IV

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Arc IV Chapter 13

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10^th Ignis Solar 753 AAC

Wolfgang scowled, pursing his lips. He thought for a long moment. “Are you sure, Lambert? Do you truly want to waste the owed favour on her? You might regret doing so.”

Lambert responded with a smile of certainty. He was a man who had made his decision. “Quite. If that is what a make, then it shall be so.”

His words finally broke the last of Wolfgang's resistance. A whistling noise escaped his teeth, as the guild master shook his head in resignation. “I never took you for a sentimental man, Lambert, and yet ... If you think that the girl is worth it, very well, I see no reason to continue opposing her admission. Following the next week, the girl will start as a mere copper adventurer and work her way up the ladder from there.”

Aurora perked up, her cloudy face clearing up and her arms hugging her doll. Victory. Triumph. They had won, thanks to uncle Lambert’s persuasion skills, overcoming the mean, misguided guild master.

Even Lambert joined her jubilation, putting a firm hand on her shoulder.“Lass, did you hear that? Don’t waste this chance, child. Don't disappoint us.”

Aurora nodded. She wouldn't, nor did she plan to.

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Thus, a long and rather uneventful day, at least in comparison to previous life threatening encounters of the demonic kind, ended. Aurora settled in her bed, curled up in her blanket and prepared to sleep early. Crystals were an expensive mean of illumination, and candles only provided subpar lighting. Unfortunately, Iris could afford neither for her private chambers. They lived in a preindustrial time and age when artificial light had not yet conquered the darkness of the night. The day ended with sunset and started with dawn.

At least, her bed was warm and cosy, her blanket fluffy, and her pillow soft. They were not necessarily up to the standards of her noble background, but a bed was a bed, and she hadn't enjoyed the supreme cosiness of a real bed for weeks after spending the entirety of her new life sleeping on straw on the ground. Even the simplest bed marked a definitive improvement over the rudimentary conditions in the field of the harsh adventurer life. Her poor back already thanked her for the respite.

Next to her, Iris was slumbering sunk in dreams, sharing her precious bed with her. They were sleeping together, a decision Aurora approved of in retrospect. For obvious reasons, mostly for monetary reasons and reasons of privacy, Lambert and the party decided to accommodate her at the guild's inn, lodging her in Iris' room. Thus, they were both now effectively living together, sharing a room, a room was appropriate to her social status and income. Compact and cramped, space was a limited commodity in an urban environment. Especially, in a city as pulsating and prospering as Freyburg.

Spartan, not to say minimalist, in design, a wooden floor, a polished beech parquet, met the timber walls clad in oak. An open window allowed sunlight and fresh air to enter. Furniture was sparse, but functional. A bed. A wardrobe. A number of chairs. A small table exiled into a forgotten corner. A series of shelves, a single one even filled with a handful of books. A lone desk, clearly intended for solitary work of the intellectual kind. Yet her lodgings boasted, much to Iris' delight and immense pride, of a private bathroom and even a personal bath, with the latter being reminiscent of a wooden barrel cut in half.

Unlike her, Iris didn't last a minute once her head had settled on her pillow. Tired and exhausted, Iris escaped into the land of dreams, leaving her alone in a dimly lit room, only illuminated by the serene grace of the full moon. It was a magical night. The moon stood high among the stars in all its splendid glory, further amplifying her mana. Her powers yearned for the comforting darkness of the night and the gentle presence of the moon. It was the time of day when her mana was the strongest, the most vibrant.

Aurora patted her doll, her most loyal companion. Her lustrous hair spilled around her face. The doll was the last remnant of her previous self, of a life of a girl who once was. She would always cherish the doll in her memory. That was the least she could do to honour a very brave girl who found a premature death before her time. Powerful forces had conspired against her. It was not her fault that she had failed. Aurora would live her new life now in her stead, a new life bestowed upon her because of her sacrifice.

Her lips kissed her doll on her cheek, rewarding her with a tender kiss. Her doll was resting beside her with her eyelids closed, sleeping beneath her warm blanket, enclosed by her arms in a tight embrace. “I might not be her, but good night. Sleep well and sweet dreams.” Silence followed, the absolute silence of a cold night shrouded in darkness.

“...” Aurora waited and waited. Of course, her doll never responded. Reality was a cruel mistress. Despite all her love, her doll remained naught but a doll. Her doll didn't speak. Her doll didn’t live outside childish fantasies and desires. In the end, her doll was just a mere toy, an inanimate object. Maybe it was better that way, after all.

Her eyelids closed and sleep befell Aurora under the watchful glimmer of the brilliant moon. The moon passed and the serene light of the stars graced the earth until a demure pair of purple eyes pierced the veil of the night. Unseen in the cover of the night and seemingly forever lost, for the briefest moment reawakened, brilliant purple gazed upon the eternal beauty of the stars.

What ...

...

Where ...

...

Why ...

...

Who ...

...

When ...

…

Ho ... w ... ...

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