DreamBeat
Two Thousand Club
Yes! Let's go explore. Going alone with Carbuncle might be kinda iffy at this time of night, though. Could we perhaps convince one of the boys to go with us?
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Multiple Settings The Mysterious Play: Hierophant of Skies (Accepting votes!)
- Thread starter Minako
- Start date
Letting Carby get the goods!
Minako
🎮Super High School Level Gamer: Chiaki Nanami🎮
Rosalina Chandra
| CHECK OUT THAT NOISE UNANIMOUSLY! |
Hmmm... You figure since Carbuncle seems to not feel threatened by whatever is in there, for now at least, it's fine to see what's going on (so long as you don't go too deep, you suppose...)!
You nod to your Goddess-given animal guide, and Carbuncle seems ECSTATIC at your decision!! So ecstatic he doesn't give you a chance to go get the others before running in!!!
Your heart nearly stops as you run into the forest after Carbuncle and just about as soon as your feet rustled some grass in the forest... You hear Carbuncle jump and... a gasp!?! An audibly MALE gasp!?!!
Oh no!!!!
They're running off!!!!!
"Wait! Please!!!" You call out, extending your hand.
It's too late... They're gone...
"Who...."
"Chikah~ Chikah Chikah~! Chikah!!" You hear Carbuncle happily from behind you, clearly delighted.
"Hm???" You curiously inquire, as it sounds like they're... playing with something????
You turn around and look down to see... Carbuncle pawing at some pouch???? Is THAT what he wanted???
Did whoever was in here before drop this???
You turn back to Carbuncle, take the pouch he's playing with, and--
Oh...!
Oh....!!
You can see why Carbuncle likes this... It smells really good!
It's a familiar soothing, sweet, floral smell...! Kinda a very vague fruity scent, too??? It's almost like... hm... You're not too sure... maybe an apple...?
You swear you've smelled this before... You know you have... It's almost coming to you, but not quite... Maybe all the other dried up herbs in here are throwing you off?
You open up the bag to find some dried... daisies??? Huh... That's odd... There are definitely some other herbs in here that also smell familiar, but it's mostly, from what you can tell, dried up daisies (or at least they look like it!) and their stems and leaves...
Something tells you this might not be what it seems... Do daises smell like this? Why dry them up?
More importantly, why were these dried up daisies(?) in a baggie, er, pouch????
How strange...
Carbuncle paws at you, pouting and sad in their begging to get the pouch back.
Hm... Yes, very interesting... Very interesting indeed....
>>ACQUIRED STRANGE POUCH OF DAISES(??) AND HERBS<<
"Sweetheart! Sweetheart!?!?" You hear your Papa anxiously looking for you, clearly being unable to find you causing his distress.
"Ah! Uhm! I'm here, Papa!" You call out, running out of the forest with Carbuncle close behind you.
"Dear, please, there are plenty of sticks and branches at the edge, you don't need to actually go into the forest to--" He begins to lecture you when he notices the pouch you're carrying and points to it, "Ah! What's that?!"
"Well, Carbuncle sniffed it, and I wanted to check it out... There was someone in the forest, and I think they dropped this! Or Carbuncle startled it off of them??" You try to explain while handing him the pouch (and hold back a giggle as Carbuncle jumps to try to get Kaine's attention, clearly wanting that pouch).
"Do you know what it is?" He asks you while examining it.
"Nuh uh," You sigh sadly, "Just some dried up daisies and herbs..."
"Strange, they don't smell like daisies... Are you sure?" He asks, opening up the bag to look for himself.
"W-well..." You say, actually not very sure at all.
"It actually might be--"
"Rosie! Kaine! What's going on?" Xander came running, probably worried after Kaine called after you so frantically.
"N-nothing, we're ok! I'm ok!" You shout out as your big brother approaches, a clearly relieved look on his face once he sees you present and accounted for.
"What happened here?" He asked.
"I-I... Carbuncle smelled someone in the woods, and when I went in after them---"
"YOU WENT IN THERE BY YOURSELF?!" Xander gasped, exasperated and trying not to be mad at you, "Rosie! That's dangerous! You don't know who that person was! What if it was Calliope!? The BANDIT!?"
"I'm pretty sure it was a man... I heard them gasp as they ran off when I approached them... Carbuncle was after their pouch..." You meekly mumble as you point to the pouch Kaine is holding.
"Ya dumb rabbit! You led Rosie into the woods all for a pouch!?" Xander now gives Carbuncle a hard time.
"Chikah... Chik... Chikah... Kah..." Carbuncle glues his eyes to the floor sadly, ashamed.
"I imagine they liked the scent... This does smell very good, and would make an excellent tea--"
"OH! CHAMOMILE! IT'S CHAMOMILE!!" You blurt out over-excitedly (and unintentionally interrupting Papa), now knowing the pouch's contents!
Or, well, some of it, anyway...
"Yes, I was just about to say that!" Kaine snickers and smiles at you while handing you back the pouch.
"Oh. Good. So it almost lead the Hierophant of Skies, the most important person who is crucial to the survival of ALL of Cion Isle, to her death, or at least to get lost... OVER TEA," Xander frowns at Carbuncle and Carbuncle looks like he might as well be wearing a cone of shame, like most doggies do after doggie surgery.
"W-well, to be fair, we don't exactly know if it's tea..."
You take this time to sniff the possible tea blend again.... Huh... Was Chamomile tea always this strong smelling...? Did it come with all these other herbs???
You wish you drank more tea back in your world!
"It's alright, they ran away as soon as they saw and heard me, I think Carbuncle jumped on them to get this pouch..." You mutter while sniffing it again, gearing yourself absentmindedly add, "Gosh, I sure hope he didn't need whatever this blend was..."
"I'm just glad you're ok, else we would have been having RABBIT STEW for dinner," Xander threatens your animal friend while narrowing his eyes at them.
"Ch-chika... Kah! Kaaah!" Carbuncle cries, hurt and upset while flying up into your arms.
"Don't you dare!" You pout while snuggling your poor bunny friend in your arms, "He's just a sweet lil bunbun! He liked the nice smell, it's not his fault his instincts led him to a scent he liked!"
"Come, all of us. Let us away from the forest's entrance and to our camp. Whoever Rosie heard in the forest is clearly gone now. They didn't seem hostile. I trust we'll take turns sleeping, aside Rosie, of course, to guard the camp?" Kaine asks Xander, earning a satisfied smirk back from your big brother for already being on his same page.
"Yeah. Definitely now, if whoever Carbuncle took this from comes back," Xander nods while shooting Carbuncle one last unsatisfied look, "But also, to prep Rosie for fights on her own, just in case, we're going to train after dinner. The campfire should provide us more than enough light!"
All of you return to camp (Elias did a great job setting up so fast and you are relieved to count four tents up... Elmiel clearly counted for finding the crest-bearer on the way back when he handed out supplies!)... Whew! Thank goodness! You're not sure your achy break-y heart could take sleeping in the same tent as Elias...
Just in the nick of time! The sun is about to finish setting!
You and Kaine set the wood and branches you gathered down on a dug up patch of dirt surrounded by stones, and he smiles at you while you stare at him, starstruck, as he raises his first with the fire crest glowing bright and setting his hand a blaze.
He quickly strikes at the pile and ignites it, lighting up the campsite alongside the new moonlight.
You can't help but squeak in delight... Papa's so cool!!!
"C'mon, Rosie. Let's go train a bit," Xander instructs as he keeps up his planned after dinner schedule, which you're not really into with a kinda full tummy, but you figure the whole point of him being here was to teach you and these are some of the rare "downtimes" you all have... You really don't have the luxury to be picky about when to train.
"Ah, ok!" You reply back while getting up from the campfire and joining him, then realizing you need one more thing before joining and adding, "Rondo, to me!"
You extend your hand in a rather victorious pose and catch Rondo as they materialize in your hand.
"Ah, right," Kaine peeps up, turning to Elias and smiling, "I meant to say, boy, that was a rather fine choice to bind Rosie to a weapon! In case of emergencies she might be able to defend herself with it, though it won't do to use that halberd as an excuse to leave her unattended by us for even a moment!"
"Aheh... A-actually," Elias meekly responds back, almost sounding ashamed, "Celosia herself bonded Rosie to Rondo..."
"WH- CELOSIA HERSELF!?" Papa blurts in pure shock, then looking at you with a gaping mouth as you shyly nod your head at him to confirm Elias was 100% telling the truth.
"Astounding..." He mutters, his full attention on you now.
"Uh-uhm... Hah, it's not really all that amazing, and if it is, it's all only thanks to Celosia," You mumble as you approach Xander, already waiting for you in a clear yet close area to begin.
"Don't sell yourself short, Miss Hierophant! Now then, before we begin, lets go over the last attack I had shown you," Xander instructs, and you nod and take the stance from the former round of training.
"And it's not too heavy for you, dear?" Papa asks like a true concerned father and it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
"No, it's fine, look--" You say, lifting Rondo up and shifting your weight forward while bringing your arms down, when--
WHOA, WHAT?! WHY THE HECK IS A SMALLER VERSION (WITH LESS RANGE) OF THE BLAST RONDO SHOT IN THE MINES COMING OUT NOW?!
"YAH!" Xander yelps, barely parrying the energy arc mini-blast.
"Ack! Wha--- What--?!" You cry, unsure how or why that happened and glad it dissipated before it hit Xander, or a tree, or something...!
"Whoa! What spell was that!?" Papa shouts, running up to both you and Xander to see if you're both alright.
"W-was that something Celosia enchanted Rondo with?!" Elias blurts, also running up to the scene.
"Mmmm... No.... I don't think so..." You whimper, thinking back to the very familiar color of that attack.
"...Calliope...?" Elias asks, as if wondering what your theory was.
"Y-yeah... I think so..." You confirm, but hesitantly... Did Calliope MEAN to help you doing this?
Why?
Doesn't she hate you for pepper-spraying her?
This seems extremely helpful... Maybe it was Celosia???
Was Calliope hoping you would hurt yourself with it???
"Celosia would focus more on your defense, I would think..." Papa speculates out loud to no one in particular.
"Hmmm... Possibly..." Elias nods and also speculates out loud.
"But isn't the best defense a good offense?" Xander continues the speculating.
You wish you could talk to Calliope again...
There's that squeezing feeling in your heart...
You look down and glue your eyes to the ground, catching Carbuncle happily playing with the sweet scented pouch innocently and you can't help but feel that lurch in your stomach and tugging in your heart deepen.
"You alright?" Elias asks, smiling sympathetically at you as he places a reassuring hand on your shoulder and your heart confusedly both sinks and soars at the gesture.
"Yeah, just..." You begin, looking at Carbuncle again, "I just really hope whoever that was didn't need that pouch Carbykins took... I'm not even sure if it's really just tea..."
"Let's ask Elmiel when we see him tomorrow!" Elias suggests happily, probably over-doing it to try to ebb the sea of anxiety showering you with his pep and brilliant smile, "I'm sure it can't be that important, and if it is, I'm sure they'll be back for it!"
"...W-well, that might be a problem, too..." You mumble hesitantly, though strangely the heart-squeezing feeling doesn't deepen at that thought.
They had a chance to seriously hurt Carbuncle and just ran away, right? Without hurting him?
Maybe they're not that bad...
...Oh, gosh, but that train of thought just leads you to feel Carbuncle stole the pouch from whoever to start...
You want to leave the pouch behind, but you also kind of want to double check the contents...
Chamomile is a very useful herb, so it doesn't feel right to just dub it as a tea... Or leave it laying about for anyone to take...
Even as tea... You've only ever drank Chamomile tea to soothe a raspy throat when you were very sic--
...Your heart sinks and you almost faint when the word "sick" comes into your thoughts...
Could... Could that pouch contain herbs that were to be used as medicine...????
"Rosie!?" Elias gasps, dutifully propping you up when you didn't even notice you couldn't stand properly.
"A-ah, sorry, I-I don't know what came over me...!" You cry, snapping out of it and standing on your own two feet again.
"Whats wrong, dear?" Papa asks worriedly.
"N-nothing, just thinking maybe we should leave the pouch here...?" You mutter, actually having a bit of a hard time speaking through your squeezed heart.
"I mean... That's admirable, but at this point, too late... They're long gone, and if they didn't come back instantly they might not have even realized the rabbit took their thing..." Xander guesses, making a good point.
"M-maybe they'll come back later for it... I think that pouch is important..." You say.
"Tell you what: Lets practice a few more moves, and get you to bed, THEN while we're taking turns on the night watch we'll look out for the mysterious man who owns the pouch and give it back to him if he's not too hostile, alright? It can be our one rare instance of HOPING we get a visitor during the night, ok?" Your big brother compromises to soothe your anxiety.
"Ok..." You agree, unable to feel too bad with him beside you.
"Alright, now, since Elias was generous enough to get you a dagger, I kinda wanna incorporate that into our training tonight," Xander informs before resuming the lesson, encouraging you to bring it out of the box.
"Oh, right!" You giggle, laughing at how foolish you were to almost forget your very first gift ever from a boy.
You skip to your bag, where you packed the box containing the dagger, and go back to Xander.
"Here," He says while handing you a small leather sheath and a small, skinny piece of rope, adding, "I'll tie it on the other arm that's free of your arm shield."
You obediently do so while nodding and extending your arm to him, your big brother tying it around your left arm.
"You're gonna wanna wear something with long, yet loose-ish sleeves. It'll conceal the dagger well and be of easy access should you need it," He suggests sternly.
"Alright," You reply to show you're intently listening.
"Now, step back, and Elias, you step away--" Xander begins his instructions, "And Rosie, hold up Rondo as if you were going to strike me... Er, without actually doing so."
"Eh? Ok..." You hesitate to obey, but want to give this 110% anyway!
Xander then turns back a moment to grab... Oh! He's getting a partisan!
...And he's also taking a stance like he's going to fight you with it.
Oooooooooooh boy.... Combat already, huh?
The point of his partisan's blade is gliding along Rondo's edge from the right... Your weapons are almost making an 'X' shape...
"Alright, now, using your whole body, I want you to swat away my partisan and follow it with a forward thrust," Xander urges.
"O...okay!"
You don't know how well that might work with your tiny, light weight body... But here goes nothing!
You thwack Xander's partisan away and immediately lunge forward, pouring all your weight into the thrust!
Oh goodness! Rondo's blade almost hits Xander and luckily he was able to dodge the mini-beam attack as well, just barely though.
"A-ah!" You cry, not wanting to hurt him.
"Right... Forgot about that... Think you can turn that off...?" Xander requests nervously.
"Uhm..."
"Just will Rondo to be calm for now, Rosie. Remember, they bend to your will and know of your will due to your bond," Elias reminds you.
"Ok..." You nod to show you comprehended, thinking and requesting to your halberd, "Please, Rondo, no blasts for now..."
Xander goes right back to the same position as before and notions for you to try that again.
You do, strongly willing Rondo still and...
Yes! The blade stopped at the front of Xander's face safely!
Er, well, as safely as a real blade in front of a face can be...
"Good!" Xander compliments you, smiling.
"Yay!" You squeak, happy to earn praise from your beloved brother.
"Okay," He continues, then startling you by actually applying some slight pressure on your grip on Rondo with his Partisan by moving it while Rondo is in it's path, "Okay, now I want you to disengage from this. Slip Rondo under my partisan and then over it. Thrust again."
"Right, got it!" You reply, sliding Rondo under the Partisan, over it, and then thrusting!
Hey! Not only did you not send a beam, but you actually kinda lowered his partisan as you thrust-ed after you went over it!
"Not bad!" Xander compliments, "The Halberd is a surprisingly nimble weapon, and as I suspected when I sized you up as a student: Speed is more your forte than power. Let's use that."
"'Kay!" You smile and agree.
Before you knew what was happening, however, Xander totally catches you off guard and slips his partisan over Rondo... And pins Rondo to the ground with it, jamming any way of attack!!!
"Augh!" You cry, almost darn near losing your grip.
"We'll have to work on your reflexes, but this is all great for your first few sessions," Xander smirks as you struggle to unjam Rondo and keep your grip on them, "Actually, this is good as well, as I can tell you what to do in this situation! Now, you may think because halberds have a hook at the end you're stuck and that's it... But, all you have to do is just turn it to the side and pull back, getting it close enough to the enemies legs can slice their calf and incapacitate them. Perfect opportunity when they think they've got the upper hand!"
"Ok!" You determinedly nod, flipping Rondo on it's side and yanking it away from the partisans jam, being sure not to actually slice Xanders calf!
"GOOD," Xander nods, extremely satisfied with you, having a slight smug look as he goes on, "Now, lets try a forward strike again."
"Er... Alright," You reply, wondering why he asked that in that way...
Until, that is, he GRABS Rondo as you strike him! With one hand! Oh no, if a real enemy could stop Rondo with one hand, then--!?
Eek! He's stronger than you and there's no way you can even move Rondo with his grip!
"This is why you need a back-up weapon," He informs, "Let go of Rondo and reach for your dagger. From there, block the hand that has the weapon with one hand and lunge forward to stab with the other!"
You let go of Rondo and take out your dagger as quickly as possible, using your left forearm to block Xander's armed hand while motioning to stab him with your right (obviously not really going through with it!)
"Excellent! You're not as quick as you should be to be combat ready YET... But I'm liking what we're working with so far!" Xander happily notes.
You want to smile at him, but your whole body feels tingly, almost like it was numb, and you shake and shiver like a wet doggy that just done with a bath!
Oop! You dropped your dagger!
"Heh, Like I said, We've still got work to do," Xander chuckles while picking up the dagger and handing it back to you.
"Gosh, I-I hope I can still somewhat use my dagger despite my link with Rondo..." You mutter while sheathing it back in its leather case.
"Don't worry, it's small and not used too frequently, if all goes well. It should be fine to prep you to use it for emergencies," Xander reassures you, "Now, lets go through these again a couple more times, one by one. I just want you to memorize the motions and really drill all this in your head, alright?"
"Okay!"
After training you're pretty tired, and are all too eager to snuggle into into your sleeping roll.
"Night everyone!!!" You bid goodnight to your beloved group as they decide who's shift for nightly guard duty is first.
"Goodnight, Sweetheart! Rest well!" Kaine warmly smiles at you while waving.
"Sweet dreams Rosie! See you in the morning!" Elias chirps while also waving.
"Excellent job today, Ro! Get some well earned rest!" Xander smiles and nods approvingly while also urging you to bed.
You yawn and stretch, making sure Carbuncle is inside with you and the tent flaps are fully closed before changing into a sleepytime night gown and out of your day clothes.
...Carbuncle is happily playing with the pouch like a cat with catnip.
You sigh and shake your head, not even wanting to look at that silly old pouch anymore.
The alluring smell should be relaxing, and definitely is pleasing to Carbuncle...
But, suspecting what you do about it, you can't help but feel anxious having it...
Now that you have a moment to yourself, you ponder not only about the silver hair, but Calliope and a possible connection to Caridad???
When crest-bearers are born and have children, does the crest pass down to them?
But they're supposedly the powers of the heroine, according to Papa, so shouldn't they go to YOU???
Hmmm... So many questions running through your head...
The one ringing in your head the loudest right now (probably because the smell is most pungent): Could the pouch belong to whoever owned that silver hair?
Not that you fear your safety having it (you feel the shadowy man isn't a threat AND have your boys and Papa guarding you all night), but you want to give it back to them... Though you'd also like to know if this is what you think it is....
As you snuggle into your roll and lift the entrance to it up a bit for Carbuncle to squeeze in with you, them holding the pouch like a child does a teddy bear, you exhale loudly and rub your head against your feather pillow. The coolness of it helps your stress, though too much on your mind is a clear indicator you're not going to rest well tonight as tired as you are....
Now, usually, when you dream, or at least remember your dreams, you're actually not too tired, and when you blackout entirely you were EXHAUSTED and couldn't register ANYTHING...
Which is probably what happened, as you sort of black out soon after your head hit the pillow... But when you open your eyes again, it is still dark?
Well, dark minus a campfire, of course...
"Mmm..." You mumble sleepily as you massage your temples, your head hurting like it usually does when you awaken from a short slumber...
You guess its only been a few hours, if even that...?
The aroma of Carbuncle's pouch is thick in your nostrils and the close smell, lack of sleep, and stress perfectly give you headache.
You decide to get some fresh air and hope some water from the canteens packed outside and sitting next to the fire will help.
You carefully shimmy out of the roller (so as not to awaken the adorably sleeping Carbuncle), grab a cloak (in case it's nippy even with the fire) and put it on, and exit your tent.
"Oh!" You peep, happy to see it's your Papa up and about!!
He's sitting by the fire, and reading... Oh wow!!! That is a REALLY OLD looking book!!
"Ah!" He stops reading as he notices you while you exit your tent, almost closing the book, but it looks like it was just out of instinct as he stopped when he realized what he was doing... Oh! Does he trust you more now?!
"I-I couldn't sleep... Th-that darn pouch..." You meekly explain while grabbing a canteen of water, opening it up for a drink, and then taking it with you to sit by your Papa next to the fire place.
"I'm sure if it was that important they'd be here for it by now... For better or for worse," Kaine reassures you, nodding gently as you nuzzle him while cuddling up by the fire.
"I hope so... I hope us being awake won't deter them from doing so..." You mumble.
"Mmm. They'd either reason or fight, ransacking while we're all asleep isn't an option for them," Kaine sternly states, looking around for just that case.
"Mm, I guess so..." You trail off, finally getting to what you really want to talk about, "So, whatcha reading?"
"O-oh, this...?" Kaine answers, almost forgetting he was even holding it, "A-ah... It's my ancestors journal."
Ah! That explains why it looks and smells so old!
"Oh! Neat!" You chirp happily, looking at him with starry eyes, "Anything cool they did?"
His ancestor was the one who wrote about what happens to Cion if Celosia isn't summoned AND what happens to the crest-bearers powers afterwards, right???
"Heh, oh yes, They had quite some adventures with the Hierophant of Tides!" Kaine chuckles heartily while flipping through the book fondly.
"I'll bet!" You cheer, encouraging him to go on and tell you more.
This is gonna be better than any bedtime story your mom told you as a child, you can tell!
He gives you a sly a look while skimming a particular passage (you really wish you could read this language!!) and extending the book for you to see...
Oh! They even drew in it too!
Ancient doodles! Cute and fun!
"It would appear the sea Kingdom's Hierophant of Tides had also fallen in love with a crest-bearer of hers..." He informs you as his fingers glide through the passage while playfully raising an eyebrow.
You gasp and blush as you look away, unsure of how to react and caught completely off guard.
"O-oh, uhm..."
"...Do you think history will repeat itself, dear?" He asks coyly, teasing you, but very lovingly.
"...N-no... I... I don't think so," You dishearteningly speculate, already on the brink of fighting tears.
"What...? Why not?" He asks back, not expecting your sad response, continuing with, "Surely, you've seen the way the boy looks at you... What he does for you, and how he cares for you...?"
"But it's not really me that he sees when he does all that..." You mutter hopelessly, thinking of a certain Empress.
"There is a reason he is not with this twin of yours, sweetheart, and I think--"
"It's because she choose his brother," You interrupt him, knowing full well exactly the reason Hellie and Elias aren't a couple.
"I think it's because he's meant to be with you," Papa finishes the sentence how it was actually meant to be finished.
Your eyes widen and you stare at your Papa for a moment, breathing steadily so as not to cry.
"But... She's so much better than I am, a-and he's loved her so much longer than he ever has me, even if there's some feelings of genuine love confusedly transferred from her to me in his heart..." You peep, resting your head on Papa's strong arm and staring intently at the fire.
"You've said that before, but I must ask, Sweetheart, what makes her better than you in your eyes?" He inquires curiously.
"She's nicer than I am... Less flawed... Not broken, unlike me..." You admit, hurting yourself to say all this out loud.
"And what makes you broken, dear?"
"I think I'm only nice... Because I'm too scared not to be... I'm scared of people being mean to me and hurting me, s-so I'm nice to them because I'm scared... She's nice just to be nice... She grew up with two loving parents who not only loved her, but each other... Yes, she lost them at an early age, b-but I only ever really had one to start... Ever since I could remember, I heard their yelling from my room..." You hear yourself just spill everything to Papa, "I hear it in my nightmares on my worst days..."
Papa wraps his arm around you and you rest your head on his chest, nuzzling it as your head touches it, and are surprised to find he doesn't respond, but rather looks up at the starry night sky.
"...The moon is just as important as the sun in the sky, I think. While the Sun shines on and brings forth light, the moon, in contrast, only illuminates our darkest hours, giving way to the sun to start the cycle anew again the next day," He states, "It has phases where it gives off much, and then very little, light... Even a phase where it gives no light at all... But it always goes back to illuminating the night sky, despite its phases."
He stops looking at the night sky and then directs his gaze at you.
"...The moon does not always need to be whole to shine, little one, and neither do you. It is alright to have times when you are broken, because the pieces always find a way to come back together again. You will be whole again one day soon, and we will all help you to that day, and even beyond it. Through both your whole and broken phases."
You cling and embrace your Papa, sprinkling slight tears on his shirt as he chuckles and hugs you back tenderly.
"Thank you..." You weakly cry, calming down in Papa's comfort.
After the embrace you nuzzle Papa as he turns a page of the journal, and--
Oh!
Hey... That girl kiiiiiiinda looks like she's got a retro school uniform on...???
It's definitely not one like your schools... But that short skirt... There's no way that was from THIS world...!
Right??
Is that...
Could it be...?
You hear a weird displeased sound that cuts off from Papa, who was clearly reading the passage a bit above the crude drawing of the girl...
"Papa...?" You ask him, "What's wrong?"
He looks at you with a deer-in-headlights look a moment, and then the book a second, then back to you.
"Do... Are you not able to read what this says, dear?" He asks, shocked with a mix of... something else...
Your stomach is beginning to lurch.
"I-I.. No... Elias used some magic on me when we first met, s-so there wouldn't exactly be a language barrier, but I while I can understand and speak your language, but I-I still can't read or write it..." You explain sheepishly, his distress starting to make you frantic a tad.
Papa makes a grim expression and your heart sinks.
You look at the page again and notice that after a certain bit of words... It's faded...
It's so old you're surprised any ink on the old pages lasted as long as it did, but Papa looks clearly vexed looking at the journal...
"Papa...?"
You look at your Papa and he looks at you hesitantly... He's debating whether or not to say something to you, you know it, but what??
Maybe if you guess what the passage is about he'll give you a more direct translation? Why isn't he now? Why is he vexed????
>>SPECULATE WHAT THE PASSAGE IS ABOUT BEFORE THE FADED PORTION OR DIRECTLY ASK WHAT IT SAYS???<<
code by @Satanic Nightjar
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DreamBeat
Two Thousand Club
Huh... Could it be that she's already been here as the Hierophant of Tides before, and her memory was wiped when she went back? Or maybe it was someone she knew? Does something ominous happen to the Hierophants? What is it, man?!
Ugh, just ask him what he looks worried about... I'm not sure if he'll answer, but it we'll see
Ugh, just ask him what he looks worried about... I'm not sure if he'll answer, but it we'll see
Felis
Meow?
I've already proven that I'm awful at guessing things like these, but here goes - lots of rambling.
It could be something that happens to the Hierophants after they complete their quest, but since the girl in the picture is wearing clothes from our world, I feel like it might also be possible it has something to do with something at the start of a Hierophant quest or even before that. I don't really have an idea what it would be, though, for Kaine to be so shocked, if it's in our past.
The faded parts... In what way are they faded? Simply from the ink being old and losing colour, or more like someone tried to make this part of the writing disappear (e.g. by trying to scrape the ink away carefully, which might be possible at least if the book is made from parchment, I think?) or even like it got wet sometime (tears?)?
I felt like I'm missing something, so I "meditated" on the information we acquired so far, and I found this (and probably missed the actual vital piece of information in the process):
Or maybe it isn't something to do with us but rather with "what happens to the crest-bearers powers afterwards"? Maybe it's not as simple as them losing their magic, but say, their memory or something as well? Though I guess it couldn't be their memory if one of them still wrote about it.
I'm still grasping at straws, but I don't think I'm going to have a great revelation anytime soon, so that's all from me this time. Considering that, it may be best to just ask after all.
It could be something that happens to the Hierophants after they complete their quest, but since the girl in the picture is wearing clothes from our world, I feel like it might also be possible it has something to do with something at the start of a Hierophant quest or even before that. I don't really have an idea what it would be, though, for Kaine to be so shocked, if it's in our past.
The faded parts... In what way are they faded? Simply from the ink being old and losing colour, or more like someone tried to make this part of the writing disappear (e.g. by trying to scrape the ink away carefully, which might be possible at least if the book is made from parchment, I think?) or even like it got wet sometime (tears?)?
I felt like I'm missing something, so I "meditated" on the information we acquired so far, and I found this (and probably missed the actual vital piece of information in the process):
The last Hierophant (which was the Hierophant of Tides) I assume appeared 200 years ago, but in that picture she is wearing a school uniform that doesn't look like the fashion of the 1800's of Rosie's world. There are several possible explanations (e.g. the Hierophants aren't just summoned to a certain place, but also a certain point in time), but assuming the timelines are parallel, then time passes far more quickly here than at home. Perhaps that could also be something the passage refers to?
Or maybe it isn't something to do with us but rather with "what happens to the crest-bearers powers afterwards"? Maybe it's not as simple as them losing their magic, but say, their memory or something as well? Though I guess it couldn't be their memory if one of them still wrote about it.
I'm still grasping at straws, but I don't think I'm going to have a great revelation anytime soon, so that's all from me this time. Considering that, it may be best to just ask after all.
Caligena
The Eldritch Slime From Beyond Space And Time
How peculiar indeed. I had already assumed that the Heirophants were all pulled from our world already, but indeed, the girl's clothing doesn't seem as old as two hundred years... This book was written by Papa's ancestor, who was also a crest bearer, and Elias got his crest from his mother, so... Could it be possible the Heirophant of the Tides was one of ours? Maybe all of these have to do with something that gets passed down - a sacred bloodline, if you will...
A-and if all of this is true, then it's entirely very possible that Calliope is our next crest-bearer and Caridad's daughter!
This is very interesting, I think we should ask Papa what it says. We've already come out and said we can't read it, and he knows that we know next to nothing of this world and how it works, so the more information we have, the better.
A-and if all of this is true, then it's entirely very possible that Calliope is our next crest-bearer and Caridad's daughter!
This is very interesting, I think we should ask Papa what it says. We've already come out and said we can't read it, and he knows that we know next to nothing of this world and how it works, so the more information we have, the better.
Idea
The Pun Tyrant
>> DIRECTLY ASK WHAT IT SAY
Minako
🎮Super High School Level Gamer: Chiaki Nanami🎮
Rosalina Chandra
| Ask Papa to translate without guessing... |
As soon as this thought hit your head your heart started beating about a million times per second, not even beating but more humming like a hummingbirds heartbeat...
You... You don't want to think about that anymore...
You look at the journal, and then at your Papa, and then at the Journal again--
That's gotta be it!
Sure, that uniform is pretty retro, but it can't possibly be 200 years old...! AT MOST it's gotta be from the 1950's or 1940's????
Granted, that still is a long time ago, but not 200 years ago!
Shoot, you really wish you knew when this school uniform stuff first started out in general...
Hm... You definitely want to believe this one for two reasons:
1.) It means, back in your world, it's possible it's NOT finals just yet, and you haven't missed your last exams of Junior year! You can still come out of your second to last year of high school smelling like a rose!
and...
2.) If it isn't, it either means Hellie and Elmiel were lying to you, or misinformed... And both of those are frightening and carry far too many negative insinuations...
You don't wanna think about THAT, either...
You do sort of feel bad that it ended up being their powers that were the powers of the Heroine you gain at the end of this, you don't want to imagine it gets worse that they lose their memory! Luckily this journal IS proof they don't, thank goodness!
Hmmm... All of this is very possible... Though is there really any evidence for or against it?
Hmmmm... You're going to have to keep stewing on all these amazing theories and gathering more evidence for or against them!!!
Finally and truly making up your mind, wanting at least some of these questions answered, you decide it best to just ask Papa plainly if he could translate what the entry says...!
"Papa..?" You slowly mutter as you look at him with your puppy dog eyes and ask, "What does it say?"
"It... It says..." He gives you a very hesitant look, and then follows it with, "Er--"
He pauses a moment.
"...It says... They all missed her very much when sh-she went home... haha..." He informs you through a bit lip and with no eye contact at all.
...Really?
All that for missing her when she left?
Hmmm... That... KINDA sounds plausible...
Whether you end up being connected to the Hierophant of Tides or not, you're pretty sure she didn't know what you did about going home?
You may not know a lot, but you at least know about the wishes, going home, and the last Hierophant to come, right? (At least, for some reason, it's feeling more and more sure that even after you there is still one more Hierophant to go afterwards...)
She was the first and OG Hierophant after all, the one who told the prophecies of the others to start, so it makes sense she went in blind along with her crest-bearers...
Still... Is that really all that the journal says...?
You decide to trust Papa's words, for now, and sigh as you cuddle up against him... Childishly and selfishly making up for lost time cuddling with a father-figure as a toddler and child.
"...Okay, Papa... I trust you," You yawn as you made your decision to trust he was telling the truth, "I love you, Good night."
"...I love you, too, Sweetheart... Good night and sweet dreams, little one..." He mutters back, almost sounding like he was in pain?
You nuzzle up to Papa, closing your eyes, and without the scent of the
"...What? What do you mean? Are you sure?" You hear your big brothers familiar voice as you slowly fade into consciousness, though you are still very groggy and haven't opened your eyes yet.
"Listen, I'm not sure myself... The phrasing is odd, no doubt our languages having different expressions and words with different meanings as they do now, but I'm certain... This passage regarding the Hierophant... It is a warning... I don't know exactly of what, but it is certainly a warning, I am quite sure of it..." Papa quietly utters to Xander.
"A warning...? A warning of what, exactly? I mean I guess I can sorta see it, reading this, but it doesn't outright say--"
"Well, not in so many words, but I'm certain if you take into consideration how some of these words were used back then--"
"Alright, fair, but even so? A warning of what, exactly? That Rosie's going home after she summons Celosia? Of course, that Hierophant was the one who prophesied that, right? Maybe they really missed her? They didn't see it coming, right? Maybe your ancestor also really loved the first Hierophant and couldn't bear it when she left??" Xander theorized.
"No," Papa responds with conviction, "While he did care for her very much, He was not the crest-bearer who was her beloved."
"Well, to be fair, neither are you or I... Not that I'm a crest-bearer, but you know what I mean... We both love her, just not in THAT way, unlike a certain someone here..." Xander begrudgingly notes while no doubt referring to your wind-bearer, sighing sadly and adding, "Look, what's the big deal? We at least know she's going to go home after summoning Celosia, right? I-it's going to hurt seeing her go... a lot... But that's just the way it is. She needs to do this to save Cion Isle... That's why she was brought here, after all..."
"I-I know... But..."
"Besides, even if what you think is true... What do you want to do? Not summon Celosia and forsake the entire Isle? Go back to the mountains and mines of Tarrin and try to build a bigger shelter in an impossibly short amount of time for ALL of us???" Xander challenges Papa, not trying to pick a fight at all, but also not quite interested in his true answer, either.
"I... N-no... But...--"
"Mmmm, P-papa?" You mutter while fluttering open your eyes to their whispers.
Xander and Papa gasp as they turn to you with raised eyebrows.
"Sweetheart! A-ah, s-sorry if our talk startled you... W-we were just..." Papa began, again with the same uncertainty of last night.
"We were just planning our course of action after this, which is to get to the castle and get the compass. I think we should stay there for the day once we get there. We'll get much needed rest and restock, PLUS we have a better training ground there! Eat up and rest as much as you can on the way! We may not be searching for the third crest-bearer today, but that doesn't mean this is an off day at all!"
"Heh... O-ok..." You agree hazily, nuzzling....
Hey, wait...
If Papa is THERE... And Xander is next to him.... What soft thing is your head resting o---
YIKES FOREVER, IT'S ELIAS' LAP!
"WAUGH!!" You cry while scrambling away from him... and waking him up in the act!
"AH! AH! I'M UP, I'M UP!!" Elias shouts, startled from the rude awakening.
"I-I'M SORRY FOR USING YOUR LAP AS A PILLOW?!" You blurt loudly while covering your face shyly, unsure how this all happened.
"UH-- UH-- UH-- I-IT'S OKAY?! WHY ARE WE SHOUTING!?" Elias shouts back because you did.
"...We actually found you two like that this morning, but luckily Kaine woke up just as Elias fell asleep, so there wasn't a portion of the night you weren't watched," Xander nods while stating it matter-of-factly.
Oh Celosia, why does she torture you so?!
"O-oh yeah, Rosie needed something soft to sleep on, a-and Kaine had to try to sleep, s-so I just figured I'd take his place, hahaha..." Elias mutters a bit embarrassed, but otherwise seeing this as no biggie?!
No! No "hahaha"...!!!
"Anyway, we need to pack up and get going. We're close enough to the castle, but the sun will still go down a bit before we get there, and I'd like more daylight than night to train Rosie for today," Xander notes, handing you a big piece of bread and some fruit to eat while the rest of them packed your things and got ready to head out.
"Chikah?" You hear your animal companion, suddenly next to you, still with the nice-scented pouch.
"Hmph, and where were you during this? Why didn't you wake me up?" You angry-whispered to Carbuncle while munching on your breakfast.
"Ch-chika..." He whimpered back slowly.
"...Aw, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to make you feel bad... I can't stay mad at you, Carbykins," You giggle while finishing the last of it and offering your animal companion a hug.
"Chikah!" He cries happily while hopping into your arms.
You snuggle Carbuncle while sharing a bit of your berries with him, finishing up the rest of your food quickly, and helping your boys finish packing up the camp to head for the castle.
You sort of have a strange "happy to be home" feeling when you see Auran again, which is odd granted Auran isn't even in your original world, let alone your actual home... But you kinda brush it off as you ride in Elias' arms through the kingdom.
Despite leaving for Auran fairly early the sun was pretty high in the sky by the time your group actually reached the castle, but as you approached the gate you see--
It's Cora! And Synne!
"Cora!! Cora!" You call out to that beautiful servant of a mother, ecstatic to find her at the entrance!
"You're back! You're all back! Elmiel told me today you guys might be!--" Cora confirms your suspicion on how she she knew to wait for your arrival, then continuing with, "So, did you find the-- OH MY CELOSIA, CHIEF KAI?!"
Aww, she sounded so excited to see him again... Not that you blame her for it!
"Cora! Haha, I thought I'd see you again, young lady! Look at you, as beautiful as your mother... And a mother yourself! Look who went and grew up without me..." Kaine warmly greeted her as she hugged him and began introducing him to her son.
"Heh, well it has been a little over ten years, Ch-- Wait, if you're here... Then... Then that means... You--"
As if on cue, the Chief raises his hand with the fire crest and ignites it in front of Cora.
"Yes, dear... I am the fire bearer," Kaine confirms while nodding.
"My Celosia..." Cora mutters in amazement.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, sweetheart..." He apologizes ashamedly.
"Don't worry about it, Chie-- Oh, Are you still..?"
"Ahaha, no... I am not anymore..." Kaine answered a bit sadly at first, then perked up a moment later, "Ah! But, Galeson is the new Chief now! I left Tarrin Village in very capable, diligent hands!"
"Oh wow! Yeah, that was a good choice! He'll work himself to death if you let him, thank goodness Archers there to make sure he rests every now and then!" Cora cheered and beamed.
"Indeed," Kaine the once Chief chuckled, cooing and letting baby Synne play with his finger, adding, "Speaking of good couples, how are you and that husband of yours doing? I heard he got stationed up in the plains? He planning on moving up the ranks?"
"Mmm, yeah," Cora sighs, "I tried to talk him out of it, but Clifton is such a persistent fellow... But I guess his resilience is one of the things I love most about him! He should be back soon! He may even move up to second in command when he does!"
Xander chuckles and raises an eyebrow while chiming in, "We'll see. He's gotta prove himself to me, after all! I have a pretty good second in command already, but I could always use good men to join my team."
"Of course!" Cora nodded and agreed, happy to hear Xander eager to support her husband.
"I guess training up in Levi plains is pretty important..." You mumble, trying to make sense of it all.
"It's pretty prestigious, yeah... I spent MONTHS there before I was even CONSIDERED for the position... And I was no late bloomer, either! Add to that my father was the previous Captain before me, and that should give you a small idea how strict the requirements are to become Captain!" Xander nearly chuckles as he explains.
Wow! So Xander's father before him was the previous Captain...
You wonder... If his father is this worlds version of yours and your brothers father...
You aren't sure how you'd feel about that one way or the other...
Too bad pictures aren't a thing yet in this time, or you'd totally ask to see a picture of one...
Maybe Xander has a portrait of him somewhere in his living quarters or house or wherever he lives...?
"S-so... uhm... Now that we have the fire-bear--"
"Right!" Cora giggles while beaming at you and Synne, adding, "You've got a compass to go get!"
"Oh boy! I can't wait to see Hellie again!" Elias happily chirps, the chirp piercing your heart right at its center.
"Uh-uhm... Y-yeah... I-I do have to... Go... Go get it..." You mumble sadly.
"Hmm... Though... Oh shoot... I forgot where Hellie should be... Maybe in the throne room..? Oh, but if Elmiel is preparing for your return today, maybe she's helping prepare the banquet hall...? It's not too terribly a big or fancy dinner, but..." Cora muttered in deep thought, "You might have to go poking around the castle a bit...? Or maybe you should just go to Elmiel? He should be in his special chamber to practice magic, since I know for sure he's working on the finishing touches of the compass... I think he needs you to finish enchanting it, in fact..."
"Oh! I know where that is! And I can help you find Hellie, too! If you want!" Elias offers happily.
"A-ah... Uhm... W-well...?" You stutter in indecision, unsure of who you wanted to look for first... And if you even wanted Elias' help to find them...
You... Your heart tells you that you might not want to be there when Elias first sees Hellie again... but... You might need his help wandering the castle...
>>WHO WILL YOU LOOK FOR FIRST:
-HELLIE?
-ELMIEL?
DO YOU WANT ELIAS' HELP?
Y/N<<
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DreamBeat
Two Thousand Club
let's go look for Elmiel first...
and why not explore the castle? Who needs Elias for that lol
and why not explore the castle? Who needs Elias for that lol
Caligena
The Eldritch Slime From Beyond Space And Time
H-hmm, it is a big castle... I wonder if we could ask Cora to show us the way to Elmiel's magic room, because feelings toward Elias are... tender, at the moment. Either way, we should go to Elmiel first - love Hellie and all, but after this trip, we don't need more unnecessary heartbreak. Let Elias go see Hellie on his own. Also, maybe Papa or Xander could show us if Cora can't.
Felis
Meow?
I also think we should go see Elmiel first (apparently Elmiel needs us for the enchantment, so let's get that done), and yes, it's probably best if we don't have Elias come along right now. He can go see Hellie, and we'll join them when his excitement has gone down a little.
Idea
The Pun Tyrant
I may be misremembering, but Elias was the one that kissed our MC in his sleep? We might want a little distance to work on those issues. Hopefully find someone we can actually talk about it that not the target for his affections. So separating ourselves from Elias is probably for the best for a bit, and we have an excuse now.
My vote:
>> Look for ELMIEL? first
>>We don't need Elia's help. In fact, send him to go meet Hellie.
My vote:
>> Look for ELMIEL? first
>>We don't need Elia's help. In fact, send him to go meet Hellie.
Goin' it solo (for now!)
Minako
🎮Super High School Level Gamer: Chiaki Nanami🎮
Rosalina Chandra
| Finding Elmiel... Alone! Unanimously! |
"A-ah, ha... N-no thank you," You're barely able to say to Elias with a straight face.
"O-oh, really are yo--"
"Y-yeah, yeah! Don't worry about me!" You cut him off, already feeling bad for snubbing him subtly with his puppy dog eyes begging you to reconsider your stance.
...That actually just makes you wanna take him along with you less.
"Why don't you go see where Hellie might be? I'll go find Elmiel... H-he does need me to finish the compass enchantment, after all..." You weakly mutter.
"...Oh... Okay..." Elias replies equally as disheartened in response to your suggestion.
Papa shoots him an irritated glance and Xander rolls his eyes at Elias and shakes his head. Too bad Elias is too focused on giving you puppy-dog eyes to notice either of them.
Before you could open your mouth to say anything else, you punish yourself for almost forgetting about Cora, who was busy soothing a fussy Synne not only because shes your friend and how could you BUUUUUT because she steals your chance of asking Papa for accompaniment in Elias' place.
"Oh! Ch-- Er, Kai, I--"
"Ah, uh, You can call me Kaine, sweetheart. What is it?" He gently interrupts Cora to correct her wrong impression of his name but still opens up communication again afterwards.
"Well, I was wondering... Since its been so long, would you like to come with me to my mothers house really quick? It's not too far from here! Misty would really like to see you, too!" Cora offered cheerfully, missing the mood entirely.
"AH! Your little sister! My goodness, the last time I saw that little girl she was no older than YOU," He chuckled while teasing baby Synne with his finger.
Synne "goo goo's", frowns, and grips on Papa's hand, causing him to chuckle again.
"Sweetheart, would you mind terribly if I accompanied Cora to visit her family for a little while? I'll come meet you as soon we get back!" Kaine sweetly asks, making you smile genuinely he wants your permission even though he doesn't really need it.
It's been such a long time since he has seen Cora and her family... You really can't say NO to him...
"Of course, Papa! Go ahead!" You reply almost automatically before really giving it much more thought and hug him tight.
"I'll be right back, dear!" He bids you farewell.
"We'll see you all real soon!" Cora smiles innocently while waving her, Synne, and Papa off.
"B-bye..." You mutter, trying not to sound too sad so as not to guilt him for leaving or anything.
>>PAPA HAS TEMPORARILY LEFT YOUR PARTY<<
You glue your eyes to the ground, mostly to avoid seeing if Elias is looking at you or not.
"Weeeeeelll--" You hear Xander say.
Oh no...
"I've gotta go--"
CRAP.
"And put our stuff away. These poor horses need some rest for a bit, so I'm gonna unload everything from them and put them in the stables to rest," Xander announces, and it's in suuuuuch a tone you can't tell whether or not he's doing this on purpose.
Mean big brother!
"A-ah, bu- wai--" You try to call to him in a vain effort to stop him, but it's too late, he's already began making his way past you all and to the castle stables.
>>BIG BRO HAS TEMPORARILY LEFT YOUR PARTY<<
"...I..." You mutter sadly as you and Elias are left in front of the castle entrance... by yourselves.
"Rosie... A-are you mad at me...?" You hear him ask.
You can't really answer that.
"...Is it because of the other night in the village? W-was what I did that awful...?" He asks another question.
You gasp, unsure of how to react to that. You glue your eyes to the ground.
"Y-you should go look for Hellie..." You mumble a suggestion, adding, "I-I'll go look for Elmiel. By myself."
"...Oh... Ok... If you're sure..." You can hear him mumble behind you as you turn around to run off into the castle.
Well, thank goodness you avoided that awkward moment!
>>YOU TEMPORARILY DITCHED ELIAS!<<
You make your way past the guards and well into the castle, going near the opposite way of the throne room. You're trying to give yourself as much of a head start as possible before Elias goes and searches for Hellie... You really hope he's not gonna follow you or try to find you after meeting with Hellie...
Though you suppose, with his wind magic boosting his speed... If we was following you, you'd probably have known by now.
You look behind you, relieved to see you aren't being pursued, and finally stop to catch your breath. You didn't realize how much you needed the alone time... Or, at least, time away from Elias.
Alright. Time to go find Elmiel.
You take a deep breath and continue walking until you find some guards, not failing to notice they were a bit shocked to see "their empress" as she is supposed to be in the dining room.
You explain to them that you're NOT Hellie, and need some directions to Elmiel's magic chamber.
They bashfully nod and point you down the hall, tell you to go through the throne room to the room behind the actual throne, through a long corridor and down the stairs, and his room should be at the bottom of said stairs.
What a weird location for a room, but it is supposed to be kinda secret... And you guess behind the throne room does restrict access...
Anyway, you backtrack a little from your mini-sprint to get away from Elias and are relieved to know they AREN'T in the throne room, make your way behind the throne, open the door of the room behind it, and step inside.
It was a pretty scary looking scene: The candles dimly lit the spiraling staircase leading into only darkness.
Though... For it being so dark... It actually isn't that cold? Huh... Strange... Must be all those candles, right?
You step inside after a moment or two of contemplation and go down a few steps, watching your step carefully while giving the walls quick glances to make sure when you hang onto them while going down you don't touch the candles or fire, when you feel a frame for a portrait!
You look to the side to catch a glimpse of--
...Your father...
You barely remember what he looks like, and you've only ever seen his photograph literally once... In an old photo album at your aunts house... long ago...
You have no real solid memory to prove it, but... It's him.
You know.
You know it's him.
That feeling of anxiety and dread that shower you upon looking at that man, despite his gentle expression... It's unmistakable.
So... It would appear your father, at least in this world... Is, quite literally, the father of this worlds version of you... Not Xanders.
Lucky jerk.
He looks so... Benevolent. In this portrait.
...And so in love with his--
Wife... Who looks like your mother...
You don't know how to feel about this.
You don't know how to feel about this at all.
"You're why I'm broken, you know..." You mutter quietly, "...Y-you're... You're why--"
"Rosie...? Rosie! I thought you might get here today! Goodness, I didn't expect you quite so soon! And here of all places!" You're suddenly brought back to reality by an all too familiar voice.
"Ah- Elmiel--!" You happily call out to hi--
GREAT CELOSIA WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS SHIRT!?
WHY IS HE WITHOUT A SHIRT?!
HE SHOULD MOST DEFINITELY NOT BE WITHOUT A SHIRT!
"E- E- E- E- E---" You attempt to form his name to no avail, you are just too stunned to fully process what you are looking at!
WWWWWHHYYYYYY IS HE WITHOUT A SHIRT!?
"Eh? Are you alright?" He asks like you're the one who is being odd here!
"A wha- buh- chuh- guh-" You incoherently babble while undoubtedly gawking at him, slowly lifting your finger to point at him... or rather, his bare torso.
He really is perfect! Not overly buff, like he was ingesting steroids, but also not scrawny and lanky like his brother! Celosia must be an artist, because those abs could only be sculpted by divine beings!
Ack! You really shouldn't be thinking that!
"Hm? OH!" He asks, oblivious at first, then finally seeming to get it as he looked at what you were pointing at and then gasped in realization!
He innocently laughs at himself while playfully smacking his forehead in realization.
"Ah! Sorry, sorry! It gets quite hot in my chamber and sometimes those upper garments end up getting in the way more than they are useful! I completely forgot I didn't have mine on! One moment! Heh, didn't mean to show you things you weren't ready for!" He jokes and chirps while turning away from you a bit and reaching for something tucked into the bottom side of his pants: his shirt.
YOU WILL LITERALLY NEVER BE READY FOR THAT! EVER!
He really needs to not forget those types of things... His abs are dangerous weapons!!!!
You instinctively turn away and cover your face, not wanting to see him until he at least has a shirt on and finally manage to take a breath when he calls you to face him.
"Please don't forget t-to put a shirt on!" You beg him, not sure you'd be able to handle it if you saw him like that again.
Hellie sure is lucky...
YOU REALLY NEED TO KEEP IT IN CHECK HERE!!
"Right, of course! I'm sorry!" Elmiel light-heartedly chuckles and apologizes, and for a moment you catch yourself pouting and genuinely annoyed with him as he seems to be amused by your flustered state.
You may be his fiances twin, but you sure are NOT his fiance!!
"S-so! Uh-uhm!" You try to shift this conversation as FAR away from the previous topic as possible, "The compass! Yes, the compass! C-cora told me you needed me to finish enchanting it?"
"Mm. I do," He nods and confirms, then pauses and stares at you rather seriously a moment.
"E-elmiel?" You ask nervously, feeling like you were in trouble at his stare.
"Is there something on your mind, Rosie? Sorry to pry, dear, but you looked rather deep in thought and... apprehensive... while looking at a portrait of the royal family... and it seemed like that unpleasant gaze was targeted directly at the late Emperor..." He observes and states while now also averting his gaze to the portrait.
Yikes forever! You forgot, this one was the perceptive one of the Desmond brothers.
"O-oh, was I? H-heh, well, I assure you, I-I didn't mea--"
"...Does he look like how your father did... Back in your world?" Elmiel asks, while turning at you again and gently smiling.
He hit the nail right on the head! Aaaaaaack!
"Mm... Yeah... I-I mean, I don't remember for sure 100 percent, b-but..." You nod while replying, answering his question to remove his doubt.
"...I'm sorry," He suddenly apologizes, catching you more off guard than mere moments ago when he was shirtless.
"E-eh?! Wh-what for!?" You gasp more than ask, unsure why he said what he did.
"Heh," He shakes his head slowly and chuckles, "Any daughter who gives her father a look like that and blames them for why they're broken couldn't possibly have had a good relationship with them."
Ah... Darnit... So he did hear you... Shoot...
"...I didn't mean for you to hear that... Y-you were not supposed to hear that..." You peep quietly while gluing your eyes to the floor like a child in trouble in response.
"...I know," You hear him say, then are shocked to suddenly find his hand lifting your face up to look at him! He then gently strokes it!
Eeeek, he's bending down to meet your eye level! Can he NOT be perfect?! For a second?! Please!?
"For what it's worth, I don't think you're broken, Rosalina," He beams at you and states, and thank Celosia before you can do or say anything else he backs his face AWAY from you and chastely pats you on the head.
"Th-thank you, Elmiel," You nod in gratitude while turning away from him again, not wanting him to see how red your face is!
"You're very welcome," He replies sweetly.
"I-I'm sorry, too..." You mutter, slowing down a moment to see HIS shock now, and holding up a hand as if begging him to let you finish, then continuing, "I-I shouldn't be talking about my father troubles to you... He w-wasn't a good person and hurt my mother... But you had a good father, I'm sure, who was taken from you and Elias too soon... You deserved to have him... He deserved to be alive... I have no right to be hurt about my father leaving me when yours was so cruelly taken from you..."
"And you? You didn't deserve your father?"
"Mmmm... I don't think he'd have been a very good one even if I did, anyway... At least, not during my childhood, when I was developing... More so when I'm a full grown adult, you know? Where all the important stuff has already been taught to me, mostly..."
"You deserve a father, Rosie. Don't ever doubt that," He says and you both smile at each other.
"Heh..." You let out a small chuckle, feeling your face getting hot.
"You really are like my Helena, you know," He sort of shocks you with this statement, and you can't help but wonder why he would say that NOW of all times.
Hellie HAD her fathers love... Hellie ISN'T broken... So why?
"H-huh? H-how this time?" You ask.
Elmiel then looks at the portrait of the Emperor.
"Helena said something akin to what you just said. When he died. Not word for word, mind you, but it was most certainly disregarding her pain for my own. I remember it vividly, for the night he died was the first night we spent together... It was the only way to keep her from crying all night..." He informs you solemnly, then he strokes your face again and continues with, "And I'm going to tell you the same thing I told her when she said it: My past pain does not invalidate or devalue yours. Please don't ever think it does. Everyone has pain and gets hurt. That's just life. It's what we do with that pain that matters."
Oh.... Heh...
For some reason, you're starting to really resent how alike you two are...
"...He was a good father... R-right?" You ask, also now staring at the portrait and are a little sad to find Elmiel's hand slip from your cheek.
"Yes, he was the ideal father," Elmiel smiles at you while answering and turning towards the portrait himself, adding, "I strive to be a father like he was when my child arrives."
"And... He was... A-a... A good husband?"
"...Yes. He was. I also strive to be as good a husband as he was as well," Elmiel confirms gently again, then winks at you and adds, "Even if I'm not technically her husband yet."
"That's good... I'm glad..." You mutter back with a sad smile.
At least one of you had a good dad.
Least you have your Papa now...
Sort of... Until you go home, at least...
"Come on," You hear Elmiel say, extending a kind hand to you, "I do need you to finish enchanting the compass. Let's go."
"Yeah," You smile and nod back, reaching for his hand.
"Chikah?" You suddenly hear Carbuncle pop up from your dress, finally deciding to stop being lazy!
"Oh!" Elmiel gasps, startled.
"A-ah! S-sorry! I totally forgot about my little rabbit friend! His name is Carbuncle!" You explain while grabbing onto him so he doesn't fall down the stairs in his surprise.
"Fascinating... And that gem on its forehead? Do you know how they got it?" He asks, poking and tapping at the forehead gem while doing so.
"Kah! Chikah! Kah!" Carbuncle whines as he crinkles his sweet little face and swats his finger away with both paws.
"Oh! Heh, sorry, uh, C-carbuncle..." Elmiel blushes and pulls his hand back bashfully.
"I don't know, actually... He sort of just appeared out of no where... But I'm pretty sure he's sent by Celosia herself! His ears are kinda wings!" You tell him excitedly.
"My word!" Elmiel gasps, going wide eyed, "Sounds like these past few days have been quite eventful!"
"They sure were!" You giggle in agreement.
"You'll have to tell me all about it as soon as we have a free moment, alright? I wanna hear every detail!" He laughs while taking your hand and guiding you down the stairs to the chamber.
"You betcha!" You nod while continuing to agree to tell him every detail.
W-well... Maybe not e-every detail, aheh...
Wait... Speaking of details...
Wasn't there something... You wanted to show him...?
Something... Carbykins... took...?
The pouch!
You have to show him the pouch! If anyone will know what its for, it's Elmiel! W-wait, but if you do... He might wonder where you got it from... And from who... You don't know who he took it from!
What will he think when your best answer is you don't know from who and Carbuncle stole it?!
But... But you really should know whats in this... Right????
Or... maybe you should wait??? You guys are kind of about to be in the middle of something... But it should only take a minute, right!?
>>SHOW ELMIEL THE POUCH NOW OR WAIT??<<
code by @Satanic Nightjar
Last edited:
DreamBeat
Two Thousand Club
Whooooowhee~ What a ride. Glad we got to see Elmiel alone. Those were good words of advice.
I'd say show him the pouch. Even if he doesn't know just by looking at it, he'll at least know about it. We don't know where it came from, but that doesn't mean it might not be important! Better safe than sorry. Elmiel is trust-worthy at this point in my book (thumbs up)
I'd say show him the pouch. Even if he doesn't know just by looking at it, he'll at least know about it. We don't know where it came from, but that doesn't mean it might not be important! Better safe than sorry. Elmiel is trust-worthy at this point in my book (thumbs up)
Idea
The Pun Tyrant
Yes, some great one on one time! I really liked some bits of this post, like that "has temporarily left the party joke" and the resulting punchline, and the "you're lucky you're perfect" line definitely got a chuckle out of me.
I like this character development building on what we know about the MC's daddy issues, albeit I feel like the moment didn't hit as hard for me as maybe it will for some others. I reckon it might have to do with the fact that I wasn't here from the start, and thus don't have the level of context... or maybe my touchpad malfuntioning worrying me got a bit in the way. Either way, the writing was pretty excellent!
Now, onto the practical stuff...
>>> Show him the pouch! We've got nothing to loose when we have no better options for revealing what it might be.
I like this character development building on what we know about the MC's daddy issues, albeit I feel like the moment didn't hit as hard for me as maybe it will for some others. I reckon it might have to do with the fact that I wasn't here from the start, and thus don't have the level of context... or maybe my touchpad malfuntioning worrying me got a bit in the way. Either way, the writing was pretty excellent!
Now, onto the practical stuff...
>>> Show him the pouch! We've got nothing to loose when we have no better options for revealing what it might be.
Felis
Meow?
I agree, we should show him the pouch. Who knows when we'll have the next opportunity to find out what it is/contains.
Caligena
The Eldritch Slime From Beyond Space And Time
I agree with the other voices: Show elmiel the pouch, though we don't have to necessarily mention that Carby STOLE it, we could just say he picked it up from somewhere and we don't know where, which is actually the truth.
Omg oof Elmiel, is determined to KILL us with his body, Celosia ALMIGHTY. He is also startlingly perceptive, and I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing... We'll say good for now. For now, let's just try and focus on the task at hand - finishing the compass.
Omg oof Elmiel, is determined to KILL us with his body, Celosia ALMIGHTY. He is also startlingly perceptive, and I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing... We'll say good for now. For now, let's just try and focus on the task at hand - finishing the compass.
Minako
🎮Super High School Level Gamer: Chiaki Nanami🎮
Rosalina Chandra
| Show Elmiel the pouch right now! Unanimously! |
"Uhm... A-actually...! Elmiel...!" You cry out, deciding with much conviction you should most definitely find out what this thing is for right away.
"Yes? Is something the matter, dear?" He stops and turns back to you while he asks, surprised from your sudden "outburst".
"I-I... Uhm... C-carbuncle and I f-found this! I-in the forest! I-I was wondering if you could tell me what it's for!" You are able to blurt out despite your hesitance as you take the pouch from Carbuncle and hand it over to Elmiel.
"Chi-chikah! Chhhhaaa~!" Carbuncle whines while making grabby paws towards the pouch.
"St-stop it, you! You've caused more than enough trouble over this thing!" You gently scold your animal friend (that you still suspect is from Celosia).
"Chikaaaaaaaaaaah..." Carbuncle sighs and shakes his head sadly.
"...Oh? Well, alright, let me have a look, then," Elmiel, confused at first, then nods and agrees to examine the pouch and its contents for you
You hand Elmiel the pouch and try not to glue your eyes to the floor (and fail).
He takes the pouch from you and before he can even get a good whiff in his eyebrows are already raised... You aren't sure if its a good thing or bad thing yet... But something tells you you may not want to find out...
"...Rosie... Where exactly in the forest... did you get this...?" He asks after a few moments, smelling it more.
You knew he was going to ask you that right off the bat.
"Th-the forests edge closest to the Kingdom. Almost right where Elias first found me. Carbuncle sniffed it out... I-I think he took it from someone..." You tell Elmiel, disheartened.
"...Mm. I'd imagine he would," The perfect man replied back, expecting that to be your response, as he open up the pouch and begins looking through it.
You flinch and keep gluing your eyes to the floor.
You don't have a good feeling about this.
You shake your head and take a deep, deep breath.
It's time.
You need to know what this is for!
"Wh... What... What is it...?" You finally manage to ask, fearing the answer.
Elmiel sighs heavily and draws his attention back at you. He stares at you seriously.
"This pouch contains dried herbs such as chamomile, sage, hemlock, musk mallow, coriander, borage, dwarf periwinkle, and mint. From the smell alone I could tell this was for medicinal purposes, but the fact the herbs are dried points to that even more so: Dried herbs last a bit longer and are easier to grind up into a medicine than their moist counterparts. What's more--"
"These are no easy ingredients to obtain. Nor dry properly. The variety of ingredients, as well as their care, makes me believe whoever this was for is indeed very, very, very, VERY ill."
Without so much as another moment passing by you grab the pouch back from Elmiel, turn around, and try to make a mad dash out of the corridor before Elmiel's arms grabs you and stops you in your tracks!
"Rosie?!" He gasps, too stunned to fully comprehend what's going on with you.
"Let go of me!" You shout, "I have to go back! I have to go back to forest! I have to give this pouch back to whoever Carbykins stole this from!!! Whoever this was for needs it bad!!"
"ON FOOT?! That'll take more than all day! And that's just getting there, to say nothing of getting it back! And that's being extremely optimistic thinking whoever this was taken from is even at the edge of the forest!" Elmiel talks you out of literally running back to the forest that took the majority of the morning on horseback, let alone how long it would take on foot.
"B-but! B-but I--! Some could be sick and dying!!!" You plead, almost in tears.
Stupid Carby! Someone could be DYING without this pouch's medicine!!!!
"Rosalina, I most definitely am NOT going to let you exhaust yourself to death sprinting towards the forest and then going on a wild goose chase inside that very dangerous forest once you get there!" Elmiel lays down the law while tightening his grip on you slightly (it's definitely not enough to hurt you, but you're pretty sure you're not going to be able to struggle your way out of his grip even if you gave it your all...).
"BUT THEY'LL DIE!" You keep pleading, now actually crying.
You'll never forgive yourself if your curiosity caused you to even indirectly lead to some poor sick persons death!
"Listen to me. Calm down," Elmiel, now grabbing your shoulders, and staring at you right in the eyes, continuing, "I have an idea. Let's get to a guard and let me explain the situation to them. I think with my plan this person may be all the better despite this pouch being here..."
HUH?!
REALLY?!
"REALLY?! ARE YOU SURE!?" You gasp loudly, not believing what you're hearing and all too eager to hear Elmiel's idea.
Not missing a beat, you drag Elmiel with you out the door, past the throne, dashing out of the room, and to the nearest guard in near record timing.
"Sir! Sir!!" You cry out when you reach the nearest guard, almost out of breath as you reach them and ignoring how baffled they are at you calling them sir granted who you look like, then shoving Elmiel in front of you, continue, "The future Emperor has something he has to say to you!"
"Goodness!" Emiel almost laughs as he clears his throat while you shove him in front of the guard, dusting himself off, and looking at you with a look that definitely tells you he is very much fighting the urge to roll his eyes.
You pout at him to let him know this is no time to play around!
"Alright, alright," Elmiel sort of sighs, clears his throat, then diverts his attention to the guard you dragged him in front of, "Listen. I think the people of Tornigan Woodlands might have a sick person in their midst. I'd like to prevent an epidemic to stop the spread of whatever plague they have... And possibly keep that parasite from robbing more people blind if we give them the medicine they require."
Oh Elmiel~!!
"Yes sir!" The guard nods, complying.
"Now then," Elmiel, pleased at their compliance, nods and then continues, "Listen to my instructions VERY CAREFULLY, for they must be accurately delivered and exactly the way I say without complications if this plan is to succeed, understand?"
"Sir, yes sir!" The guard replies.
Wow! He already has a plan!?
How perfect IS this guy?!
"I want you to bring some pouches full of, and I want these exact contents in there, DRIED: chamomile, sage, hemlock, musk mallow, coriander, borage, dwarf periwinkle, and mint. When you've gathered at least enough pouches to fill a chest OR TWO, I want you to take another guard with you and go to the edge of Tornigan Woodlands... In casual attire," He carefully instructed.
"C-casual attire, sir...?" The guard asked, as confused and baffled as you are.
Why casual attire?
"And do try to act as helpless as possible while announcing the contents OF the chest as loud as you can, if you would," He goes on.
Wait, hold up----
"If that parasite is as eager for these medicines as I suspect she might be, she should be there to rob you of them before long. She may be too suspicious if a castle guard just drops a chest of medicine on her essential doorstep... BUT she will MOST CERTAINLY rob a commoner," Elmiel finishes telling the guard his plan and his reasoning.
ELMIEL!!!
"You... WANT ALL these medicines to be stolen, sir?" The guard asks, impressed but still a bit perplexed.
"Mm, Indeed," Elmeil confirms while nodding, "If the rest of the people of the forest have been struck by the plague as well we should send at least a little bit of medicine their way to help in a way we're SURE they'll take it without suspicion. I know Helena would want this as well. Besides, If the parasite is this desperate to cure whoever it is that's sick, or maybe the entirety of Tornigan's people, I'd rather not find out what happens when her desperate times call for desperate measures..."
Oh Elmiel!!
Wait, this is no time to be making goo-goo eyes at your crush's handsome brother! He has a point!
Not only that but, he's right... It may NOT JUST BE ONE PERSON... It MAY be an entire village!
You go back to that moment and recall: It wasn't Calliope Carbykins stole this pouch from! It was a MAN! You're SURE of it!
Yes, this course of action is for the best!
"Improvise some script or dialogue during the preparations all you like, I ask you to bring another so you're not just talking to yourself. Report back when this is over, and try to at least get a glance at her so we know they went to the right person--"
"O-or a silver-haired man!!" You immediately pipe up.
Elmiel raised his brow and looks at you.
"I-in the forest, I saw a male figure running about on our way back... I-I think their hair got caught in my mouth.. I-it was silver..." You explain, shyly staring at the floor once again.
"Alright, try to keep your eyes peeled for a man of that description as well," Elmiel adds, but sort of grimacing and then muttering under his breath more to himself than you or the guard, "Mmm, we really should be looking for any sign whoever takes these will be of the forest people, but I'm not liking what only those two being out and about implies..."
He's right again... If only two people out of an entire possible forest are able to scout about for medicine... Then that might mean...
"Regardless, make haste. The sooner they get the medicine, the sooner whatever ails them is cured, and one less plague to worry about during these times is NEVER a bad thing," Elmiel shakes his head and then orders the guard, who in turn salutes him and gives him a look as if the future Emperor had his utmost respect.
"Sir! Yes sir!" He agrees and salutes, then turns around and hobbles off while calling some random name, most likely another guard he chose to be his partner in this medicinal expedition.
Elmiel breathes a sigh of relief and you can't help but stare at him with the same admiration the guard did.
How can one man BE so perfect!?
Handsome! Intelligent! Loving! He's the whole kit n' caboodle!
"Well then, now that we've got THAT crisis averted," He nearly chuckles while extending his hand to you, wanting you to take it while adding, "Shall we?"
The compass awaits!!
Leading you by the hand, like a gentleman, you both make your way back to the corridor that leads down a spiral staircase to Elmiel's magic chamber.
The very first thing you notice when he opens the door to his chamber is that THE MAN WAS NOT KIDDING ABOUT THE CHAMBER BEING HOT.
IN FACT, YOU'RE PRETTY SURE HE UNDERPLAYED IT.
Celosia above, it's like a sauna in here!!! You can almost hear your pores screaming! (No wonder Elmiel has such nice skin...)
"H-hah... Hah..." You pant as the heat already is starting to get to you.
How the heckie is Elmiel in here so long and so often?! Does it NEED to be so HOT in here!?
"Heh heh, sorry, I did tell you it was hot... It's a tad uncomfortable but I promise I'll keep my shirt on this time if you're not ready for that," He chuckles and consoles you, apparently charmed by fanning yourself.
Ugh, Mr. Perfect needs to be stopped!
You can barely breathe in here, it's so hot!
Elmiel walks into the room unflinchingly... You know, like a madman... and you struggle to take a few steps into the hot, hot room because you're not insane.
It's pure stone walls, and stone steps and shelves gracing nearly every bit of the walls with candles covering nearly every inch of said shelves and steps. At the center of the room is a kind of big type of a camp-like stone fireplace with dirt in the middle... Kind of like those mini fireplaces you'd make when camping: a small, circular patch of dirt with stones surrounding its circumference.
You can see how this room gets so hot...
Above that center camp-like fire space place is a cauldron with boiling... some-liquidy-thing... inside it. Tied above it is... a very old looking compass!
There it is!
Odd...
It's... glowing...?
You can see just behind Elmiel that there is a large indentation in the wall, enough for more shelves, though those don't seem to have candles, but glass vials and bottles of... other... weird... liquid-y... stuff...
You finally are able to step inside after getting one last whiff of crisp, cool air in your lungs and close the door behind you.
Jeeeeez!!!
You take small breaths, a bit afraid to fry your lungs, and (pondering how Elmiel breathes in all this steam in) you hear Elmiel chuckle as he grabs... something?
"A-alright... So what do you need from me, or need me to do?" You ask, hoping to get this over with sooner rather than later... It really is near suffocating to be in here!
"Oh, not much..." You hear him say, finally turning to you, while holding a needle, and then adding--
"Just your blood."
That's a whole heckuva lotta NOPE.
You're out.
Nothing to do here with this VAMPIRE!
"Hahahahahah! You should see the look on your face!! Goodness! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It only needs to be a single drop and I swear I've done this before! I will literally only take ONE DROP, I swear on Celosia!"
WHAT A MEANIE BO BEANIE PANTS!
Hey, wait--
"Ah! D-did you take Hellie's blood, too?" You ask, curious to see how this whole enchantment worked anyway.
"Mmhm," He nods, explaining, "Since my darling little Empress isn't really magically inclined, in order to really get her essence sprinkled onto the magic I embedded in the compass I just needed a drop of her blood as well."
Man! You don't wanna get pricked!
"Awww... And there's no other way?" You ask, giving Elmiel puppy dog eyes.
"Sorry, sweetheart," Elmiel chuckles, "Unless you have a type of magic like Elias I don't think so."
Nuts...
"Awwww... Ok..."
Hesitantly and with a sad pout you give Elmiel your hand.
"Could you spread out your fingers, please? I only need a tiny prick of blood for it to work," He requests, and you oblige.
You close your eyes and look away, but to your surprise... nothing happens yet...
Odd... you just hear the fire burning... wait... there's a "pssssshhhh" sound... huh...
You've heard that sound before... right? It almost sounded like when something HOT is cooled--
YOWCH!
"Sorry! Sorry! I should have warned you! I almost forgot to sterilize the needle before pricking you! Learned to do that after nearly infecting myself and almost not being able to cure myself!" Elmiel apologizes bashfully.
You whimper and pout at him some more.
"Alright, now, just a drop will do," He says while uncomfortably squeezing the prick wound and, sure enough, a drop squeezes out--
and--
Whoa!
Ack! So bright!!!
What's going on!?
You had to close your eyes and look away a moment, but when it's all over... you open your eyes again... and wow!
That compass is glowing brighter than before! And intermittently! It's going from glow to no glow so fast you can barely keep up with your eyes!
It's going kinda crazy, in fact!
"W-wow..." You mutter, bewildered by the brighter glow.
"It is bewitching, is it not?" He asks while smiling, very pleased with himself.
"Y-yes! It is! But... uhm... Why is it glowing so much?" You ask, still confused.
"Well, as it is supposed to detect crest-bearers now that we have the essence of the Hierophant AND a direct descendant of the first Emperor... And considering Elias must be within the vicinity... as well the fire-bearer you no doubt found..."
"A-ah," You meekly respond, blushing and looking down, "R-right, that makes sense, ahaa..."
"It's alright, tomorrow they'll embed some magic into it as well, to quell the magic in the compass seeking them, and then it SHOULD lead you right to your THIRD crest bearer!" Elmiel happily explains.
"Yay!" You can't help but reply happily.
Wow, its only been a few days and you're ALREADY at number 3!
Things are looking UP!
Now that the compass is complete, you and Elmiel head out of this chamber (thank goodness you can BREATHE AGAIN!) and join the rest of the world.
"Where to now?" You ask, kinda enthusiastically.
"Well, Let us meet this fire-bearer and have some lunch, should we not?" Elmiel smiles and asks in return.
"O-oh..." You mutter in reply, looking down and explaining, "Well, we might have to wait until dinnertime for that..."
"Oh? Why?" He asks, confused.
"W-well... The firebearer... He was the Chief of Tarrin Village--"
Elmiel raises his brows high and gasps.
"Er, don't worry! He WAS the reason everything was so warm and cozy despite the horrible conditions, BUT we were able to find some coal to keep the villagers warm, with some fire magic, naturally! And he choose a really great and hard-working person to be the new chief and we left the village heated and in good hands! As you know, Cora is from Tarrin Village, and since she met us at the gate they talked and he decided to visit her family for a bit while here," You proudly announce with a goofy smile while pridefully placing your knuckles on your hips and nearly puff your chest out.
Elmiel warmly smiles at you and then pats your head.
"We are a lucky people to have blessings like you and Helena grace our humble soil," He tells you in what was possibly the most charming way a man has EVER talked to you in your life and you don't look away fast enough because Elmiel chuckles as you blush and shift your gaze.
"I-I wouldn't say that..." You bashfully retort, gluing your eyes to the ground before his perfect eyes make your face even more red than you imagine it already is!
"I definitely would," Elmiel responds back.
"Sir! Sir!" You then hear a familiar voice call.
>>XANDER HAS REJOINED YOU!<<
Xander's back, baby!
"Ah, Xander! I heard you all got the fire-bearer! Excellent work!" Elmiel compliments the captain while you both exchange glances.
"It was all Elias and Ro, sir! I was just the back-up," Xander nods and proudly acknowledges you... Not unlike your real big brother would have.
"Th-that's not true! You were a big help too! And you've taught me so much!" You chime in.
"It sounds like all three of you were essential to save Cion," Elmiel nods and responds, then has an adorable look of realization, and adds, "Er, well, I suppose that number is up to four considering you now have the fire- bearer."
You giggle and beam at him.
"Mm, well, I'm not too sure about that, BUT--" Xander begins and then stops to look directly at you, "I AM sure that we should spend this remaining time training! I told you when we woke up: Today's not an off day!"
"Heh, heh, okay!" You respond happily.
"...May I watch this training? It sounds fascinating," You hear Elmiel ask you, to your surprise.
"EEEH?! Wh-why?! N-no, n-no, i-it's just normal training, I'm sure a future Emperor such as yourself has literally a thousand other things to do!" You attempt to convince Elmiel otherwise.
"Nonsense. You're not even going to be in this palace after tomorrow, as you'll be travelling all of Cion, so it would be foolish of me to squander the little time I can get with you with menial tasks that can at least be put off til tomorrow!" Elmiel beams with a perfect smile and you kinda pout when you realize you can't really say no to him in ANY respect, then he winks at you and adds, "Besides, though I won't be there for the journey of your improvement, I can at least see the endgame and humble beginnings if I watch right now."
Well... At least he doesn't expect greatness...
You, Xander and Elmiel go to the training grounds and Xander wastes NO TIME getting started!
"Alright, summon Rondo and lets get started right away! In fact, since we've got the rest of the day, I suggest training til dinnertime!" Xander almost orders while grabbing a staff and guiding you towards a pretty normal training like area: An outdoorsy area (though to the side there seemed to be thick cloths rolled and bundled up with large wooden poles near them, probably to make a primitive, makeshift awning in case of rain) sectioned off from the rest of the palace with armored, wooden mannequin-like totems that revolved, used for hitting and dodging you've no doubt, a plethora of targets (for arrows, you assume), boxes with some weapons beside them, and some bits of hay spread out here and there.
It was about mid-size, but still impressive for being inside a palace!
"Wow! It's so cool and nice!" You say as you step in.
"Heh, you think this is nice? If we get a chance to head by the Levi Plains you'll really see what a really great training ground looks like!" Xander smiles while cuing you to get in position.
"Yes, qui-- Wait, hang on... Summon... I'm sorry, who?" Elmiel at first nods as he confirms then stops in surprise.
"O-oh, right..." Xander nervously purses his lips as he accidentally let the cat out of the bag.
"O-oops..." You peep right along with him.
"What happened..." Elmiel asks while raising a brow and sounding like a father asking his children whodunit.
"Uhm... I got bonded to a weapon!" You blurt out, both ripping off the band aid and just naive enough to let it all out there so plainly.
Elmiel now has a look on his face that...
Well...
You're pretty sure if he was holding something it probably would have snapped in two.
"Ahaha, it's alright, sire," Xander swoops in to explain, "CELOSIA did it, not anyone else. I think she did it so Rosie could better defend herself since she already decided to pick up a weapon."
"Alright GOOD, I was about to... have some words with Elias..." Elmiel near growls in response.
You could practically hear the quotations... By words did he mean fisticuffs?!
Maybe you should beg him not to hurt Elias?!
"Anyway... You wanna get started?" Xander asks, raring to go.
"Yeah!" You reply with verve, adding of course, "Rondo, TO ME!"
You stretch your hand high and smile as Rondo materializes in them.
You turn to see Xander is already in position and rush over to begin your training!
He raises the staff he picked as he nods his head and cues you to do the same with Rondo. You do so, though instead of making an X-shape you two are now making a /\ - type shape, but a bit more spread out.
Odd...
"Okay, so, We're putting our weapons a bit higher this time. Last time, I showed you what to do when you get attacked mid to high, this time, I'm showing you what to do when they GO LOW, alright?"
"Alright!"
"Now, when you have your guard UP, like you do now, it naturally creates an opening for your enemy down below. I know it seems a bit nonsensical considering Rondo's point will still be in their face, but you never know... Someone might be crazy or desperate enough to try, anyway--"
...Why did a sudden flash of Calliope come to mind when he said that?
"It's a very simple counter: To knock the coming weapon out of the way just turn the palm of your right hand up as you lift it and then right back down for a counter with a forward thrust. Are you ready?"
"Yeah!"
Xander tries to jab at you from below with his staff, but you quickly turn your palm as you raise it, knocking his staff out of striking range, and then jabbing Rondo's point in his direction.
"Good! Now: Halberds have points on them mostly to give the wielder more control. Their hook is pretty useful, especially when catching the opponents weapon. Like, say--"
Suddenly, Xander aims high to thrust at you and you instinctively move Rondo's blade to catch the upwards thrust and luckily are able to keep it from giving your head a good thwack!
"Excellent! Now pull back a little and swing Rondo fast and high towards the opponents head for a counter. Don't worry, I got a helmet!"
You nod and obey, pulling Rondo's hook back and then swinging his blade down towards Xander's helmet like it was an Axe!
"GOOD. Alright, I'm gonna disengage from below, and I want you to do the same thing: Catch my staff with Rondo's hook and then counter like you did before, okay?"
"Yes, Xandie!" You reply obediently.
He does indeed aim for your shins as you again catch the staff with Rondos hook.
"Remember, swing it fast and hard, okay!?"
You pull Rondos hook out a little and repeat the motion again, swinging Rondo with as much speed as you could and ALMOST hitting Xander!
"Wah! Heh, be careful!"
"Sorry!"
"You're getting better! We gotta get your strength up for sure... But you're getting quicker to the draw. I knew you had a knack for this!"
"Thanks!"
"Alright, I wanna go over these drills AND the ones I taught you last night as well as when we first trained. I want you faster and faster at this, and the only way that happens is through PRACTICE! Let's get to it, okay?"
"Yeah!" You cheer in agreement.
You and Xander practice these drills on each other a bit, and then the Captain has you TRULY STRIKE an armored dummy to try to work on your strength and precision (as you can't really while striking HIM)... At least a little in your blows.
You vehemently follow Xander's instructions and do your best to embed these drills into your head... Before you know it, it's just about nightfall!
"Alright, you two! I think it's about time for dinner!" Elmiel calls and you hesitate to admit to yourself that you almost forget he was present for this!
"O-oh ok--" You begin smiling at him when--
ACK!!! EVERYBODYS HERE ALREADY!? WAAAAH!
>>THE REST OF YOUR PARTY HAS REJOINED YOU!<<
....
Heh... You can't help but love these guys!
>>THE REST OF YOUR PARTY HAS REJOINED YOU!<<
....
Heh... You can't help but love these guys!
"We were gonna say hi to you, but Elmiel insisted we don't distract you!" Elias meekly chimed in.
"Oh, we couldn't possibly! It's so wonderful to watch you in action, Rosie!" Hellie cheers.
"It is quite a sight to behold! Even more amazing in the daylight!" Papa pitches in as well.
"Ahahaha... It's... It's really not," You mutter, embarrassed.
Was watching you train really all that great?
You were just hitting an armored dummy the whole time... Just different ways, you guess...
"Don't be so quick to downplay it, you did great!" Xander compliments, "But I agree, we should all get some food. We worked pretty hard today and gotta refuel ourselves, after all!"
"Right!" You chirp back at the Captain.
As you are about to leave Rondo here, Elmiel actually has a servant deliver him to your quarters, where the rest of your belongings already are. You smile and thank him.
Thankfully, dinner was pretty uneventful with only introductions, small talk, and pleasantries between the Chief meeting Hellie and Elmiel.
You are physically and emotionally exhausted, so you really thank Celosia for Papa...
Whew!
What a LONG DAY!
You let yourself plop onto the bed of the familiar room you also stayed in the first night you were in this world and let out a long, heavy sigh followed by a loud and long yawn.
It felt nice to sleep in a bed again, and, you hate to admit it, but this bed is kind of more comfortable than YOUR OWN BED back home... Though you miss it just the same...
Actually, you're probably going to miss sleeping on a bed in general, mostly, you imagine... You'll be travelling a LOT and you may not always have the luxury of being close to a village or something...
Hmm... You wonder if you brought this up with Elmiel if he might have a solution for this aside just tents and sleeping rolls?
Though, admittedly, the sleeping rolls aren't the LEAST comfortable thing you've slept on... And they're pretty warm, too, all things considered...
Still... You miss a nice bed... YOURS, specifically...
But whenever you think of home, you can't help but feel anxious...
Is it because you're never going to see it again?
...Or, if you do... when you go back... You'll never see ELIAS again...?
As these questions haunt you, you're startled back into reality when you hear a knock at your door!
You gasp and violently turn your head in the sounds direction, darting up and making your way to the door.
Wondering if maybe it was Helena making good on her promise to bond with you, you don't even really ask or give a second thought before opening the door to find--
T-twelve year old Cora?!
Cora mere days before leaving Tarrin Village?!
"Hai! You must be the He-ro-phant erry'ones been talkin' 'bout! Waow, ya really DO look like th' Empress, 'cept ya got odd things on yer face!" Little Cora smiles and waves at you, speaking in a drawl that almost sounds WESTERN but not quite, adding while smiling innocently, "Can I comes in? Is cold out."
"U-uh! Well--?!" You blurt, unsure.
Cora didn't actually suddenly find and take a sip from the fountain of youth, right?! How would that even explain the new drawl!? HOW DO YOU EVEN GET THAT IN THIS WORLD?!
No... This little girl couldn't be Cora...
But then...
Who is she?!
Wait...
>>GUESS WHO SHE IS AND LET THE LITTLE GIRL IN? Y/N<<
code by @Satanic Nightjar
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Felis
Meow?
Cora and Kai mentioned a little sister of Cora's earlier, so could this be her, then? Misty should be about ten years old from what I piece together, and this girl's similarity to Cora is almost uncanny. I'm not sure about the accent, but since we only heard a handful of people in the castle speak, maybe it's not an all that uncommon one around here and we just haven't met the "right" people to be able to tell?
In any case, I'd say we let her in! We can't let a little girl stand in the cold, now can we (especially as she's probably related to Cora in some way)?
In any case, I'd say we let her in! We can't let a little girl stand in the cold, now can we (especially as she's probably related to Cora in some way)?
Idea
The Pun Tyrant
Oh wow, you even animated gifs! Impressive work!
Felis
's suggestions about what is going do sound pretty sensible, so I'm going to go on a wild trip and slap down a crazy theory, this is actually some kind of assassin or even the next crest bearer in disguise. Just a probably very wrong gut feeling.
I vote that we let her in as well! Should be interesting at least, and she seems cute.
Felis
's suggestions about what is going do sound pretty sensible, so I'm going to go on a wild trip and slap down a crazy theory, this is actually some kind of assassin or even the next crest bearer in disguise. Just a probably very wrong gut feeling.I vote that we let her in as well! Should be interesting at least, and she seems cute.
Caligena
The Eldritch Slime From Beyond Space And Time
Awww how cute! I'm loving the new art that comes out with every post and now short animations too! 
Surely this adorable little girl couldn't ever bring us any harm ever riiiight? W-weeelllll, you never know. We still don't even have an idea of what some of the other crest bearer's powers could be, let alone the capabilities of magic in this world! But... if that's not the case and this is just Cora's sister Misty, then we don't want to be rude to her... Let's invite her in, but be wary in case anything funny happens! After all, we don't even have our Main Big Bad revealed yet, and these kinds of stories usually have some sort of evil sorcerer of something, don't they? Who knows what lurks behind the corner of destiny?
Surely this adorable little girl couldn't ever bring us any harm ever riiiight? W-weeelllll, you never know. We still don't even have an idea of what some of the other crest bearer's powers could be, let alone the capabilities of magic in this world! But... if that's not the case and this is just Cora's sister Misty, then we don't want to be rude to her... Let's invite her in, but be wary in case anything funny happens! After all, we don't even have our Main Big Bad revealed yet, and these kinds of stories usually have some sort of evil sorcerer of something, don't they? Who knows what lurks behind the corner of destiny?
Minako
🎮Super High School Level Gamer: Chiaki Nanami🎮
Rosalina Chandra
Oh wow, you even animated gifs! Impressive work!
I vote that we let her in as well! Should be interesting at least, and she seems cute.
Awww how cute! I'm loving the new art that comes out with every post and now short animations too!
Surely this adorable little girl couldn't ever bring us any harm ever riiiight? W-weeelllll, you never know. We still don't even have an idea of what some of the other crest bearer's powers could be, let alone the capabilities of magic in this world! But... if that's not the case and this is just Cora's sister Misty, then we don't want to be rude to her... Let's invite her in, but be wary in case anything funny happens! After all, we don't even have our Main Big Bad revealed yet, and these kinds of stories usually have some sort of evil sorcerer of something, don't they? Who knows what lurks behind the corner of destiny?
| Let her in! Unanimously! |
Oh! That's right!
Papa and Cora WERE talking about her little sister!
The family resemblance is so uncanny!
"A-ah!" You stumble and shout, covering your mouth, "You must be Misty! Cora's little sister!"
Not only that, but the timeline adds up: She's about 12 or so, and twelve or so years ago is about the time Cora left Tarrin, which WOULD be the last time Papa saw Misty, as a baby, or rather, Synne's age! And that's exactly what Papa said!
No doubt about it: You ARE face to face with Cora's younger sister, Misty!
"Awww, she even dun told ya my name, Ah loves my sisti," Misty beams and walks in at your cue.
In a rather bold fashion, she practically dives onto your bed and squee's. You giggle as she grabs the quilts that were on top of your bed and makes herself into a little Misty burrito. A... Misty-rito, if you would.
You're really glad you didn't say that out loud.
"So, where are they?" You ask, referring to Hellie and Cora, Misty removing all doubt you had of Hellie making good on her promise to bond with you.
"Oh, mah sisti n' th' Empress? They on they way, just hadda grab some pillows n' such, Ah think they in the kitchen makin' 'er bread puddin', too! Or... Uh... Maybeh? Sisti didn't grab any o' Papa's rum, so Ah ain't too sure... Tho Mama did say ya can make it without it... Ah think..." Misty responds, her face clearly looking in deep thought.
No rum, huh?
If Hellie's going to have some that makes sense...
Wait... Does that mean Cora knows about Hellie's condition...?
She IS kinda her caretaker, sorta, so... That goes without saying, right...?
But... When you think back to your very first night in this world... Elmiel sort of implied only the two of them knew... EVEN ELIAS DOESN'T KNOW, as far as Elmiel knows (though you wonder what he'd do if he knew Elias figured it out)...!
So... Maybe... Maybe Cora doesn't know??
Something inside you is telling you she doesn't despite not putting rum into her dessert...
"Ya alright there?" Misty asks, out of her "tortilla" and snapping you back to reality yet again (You've really gotta keep your spaceyness in check!)
"Oh! Yeah! Just thinking, I don't think I've ever had the honor of trying your sisters famous bread-pudding!" You respond, shifting the topic from that (which in turn, shifts suspicion away from the peculiar) to something a bit lighter.
"Haha! It used ta be Mama's! She used to be a baker, but then she had sisti 'n she focused on bein' a mama! She taught Chlo, tho, so 'er secrets ain't all lost! N' Sisti knows some pretty good recipes, too!" Misty proclaims proudly.
"Oh! I see!" You reply in awe.
You wonder if maybe Cora's mother is why Chlo eventually took the mantle of village chef: because Cora's mother inspired her too?
"Mmmhmmm! She doin' real good up there too! I knows, my friend Dulcie writes me all 'bout th' village!" Misty then mentions a familiar friend.
"Ah! Yes! I met her the other day! Very sweet girl! Very humble!" You reply back happily, thinking back to the tavern girl who spared you Whitey being a super leech your first meeting him.
"Heh, yeah she is! But don't let that fool ya, that girl's as crafty as she is humble, ah tells ya," Misty laughs.
"You got that right!" You laugh with her, the humor of juuuussst thinking about Dulcie's hidden cleverness being mentioned by someone else as you thought it not lost on you.
"Chikah?" Came Carbuncles confused cry from the pillow he was trying to sleep on.
"What on Cion Isle is that?!" Misty yelps in surprise, covering her mouth while doing so.
"O-oh! Yeah! That's my bunny friend, Carbuncle!!" You chirp happily while going to your bed and scooping him up so he could meet Misty.
"Well, Ah ain't ne'er seen a bunny rabbit with a gem on it's forehead fores!" Misty states, with an unsure look on her face.
"Chikah!" Carbuncle cries happily, greeting the young Cora-lookalike... and spreading out his ears, proceeding to then flap them like they were wings.
"Or have wings for ears!" Misty continues, still in shock.
"Haha, yeah... He's a strange one, b-but still..." You try to explain it off as insignificant, though you aren't sure why...
"There's strange... 'N then there's THAT!" She still gawks, now pointing at his winged ears.
"Aheh..." You bit your lip and wonder how to respond.
"Rosie! Rooooooosie!" You hear a familiar voice calling, "Hey! My little sister went on ahead of me! Is she--"
Cora and Helena then come into the room, Hellie holding blankets and pillows and Cora with a wooden bowl with some spoons, probably containing the bread pudding.
"Hai Sisti!" Misty greets her sister fondly.
"You little scamp, finding your way here without us!" Cora almost punishes her, but her tone along with a loving smile following that shows it wasn't meant to be too harsh.
"Ah just asked th' guards t' tell me wheres..." Misty sheepishly explains while gently mashing her index fingers together.
"Well, I'm glad you made your way here!" Hellie exclaims happily, then turns to you and says, "See? I told you we were gonna spend some quality time before you left for real tomorrow! Especially since we didn't get much time with you today, even at dinner!"
"Heh heh, You guys did hold me too it!" You reply back, giggling.
"I hope you don't mind, but when you left and I told my sister about it she really wanted to meet you, at least once, and I couldn't say no, so--"
"No, it's fine! I'm flattered you wanted to meet me so bad! But, what about Synne?" You blush and tell them all, trying to hide how flustered you are, then inquired about Cora's infant son.
"My mother and I traded for the night: She's taking care of Synne while I'm watching over this one!" Cora answers happily while nudging Misty playfully, then whispering and adding, "Between you and me, She got the easier part of the deal: As you can see, Misty's a handful!"
"Ah heard that--!" Misty folds her arms and pouts, then laughs and makes a fair point, " 'N, Well, it ain't er'ry lifetime you get'ta meet someone from a prophecy t' save yer world!"
"Fair enough," You chuckle.
"Chikah!" Carbuncle exclaims, pointing to Hellie and flailing confusedly in your arms as his stare goes to and fro you and Hellie and you two can't help but giggle at his confusion.
"Sorry, Carbykins, I probably should have been clearer I'm the twin of the Empress," You peep bashfully.
"Oh, what an adorable sweetheart!" Helena coo's at Carbuncle, causing him to squee back and let himself be wooed, while she turns her attention to you and asks, "Where did you find him?"
"Ah ha... W-well, you're not gonna believe this, but..." You begin to tell her, "He kinda just... appeared in my sleeping roll the first night we headed out... And I think... I think Celosia brought him to me..."
"That's amazing!" Cora shouts, putting down the pudding bowl at your small table and then walking back over to Hellie and un-tying her pony-tail.
"Wow! TWO blessings o' Celosia in one night! I'ma be tellin' my grandkids 'bout this fer sure!" Misty howls in delight and claps her hands together.
"His ears... Th-they're..." Helena doesn't hear or notice anything once she sees his ears, and you don't even have to ask her...
You know from the look on her face...
She is contemplating the same thing you did (and still kind of are) when you first saw Carbuncle...
"...Yes. They're wings," You nod and respond.
Her pupils dilate and the color drains from Helena's face. She's thinking back to when she was five again. You can sense it.
"Is... N-No... This sweet Rabbit... He couldn't be..." Helena mutters.
"Y-yeah, No! NO WAY! He couldn't possibly be! The Winged Beast is supposed to, like, be this gigantic devourer beneath the clouds of Cion, r-right? Carbuncle's a tiny thing! He couldn't possibly!" You barely manage to blurt out quickly before the Empress freaks the heckie out!
Helena gasps as you mention the beast, and you swear she looks like shes gonna faint. Like you, she hasn't realized she lost her balance almost collapses had it not been for the sisters rushing in to support her.
"You know of the winged beast!?" Cora gasps, and you can't tell whether she's horrified or impressed you've heard of it before.
"Well, since I'm kind of a legend in this world, I-I thought maybe I should ask if there are any other legends, you know, just be sure, and Elias--"
"Ooooh! That Elias! That mean boy! He told you about the winged beast! Oooooh, he teased you about it, didn't he!?" Hellie pouts and is a mixture of mad and sad as she sort of pulls herself together... At least enough to make it to your bed (which you're not worried about sharing with these four at all, there is MORE THAN ENOUGH room).
"Hee hee, yeah, he tried to be scary about it," You hold back a giggle (thinking it inappropriate) as you confirm her suspicions.
"It's been eleven years and HE STILL won't let it go how that myth scared you, it seems," Cora sighs while rolling her eyes.
"W-well... To be honest... When you think about it, it's a bit MORE scary now that Rosie is here..." Hellie mumbles, and both the words and realization stab you in the heart.
"EEEHHHH?! Why?! Rosie ain't scary!" Misty yelps in surprise at Hellie's words.
"No, I get it," You continue for the Empress as you mumble, "Because If I'M a legend, and I'm real... Then, what's to say that the Winged Beast isn't?"
You finally get it.
You get why your heart felt like someone was squeezing it when Elias first told you about the winged beast.
More and more it seems that Carbuncle...
"Chikah?" Carbuncle tilts his head in confusion while chiming in.
"But, you know..." You sort of hear yourself go on even though you didn't really have another thought in your head at the moment, "I... I haven't been as scared of that... Since Carbuncle showed up..."
The three look at you, wide-eyed.
"He's harmless, really!" You chirp while holding him up.
"Chikah! Kah!" Carbuncle happily agrees.
Hellie's face softens, clear as day that she feels the same way you do, as you make your way to the bed with Carbuncle and the spoiled bunny revels in the love and attention.
It would probably be better if Carbykins REALLY WAS the Winged Beast...
But he couldn't be...
It isn't possible...
Isn't it....?
You feel less stressed when you think about Carbuncle being the Winged Beast for some reason...
"I suppose you're right... I think I'll think of YOU as the Winged Beast, Carby!" Helena declares as she continues to shower Carbuncle with affection.
"The Winged Beast! Devourer of souls fallen from the Isle!!!" You decree playfully while lifting Carbuncle high as you stand on the bed and lift him above you, Like that baboon did to the lion cub in that one movie!
"Haha! Tiny enough to fit in your arms! Hah!" Cora guffaws, nearly busting a gut.
"Haha, yeah! 'N fluffy nuff for it to be comfortable, t'boot!" Misty also laughs.
"Hee hee, I like it!" Helena agrees while giggling.
"Yeah!" You shout merrily while plopping yourself back onto the bed and causing the three girls to slightly be bounced up as well from your landing.
You all laugh and you can't help but cuddle Carbuncle further as you can feel yours and Helena's anxiety wash away at the faux declaration of Carbuncle being the Winged Beast.
"All this funs got me hungry! Sisti, can we git sum bread puddin' now?" Misty asks while rubbing her stomach gluttonously.
"Sure!" Cora replies, getting up to pick up the bowl she put down on your table before helping Hellie.
"I'll bet it's going to taste amazing regardless of Hellie asking you for no Rum!" You cheer merrily.
The smile vanishes from your face almost instantly, however, as Cora pauses mid step and gives you a quizzical look while you swear you hear Hellie gasp and a quick look at her confirms you just said something you shouldn't have.
"...H-How did you know Hellie asked me to leave the rum out of this batch?" Cora questions, baffled.
"Uh-uh... W-well, Misty mentioned you left it at home before you got here!" You blurt out, suddenly feeling your stomach lurch.
"Eh? Ah means... Ah did say she left th' rum, but ah had no idea it was th' Empress who asked 'er to... Shoulda figured, tho..." Misty responds back, equally as confused, while scratching her head.
Looks like your hunch was right: It doesn't seem even Cora knows about Hellie's pregnancy!!
And you and your big mouth just blurted out a huge clue!
You look at Hellie, and it's clear not only did she not know YOU knew, but it doesn't seem she wants anyone else to know, either!
You feel as if Cora has a right to know who shes taking care is pregnant... But it's also not really your place to tell people other peoples secrets!
Your mind is racing with a million different arguments for and against telling the humble servant of her monarchs condition, and you're kind of getting dizzy!
Cora deserves to know Hellie's going to have a baby... But that's not really FOR YOU to decide!
But Cora's a mother herself, so she could help Hellie, right? Tell Hellie her experience?
But Elmiel and Hellie seem to not want anyone to know until her tummy is bigger and she's further along... Which definitely won't be for a while...
Augh! What should you say?! What should you do?!
>>TELL CORA HELENA'S CONDITION? Y/N
CHOOSE CAREFULLY<<
CHOOSE CAREFULLY<<
code by @Satanic Nightjar
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Idea
The Pun Tyrant
Let's please honor our promises here and not tell her.
Caligena
The Eldritch Slime From Beyond Space And Time
We should just play it off as a hunch - maybe some sort of intuitive link between us and Her Majesty (we've never really drank before, so maybe Hellie was taking that into account, who knows) - and definitely not tell them that Hellie's pregnant because 1) It's not our place to do so, and 2) We promised Elmiel that we wouldn't tell anyone their secret. Loose lips sink ships, and I don't trust that a 12 year old girl, sister of our beloved Cora or not, is going to keep this secret. And if word gets out that Her Majesty got pregnant out of wedlock, the kingdom would riot. Screams about bastard children would forever tarnish the royal family name. It's vitally important that we don't let on that we know, even more so that we don't tell anyone.
Tldr: Play it off, keep the secret.
(Drama aside, I love Cora with all my heart, it's nice to see more of her
)
Tldr: Play it off, keep the secret.
(Drama aside, I love Cora with all my heart, it's nice to see more of her
)
Felis
Meow?
Hm, I'm starting to wonder who or what Carbuncle really is (aside from cute!).
I actually kind of want to tell Cora, because I think someone else knowing of Hellie's pregnancy might be good just on the off chance there are any complications down the road. And Cora being a mother herself might notice earlier than others if something is wrong. But of course, the others are right, we should keep our promise (let's try not to destroy our friendships with good intentions gone wrong, and I don't really trust Misty to keep it to herself, either, to be honest).
If at all possible, I think the best course of action might be to brush it off for now, but later take Hellie aside and ask her to tell Cora about her condition. I'm sure Cora could keep the secret, and I'd feel better leaving on a longer journey if Hellie has someone to help her if any problems come up.
I actually kind of want to tell Cora, because I think someone else knowing of Hellie's pregnancy might be good just on the off chance there are any complications down the road. And Cora being a mother herself might notice earlier than others if something is wrong. But of course, the others are right, we should keep our promise (let's try not to destroy our friendships with good intentions gone wrong, and I don't really trust Misty to keep it to herself, either, to be honest).
If at all possible, I think the best course of action might be to brush it off for now, but later take Hellie aside and ask her to tell Cora about her condition. I'm sure Cora could keep the secret, and I'd feel better leaving on a longer journey if Hellie has someone to help her if any problems come up.
DreamBeat
Two Thousand Club
I'm gonna go ahead and agree with everyone here. Keep the secret!
We can always talk to Hellie about it reason later, but until we do, it's best not to put in our two cents where it doesn't belong. We don't need Hellie and Elmiel thinking that we're untrustworthy.
We can always talk to Hellie about it reason later, but until we do, it's best not to put in our two cents where it doesn't belong. We don't need Hellie and Elmiel thinking that we're untrustworthy.