"Mmmph... where am I?"
Blinking away her sleepiness, Aveline stared at the ceiling she had only dreamt of seeing for years.
"It's too warm... God you all are so mean."
She was immobilized. On one side, her mother, Nilly, was hugging her arm. On the other, Kyra, her childhood friend and maid, held the other. Her waist was held down by her new sister??? Nora.
Nilly's eyes fluttered open. She smiled as she stared into her daughters eyes.
"I really hope I'm not dreaming again. I won't be able to take it."
Aveline pulled her arm out of her mother's grasp before she promptly tapped her nose.
"Your little girl is right here. I'm not going anywhere, anytime soon. I'm home... and I'm happy."
Small streams of tears slid down her face as she smiled. Her voice finally riled awake the other two. Kyra instantly hugged tighter, not letting Aveline get away. Nora... she just looked confused.
"Why did I sleep so comfortably hugging her?"
Nilly and Kyra just laughed, while Aveline gave Nora a smug smirk.
"Cause you like me."
Nora smiled and got out of the bed.
"Well I've got a cute little sister now, so maybe that's why."
"You're older?"
"Sixteen."
"Ah... well I don't really see you as a sister. It'd be too boring..."
Nilly got out of the bed and began to walk to the door.
"You can't have too much fun, sweetie. You may be allowed to choose your partner, but Nora has been promised to Orion... sadly. Our family has to bend to the Hero."
Her voice was sad, but a smile spread on Aveline's face.
"Hero you say... well feast your eyes, Mama. You're looking at her."
With a triumphant smile, Aveline lowered the shoulders of the nightgown. Her breasts almost slipped out, but the marks on her shoulders were in plain view. On the left, a white wing with a radiating light. On the right, a black wing with a succumbing darkness.
'Please don't freak, please don't freak, please don't freak.'
"A-Aveline... have you truly been chosen? The divine mark... and the mark of hell? Sweetie, do you know what these mean?"
Aveline pulled the nightgown back up and turned around.
"The Celestial and Infernal races have chosen me as their champion. I can't hide this from you, or Papa. Kyra's been with me all my life, so she deserves to know. Nora... huh, well maybe you shouldn't have seen."
"Saw them last night. Thought you just got those new tattoo thingies that have been going around. They're magical too, so I thought you got special enchanted ones."
Aveline stared at Nora, her eyes boring into her face.
"You can feel the magic in them?"
With a stiff nod, Nora began to make her way to the door.
"That's amazing!"
Aveline's eyes sparkled as she jumped on the bed, making Kyra pout.
"I've gotta make breakfast anyways, but you better let me get more hugs later. I missed a lot of them."
Nora was bewildered as Kyra breezed passed her.
"Everyone freaks out when I tell them I can sense magic... why are you so excited?"
Aveline plopped down onto the bed as her mother smiled and left.
"Well you're into using heavy gear, right? Your body is well toned and beautiful to look at, so I feel my assumption is right. Sensing magic as a knight? That's too good. You can easily get out of serious danger, or if you do exploration, magic traps would be child's play."
Nora placed her palm against her forehead.
"Of course you're as smart as you are pretty. Damn I love this place. My father would have loved you too."
"Who?"
"A friend of your parents. He taught me how to fight when I was young. Beat me black and blue, but always made me feel accomplished. My father got sick a couple year back. He didn't make it, so your parents decided to adopt me a few months ago. That snake heard, so he wanted to get in my pants. I REALLY wanted to just throw him into the fountain."
"Did that."
Nora's eyes sparkled as she launched herself at Aveline.
"Sweet! You're perfect! You've also destroyed the proposal! WOO-HOO!"
The girls laughed and bounced around until Kyra came back up to get them for breakfast. After three years of foraging, Aveline was excited for the meal, only to be extremely disappointed when she couldn't eat everything on her plate.
"Kyra, too much..."
Kyra smiled and came forward. She leaned down to grab the plate, her free arm wrapping around Aveline.
"I couldn't help it. I missed you, and wanted to cook for you. Was it good?"
After a smiley nod, Kyra backed away and collected the others plates.
Aveline looked towards her parents, both of which were smiling at her. Their eyes had a new light in them that seemed to resonate as they continued to stare.
"Stop staring. I'm not gonna evaporate. You've gotta deal with me for at least two years!"
"Two?"
Nilly raised an eyebrow.
"Well yeah... I still plan on going to school, but I'd like to spend time at home for a while. Still gotta train with you as well, Mama."
A happy smile crossed her face as she thought of learning to fight properly.
"Nora can help too."
Nora looked up, her face curious.
"I can't help too much. I've got to return to school soon. I'm only here to visit, as they only just recently finished the adoption. You'll have a senior looking after you when you finally get to school though! I'll be looking forward to seeing you there."
After breakfast, Aveline had to explain about the marks to her father. She went into more detail for her mother as well. She was happy to see them and talk to them, but they only grew more fearful of what their daughters future held. After all, she's now the Hero of the story.
-
October 31st, year of the Iron Crow
Dear Diary,
This entry won't be long, as I've already written once today.
Home feels right. I feel happy again. Sure, I'll never forget the last three years, but this place will always comfort me.
Mama and Papa got the mask repaired, so now I can keep using it. It was sweet of them to fix something they don't understand, but I told them my story. Everything about Lyla, as well as how I felt about her. They don't hold it against me, after all they love me. It's good to be home.
-
"Has the Oracle spoken?"
The king ignored the red haired girl that held onto a small crystal orb. Large fox ears were resting on her head and a fluffy red tail sprouted from behind her. Her eyes were closed as she sat near the king and the man that teleported out a night ago.
"Not since we found her in her room crying. We still don't know what the problem is, as she won't speak nor will she prophesize anything."
"Will you still send her to school?"
"Of course. We need her to get into the world to grow her power. She has two years, though I don't know if she will even be usable for much longer."
"Keep trying. She's an important tool."
The fox girls eyes were opened into slits.
'I will protect Miss Aveline. They won't touch my savior.'