To apologize, or to brainwash? That was the question I had on my mind while skipping from country to country, hovering over rulers being received by people that had blown their tops when their leaders disappeared in midair. Naturally, I chose to look at all of their memories first before going through again and editing it so they all had the same recollection of events that had ended fifteen minutes prior. It included me being guilt-free, retracting some statements I'd said, giving better answers in response to some of the people, and making it so that only the ruler of Tza-Min remembered I'd agreed to take his children as my disciples in exchange for rice.
I also changed some memories in the surroundings, just in case they told people what happened, or put me on a hit list. Made sure they wrote nothing down, said nothing to anyone, that there wasn't anything that would cause them to have discrepancies in their memories or cause them to notice that something didn't match up.
"Wooooh..." I sighed, slumped over an olive tree branch overlooking the capital of Laohr, a place I really should've visited a long time ago. It looked like Greece, but better. Architecture that made me instantly favor it over Newone, simplicity all around, clean beaches, no haughty nobles that I could find, a country more based on physical prowess and ability than gender norms and family lineage. I couldn't tell if it was Athens, or Sparta, or an awesome combination of both. The more I looked, the more I wished I had been born there. "Almost done. Almost done, Firea. Don't do it again, don't insult vital war partners without commerce knowledge again-"
I loved it there. I wanted to take a few pictures, to take my family for vacation there, or take Magaris to see something beautiful in exchange for the slave auction thing...though she was the one that pushed me to take her there.
But when I went to where the queen was, and found the state she was in, I was suddenly very breathless and regretting shocking a pregnant woman with instant teleportation. It probably had worn on her nerves, and my aura bearing down probably hadn't helped.
The woman was in labor. I had been correct.
In fact, she was in some serious pain. Not just contractions she could bear with. More like, agonizing in her long bed, twisting around while her maids were running around in their toga-like clothing, carrying basins of water and trying to get her on a birthing stool so she could start pushing.
Master, we will talk about your insensitive actions later.
Yes...
For once, I wasn't quite sure what to do. Go down there and calm her down? No, that would disrupt the birthing process. Wipe her memories and replace them from afar? Freeze them so I could have more time to think? Teleport the baby ou-
Master, please don't be yourself right now.
...Let her give birth first and come back later?
"Mother!" a girl cried out. She looked nothing like the woman, but was being held back by a maid while trying to barge into the room. The girl was trying really hard not to cry while standing there with her fists balled.
"Get her out!"
Oh...that was a lot of blood. I didn't even notice it before the sheets were soaked through with sweat and the red stuff streaming down her-
Ohhhhhh-
Check her Status, Master.
And I did. It only made me guilty when I speed-read that I really had shocked her into labor a week ahead of schedule.
But I wouldn't have caused all of...that.
And then, I saw the reason why.
"-abnormal, rapid labor, causing contractions to be impaired. It leads to excessive bleeding during delivery...postpartum hemorrhage...ah, umbilical cord wrapped around the child's neck."
Okay, so it's not totally my fau-
It is.
But if I hadn't-
It's easy to unwrap an umbilical cord. The child would likely have been fine.
Are you trying to make me feel guilty because I would've caused the death of-
They wouldn't, likely, have died. They would, however, have had terrible complications afterwards, without medicine modern enough to take care of them.
So I drifted down, throwing out a spell to make them all freeze to give myself some time to work. Just erased their memories a little as I did before, so I would be the only one to know of my guilt, which only took a few seconds honest I wasn't trying to let the woman suffer more-
Master, fix it.
And then I just started moving. It had been so long since I'd read those medical texts in my last life, so I merely relied on [Successful Guessing], [Double Thought], and a [Medical Expertise] Skill I gained by copying it from another lady and leveling it up with a lot of Skill points...was really running out of those, those days...to help me do what I had to do.
It didn't really take that long. I just influenced her body naturally to do what it was supposed to do a week from then, after sticking her in a timed space so she could catch up with everything she missed. Just a few hours passed in that space, in which she was knocked out, while I collected all of the blood - not at all appealing, by the way, since it was mixed with other fluids - and tried to balance out her own body's state besides the pregnancy. The servants were all still frozen in place where I'd left them, and that "Shore" child was still reaching out to her mother while another servant held her back. Like when I'd done it to Sherfire and a certain spriggan and all the other de Libellule inhabitants when I came to visit, they were all blacked out standing...that was also the name of the spell, [Blackout Standing]...so they couldn't see me in action.
I brought the woman back to regular space, so her body was then ready to do what it had to. Dilated and everything, I meant. The matter of unwrapping the umbilical cord wasn't that hard, and I just arranged some stuff...like putting her in the chair, cleaning up some space, unraveling a pack of tools they'd brought, warming the water, removing the screeching young girl, cooling the room so they weren't all sweating so bad - it was dang winter, where did the sun get off being so hot-
You took out a corner of Saedli, that's why.
Oh, yeah, the sun that was meant to cool, not heat. But could that technically be called a sun...?
Master, focus.
And after that, it was just snapping them all awake and letting them be confused as to why things had moved without them noticing. I only stood in place long enough for the queen to catch a glance at me, staring in shock for a few seconds, before I went invisible. The blood I'd collected from the ground, I filtered through and slowly put back into her body, since that was not the standard two pints she was supposed to lose during delivery-
See, you do remember your studying days.
But I will never again go back to school.
Please stop messing with the minds of monarchs and return to dinner, Master.
I don't know. I think, I thought, while watching the woman take in some really deep breaths as what looked to be midwives arrived. I've lost my appetite.
Don't tell your grandparents that.
I wasn't sure whether to stay or go. It would likely take forever for her to give birth, so...but what if there were other complications-
The Queen of Laohr has nine children, the oldest being fifteen. I think she knows what she's doing, Master.
...Oh.
So I appeared back in my seat at my dining table after setting a marker on the queen so I could see if her health dipped.
"Where did you go?"
"Grandmother, I don't think you want to know."
"If I didn't want to know, I wouldn't have asked."
"...then I will erase your memory after telling you."
"I would prefer it if you didn't do that."
"I have done a shameful thing, and I would prefer that shameful thing to not be known..."
"All the more reason to explain so that we may prepare for the onslaught."
"No, well, there won't be an onslaught...I already erased and edited the memories of everyone who knew."
"So there shouldn't be any problems?"
I shook my head while Grandmother placed my napkin on my lap. "None."
I lifted my hand to go for the drink that had been recently poured for me, holding it with both hands to sip. A cushion had been placed there before I came back, so I was higher up than before.
Then I noticed the faces of our guests, who were either staring at me or at Grandfather.
"What?" I questioned, looking at either man. The attention was then on me.
"Is she serious, Markov?"
Grandfather didn't have to look up while cutting into his appetizer. "Very serious."
"She was gone for five minutes."
I blinked, looking at the one called Galen. His name was really hard for me to remember, for some reason. "It doesn't take that long to erase memories. Just a few seconds, if you know what you're looking for, and you're experienced enough."
"Why are you experienced?"
"Ah," my face went a little red while hiding behind my cup, unwilling to put it back on the table. "Well...that's...sometimes, first impressions are really important. And, if you screw it up, like I did today, then you'll be embarrassed..."
"Who was so important that you had to leave dinner to meet them?"
"Oh, no, I already met them before dinner. I just remembered I said some embarrassing things, so I...but don't worry! I fixed it."
"Fixed what? And why were you worried about Laohr?"
I put my cup on the table and reached for the fork and knife present. Hastily, my appetizer was cut with my mind before even putting the utensils to it, and I hardly stabbed with the fork before lifting it to my mouth.
Happily, I munched away, head down to focus on my meal. "This is really good, Grandmother."
Translation: I'm not saying anything more~
"Firea, the questions-"
"Is your prodigal granddaughter alright-"
"Galen."
"I'm just thinking about my own granddaughter at her age. They're nothing alike."
"Every child is different," Grandmother quipped, cutting precisely into her meat and lifting a small piece to her mouth. "Unless you are surprised that our granddaughter is so different, because all of yours are exactly the same?"
"My Sarena does not go around brainwashing people if that's what you mean."
I choked. Sarena?
I guess that explained how Firea got involved with them.
"No, but she does go around with a fake snake scaring people, doesn't she?"
"H-How did you know about-"
"You were drunk last time you were here, Galen. Don't you remember spilling all of your lamentations to us about how cruel she is to you after just one glass of alcohol-"
"It must've been at least two."
"No, Galen, it was one."
"You never really could hold your liquor."
"Asoko, you can't do much better than me."
"I avoid alcohol so I don't become a mess like yourself. It's called abstinence."
"Another way of saying you can't hold your liquor."
"Another way of keeping my wife happy when I don't come home with a tab at a commoner bar and my wallet missing."
Ah, the old fools are at it again...at least it's not about me anymore. This is really good! And it was. The chef really did make a sauce out of tyugos for the meat, which was almost enough to override the aftertaste that all meat in Bytriste had.
I got to eat in peace for, what, a few minutes?
"Your grandchildren are skipping up a few grades this coming year, aren't they?"
"They should be, but not too far. Apparently their schedules will be hard to fix, since certain classes are only offered at certain times, and they still have required elementary classes they can't skip."
You mean propaganda sessions?
"Then what about her?"
Why me?
I was just peacefully sitting there. Why me?
"Firea will likely be taking an exam to exempt her from school requirements."
"Complete exemption?"
"A lot of faith, I see."
"Are you sure-"
I don't care if I have to memorize all of that crappy information only to vomit it once and be done forever. I'm getting out of that.
"We have," Grandfather cut over his friend, clasping his silverware somewhat tight when a servant was trying to take them away to switch out for the next course. I wasn't full at all, even though I'd already "eaten" a lot that day. "Complete faith in her."
Grandfather gave me one of his glowing smiles that was telling me to say something. He seemed to forget that our common sense was different until I opened my mouth.
"I'm also confident that I can pass this test, whatever it is, even if it means memorizing all of the falsehoods necessary to get a perfect score. There is no way I will attend the hell that is that propaganda institution meant to do nothing more than churn out more blind sheep."
At that point, I thought even the servants were ridiculing me in their minds while switching out the plates present.
"...still as random as ever, I see."
"Random?" I blinked at Asoko, the man who hadn't said all that much while sitting across from me. Just a few quips from time to time. His own mind seemed to be somewhere else. "That was not random. It was a valid response."
"Valid..."
"Firea, tell me what you think of the sauce. It isn't something we have often, so the chef tried her best to prepare it."
While going to cut into the meat, Galen jumped in again to speak and pursue my wording. "You know, my grandchildren are attending that school already. They come home telling me how much they've learned, and how difficult the classes are. Aren't you a bit quick to judge when you've never participated?"
"You say this, though you were the one that mentioned my siblings skipping grades?" I nodded, lifting the piece slowly to my mouth while adding, "And, while probably knowing that I'm the one that taught them?"
Smooth.
"Isn't all of your knowledge from the cardinaoof-"
"Forgive me, Galen," Grandfather apologized while "stretching" his right leg casually. "I was working at the castle all day and didn't get to stretch much when coming home to receive you."
Dinner continued much in that fashion, as Grandmother ignored the slights thrown around and only spoke to me, Grandfather tried to pull me into conversation, Galen tried to question my logic, and Asoko only corrected Galen between bites.
When we finally finished, servants looked wide-eyed at my perfectly clean plates, probably wondering why I wasn't bursting - little did they know that the young miss was a Demon, and that her stomach was quite endless - while clearing the table. Galen had to leave to make it home in time for his wife's curfew, thankfully, because him questioning my logic constantly was getting on my nervesss-
"Ah," I leaned back when a notification appeared in front of me. I sighed in relief. I hadn't screwed up someone's life.
"What is it now, Granddaughter?"
My eyes flicked back and forth between the screen and Grandmother, who held my hand as we walked to a more comfortable area to talk. The conversation would continue, because Grandfather insisted he had to know where I'd been that whole year before we went to sleep for the night. Or, they went to sleep, and I went to make preparations for my next task.
"The queen of Laohr just gave birth to her daughter."
"And why do you know that?"
"Because...I got a notification...?"
"Granddaughter, your norms are not our norms."
"I know, I forgot." Opening up a screen only privy to my eyes, I spied on the woman holding her newest infant and all of the people that had charged in to gather around the newest princess. It wasn't that pretty, even while cleaned off, so I didn't see why they were all fawning over it already. The queen herself looked exhausted, having been at it for three hours. It seemed too short in my mind, but nothing had been right with that birth when I was involved. "What?"
They were naming the child...that?
"What, what?" Grandfather shifted to come from behind and scoop me up. I was frowning - no, grimacing - at the naming sense of the queen.
"The queen...her poor daughter..."
"Is something wrong with them?"
"She named..." I covered my face while accepting that I was likely going to be held a lot that night. Asoko quietly followed, and I clearly remembered how he'd been the one to stand the first time they had a meal together and I made it. I'd called him, I think, a grumpy housewife. Something like it. "She named her daughter...Tiberius."
"That's...a male name."
"Are you sure it's a girl, Firea?"
"There's nothing between the legs."
"You looked?"
"How else am I supposed to tell?"
"Are you going to go?"
"Why would I go? It looks like every family member of hers in existence is already trying to crowd her and she just finished pushing out the poor thing. She doesn't need anymore people, I guarantee you."
And her health looked fine. The spells I'd left, lasted their way through.
"Isn't that all the more reason for you to go? To work your magic for her."
"Grandfather, what magic more would I work?"
"I don't know," he shrugged, holding me securely against his robes - he'd changed them for dinner to be indoor wear, and clearly looked different from the ones he'd sported while at the castle - though asking when I would depart. "Maybe you want to give the poor woman a few minutes alone with her newborn?"
"That 'poor woman' is a queen."
"She's also a mother, and the first moments with a child are always precious." Grandmother held still onto Grandfather's arm as they walked, stopping eventually at what seemed to be their usual room. I'd spent lazy times there with my siblings, though not often. "Alone, I mean. Family can come later."
"How is this my obligation-"
"Weren't you just there earlier?"
"Yes, but-"
"Then don't you want to see it through?"
"You mean convince her to change the child's name?" Grandfather and Grandmother settled together on one sofa, while Asoko took a separate seat beside them. I was placed down on the floor, not allowed to come back up to join them.
"Tiberia is also a nice name."
"Why do I need to tell a queen to...hah...fine."
"And don't offend her this time."
"I didn't offend...shocked her into early labor, sure, but didn't offend..."
"Firea..."
"It was only a week early, and I fixed it! The baby's healthy, and she's not going to die, alright? Now, if you excuse me, I need to go make sure it doesn't grow up being laughed at. G'day!"
I stood invisible above the crowd as most of the woman's children were present, along with the midwives, and the servants that had been in assistance. It really was too much, and though the queen's health was perfectly fine, her mental state was exhausted.
So I snapped my fingers and made all of the noise go away.
"Are you sure you won't change it to Tiberia?"
The queen took in a sharp breath.
"Oh, sorry, sorry. I always forget that instantly appearing sometimes scares people."
I'd been invisible, then drifted down to float to the side of her bed. She held her swaddled bundle up to her chest defensively.
"Don't mind me. Just thought it might be nice to have a few seconds for yourself."
So I winked out of existence again, but just went invisible. Her startled eyes were searching around, but could not find me. I spent a few minutes checking notifications before remembering I'd teleported all of those people away after using [Blackout Standing] on them, and that perhaps she wanted to have her family members meet the newest child.
Then, I did appear again, but slower. My existence appeared like a shimmer instead of just popping right up.
"So, really. Are you sure you won't try 'Tiberia' instead?"
"I name my child what I want to name her."
"Look, lady," I raised my hands in defense. "I'm not challenging your naming capabilities...or maybe I am...but I'm saying this for the kid. That's a pretty heavy name to take on, for one, and for another, while I don't believe in gender inequality, there's a reason why a female version exists. Society isn't so open-minded, even if they're an awesome island country."
I'd read all about Laohr, but never went to it. Just didn't have the time. I knew that once I went, I wouldn't be able to just stop with one day of exploring. I would've wandered and stayed for a while, like with Severo, and with Hunoa, before remembering home. I just had to stay and get the native feel.
So I wasn't so estranged to their customs, as I was to their commercial situation...
"And you came all this way to tell me this?"
My hands were in my pockets while shrugging at the woman, with sweat stuck across her forehead, had a tired glare at me. "It's just teleportation. And, it wasn't that far. Just Bytriste."
Wait a minute...where is Laohr on the map again?
Her brow broke. The baby lifted its spirits and began to squirm.
"Anyway," I did lift one hand, scratching the back of my head awkwardly. "I know it's not my place at all, but I'm just saying this as someone who knows what having a well-intentioned name can do when given to the wrong person."
My father. My father. My father.
My siblings not understanding his name. Me pitying him as a month old infant in his arms. His parents using it to stabilize their position, apparently.
If his name had just been a few letters different, his life would've been, probably, a lot different. I had no doubt he was given crap for that when he was younger.
"Why did you come here?"
...tell her the truth?
"Well, you seemed to be having a hard time, with all that blood, and the umbilical cord wrapped around that child's neck, so I just did a little...unwanted assistance, I guess? And," I added on, snapping my fingers and making all of those people appear behind me. There were fifteen or so of them present, all frozen in various positions. The queen did not look pleased to see them like that. "To see which one you were planning on sending to me."
I pulled her children forward, those that were present. Their ages slowly trickled downward, oldest at fifteen, youngest at three. Well, zero, as of a few minutes ago. There was a pair of twins in there at twelve years of age, and I was really hoping - when looking at their freaking wide eyes - that they weren't sent as a pair. I was also hoping for someone older, so I wouldn't have to deal with the immaturity of someone playing around and not taking it seriously.
Master, you're already committing yourself to this?
What? No. I'm just saying-
Remember, you still have to train Magaris, Faeydark, and Fernglow.
When did those last two get on the list?
When you picked them up and took responsibility for them.
Haiz...
You're not Korean.
Tte...okay.
So eight of them stood before me. Well, one of them, the three-year-old, was being held and frozen looking down in wonder.
"Fifteen, thirteen, twins at twelve, ten, eight, six, five, and three," I counted from first to last, lining them up by moving their bodies around in the air. I didn't think too much of it, but the queen had a concerned look on her face. "Seven girls, three boys. Which one were you planning to sacrifice to me?"
"Sacri...I would never-"
"But you were arguing for it earlier? What, changed your mind? Are you scared of my magic or something? Or am I smacking you with this too early?"
I really hadn't been the nicest to that woman, maybe.
Her eyes were downcast on the child in her arms, sleeping on her chest. Breathing in, and out, and in. "The twins and the eldest."
My eyes went wide as I looked towards them. "Three of them? And only the boys?"
Was she trying to boost her sons above her girls or something? She just straight-up passed over all of her daughters.
The queen only cast her gaze towards those few, which I turned back to look at. They certainly inherited her golden locks. And the girl that had cried out and tried to charge in - the ten-year-old one - looked the least like her, and nothing like her siblings, with...oho...black curls and white eyes. Irises, I meant. If I remembered correctly, she had also been standing far enough away that it looked like she was a servant and not part of the family. Even the meek form she'd been frozen in showed pursed lips and tired eyes. That was the one thing she and her mother had in common.
[Detect Potential].
I scanned through them, curious myself as to why it was just those three. The eldest, I understood, with inheriting the throne and all that. Was it just because they were boys, or because they looked different, or did they have some sort of special potenti-
Percentages appeared over each of their heads the way I wanted it to be formatted. Two for each. One was meant to tell me their raw potential - what they had to work with, like mana, health, growth rate, personality, mindset - and the other was supposed to tell me their potential to succeed if I took them in, basically how much good I'd do for them. And, it was measuring them all at the same age if they were all hypothetically "ten years old" so I wouldn't just see their current stats and dare to compare them when they've had different experiences.
But...
The one that had the highest stats to me, before and after the "age change," was definitely that girl with the black hair. Overarching over all of them, actually.
Then, yes, the one with the highest potential afterwards was one of the twins, but not both. One was over three dozen percentage points higher than the other, in terms of raw potential, and much higher when looking at the effects he'd have if I took him in. But to separate them...was not a good idea. I had Adri and Hera in mind for that.
Ah...why must it be so complicated?
I looked at the girl with the next highest potential, who was the thirteen-year-old. I could even tell just by looking at her that she was certainly some material, with those cutting eyes. It held a sharpness that the others did not.
"Kailani, Merlin, and Ocean. Those are the only ones I would accept if you sent any of them to me."
I felt like dang Rumplestiltskin, trying to force the queen to give up her children. Well, the firstborn wasn't included, but still. I was nearing it. All I needed was for her to ask me to spin gold and I felt like, though the timeline would've been out of order, we'd have had the whole story.
And, you dancing around a fire, Master.
Couldn't forget that, could she.
"I understand Kailani and-and Merlin, but not Marvin as well?"
Marvin? I looked towards the other twin boy, seeing his numbers again. Raw potential wasn't just based on stats, but - and I was drawing inspiration for the spell from my trial with the earl - his "predicted" behavior, personality, mindset, will, all that good stuff was surprisingly leagues behind his brother. I didn't understand that picture, but I was reminded of the cliche that one twin must've sucked all the luck out of the other while in the womb. I mean, I couldn't tell the future, so anything could happen if I took them "under my wing," but just...I didn't know how to explain it. I wasn't discriminating or anything. Not everyone that came to me, changed for the better. Most I met ended up wounded, brainwashed, dead, tortured, or in some way worse off than when we met. Some of them were saved, or given a helping hand, etc. Others experienced no effect, or just hardly anything noticeable, from my passing through at all.
He was just one of those people, according to my spell. It wasn't that he couldn't do great things in the future and he wasn't born for it. It wasn't that he was destined to fail if I took him in no matter what. He could learn "my version" of magic just the same as his brother could. He could study the same books, run the same laps, etc., as his brother could. But, no matter how close he was to his brother, they were not the same person, and they would process things differently. They could both grow to great heights, depending on who was teaching, which was a major thing to take note of - I couldn't guarantee great results, I wasn't omnipotent, that just wasn't how it worked - but it was what they did in response to what I taught that I was looking at. It was whether that brother chose to put in the extra effort, to go the extra mile, to put his heart into it.
Anyone could learn the type of magic I used. It was inherent, actually, for everyone.
Maybe I was passing up a genius and I was putting too much faith in my simple spell, who knew. He would find his own path, even if it wasn't with me.
He just didn't have what I was looking for.
"That boy?" I looked towards the one that looked like he certainly had a fiery personality: Marvin. "I understand not wanting to separate them. I wouldn't do it either, I was just mentioning Merlin so you understood what I was looking for, but I would just say those two girls th-"
"Not that one."
Her left hand lifted and pointed at the black-haired girl. It was trembling.
"Not that one? But she has more potential than all of them-"
"No."
The look in her eyes and the feel of her aura didn't tell me she was doing it to protect that girl. It was more...desperate, shall we say, to keep her there?
And that did not rub me the right way as our relations clearly began to sour.
"-combined...okay." I snapped my fingers and set the people all free of the [Blackout Standing]. "Don't bother sending any of them, then. As I said before, if you send ones I don't like, I'll just ignore them."
"What is-"
"Who's that-"
"Intruder!"
"Pfft," I scoffed at the person who screamed that, and the guards that came running as I finished telling off the queen. I didn't feel so bad, anymore, when they went to grab me. I didn't have to imagine their surprise when they went right through me. "Intruder? Please. Anyway, queenie, I've said all I wanted. Congrats on the healthy baby, and do remember what I said about her name. We wouldn't want her growing up with such a burdensome weight that name carries, on her back, right?"
Hopefully Bytriste doesn't suffer because of this.
The queen cast her gazes at her awestruck children who watched the guards become completely frozen when they went to touch me next.
"Bye," I smiled, disappearing from space. "Welp, I'm never going there again."
"Did you offend anyone this time?"
"Yes, but I sincerely don't care."
"Were you using a persona?"
"No. And don't worry," I demanded to be picked up while stretching my arms outward. Grandfather stared at me for a bit with worried eyes before obliging. "They wronged me first, and I saved the queen's life, as far as she knows. If there are trade issues, I can just remind her of how she had the audacity to boss me around before asking me for a favor. Laohrans are very sensitive when it comes to capability, so there's a bit of a hierarchy of respect she can't ignore when I'm put on the scale."
"Granddaughter, did you not say that the queen just finished giving birth?"
I turned to look at Grandmother, reaching for her hand and turning it over in my own. "She acted in an unsavory way months before today. I only bothered to deal with the problem today, because I only learned about it today."
"Might I ask what she did?"
I didn't mind if I was being too casual while we still had a guest. Sigh...I just wanted to sleep.
"Let's just say, Grandmother, that you'll probably get your wish."
"My wish? Of what?"
"Two months," I responded, getting comfortable between them. When I wiggled enough and moved them to the side using [Gravity Lessen] - which Grandfather wasn't too happy about while grabbing for the sofa suddenly. "You'll see."
I was perfectly squished in between so I wouldn't fall over if I fell asleep. And slowly, slowly, slowly, I drifted off-
"Granddaughter, were you not going to tell us your tales of the year?"
"...must I?"
My voice was not the happiest. I was just trying to sleep while I could.
"Even a summary would be fine, until tomorrow morning, where I would clear out my schedule to hear the rest."
"As would I," the guest responded while looking down at his teacup. "And, if it's not too impertinent of me, I would still like to learn how that 'portal' works."
That's right...he was awfully insistent upon hearing about it after my father's birthday party, since I'd gone to Fangre then to get my pendant...
"Hm...I don't give away my secrets for free."
I yawned, losing whatever bargaining air I'd been attempting to take on. Dang it.
"Then what do you want?"
That question? Again? "For someone to finally be creative and not ask me that question. What do you have?"
"Firea."
"What? Everyone always asks me that question. Then they say they'll give me jewels, money, cloth, cuisine, and their dog's spleen, but the answers never change."
"How many people are in this position with you?"
I turned my head up to look at Grandmother, whose hand I still held. "Too many."
Haven't checked on Sir Leopold yet. Wonder how he's doing.
"Could you not just teach it for free, then?" Then, I looked over at Grandfather with my wide eyes. He stared back while rubbing his stubble still, considering. "What? You said to be creative."
"Y-You're right..." No one thus far had asked for it for free. "Everyone always asks me what I want, first, so..."
"You just said it wasn't free, Firea. And most people, based on your words, sound like they're too afraid to ask."
"I have more valuables than will ever pass through your household in your lifetime, and a better cook than any you'll ever eat the meals of. Think harder, Sir Leopold," I uncrossed my arms and stretched them overhead, becoming more bored. I fell back in a chair that appeared behind me, getting comfortable. "What do you think is good enough to offer a goddess?"
No, I wasn't a goddess, but I was a proxy of one. And, well, I was as strong as, and stronger than, many of them.
The point was to discourage him. There was no appeasing a goddess who could do whatever she wanted. Make whatever she wanted. Have whatever she wanted.
...oh. Yes. That did seem to be the case.
"So?" Asoko pushed mildly, turning his eyes up from the cup. He looked regal wearing his visiting wear, compared to Galen who had been so energetic. Some people just didn't calm down as life went on. "Are your secrets still at a price?"
Grandmother squeezed my hand lightly as a reminder. I leaned into her arm, then shoved my nose behind and popped out on the other side with her elbow resting on my neck. The fabric wasn't the comfiest to slide against, being a noblewoman's dinner attire, but what was? It was just supposed to look pretty.
"I'll teach you, once. I can't guarantee you'll be able to do it, though. My siblings still haven't gotten it yet and I taught them almost a year ago."
Then again, they probably didn't know where to start when imagining portal jumping, and it was a good thing that they couldn't just disappear as they pleased yet. The servants would never sleep peacefully again.
"That's all I need."
"Good. Now then, my prodigal granddaughter, where have your adventures taken you this year?"
Grandfather took my other hand, turning it over in his own and studying it before accepting it. He didn't seem to realize it wasn't real, so I didn't know what that was about.
"Huh..." I had to think. "Where did I go this year..."
My parents rejected me, and then...
"Ah...I went to train with my grandfather in Kera - no, not you, my other one that tries to kill me sometimes - then, I went to Strathmis and got to work with divine ore, which was really fun. I actually went there to the same guys I made the circlets with, today, to ask if they could make me a new arm and some weapons, since every other one I use always gives up too fast - oh, off track, sorry. Then...hm...after the Dwarves, I went to Fangre...did I stay there for a while? Ah, yeah, Sherfire's cave, no, but that was after the second time in Kera...then, I ran into some Fae I'm friends with for an every-few-years meet-up that they did with my mother's tribe, went back to Kera, accidentally lost my humanoid form for a while, then I stayed with Sherfire, ran into Anastasia on accident, pushed her off a cliff...no, Grandmother, I wasn't trying to kill her."
"I didn't say anything."
"No, but your aura jumped. I just freaked out, I promise. But that was in Augesi, at that point, because I'd just missed his birthday...anyway, I wandered around the forbidden land for a bit, because they actually have a lot of cool technology that you'd never be able to find outside, you know? Since Tiyana put a boundary on it to keep people from finding out about the past, so they can keep teaching propaganda like in the White Iris Academy...see? That's why I don't want to go there-"
But Asoko was looking at me weirdly, and I noticed I was leaving the conversation topic.
"But anyway! Then I went and-um...I fought a guy, and his girlfriend, and it wasn't the most fun I'd ever had in a fight, but I guess I kind of met my match, huh...oh, and then I got threatened by some...folks, friends of theirs, and went to...a place, and I met some nice folks there, and then-"
"It has suddenly become very vague. Is there something to be worried about in there?"
"..."
"Why don't I just..." I started thinking, lifting my hands in my soul as well and looking at the black marks covering them. I had maybe a few months left before I was totally eclipsed, I needed to kill another god soon and take blood from it. Then, again, later, and then again, until the time in between was shorter and shorter and I would have to drink it constantly to stay alive. And then, in the end, I would still die a slow and painful demise. "End it?"
"I didn't know the gods were such cowards, teaming up to take one little girl down," I sneered, spitting out a mixture of bodily fluids from my mouth. The edge of the lance was quite sharp, thinking about it, and the end was driven up so far that the metal shaft was stuck through me and the wrapped handle was visible protruding from my tented shirt. Unless I broke the shaft, I didn't see myself moving anytime soon. "You aim to pierce my heart and hope I die!"
"Hai hai," I grinned, biting my lips and licking the sizzling blood there. I lifted my hands and grabbed at the pole on my neck, throwing the imaginary thing away, and letting myself breathe. The cherry blossom that had been on the end of it spiraled away into the wind. "Onii-sama~"
"Again, I must ask this time, but instead in statement form and more insistently: you are definitely trying to die."
Fantastic. Everyone that just declared war on us and the guy we assaulted twice for literally no reason. Who else wants to show up?
"Welcome, Princess," a lady spoke up at the top of a small staircase. Two attendants were behind her, dressed like nuns, completely covered. It felt a bit religious since their faces were covered as well. So, rather than the clothes of nuns, rather, burqas? That was more fitting. "To the Hellott Household."
"...no?"
"Why the long pause?"
"No, why the high-pitched no?"
"A-Anyway," I rambled on, trying to remember what came next, "oh, yes, my grandmother took care of me while I was still recovering from that fight - not you, Grandmother, the other one where I got my red hair from - and I got to read a lot of her books, because they get to have literature there which is forbidden here...such a pain, really...I have to go all the way across the world and get injured to read good books...hah...o-oh, but after that, I went to...a person that I really hate, and then I...fell asleep for a while...and then I went to go fight that guy again, got a little angry when he broke the contract, because those vermin can never keep promises, can they...that's why I always say, you can't trust a god, but oh well, Firea's just a crazy girl, until she's the only one still alive...but then...ah, yes, I stopped that...woman...from executing the earl-"
"I trust that's not our Earl you're talking about?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, it is. Martin didn't tell you?" Whoops. Well he got me in trouble earlier, so he could have some trouble too. "Anyway, I knocked her out...got my familiar to clean up the mess...accidentally declared war on a lot of...people...that hate me...got a new house, found Magaris and the world's most arrogant roommate, moved all of my stuff from the de Libellule household, found out some stuff about...stuff, used a new thing I got to do...some more stuff, got annoyed by the earl, messed with some...people doing illegal things, saved some folks...started a request for someone...found Martin for the first time in a while, updated the barrier stone since the dang thing was running on fumes after being left alone for a few thousand years - really impressive, by the way, since it was a few eras ago - and then...oh, yes, found Thérèse, and the children, I stayed with them for a while...took the earl-"
"Your father."
"-took the earl to...a place, with some people, though they weren't really alive...found out some stuff that's been going on in the capital, which is pretty upsetting, but I'll deal with that later...hm...did some other stuff...went home, did stuff...got annoyed by the earl-"
"Your father."
"-the earl again...and that was last night. This morning, I ate a wonderful lunch after renovating my place, did a house inspection, and other...stuff with my siblings...had some sordid revelations, and found out about Martin and Sarah, since it really is rude to just check other people's Statuses, I'll have you know, so of course I didn't know...then, I promised Adri I'd confirm with you...ran into Grandfather at the castle, brought you to Koraco, did some stuff at the castle, brought you back, found out about something very annoying, lectured a lot of people about throwing their weight around, came here for dinner, then erased some memories, helped the queen give birth, got annoyed by her, and I came back here. That's all."
They processed it for a while. I didn't think it was all that important, since it was mainly censored, and just general day-to-day stuff I did. Running around, getting wrapped up in other people's problems, hopping between places. I had to follow my memories to get the chronological order of everything, since it was really confusing.
982 would certainly be a year to remember, and one best left behind.
"That...was a summary?" Grandfather inquired, staring into the distance. Or, just at the wall, where there were patterns.
"Yes?" I turned my face over the crook of Grandmother's elbow to look up at him. "I'm not really good at keeping out the details, so some might've slipped in there, but that's about it."
"Why did you feel the need to censor a large part of it?"
"What...censor...I didn't do that..."
"I think...I'm quite tired. Markov, Frosya, it's been quite an evening. Thank you for having me, as always." Asoko didn't look like he really wanted to get up while placing his saucer on the coffee table, rocking forward to stand up. My grandparents were very quiet before snapping to life, going to see him out. I was on the couch, somewhat sleepy, when they let me sway to the side. "I'll come for my portal lesson later, if you don't mind."
"Tell Grandfather or Grandmother, and I will come. I'm not the easiest to contact these-" yawn "-days. Have a good night."
"Have...a good night, little miss."
He went out the door, and Grandfather followed, while Grandmother sat back down. I took the opportunity to stretch out and unfurl my everything, since it felt so nice, and my eyes were suddenly so hard to keep open.
"Firea."
"Yes-" yawn "-Grandmother?"
"Are you alright?"
"Just-" yawn "-tired. It's been a really long year. I really just want to...sleep...but there's so much to do..."
"Go to sleep." I lay my head on her lap, flopping my arms over. That was what I missed, definitely. "We'll talk in the morning. Quite some things have happened in the capital, too."
"Okay...goodnight."
I didn't hear her say anything else, since I was already out like a light.