A Tale of One Deviant (Book One)

Chapter 6: This Time, I Meet Him! Finally, Dang It!

     "Yes."

     As Head Maid held me close to herself, Mother started making her way through the large crowd and stood at its head. We followed close behind but could never catch since Mother had used a spell for speed, I could tell when that little tug was felt again, to go faster. I worried that I would feel that horrible migraine again, but it never came.

     The first of the party came through the gates, swinging lanterns defined as they were held up on poles. I remember seeing something similar when I went to China for a foreign exchange once. It was something fascinating to watch as they swung back and forth while the carriers were bumped up and down by their horses.

     The people in the party, about one hundred from what I could see, looked absolutely dog tired as they traveled the small distance to where we stood in a circle with 300 meters as diameter. There were a few wagons that seemed like they belonged to a pioneer group, and shorter wagons that carried people and more supplies. Basically, there were people on horses, foot, and wagon. Not very magical.

     When the very last person had made it through the gate, the guardsmen started to walk them until they were closed. There was another man who walked up and slammed a lock into place and at that moment, I felt something spring out of it and watched as the same pretty barrier I had seen everyday up until now spread out over the estate. The moon's light was collected in it and spread across the ground in beautiful fragmentation, casting colorful spots on the hundreds of people inside as they looked to the sky.

     The party broke apart when some random man dismounted from his horse and ran for a random maid in the crowd. He left the horse behind, but it didn't run off or anything but just stood there until a page got off from a cart and took its reigns. More and more people started doing that until all of the pages had at least three horses on hand, the soldiers reuniting with people they hadn't seen for a very long time. People were crying, laughing, mingling like they had never left.

     I didn't recognize a single person. All these faces made me uneasy, especially seeing their bare emotions after not even being close to them. It was like making a cashier at a fast food place cry just by saying a few words. I didn't earn that closeness by being their friend. Heck, I didn't even pay money to see it, so it felt odd to see this.

     This place, I realized long ago, was like a family. A giant one where everyone knew everyone, people cared about each other. Even the rude and snappy maids like Magaris gave out cheerful smiles when they reunited with dirtied and bandaged soldiers, female soldiers coming out and greeting their men that had stayed behind in the estate.

     I looked around and saw Magaris standing alone near the mansion, arms crossed while she looked up at the sky. I for sure thought that someone would go to her because people with similar attitudes got their loved ones back. Upon her face was a complacent look, but seeing her eyes ruined the whole façade when I saw the unshed tears. For a second, I actually felt bad for her. Maybe she hadn't acted so terse and rude before she lost whoever was dear to her. Maybe I shouldn't have drooled on her shoulder.

     Her head ducked down, pulling shadows across her features so I couldn't see. She ran back inside while having her hands held down by her sides, stalking away while yanking the door open. She never looked back as it swung closed.

     And no one noticed her. Not as she left.

     No one called out. From the crowd of newcomers. Or the people who had already been here.

     I see...I know what's going on here.

     I was in a similar situation myself.