Aurelio sat alone in his chamber, reading a book on the edge of his bed. It had been a few days since the encounter with the wyvern; and while neither he nor his sister were fatally injured, Arturo was now even more hesitant to let Aurelio fight. As Aurelio turned the page in his book, there was a faint knock at the door.
"Come in." Aurelio says as he closes his book.
The door opens and Galatea timidly steps inside. She looks at Aurelio and smiles weakly.
"G-Good afternoon Aurelio." She says.
"Good afternoon Galatea." Aurelio smiles.
"A-Are you feeling alright? I heard about w-what happened in Tema, and I-I wanted to make sure that you weren't hurt."
"Yeah, I'm fine. A bit stiff, but fine." Aurelio chuckles a bit. "Though Sister seems a bit shaken."
"W-What do you mean?"
"Admittedly I hadn't put much thought into it until now, but as of late she's hardly left her chamber." Aurelio sighs. "What happened at Tema has her awfully distraught."
"P-Perhaps you should check on her?" Galatea says. "F-Family members need each other in times of pain."
"True, though we haven't exactly seen each other eye-to-eye as of recently." Aurelio sighs, thinking back on his petty squabbles with Callista. "I imagine I'm one of the last she'd want to see..."
"Y-You'll never know unless you go see." Galatea says. "Until then, I-I'll wait here. We... w-we had a training session planned, r-remember?"
"Trai-? Oh! I completely forgot all about that! I'm terribly sorry Galatea, I hope a haven't kept you waiting."
Galatea smiles. "I-It's nothing, you're sister i-is more important right now a-anyways. O-Our session can wait, though she m-might not be able to."
Aurelio nods and steps out into the hallway, making his way towards Callista's chamber. On the way down however, Aurelio bumps into Ian.
"Good afternoon Lord Aurelio." Ian says. He had two small envelopes in his hand. "Where are you off to, if you don't mind my asking?"
"To Callista's chamber." Aurelio replies. "I was going to check on her."
"Check? Hm, I suppose it is true that I haven't seen her in a while, I do hope that she's doing alright." Ian sighs and hands the envelopes to Aurelio. "These came in earlier, addressed to both you and your sister. Since you're heading that way, would you care to hand Lady Callista's hers?"
"Sure." Aurelio nods. "Where did these letters come from, just out of curiosity?"
"I'm afraid I do not know, the seals they're marked with are unlike any I've ever seen before."
Aurelio looks down at the stamped wax that sealed the envelopes. "Yeah, I don't recognize this crest either... They can't be anything too important though, otherwise I'm sure Father would've gotten one too."
Aurelio takes the letters and makes his way towards Callista's chamber. He stands before the door and knocks.
"Sister, are you alright?" Aurelio asks. There was no response. Aurelio gently pushes the door inward, and to his surprise, it wasn't locked. "I'm coming in!"
Aurelio fully opens the door and steps into his sister's room. The chamber's sole window had been obscured by a long sheet crudely draping over it, leaving the room completely dark. Aurelio begins to look around the room, treading lightly as the room was terribly disorganized.
"Geez, it's messier than my room..."
Aurelio looks over and sees Callista lying curled up in bed. She was wrapped up in several blankets which made it to were only her head was visible. Her bright yellow eyes cut through the darkness, standing out like neon beacons that pierced Aurelio with angry glares. She grumbles softly and retreats further into her blanket shell.
"What do you want?" She asks, her tone harsh.
"I was just checking to see if you were still alive Sister." Aurelio says jokingly, but then his voice becomes stern. "Seriously though, are you alright? It's not like you to act like this."
"Why, should I be prancing about like some kind of animal?!" She spits spitefully.
"Geez-"
"Don't 'geez' me Aurelio! All the things you've been saying lately have been really hurtful! Apologize!"
"'Apologize?' Callista, you know I didn't mea-"
"Apologize! Right now!" Callista angrily throws a pillow at Aurelio, her voice beginning to crack.
"Alright Sister, I'm sorry!" Aurelio says, rubbing his nose as the pillow bounces off of his face.
"You don't mean that!" Callista says, still sounding furious.
"Yes, I do." Aurelio says, walking over to the edge of Callista's bed. "Really, what's the matter with you? We argue all the time and it's never bothered you before. What did I say?"
"I-It's not anything you said." Callista says, her eyes beginning to tear up. "I- It's when we were in Tema, w-when we encountered that wyvern... W-When my eyes met its, in that brief moment, I-I felt something Aurelio--something inhuman... I-I felt the same things it did, I felt like an animal!"
Callista was sobbing hard, very clearly upset about the hole deal. Aurelio quickly glances away from his sister, feeling incredibly awkward. Just what exactly was he supposed to say? Aurelio sighs and awkwardly places his hand on where he assumed her shoulder was beneath all the blankets. He looks at Callista.
"Look, I'm sorry for calling you an animal--I really am--but you're not one, alright? So what if our interests are different, that doesn't make either one of us better than the other. I'm sure what you felt when we were fighting that wyvern was just an adrenaline rush--nothing to get excited about." Aurelio says. "I never did thank you for that, if you hadn't come to my aid I would've been a goner... So, um, thanks I guess..."
"T-Thank you Aurelio, b-but you don't get it..." Callista wipes at her eyes. "I always here talk about how I'm different--different f-from you and Momma... T-They say I'm different, that I'm not like you all... What I felt during that fight... i-it felt innate... W-What if I'm not really your sister, what if I really am some dumb animal?!"
"Who gives a damn about what onlookers say?!" Aurelio's voice was hard and stern, a stark contrast from his general demeanor. "You can let every little thing they say hold you back! You're a part of the family, plain and simple, nothing's gonna change that Sister. Besides, if you were some kind of animal, don't you think you transformed or something by now? Ignore them and move on."
Callista chuckles a bit. "I-It's weird Aurelio, hearing you be brotherly for once..."
Aurelio scoffs. "Whatever, don't make a big deal of it. You were throwing a fit and I brought you to your senses, end of story."
"I-It's nice to know you actually care though..." Callista smiles weakly. "Just quit calling me 'Sister," o-okay? I've got a name you know..."
"Yeah..." Aurelio sighs awkwardly and hands Callista one of the letters Ian had handed him.
"What's this?"
"I dunno yet, I haven't read it." Aurelio sighs and begins making his way back towards the door. "I've got things to do today, so I'll look into later. Why don't you get this place cleaned up? It's a sty in here..."
"I could say the same thing about your room Aurelio." Callista smiles.
~~~
With everything off of Callista's chest, Aurelio had nothing to worry about as he went down to the barracks with Galatea to have their training session. The two sparred for hours, practicing their techniques well into the night. After a long bout, Aurelio sits down with an exhausted sigh--though his pride wanted him to keep on fighting. Galatea sets down her lance and then sits opposite from Aurelio.
"S-So, did you work out everything?" Galatea asks.
"Yeah," Aurelio sighs. "She had a lot of stuff on her mind that'd been stagnating, but everything should be taken care of now."
"That's good to hear."
For a moment, there was a bit of an awkward silence between them. Galatea sat quietly, drawing nonchalantly in the dust with her finger. Aurelio reaches into his pocket and grabs his letter, before opening it he looks up at Galatea.
"H-Hey Galatea, just out of curiosity, that song you sang the other day, what language was it in?" Aurelio asks, breaking the silence. "I've never heard anything like it."
"M-My song?" Galatea echoes nervously. No one had ever asked her such a question. "Vibestian. N-Northern Vibestian to be specific."
"Northern? So different Vibestians speak in different dialects?"
"N-Not exactly. F-For the longest time, there was nothing b-but a scarce few nomadic tribes in northern Sanasa. Each tribe had their own language and culture, though when o-our people unified under the first queen to form Vibestia, a unified tongue was made. It was hard to learn though, so many people stuck t-to what they always spoke. It was much easier learn the traditional Sanasan vernacular."
"Yeah, languages are hard. I've wanted to study some for a while now, namely the super old languages that were spoken during the First War era, though I haven't had much luck. Doesn't help that many of the documents from back then are either destroyed or too tattered to read." Aurelio chuckles a bit. "B-But enough of my ramblings, could you sing that song again? I'd really like to hear the word."
"Y-You want to hear my song?" Galatea smiles shyly. "I-I dunno..."
"O-Okay, could you tell me the words at least? That way I could learn a bit of your language. Maybe I could-"
"Sing it too?" Galatea says, lighting up.
"Me, sing? N-No, I couldn't possibly." Aurelio says. "My singing voice sounds about as good as nails ran down a slate. You're singing voice however is absolutely divine Galatea."
Galatea blushes. "Y-You're just saying that..."
"No, it really is good." Aurelio smiles and reaches into his pocket, pulling out a small scrap of paper and a pen. "Tell you what, if you'll write down the words, I'll sing with you."
"In Vibestian?"
"Sure, I like a challenge."
Aurelio hands Galatea the pen and paper and she begins to write. Aurelio watches, entranced by Galatea's fast speed and elegant penmanship. She hands him the scrap and he reads it over.
"So... should I start?" Aurelio asks.
"Sure, we can sing in rounds." Galatea smiles encouragingly.
"Alright..." Aurelio says nervously. He'd never seen someone so excited about something before, and he didn't want to disappoint. Aurelio clears his throat and begins to awkwardly sing. Before he could even get to the second verse however, Galatea bursts out in laughter, causing Aurelio to redden. "W-What's so funny?"
"I-I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh," Galatea says, trying to stifle herself. "But your pronunciation is all wrong."
"Well, that's what practicing is for yeah?" Aurelio says. He couldn't help but begin to laugh as well, given how infectious Galatea's laugh was.
"Right." Galatea smiles. "M-Maybe it'd be easier if I started? Follow after me, o-okay?"
Galatea quietly clears her throat and begins to sing, filling the room with her wondrous voice. When Galatea sang, any sort of shyness or insecurities in her voice seemed to leave, leaving behind nothing but passion and faint tinges of a wistful remembrance. Aurelio sits quietly, awestruck by Galatea's beauty. He soon joins in after her, though he merely mouths the tune, trying his hardest to get the words right. For a moment, the two forgot about all of their troubles and sat together alone in the barracks, peacefully singing. Galatea sighs and stops singing. Aurelio stops as well, and the two both had a smile on their faces.
"You're getting better." Galatea says.
"Really?" Aurelio chuckles sheepishly. "I was just trying to match my lips with yours."
Galatea smiles. "You just have to practice Aurelio, no one's born knowing how to do something."
"I suppose that's true."
"Well, it's getting late." Galatea says and stands up, her armor clanking a bit as she does so. "I hate to leave, but Maude and Alda want to talk to me about something in the morning, so I best be getting to bed. Good night Aurelio."
"Night." Aurelio smiles as Galatea leaves the barracks. He sighs and finally pulls the envelope out from his pocket. Aurelio opens it and begins to read through the letter inside. "Let's see, 'Dear Prince Aurelio, you've been cordially invited to the kingdom of Rexeus at the behest of King Casey. The king has important matters to discuss with you and your sister, and he would greatly appreciate it if you came to Rexeus with great haste."
Aurelio places the invitation in his pocket and sighs. He stands up and leaves the barracks, heading back to his chamber. Aurelio steps inside and begins to thumb over the books on his shelves.
"Rexeus... I've never heard of such a place. Perhaps it'd be best of I asked Father..." Aurelio sighs and shakes his head. "No, after what happened in Tema I don't imagine he wants me to go anywhere. If this matter really is important though, I'd hate to keep this Casey man waiting. Hm..."
Aurelio lays back, sinking into his bed. For now, he decided it would best not to worry about it. It'd been a long day, and he could always think about it come morning. Aurelio closes his eyes and begins to doze off, Galatea's song ringing softly in his ears. He had no idea what the song was about or what it meant, but hearing Galatea's voice made him felt warm and cozy. Aurelio was completely enamored by her, and now more than ever he wanted to help her and the rest of the Vibestians. Why should he need his parent's approval? Aurelio decided that come morning, he was going to have a chat with Maude and Alda...