๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฉ๐บ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ณ.
๐๐ฃ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐๐๐.
๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ด๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ต๐ถ๐ข๐ณ๐บ, ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ด ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ณ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ข๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐ฆ.
๐๐ฆ๐ธ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ช๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฐ๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฆ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ข๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฐ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ.
๐๐ช๐ด๐ฆ, ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ.
๐๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ข๐ด ๐ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ.
๐๐ช๐ด๐ฆ, ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด.
๐๐ฐ๐ณ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ ๐๐ข๐ธ๐ฏ ๐๐ฏ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ด!
๐๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ, ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ฆ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ญ๐บ.
-----
A young woman with pitch-black hair placed a few coins on the stall. "Two beef skewers please."
"Is that all Miss?"
She nodded, "Yes, thank you."
As she sat down on the wooden table, she nibbled on her skewer observing her surroundings. The street was busy, people going in and out of stores as they browsed, satisfied patrons leaving restaurants, and nobles leaving weaver shops as they retrieved their new fabrics.
She didn't notice anyone that stood out from the crowd. Perhaps she was the only one present?
The woman set down the wooden stick of her finished skewer. She held out her second skewer, almost as if offering it to someone despite no one sitting across from her.
She held it up for a couple more moments before retracting her outstretched hand, eating the meat quickly.
She paused in her second skewer, almost as if remembering something, before reaching upwards to the hood of her brown cloak.
Kryva Pellemeur covered her facial features completely.
-----
Luna instantly recognized the figure that sat at one of the tables near the stall.
The descriptions of the rumored Princess of Achen were very vivid, describing everything from her height, to her hair and eye color, to even the sizes of her curves.
This was the girl that everyone believed Houvdon had turned to. They tried not to speak of it, but she still overheard everything. Houvdon had skipped school for a little over a week, choosing to rather spend those days with Kryva.
The rumors spoke of Houvdon taking Kryva to the Lantern Festival, which was where all couples started. It was a sort of tradition to start a relationship at the festival.
She tried to ignore the sick feeling in her heart as she realized Houvdon had never taken her to one.
Kryva Pellemeur...the girl that was able to break the cold prince out of his shell.
Kryva Pellemeur, the girl responsible for his death.
For the princess to be here, it can only mean that she was also chosen for their quest. After Houvdon's death, Kryva had shut herself away from the world, just like the first fifteen years of her life.
There was no reason to come out now unless it was specifically to satisfy the Supreme Oracle and the Greater Beings.
Such was the reason why she had set out today as well.
She observed as Kryva held the second skewer outwards, almost as if to offer it to someone she had wished was there.
The girl even shared food with Houvdon? Unbelievable. How was this girl able to bring out sides of Houvdon that he hadn't shown for the last decade? Was she really that special in his heart or was it merely out of pity to have some sort of normalcy?
She would really have to put up with this girl.
It can wait. She would introduce herself later. For now, she would continue watching. The Princess of Achen did not pick her out of the crowd, deeming her to be normal.
Kryva Pellemeur...what exactly was it about her that had gained Houvdon's attention?
-----
Ryukre Albivau was currently on the main street where nobles and low-lives like himself walked along carrying on with their day.
As he wandered through the crowd, he realized just how easily he was able to fit in. Nobody gave him a second look despite his tanned skin. They all deemed him to be unimportant enough to put him in their mind, sidestepping him as they went on with their day.
This was strange. Were they not discriminating against him? It was clear that he was one of lower-class!
Yet, nobody batted an eye as not a single look of disgust was thrown at him. They all just let him mold into their crowd.
Either that or it was because they recognized his right eye.
That noble, Houvdon Archelio, had spread the word that someone who has a purple right eye had the blessing of the Gods, being chosen to join the quest.
He looked at the grand temple that was the supposed meeting place.
Ryukre frowned. In front of the temple was nobody. There were only people glancing by it as they walked by, but no one was actively waiting.
Perhaps he had arrived too early? That seemed reasonable. The instructions had been to arrive by this day, not what time exactly.
He decided he would be the first one to wait. There was no use waiting for someone else to wait if he can be the first. He walked up the first few steps, dutily waiting for the rest of his future comrades to arrive.
-----
Kryva finished her second skewer, and took a second scan around her. It was a habit she had picked up from Houvdon, always checking around her.
It was one of the few things that she had left of him. Even if it sounded borderline psychotic, she was glad to have inherited Houvdon's awareness of his surroundings. As selfish as it sounded, she wished to claim everything Houvdon once found personal. Only then can she truly feel as if Houvdon were still with her.
She felt the flame that Houvdon had gifted to her stir with her melancholic mood. Houvdon had never explained what exactly it was to her, but it was blatantly obvious it was not an ordinary Flame technique. It was pointless to give a Flame technique to a Flame wielder. It would've been more beneficial for him, who wielded Light, to hold the full power of the technique as she had no need for it.
Yet...what was with this strange Flame? Whenever she conjured it, it was vastly different from her own. It was almost as if they had two different origins despite both being fire.
She had certainly tried to train it, yet for some reason, it simply wouldn't change.
Houvdon had built it up to be unique and capable of evolving, yet whenever she used it, it hadn't changed a single time despite awakening whenever she had a certain mood.
She was so puzzled by it that she had decided to stop bothering with it. There was no point tinkering with something she wasn't able to understand.
The Princess would simply treat it as a personal object of Houvdon's despite only having half of it. So long as it once belonged to him, she would treasure it.
She pulled her cloak around her tighter, as if it would warm her from the coldness she suddenly felt.
She was not wearing Houvdon's cloak that he had given to her that night where he had properly explained everything to her. She didn't wish to take it onto a trip where it was likely to get messy.
Three things that she had received from him. Four if she counted the dream that he once held.
She closed her eyes, taking a calming breath. It would not do well if she were to break down in tears in the middle of the street. She had a face to keep up, even with the current rumors going around about her being heartbroken at Houvdon's death.
She took a third look around, finally finding something different after the previous two times.
There was a male standing on the steps to the temple, appearing as if he were waiting. He possessed dark brown hair, blending in with the majority of the crowd. The only thing that stood out was his tanned skin, contrasting from the pale and lighter skin of those around him.
She didn't know if he was the first to arrive, or the last to arrive. Heck, she didn't know if she herself was the first or the last.
It could be they were all waiting for one person to start off the waiting.
She would wait just a bit longer. From what she had found, Luna was a girl of a rather petite height, similar to herself, except Luna had brown eyes and brown hair. She would wait for Luna to arrive before she would make her own appearance.
She blinked before frowning. Was it not rude to arrive late? If she had waited for Luna, perhaps Luna would come much later. It would work better for her first impression to come right after however long that young man had spent waiting, a couple minutes at most.
She stood, taking off her hood as she walked towards him.
However, just as she took it off, she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Just as she turned just barely, to the point where it was almost unnoticeable, what had caught her attention had already disappeared.
Kryva did not pause in her step, else alert whoever was watching her that she had noticed her stalker.
She continued as if nothing had caught attention.
It might have been a trick of the light, but she swore she saw a dark hooded figure watching her from the shadows.
She pondered over this in her mind, and soon she reached the steps to the temple. She pushed aside what she thought she noticed, and focused entirely on this male in front of her.
He turned, but for some obscure reason, she felt as if he had only turned because he was going to turn at the exact moment, not because he noticed her presence.
His eyes widened just slightly upon realizing someone had gotten this close to him.
Obviously, "this close" meant only a couple of meters, but she was still walking towards him.
"You areโฆ" His brow furrowed as he studied her appearance. His gaze was intently on her eyes, both of them to be specific. While he studied her red eye, he instantly recognized her purple.
It was only natural. While this was her first time seeing another one, she instantly recognized his purple eye, the other one being an ordinary brown.
After a few more awkward moments, he snapped his fingers. "Ah, those red eyes. I finally recognize them. You are Kryva Pellemeur? I am Ryukre Albivau. It is a pleasure to finally meet you Princess."
He bowed respectfully, but did not kiss the back of her hand like what many others did upon meeting her for the first time.
"A pleasure." She said curtly. She didn't bow to him, but did tip her head just slightly. "Are you the first one to arrive?"
Ryukre nodded. "Yes, I believe so."
He crossed his arms as he waited patiently, while she tapped her foot impatiently. Truth be told, she didn't care if she came off as entitled or cold.
She simply wished for this quest to hurry because every second that passed was every second that could be spent answering the biggest question the five territories of Oceania, Etherstorm, Kolorta, Achen, and Nihlahim had for the past month.
Why did Verilius's Knights stop attacking after the death of Houvdon and Verilius? Surely someone would have been promoted to take Verilius's place and continue the unfinished war.
"You are different from what everyone says about you." Ryukre attempted to start a conversation, which she appreciated.
It was somewhat awkward to stand around waiting.
"Oh?" It was even better that his conversation starter had instantly gained her interest. "What is it people say about me?"
"They say you are a reserved girl, at least, before Prince Archelio's death-" Ryukre either did not notice, or didn't say anything when Kryva's face twitched, her bottom lip quivering. "-but when I look at you, I don't see a 'reserved' girl. By reserved, they had meant shy and nervous, but all I see is a cold and indifferent type of reserved. Much like Prince Archelio. Did his attitude rub off onto you while you two were together?"
"...do not presume things about me and Houvdon."
Ryukre didn't miss the way she had spoken Prince Archelio's name in a familiar tone despite her denial. He tipped his head slightly in respect, and spoke no other words.
Despite her abrupt change in mood, he felt as if he had stated nothing wrong. Her reaction just now even showed that she had changed after his death into the cold girl she was now.
"I apologize for my...bluntness. I was merely repeating what I heard, as well as my own thoughts mixed in between. I hope you can overlook my directness."
"Don't talk like that." Kryva sighed, pressing her palm against her face in tiredness, as well as to cover her mouth, attempting to hide her shaking lips. "I would much rather you talk to me as you would with a friend. I already get talked to formally enough. I don't need my comrade to talk to me as if they were walking on eggshells."
Ryukre cracked a grin. "Couldn't have said it better Princess. Would you mind if I call you Kryva from now on?"
She shook her head. "No. That is fine."
He stretched out his hand. "Then just call me Ryukre. I look forward to retrieving Aurora Diemque with you."
She took it, noticing his calloused hands. Did he practice some sort of swordsmanship instead of dedicating his entire time to his magic? A hobby perhaps?
"Looks as if I arrived just on time." A slightly deep but muffled voice spoke up, hinting that it was a man older than both Kryva and Ryukre, perhaps around the age of thirty?
They released each other's hands to look at the newcomer.
Or at least, what the newcomer wanted to show. His face was completely covered in a simple white mask that hid everything except for his right eye, which they could see was the same purple as theirs.
His body was also completely covered in a black cloak, hiding even his body features from their eyes.
Ryukre smiled pleasantly. "Ah, you are also chosen for this quest? I am Ryukre Albivau, but you can simply call me Ryukre. After all, we are all comrades here right?"
Ryukre shook the gloved hand that snaked out from beneath the cloak. A quick glance and study had Kryva realize he was wearing black robes underneath the cloak, the sleeves on his robes having the appearance of light leather gauntlets.
"You may refer to me as Surya." He turned to Kryva. "You must be...Kryva Arc-"
He paused just for the slightest of seconds, before correcting himself. "-Kryva Pellemeur. I have long heard of you since you first appeared in front of the nobles two months ago."
She pretended to not notice what family name he was about to say instead of the one she was born with. "I look forward to working with you Surya." She bowed to him rather than shaking his hand.
While Surya and Ryukre engaged in casual conversation, Kryva stood off to the side, waiting for when they would set off.
She sensed a new presence at the same time Ryukre and Surya turned to face the newcomer.
So this is-
"Greetings, I look forward to working with you all!" The brown haired girl gave a closed eye smile and a rather innocent tilt of her head. "My name is-"
-Luna.
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ-๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ข๐ต ๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ต.
-----
๐ฎ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฐ๐๐