Wait For Me

Finally, there was a moment for Eumen, Clecia, Corek, and me to have time to ourselves. Zann and Forana went off to talk about whatever royals talked about while Enri went off to the library. Evada tried to stop me, telling me there was training to be done, but I managed to sweet talk my way out of it.

“Kaiya, we need to go over the basics some more while we have the time.” She looked like she’d had the best night’s sleep imaginable. We were standing in a garden, surrounded by beautiful shrubbery, while she tried to convince me to train. It had already been a week of straight training and if I didn’t get to see the city at least once, I was gonna riot.

“Yes. I hear you. But have you considered?” Then I sunk into the ground and popped up on the other side of the tower topiary. I could hear her laughing loudly, snorts breaking up her breaths.

“I can’t argue with that,” she said, still laughing. “She’ll come back at some point.”

I made my way to the palace entrance, grateful that I learned terra magic first. If not for that, I would have gotten lost, trying to figure my way around the twists and turns of the palace grounds.

In their red guards’ uniforms, I almost didn’t recognize them. Standing at attention next to the guards of Fera, they looked like the stiff and unyielding soldiers they were being molded into. My heart ached seeing people so young, so battle hardened. But when they saw me trot over to them, they broke their stance and grinned, looking much more like their age, making their way over to me.

“How’d you convince Madam Evada to let you go out today?” Eumen asked.

“I made her laugh,” I said.

“That’s it? That’s all it took?”

“Evada, unlike some people, has a sense of humor. And we were training on the road, so I think she’s okay with letting today slide because of that.”

Clecia waved her arms to get our attention. “Who cares why? Let’s go explore!”

The capital was beautiful. As I thought when we first arrived, it was well established and bustling. While Yvanta had a long, winding road to get to the city, Fera had only a few yards before the palace walls gave way to the bustle of people. Tall buildings lined each side, with signs offering different services. Inns and restaurants and clothing stores and solo kiosks.

We couldn’t decide where we should try to go first, so we wandered around, darting into any establishment we found interesting and stopping at every food kiosk we could find, sampling anything they had to offer.

Eumen and Corek were more reserved, not going for anything they couldn’t readily identify, but Clecia was right next to me, looking with eyes never too big for her stomach.

Since we lacked a lot of money, it was mostly window shopping except for the food, but for the first time since I’d come to Ornus, I felt like a normal person again. I wasn’t fighting for my life or training to manipulate the elements or wondering why I felt such a strong connection with a religion I’d never heard of until a few months ago. I was just Kaiya, soon to be college graduate, hanging out with friends.

We went to what I could only assume was a tourist trap of a shop that sold maps and charms and other trinkets that were marked up a million percent. I didn’t mind it so much, looking over some of the framed maps on the wall. It didn’t seem to be updated since Yvanta wasn’t on it, and I got a glimpse of what the world once was. The domains seemed to have an equal land share of the continent, with Fera having a bit more, likely due to its age. There were a few islands to the southeast, but not much more than that.

On the other side of it was a portrait of the royal family. It was the immediate family, dated 1664. Queen Forana sat on the throne, a small smile on her face as a man stood behind her. He didn’t quite look like Enri, but they had the same eyes and hair. That must have been her father. On either side were the sisters, Lautin and Xala. Lautin had her two children sitting in front of her on the ground and Xala had one child, about twelve or thirteen, standing slightly in front of her.

They looked regal and resplendent, but there was an obvious gap where Enri should have been.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” I had heard the shopkeeper walk up to me, but the painting enchanted me. “It was painted just a few years ago.”

I turned to him. “It’s so lifelike. The queen has more wrinkles now, though.”

He laughed. “As time has gone on, I believe she has gotten more stressed in the recent years.”

“Well, sure, but I was mostly thinking that her wrinkles make her look more refined.” Like a gentle, but eternal figure watching over everyone.

The shopkeeper hummed in thought. “That’s one way to look at it, but I believe the artist was simply trying to make her look as beautiful as possible. Not that it was hard, of course. Our Lady Queen is a beauty worth making ballads about.”

Her daughter very much inherited that.

“So.” I could hear the tilt of a question in his voice and knew I was going to disappoint him. “Are you interested in buying?”

“Unfortunately, I have no money.” His expression soured, and he turned around, leaving to prey on some other innocent tourist. Even if I didn’t understand the conversion, there were a lot of zeroes attached to that painting and I wanted more food.

We cut away from the main road, wandering further from the palace as more and more places caught our attention. Two roads away was a pastry shop that Clecia and I took a moment to load up with walkable snacks as Corek and Eumen walked towards a shop selling toy weapons for young kids. With their well-trained bodies, it looked cartoonish to see them with such small tools.

We stepped into a clothing store, and I couldn’t help but compare how different the style was here. Most of the clothing in Yvanta was thin cotton unless worn by nobles. Here, a lot of the clothing seemed to be tougher and made to last longer. It also looked like they prioritized functionality over fashion, though it still looked nice.

As the sun reached its peak, we landed in a café on one of the side streets, hot and sweaty from running around. We’d barely made it through half of what the capital commerce district to offer.

“This town is interesting,” Corek said. “I’ve never been anywhere but my village and the capital. It’s interesting to see what other domains have to offer.”

“That’s Corek’s way of saying she’s having fun,” Eumen said with a grin. She flagged down a waiter over the din and ordered us water and a lunch platter. “Is the palace food as good as it looked? If we hadn’t eaten earlier with the other guards, my stomach would have embarrassed me.”

“Me too,” Clecia signed. “I’ve never left my home village either until now, and the food is the most interesting part to me.”

I laughed. “I know. It’s all we’ve been doing all afternoon.”

She pouted a bit. “It’s not my fault there are food stalls along the main road. I hardly ever have money. I wanted to do what I can.”

“Keep in mind,” Corek said, “that what they gave us is meant to last us all month.”

“I know, I know. I’m keeping in mind how much I have and it’s gonna be fine. It’s not like we can hang out with Kaiya everyday we’re here.”

“It’s tragic, I know,” I said. “But I’m glad they picked the three of you for this trip.”

Eumen rolled her eyes. “I find it hard to believe that you didn’t have any sway over who was picked from Madam Vanli’s company. It can’t be a coincidence it was the three of us.”

Shrugging, I said, “I never actually said anything, but Enri knows how highly I think of you as soldiers. It’s rare that I think of anyone highly. And even if I didn’t know you, you’d still be picked. That’s how skilled you all are.”

Corek chuckled. “At the very least, they need someone who can wield a weapon.” She gave me a pointed stare, and I shot her a glare. She knew damn well why I didn’t want to pick up a weapon. Like Vanli, liked to get on my ass for what I did in Sandbreak, but I refused to regret it. I wanted to make sure that Noram, and all those who died from this war, didn’t die for nothing.

“If Vanli is to be believed, I am a weapon.”

“A weapon of eating, maybe,” Eumen laughed. “You teased Clecia, but you were right there next to her.”

“I can’t help it; it reminds me of my grandma’s cooking. She was the only family member I cared about, honestly. Aside from my sister, of course.”

Behind us, a group of people were making their way out of the door. One of them sneezed.

Siblings were an odd thing. An inherent contradiction to anyone who had them. I couldn’t accurately explain to anyone who didn’t have a sibling what it was like. I would pull her hair out for eating my food. I would kick anyone’s ass who tried to bother her. She was my best friend, my enemy, my first bully, and my closest confidant. I would eagerly punch her for a slushy and bring the world to ash and chaos to see her laugh.

I also, with terrifying accuracy, could pinpoint her coughs, sighs, and sneezes.

My head whipped around, catching the sight of a familiar head of curls against the sunlight as the door closed. I could have been hallucinating. I was probably hallucinating.

I sprang from my seat, tipping the bench over, sending Eumen toppling to the ground. Ignoring her cries of confusion, I booked it out the door. In the time it took for my eyes to adjust, I already lost her in the crowd. My heart felt like it was slamming against my ribcage and panic started to set in. I needed to be sure. I needed to know if it was her.

I jumped, floating high above the crowd. It felt like my fall from the tree, the magic simply coming to my aid without effort. Zann likely wanted me to keep a low profile for now, but I didn’t care. There was something far more important to do. Scanning the crowd was difficult, everyone moving at different paces in different directions. I kept spinning around, trying to block out the light until—

I rushed forward, zooming over the crowd, trying to keep my eyes pinned on the bobbing mass of hair walking away from me. We were already on the edge of the shopping district, but when she took a turn around a building, I thought she was gone for good.

Her group was still there when I spotted them, leaning against the wall, and fanning themselves in the shade provided by the building. Dropping to the ground at the entrance of the alley, I nearly lost my balance. If not for my boots, I would have rolled my ankle.

“Who are you?” I didn’t recognize their voice, but I probably wouldn’t have recognized Enri’s voice at that point. I couldn’t stop staring, my voice caught in my throat. The person started to move, their hand resting on something on their belt. “I asked you a question, tourist.”

“I—” That was all I could muster, but it was enough. She stiffened against the wall, her hand coming to a sudden stop. She was so familiar and yet so different. In an outfit similar to mine but fit to weapons (several daggers and a short sword), I could see she was bulkier, and her hair was longer. I was sure I looked different to her, too.

“Kaiya?” She took a step forward, and one of the people held their hand out, stopping her. She pushed their arm aside and, faster than I thought she could move, she enveloped me in a hug so strong I fell to the ground. In the light of the busy street, I could see her clearly.

Her sun kissed skin almost hiding her freckles and tears racing down her face. My best friend. My partner in crime. My sister.

“Sayla!”