Fairies. No. Fairy lights. Wait, no. Fairies and fairy lights.
Yvanna felt herself hold her breath. Her eyes swam in the beautiful array of colors dancing in front of her. Twinkling, floating. The sun's rays that were peeking through the leaves were scattered in the prisms that were fairy wings. There were hundreds of them, floating around the endless treetops of Ellinia.
There were humans too. Archers with bows longer than an eagle's wingspan. Warriors wielding lethal swords, spears, and axes sharp enough to pierce through dragon hide. Thieves sporting claws and menacing-looking blades in their hands. Pirates with guns at their hips and gigantic cannons resting on their broad shoulders.
But among the majority were magicians. Ellinia was, after all, Victoria Island's very own magic town. Their wands and staves were brimming with magic. Their robes gleaming with finely woven gold threads, in hues of mostly of plum, green and blue. The circlets and helms upon their heads gleaming in the sunlight, adding to the glimmering refraction the fairy wings were giving off. They were more recognizable than the other Explorers, Cygnus Knights, and Resistance. Their clothes were almost always much more colorful and elegant, in Yvanna's opinion. It was like magic was seeping through the very beings of magicians, displayed in color.
And today was the day she was finally going to be one of them.
She eyed the tree houses connected to the gigantic trunks and found the highest one towering over the whole town. The Ellinia Magic Library. This was where one would find Grendel the Really Old, an important pioneer of magic in Maple World. Paying him a visit was the primary step in becoming a magician.
Yvanna was about to step towards the nearest ledge beyond the town portal to begin her ascent to the library, when someone materialized behind her and gripped her shoulder.
"Are you sure you really want to do this?"
Slightly startled, Yvanna slowly turned around. "Yes, Juno, I'm sure." She tilted her head and stared into Juno's light brown eyes.
"Are you doing this because you want to? Or is it because of father?" Juno stooped slightly to level with her younger sister's face.
"I'm doing this because this is what I choose to do," Yvanna replied patiently. She'd been expecting this. She thought the dissuading would never come, but it seems Juno waited until the last moment to convince her otherwise.
Juno's brow furrowed. "Eve," her voice softened, calling Yvanna by her shortened name. "I know you. What you choose and what you want are two different things."
That was partly true. A small voice in Eve's head said it was. She kept silent.
"I thought you wanted to be an archer. Like me." Juno pressed.
Ten years ago, Juno went on her Explorer journey as a Marksman (or woman, in this case). She had been a thin, gangly, tomboyish little beginner, with a mere few thousand mesos in her bag, armed with a crossbow hewn by their retired old father. Her peers made fun of her for choosing such an obscure, unpopular profession. They all aspired to be the flashier Night Lords or Night Walkers, or even Arch and Battle Mages. Even among archers, Bowmasters and Wind Archers, the ones who wielded bows, were more popular than Marksmen, who wielded crossbows. And even the rare Wild Hunters, who also used crossbows atop a jaguar, preferred having a mobile mount than hunting with their own feet.
Back then, choosing to be a Marksman meant you chose affordability over mobility and upgraded equipment. Crossbows were cheap and easy to come by because nobody wanted them. Heck, there was hardly anyone who actually used them. Yes, crossbowmen had a great power output, yet what good were you when you were always last to catch the prey, or always had your kill stolen?
Not to mention they hardly gave any sort of perk. They don't have many skills to contribute when it came to boss runs or party quests, especially in the early stages of their journey.
Yet it was because of those very reasons that being a Marksman appealed to Juno more than any other job. You'd be hard-wired to find a strong, successful Marksman then, let alone a female one. She preferred to embark the road less taken, step on the weeds and carve her own path. It didn't have to be interesting or mysterious. It just had to be the challenge one nobody wanted to take on, the job nobody wanted, and no matter how boring. She was stubborn that way. She wanted to be the first, if not the only.
It also meant choosing the path that didn't require much mesos. Juno and Eve were not raised on lots of money, but with lots of care from their blind, retired father. He married at a later age, having chosen the chronic bachelor life during his younger days. When his wife died shortly after giving birth to Eve, the retired Corsair raised his two young daughters by farming on a small stretch of land just beyond the outskirts of Henesys.
He made toys for Juno and Eve instead of buying them. The little crossbow he made for Juno was the same one Juno herself accidentally shot his right eye with. The eye mask completed his pirate look.
With a little bit of guilt from shooting his father's eye, Juno decided on the path of the Marksman. It's unpopular job reputation and affordability was perfect. She also felt she had to redeem herself with her clumsy use of a toy crossbow. She brought it upon herself to pave the way for Marksmen. No matter what it took, no matter how other people laughed and looked down on her.
And she succeeded. Years of hard work and training have paid off. She'd been snubbed from party quests or the first one to be kicked out due to the lack of party skills. She's endured the constant "Whoa, a female crossbowman!" comments. She knew those were laced with 'I thought creatures like you didn't exist', or couldn't believe the absurdity of her job choice. Or it was really their first time seeing a female Marksman. A pity, she always thought. Has no one ever noticed females were always the stronger archers?
Juno was now known as one of the finest, strongest, and most respected archers in Maple World. If anyone knew a strong archer these days, Juno would be one of the first that came to mind. Her ranks were almost compared to the likes of the pioneers of archery: Athena Pierce, the bowman job instructor; Irena, the Chief Knight of Wind and Wind Archer instructor; Belle, the Wild Hunter instructor; and Mercedes herself, one of the six Heroes of Maple World, Queen of the Elves, and master of dual bowguns.
All masters of the bow. All females. And Juno was one of them.
She has managed to save her little sister and father from the rising tides of poverty with her strength and skill. She was always invited to boss raids or led one and one of the first to explore maps with high leveled foes. The guild she led, Libris, was one of the better and well-known guilds with a clean reputation.
She has managed put the job of the Marksman on the map. It was now known and respected as a formidable class.
In short, Juno was an elite. And Maple World knew it.
And who would know her struggles better than her own little sister? Yvanna idolized her sister, and no person could be more proud of Juno's achievements more than she. Eve may have been too young and too weak to go with her older sister's adventures, but she knew what was going on under that tough facade. Eve was no stranger to the wounds, scars, and bruises her sister endured on the endless quests and training she had to do. How taxed she would have been on her journeys, with only a handful of money to sustain her. Juno would sometimes be gone for days, even weeks. She would always come home weak, hungry, and even unconscious on certain occasions. Eve would wordlessly nurse her wounds and mend a rib or two. Not once did she try to convince her to stop, even if their father did so every day. She knew no words would be able to sway Juno once she has chosen what to do.
Eve was a damn proud sister. Juno was at the top, but it all came with a price.
"I want to be a Bishop," Eve finally announced.
Juno exhaled through her nose, lips forming a tight line.
"I want to go with you on your adventures." Eve continued. "I can be of support. I know Bishops have lots of skills to contribute during training and parties. I can help you. I can heal and revive you and-"
"Yvanna," Juno cut her off. "No."
"..my skills can aid you to get stronger faster! You won't have to waste so much money on potions. With my healing powers we can save so much money, I can heal father's eye condition-"
"Eve, stop this," Juno shook her sister's shoulders. "You don't have to do this on my and father's behalf."
"But I don't like seeing you get hurt!" Eve countered.
Juno let out an exasperated sigh. "Getting hurt is part of being an Explorer, Eve. You can't be strong when you're armed with the fear of your strength not being enough. I got to where I am by testing and extending the limits of my strength. And to do that, you mustn't be afraid of getting hurt."
"You almost died on a couple of occasions!" Eve stamped her foot angrily. "The burn souvenirs you got from Horntail five years ago weren't exactly what I wanted you to take home! Your life was always hanging by a thread whenever you came home from training on whatever godforsaken monster you went on a killing spree for! And don't get me started on the curses and poisons that you were always inflicted with! And the shark bites! How do you expect me to forget the shark bites that you almost paid for with your arms?!"
Juno closed her eyes tightly. "Yvanna," she tried to reason.
"Don't 'Yvanna' me!" Eve took a step back. "Do you know how it feels to wait for you on days on end only to have you come back almost on the brink of death? Father and I almost always expect one day to be presented your remains in a matchbox! You may have gotten us financially elevated, but we don't want to lose you in the process!"
"This was the path I chose, Eve." Juno replied in a serious voice.
"I choose this path too."
Juno struggled to remain calm. "I don't need you to come with me. I'm very capable of taking care of myself."
"I can support you, Juno!" Eve refused to back down.
"I don't need a mother on my travels. I don't need you to be my mother. I've never had one, and I don't need one!" The words came out of Juno's mouth before she had time to register what she just said.
Eve fell silent at once. Her gaze shot daggers at Juno. Angry tears were threatening to brim over and began to sting. Their mother was a sore subject. Eve always blamed herself for her death.
"I didn't mean that," Juno quickly said. "I'm sorry." She quickly stepped forward and embraced Eve before she was able to squirm away.
Eve let her tears fall freely. "I want to be a Bishop. And when I'm strong enough, you're taking me with you."
Juno released her hug and studied Eve for a moment. "There's no convincing you otherwise, is there?"
Eve stared back, unblinking and adamant. She didn't say or do anything, but Juno understood. She saw years of pain reflected back in those gray eyes. Pain that she, Juno, has caused, although unintentionally. Of all the things Eve inherited from her, it had to be her stubbornness. Which meant fighting tooth and nail to get whatever they wanted. Juno felt it futile to go on.
"Fine," Juno surrendered. "You can come with me. But only after you've reached at least third job. I'm not taking anyone below a priest under my wing."
Eve slowly gave a smile. "That's a promise." It wasn't a question.
Juno exhaled deeply. "But why a bishop, though?" It was her turn to be frustrated. She put her hands up. "Why choose the weakest, most boring mage branch? Why would you choose to be some sort of support slave and cast your powers at other people's beck and call?"
"It was about time you dropped the," Eve made quotation marks in the air with her index and middle fingers. "'Supportive sister act'," she rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless.
"Because you want to be an actual triple B!" Juno waved her hands around for dramatic emphasis.
"And what in Cygnus' name is an actual triple B?" Eve asked with raised eyebrows. "I know you're not talking about boob size, coz mine barely fill your old C cup bras."
Juno made a weird noise. "A Bishop buffing bitch!"
Eve gave a shout of laughter. "A what?!"
"A bish buffing bish, if you want to be more casual. But in my opinion the first and last B can be interchanged, depending on who you're buffing," Juno rubbed her temples. "But you're so talented, Eve! You learn things in the blink of an eye. You're a natural in almost whatever weapon you pick up. I bet if father made you that crossbow instead of that stupid wooden axe, you wouldn't have shot his eye off." She sighed heavily.
Eve didn't know what to say, she was laughing too much to reply.
"Why can't you just be a—a pirate? Like father? You have good aim, you'd work those guns as an Outlaw, or knuckles as a Marauder. They have decent power." She ticked off suggestions with her fingers. "Or a warrior. Any warrior. All the warriors I know are knuckleheads, but they fare out just fine and their health is exceptional. Except Mihile. They're the Bishop equivalent of warriors. You don't want to be a boring knucklehead. But don't be a thief. Definitely don't be a thief. They are a breed of kill-stealing, egotistic morons with inflated heads, it's no surprise they need Haste to help their necks carry their heads. Thieves made my life a living hell-"
"Juno, I'll be fine as a bishop. It's not that bad, I'm not in this for the power or the damage." Eve crossed her arms in front of her chest.
Juno put her hands on her hips. "Then you're in this for the money. If you're worried about father being financially well-off, trust me, he's rolling in his bed of mesos right now like a blind old baby with the money I put aside in his storage."
"It's not because of the money, too." Eve replied. "I honestly, genuinely want to be of literal support for you. Maybe not as a personal nurse, but I'd like to make your travels a lot easier."
"But you're wasting such good talent! I know you, Eve. You can do better than being a bitch buffing Bishop!" Juno rolled her eyes again.
Eve cocked an eyebrow. "You just like saying those three B's, admit it."
Juno let out a laugh. "A little bit."
"But, really, Junie, I've decided. I really want to be a b-" Eve started to explain, but someone suddenly burst into their conversation, putting an arm around Juno's shoulders.
"You know, the only time I find women fighting each other entertaining, is when they're fighting over me."
Juno rolled her eyes. It was Andre, Juno's longtime training partner and friend, and one of the highest leveled Dark Knights around. He is the only known wielder of the Terminus Impaler, the current strongest spear in existence. He is a junior master of the guild Stormthorn, one of the five highest ranked guilds in all of Maple World. His skill with the spear knows no equal and no bounds. He is also a chronic skirt chaser.
Juno poked him hard on the ribs with her Sweetwater Crossbow. "And why do you just show up now? Where the hell were you?! You were just behind me in the Shining Forest Path!"
Andre cursed in pain. "That fekkin' hurt!" he jumped back and rubbed his side. "I was gracing Arwen the Fairy with my charm and presence, if you must know. She did promise to show me the fairy town some years ago whenever we both had the spare time..."
"She probably said that to get you to shut your mouth and stop following her. You do know she's at least two hundred years old, right?" Juno said matter-of-factly.
"Might've heard it somewhere, yeah. A true lady, of course, never reveals her age." Andre shrugged. "I don't see why that would be an issue, though."
Juno shook her head. "You actually considered a 200 year old fairy?" she said in disbelief. A nearby fairy overheard her and made an offended noise. "You disgust me. In all varying degrees," she said to Andre and tucked away her crossbow.
"Hey, Eve," Andre ignored Juno on purpose. He flashed her a white-toothed grin and winked at her with his rich green eyes. "I overheard you saying you really wanted to be something. I can tell it's a mage, since we're in Ellinia and all. Ice Mage?"
"Bishop," Eve blushed.
"A triple B!" Andre clapped enthusiastically. "You'll be very useful especially by my side! We'll make a great team! Bishops and Dark Knights were practically made for each other! You'll get to enjoy my awesome Hyper Body-"
Juno clapped her hand to his face. "Your revolting body is going nowhere near Eve. You're not going anywhere near her as long as I'm alive. Who knows what your Evil Eye can see, probably seeing through women's clothing, if I'm right. Ugh." She pushed him back with his face.
"I have feelings, too, you know," Andre rubbed his nose.
"You'd probably have your third leg do all the feeling for you if you had your way," Juno retorted.
Andre turned back to Eve. "Why bish, though? Why not Ice mage, or Fire/Poison mage? Knowing you, you'd be great. You'd make it out really strong one day."
"Thank you! I was just telling her that! A poison mage! They're one of the stronger mages and you get to fart all over the place like it's nobody's business." Juno added.
"Yeah, don't worry about guys not liking girls who fart. We secretly want you to do those things, makes us feel that you're very comfortable with us, and we like that." Andre chided with another wink and a chuckle.
"What a glamorous thing to suggest," Juno said sarcastically and put her hand on her chest.
Andre raised an eyebrow. "What do you know about glamour?"
She shoved his chest. "Shut up." Andre toppled backward.
"ARGH! Stop hurting me! Violent mammal!" He rubbed his chest this time. "Are you an actual woman? You flail your arms more than Zakum!"
Eve let out a breath. "Guys, I have really made up my mind about this. I've thought about it long and hard. Nothing you say can make me choose otherwise." She looked back at Juno, then at Andre. "I really appreciate your input and your worry, and I've considered them too. The thought of great power and skill is tempting, but it doesn't really attract me. Being a bishop may mean I'm not the strongest mage, but I can be the strongest bishop. I know I can. You know I can. So can I please go do what I came here to do?" She made a sweeping gesture towards the Ellinia Magic Library.
Juno finally accepted her defeat. She nodded reluctantly.
"Thank you."
"Since when did you get so mature?" Juno couldn't help but smile.
"One of us has got to be," Eve shrugged and smiled back.
"Hey, Eve, tell you what," Andre said. "Meet us at the weapon store after your advancement. At least let me buy you your first armor and weapon."
Eve blushed again. "I can't let you do that!"
"Oh, but I insist!" Andre started making his way up the vines. "There's a really cute salesfairy the last time I was here. Maybe she's still working there..."
"Hey," Juno stopped Eve again before she began her ascent. "I've got something for you too. I'll hand it to you later at the store."
"Cool," Eve headed for the ledges and vines going uptown.
"And Eve?" Juno called to her when she neared the library.
"Yeah?" Eve replied without stopping her climb.
"You'll be great!"
Eve stopped just outside the library door, looked back at her sister with excitement, and gave a big thumbs up.
A/N: My first fanfic. I appreciate the comments and the time in reading this! I'm not too technical with what's happening with the current game situations (best training maps, best pq's to level up on, etc). Maple Story changes and updates frequently, so it's hard to stay up to date and change the elements of the story. I'm one of those circa 2005 players, so please bear with me when my characters still train on Spirit Vikings and Teddies and stuff like that. Please try to enjoy the story as it is without too much referencing. I do try, though. But other than that, I hope you enjoy!