(Prompt: A memory.)
Most evenings Janus could find Schala in her room working on that tapestry again.
He wasn't interested at all in singing, but the way she sang as she wove various threads through the loom soothed him. He would never admit it to himself that it did, but she always knew anyway. She knew by the way he would come just an hour before his bedtime.
It was only after some time did he recognize that the tapestry was meant to depict something.
"What is that?" The young prince asked.
Schala paused her singing. "It depicts the world and the sun, the moon and the stars."
Janus had to ask another question.
"Why do you always sing when you weave?"
"It's not just a song." She smiled wryly and turned to face Janus. "It's a spell. As I weave this tapestry I weave the spell within. The spell isn't that long, I just want to make sure it covers the whole weave."
"What is the spell for?"
"Protection. And my prayers. My prayers for safety and happiness for all our family. With all the new changes happening in our kingdom, I sometimes worry that something unexpected might happen."
"How does the spell work?" Janus curiously asked again.
"When I finish the weave, it will radiate good fortune for us. Or so I hope…spells with effects like these are not always…reliable but it is better to have them than not." She looked worriedly for a moment.
"Do you think it will help mother?" The boy's eyelids drooped and he looked down at the floor. He idly kicked his legs around.
"I…hope so." The princess replied. "I don't know what has gotten into her, I think it is the new Mammon Machine…I just…don't know how…or what happened…" Schala trailed off.
Janus looked back up at the tapestry. "I hope it works. It's pretty."
Schala smiled. "Oh you think so? You usually never say that."
Janus smiled back a slightly bashful "Heh". He then added, "Well I don't wanna to interrupt you, sis."
"It's okay, Janus."
"Well, I have to go find Alfador anyway, and bedtime is soon."
"Goodnight Janus."
"Goodnight, sis."
That tapestry was never finished, for sometime after, just before the tapestry was done, their mother would demand that Schala spend her evenings with the Mammon Machine.