Dec 19, year 230
The boy sat alone in a bar in the middle of the town. His only companion was a big mug of beer, completely filled with a thick layer of foam covering the top and dripping off the sides of the mug. It was daring the boy to conquer its bitterness and embrace its godly taste. The poor mug's efforts were in vain, because Taro's attention was focused elsewhere.
The bar was filled with a few groups of people, each sitting at their own table. Despite the great amount of blabbering, the overall mood in the bar was calm and friendly. It was the last night before the carriage departed, so nobody wanted to take any risks here. After all, it was the only carriage that would depart that week. Miss it, and you'd be stuck in this reclusive town at the edge of a big and dangerous forest, at the start of winter. In addition, there have been rumors of disappearings in the region lately, which made it even more dangerous to stay in an unknown place for too long.
A group consisting of two boys and two girls were sitting at a table a few meters away. Taro had been watching them for a while out of boredom. Definitely not because his eye had fallen on a girl with long blonde, curly hair, wearing frilly clothes despite the cold outside. Taro suspected she was using magic to enhance her body to keep the cold outside, like he'd read in a book. He did not see a trace of magic though, so maybe she was just cold blooded. Or hot blooded? So that her blood keeps her warm in this cold? Was that even possible? How was warming up with your blood even supposed to work...?
His thoughts got interrupted by the growing volume of their voices. The girl he'd been (secretly) looking at, had mentioned a name. It was probably a friend's or an acquaintance's, since the group reacted immediately. The other girl, a smaller tomboyish girl, took the word.
“Would you believe he finally sent us a letter after all these months! We were all worried where he’d been, not letting us know anything for TWO WHOLE YEARS! And now he’s casually like: ‘Hey, I haven’t heard you guys in a while, you up to visit my place? Oh, while you're at it, can you bring all my belongings too? Oh, and buy some ero-magazines too please, the quality of them here isn't what I was used to... Can you believe it? The first thing I’m going to do when I’m there, is give him a good beating!” She flexed her muscles in front of the group. No single muscle showed.
"Yuu, he did not ask us to bring his belongings or ero-magazines or whatever. Please don't beat him up for something he didn't do..." The blonde girl answered.
"I know how he thinks, he definitely expects us to take them. Well too bad for him, because the only thing we have is ourselves, and he isn't getting any of me for sure! Liss, you cannot let men take advantage of your goodness, you know!"
The blonde girl, Liss, let out a small sigh. "Yuu, he's not that kind of person. If anything, he just wants to see his friends after being seperated from them for two full years. This event is a perfect opportunity to visit him, so I'm sure it'll be great for all of us."
One of the boys joined in, after the little tantrum of Yuu died down. "Who would’ve thought he was in Vinclum, of all places. That city is rumored to be extremely wealthy, with some of the richest people on this continent residing there.” A boy named David said. “The security is even tougher than the other big cities, so I still wonder how we’re going to get in. As far as I’m aware, none of us are wealthy enough to even be considered to enter there. We’re just students, after all.”
"Well, the Red Lunar festival is a special event which allows easier access for the outsiders trying to enter the city. Also, I've heard that there are a lot of normal people living there as well. So it's not all golden houses and crystal path walks. Vinclum is rumored to be one of the biggest trade partners of the kingdom." Liss answered. “In the letter he mentioned it was easier to enter with the carriage, since they usually bring family and friends. Seems they aren't as thorough as usual when going with them. We already got checked when arriving here, right? So, no need to worry, everything will be fine!”
“Indeed, indeed! Don’t worry about the why’s and if’s, let’s just party on his costs. Since he lives there, he must have a ton of money, right? I bet he could even sponsor our tuition and still be as rich as before! What’s a few thousand silver pieces if you have a mountain of diamonds, right?” The other boy was as laid back as one could get. "And if something would happen..." He clicked his fingers, after which a little flame appeared above his index finger. "I will take care of it with my supreme fire mastery. Even the nobles are nothing against this!"
"..."
"..."
An awkward silence passed, while the other three were trying to figure out what the hell he had just said.
“Sir… Taro, I believe?” The butler had come up to him while he was listening in. He clearly had a distraught look on his face. "Sir... Do you by any chance..." What was this weird, ominous feeling? The boy grabbed the armrest, preparing himself for what was to come.
"Do you... not like your beer?" There it was. The one true despair a butler can experience. A client who is dissatisfied with the service. This man was clearly near hit wit's end, only one push away from the depths of the abyss. "It's been standing there for almost an hour. I'm sorry if we gave you something not to your liking, and we would request to give you full compensation for this error. Also, if you'd like, you can give me some punishme-" Before the butler sank any deeper, Taro quickly apologized to the poor man. "I'm sorry, I am by no means dissatisfied by this beer." To give his words action, he took the mug and downed half of it in one go. The butler smiled and quickly apologized again, this time for the inconvenience. When turning around, Taro could swear he saw a small tear in the corner of the man's eye. "Damn, seems like a really tough job. I hope he'll be okay..." Taro mumbled to himself.
In the meantime, a girl had taken seat behind the talking students. She was covered with a brown cloak, probably to keep her warm from the cold outside. Her hands were covered with gloves, her feet with big, lump boots. She could probably sleep outside with that getup, and still not feel a spot of cold on her body. A glimpse of long, brown hair was falling down her cheek, but she quickly noted it and put it out of sight. She seemed somewhat mysterious, but definitely not as interesting as that blonde girl. Taro shifted his attention back to Liss.
The group had shifted their conversation slightly, talking about the past of the boy they were going to meet. Apparently he used to be rather shy and poor, so he had to work after his studies to support his family. His uncle was apparently very rich, but until recently he had kept all the wealth for himself. To no surprise, the boy had not been really fond of his uncle.
“Rumors have it that the uncle was involved in some shady businesses. Like drugs, smuggling and all that… It must’ve taken some time to whitewash all that money and translate it in permanent wealth. At one point, he must've had a change of heart and start supporting his family.” David paused. “Well, I say family but in reality only Yared got the invite of his uncle. I heard the rest of his family had to stay home. They do get funds every month, enough to live comfortably, but in return Yared has to stay with his uncle. I wonder what he's doing there.”
“Maybe the uncle wanted to make him succeed his business or something. You know, to keep that money flowing with another face on the front. And of course Yared would do this, since he will get all the girls he wants with that money.” Yuu made an OK-sign with her fingers. The group laughed.
“Well, he can get me, as long as I can chill there for the rest of my life...” The other boy responded.
“Heyhey, Noa… Last time I looked you weren't a girl, you know.” David answered pensively.
"There are easy solutions for that..." He smiled brightly, as if he'd just designed a master plan. The others definitely didn't have a clue what he was implying, but decided not to ask further details.
“It’s only a bit over an hour left, maybe we should return to the inn and get our stuff?” Liss proposed to change the topic. The group nodded in agreement. “Do all of you still have your ticket?” Everyone checked their pockets and took out a little badge with a reverse cross engraved on it. "All ready!" David cheered.
Just when they were getting ready to leave, the girl behind them stood up. She had hidden away her brown cloak. Her oaken-colored hair was falling down her shoulders. She went straight to the group, and poked on Liss' shoulder. She was clearly staggered by the sudden approach, but the girl left her no time to breathe.
“Heeeeeey! I'm Flori, nice to meet you! You are going to Vinclum as well right?” She asked enthusiastically. Liss, still surprised, nodded affirmative. Flori continued quickly. Taro wondered if she was even breathing in between her sentences. “Then, can I give you this? It's something my grandma made for all the travelers going to Vinclum. She said that the forest is dark and scary, but we'll always be protected if we carry it with us.” The girl took out a small charm, designed in the form of a rose, from her pocket and forced it into Jana’s hands. “She told me I should always have it with me when I go on a long trip so we will have a safe trip. But she said the more people that have one, the stronger it will be!” The girl explained the group with a broad smile. "Since you're with four, you'd need three more, give me a second. After she grabbed inside her pocket, three more charms appeared.
How many does she carry with her, Taro thought. Is she planning on giving everyone one? He looked around, and indeed he saw a handful of charms lying everywhere. The people were not really paying attention to them though. They probably accepted them out of politeness for the cheerful girl's feelings.
Liss, finally coming back to her senses, accepted the gift and smiled in return. “Thank you, we’ll return it when we get there!” The girl excitingly nodded her head.
"Oh that, can I see that?" Flori pointed at the badge in Liss' hand. She took out her own badge while Liss was still considering her answer.
"S-sure. But give it back immediately, alright?" Liss gave the badge to Flori, who put it in the other hand as her own badge.
"Ooooh, they're exactly the same. I would even be able to do this..." She quickly closed her hands and put them behind her back, revealing them again a few moments later. "...and you wouldn't know what's mine and what's yours!"
"H-hey!" Liss panicked slightly by the unexpected action.
"Don't worry, I didn't do anything with them. Here, this one was yours." She gave the badge back to Liss. "Since we're all going to the same place, I'm hoping we can be friends! It would be really nice to know some people in a big city like that, so we could do some stuff together at the festival. Also, I'm really bad at directions so maybe you could help me not get lost..." Flori playfully stuck her tongue out. Liss smiled gently in response.
Flori suddenly jumped up. “Oh no, I’m sorry, I really want to stay a bit more but I have to get ready quickly. My inn is a small distance away from here, at the edge of the town, so I really really really depart before it gets dark! Sorry! We’ll definitely meet each other again in Vinclum! Promise, right? Pinky promise!" She put out her pinky, and Liss followed up by putting hers against Flori's. "Keep the charm safe and it'll protect you and everyone! See you!"
Flori went back to her table, took her cape and walked towards the exit. Liss and her friends smiled at the innocence of the departing girl and waved her goodbye. Just when she passed Taro, he could see her expression turn from cheerfulness into a deep seriousness. In her hand she was holding the badge she'd shown earlier. That girl… Could it be? He looked at the group of friends, but they were not aware of anything. Liss still had her badge in her hand, and even from that distance it looked exactly like the one he had. Maybe he was just seeing things?
After he had collected his thoughts, the girl had already left the bar. Taro ordered one more beer from the butler, who served him with a delighted look on his face. "Siiiir.... I'm so glad you're here with us this evening."
"..."
The evening slowly passed, during which Taro had way more interactions with the butler than he could mentally handle. And way more beers than he could physically handle. At the end of the evening, the butler carried Taro back to his lodging, thanking him for all the good in this world. Luckily for Taro, he did not remember anything from those late hours when he woke up the day after.
Flori was sitting in her room, looking at the badge she'd swapped with the girl in the bar. She was biting her lip out of frustration, almost reaching the blood veins with her teeth. Yet she was so focused on the badge that she didn't feel the pain.
This badge... These traces of magic... It's definitely tracking magic. And it's complexity... This was definitely not done by an amateur. I'm having a really bad feeling about this...
She took out her left glove. A blue crystal was implanted in the back of her hand, glowing under the moonlight that fell inside of her room. She turned her hand around and back around. The crystal was gone. Then she continued moving her hand over her whole body, not missing one spot. After she was done, she put the glove back on and hid away the medal. She lied down on her bed and closed her eyes. Tomorrow would be an important day, so she needed all the rest she could get. It did not take long for her consciousness to ebb away in the darkness of the night.
Next to her cushion, an envelope was lying on the corner of the bed. She clamped it with both of her hands even while asleep, as if it was her most treasured possession. The fire seal that had once protected its contents, had been broken. The moonlight revealed the sole two words on the front:
"For Rose"
