The morning sun had risen, briefly telling my Dad, I left to look through the bookstore, the books that I bought before were alluring enough for me to want even more after I finished them within a few hours. My reading comprehension was beyond that of an adult, I was capable of reading pages within minutes and being able to recite each word with perfect accuracy.
A handy perk that I was grateful for. The dreams of my so called past life stopped appearing, and I was left with incomplete portions of what happened during my 30 years of life. It was a pity that my memories weren't appearing anymore, I wanted to know more, just as long as I didn't have to repeat the same nightmares over and over again.
Before going to the bookstore, it was worth exploring places that I hadn't before. While I did so, I observed my surroundings, admiring each intricate detail on the buildings and the pavement that I walked on.
I soon entered what I assumed was the plaza, directly in the middle was a statue with a pond surrounding it. The statue was of a man, his stone cape that had complex patterning that interconnected with each other.
His sword stabbed into the ground as he held with his hands, short hair with his bangs that covered his forehead. Who was this? It was obvious they were someone of importance, and soon my question was shortly answered by someone behind me.
Two maids were behind a girl who looked to be around my age, her purple eyes that I instantly fixated on. Her long, golden blonde hair and for whatever reason, a deep vivid aura surrounded her.
Her clothes appeared to be tailored for nobles, gold embroidered onto her purple jacket, a white and lighter coloured purple top and a skirt that went just above her knees that went with her top half.
"King Lucian is who you're looking at."
"King Lucian?"
"Someone who was a king several centuries ago, the man who once presumed to have united the four kingdoms."
King Lucian's appearance looked like he was no more than 20 years old.
"He doesn't look like he did."
"They say he was sent by god, because of his natural born leadership, his talent to wield Aura and Aether itself, the smartest being in the world and had many titles that told us a lot about him."
"How would you know if that's all true if he was someone from several centuries ago?"
I had my doubts, currently the relationship between each kingdom wasn't great but it wasn't bad either, with each kingdom mainly being neutral toward each other.
"We don't, it might be true, it might not be. But I do."
"I do too."
The girl pinched her skirt with her hands on both sides before bowing slightly as she introduced herself.
"I forgot to introduce myself! I am Claudia, daughter to the house of Helt, and daughter of Lione Helt. And you are?"
I pinched my skirt the same way Claudia had done so before I too, formally introduced myself.
"My name is Ophelia, daughter to the house of Rhin."
"House of Rhin? I don't recall knowing them."
"Were not too known."
"Well, Ophelia's a little too long, mind if I just call you.. Call you.. Lia?"
"You may not."
"Whew.. Lia! It's so nice to meet you!"
Did she just ignore my rejection?
"It's nice to meet you too.. Lady Claudia?"
"By chance are you also 12?"
Was she really changing the topic too?
"Yes.. Was it that easy to tell?"
"To be honest, you looked like you just got here, and I just felt this weird.. Sensation? Like a gravitational pull, like something was tugging on me." Claudia placed her two fingers on her chin, trying to recall what it felt like, but to no avail it didn't work.
"Lady Claudia."
"You can drop the formality! Were friends now aren't we?"
"We are..?"
"Lia, Lia, Lia." She shook her head, seemingly disappointed in me, "If were on nickname basis's then that means were already friends!"
"Again, I didn't let you-"
Claudia instantly pounced onto my hands as she grabbed them with her hands, getting closer toward me as I leaned back. I showed confusion and my eyes widened from the sudden occurrence.
"Yes! I'd love to! I don't have many friends either and everyone else that tries to become my friend has this eerie vibe around them.."
What..? What was going on? Eerie vibe? What?
"What..? Eerie vibe? Huh?" I questioned, what did she mean?
"Ah, I have an disease, well had. Corneal Lymphfyds. A rare disease where clumps of Aether cloud the cornea of the eyes. It's difficult to treat, as it's almost undetectable at a young age but, fortunately because of my father's side, they had already prepared for it. And now, I can basically see and feel the spirit of people's souls." She answered, before adding on, "Like before, you had this heavy gravitational pull though it is gone now."
The spirit of people's souls? She could see that?
"That's.. Cool." I didn't know what to say, besides change the topic. "By the way, are there any academies nearby in the west sector?"
"Ah yes! The best one is in the west sector!" She answered before adding on, "Quite lucky to be here and with me!"
"Uh huh. Is it.. Expensive?"
"No, not really, only 1200 gold per year! And if you want a higher education, it'll cost around 1700 gold?"
I was completely aghast, 1200 gold..? 1700 gold..? That wasn't considered expensive? She angled her head a little to the side, a questionable expression painted over her face.
"That may be a little too expensive.."
"Oh, really? I thought everyone had at least that much.."
Was she serious? Did she have selective perception? Though it was quite hard to spot, there were few legs sticking out behind dumpsters in alleyways. It could've been because of her background that she never went out, it was plausible.
"I don't think I'll be able to get into that. It'll be fine though, we can always talk outside of our academies!" I still had the badge Roy gifted me, but I didn't know which headmaster he wanted me to sway.
"Well there is a scholarship you can get." She quickly proposed, "If you're lucky."
"Huh."
"Yes, every fourth month of the year, an entrance exam is held, and only the top 15 students can gain one!" Her arms swung wide open, her eyes looked up, as if imagining it.
The maids that stood behind Claudia hadn't moved or said a word, it was a bit unsettling that they just stood there like statues, as well as it was slightly disturbing that they gazed at me without blinking at all.
Since Claudia was already quite close, I leaned closer to her and whispered.
"Besides the scholarship, do they just stand there..?"
Her head slightly tilted before returning to look back at me.
"They're just here to protect me if anything happens to me, just ignore them."
"It's kinda hard to ignore them if they just keep piercing my soul with their gazes.."
"Hehe, I'll let them know next time."
I straightened myself upright, moving away from Claudia.
"Alright, I'll come visit whenever I have the chance! I was supposed to go to the bookstore but I got side-tracked."
"Oopsies! I'll tell you where my residence is. Come visit anytime!"
She gave me directions to where it was located from the plaza, it was rather straightforward and I was able to grasp where it was, keeping it safe in my memory. Unfortunately, the bookstore had nothing that piqued my curiosity which made me return home.