Long walks in the capital were always welcomed, despite the array of noise that accompanied her. Market stalls were bustling with business, foreigners looked at everything with wonder, and people conversed about a myriad of things. A lot was going on, yet she found comfort in such a vibrant environment. In her childhood, training with her father always left her bloody and broken, so the capital served as a place of respite far from her mansion. Though that was only when she was alone, as now she had two annoyances hovering around.
"Hmph! If I were there, I would have for sure shown that Ancestor what was what!" Cor'nella exclaimed confidently as she hovered beside her. Agatha assumed this 'Ancestor' was the powerful woman they had battled in Verdantis. Clearly, she was no human; she was anything but. "B-But of course, I had business to attend to at the time," the fairy defended.
"Uh-huh," Agatha did not seem the least bit convinced, but now it was time to introduce the second annoyance.
"Damn that Aragorn," Walking beside her was Mirabella, who like her, was still outfitted in her armor. "Learn the way of avarice and destruction, he says. Be one with your qualities, he says. Destroy that which needs to be destroyed, he says. Be more greedy with what you want, he says. What the hell does that even mean!?" Her outburst got the attention of some passersby, and so did Cor'nella's appearance. It was not usual to see a fairy so far from their homeland, yet all the same, Cor'nella seemed to bask in the attention.
"My great lady Isadora could never be as brutish as that Aragorn," Cor'nella chuckled. "She would not deign to put her spawns through useless trials that mean nothing."
Mirabella merely grumbled in annoyance, "Well, good for you, short-stuff," she directed a glance at Agatha next. "But man, I kind of wish I was a spawn of Isadora all the same," Cor'nella laughed triumphantly at that.
"You have met with Aragorn?" Agatha inquired, and the second princess nodded.
"Yeah, Mikoto helped me a bit. Recommended I read some books to familiarize myself with Aragorn, eventually he took me to his realm," Mirabella frowned as she recalled the memory. "His realm wasn't 'divine' by any means; it was like a dead world. No trees, grass, sand, or even clouds. Everything was so blank."
"No taste at all, as expected," Cor'nella chimed with a shake of her head. "But there's a chance in your mana all the same; he must have granted you something."
"Well, if I did get something, I don't know what the hell it is," she uttered out in annoyance.
"Hm, it was much simpler for me," Agatha confessed. "Though I suppose there was a reason for that." Before her trip to Verdantis, she would most likely not have been granted Arcane Ascendance. But she gained a purpose of what she wanted to do, and that no doubt assisted her in gaining Isadora's favor. "The advice I grant you is to be different than the current you. I do not think your goals should align with avarice and destruction, but to what you actually want to do."
"Easier said than done," Mirabella sighed. "There's too much on my mind."
"Like what?"
Mirabella frowned, contemplating whether she should share her misgivings. She shrugged as she spoke. "It's my stupid old man," she scowled as the two listened with interest. "It's an arranged marriage; it was supposed to be some time ago. It was postponed because of our curriculum."
Agatha nodded in understanding; her father had also prepared a number of suitors for her in the future. Had she not scared most of them off, then she would have been stuck in an unwanted marriage. "Are you the one who was selected?"
"I was, yeah," Mirabella answered, putting emphasis on 'was.' "My dumb sister stepped in and convinced that geezer to rather choose her," Mirabella's frowned deepened as she informed the two.
Cor'nella scoffed, "Humans and their idiotic customs, hmph! How dare they force the wielder of Leifa Allr to do this!"
"For once, I agree with you, short-stuff," Mirabella grinned.
"To whom is your sister to be engaged with then?" Agatha had an inkling, but it would be good to gain some confirmation.
"One of the princes of Vel'ryr, Avice," Mirabella all but spat out. "Due to the tension between Verdantis and Vel'ryr, that old fool is thinking war will break out after the festival; he wants Galadriel to maintain a stable relationship with both countries. Galadriel and Verdantis were always on decent terms, but things between Vel'ryr and us were always iffy."
"And so your father saw offering up your sister as a means to solidify relationships. So they won't be forced to fight alongside either Vel'ryr or Verdantis, so they can remain unbiased," Agatha finished, and Mirabella nodded with a grim look.
"Politics like this annoy the hell outta me," she whined in annoyance. "It frustrates me I can't do anything about this."
("It seems she has a rather good relationship with her sister,") Agatha internally hummed in thought. She remembered a time when she was close with her own blood; well, she wanted nothing to do with her brother, but William, on the other hand...
---------------------
It was yesterday night; she, along with Mikoto and Victoria, had returned from Verdantis. Courtesy of Mikoto's absurd flying, she found herself in the capital, her armor clanking as she aimlessly walked around. No market stalls were set up, and there was only the odd passerby here and there.
The only places doing business were taverns and inns, but all was silent. A peaceful silence she enjoyed. She could turn her mind to other matters; despite nearing death in her little trip with Mikoto, she did enjoy it in some odd way. It broadened her view; it showed her just how insignificant she was in the grand scheme of things. There were monsters trouncing all about that could end her in a heartbeat.
But this showed her that even with Arcane Ascendance, there was still much to learn. This short trip was a fruitful one; she even got a favor from Mikoto. ("How could I use the favor?") She hummed.
"Hah! Seems you're as dull-minded as always!" Once again appearing out of nowhere, her fairy companion appeared. "And your thoughts were so steady, and then you had to go thinking about him, che!"
Agatha leveled a dull stare at Cor'nella, "And now you read my thoughts; that's an invasion of my privacy."
"There is no privacy with fairies; we read each other's thoughts at every waking moment. And as your guide, I need to know your thoughts to ascertain the best way to assist you."
"You haven't been assisting me at all," Agatha reminded.
"Keh! In due time," she merely said vaguely. "Besides, you have a trial."
Before she could question the fairy, a loud voice echoed through the silent streets, "Agatha!" She frowned at the familiar voice and increased her pace, but Cor'nella flew swiftly to block her view.
"Talk to him," the fairy said in an unusually stern voice. Agatha glared at Cor'nella, but she did not let up. This was something the fairy would no doubt pester her about at every waking moment. Cor'nella did not like to be ignored, so Agatha sighed as she turned on her heel to face him.
Her brother, William, dressed in simple casual clothes. A gray vest over a plain white button shirt along with the same colored slacks as dress shoes. He was slightly panting; he must have run all the way towards her location as soon as he sensed her mana signature.
There stood the beacon of all her ire, the one who had shifted the immense burden of being the heir to Gregory to her. It was his fault she endured hellish training for so long, his fault her childhood was snatched away from her. Were he not a coward who would shift the burden to her, then things would have been simpler; her life could have been better. Yet she did remember all the fond memories with her brother, usually the thirst for vengeance was in tandem with the thoughts of how close they used to be.
But now as she stared at her brother, his face, his innocent emerald eyes, she did not feel a speck of hate. Her hate for him seemed so insignificant now, so vague; she could not channel it no matter how hard she tried. Was that all her hate was? Something petty to be expunged with time? She wanted to laugh at the prospect. Until recently, hate was all she felt towards her family; her brother who betrayed her, her mother who did not care, and a father who pushed his ideals onto her.
But she had a change in perspective; she had a purpose she would fulfill. She recalled the destroyed village she had seen back in Verdantis, those mutilated corpses of man, woman, and child. She wanted to protect powerless people like that; she had the power to do so, so that was what she was going to do.
She internally smiled; she remembered a time she was the cold, unfeeling heir. A time she was scared to show her emotions, but as Mikoto said:
"Showing emotions means you're humane. It's a good thing, Agatha." Mikoto had the right of it; it was not a sin to express oneself, be it their naïve goals or merely their emotions. And so she turned her attention to her brother.
"What do you want?" She cut to the chase immediately.
"Is it true?" He questioned immediately; she tilted her head in confusion as he continued. "That you've been disowned as the Gregory heir." He finished with a heavy breath out.
"It is," she answered dismissively, "What of it?" He looked at her flabbergasted, whether from her brushing off the whole ordeal or from her not spouting bloody murder, she did not know.
"But why? Why would father do that? And why don't you seem worried? Do you know what this means?" He asked in exasperation.
"I do, brother, and I care not for it," she dismissed, "That fool's whims will not be my own; I will not walk the path he wanted me to walk. It is as simple as that; the Gregory name means nothing to me. Maybe now that I am no longer heir, father in his desperation might turn to you." She mused as she turned around.
"Wait, something like that isn't what I want!" William's denial made her stop her exit as she glanced at him, "You know as well as I do that the Gregory name means nothing to me; all I want..." He sighed with a frown, "All I want is for things to go back to the way they were."
"When we were still happy little fools prancing about?" She questioned with a raised brow, "Your memories may have been tampered due to the ritual, but that does not change the fact that it was you who made that decision."
He furrowed his brows in confusion, "What decision?" He questioned.
Agatha momentarily pondered whether she should disclose her thoughts, but her thoughts went to Mikoto. He always seemed straightforward, always speaking his mind whether that was good or bad. She could take a page out of his book.
"You see, William, I was not born a full spawn," she started, drawing a confused look from her brother, "As twins, we carried the natural bad omen due to the twin trickster Gods; we each received half of the Goddess Isadora's blessing. And you, William, gave up your blessing in a ritual courtesy of our dear father; said blessing was given to me so I could be whole."
"What?" William could only blurt out; he looked perplexed. His brows furrowed in frustration as he tried and failed to recall the memory. "I..."
"No words are needed, William," Agatha interrupted, "I do not hate you anymore, but I do not love you as a sibling as I did." Agatha sighed silently as her eyes softened, "While the fault lies with you, I admit I myself was misguided in my hate; you were never a selfish one. I am sure there was a good reason for your actions."
"Tha-"
"But even so," she interrupted once more, "Things cannot simply go back to the way they were; this you must know." He frowned as he looked towards the ground, dejected. "Our bond was broken, but." Then she began walking, Cor'nella trailing behind her with a proud smile. "If you want to collect the broken shards and reform it, then I will not stop you."
William looked at her in surprise before a smile formed on his face.
-------------------
"With such things on your mind, no wonder you're still failing to attain Arcane Ascendance," Cor'nella noted, her floating body shifting weightlessly through the air as she floated upside down, "You know I could give you some much-needed advice," she gave a smug smile as Mirabella's eyes twitched.
And just like that, Agatha was brought back to the present time.
"Oh yeah, then lay it on me," Mirabella challenged.
"Mayhap if you swear to worship me at every waking moment, then I will be inclined to offer my wisdom," she haughtily declared as she shifted back in place.
"Hell no!"
"Then struggle!" Cor'nella stuck her tongue out in contempt; Agatha could but shake her head at their meaningless squabbles.
"Like I need your help, short-stuff," Mirabella rebutted, and Cor'nella gave an angry-sounding noise.
"I am not short! This is the average height of fairies, you baboon!" Cor'nella defended with a glare; now it was Mirabella's turn to give a smug smile.
"Sure, whatever you say~" she said in a sing-song voice, much to the fairy's annoyance. Cor'nella seemed content on rebutting, but just then the fairy's gaze snapped towards something as her jaw slightly unhinged. The two girls followed her gaze; in the vibrant aura of the market area, there she stood.
It was an ethereal and beautiful woman, flowing hair as blue as the vast sky itself with gold outlining it and orbs that held the depth of the very sea to them. She was clad in white robes adorned with threads of gold, and what stood out most were the golden antlers protruding out of her head. Beauty would not do the woman justice; she was otherworldly. Well, that beauty certainly warranted a gaping mouth, the two girls agreed.
With beauty like that, the woman could swoon any man or woman. In fact, she was drawing many stares; men blushed her way, women questioned themselves, and boys found their first crush. She just exuded an aura that could entrap all. Mirabella herself would admit that her looks paled in comparison to this Goddess. Agatha was of much the same mind.
But they found their attention drawn to a familiar ominous armored figure.