1
The streets were quiet except for the chirping of birds and the sound of laughter coming from the distance. The sun was shining brightly and pink petals danced in the wind as it fell gracefully from the branches of the trees.
Just another ordinary day in the village of Kardia.
Lady Ann was surprised to see Leo, the village blacksmith, to be at the door of her Inn at this early in the morning. He was an old man, and didn't seem to like company at the best of times, unless it was a drunken conversation at the Spring Rabbit pub at night. To see this grumbly old man at her place at seven in the morning was very unusual.
"Is Tori in, at all?" Was the first thing he asked, leaning uncomfortably against the counter just inside of the Inn door.
"Of course, she's upstairs. What do you want her for?" Lady Ann replied, glancing at the old man. "She'll be down here soon, I reckon."
"Oh righ'. Uh. Can you ask 'er to do me a favour?"
Leo seemed lost for words. Lady Ann was curious. What did this old man want with her daughter, at this early in the morning? Tori was a shy girl with a stutter. Lady Ann couldn't think of a single task that her daughter might be able to help Leo with in his Smithery. "Can you tell her to come to my place before she goes off to the library this morning? It's nothing bad, but I think Tori is just the girl for it."
Lady Ann nodded, slightly confused. She wanted to ask for more details, but he seemed to be done talking now and he looked as if he wanted to leave. She smiled, and Leo looked reassured. There was a clang as the door shut behind the old man when he left her Inn.
Just before nine, there was a polite knock at the Smithery door. Leo opened it and found a blonde girl with glasses, clutching a book nervously in her hand. She opened her mouth as if to say something but closed it, blushing. He stood away from the door, gesturing to come in. She stepped in slowly towards the roaring fire within the blacksmith's store.
There was a work bench and a row of weapons hanging from the walls. A chair was left near the fire, presumably where the old man sat in between working. The stone floors were dirty, and the place smelled dusty like it hadn't been cleaned for a while now. Tori noticed the sharp glint of the sword resting against the wall near her, and stepped away from it quickly.
As she moved away from the sword, she also noticed a leather bag at the foot of the stairs. There were clothes carelessly hanging out of the opening, as if it had been stuffed roughly. There was also a leather boot which could not have belonged to the old man.
Leo cleared his throat then, and roared loudly: "RIFA!"
Tori jumped, and there was a silence where his voice rang around the store. Neither of them said anything, and after a moment there was a creak in the floorboards above.
"Uh, M-Mr. Leo, h-how c-c-can I help y-you?"
The old man didn't say anything, but nodded towards the stairs towards the back of the store. Tori turned, and within seconds, there was a loud stamping descending the stairs.
A foot appeared, then another one, then two bare legs. When the figure arrived at the foot of the stairs, Tori blushed.
The figure appeared to be a girl about the same age as Tori – slightly younger, maybe, and definitely shorter. She was very skinny but her arms, which were spread out as she stretched, had obvious muscles. Her skin was pale and her hair was dark, which gave her an unhealthy look like she hardly spent time outside, and there was a unique pale blue marking on her face just below her eye on the left hand side.
"This's Rifa," Leo said, crossing his arms. "She's my new apprentice."
"Mornin'." Rifa said, yawning. Her mouth opened wide, and two pointed teeth were visible at each corner
"I was wondering if you would show her around Karida and all. Before she gets working. I want her to settle in, see."
"Because there's so much to learn about hitting pieces of metal, isn't there, Grandpa?" Rifa chirped in sleepily, rubbing the corners of her silver eyes. She didn't seem to notice Tori at all, and begun nudging the bag by her feet. Leo shut his mouth uncertainly and glanced at Tori, who nodded.
"Rifa, I want ya to meet Tori."
Tori clutched her book even tighter when they made eye contact. The girl's appearance was friendly, but there was something about her eyes that made the shy girl nervous. Maybe she was over thinking it, but Rifa's eyes were cold and harsh.
"H-hello," Tori extended her hand, which trembled a little. Rifa's eyes cast downwards to the outstretched arm, and quickly looked away.
"Hm, yeah, hi. Grandpa, I'm gonna eat. D'you want eggs?"
With one quick movement, Rifa kicked up the bag with her foot and bounced up the stairs without waiting for Leo's reply.
Tori waited a little while at the Smithery but Rifa didn't come downstairs. She excused herself to Leo that she must get to work at the library, and in return Leo apologized for Rifa's rude behavior.
"I was her grandfather's apprentice, see. That's how I know 'er. She got 'ere yesterday, sayin' she wanted to live here for a bit. I'm guessing she wants to learn 'bout swords – it's her family thing, aye. She never showed much interest, until now, though."
The old man sniffed and nodded as Tori stepped outside into the streets. She didn't realize how dark it was in the Smithery until the sunlight seemed blinding to her eyes, and she used the book she was clutching to make a shade for her face. She turned around and begun walking towards the other side of the street, where the library was.
Tori did not notice the pair of silver eyes staring at her from the second floor window of the Smithery.
2
There was a peaceful silence in the library, with the occasional crinkle of an old page being turned or a creak of the wooden chair under a shifting weight.
Tori enjoyed working at a library because aside from the occasional dusting and tidying, she was at liberty to sit on a chair in a comfortable corner and read. There were hundreds of books to choose from, and Russell, the librarian, never minded if she took them home to read. He himself often sat behind the counter and read, unconscious of the world outside the leather binding. Time flowed differently in the Kardia Library, which was probably one of the reasons why Tori loved it.
Tori's particular favourite book was the one about a prince who has lost his memory and ended up in a foreign village, where he fell in love with a poor girl. The story would always end in marriage, and the girl becoming a princess, with the two lovers riding away to a kingdom far away on a white horse. It was childish, maybe a little bit, but surely every girl believed in this fairy-tale happiness, didn't they? She has read and re-read this book a million times over, and yet she couldn't help feeling sorry for the poor prince whenever he fainted outside the village girl's house due to hunger and thirst.
She sighed as she closed the book when she came to the end of the chapter, and sat up on her wooden chair. It was around noon, and she had to remind Russell to get something to eat. Soon, Russell's adopted daughter would run in demanding for her lunch. And sure enough, as Tori placed her book on the chair she was sitting on, the library door opened wide.
"Ceci, go and wash your hands..."
"...Are you closed?"
Tori looked up, startled. Standing in the door way was the girl from Leo's Smithery earlier that morning. Rifa was now wearing a crimson skirt with leather boots and gloves. The shirt she wore had stains on it as if she had not washed it in a while, and her hair still looked messy as if she had not brushed it properly since waking up. Without meaning to, the chair toppled on its side with a crash.
"No, we're not." Russell said, smiling from behind the counter. He closed his book too, and a small cloud of dust flew up in the air as the pages thumped shut. "Hello, my name is Russell. I'm the head librarian here. How can I help you?"
"Grandpa - I mean, Leo, you know, Leo? He said you had books here on minin' and that."
"Of course. Tori, please show this lady where the books are. It should be on the first row, towards the end."
Russell smiled encouragingly as Tori picked up the chair back on its legs and walked over to the first row of shelves. Tori gestured for Rifa to follow, and she lead the pale girl down towards the end of the shelves and crouched down when she got there.
"Th-there are some...some books h-here, on the b-bottom sh-shelf."
Rifa didn't say anything, but crouched down close to Tori. Her long white finger traced along the backs of the leather bound books, and as she did so, she left a clean streak of where her finger wiped of the dust gathered on the covers. Tori noticed that Rifa had pointed ears, but were carefully hidden by the messiness of her hair. Her silver eyes had the look of utmost concentration when she was choosing a book, and on deciding which book to take out of the shelf, she sat down with her legs crossed on the floor.
"Oh, and... I-if you, w-wanted to look at recipes...for smithery..."
"Nah, I'm good for now. Thanks, Tora!"
Rifa smiled a mischievous smile, and opened the book. For a moment Tori watched Rifa read, but she got up from her crouching position and walked back to the counter near the entrance. Russell had disappeared from behind the counter.
The door of the library opened once again, this time to reveal Cecelia at the doorway. Her auburn pigtails were messy as if she was running about outside, and her porcelain cheeks were rosy.
"Dad, I'm hungry!" Was the first thing she said, and Tori smiled.
"He's upstairs. Go and wash your hands now," Tori told her. The little girl nodded, bouncing up the stairs. Before Tori joined the girl and her father, she glanced towards where Rifa sat, but Rifa seemed oblivious to the world, so she quietly followed Cecilia upstairs.