Ophelia has been quite joyful lately, although I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because of the nice weather recently. Her potted plants have been doing well.
Have I ever mentioned Ophie's potted plants? It's actually an adorable thing she's been doing. To make sure she had the feeling of home at the school, Lady Ysabelle sent some of Ophelia's favorite plants to the school for her to take care of. And you know what?
She's named them.
There's the aloe vera named Evangeline, the peace lily named Aggie, the bamboo named Mei, and the plant I don't know the species of named Elodie. Apparently Elodie, despite being the smallest plant, produces fruit. I haven't seen them yet but once I figure out what kind of fruit it produces I could make snacks with it.
I can still never get a chance to finish my conversation with Merlin, as Ophie seems to have made it her life's goal to never let me talk to him. I'm always off doing something and Merlin never gets a break so there's literally no way for us to ever converse. Which is fine, I guess. It's not like I don't have other people to talk to.
I actually have an abnormal amount of people to talk to. My roommates, Ophelia, Alexander, various teachers for some reason, the other servants that were brought in by other students.
Rather than having an abnormal amount of people to talk to, I believe that there's an abnormal amount of people wanting to talk to me.
It was another day at the academy, beginning to get colder and colder. Which meant that it was getting closer to the winter holidays, along with Ophelia's winter break. The winter holidays lasted for an entire month in this world, which meant that school was out for an entire month. Mother was quite excited to see me at home again for the holidays, mentioning that all the other servants were missing my presence as well.
I truly am a crowd favorite for whatever reason.
"Ava, what do you want for the Midwinter's Festival?" Ophelia questioned me, head slightly turning to look at me from her seat at the vanity. I was brushing her hair before bed as I often did, wanting to keep it as smooth and pretty as possible. The Midwinter's Festival was the Christmas of this world, although it had a different meaning in comparison to the Christmas I've known.
I let out a soft hum and continued to brush Ophelia's hair with a gentle hand. "What do I want? Hmm... I'm not sure. There's not much for me to wish for."
"There's nothing that you want?"
"Not that I can think of right now. What about Ophie? Is there anything that you want for the Midwinter's Festival?"
Ophelia looked at her reflection in the mirror for a bit, mulling over her thoughts before speaking again. "A miracle."
I paused in my brushing. "A miracle? Why a miracle?"
"You remember how we talked about the person I liked a while ago?"
"Yes. The dense person, correct?"
Ophelia laughed. "Yes, that person. I'd like a miracle so that they'd realize my feelings and their feelings as well."
"That's quite a wish for the Midwinter's Festival." I commented, placing the brush down on the vanity in its usual place before petting Ophelia's head. "It sounds a bit ambitious, but perhaps the Midwinter Queen will be able to grant it."
"I hope so." Ophelia sighed, standing up from her seat at the vanity and clinging onto my arm. "Ava, can you tell me the story about the Midwinter's Festival before I go to sleep?"
"Like when you were a child? You used to think that the story was silly," I said, rubbing her head. "do you really want me to tell you it again?"
Ophelia nodded, looking up at me with hopeful eyes. I could only sigh and gesture with my hands over to her bed. A smile grew on Ophelia's face as she released my arm and practically skipped over to her bed, tucking herself in and staring at me from where she was lying down.
I shook my head lightly and pulled over Ophelia's desk chair to sit next to the bed, beginning to think about the story I'm supposed to tell. Have been telling for a couple of years.
"A long, long time ago, when the Andize Kingdom did not exist and neither did its neighbors, there was the Thasian Empire. A land covered in snow and ice, a tundra that seemed to have no end. This land was ruled by a woman who mirrored her lands, sparkling as the snow but frigid as the ice." I began, voice low and soft. "The Winter Queen, Lumineve. Ruling the Thasian Empire with a frozen heart, making all decisions by her mind and logic rather than looking at the affects her decisions would have on her people."
"One day, an unknown stranger had come to the court of the Queen. The stranger, covered by a golden cloak like the sun, came to the queen and asked her a question in a soft voice. 'Your Majesty, do you know what your people eat?' Their voice was neither feminine nor masculine, giving no suggestion to their gender."
"The Winter Queen replied, 'They eat food, of course.'. The stranger with a golden cloak laughed and shook their head before leaving the castle. That night, the Queen had a dream. She dreamt that instead of the vast dinner of nine courses at a grand dining table with silverware and crystal cups, she was sat at a dingy wooden table with no tableware like a fork or spoon. Only a plate of hard bread and cooked meat sat before her, hardly making her full. But there was nothing else to eat afterwards. After all, much food was sent to her as tribute."
"When she awoke the next morning, her stomach feeling empty and heart for once heavy, she hosted a feast in the capital for the commoners and nobles alike, using her own reserves of food to feed her people lavishly. Citizens were even able to take the leftovers home. When word of this spread to the aristocracy, they felt that in order to not fall behind the Queen they must also hold feasts. The Thasian Empire felt much warmer that week, the bellies of the people filled."
"The next week, however, the golden cloak stranger returned. This time, they posed another question to the Winter Queen, dressed up to the nines in her finery. 'Your Majesty, do you know what your people wear?'. The Winter Queen, with confusion in her voice instead of indifference, once again replied. 'They wear clothes, do they not?'."
"Once again, the stranger laughed, shook their head, and left. Once more, the Winter Queen had a dream that night. She dreamed of getting dressed. Instead of receiving assistance from her handmaidens, she was all alone. Instead of a fine dress lined in fur, she put on a thick shirt of scratchy material. A pair of thick pants, lined sparsely with fur on the inside went upon her legs. A patched up cloak went upon her body, and she still felt the chill of the cold. The boots she wore could barely be known as boots and the outfit she wore did not even have gloves come with it."
"When she awoke the next morning, the Winter Queen felt sickened by the vast amounts of clothes her closet held for her variety while her people could not even afford to make or buy mittens. The Queen called upon all the tailors of the lands and asked them to figure out the average sizes of clothing of her people and create clothes using those measurements. It would all be funded by the royal treasury. These were the first ready-to-wear clothes used in boutiques around the world today. Not wanting to fall behind the Queen in popularity, the aristocracy did the same in their own lands, clothing their citizens for the weather cheaply. The empire felt even warmer after this, plants beginning to sprout out of the ground in their green color."
"On the third week of the month, the stranger in the golden cloak returned once again and asked a final question of the Queen."
" 'Miss Lumineve, do you know what you need?' "
"The Queen, not caring that her name had been called by the stranger shook her head, and said, 'I have no idea. Would you tell me, stranger?'"
"The stranger then smiled and nodded, somehow satisfied. 'You need to melt the ice and snow. Only you know what you need to do to do that.' And then the stranger left. That night, the Winter Queen looked out upon the frozen lands that she called home from her window and thought. She thought of the ice and snow, her people who lived in it, and her role in the world. The more she thought, the more she began to feel and the more the snow and ice began to melt. Finally, the Winter Queen went to bed with a smile on her face. When she awoke the next morning, the lands were warm and without snow or ice, plants slowly growing in, and greenery that had never been seen coming out."
"The Queen's heart had melted." Finishing the story, I found Ophelia deep asleep with a silly grin on her face. Did she even hear what I said for most of the story? I doubt it. With a smile, I returned the desk chair to its rightful place before giving Ophelia a kiss on the forehead and leaving the room.
God, that story's so long and complicated and full of plot holes. They seriously need to flesh it out or something so I can tell it better.
Deep in my thoughts, Merlin was once again ignored as I walked to my room to sleep.
[ Are you guys doing okay? Keeping isolated and inside? Clean? You better. I love you all and hope you don't get sick! ]