://One day, I want to see you rise to peaks higher than we could ever achieve."://:
This was the only voice that stuck onto Aletha's mind; a reinvigorating thought that uplifted Aletha's spirits. One that served as a bold reminder to "keep trying."
Though her parents were nowhere in sight, it is the sudden memories of them that made Aletha feel as if they were standing right there, serving as a powerful source of motivation.
* * * * * * *
A sea of stars twinkled above, and the moon rose slowly, casting a soft glow across the grassy meadows and the towering silhouettes of the lush mountains.
As the evening wore on and the battle ceased, the sounds of the forest lulled the world into a deep calm.
Wildlife began to emerge as the last rays of the muddy substance waned. The gentle rustling of leaves and the occasional chirp of a bird punctuated the tranquil silence. A family of deer stepped cautiously into the clearing, their ears twitching as they surveyed their surroundings.
"Ubel, there you are!" Alai shouted to the man with her shaky laughter of relief. "I was wondering where you went…."
"The same could be said from me as well." Ubel jokingly replied, shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders. As he, Aletha, and Alai watched the deer prance over to their shelters in the forest, the silver-haired man crossed his arms and redirected his mood to seriousness. "I was scouring the entirety of Alpine Glitterfly Range for you two. At first, I was trying to look for a light source. However, when I noticed you two had suddenly disappeared, I scavenged the area, thinking you were captured by monsters."
Just as his threatening and frustrated voice could rise, Ubel lowered it down to a forgiving and soft tone, resuming. "Sigh, but now I know… that both of you are alive. Do you two know how dangerous it is to wander the wilderness at night?"
"No. I never knew that nights could be so dangerous." Aletha truthfully apologized, pointing her two fingers toward each other with a shameful face. "We're sorry..."
"And you…?" Ubel added with a suspicious eyebrow raised. "Alai?"
"Um…" Alai mumbled tremblingly as she shook her head and closed her eyes, feeling a harassing anxiety of doubt run through her mind. Though she had found a light source, it couldn't make up for the fact that she had abandoned Aletha without telling her. So, to ease her tension, Alai relaxed her cheeks as she dropped to her shoulders, blissfully aware that she was in the wrong.
"Yeah. O… Of course, I know how dangerous these nights could get." She said with a half-uneasy, half-laughing compunction. Her crimson eyes traveled over to Aletha, mumbling. "I shouldn't have abandoned you, Aletha. That was careless of me, and I should have known better. But hey… at least you're alive, right?"
"Mhm," Aletha replied with a forgiving smile, suppressing her tiny hint of anger at Alai. At a glance, she approached Alai and hugged her, showing affection and gratitude as she spoke calmly. "It's okay. I really didn't know what was happening either. Anyways, thank you so much for helping and saving me. I would never have guessed those monsters would appear suddenly."
"N-No problem!" Alai awkwardly laughed, looking away from Aletha and hiding her embarrassment.
With the serenity returning to them, Ubel, Alai, and Aletha pursued their path to safety.
As they hiked into the distant lush mountains, Ubel lowered his azure eyes at Aletha with a look of curiosity, noticing something odd about her. He dropped his map and took a deep sigh, asking her with a soft tone.
"Aletha, if you don't mind me asking, Is something the matter? It seems to me you have seen a ghost." Ubel cautiously said as Aletha froze in shock on the spot. "Are you alright? According to my map, Alai's house should be just a kilometer away from us, atop one of the mountains. We need only your cooperation to get there before we can finally rest. Is that okay with you?"
Aletha shook her head and muttered. "Yeah. It's not that... I'm sad. I'm fine, actually, but..."
"Then what is your problem?" Ubel asked with a serious expression.
"I don't know…." Aletha said with a nervous smile, looking away from him as she fiddled with her fingers. "Well, when I was cornered by those monsters, my mind was suddenly flooded with memories. There was so much happening that I felt lost and afraid. And it got even worse when the creatures were suddenly harassing and assaulting me, saying that I'm a beautiful monster and that my family has a disposable past."
"Beautiful monster? A disposable past?" Ubel repeated Aletha's words, his eyes widening in surprise. "Strange." After he pulled up his map and continued onward, the man pondered as he picked up his map, staring into the shimmering star light.
(Aletha is far more mysterious than I once thought.)
* * * * * * *
They made it.
Not too far from the horizon, a beautiful house emblazoned with vibrant colors and flora stood on the other side of a moonlit path. There was no problem for visibility for Ubel, Aletha, and Alai anymore because glowing amber lanterns and lights were dispersed all over the premises of the area. As they heard crickets and grasshoppers chirping in groups, Alai opened a silver gate in front of the sanctuary of life, and invited Ubel and Aletha inside.
When Aletha had looked around, noticing the plentiful flora, fountains, and outhouses all about the place, she noticed that the area was far more differentiated to her than the last time she was in Alai's garden. Maybe it was because of the evening darkness that made the place unrecognizable, the outhouses and fountains, or maybe she had simply never seen this part of Alai's dwelling place before?
Nonetheless, Aletha's curiosity faded as she, Ubel, and Alai entered the front door of the house.
The interior was composed of a mix of hard dark wood, firm glass, and traces of cobblestone.
Once they approached and entered the house, to their left there were book shelves, tables, couches, and windows. Several rooms had extended from two hallways, all with a sun filter serving as the ceiling. Floral patterns were placed neatly along the place and organized patterns of furniture mixed well with the flowers, establishing a sense of cleanliness and well-being into the breathing interior.
Aletha's gray eyes widened and she stiffened her posture in shock, making rapid blinking followed by open staring at the beautiful interior of this lively home.
"This place… is a lot more beautiful than I remembered." She mumbled tremblingly, her heart pacing with amazement. "It smells so good here, everything is well-organized and clean, and even everything is arranged! This is heaven!"
"I must admit, Alai. I myself never expected your house to be so aesthetically pleasing." Ubel admitted as he breathed in the fresh floral scents. "Your house exceeded my expectations ten-fold."
As Alai closed the glass sliding door to her home, she expressed with a high chin, thrusted her chest out, and stood tall with pride, saying.
"Thank you. And it is all thanks to the cooperation of my teacher and I."
Alai couldn't keep her giddiness in control.
Throughout all of the time with Aletha, she had anticipated greatly for her reaction to her place. And now, having set foot here, witnessing not only her reaction but Ubel's, it made her smile beam all the more greater. She caught Aletha's compliments and added in as Ubel wandered around and gazed at the paintings.
"Well, that's because you have only been in the garden of my home." Alai said with a playful gesture and a wink. "If you took the time to wake up sooner, I would have shown you this place. But anyways, enough gawking at my abode. Let's get something to eat!"
Aletha cocked a brow of surprise.
"Eat?" She said, "Like… dinner?"
"Yes!" Alai said as she snapped her fingers, sprinting over to the kitchen and dining room. "Hold on!"
As Aletha waited for Alai to return, she took this time to analyze more of her surroundings. To her right, paintings, flower pots, rugs, and wooden flooring all around.
It seemed to Aletha and Ubel that this place was rather a luxury for them. They never expected her place to be so rich with life and furnishings.
"Come, take a seat." Alai openly said to Aletha as she slid over a chair at the dining table.
Then, Aletha and Ubel slowly planted their bottoms on a soft chair, still taking in the tremendous interior of the place. A large window oversaw the lush meadows of Alpine Glitterfly Range.
Though it was dark, the moon and the blue sea of stars were clear as day.
Aletha was so fixated about the aesthetic of the house's interior that she had never realized her hair was a complete mess.
With time passing, and the silence of the awkward moment growing ever so closer, Aletha had an itch enter her mind. She took a glass of water and drank from it in one gulp. She then turned over to Ubel as a question urged her.
"Um… Ubel. What was the deal with that huge sword in your hand?" She asked, fidgeting with the strands of her hair. "Do you remember what you did with it to the monsters?"
"It's called a claymore. And yes… I remember." Ubel replied formally as he took a sip out of the glass. He raised an eyebrow in confusion and placed the glass back on the large dining table, disbelieving of that question. "You were standing right in front of me. You should remember everything."
"Well… you slain the monsters so fast that I could barely see you."
"Oh? So was I too quick for you?" Ubel replied pridefully as he straightened and placed his hands to his pockets.
Aletha shook her head with disapproval, continuing as the memories accompanied her.
"No. It's just… my hair was blocking my view, so I couldn't see what you were doing."
"And whose problem is that?"
"First of all, rude." Aletha pointed with a sneer. She tilted her head down and slid her fingers through the soft ribbons of her white hair, resuming with a shameful tone."Second of all, yes… it's my fault. My hair was so long that it covered my face."
"What? So do something about it! It's not a difficult task." Ubel informed as he shrugged his shoulders.
As Alai walked into the dining room with visible plates of raw food on her hand, she flinched at Aletha's scream
"You're being a lot more stubborn than I remember, Ubel!"
"Woah woah woah, what's happening here?" Alai intervened as she carefully placed the plates of raw ingredients onto the solid wooden table.
Aletha pointed her finger to Ubel and whined as if she was a child.
"Ubel's being mean!"
Alai raised an eyebrow of curiosity, leaning over to Ubel. She asked as she crossed her arms.
"Oh, so what did he say?"
Ubel slammed his fist on the table and snickered at Aletha, shaking his head with a light chuckle.
"I mentioned something about her hair problem and she grew a temper with me. Childish if I say so myself."
Alai squinted her eyes at Aletha and turned her head curiously, scratching her head.
"Hair problem…?" Turns out, Ubel was right. Aletha was so fixated about the aesthetic of the house's interior that she had never realized her hair was a complete mess. Her strands all over her bangs were a complete mess, and her hair covered most of her face like a veil. Alai then took a moment to ponder and recollect her visions.
(Now that he mentioned it…)
The staining problem of Aletha's hair had not been unnoticed by Alai. She remembered the girl's white hair twirling around and covering her face during the chase at Gushy Geysers, and remembered it being in the way most of the time during battles, making the battle unnecessarily more difficult than it had to be.
Garnering all her thoughts in one place, Alai nodded her head in agreement with Aletha, saying with a tone of certainty.
"Yeah, Ubel's right. Aletha, your hair is becoming a problem." Alai informed her truthfully as Aletha reacted with a disbelieved round look on her face. "It's getting all over the place and it has almost cost you your life. If you ever had your hair like that during the race, you'll never win. It will just fly around in your eyes and you might as well trip and fall."
"I… Is it really that bad?" Aletha tremblingly muttered as she touched her messy bristles of hair.
"Yes. But no need to panic about it. There's an easy solution!" Alai answered optimistically as she got up from her chair and ran to the hallway. "Hold on, let me grab something from my bedroom real quick."
Alai left Aletha and Ubel in complete silence shortly afterward.
Upon her departure, Aletha secretively leveled a menacing glowering look at Ubel. Instead of replying, the young man immediately backfired Aletha's pitiful stare with an even more penetrating gaze that probed through her soul, urging her to stop.
After the intimidating staring contest, Alai returned to the dining room with a black hair tie clenched on her palms. Aletha hurriedly hid her stare and looked back at Alai, cocking her brow in confusion.
"Wait, what are you doing?"
Alai quickly ambled over behind Aletha and ultimately ignored her question. She slid the chair she was seated on away from the table toward the window, before steering it over and grabbing onto Aletha's hair.
Aletha instantly reacted with an irritated growl, feeling Alai's fingers skim over her messy white hair. But just as she tried to move away, Alai pulled Aletha back to the wooden chair, forced her still, and whispered.
"Don't move."
"Alright, fine." Aletha said as took a deep sigh of defeat and ceased control all over Alai.
After she stopped complaining like a baby, Alai focused on her task.
She gently combed Aletha's hair with her soft fingers, straightening up and securing each silky tassel with a hair tie. As she was doing this, Alai turned the chair away from the window in order not to ruin the surprise and continued tying up Aletha's beautiful straight white hair.
"Your hair is so pretty, Aletha. It's so clean and vibrant. I thought only old people had white hair. But even then, it isn't as silky soft as yours." She complimented as Aletha rooted her body into the chair. "It seems to magically fix itself the moment I try to straighten it. There's no dirt, mud, or any mess in it. Did you take a shower?"
"No…" Aletha replied, arms tight to the body in suspicion.
The reply in return caused Alai to back up from her in shock.
"Really?!" She exclaimed disbelievingly, biting on the hair tie. "So is your hair like magic or something? Because I am sure I saw dirt cover it when we were fighting those monsters."
Aletha shrugged her shoulders and made a crooked smile of uncertainty, opening her posture to a more welcoming form.
"Maybe. I don't know."
"Well, it seems that's the case." Alai added as she added the finishing touches to styling up Aletha's hair, turning the chair and her body back to the clear reflective window in the dining room. "You're lucky! I don't think any woman other than you that I have encountered had ever had such a trait before. Take care of it, okay?"
After a few more seconds of finishing up, Alai patted Aletha's back humblingly and informed her as Ubel stumbled and tripped in shock.
"Almost there… Annnnd, done! Check it out!"
A silence entered the dining room.
Aletha gazed at her reflection in the mirror and was taken aback by what she saw.
She blinked rapidly, turning over and fidgeting with the dangling pony tail wagging back and forth on her head. Then, she rubbed her eyes to ensure that the person that she had seen in the reflection in the window was still her.
Although it wasn't as apparent as opposed to an actual mirror, Aletha could catch every vivid detail of her appearance in full form. Her eyes sparkled in awe as she posed in front of the window, turning her head back and forth and analyzing every detail from her ponytail to her attire.
After moments of thorough investigation, Aletha launched up into the ceiling on her tippy toes with excitement and made a wide grin of wonder, squealing and hooting.
"Oh. my. Goodness! I look…" As Alai bumped her shoulder over to Aletha, making eye contact with her with confidence, Aletha's scream reached over every corner of the house. "... amazing!" She said, twinkling with her new hairstyle.
Taking into consideration the new style, Ubel took a glance and changed his attitude, chuckling at the euphoric response Aletha had presented to everyone.
"Fascinating. You look completely different to the girl I just saw now." Ubel commented on Aletha, trying to take another glance. He rubbed his eyes to see if this was the same girl he saved before. "If it wasn't for your attire, I would have mistaken you for a different person."
"Really?" Aletha said, still fixated about her ponytail.
"Absolutely. Now that I think of it, you should get a better fit. Perhaps, a shift in style?" Ubel recommended as he took another sip from his glass. "Maybe make your skin breathe and change your attire so that it could support the bag you carry around. That way, you can simultaneously carry more and feel more flexible as you battle, run, etcetera."
Aletha grinned cheerfully and smiled at him once more.
"Okay!"
Alai on the otherhand, stepped away from the dining table, trying to suppress her laughter at the overwhelming reaction Aletha presented. She couldn't believe that someone could be so excited for such a simple thing as changing a hairstyle.
(I can't believe someone could be that excited for changing a hairstyle.) Alai thought as she grabbed food from the cabinets. (Well, now that I think of it. Everyone can be fixated about something.)
Though she was far away from the dining room, Alai kept that recommendation from Ubel to heart, considering making another outfit for Aletha tomorrow. As she prepared the ingredients onto the counter, Alai eagerly asked Aletha from across the kitchen.
"So, what do you think? Is your hair still in the way?" Alai asked from across the kitchen as she prepared to cook the ingredients.
"Nope!" Aletha replied as she kept her eyes focused on the reflection of the window. "This is all that I can ask for! Thank you!"
Alai couldn't help but grin at the gratitude and expression Aletha gave her.
* * * * * * *
Now with the hair-situation pushed out of the way, Aletha could finally focus more on her curiosities when it came to the monsters of this world and her memories.
As they waited patiently for Alai to serve them their meal, Aletha took the initiative to discuss with Ubel about her concerns, fidgeting with her long pony-tail in the process.
"So, Ubel. Where did you get that claymore from? I never knew you had that." Aletha asked, turning over to her side.
Ubel lifted up a grin at her and smiled at the thought of the question, pridefully replying in return.
"Oh, that? Well I received that claymore from the southern cold nation of Astait." He answered as Aletha's eyes smoldered with intensity and curiosity. Ubel maintained an open body posture and rubbed his hand self-consciously through his hair with a relaxed smile crossing his face as his answer transformed into a story.
"When I was young, my father gave this prized possession and a pack of magical wolves to me to defend myself from the dangerous ice monsters and mutated beings lurking in the coldest areas of Astait. Both my parents were against industrialization and the intentions of the Queen of that nation, so we lived in a warm humble village around a circle of giant icicles; where monsters thrived the most."
As Aletha imagined the scenario playing out in her head, she commented on Ubel with a seriously attentive tone.
"Ooo, interesting. So you came from Astait?"
"Indeed." Ubel said, turning over to the window, and changing his expression to one of sorrow. "People of that nation claimed me to be the perfect individual. A striking appearance, no flaws or diseases, and no dents at all. I never understood it at first, but I realized what they were coming from. To them, I was perfect. However, as I grew up I came to a hard conclusion…"
Upon his words, a silence entered in-between the dining room. The sounds of Alai's cooking were heard from the table, sounding out with shrill high-pitched noises of steam and knives slamming against a cutting board. Aletha leaned in and felt an urge to ask, wanting to learn more about Ubel and the nation of Astait.
"What? What's the conclusion?" She asked, focusing her eyes at Ubel's.
Hearing Aletha's question, Ubel closed his eyes and recollected the memories that grappled and strained him throughout his life.
"... it's that you can not be perfect." He replied as he saw the frigid, blizzard-smothered snowy mountains of his home nation. "Perfection is just a delusion to make everything and everyone with it seem like a flawless object. It's a delusion. There is no such thing as 'true' perfection."
* * * * * *