Relics of Aether - Homebound (Sample)

Chapter 1

Marina woke with a start as she heard three knocks on the door to her room. She slowly rolled out of the bed and approached the window, pushing aside the curtain to peer outside. From the second floor of the Aurumsworth Manor, she had a good view of the landscape and the town of Goldslate beyond. It was a bit before the break of dawn, with the forestry outside becoming just barely visible after the darkness of night. She sighed with relief. The memory almost caused her to oversleep again. She was lucky that someone had knocked to wake her, as she would undoubtedly have to face consequences if she were not up before dawn.

She turned back to look at her mostly barren room. It was small, only decorated with a decrepit bed and a small, seemingly ancient dresser. In a trudge, she made her way to the bathroom to prepare herself for the day. As she took care of her hygiene, she pondered the memory for a while, of that day where her home was destroyed, where her family was taken from her. It got hazier as time passed on, the faces of her parents becoming blurs. Forgetting would probably be for the best anyway.

Marina broke away from the thought to find herself staring blankly into the mirror, toothbrush still in hand, mindlessly running it across her sharp, pointed teeth. Focusing on her image, she examined herself. She had emerald green eyes and somewhat long azure-blue hair. There were also the aquatic traits that she inherited from her mother, including the dull blue fins resting on her forearms and those protruding from where she should've had ears. They had, in her experience, proven to be a curse. Everyone, including those responsible for raising her seemed to treat her as if she was sub-human, some even looking upon her with some level of disgust. She was skinny and fairly short for thirteen years of age. She often pondered what it would be like to be tall and strong, like the adventurers she would hear about in stories, or at the very least how her life would be different if she were a normal human girl.

Discarding the thought, she put the toothbrush away, and started to tend to her hair. She held up her hands, and they started glowing a faint blue as she concentrated some of her mana through them. Water then began to form, and she began to run it through her hair. She found that using her own water magic for it worked better than the water from the faucet. With her hair wet, she began to run a brush through it until she was somewhat satisfied. She then used her control of the water to pull the remaining moisture out of her hair and drop it gently into the sink, watching it fall down the drain.

Moving away from the mirror, she went to the dresser to choose her attire for the day. Inside, there were a few sets of work clothes, all battered and torn from use. Next to those was a small assortment of nicer clothing that Marina could wear casually, her favorite among them being a comfortable, navy-blue jumper that was a little too big on her. Then, there was the deep blue dress that Marina was only allowed to wear when Midas needed her to look good for something, particularly during parties and such. Next to that, there was the manor maid uniform, which she wore when she did her work around the manor. She found wearing the last two to be intolerable.

Today, she was charged with watering and tending to gardens one, two, and five, organizing the groceries that Melody was supposed to go out to buy today, and sweeping the dirt from the east and west entries to the manor.

Right, so it's a normal day, she thought. Maybe if I finish my work quick, I might have a little bit of free time for once. While allowing her imagination to run wild with the idea of what she would do with such time, she slipped into the maid uniform and took one last look around the room in case she forgot something. Ah. I almost forgot to redo my bed. I'd definitely get yelled at for that.

She pulled the bed's coverings back over the mattress and tucked them in neatly underneath. After one last glance over, she finally slipped out the door into the lantern-lit hallways beyond.

It was quiet this early in the morning. Most of the manor's staff were still sleeping soundly. The only sounds were of Marina's light footsteps on the marble floor and the running water of a fountain off down one of the other hallways. The halls were massive, seemingly made for people twice the height of normal men, with walls covered in elaborate designs and expensive artwork. Marina paid no mind to them, as they were the same no matter how many times she walked the corridors.

She traveled down the winding, luxurious halls for several minutes before she finally made it to the eastern exit, a large room decorated similarly to the rest of the manor. She entered on the balcony that overlooked the room, with two staircases that sprawled to the bottom from both sides. At the base of these stairs stood a woman in the manor maid uniform, patiently waiting for Marina to approach. Marina walked swiftly down the stairs to meet her. When she got closer, the maid stepped into the lantern light, and her long silver hair and playful purple eyes revealed her to be Melody, much to Marina's relief.

It always seemed like everyone in the manor did everything in their power to avoid or dismiss Marina, always sending her off or simply ignoring her. Melody was the only person who would actually speak to her normally, making her Marina's only actual friend. She also taught her a variety of important lessons, from properly styling her hair to cooking meals the correct way. Even though she was clearly annoyed with the prospect of being up so early, her tired eyes still lit up when she saw Marina.

"Ah, good- you're up. Now we can both suffer together." Melody jokes, yawning halfway through. " Seriously though, I hate it when we have to do stuff this early. Really, what's the point?"

"That Midas says to," Marina replied sheepishly. She hated even thinking about the consequences of disobeying him. "I probably would've been in bed for a couple more hours if you didn't knock. Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah. You know I've got you covered. Only if I'm awake though. Cause I'm not waking up early if I don't have to. Not even for you. Now... What were you planning on having for breakfast?"

"Oh, well, probably the usual slice of bread with some oatmeal. Why do you-"

"Forget about that" Melody stated quickly as a mischievous look that Marina had seen too many times filled her eyes. She quickly scanned the room to make sure no one was eavesdropping. "Today, we will eat like QUEENS. How, you might ask? With this!" She said while motioning to a key in her hand.

"Isn't that Midas's key to the food cellar?" Marina said nervously.

"The one with only some of the best food that money can buy? Yes!" She acclaimed proudly. "Mr. Bellbottum dropped it while he was arranging flower pots and didn't notice. So, I took the opportunity to make it a great morning for us."

"What makes you think we won't get caught?" worried Marina.

"Come on- when have I ever been caught doing something like this?" She remarked haughtily. "Besides, Midas isn't even home right now, he's still out on his business trip. So even if we do get caught, I'm sure I can worm my way out of it."

She had a point. Melody loved little more than dreaming up ridiculous schemes to have a little bit of fun, and she had a miraculous knack for avoiding consequences for them. It helped that she was one of the most dedicated workers in the manor. This plan, Marina hoped, Would be no exception. Besides, the prospect of at the very least seeing what was in there proved too tempting for her curiosity.

"Okay, fine." Conceded Marina. "We'll go. But let's make it quick, okay?"

"Of course, of course. Trust me, you won't regret this. Now let's move so we can do it before the rest of the staff wakes up." With their minds set, the two girls began to make their way to the center of the gargantuan manor.