{Enverna}
Telvan was a colorful city. Almost as colorful as Garriden, but in a distinct way.
The buildings here were all dim, muted colors. Grey, blue, and brown were all she could see, no matter what direction she looked at. The rosy, brick roads of Garriden were swapped out for black, smooth streets that felt a little weird to walk over.
Like everything else, however, Enverna would need to get used to it. At least until the girl walking with her through this strange city became her official wife and Enverna would be allowed to leave.
"This part of the city is mostly just stores," Lianna said, while Enverna listened intently. "There's a mall down the street, you can get general house stuff over there, and if you end up getting a car or something, you can buy parts for it or get it fixed over there."
The phrase "over there" was pretty much the only part of all this that Enverna was understanding.
"Ah, right, cars. I haven't seen one of those in a- WHOA!"
On cue, one of those incredible pieces of machinery moved past her. She flinched, moving away from the passing vehicle and, inadvertently, closer to Lianna.
She pulled away like she'd been burned while Lianna laughed.
"You don't have those in Garriden?"
"Uh, not many of them," Enverna responded once she got her composure back. "We mostly prefer traveling atop horses and sears."
Lianna's eyes widened.
"You own a sear?"
[She appears to be rather shocked by that.]
To be fair, the reaction was understandable. Even in Garriden, the bird-like creature that flew Enverna here was rare. It seemed that was also true for Telvan.
"My family is relatively well-off," Enverna nodded. "I do not doubt that removing the natural element and relying purely on machinery has its benefits, but, there is very little 'traveling' that happens in Garriden anyway, so, we do in fact, mostly stick to those animals."
Lianna looked surprised.
"What?" Enverna asked, curious as to why she got that expression.
"That was... surprisingly reasonable."
[Why would applying a little bit of critical thinking on the spot be surprising? Is that not something people do here?]
"Anyway," Lianna continued, "so... Yeah. Anything else you, uh, wanna know where to find?"
"Could I let you know later?" Enverna asked. "At the moment, I cannot think about much else than the engagement."
"Same..." Lianna responded with a big, easy smile. Enverna couldn't recall the last time she saw someone in her family display a similar expression. "I know it's not... well, a 'real' marriage, but, it still feels big."
"Push that notion out of your mind. It'll only trouble you later."
"... Maybe."
[What in the world do you mean, "maybe"? It will. If you expect me to stick by you after our marriage is made official, you will be severely disappointed.]
She did not voice that thought, however. Hopeful as she may be, Lianna was showing her an amount of kindness that Enverna had not expected before she came here, and she had not been raised to be ungrateful.
"By the way, does your family know of our arrangement? Or, do we have to tell them?"
Enverna wasn't too prepared for the answer that followed.
Lianna just gave her a sad smile and said:
"I don't have a family."
"Oh," Enverna replied. "I am sorry for your loss."
Lianna shook her head.
"Nah, I didn't lose them either. I never had them to begin with," she explained, though this only produced more questions in Enverna's mind. In hopes of answering those questions, the girl added, "I'm a child of mana."
Enverna's confusion only lasted a little while longer before she translated "child of mana" to her people's name for it.
"Ah! You're spiritborn!"
"Uh, what does that mean?"
"As in, a fallen angel. A child abandoned by Saren." Enverna recalled the many lessons she'd received in church. Spiritborn people weren't something they talked about often, but she still remembered what was said about them. "You were found in the wilderness, right?"
"Uh, yeah..." Lianna replied.
"Well then, yes. We call people like you spiritborn. That's quite fascinating," Enverna said. "How did you end up here?"
Although spiritborn people were common enough to where they were a known concept, it was also very common for them to die before anyone can rescue them.
"A Player saved me," Lianna stated. "Cynthia Taylor."
Lianna told her that as if she was supposed to know who that was. Unfortunately, she did not. Although she'd been raised on the path of becoming a Player herself and representing her family through that career, she hadn't concerned herself with celebrities.
Sensing that fact, Lianna went on to say:
"Miss Taylor is a Player. She was on a mission, 18 years ago and, on the way, a mana storm began to form around her and her team. She was pushing through a forest, trying to make her way out when... She found me."
The two of them stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. Others passed them by without a care, but Enverna couldn't move a muscle. She was enthralled by the tale.
"Some of her teammates didn't make it out, but... She made sure I did. She put me in an orphanage, though, because she didn't really have the time to raise me herself. Plus, she was pretty young at the time. I think she was 16 when she went on that mission. But, she... She didn't forget me," Lianna stated. "When I turned 16 myself, I was told that she'd bought a house for me to live in, so I could leave the orphanage. I was able to pay to get into the Watchful, by the way, thanks to the money she's given to me. I work part-time as a waitress too but that doesn't exactly bring in 'follow your dreams' kind of money."
The image of Lianna being a waitress fit perfectly into the puzzle Enverna was assembling in her mind.
[I can see how people would like for the first thing they see when they walk into a restaurant to be her. It fits.]
She almost scolded herself for that, though.
[Not in a weird way, of course... There is nothing wrong with one lady acknowledging another's looks.]
"To be honest," Lianna kept going, "I don't even know what Miss Taylor looks like. I've never spoken to her in person. But," Lianna quickly added, "she's always kept tabs on me. She's probably aware I joined the Watchful too. Sometimes, that makes me feel like I've got my own personal guardian angel out there, you know?" Lianna giggled.
"Hm." Enverna took all of that in and responded with the only thing she thought she could. "You are an incredibly interesting person."
"Well, it's nice to know my fiance finds me interesting," Lianna said with a smirk and Enverna laughed silently.
[Heh... Lianna does seem to be a charming individual.] It was easy to get caught in her vibe. To let her set the tone. So much so that Enverna found herself holding back giggles as she said:
"Now, now, let's not get ahead of ourselves. We aren't engaged yet."
---
Once the trip around the city was done, the time quickly arrived.
Both Enverna and Lianna were eager to get started, to see what exactly The Lover gave them upon finalizing their engagement.
So, they went to the registration office to the south.
And here, they aimed to make their engagement official.
The entire time, Enverna did notice how Lianna carried an odd look in her eyes, but she pushed that image out of her mind.
[I don't think Lianna is a bad person. But... She should not get her hopes up. This is a transaction. Nothing more, nothing less.]