice yet again growing louder, so I hid in the piled cranes that surrounds itself alike to a simple castle.
Forget I said that about putting these infernal crates in a nonsensical fashion, it helped on not being prayed for today!
While hiding, I heard the footsteps of the person who was extremely close on finding my whereabouts. The voice seemed to be tired from running. Sighing and breathing heavily due to fatigued, the person inhaled with pressure and bellowed:
"ASTORIAAA!!! Where are you?!"
Astoria? Who is that? No one in existence of this city bears that name!
Not hearing any reply, the person seemed to have moved on and sprinted yet again…
*Sigh*
I am glad that was over-
"Ummm…"
I heard another deep voice. A one belonged to a boy.
Slowly and gingerly, I turned around to meet the mysterious voice.
It was a person I was not expecting to be around in a place like this.
The same boy that showed up of our little smithy; a boy whom I had suspected living under the shadows of his father and the very person who left an initial impact on me as someone who is extremely timid around people…
His name is… err…
"Oh! You surprised me! Who are you again?" I asked straightforwardly not minding any still or dead awkwardness.
"Malthur…" he said, being conservative on his replies.
"Oh… hello there, Malthur!" I said portraying the pleasantry in my face while hiding the fact that someone is chasing me, probably wanting my head.
"You are that person who is oddly close, yet distant to her father." he said.
Oh no.
"How was it again? You two were arguing in an awkward manner, even Gilcram was laughing…"
Not that one! Do not make me remind that one, please!
His voice seemed to be normal in a moment, yet dull and cold in another. The initial time where you hear his voice, it seemed to be boring or not interesting but after you hear it for an ample of time, you can notice an emphasis and interest on it. It is as if his voice is a reflection of his personality.
Cold and warm, strong and weak, excited and lazy.
I do not know, but he seems to be a different person as a contrast on when I met him the first time.
Wait a second-
"Did you just call your father in his initial name?" I dramatically asked.
In this land, calling your parents or the adults in their initial given name is considered as a taboo.
Saying them deliberately is extremely prohibited that children who will do that kind of action will be dealt with punishment.
Such punishments can range from being too mild to extremely severe.
In the severe cases, one of it is public humiliation.
While waiting for reply, Malthur turned his face away from me and began to make a troubled expression. He kept looking downward as if wanting to shut in and stop our accidental conversation that, in the first place, was not supposed to happen.
"What's in it for you? Does it concern you?" finally, while still looking down, he said it directly for me with a voice of mild irritation.
"Err… no it doesn't certainly concern me… but, I mean he is your father right?" sounding apologetic, I tailored my words with care so that I will not be offending him even further.
So… he has family problems, huh? Specifically, with his father- the Marquess of Silvos.
Even if he is acting distant at this moment, I felt that I need to at least know behind the reason of him performing a taboo act- calling his father in his first name. We children tend to be rebellious in this stage so that I can understand at a certain level.
Furthermore, I had some experiences of it too… having fights and quarrels with my Pops…
Yesterday was a prime example of it.
When hearing my reply for his question, Malthur looked at me finally, and looked with a tinge of a still face and said:
"If it does not concern you, then do not interfere with the matters of others, Smitha…"
The wind blew across our faces the moment those words escaped from his mouth. Those cold words mixed unnaturally with the breeze of the easterly and swiveled on my ears then finally exited in the atmosphere.
Not just rejecting my help on making his burden easy, he also called me in a funny name.
Okay… okay then. I will not go in the matter further on.
"I-I apologize." I said sadly.
"It is okay. As long as you understand, it is fine by me." He said at me, his voice still not wavering even if he just chastised a lady like me a seconds ago.
"Why are you hiding, though?" I just asked a question and blurted it out without thinking.
I asked a question not minding I was just chastised and rejected by this man a seconds ago.
"Ugh. I was hiding because of him…" he grunted, seemingly irritated a bit.
"When you said 'him', do you mean your father? The Marquess? Why would you hide at him if the celebration in the plaza is about to start?" I peeked some more on our conversation.
There might be a reason on why I am squeezing the length of our conversation a bit more. Even if it looks that this lazy-looking man wants to end our conversation in a swift manner, I simply cannot waver! Well, one of the reasons is because he is extremely conservative in terms on his replies and the other is…
because he just looks sad - terribly sad. One emotion that he shouldn't be wearing or feeling in his age.
"Ughhh. Stop. Just… enough. Stop talking, please." He apparently broke a voice while looking away from me.
I might have annoyed him with my swift barrage of questions.
"Apparently, girls that were raised in a smithy are this 'talkative.' It is revolting! Are you really a daughter of a fine swordsmith in this city? If you are then you should at least have the skill of being silent for a while!" he said, further reprimanding me.
T-This man!
I am trying to help you, you know!
"Seriously, do you usually have fights with your father? I cannot imagine the stress he is experiencing knowing his daughter is a talkative girl such as yourself!", he mouthed some more.
How dare you, you shut-in and timid git!
I felt a raging heat in my head while also having some veins popping on it due to the embarrassment and anger thanks to his insult.
Suddenly…
"Excuse me, old man Anakin, have you seen the son of the Marquess of Silvos, bearing the name Malthur Droit Aldendrite?"
A voice outside of the castle-structured boxes can be loosely heard by my ears. A voice so deep, it must belong to the leaguesmen of the city.
If I am hearing them extremely loud and clear, so is the person sitting right next to me…
Time for some payback!
Looking on my right side, it seems that this 'son-of-the-Marquess' person just flinched the moment his full name was mentioned: visible panic and shock is apparent on his face.
When I looked at him and we happened to face each other, I produced a taunting face into him and said:
"Apologize…"
"N-Never, Smitha!" he said, sweat profusely falling in his left face.
It seems that he is aware of my next move so that's why he is refusing my offer of repentance.
"OH? It would be a shame if the 'son-of-the-Marquess' who was initially hiding, can be immediately caught, am I right?" I coldly said, a taunting smile ever-growing in my playful expression.
"D-don't you dare! Y-You would not do such a thing!" I noticed a crack and nervousness in that voice.
"OH-HO? Are you challenging me? Too bold for his own good, aren't we?" I said childishly.
Ever trembling on his sitting stance while producing an expression that resembles to an intense fear, he warned me yet again:
"Go away! You are better off hiding in other places! Come on, shush! And don't you DARE tell the others regarding my whereabouts."
Huh, so be it…
I inhaled a lots of air as much as I can, stood up on my sitting position, faced the leaguesmen on their direction, and bellowed:
"HELLO! HE IS HERE! MALTHUR IS HERE!!!"