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coldace24 · 6 years

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Twice Arcanum: Prologue

Twice Arcanum: Prologue

"Another dull night..." She frowned at the thought.

Beneath the sea of stars sprawled across the vast night sky, just by the edge of town, she sat on top of the outer walls, isolated from the presence of townsfolk. Under her wide-brimmed hat, strands of purple hair brushed against her face, and her amethyst eyes reflected the gentle moonlight.

With nothing to rid of her boredom, she closed her eyes and began to listen to the wind. The gentle breeze whispered in her ear, humming a melody of its own. She found herself almost falling into a trance, but was abruptly awoken by the sudden noise of steel clashing against each other. Her gaze turned towards the forest, a few hundred meters away from where she was.

"Hmm, let's see..."

The tattoo under her right eye began to glow, and streaks of purple light appeared, circling around her iris as it enhanced her view range like a telescope. Near the edge of the forest, she could make out three figures locked in combat with each other; one, who was of rather small stature, was holding its own against the other two. She focused her eye, letting it adjust to the darkness, and as it cleared, she realized that what she was looking at was, in fact, a man fighting against two brawny, armored trolls.

A feeling of excitement had filled her, finally managing to find some amusement. She stood up and grabbed her spear, pointing it towards the direction of the ongoing battle. With the help of her right eye, she adjusted her grip and aimed at the trolls. Then, the air around her started to hiss; arcs of purple electricity formed, creating sparks that lashed out everywhere like violent whips. She began accumulating them at the tip of the blade, molding it into pure destructive energy. With a loud crackle, a bolt of lightning shot out, trailing towards the woods. From inside the forest came bellows of pain, after which, there was dead silence.

The streaks of purple light faded, and the arcs of electricity dispersed, leaving bits of static discharges here and there. She gave a quick scan of her surroundings, just to be on the safe side, and with no abnormalities whatsoever, she tidied up her clothes, adjusted her hat, gave her spear a quick twirl, then jumped down the wall.

"Guess this wasn't going to be a dull night after all." She grinned at the thought as she started running towards the forest.

° ° °

He knew it was a bad idea, but he didn't realize it was THIS BAD of an idea. Leaving the town at night was his only choice, he couldn't tell his little sister he was taking on such a dangerous job; she'd definitely get mad at him, and he'd never hear the end of it.

So then there he was, in the middle of the night, running away from two trolls who seemed like they had won the title of "World Muscle Contender" in whatever troll muscle building competition they had. Plus, they had chunks of metal strapped around their chests, not very fashionable, but hey, it did a pretty good job of making them harder to kill. So he decided: the quest was done for, no way was he risking his life to go against such unfair monsters. Definitely a good time to run.

With his well-thought-out escape plan he'd only formed minutes ago, he thought for sure he'd lose them after scurrying around all over the place, but somehow, at every twist and turn he had made, the two consistently followed, as if they had a leash on him.

It was only a matter of time before he ran out of energy; luckily, he had reached the edge of the forest. If he could just make it out past the trees, surely the trolls would stop following him; they never really did like leaving their forest, and for whatever reason that was, it wasn't really any of his concern. With all the energy he had left, he dashed towards the clearing. Unfortunately for him, one of the trolls jumped out from behind a tree and blocked his way, making him skid to a stop.

"This...was truly a bad idea." He grumbled as he gripped the hilt of the sword at his waist. He didn't want to fight; firstly, because he wasn't as good with the sword as he'd like to think; and secondly, there were two huge enemies, and fighting them with a puny metal stick when they have rows of abs and steel platings was just plain unfair. As he was trying to determine his next move, the second of the two trolls jumped out behind him. Surprised as he was, he pulled out the sword and swung to the back. The steel blade grazed across the metal plate's surface, unleashing a loud, screeching noise, but leaving little to no visible scratches.

There was an unusual pause, then came a grunt. Or was it a laugh? Whatever it was, one thing stayed true; the troll had ridiculed his sorry excuse for a strike. A sweatdrop fell from his forehead down to his cheek, and again, he thought of just how truly a bad idea this all was.

Slowly, the troll raised its oversized club, and in the next moments, it was swinging down towards him. The club hit the ground hard, and dirt flew everywhere. Good thing he was able to roll aside fast enough, otherwise, it would have been his guts flying everywhere instead of dirt. But he didn't have time to be thankful, as the other troll, the one who had blocked his path, began swinging around its club too.

The only thing he could do was dodge the incoming flurry of swings; sometimes hiding behind a tree, other times sliding between the two and getting them to hit each other, but it wasn't working. They were just too hard, even their own attacks bounced off at the combination of metal and muscle.

Things seemed pretty bad; he was out of breath, and his body ached; the trolls didn't give him any chance to rest either. Fortunately, not all hope was lost; he had saved his trump card for last, and he knew it was time to use it. Sheathing back his sword, he put a bit of distance between himself and the two trolls, and out from the small pouch on his side, he pulled out a crystal; a roughly cut ruby about the size of a coin, and held it firmly on his hand.

The two trolls walked slowly towards him, both raising their clubs and looking rather annoyed. Just as they were a few meters away, he held the crystal towards them, but before he could do anything, a flash of purple light appeared and his vision turned white. He covered his eyes with his arm, not knowing what had happened; all he could hear was a high-pitched hissing, drowning out the unrecognizable screams. Soon, the discordant noise stopped, and the light faded; what followed after were two hard thumps to the ground.

".....Am I...dead?" He reluctantly asked as he peeked under his arm.

° ° °

".....Hello...? Are you still alive...?"

The trolls had turned into two crisp-burnt corpses laying motionless on the ground, but just to be on the safe side, he started poking at them with his sword; thankfully, there was no response. Somewhere along the blackened mass in front of him, something had glinted, and digging through, he managed to find a golden locket; one that was fancy-looking enough for a noble to wear, though now it was covered in soot. He held it up against the moonlight, its surface revealing an intricate design somehow resembling a familiar insignia.

"That looks like it'd sell for a lot." Someone suddenly called out from behind him; the energetic voice of a female.

As he turned to look, he found himself face-to-face with a girl; her round, amethyst eyes staring straight at him. She was close to his face, perhaps too close, and that made him unconsciously take a step back.

"It would definitely sell for a lot, but I need it for something else." His gaze turned towards the corpses.

"Were you the one who did that?" He asked as he pointed.

"Mhmm." Her eyes scanned him from top to bottom as she slowly walked backwards.

"You...look like a noble." She said, sounding somewhat displeased; perhaps she wasn't fond of nobles.

As much as denying it would probably have been better, with the way he was dressed: a dark emerald vest over his white dress shirt, dark slacks, boots, and leather gloves; it was fairly hard to.

"Well...yeah, I am...kind of."

He placed the locket inside his pouch while giving the girl a quick, inspecting glance. There was one way to describe the girl, he figured, and it was very much associated to the color purple; her hair was purple, her clothes were purple, heck even her eyes were purple. Well, at least her hat's beige...although it does have a purple accent.

"So tell me, why is a noble like you dancing around with these two muscle-heads?" She started poking the corpses with her spear. "Not to mention in their forest. Oh, and in the middle of the night too, might I add."

"...A quest." He replied as he started to fix his soot-covered, brown hair.

"Quest?" She sounded surprised. "Why would a noble be on a quest?"

"I need money."

"A noble...looking for money..?" She laughed, as if that was the funniest thing she'd heard the whole day. As much as he hated it, he expected at least that much of a reaction; a noble trying to earn money through quests was practically unheard of after all.

"Look, I'm going back to the guild to get my reward. If you don't need anything else, I'll be on my way now." He started to walk towards town, feeling a bit irritated.

"Hey, can I at least expect some form of thanks?" She asked, sounding a bit playful. He stopped in his tracks, letting out a sigh as he turned around.

"...What do you want?" His tone sounded monotonous as he asked. She pranced towards him, humming an unfamiliar tune with a mischievous grin on her face.

"A couple of drinks over at the tavern will do." She said with a wide smile and a pat to his back.

° ° °

"I'm Kaleina, by the way. Nice to meet you uh..." She introduced herself, hand extended, as they sat at the local tavern. It was only under the lamp's light that he had noticed her long, pointed ears.

"Cleras. A pleasure." He replied, reaching for a handshake. "Are you an elf?"

Her eyebrows furrowed at the question. "Isn't that kind of obvious? I mean, you know, the ears and all."

"Yeah...well you know, just to make sure." He shrugged. "It's not everyday I get to see an elf. Much less talk to one."

"You make it sound like I'm some sort of exotic animal." She grumbled. Even though she meant it as a joke, he knew it was somehow true; elves were quite rare in human settlements, so being one was definitely attracting attention.

"Anyway, I give you my thanks for actually agreeing." She motioned to the drinks on the table. He sighed, raising his hands up, as if surrendering to her demand.

"Well, you did help me with the quest. Although I'm pretty sure I could have handled it fine by myself."

"Hah! If I wasn't there, you would've been crushed to a pulp." She grinned as she downed a glass of ale. "Speaking of which, how much did you get?"

"What do you mean?"

"Money! I'm talking about money, Cleras! How much did you get?"

"Oh. Just a little bit, I guess." His gaze shifted to the side.

"...How much, exactly?"

"Uhh....three thousand pliones...?"

She stood up and slammed the table, moving towards his face as close as possible then grabbing him by the collar.

"Three thousand?! For those two knuckleheads?!" Her eyes widened. "I could spend the whole week stuffing myself with that much! Unbelievable!"

"H-hey, I had a hard time dealing with them, so they should be worth at least that much." He pulled his face away, just to get a little more distance between their noses. "But I guess it is kind of odd. I mean, the quest details said I'd get a thousand."

"Tripled?! Why?!" Her eye started to unconsciously twitch.

"S-Some girl was at the guild. They said she was the client, so I gave her the locket. Turns out she was the daughter of a noble."

"And?"

"When I gave it to her, she asked the guild to put in a little extra for my reward, and gave me two grand."

"So the extra was from her?"

"Y-yeah."

"Tsk, figures." She remarked as she let go of him and went back to her seat, looking a bit irritated. "You sure are lucky, getting saved by me and getting extra on your pay."

"W-Well, yeah, I'm grateful for that."

"Guess that means I can order a few extra glasses, eh?" She had a mischievous smile on her face.

"Actually, no. I need the extra. I'm trying to save up for something."

"Meh, cheapskate." She pouted. "For a noble, you sure care a lot about money."

"I have my own problems, you know. Problems that require money to be solved." His expression turned serious for a moment, then returned to normal as he watched a bored-looking Kaleina trying to muse herself with ale. "But well, I guess it can't hurt to spend a little more than usual. Don't order what you can't finish, alright?"

"Yes!" She smiled then turned towards the counter. "Hey! Bring us your best batch of ale over here!"

° ° °

"You're not going home?" She asked, a bit surprised. They were done drinking for the night, and as dawn was to come in a few hours, they decided it was time to hit the hay.

"I snuck out to do the quest, and right now I'm too tired to even walk back home, much less sneak back in."

"So what's your plan?"

"I think I'll spend the night here at the tavern. You?"

"Same." She burped as she replied. "Ugh, I think I drank too much."

° ° °

"Are you sure you didn't plan this?" Kaleina asked with a look of doubt on her flushed face. They were inside one of the rooms at the tavern; cozy enough for a single night's rest, but what caught their attention was the room's single, large bed.

"I swear, I didn't!" Cleras held his hands up in surrender. "They said they were fully booked tonight, and this was the only room available."

She stared at him for quite a while, then decided it was pointless to argue. Upon reaching the bedside, she started to take off her clothes, leaving only her strapless bralette and her miniscule skirt on.

"HEY HEY HEY, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Cleras shouted at her irresponsible action.

"What? You can't expect me to sleep with all my clothes on." She argued as she climbed onto the bed.

"But I'll be sleeping beside you!"

"I don't care."

He bit back his lip. Surely this girl was not serious, he thought. He stood there for a few moments, unable to decide whether or not to go along with her idea.

"Oho. Don't tell me...are you inexperienced with these kinds of things?" She asked with a wide, mischievous smile on her face. He could do nothing but swallow, unable to give out any form of response.

Kaleina stood up, pulling the blanket along as she slowly walked towards him. Now only inches apart, her hand reached out to his face, gently resting her palm against his cheek. Their eyes locked, and with a warm smile, she gave him the most seductive gaze.

"Am I not good enough...?" She asked him with a sweet, tender voice. Her lips seemed so lush, like plump peaches ripe for the taking; it took everything he had just to stop himself from taking them for his own. The young man forcefully closed his eyes, trembling with nervousness at the possibility of where it all might lead to. Then, from Kaleina suddenly came a laugh. He opened his eyes only to find her wiping away tears from her eyes as she tried to contain her laughter.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't think you'd be that nervous." She apologized, finally managing to catch her breath after laughing so much. The distraught noble glared at her, clearly irritated at her display.

"Look, Cleras. I don't really mind if we sleep together in a single bed." She said as she let out a sigh. "We're just gonna sleep, you'll be fine."

She walked back and climbed up the bed, and in response to her companion's concerns, she wrapped herself with the blanket and rolled over to one side, giving Cleras enough space to lie down. He could only sigh as he walked towards the bed, taking off his vest and boots, and settling down beside the elf. Although his thoughts were still cluttered from all that has happened, his body was undeniably exhausted, and in a matter of minutes, his eyes fell shut, and his vision darkened.

° ° °

Pain shot up from his abdomen, instantly waking him from his sleep. He panicked for a second, thinking he was being attacked, until he saw a pale-skinned leg resting across his stomach. He turned to the elf beside him only to find her out of the blankets, now lying down horizontally across the bed, and still asleep.

He pushed Kaleina's leg away as he tried to get out of the bed, somehow managing to wriggle out from under her limbs. As quietly as he could, he put on his vest and boots and slowly walked towards the door. A few feet away and a sudden thud stopped him in his tracks.

"I-I'M AWAKE!!!" Kaleina shouted, her eyes only half open. She had fallen off the bed, and was now staring into space, looking a bit dazed. He tried to keep on walking, hoping she had not noticed him yet.

"Oh, Cleras...it's you. Where are you off to so early in the morning?" She asked as she rubbed the sleepiness off her eyes.

"Um...home...?"

"Oh riiiight." She stood up and yawned, stretching out to get rid of the numbness in her body. He smiled at her, then turned towards the door, finally managing to reach and open it.

"Wait!" Kaleina demanded as she hurriedly put her clothes on. "I'm coming with you!"

His eyes widened at her statement; his face full of discontent and disbelief. She locked her arms around his, and smiled at him, enjoying the thought of tagging along. Cleras sighed, once again unable to escape from Kaleina's crazy whims.

° ° °

"Tell me, why are you coming along again?" Cleras asked as he and Kaleina walked through the streets of Bowfort City, following the road towards his house.

"Cause I'm bored." She said proudly with a smile. "Besides, I get free breakfast if I go there, right?"

"Look, my place isn't some sort of charity where you get free food, okay?"

"Oh come on, I'm a guest. There should at least be food for the guest, right?"

"Don't you find it weird? Look, we only met yesterday, so I don't think we're well acquainted enough to be house visiting."

"Oh, but we ARE aquainted enough. I mean, we did sleep together last night." She said as she gave Cleras a wink.

"And sleep was ALL we did! Nothing else!" His voice raised a bit.

Kaleina smiled as she ignored his statement, finding amusement in playing with her spear instead. The poor noble could only press his palm against his face in discontent.

The previous mention of the word "sleep" caught his attention, only realizing something was off after the brief silence where he had time to think.

"Say, Kaleina..." He started to ask her. "you went to sleep last night, right...?"

"Yeah...?" She answered, sounding a bit suspicious. "....Did you do something to me?"

"No, of course not." He refuted. "Look, I was just wondering... I thought elves didn't sleep. Don't you, like, meditate or something?"

"...Oh." Her eyebrows furrowed a bit, then after an unusual pause, she continued. "Well, the right term for that is trance, actually. And yeah, they do that instead of sleep."

"They..? You don't...?"

"Nope." She moved her hands behind her back. "I like sleeping better than trance."

"Why?"

"Cause I get to dream when I'm sleeping, and that has to be the best part about it." She smiled as she talked. For a moment, her expression seemed full of sentiment, as if reminiscing something from the past.

"Why do you ask?" She followed up.

"Well, I've read some things about elves before, and well, you know, things just didn't add up and I started wondering."

"...Hmm. You're surprisingly knowledgable, huh, Cleras."

"...You make it sound like I was dimwitted before I asked." He turned to her only to find her sneaking a chuckle.

° ° °

"Okay, so here's how I'll explain things." Said Cleras as he stopped in front of the gates to the manor and turned around to face her. "I woke up early to walk around town, only to bump into you, an old aquaintance of mine, and being the good man that I am, I asked you to join me for breakfast, alright?"

"Mhmm."

"Okay, good." He turned back and gave the gates a push. The black, iron bars swung open, and the two followed a path of grove that lead them to a mansion; one not as big as what Kaleina had in mind, but big enough to be called a manor.

Cleras knocked on the large, oakwood double-doors; the echoes resounding within their vicinity. From inside, Kaleina could hear faint footsteps approaching, though Cleras didn't seem to notice; apparently, elven ears were more sensitive.

"Who is it?" A feminine voice asked from the other side of the door.

"It's me, Cleras."

The doors slowly opened, swinging inside with a mild creak. As the manor's interior came into view, in front of them stood a young woman, most likely a maid as suggested by the clothes she wore, with brownish hair and hazel-colored eyes. She curtseyed and smiled as she gave them her greetings.

"Welcome back, young master." She said, sounding formal yet also relaxed.

"Thanks, Amilya." Cleras replied. The maid's eyes turned towards the purple-haired elf, then back to him.

"She's Kaleina, an old friend I ran into on my morning stroll." He quickly stated as he getured towards Kaleina. "I invited her over for breakfast."

"Hi." Kaleina waved at the maid in response to Cleras's introduction.

"Welcome, Miss Kaleina." Amilya smiled at her, then gestured for the two to enter. She led the way with Cleras and Kaleina following behind her as they made their way towards the dining room. It was among the many doors found at the hallway; a wide room with a long table in the middle, able to cater at least twenty people. Amilya opened the door and ushered the two to their seats, with Cleras sitting at the head of the table, and Kaleina sitting just beside him.

"You've become quite the man, spending the night with such a pretty girl." The maid stopped to lean beside Cleras, whispering in his ear as she served his tea. "Not to mention, she's an elf too."

"W-what? No!" He stuttered. "I told you, we just happened to run into each other during my morning stroll."

"Oh, please. I know you snuck out last night." She said with a smug look on her face. "And I can only infer that you spent the night together with Miss Kaleina, whom you came back with this morning. Isn't that right, Master Cleras?"

From beside Cleras came a laugh; Kaleina had been quietly listening to their conversation and couldn't resist laughing as she heard Amilya's statement. The two stared at the elf as she sipped her cup of tea, unbeknownst to them that elven ears could hear their whispers.

"Look, Amilya. Nothing happened between her and me, okay?" Cleras turned back to Amilya and continued to whisper; his eyebrows furrowed as he spoke. "I snuck out to do a quest, and I just happened to bump into her. I have no idea why she's following me around either."

"I think I know why." She grinned. "But well, I'll just leave it at that. Prying too much would be rude after all."

A sigh of relief came from Cleras, having much appreciated Amilya's decision to stop prying, although leaving her to her own imagination might not be so good either. In the next few minutes, Amilya along with other maids had served them breakfast; creamy stew coupled with loaves of bread, some cooked eggs and slices of meat, and a new batch of warm tea; upon finishing their duties, they left the room, with Amilya giving Cleras a mischievous wink as she closed the door. Kaleina's eyes shone as the appetizing food sat in front of her; the enticing scent giving her nose a tickle. Though she had expected nobles to eat in luxury, being able to experience it herself was something new. She turned to Cleras, as if asking for confirmation if she could start eating, which in turn made Cleras laugh. He nodded, gesturing for her to take the food, and without hesitation, she grabbed her utensils and started digging in.

"Do you always eat this much for breakfast?" Kaleina asked.

"No, actually. I think most of these were prepared for you. I mean, technically, you are a guest."

"Well if that's the case, then I'm not holding back." She grinned as she started stuffing herself with every food on the table. Cleras calmly sipped his tea, observing the elf quietly, when she stopped and turned towards him again.

"I've been wondering...what's this bitter stuff?" She asked as she pointed to the cup of tea beside her.

"It's tea." Cleras replied.

"Tea...? Sure tastes weird." She took another sip at it, her lips curving into a small smile as she set the cup down. "But well, I guess it is pretty nice too."

The young noble couldn't help but smile. As much as he found this elf to be quite vexing, he's also been intrigued by her, wondering how she was so different from what he's read about elves. She was far from graceful, and neither was she calm and collected. The more he thought about it, the more confused he got, coming to notice that this elf beside him seemed more like one of the rowdy humans rather than the said dignified elves. Suddenly, the doors to the room opened, and Amilya entered, somehow walking a bit faster than usual, then stopping to lean towards Cleras's ear.

"Miss Emeraude is awake." She whispered. "I've told her you are having breakfast with a guest, but she wishes to talk to you."

Kaleina's ear twitched as she listened in on their conversation once again. The name Amilya had mentioned intrigued her, but she proceeded to eat quietly, as if not aware of what they were talking about.

"I see." Cleras replied. "Have you prepared her breakfast?"

"Of course."

"That's good." The young noble finished his food and stood up. "I'll bring it to her then."

"As you wish."

He nodded to the elf, excusing himself from the table as he walked away and left the room, leaving Amilya and Kaleina with each other in awkward silence. The maid stood at the side of the room, her gaze upon the elven girl enjoying her meal.

"Who's Miss Emeraude?" Kaleina suddenly asked, her purple eyes now staring at the young maid. Amilya was surprised, unsure of how the elf had learned the name. Perhaps she overheard their conversation, she thought, but surely she whispered as quietly as she could. She was silent for a bit, still in wonder as Kaleina waited for her answer.

"...She's...the master's younger sister." She finally replied.

"Sister, huh?" Kaleina took a bite off a slice of bread. "Does she not want to eat with me?"

"Oh no, it's not like that." She shook her head. "Miss Emeraude is...her health isn't very good, so she stays in her bed most of the time."

"Well that's good. Wait, no, I mean...not that kind of good, but...uhhh, you know what I mean."

The maid chuckled at the elf's awkwardness, to whom in turn she started off a casual conversation with. As their talk went on, there came loud knocks on the front door. The two women stopped mid-conversation and stared at each other, then, Amilya curtseyed and headed off to check.

° ° °

Cleras stopped in front of the door, his hands holding the sides of the silver tray with breakfast for his sister. He took a deep breath, then balanced the tray on one hand and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" A frail voice asked from the other side.

"It's Cleras. I brought you breakfast."

"Brother!" She exclaimed. "Of course, do come in."

He opened the door with his free hand, swinging it inside to reveal a bright, sunlit room; the windows were fully opened, and a gentle breeze swept in. On one side was Emeraude, slowly sitting up on her bed with a smile on her face; her silver hair was combed neatly, and her blue eyes greeted him with frail cheerfulness. She wore her favorite pink pajamas, ones riddled with designs of flowers that Cleras had given to her as a gift for her birthday.

"How are you feeling?" He asked as he sat beside Emeraude, gently setting the tray down on her lap.

"Quite well, dear brother." She gave a bright smile. "Forgive me for selfishly asking you to see me when you have a guest."

"It's alright." He gave her head a soft pat. "I wanted to see my lovely, little sister as soon as possible anyway."

She smiled at her doting brother's words, feeling assured as she started to eat her breakfast. He loved his little sister, and he didn't want her to worry, for it was that sweet, innocent smile that Cleras wanted to protect, and that was why it was necessary to keep his side-job a secret.

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. Amilya entered the room with a brief greeting, then ushered in an old woman in white robes and spectacles.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything." The old lady said with a humble smile.

"No, of course not. It's good to see you, Doctor." Cleras replied. "You're here for my sister's check-up?"

"Yes, I am." She placed her suitcase on a nearby table and opened it, taking out her tools before getting to work. "I believe I might have figured things out, but I need to be sure."

"I see."

"Um, I hope you don't mind, young lad but could you..." The doctor started to say.

"Ah, yes, of course." Cleras replied as he stood up and headed for the door together with Amilya, slowly closing it behind them.

° ° °

"Worried?" Asked the maid as she and Cleras patiently waited outside the room.

"Honestly? Yes." His eyebrows furrowed upon replying.

"It's going to be fine, Cleras." She placed her hand over his shoulder. "You've done so much to help. Even going as far as taking on dangerous quests to pay for her recovery."

"I just hope it wasn't all for nothing." Anxiety showed on his face, fearing what might become of his treasured sibling.

Moments later, the creaking sound of the door as it slowly opened made their heads turn. The doctor poked half her body out and gestured for them to enter. Cleras turned a quick glance at Amilya, to which she returned with a smile then proceeded inside.

"How is she, Doctor?" Cleras asked as he entered the room and sat beside Emeraude, giving her a soft pat on the head.

"I'm afraid my intuition was right." The doctor said with a sigh as she sat down on the foot of the bed.

There was a brief silence, followed by uneasy glances between Cleras and Amilya. The old lady held out her hand, sitting on top of it was a Stethosphere, a chunk of clear crystal, smooth and round in shape, that helps doctors in detecting and diagnosing illnesses. She handed it over to Emeraude, gently nodding as the little girl held it between her hands.

"Now dear, if you don't mind..." She raised her hand towards the orb, and soon after, it started to glow a gentle azure, the color of her mana. "Your turn, dear."

The azure was joined by a fickle streak of silver, and soon they were intertwined, swirling together, but never really mixing. For a while there was harmony between the colors, then the silver light started increasing in volume, flowing out erratically and unpredictably.

Crack!

The doctor quickly pulled the orb out of her hands, shutting off the lights that illuminated the room a little while ago. Emeraude was breathing heavily, much to her brother's dismay, who seemed nervous and panicked as he wiped the sweat across her face.

"Doc, what the heck was that!?" His voiced raised quite a bit, as the worry destroyed his usual calm demeanor.

"That, young man, was an overflow of mana." The old lady replied with a grim expression. "A common symptom, but on a grander scale. So far greater than I've ever seen."

She held up the Stethosphere, on its surface was a large crack, spanning across half its side. Cleras's eyes widened, shocked because of the outcome, and because he realized he had to pay for the now broken tool.

"I've never come across something so bizarre. The flow of mana from her is unnatural, like it's leaking out of her body in different places. Then, when it finds a stable outlet, it blasts full on like a water out of a hose." She stood and walked towards her bag, taking out a weathered book amongst its many pockets then returned to her seat.

"Fortunately, this book holds records of it." She turns it by a few pages, then hands it over to Cleras.

".....Ephysma...?" He read aloud the word in bold letters. "...a rare illness akin to a curse that disrupts the flow of mana inside a living being, causing it to leak in great amounts..."

A curse? His eyes darted towards Emeraude, then back to the book, sweat dropping across his face.

"...symptoms include leaking of mana, lack of stamina, and disheveled breathing." The lump forming in his throat made it harder to speak, but he continued on reading.

"Only three cases have been encountered so far, the initial two concluding with complete depletion of mana, thus leading to...death..." The words rung in his head, air almost leaving the entirety of his lungs. His excessive sweating and pale face caught the attention of his sister, who, even as she heard of her condition, was more worried of her brother.

"Big brother...are you alright?" She asked as she held his arm.

"I-I'm....fine..." He spoke in-between gasps of air. After regaining his normal breathing pattern, he continued.

"...fortunately, the third case concluded with successful recovery." His eyes lit up as he subsequently read, a small glint of hope adding color to his expression.

"The treatment was successfully carried out through regaining lost mana via potions, and with the consumption of a brewed concoction..." A huge sigh escaped his lips, thankful that there was at least a known solution.

"Don't stop yet, young man." The old lady had her eyebrows furrowed as she urged him to continue.

"... a brewed concoction, made by... brewing Alcea Rosa in tonic. The only difficulty in procurement of said cure was that Alcea Rosa is an extremely rare herb, known to grow wild in the plains of Lithania..." His voice trailed off at the mention of the word. The Kingdom of Lithania, kingdom of the elves, far off to the west across the land, far from the borders of their own kingdom. Needless to say, no human was allowed entry lest they be emissaries of the throne. What's more, they barely had enough money to send someone on such a long way. The journey itself would take a few weeks at least, and there was no guarantee they'd be able to reason their way inside the gates, much less get access to an extremely rare herb.

There was silence in the room, the unease settling slowly with each quiet breath. No one wanted to say anything, no one wanted to break the ice, or at least no one in the room, that is.

"I could help you get it." A familiar voice came from behind the door. For a good while, they all glanced at each other, before Cleras finally approached and swung it open, staring face-to-face with the purple-haired elf and her mischievous grin.

"Kaleina...why are you here?" His eyebrows furrowed at the sight of the elf, positively bothered by her action. Ignoring his inquiry, she walked past him, heading straight into the room where everyone was, struting playfully with a smile on her face.

° ° °

"Emeraude, Doc, this is Kaleina. She's... an aquaintance of mine." Cleras introduced the young elf to his sister and the old doctor.

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Kaleina." The awe in the little girl's tone was evident. "It's my first time meeting an elf. You look very pretty."

"Thank you." She smiled. "It's nice to meet you too. Oh, and of course you too, Doc."

"How long were you out there?" Cleras had a dubious look on his face.

"Oh, quite a while actually. I kind of heard everything."

"It's rude to eavesdrop, you know." The irritation in his tone was prominent.

"It's also rude to leave your guest all alone." She retorted with a smug look on her face, much to the noble's dismay.

"I'd like to offer you my services." She turned towards Emeraude, performing a little curtsey with her skirt tails.

"What do you mean, Miss Kaleina?" Emeraude's eyes were glued to Kaleina's ears, perhaps still amazed at the sight of an elf's long and pointy instruments of hearing.

"Seeing as the place you wish to go is located in elven territory, I'm sure I could be of help in securing a way inside the kingdom...I think." She gives Cleras a pat on the back. "Me and Cleras could go to Lithania and get that whatcha-call-it for you."

"Wait, I thought you were offering YOUR services? Why am I coming too?" He exclaimed, surprised yet again by Kaleina's remarks.

"Come on, Cleras...would you really just leave this to me, on my own?" Her brow was cocked as she asked, daring him to say yes. "...especially when it's so important?"

Her eyes darted towards the young lady, flashing a smile as their gazes met.

"Well, no...but I can't just leave my sister." He was anxious, even more so now that he understood the depths of his sister's illness.

"I'm gonna need your help if you want this to work. Traveling solo is never a good thing, not with these kinds of situations." She shook her head, her eyes locked onto his.

Cleras couldn't answer; there was too much at stake, and too little reassurance. How can she expect him to completely trust her just like that? They've only known each other for a day, literally.

In the midst of the brief silence, Emeraude breathed out a heavy sigh. She turned towards her brother, eyes filled with worry, but steeled with courage.

"She's right, Brother. You can't just let a lady go to such dangerous places alone." She crossed her arms, trying to appear angry, but her expression betrayed her. "And don't worry...I'll be fine. Amilya is still here with me. And doc will be visiting me from time to time, right?"

The old lady nodded, her wrinkled face showing a vibrant smile. "I'll be here to check up on her and make sure she has enough supply of mana."

"...But I-"

"Come now, brother. I've grown up enough to be fine if you're away." She placed her hands on her hips. "I trust you...so come back home safe and sound with that herb. Then, once I'm healed, we can finally travel around together, okay?"

He could only nod at her, unable to look her in the eyes. The shackles that held him back were removed, replaced by the weight of responsibilty and success.

"And Miss Kaleina..." The young girl turned towards the elf, looking straight into her amethyst eyes. "...thank you for lending us your help. My brother...he's a handful and gets into a lot of trouble, but please... take care of him."

"Of course." She smiled.

° ° °

Phwip!

He'd finished packing the things he'd need for the journey; food, a change of clothes, crystals, and a few hundred pliones. Of course, he'd left most of money to make sure the people in the manor would have enough to get by during his absence. He could simply earn some on their way, doing quests at the guilds in passing villages. As he slung the pack behind his back, Kaleina entered the room, waving two of her fingers in the air in greeting.

"Hey." She greeted nonchalantly.

He could only nod, still unsure whether doing this was the right decision. Maybe it would have been best to just hire someone else. Someone more capable. He shook the thought away. Emeraude had trusted him with this, he had to. No way would he leave Emeraude's fate in someone else's hands. But are my hands good enough?

Suddenly, there was a loud snap and pain shot up on his back, the sensation of a hard slap. He turned to the elf beside him, irritation clearly planted on his face.

"There, that's better." She gave him a smile. "No need to sweat over things, we'll be fine."

"...I hope so." A heavy sigh escaped his mouth.

"You know, me and your sister were talking a little while ago, just before I came here. She seems to trust you a lot."

"Yeah...well, we're the only family we have left. Of course we trust each other."

She shook her head, disagreeing to his statement. "I don't think it's simply because of that."

"What do you mean?"

"Hm...well, for one, she knew about you sneaking out at night to do quests." She gave out a hearty chuckle as she spoiled the secret.

"What!? She knew?" His surprise came out louder than expected.

"Mhm. But she never told you or reprimanded you for it, because she knew you were doing it for her."

"..."

"When she knew...she was afraid. She thought 'What if he never comes back?' ....but then you always did." She snapped her fingers as she pointed to him. "Maybe that's why she trusts you so much...because she knows you'll always come back to her."

"..."

"Cleras, are you crying?"

"I'm not. Shut up."

She could only laugh at his cute display of emotion, getting more and more intrigued by this so called "noble". A noble that was stingy, who let a stranger join him for breakfast, a noble...who'd go to great lengths to save his sister. She was perplexed...perhaps her notions of nobles were wrong...perhaps...there was more to it than what she previously thought. She swatted the thought away, just before the dreaded flashes of the past could surface again.

From the corner of her eye, she noticed Cleras picking up a bottle filled with sparkling blue liquid, a sweet scent coming off from the small hole on its cap. Perfume? Is he insane???

She grabbed the bottle before he could spray, slamming it down on the table as she glared at the visibly surprised noble.

"Are you insane!?" Her words were coated with disbelief at Cleras's irresponsible action.

"W-what?"

"This is exactly why you were chased around by those trolls!" She pointed to the perfume. "What, you think monsters can't smell you? They'd get a whiff of your scent from a mile away with this!"

"...oh." It finally dawned on him. "So that's why..."

"...now I'm the one having doubts..." Kaleina planted her palm on her face in dismay.

° ° °

"Miss Kaleina." Emeraude had called the elf girl's attention. They stood just outside the mansion doors, with everyone wishing the two good luck on their journey. "Are you sure you need no payment?"

"Nope." She smiled at the young lady. "Let's just say it's a thank you for that delicious breakfast."

"I see. But perhaps you'd like to take something? Perhaps just a little compensation of sorts?" The young lady seemed to insist. Kaleina couldn't help but laugh, realizing how the awkwardness of these siblings are so much alike.

"Well, if we're talking about compensation..." Emeraude's eyes seemed to light up from Kaleina's words. "I already have one. After all...I'll be taking your brother with me."

Kaleina gave her a little wink as she grabbed Cleras by the arm, resting her head on his shoulder. Emeraude froze, her expression still the same, but the light in her eyes had gone dull, the geniune smile now looking forced, plastered on her pale face.

"Th-that's...!!!" she finally managed to speak, although unable to finish her sentence. With a pout, she turned to her brother, her eyes squinting at their display of familiarity.

"Brother, you better keep your hands to yourself!!!" She had her hands on her hips. "If I ever hear about you laying a hand on Miss Kaleina, you'll be very sorry, GOT IT!?"

Cleras was surprised, unsure of what was going on as his attention returned from deep thought. Without hesitation, he nodded vigorously, taking notice of Emeraude's fuming expression. "Y-yes, of course!"

A chorus of laughs came from everyone else, much to the young noble's surprise. As everyone settled down, Amilya approached to whisper in Emeraude's ear, handing her a box around the size of her hand. The young lady smiled, a mix of pride and sadness in her eyes as she took it.

"Brother..." Emeraude approached him, her hands extended with the box on top. "Please, take this along with you."

She opened it, revealing a silver necklace with a cross pendant, on its center was a beautifully cut emerald, resting perfectly between the grooves. His eyes widened at the sight of the jewel.

"It was father's gift to me before he disappeared." The young lady picked it up and placed it on her brother's hand. "I want you to take it."

"Emeraude, I can't."

"Yes, you can." She smiled. "Keep it safe for me...and make sure you come home to bring it back, okay? Safe and sound."

"...alright. I promise." The necklace sat on his chest, tucked inside his shirt where it was perfectly safe. His eyes seemed more determined now, more than ever.

"Take care, you two." Emeraude held back her tears as she waved. "I'll be waiting..."

Waving goodbye, the two finally set off on their journey. The young lady stood there, her silver hair flowing with the soft breeze as she watched their backs grow smaller and smaller, until they were no longer in sight. With hope in her heart, she prayed for their safe journey and sound return.

"Goodbye..."

[Prologue End]

CREDITS:

Kaleina is owned by RiceGnat

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