As a story is brought to life and a world based on that story was made, a series of complicated incantations were needed to be certainly precise and any errors should be completely erased for it to be successfully brought to existence.
Using the divine powers of a certain goddess named Effie, a special world based on her story was made in accordance with her will. That world is different from the real worlds that exist because that special world can only survive within Effie's domain, hidden and unknown to the other gods and goddesses.
The process of making that special world is complicated but the idea is simple, that is, give the world its own consciousness and take into account every detail from the original story.
Characters will be brought to life with a set personality, their backgrounds as a person were already established, their identities are already defined. Whenever there were plot holes and events that were not properly described, the world's consciousness will immediately fill in the blanks while being careful of not disrupting the storyline and faithful to the minute details provided by the story.
This world-building is an intricate process, and Umi is enjoying her special privilege to be able to live in such a carefully made world. It is only her first world, but what would a normal human feel after experiencing a bizarre phenomenon like this?
Excitement and anticipation, with a sprinkle of faint anxiety.
Umi was stunned and at the same time amused upon knowing about the unexpected 5% increase in the Emotional Points for her main mission. It felt like receiving a Christmas gift during summer. Unexpected but of course, very much appreciated.
So, it seems that treating the wounds of the main character really does have an effect.
Regarding the special mission of changing Faerin's fate, Umi is already on it.
"So, what are you going to do now, Umi?"
Mochi asked as the pair of child and kitten wandered around the forest for a while after the girl got out of her relaxing bath.
Umi beamed cheekily, her eyes narrowing into slits as she pushed back her shoulders. "Watch and learn the greatness of a genius, Mochi."
Mochi shrugged. "As long as you stay focused on the mission."
"Of course! You can trust me. In everything I do, I do it impressively." Umi puffed out her chest, like a proud child who just announced to her mother about getting a perfect score on a quiz about the alphabet.
They both walked in the direction away from the location of the Tower of Magic. Even if they were relatively away right now, Umi estimated that the Mad King's people must have reached the tower already to "cleanse" it after the massacre, so she still had to be vigilant of any signs of life from her position.
Silently praying that the prince has survived on his own, she walked towards the place where the original Fae drifted to when she was wandering around aimlessly at the forest, the West Kingdom.
The four main kingdoms of this continent are named the North, South, East, and West Kingdoms. Umi thought that the goddess lacked creativity in naming these kingdoms so maybe she will comment on this later. But, the naming sense is quite practical. Not only the name of the kingdom indicates its location, but it is also memorable and hard to forget.
At the center of the four kingdoms is the Tower of Magic built just 5 years ago. When the original Fae aimlessly walked around the forest, she unintentionally ended up in the West Kingdom, which Umi finds advantageous and reasonable.
The South is a no-no because that is where the Mad King is. The North is also a no because that is where the prince decided to hide while plotting against the Mad King for ten years and Umi hasn't still decided to join his organization yet, at least not until she was strong enough to defend herself. The East is where the princess Fae lived, and most people will be able to recognize her, as well as the Mad King's people if they heard the news of a certain princess if she was recognized there.
Also, there is a mountainous terrain separating the east from the tower and Umi never had the stamina to climb a mountain.
So, West it is!
The West Kingdom is also the closest to the tower among the others. It will approximately take Umi a week's worth of walking on foot with proper breaks for meals and sleep. If there was a horse, it will cut down to a half but she had no horse or the skills to ride one.
So, walk it is!
Along their way, food was never a problem since there are a lot of wild fruits and herbs in this abundant forest. Umi also made sure to rip out the insignia of the Tower of Magic embroidered on her laboratory gown and wore the brown robe she had on her bag, just like how the original Fae did to hide her identity.
The original, after experiencing hell from the tower, feared being recognized as a royal so she ultimately hid her identity, completely left the idea of nobility, and decided to survive on her own.
Well, Umi had her plans. This identity of hers can help her in the future. So for now, she hid the piece of cloth with the embroidered insignia of the Tower of Magic in her bag.
Along the boundary of the West Kingdom, separating it from the Tower of Magic with a deep forest in between, lies a quiet and small, almost a hidden village.
This village is Umi's target as of now. Besides being the closest one from her original location, this small village is the farthest from the capital city and is clueless about the recent matters of the Kingdom since trading with other villages is rare to happen here and naturally, news about the latest events will always be delayed to reach this small location.
The original Fae was clueless and naive. She skipped this village, vigilantly entered a carriage full of goods to be delivered to the capital from this village, and that carriage only delivers once a year. She might be lucky to encounter the rare transportation of goods but the carriage was ambushed by bandits along the way. She was captured and was sold to a slave trader in a nearby town, a more developed location than this village.
Miraculously, she got out of the slave trader's headquarters and roamed around the streets of the town. There, she started to be a beggar for the next ten years while avoiding being caught by the slave traders.
Umi couldn't decide if Fae was lucky to be able to evade the door's death more than once or if she is misfortunate to be at death's door now and then.
Umi shuddered for a while. Well, those things happened to the original but not for her!
If she takes that path of self-destruction, then her foster father would better start crying in front of her grave due to extreme remorse of how stupid her adopted daughter turned out to be!
Examining the furthest hut from the center of the village, the one that is isolated from the other huts and is closest to the forest, Umi hid her small body behind a tree to scrutinize her target.
There, on a distance, she saw an old couple arranging the goods to be delivered to the capital. The old couple exchanged a few words with a few soldiers. One soldier examined the precious herbs from the couple, and after checking its worth, he gave the elderly couple a pouch with a few gold coins inside.
Once a year, this village provides precious herbs from the forest to the capital, including the elderly couple, to be given gold coins in exchange. Those gold coins will be enough to last the people here for a few months.
Soldiers are soldiers. Even if they stayed faithful with their original masters, they will still undeniably serve the one in charge of the kingdom. However, even if the Mad King has already risen to the throne, not all soldiers were his people. Furthermore, this is the West. So the soldiers here are not as bad as the ones in the South where the Mad King is.
After a few deep breaths, Umi then finally started executing her plan.
Dragging her own two small legs, she dashed forward while not forgetting to try to act like a child acting strong despite clearly being weak.
Mochi, in his invisible state, followed closely behind, keeping silent all the time while observing the situation.
"I have herbs to sell too." Umi formed her lips into a thin line while her jet black eyes showed desperacy, she offered a few herbs she picked along the way with her two small and delicate hands.
Right now, she is only ten years of age. If Fae was indeed a sharp one, then she can figure out how to bring her current appearance to appeal to these people.
The elderly couple and the few soldiers, upon seeing the pitiful child with dirty appearance, were initially shocked, then turned to wary, until pity and worry took over.
"Oh, dear! How did a child come out of the forest alone? Whose child is this!"
The grandma approached Umi and carefully inspected the child's face, the only skin peeking out of the brown robe except for her bare feet on the ground.
"I haven't seen that child before." The grandpa then followed and inspected the herbs on the child's hands. "These are indeed precious herbs from the deeper parts of the forest."
"You haven't seen that child? This is a small village, is there anyone you don't know here?" a soldier asked the grandpa.
"No, everyone knows anyone here, except the soldiers who come here to trade goods." The grandpa gave a meaningful look to the soldiers. "Did she came with you?"
The soldier shook his head. "No. If there was a child on our empty carriage on the way here, we would know."
The grandma kneeled in front of the child to match her eye level and to closely inspect the girl. "Child, where did you come from?"
"Forest. My parents were hunters. They lost me."
The people around Umi who heard this were flabbergasted. Good heavens! A child, alone in the forest, even if beasts were uncommon in this side of the forest, their presence is always there on the deepest parts of the forest!
What kind of parents would bring a child to hunting!
Umi inwardly smiled. Of course, her story has many loopholes but who would dare question a lost and weak child. She can't even hurt a rabbit for food, why would they stay vigilant against her?
"Herbs. I have herbs to sell," Umi said.
Student Fae, as a lone genius, is a girl with a few words. So Umi tried to keep her character for the story. This is the reason why she was chosen by the goddess, who can act better than her?
The soldiers, who saw this pitiful child acting bravely in front of them, wavered in their positions. The one who gave the gold pouch to the elderly couple earlier, maybe the leader, crouched down in front of the small child.
"Keep these precious herbs to yourself. Instead, take this." The soldier offered her two gold coins. "You can buy bread and an exchange of clothes using these."
Umi, who had a bag full of pieces of jewelry more precious than two gold coins, bowed deeply in front of the soldier.
"Thank you," she softly whispered.
The soldier's mood instantly lightened. "You need a place to stay. I can't bring you with us, the journey is long and dangerous."
Umi was touched by the soldier's words. He still had the idea of helping her despite giving her two coins already. Looking closely, the soldier had an attractive face, tall and lean, and is young, around his late teen years.
"Indeed. Honey, let us just take the child with us. I'm sure Cage will be happy to have a playmate?" the grandma appealed to her husband.
After a deep moment of silence, the grandpa sighed. "Then I'll just have to work harder to farm diligently to provide for the four of us."
Umi inwardly smiled in triumph, her scheming mind already taking in action. This is what she was after in the first place. She wanted to be adopted by this elderly couple. Their hut's location is very convenient and practical for Umi, so she can cultivate her powers inside the forest, while still securing a place to live and food to eat.
After hearing the elderly couple's words, Umi gave them a small smile. "Thank you. I won't be a burden. I know how to farm and collect herbs."
The elderly couple smiled, looking dotingly at the child.
"You can help darling, but we don't find you a burden, all right?"
The child nodded weakly and bowed her head towards the couple. The couple can only laugh at the silly child.
The young soldier who gave Umi two coins approached Umi and gently tapped on the child's shoulder. "If you ever find your way in the capital, you can look for me. My name is Reyr. May I know yours?"
Everyone looked expectantly at the child.
Even if not everyone knew the face of a princess from the East, the name of Princess Faerin is still pretty well known. Everyone from the East knew how beautiful and promising the princess was, from her delicate and fair skin free from any blemishes, her deep dark eyes and jet black hair, the black and white contrast of her overall appearance creates a striking picture of a porcelain doll.
Her power, the ability to move things using only her mind, was indeed special and rare. Even if her powers showed weak during her first five years, people were sure that she will gain strength after being admitted to the Tower of Magic where all the other royal children are.
However, the child they are facing right now only looked plain in their eyes because of the dirt on her face and the unruly hair on her head, covering most of her face. Even the brown robe covered most of her skin so the people around can't see the bruises and remnants of wounds all over her body.
"Fae. My name is Fae," the child spoke in a soft voice, almost like a whisper but loud enough for the people around to hear.
The original chose to use the first syllable of her name as an alias to hide her identity and Umi naturally will do too.
Fae, the lost princess.
Reyr, the soldier, smiled. "I'm looking forward to seeing you again, little Fae."
Reyr, with hair and eyes a deep shade of red, was deeply impressed by the girl. She was just a child yet she tried to act brave and strong despite her situation. He felt that there might be something special to this girl but can't exactly point a finger at it. Nonetheless, if this child is indeed special, then he would meet her again in the future.
Umi, who knew of the future that this carriage will be ambushed by bandits soon, decided to help them a bit. Reyr is a kind person who wanted to help her, so saving him in this lifetime is only reasonable.
"I saw many bandits earlier. Be careful on the road. Do not take the short cut."
The soldiers were stunned. Bandits were not uncommon on the road, but if the girl did saw some and even warned them to not take the short cut, then of course they will be alarmed.
Reyr, upon a brief consideration, took the young girl's words to heart decided to take another way than where they originally intended, even if it delayed their journey a day's worth.
When the carriage has departed, along with the few soldiers waving goodbye to the little Fae, the elderly couple immediately took care of the child.
Umi found out that the couple's names were Grandpa Roy and Grandma Mary. All their life, they lived in this village and married at a young age. They had a daughter who was married to a son-in-law and bore a son. But after a few years of marriage, the younger couple died due to an accident on the road, leaving their son to the grandparents.
The grandson's name was Cage. A little boy, the same age as Fae, with amber eyes to match his chestnut hair, is currently eyeing the little girl who entered his home with his grandparents.
"Cage, come meet your new friend. Starting now, she will be your sister so be nice to her, okay?"
The little Cage who was playing with a makeshift toy, open and closed his mouth repetitively. Where did this random kid come from?
He was surprised but didn't voice a protest. Anyway, having a sister is not entirely a bad idea. He will have an additional playmate, so this is probably a good thing!
"Little Fae, wash yourself up. You can wear these old clothes from my late daughter."
Fae nodded and received the clothes with an obedient nod.
"After you wash up, I'll take you around the village! Let's play together, okay?"
The little boy exclaimed, clearly excited about the idea of having a sister.
Umi, excited about exploring the village, gave the little boy a gentle smile. Having an aloof personality, the only way Umi can compensate for this family's kindness and generosity is through a smile on her expressionless face so she did as much as she can to express her fondness for the family.
Umi did not know back then that just a simple smile from her stirred something inside of the little boy's heart.
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⚘ A/N ⚘
Question: Two characters were introduced! What do you think will be Reyr's role in Fae's life? How about Cage's?
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Dear Readers,
This author loves you.
Yours truly,
ACLIXAM
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