It's been weeks...
Well, it's been a month or almost two by now, and her sister isn't here, yet. Perhaps Cassandra is still lingering with their hometown (Can't blame her, though). And, since that fateful incident, things start to change around her, constantly. Lynden notices that the archbishop begins to appear more and more in her daily life. It was there, perhaps, in the beginning, but Lynden didn't pay attention to it before, is it?
(Quick glances, sheepish smiles. Occasionally she receives a wink from the woman. And as the timid one, as she is, Lynden only knows to reply with a small smile or a flustered face. Lady Rhea must feel so proud of herself. The knight doesn't dare to do it, doesn't dare to return, mostly scared of anyone will take notice of the actions if they see it.
They meet at night in secrecy, of course. She likes the intimacy they have, the intoxicating sensation they share with each other passionately every night. The archbishop's touches, her soft voice whispers into her ears, her hands running through her hair lovingly. Something about the passion in her voice, about the melody...Lady Rhea often murmurs to her, soothes her after their night spent, dripping with honey in her sweet voice.
Most of the time, they talk. They talk about anything they can come up with. Works, stories, daily activities, anything trivial that crossed their minds at the moment. The archbishop even shares some of her matters, gesturing to express her annoyance, or joy as the woman tells her stories throughout the day. It's more like small, fleeting talks, chatting, as Lynden leans on the chair, quietly looking at the archbishop, who holds a cup of tea, sharing the talks.
It's warming, Lynden thinks to herself, hasn't expected the archbishop to be this merrily and wholesome, to be honest. A new, fun experience love, for it, is truly Lynden's first.
Though it's...weird to admit, she hasn't had anyone until Lady Rhea. All of this is so new to her. So, the archbishop is the one who takes lead in this. Lynden doesn't have a complaint about it.
How old is she? Erm... twenty-one? No, it's twenty-two, she corrects herself, self-blaming her own forgetfulness. She didn't think about dating anyone after she came here, making her inexperienced, and, Rhea occasionally teases, a goofball.
Having someone in her life is a rather big milestone in her life, now that Lynden thinks about it.
However, there is something the archbishop hides, she notices that.
Every time they do the act, Rhea would never let Lynden touch her hair, tightly grasps Lynden's hand whenever she wanders too close to her hidden ears, asking her (more like a command with that tone of voice) not to wander around the woman's desk.
It's not her concern much, Lynden must say, nodding obediently if she said so. She never has the habit to pry into people's personal life. So, if she wants to leave it at that, then fine, she won't touch it. The archbishop's anger is nothing to mess around with. She had seen it firsthand.)
"Hey! Hey! Are you there?"
Lynden snaps out of her thoughts, eyestrain on Alika, who snapped her fingers at the taller one. Lynden blinks and blinks again. Alika tilts her head, nudging the girl.
"What's wrong?" Lynden calmly asks, face still painted with surprise.
"We are talking about the food then you suddenly spaced out." Alika says, "What happened?"
Oh yes, she is at the restaurant that Elias talked about and went for a try. The result is that it has become their favorite place ever since. Lynden and her friends gather here together often when they have their time off. It's late in the morning, and Edmon and she hadn't eaten anything for breakfast. So here they are.
Elias and Edmon are all looking at her, waiting for her response. Lynden sits straight up in embarrassment.
"Erm..." Lynden coughs, rubbing her eyes, "I'm fine...a little sleepy, I guess?"
"You sure?" Alika purses her lips, "You space out a lot, like, for weeks now."
"Oh?"
"Yeah," Elias nods, a smirk draws on his face, "And looks like a dork."
"Oh."
Lynden shakes her head.
"It's nothing," She denies, swatting her hand, but everyone can see her flustered face as she keeps on denying it. They snicker, confirming their assumption is right.
"...Why would you guys make that face?" Seeing the smug grin on Elias, she squeaks while her face flushed red like a tomato.
"Yeah sure, sure! It's nothing at all." Elias retorts in a mocking tone. Alika meanwhile tries to hold back her grin, eyes filling with amusement as Lynden shifts awkwardly.
Even Edmon perks up at the subject. The man closes his book, carefully places it down on the table. He stares at Lynden, almost as if he urges her to confirm the theory, perhaps waiting for the story behind too.
"Well?" Edmon asks after a long, long silence.
Lynden sighs.
"Yes..." Lynden stops for a sec, looking down, "I...am crushing on someone, I guess?"
"GODDESS!" Alika excitedly gasps, making Lynden's heart almost jumps out of her body. The other woman then stops herself, looking quite ashamed, lowering her voice down. She breathes, "Who is it? What does she look like?"
"Well, she is beautiful, has quite a voice, and uh..." Lynden pauses, and raises an eyebrow, "old. A little old."
"...Pardon?" Edmon's eyes widen a little at her bluntness. His face flashes with confusion.
"Older than me- t-t-than us!" She stutters, trying to correct the sentence whilst her hand covering her mouth, "That's what I meant! She's older than us! Not the other way around!"
"...Never knew you have a thing for older women," Edmon adds in a monotone voice, as he's examining Lynden.
"I do." Elias curtly nods, his smug grin growing bigger and bigger on his face. Lynden quickly shot her eyes up to look at him.
"Please no." Lynden scowls, clenching her hand around her coffee cup, "It's embarrassing."
"Oh please, it happened long, long ago." Elias chuckles, "Most already forgot it. Especially her, I hope."
"But you still remember it." The tall knight retorts.
"It's a funny story though." Lynden groans in frustration, whilst Elias chuckles, stirring his cup, "Seeing your lovestruck ass buying flowers" The blonde man stops for a second to stop himself from laughing so loud "...for a florist. That made my day."
Lynden embarrassingly looks at the other two, who trade a glance with each other, silently snickering. Then Alika speaks, trying hard to suppress herself from a fit of laughter that may escape from her. After biting back the string of snickers, she manages to change the subject, for Lynden's sake.
"Oh! How about your sister?" The woman curiously cocks her head, "Any news from her?"
"...No." Lynden lightly shakes her head, tapping her fingers on the hot cup of coffee she had ordered, "And her class is starting soon, I just hope she won't miss her first day to class."
"You are worried too much, Lynie." Elias knitting his hands together, "I remember Cass is a clever and precise kid. I'm sure she will be fine."
Lynden doesn't say anything, busy herself looking at the clock, which ticks slowly under her eyes. Maybe she's...too worried like Elias said. But how could she not? She loves her sister dearly. Lynden was the person who persuaded her uncle to let her sister come to the Monastery. For a better chance to study, she said.
And perhaps she feels guilty too when she left Cassandra before. Their family was still a mess after their parents were both gone, and she left to find a better job to support the family. The last time she saw Cassandra in person is when she got the little girl to bed, then had an argument with her uncle, not noticing her sister watching the entire scene unfold down the staircase until she finally walked out of the house.
The only thing Lynden hopes Cassandra to understand is that she does this for her, for their uncle. And maybe this. This is the opportunity for Lynden to redeem, to show her sister that she does care.
"You're right," Lynden retorts, rubbing her hand absent-mindedly "I must have been too worried about her..."
"It's alright," Edmon silently voices with a knowing tone, "We get it."
Lynden huffs, trying to make out if Edmon is sarcastically saying or not.
Noticing her coffee, which has gone cold by now, she takes a small sip.
"So then...what about it?" Elias asks.
"About what?" She asks again, not understanding what he is trying to imply, furrowing her brows quizzically.
"About this lovely crush of yours?" Alika clears her throat, curiously prodding her, blinking, "Is this just an infatuation? How long have you had a crush on her? Have you guys talked?"
Oh, we are actually...dating, though. To be specific, are getting to know each other.
She sits there, looking at the old clock again as it ticks slowly. Lynden sighs while everyone looks at her expectantly. Even Edmon, who, in her opinion doesn't like to prod into the other's love life, is looking at her with curious eyes. She taps the table nervously.
"I...I don't think it is an infatuation" She begins gently, still not unsure, "And, I did consider that feeling of mine, and I think that I actually like her?" She ponders, puzzled and scowling at her own answer.
Chuckles are heard from her friends. Lynden stares at her coffee, haltingly stirring it. It's getting colder, yet her face is getting warmer by the second now. If they push the subject more, Lynden might spoil the beans for them. But of course, her friends won't try to pursue her into telling her who is that person-
"So...Manuela?" Edmon asks jokingly.
"No." She furrows her brows in disbelief, "Why?"
"Just guessing." Edmon shrugs.
"Or maybe it's Shamir?" Alika adds in.
"She is the same age as him, moron!" Elias laughs heartily, pointing at Edmon, "Lynie here has a spice for older women, remember Ali?"
"It's a fun guess, though." Alika jokingly smirks, "I'm not THAT invested in it, but really," She suddenly asks, turning her head to look at Lynden with puppy eyes "Who is it?"
"I...can't tell...You guys are having a bet, right?" Lynden agape, flustered by the conversation and the bet, "Maybe someday? But not right now..."
"Then I'm gonna place a bet." Elias whispers winking, "I bet is Catherine."
"She is not that old." Alika raises one of her eyebrows, pursing her lips, and shot Elias an odd look.
"Meh, it's for fun like you just said," Elias laughs, "It would be a surprise if she ended up liking the Thundering Knight, eh?"
"My bet for Manuela is still on." Edmon nods, raising one finger.
Lynden sighs at her friends. But she doesn't say that she isn't amused by it. It's fun and dumb, and they won't even know who that is. I mean, who would even bet on the archbishop? And to the rules they have set up, if their bets are all wrong, the money will all be hers. Chuckling to herself, Lynden's eyes land on Alika's, who's been staring at Lynden for Goddess knows when. They stare at each other. There is...something in the brown-haired girl's eyes. Alika snickers, clicking her tongue.
"C'mon A," Elias calls, "Who will you bet on?"
"I think it will be..." Alika taps her chin fraudly. "...The archbishop?" Even frowns her brows as if she wasn't sure the sentence spilled out her mouth just now. But then she just claps her hands together, smiles smugly, "Yeah, I bet on the archbishop."
"..."
"..."
"..."
The he-
"Welp!" Elias laughs out loud suddenly, then clicks his tongue, "That's a bold one, Alika! The archbishop? May I ask why such a preposterous choice?"
"Eh...," Alika shrugs, sipping her tea casually, "My splendid intuition is never wrong. I mean, from what I see, she's old too, right?"
Lynden's heart almost leaped out of her body. She shot Alika a frantic look.
"Well then, all bets are on." Alika says merrily whilst cheering with the boys, "Good luck to you, gentlemen."
Lynden hurries across the hallway and utters a quick "sorry" to everyone who she accidentally bumped into. Still, her face is carved with a joyous smile, eyes shine brilliantly as she moves, picking up a fast pace.
She just got back from the hang-out, and just sat down at her desk to work on some papers, then Elias basically came in, told her that her sister had arrived, then ran off hurriedly before Lynden could even process what he just shouted right at her face. Lynden simply stood up and ran after him immediately.
"Cassandra's waiting for you." Elias says breathily as Lynden finally catches up with him, "The kid wants you to go with her to get enrolled into the school."
"How long has she been waiting for me?"
"Not very...long?" Elias raises his eyebrows, turning his head slightly to a side, "She said that so...I guess? The guard told her to wait for you after sending her to the yard." He gives Lynden a small shrug as she huffs.
And as they approach the front yard, Lynden can see a small silhouette of a girl, crouching, and perhaps examining something in the flowerbed. The kid hasn't noticed the two knights are here, losing herself in leaves.
"So, my job here is done." Elias says, gently smacks on her pauldron, and turns his heels back to work, "Have a fun day, man. I got you covered for the job." He winks.
"Thank you." Lynden smiles, weakly, waving goodbye to her friend, while begins to walk toward her sister.
Slowly trails her feet on the ground, something flashes inside her, it feels more and more surreal as she's closer and closer to her sister. Cassandra has...grown. A lot. The only image of her inside Lynden's head was when she was still a small, frail child. However, before her, a beautiful maiden.
Lynden breathes in, and then breathes out, and then in again. So, she will just...strike a conversation? What will she say? Oh hello? How are you doing, sister? Many years apart make she doesn't know what to say to her sister anymore.
The knight takes up her courage as she finally approaches the younger girl, and gently places her hand on the girl's shoulder. As she expected, or maybe she didn't, Cassandra flinches, and yelps out loud, making Lynden can't help but flinch as well. She steps back a bit, eyebrows furrow in concern.
The girl calms down after a sudden moment of surprise, fixing her dress as she looks up to Lynden, face tinted with pink. Her bright blue eyes stare up at Lynden's, as she sighs with a relieved smile painted on her features.
"Holy sh..." Cassandra huffs in amusement, jokingly slapping her sister's arm, "Don't scare me like that! I could die of a heart attack!"
Lynden's embarrassed, she scratches her nose, giving her sister a coy smile. She can just reply with a small "Sorry". Following it just silence between them. Lynden takes the moment to look at her sister more closely, she silently sighs.
She's always worried about Cassandra. But now, standing before her was a poised, gorgeous young woman, she feels...less anxious about the kid now. After all, she doesn't want to overwhelm the kid by prodding, poking into her new life at the Monastery like an over-protective sister. But still...
"Well then...uh, hello sister?" Cassandra shyly says, holding out her hand, "How are you doing these days? All good, dandy fine?"
"Good?" Lynden licks her dry lips, fairly hesitant, shaking her sister's hand "How about you? And uncle?"
"Oh, we're all a-okay." Cassandra nods, thumbs up, "Better, to be honest. Thanks for it, by the way. He sent his regards. Said he missed you a lot."
"That's great to hear." Lynden smiles coyly, A pleasant feeling flowed through her at the mention of their uncle. She gently greets, "Welcome to the Monastery, Cassandra."
Lynden holds her hands out again, wanting to give her sister an embrace. The younger sister, too, reaches for the knight, grasping Lynden at her armor. They give each other an awkward hug. The two of them stay in that position for a long silence, as Cassandra's cling begins to falter.
"How come you become so tall?" Lynden quickly loosens the embrace to look at her sister's face, who tilts her head, face draws with some kind of an awe expression. "I mean- You must be taller than uncle now, to be honest." As she raises her hands like wants to measure Lynden's.
Well, now that she mentioned it...Cassandra looks like a tiny kitten in her eyes. And it reminds her of something though, something related to Cassandra's eating habit.
"I guess, well..." Lynden answers, "...milk?"
"Milk?" Cassandra frowns.
Yeah, okay, the kid still doesn't like milk.
"People say drinking milk will help you grow taller?" The knight shrugs.
"...Wait, that's actually mandatory?!?!" Cassandra raises her hands up in the air, exclaiming, "I despise that cow liquid! What in the damnation- you are joking right?"
"I thought you knew?" Lynden asks, settling down at the bench, grinning in amusement by seeing her sister's small frustration.
Cassandra annoyingly pinches her nose, pouting as she crosses her arms together. She used to push her glass of milk to Lynden every time after their breakfast, shot a disgusted face at the glass as if it is her archenemy when their mom told her to drink it. Lynden muses, Cassandra hates it that much?
"It's just a factor, and you know that thing is my bane of existence!" Cassandra says, frowns at the talk, "Well I did try on different diets, no results, sadly though. But this!" As she points to Lynden, "How are you so tall??? And how am I this freaking..." Pointing back at herself, "tall?"
"How am I supposed to know?" Lynden answers, unsure of what to say, shrugging, "Father was a tall man though, I remember? Maybe I have some from him. And exercises, too."
"Oh, yeah..."
Cassandra ponders, and finally calms herself down while settling down to the bench again, next to her sister. Perhaps the mention of their father hits her somewhere inside. Lynden stares at the kid for a while, then focuses on a nearby flowerbed. As she's playing with her fingers, Cassandra manages to say, a tone so gentle.
"You know about dad a lot, huh? I didn't interact with him much to understand him like mom."
"Only some...hazy memories when I was a baby." Lynden scoffs, "I'd never spent too much time with him before his disappearance, due to his job." The knight trails, and gives her sister a strained smile, "Still, he was a great man. Father had a great voice..."
"Huh, now you mention it..." The little sister nods, "I only remember about mom, though. I wish I could spend some time with dad. I can't even recall a single moment with him."
They sit in silence for some time. Cassandra purses her lips, frowning her eyebrows. That's...true. Father has gone missing when Cassandra was just three years old. All of her childhood was spent with mother, and uncle as a father figure for her, them to look up to and admire.
Lynden sighs, standing up, deciding to cut the talk. It's amateurish to pull this talk out to discuss on their first meet after years, though.
"This wastes our time a lot now," Lynden says, brushing her pants, "Come on, let's get you to the office then I will show you around."
The shorter girl sighs, nodding while slowly standing up.
"The sooner we go, the sooner we can hang out with Elias and my friends."
"Hehe, let's go then." Cassandra immediately gets up, hastily jogs to the hallway, "Can't wait to meet your friend, honestly!"
Lynden smiles while catching up to her sister. They walk around the places briefly. Lynden points and shows some places that they see on their way to see the archbishop. To see Rhea. Rhea... Now that she remembers. Rhea is busy today, right?
"Wait, you don't go to work today?" Cassandra suddenly asks, her eyes holding so much bewilderment.
"Don't worry." Lynden waves her hand absent-mindedly, "Elias gets me cover. After all, I can finish it up tonight easily."
"Ooooooh..." The younger one shrugs her shoulder, smirking, "That's cool. I mean, a little lazy of you, but cool."
"Let me tell you about the Academy with the houses, hm?" Lynden asks, gazing at her sister.
"Nah, I have already read about the details and stuff."
"...And have you known on which house you will enroll in?"
"Black Eagles," Cassandra says confidently, "Which, coincidently my favorite too."
"Oh?" Amusement and curiosity flash through Lynden's face, she walks slower as she noticed Cassandra couldn't catch up, "May I know the reason?"
"The house's banner looks cool." Cassandra scratches her chin, smugly answers.
"...That's it?"
"Yeah." Cassandra cocks an eyebrow, smiling as she clicks her tongue, "Also, I like eagles. "
Cassandra just giggles, hitting her sister weakly on the arm as they walk side by side.
It's afternoon now, the sunlight is too bright, too hot in this season. Which is weird, Lynden muses. If Lynden walks out to the sun right now, she might get some sunburned from it. It flashes its radiant light into her tired eyes makes her blink furiously, whilst she and her sister continue their way to meet the archbishop. Their heels click on the marble ground, as some parts of it reflect the blazing light of the afternoon.
She hopes she won't bother Rhea much this afternoon, though. Perhaps Rhea's taking a nap, or at the Garden, having a tea party? Wait, she's giving sermons at the abbey now, isn't she? Lynden groans slightly. They are almost there, though.
"Who will we meet?" Cassandra's voice interrupts her nonsense train of thoughts, slapping her hands together.
"The archbishop." The knight replies, "I hope we don't bother her. I suspect she's giving sermons now?"
"Meh, we can wait-" The younger one stops herself mid-sentence, pointing backward, "...right? If you wanna get back to work sooner?"
"No, it's okay!" Lynden exclaims, quickly assuring her sister, patting the kid on her shoulder, "I promise that I will take you on a tour and meet my friend after this, right?"
Cassandra smiles and punches her sister gently on the back.
They finally arrived at the abbey, much to her bemusement, the session hasn't been over yet. Lynden and Cassandra decide to wait outside for a bit. Cassandra sits on the stair, balancing her legs, meanwhile her sister's concentrating on the big, ornate doors, waiting for them to be opened. The weather is still boiling like it wants to roast the two.
'Any minute now...' Lynden thinks, crossing her arms, her brows furrow as she counts seconds, one by one. She can hear prayers being muffled by the door inside. How long will it take? After some time, she gives up, settling down next to her sister. This will take a while, she bemused.
Then the people begin to pour out of the abbey, some look drowsy, secretly covering their hands to cover a yawn. Lynden immediately shot right up, gently nudges her sister, who almost gives in to her sleepiness. Cassandra stretches like a cat and deliberately stands up, following her sister to go inside.
"Be polite, okay?" Lynden anxiously says, despite this is she has many times met the archbishop. However, the knight can't stop feeling nervous, somehow. Scared of the first impressions between the two.
"Aw shucks, don't worry, sister." Cassandra yawns, "It's a piece of cake! Just trust me." Giving her sister a thumb up for assurance while they enter deeper into the abbey, the young sister exclaims in such confidence.
The sounds from their heels echoed quietly as they step further and further into the building. The abbey looks serene. Lights shine up the glasses, reflect down to the floor with colorful colors. Some people who're still there, sitting far from the altar, silently praying to the Goddess. If she isn't this careful, she won't notice their presence in the abbey.
Cassandra looks around, examining the environment around her, curiously like a deer. Her eyes linger at many pictures of Saints and the Goddess, contemplating something whilst trying to catch up to her sister.
Lynden's scanning her eyes around, looking for the archbishop
There she is! Rhea! Who idly stands, facing the altar. Light reflects brilliantly on her crown, looking at her feels like directly facing the Saint. She seems tired, however.
Lynden inhales.
"Lady Rhea?"
The archbishop hastily turns back, eyes wide, as if not expecting a guest. However, in a flash, she composes herself, exhaling gently. Her voice is ever so soft. Her eyes spark up a ray of happiness when seeing the knight.
"Lynden?" Rhea puts up a tired smile, "I didn't expect to see you here..." she looks at Cassandra curiously, "And... who must this be?"
"Please let me introduce," The knight places a hand on her sister's shoulder, smiling, "This is my sister, Cassandra. She just came to the Monastery this afternoon."
Lynden just finished her sentences a moment before, Cassandra suddenly holds out her hand, proceeding to use her monotone voice for some reason. Her eyes glue to Rhea.
"Nice to meet you, Archbishop." She says, making Lynden profusely sweats.
The archbishop, perplexed, stares at the hand, and then at Lynden for an explanation, which sees Lynden's confused and anxious face. She slowly, hesitantly draws out her hand to grab Cassandra's.
"Nice to meet you too, Cassandra." Lady Rhea replies, nodding in confusion somehow as they shake their hands. Slowly. The knight doesn't know what to say at the scene before her eyes. The air holds some kind of awkwardness while the two women maintain their eye contact. And even after their break their contact, it seems to get more and more awkward.
"How are your day?" Rhea finally speaks up, and composes herself, "Is there a matter you want to discuss?"
"Ah yes, we come to enroll her into the Academy." Lynden speaks up, as the two withdraw their hands, timidly chuckles, "Also, we're...good. I and my sister don't want to waste your time anymore, your Grace. Can we begin?"
"Yes, yes, of course." A quiet sigh of relief escapes Rhea's lips. "Have your sister informed you about the Academy?"
"Yep." The younger sister blinks, "I did some research beforehand, too."
"That's delighting to hear." The green-haired woman smiles, "You must have picked the house you will be in already, yes?"
"Yes, of course." Cassandra briefly replies, "The Black Eagles."
"And your application with the Academy's letter?"
"I have already sent it." Lynden confirms, "With some papers to the office."
"...Well then," Lady Rhea delights, clasping her hands together, "We can speak with Seteth about it, this evening, and everything will be done." She continues, "I promise it will be quick."
"Thank you, Lady Rhea," Lynden bows while Cassandra copies her, "Thanks for sparing your time for us."
"Please, it's my pleasure." Rhea's face goes soft. She chuckles.
"Then we won't bother you any longer." Lynden coughs, eyes secretly, carefully travel up to meet Archbishop's emerald ones. She gently says, "We will be on our way. Goodbye, Lady Rhea."
"Have a nice evening, both of you." As her gaze stays on the two sisters while they're walking out of the abbey.
"I don't know!" Cassandra bewilderedly exclaims. Or perhaps, because she seems like holding back her laugh, "I was nervous!"
"You made me nervous too." Lynden sighs.
"Sorry, it is a habit of mine." The shorter one pinches her nose, a small, goofy smile painted on her lips, "I shouldn't have done that." Still, Cassandra turns to face her sister, a goofy smile painted on her face as she giggles, "But did you see that? Her face looked dumbfounded at the moment, hehe."
The knight is showing her sister around, as they're at the greenhouse. Many people are here at this time of day, some researching, some taking a break in this hot afternoon in this burning area for some reason. However, because of their "small" chat about the talk they made with the archbishop a while ago attracts some quizzical eyes to look at them.
Lynden lowers her voice, embarrassed, afraid they are suspected something. The two walk side by side, deliberately trailing along the stone path. Cassandra wanted to go to the greenhouse first, and yes, much to the knight's demise, it's blazing like an oven in here. Inside her armor is now so wet, so stuffy, that she regrets every second that she agreed to go to the Greenhouse in the first place. She's hoping they can get out of here as quickly as possible.
Cassandra looks unbothered by the temperature, contrary to her sister though. Excitedly walking around to observe the place.
"It's pretty hot today, huh?" Lynden asks, sweats trailing down on her forehead.
"Only you feel it!" Cassandra giggles, waving her hand around distractedly, "I mean, judging on how many layers you dress inside the armor, I presume you will be roasted in no time."
"That's so nice of you, Cassandra."
Lynden scoffs, rolling her eyes as her sister giggles louder.
"So," Cassandra clasps her hands, "Which room will I stay in? Do I have a roommate?"
"Well, no? Not yet?" Lynden says, "And we still have to meet the archbishop this late evening to finish all of the documents, so in the meantime," she continues, "you can stay with me."
"Really???" The younger's eyes sparkle and her voice sound more joyous. Lynden nods, seeing her sister hypes up after the confirmation. "That's pretty neat."
"Yeah," The knight stops for a second, "and, uh...where is your luggage?"
"Oh, right," Cassandra exclaims, "I asked Elias to keep them for me, we can get them later."
"Alright."
Lynden sighs, stretching her hands like a tired cat. The two head out of the greenhouse, finally, as Lynden inhales the fresh air right by the time she just steps out of the place. Cassandra lightly hisses, hand covering her face as the light hits right on her face the moment she steps out. The younger sister rubs her eyes in annoyance, mumbling something quietly.
The major of their waiting time will now be spent inside Lynden's quarter, the tour can wait later, they agree with each other after stepping outside for more than a minute. The weather is killing the both of them, Cassandra comments, as she tiredly drags herself to catch up with her sister.
They begin to retreat into the hallway, which blocks the sunlight away, yet the heat still radiating. They stand, recovering from the weather.
This is rather hot for an autumn's afternoon, Lynden muses, sweat trickling down her forehead. The tour can wait after all, as the two scurry back to Lynden's room.
Arrived at her quarter sooner than she expected, Lynden open the door in a delight, letting Cassandra enter first. She awes in surprise. She turns back to look at the knight with astonishment.
The room is tidy, as she sweeps and cleans her room every day after work. Besides some basic furniture like a bed, a drawer, a chair, and a desk, she doesn't have anything to put in the room to decorate more for it. Except for a pile of books she put next to the bed, mostly because when she's lazy, Lynden will just conveniently pull out a book to read.
Her desk is full of lots of things, her paper works stacked neatly into two piles, and some wood she is carving carefully placed on the side. Cassandra trails her finger across the wooden desk, leaning onto it, peering at a paper on top of a pile next to her. Her face slightly scowls.
"Your skill is still the same, huh..." Cassandra carefully picks up the wooden sculpture which was laying there, unfinished.
"I don't have the time." Lynden gives out an excuse, trying to clean up her desk a bit, "Besides, it's been many years, I don't remember everything I had been taught since I was a kid."
Cassandra snorts, tilting her head to examine the small craft in her hands for a while. Gazing at it, a small sigh escapes Cassandra's lips as she finally places it down with a small 'thud', neatly next to other unadorned sculptures.
The two waste their time inside Lynden's quarter. The knight continues her work on the desk while her sister climbs into her bed, and sleeps after another small talk between them. A long journey, Lynden presumes. After all, from their village to Garreg Mach is quite a distance. The room is fairly hot, but not that burning like the outside. The light peers through the curtains shining right at the young sister, which makes her curl up, and unconsciously cover her face with the blanket.
Elias managed to cover half of her works now ( Goddess blesses that man), and aptly stacked the papers into two stacks for Lynden to continue. She decides to work through it at the moment. She takes glances at the kid, and the sky outside, hoping she won't forget about the appointment.
Occasionally, Lynden will turn back to ask Cassandra some small and trivial questions to keep the girl from boredom, letting her occupy herself with her talk as the knight working. Some of them are amazing, to be honest. The little girl managed to learn magic, spells, as well as potions?
"Just some medical potions, boring I would say," Cassandra leaning onto the pillow behind her, "I mean, I learned, or sometimes, peeped at mages and healers who passed through our village for a few days. Some were from the Academy, too! They told a lot of stories surrounding it."
And the knight nods, keeping the tell alive with questions, which lead to stories and stories from Cassandra.
For quite a long time, the talk continues but slowly goes back to silence as Cassandra's drowsy voice stops, only Lynden's quill on papers is heard as the knight focuses on her work. Rarely, Lynden will remember to look at the clock, to be sure that she won't miss the meeting.
The kid manages to sleep through the entire time, snoring quietly until Lynden wakes her up. The kid must have quite a journey to get here, she presumes. Cassandra's sleepy face looks unfocused, yawning, stretching like a cat as Lynden quietly speaks, changing her armor into something more comfortable (she forgot she put it on the entire time in the room).
"You're awake now?" Lynden asks, turning her head around to look at Cassandra as the little sister wipes her face with her sleeves, blinking her eyes slowly.
"Wait, wait." Cassandra yawns again, "Gimme a minute." she mumbles, rubbing her eyes, stretching her body.
Lynden hums.
They trot to the audience room, hurriedly. By the time they walked out of her room, the sun, which is now a fiery orb, started to set. The sky consists of many shades, reds, oranges, and yellows colors, with clouds slowly flowing through the beautiful painting. It's still not dark, yet. Still, lanterns have been lit up, guiding their way to their destination. Lynden and Cassandra make their way through some crowds, most are the students, who must have finished their classes by now. Cassandra glances at them and softly comments with her sister about the uniform she will wear as they are in their hurry.
Lynden scares that they are late, as she knocks on the door hurriedly. The two stand there not for long until a voice can be heard from the other side.
"Please come in." Rhea's voice gracefully speaks up. Finally.
The knight opens the door, as her sister gets into the room as swift as the wind, then stands aside for her sister to come in.
The chamber is grand, illuminated by the chandeliers. The advisor is standing over there, meanwhile, the woman is sitting at her desk, waiting for them to come closer. Even though they are still far away, Lynden can feel Seteth looking at them like wanting to search for something.
And to Lynden's own opinion, the man is pretty...intimidated. At first. When she was young. He looks scary, yes. However, Seteth is stoic and wise. He gives anyone who seeks advice the guidance they need with his wisdom. And it's always, always use every time.
"Wow, that guy looks kinda scary to me," Cassandra whispers, timidly walking next to her sister, narrowing her eyes.
"I know," Lynden whispers back.
"Ah, hello again," Rhea speaks up while Lynden nods at them.
"Good evening, Archbishop." She looks at the man, "and to you too, Instructor."
"Good evening" Her sister waves at them hesitantly.
And as an answer to their greetings, Seteth replies with a nod.
"Greetings." Seteth informally introduces himself "I'm Seteth, advisor to the archbishop herself. It's nice to meet you two."
"So, we're here to discuss your sister's application just like we said." Rhea smiles, "Let's begin, shall we?"
"There are three houses." Seteth says, "The Black Eagles, the Blue Lions, and the Golden Deer." Cassandra nods at him. "Your sister must have told you about the details, yes?"
"Yep." The younger sister nods again in confirmation, smiling confidently. "And I've decided the house I'm going to stay in." Cassandra continues, casually, "The Black Eagles."
"That's great to hear." The man's face relaxed, then begins to turn to the knight, "I and the archbishop have gone through the profile, all we need to talk about now is the fee and some activity that you will need to know when you enter the Academy."
They hear the man informs about the school. Cassandra's eyes are glued onto him, looks pondering as she hears about tasks, and missions outside of the study itself. The kid's concentration begins to falter more and more as Seteth goes on. The younger darts around, Lynden, Rhea, Lynden, then back to the man standing before her. Seems like she wants to yawn out of boredom, but she holds it back, fingers twitching, scratching themselves.
And the knight finds her mind starting to wander around many thoughts lives in her head for many weeks now, about works and stuff, it's tiresome.
Lynden turns her head slightly to gaze at the woman who sits at the desk, whose eyes slowly blink, unfocused, her smile fading bit by bit as she watches the other two's conversation. That is until Rhea notices Lynden is looking at her. The green hair woman's face lights up, and the weary eyes shine, secretly, yet lovingly gazing at the knight. Her lips curl up a little to form a smile, wanting the taller girl gives her some kind of reply. She looks exhausted today, Lynden bemused.
So, the knight returns with a small, timid, yet loving smile, as she is scared that Seteth will notice. Her pupils dilated when the woman smiles again. That's sufficient then. Her train of thoughts starts to dissolve, feeling her mood starts to lighten up.
"Sister?" Lynden startles silently as she feels someone tugs at her shirt. Snapping out of the "lovingly staring at each other" contest they are doing, she focuses back on her little sister, who looks at her, takes a glance at the archbishop, brows furrows questionably.
"Yes?" Lynden asks.
"About the fee..." Cassandra speaks, trailing a little bit, glancing back at Seteth, "we need to pay it right here huh?"
"No, we're not in that of a hurry." Rhea reassures, her voice sounding tired, "You can pay that later, Cassandra."
"No, no." Lynden shakes her head, "We do bring the money."
They continue the procedure, as she and Cassandra sign some papers here and there, with Lynden feeling embarrassed all the time as her younger sister perhaps now something between the knight and the archbishop. She feels her younger sister eye her from the side, the archbishop constantly meets her gaze in return making Lynden wants to faint so much. To be honest, she gets very, VERY anxious when people look at her. She gets zero things correct if they're staring her down like that.
Worse, the advisor wants to add more misery to it by looking at the paper, or her hands while she writes and signs the paper.
Okay, she admits, she doesn't have beautiful handwriting alright? And people staring at it make the matter worse.
Of course, it delightfully ends as soon as possible.
By the time Lynden puts down the quill, handing the scroll over to the advisor. As he reads through it again to check, the knight looks out the glass window behind the desk.
She didn't think it would take this long. Through the glass, she can only guess based on the blurry darkness outside, with tints of lights from the lanterns flicker. The chamber seems to be gloomier than it was before.
Seteth nods carefully, wrapping the scroll. He put it down on the woman's desk and gently says.
"Then it is all done." He warmly greets, "Welcome to the Academy, Cassandra."
Cassandra cheerfully smiles, being hyped up after the announcement. She coughs as her hand clenches into a fist, trying to contain her excitement. She quickly takes a glance at her sister, who gives her a courageous smile, then turns back to Seteth and Rhea. Cassandra bows.
"Thank you so much." She says cheerfully.
"That's our pleasure." Rhea replies, chuckles heartily, "You should go dining, and rest well. I hope you won't be late for your first lesson tomorrow."
"Sure...I won't be." Cassandra retorts, shifting her legs, "Then I guess, we should go now?" She looks at Lynden, using her pinky to cling to her sister's sleeve.
Lynden quickly eyes the pinky, then she looks back to the other two. She bows down.
"We will be off then." Lynden announces, "Thank you for taking your time for us."
"Yes, goodbye to you two." Seteth smiles, and nods back, "Farewell."
"Have a pleasant night," Rhea says, gracefully standing up, hands still holding the papers carefully.
"You too, Lady Rhea, Seteth," Lynden says. Turning her heels back to get out of the place. But before she goes, she looks back again, to see Rhea's eyes still staying on her. She gives the woman a small smile, almost like a reassurance to the woman, and an apology to which she won't come to her place tonight. Rhea, in return, gave her a knowing look.
"Goodbye." Cassandra manages to reply, waving her hands at the two green-haired while she follows her sister, catching up with the older one as the two stride out of the place. She, along with Lynden are starving by now. Cassandra feels her stomach growling for food.
Lynden gently opens the door, letting Cassandra out first, who weakly mumbles a "thank you", nudging her on the arm whilst she closes the door shut. A sigh of relief escapes Lynden's mouth. She shudders.
"What's with you and her anyway?"
Cassandra breathes, barely audible as she asks Lynden, who, shifting to another position next to her.
They finished their dinner, where she introduced the kid to her friends, and they seemed to like the kid. Alika doted on Cassandra, talking with her for a whole meal. It's a good sign.
They go to sleep sooner than they expected, part of it because of the exhausting walk and tour around the Monastery.
Well, yes, they are sharing a bed, as earlier she promised her sister, again, that they could sleep together tonight. And she did think about how the bed would fit the both of them alright. It's easier said than done. Her sister takes half of the bed, leaving Lynden to struggle with the other half.
Lynden blinks out of her sleep, groaning slightly because of the disturbance.
"What do you mean?" Lynden asks, her voice hoarse.
The knight uses her hand to usher her sister to give her more space, which her sister obliges. Cassandra scoots to her right, as Lynden's finally contented, putting her legs onto the bed comfortably.
"I mean..." Cassandra begins, scratching her chin, "I notice you two sharing some...thing? From the way, you guys looked at each other earlier." She begins to wave her hands around, "You know, sexual tension?"
"Well- no-" Lynden chokes, "Where- why would you say that?"
"Seteth's talk is a little boring as it went on and on." Cassandra blinks, gesturing lazily, "I guess I wasn't concentration...so I observed the two of you instead." Cassandra shrugs under the blanket, "I mean, the way she looked at you convinced me some stuff."
"It's not like what you think." Lynden quietly retorts.
"Yeah yeah, whatever you say, sis."
"..."
Lynden blinks, feeling the kid sits straight up, patting slightly on Lynden's arm, waiting excitedly for Lynden to continue to talk. But after a moment of nothing, Cassandra starts.
"...So uh, have you guys..." Cassandra shamelessly gestures, eyes filled with amusement, "...done this?"
"Cassandra..." The knight croaks.
"What? I'm curious!" The younger one pouts, pretending to scowl, "I'm not judging or anything. And if I tell someone, you actually think they will believe that preposterous tale?"
"..." Lynden sighs. After a long, pregnant silence, she admits, covering her face, "Yes, we...have."
"Cool." Cassandra curtly replies, pulling the blanket up a little bit, "Like, she is...forcing you or something? Blackmailing you and stuff? She is superior, after all. How could you two meet?"
"Well, it's-"
"Gaslighting?"
Lynden snorts.
"Yeah yeah, I won't cut in anymore."
"So...I lost sleep that night..."
"Uh-huh..."
"And she too," Lynden crossed her legs, "And we met at the garden. We talked a little, then..." The knight trails her words, her hands swirling in the air to elaborate...something. Cassandra tilts her head for a moment, then suddenly perks up, her eyes shining like she knows what Lynden is alluding to.
"You guys fuck." Cassandra curtly cut in.
"NO-yeah...that." Lynden sighs tiredly, "We have that, usually, maybe talks, whenever we're not in the mood."
"That's it?"
"Yeah..."
"Oh."
Silence
"..." Cassandra breathes, "So...you guys just like, you know" Cassandra gesturing around, "do that thing? Like some kind of exchange or something? "
"No." Lynden retorts with a sigh, "It's more than that...? I don't know. I-" Lynden stops for a second, "Well yes, we're are in a 'relationship', I can't identify what since...Rhea can't either. We're still figuring things out, I hope."
"Yeah, okay." The young one sighs, "I mean, that's cool, I guess? I'm happy?" She continues, licking her mouth, not knowing what to say, "But, how can you two get to that point this fast?" Cassandra blinks furiously. "It's rather fishy for me."
"To be honest, I don't know either." Cassandra licks her lips while Lynden is shrugging, her voice sounds wide awake by now. She sits up, looking straight at her sister. Cassandra furrows her brows, and her voice trembles.
"I'm gonna keep eyes on her VERYYYYY closely," Cassandra says, eyes staring at the dark, "Who knows what she is trying to gain from you?"
"...Aren't you being too cynical?" Lynden snorts, eyes heavily blinking as she tiredly bored into Cassandra's eyes as the kid looks back at her. If true, what can the Archbishop gain, anyways?
"Better than not." The young sister scowls, narrowing her eyes "I'll keep my eyes on her days and nights, I swear."
"Hmm..." The older one hums in response, tiredly drifting off to sleep.
"You like her, don't you?"
"Yes," She shifts, uncomfortably, yawning as she hastily replies.
"Alright then." Cassandra slowly lays down after a long silence waiting for her sister's answer, which to no response. The kid exhales, "Goodnight, Lynden. And sorry if it's a little offensive. Sweet dreams."
"Goodnight, Cass. You too."
They slowly, deliberately drift off to sleep. She can feel Cassandra evenly breathing next to her, curling, pulling the blanket to her side in the sleep. She is a fast sleeper, Lynden's jealous of that.
The knight closes her eyes and exhales shakily.
Not long after that, she too, falls asleep.