Wow, I've been MIA from this account, let alone this story, for more than a month! As Agnés would say... "Unacceptable!"

And now, for my anonymous reviews:

Irien - Thank you so much for your lovely words! I'm honestly flattered, because this first just started off as a personal project, and I didn't think a lot of people would get attracted to it as much as I enjoyed reading it. So thanks for the wishes and for being so patient!

Yuzu - Thank you very much for your encouraging words. You're too kind!

Smokey - Thank you for the review! Glad to hear this story caught your attention. As for Victoria and Victor... Yes, I loved them very much too and I thought their story was rather tragic. As for Victoria's motivations for how the parents were killed... well, all I can say is read on and you'll see haha. As for Jackal, oh man, I feel I must apologize. His name will come up a few times I promise, but as of now he's not meant to be an important character.

A friend or guest - Wow, haha, I won't address all your reviews but thank you for taking the time out to leave a few words. You're amazing!

And without further ado, here we go!

"For the last time, Edea, no," Agnès stated flatly.

I slumped my shoulders and shot her a wounded look.

"You will not guilt me with your puppy-dog look," she said, though she sounded slightly amused now.

I'd known what the answer was before I'd even asked; Agnès would have said no even if I'd flattered her and bribed her a thousand times to enter the beauty contest. We were sitting in a quiet little cafe away from the festival set up. I'd taken to wearing my hair up and a hat to make it less apparent I was Eternian here; the men visiting Florem were anxious to woo the next possible future of Eternia no matter how bad they'd heard her temper was.

I'd heard rumors about myself in this way, and quickly learned that in everybody's eyes I had a short temper. "...Heard she attacked a woman in Ancheim from Youssef over there. Yeah, his friend's cousin visited that tea shop and the owner told him all about it."

"Woah! Really? What's the story there?"

"Don't actually know. Some say she was jealous over the woman's beauty."

"Ha! Seems like a motive; women can be fickle when it comes to beauty."

"But I also heard she was fighting for a man's affections."

"What? So a man's already gotten sweet on her eyes?"

Hardly, I'd thought, resisting the urge give them an ultimate wedgie.

"Shame, considering I was thinking about having her to myself."

"Yeah, it's a lovely bonus to share that Eternian ruler title, though I'm not sure if I've got time to tame a wildcat such as herself"

"I'll drink to that!"

It was humiliating to hear these sort of comments without ripping their heads off, but I had to put up with it. I wasn't sure for how long I could go partially disguised though; I knew I needed the women of Florem to know who I was. But at this very moment, drinking tea with Agnès was something I needed to relax. I needed to keep my sanity before the end of this trip, and I wouldn't be able to do it if I was constantly around those gossipmongering men. Who knew that in Florem, it was actually the men who gossiped more than the women?

Agnès drummed her fingers on the table, taking a tiny nibble off her powdered croissant. The tip of her nose was slightly powdered by the time she withdrew the croissant from her mouth. I smiled at how silly and cute she looked, before reaching over to wipe it off with a napkin. She looked surprised at my actions, and then laughed.

A moment like this was what I needed. I took a sip of my extra sweetened hot cocoa, savoring the way the hot liquid carved a hot path down my insides. While I basked in the warmth, I closed my eyes. "There was something you had to tell me at Yulyana's house, before he opened the door, wasn't there?" When I opened my eyes, I regretted what I said. The cheer from Agnès's eyes was gone, replaced by incredible uncomfortableness. I added, "Uh, well, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Months ago, I would have demanded an answer or somehow wheedled it out of her. New Edea didn't want to be the cause of her anxiety.

"I... Well it's not that I don't want to tell you. I do. It's just that right now, I don't know if I can."

I nodded once, and reached my hand out to grip hers. "I know. But whatever it is, Agnès, you ought to know that I'll never stop being your friend."

She squeezed my hand back. "I know."

It was a strange relationship we were navigating, I thought as I sipped the rest of my cocoa, but surprisingly the ties I had with her were the easiest to maintain. If only it were the same with Alternis. We were both Eternian, both Anti-Crystalist, yet we were always arguing. Agnès and I were the born on the opposite ends of Luxendarc; she was the very face and leader of Crystalism now, and I was the very face of Anti-Crystalism, now that I was doing Father's bidding.

Although lately, Alternis and I seemed to be in a state of limbo; after he'd answered that he wasn't sure if he could change his fate if he could, I hardly saw him which was not what I wanted. The Sage had told me to keep an eye out for him.

The trouble was that Alternis was a little too good at not wanting to be found and between all my meetings with the essentially useless Matriarch, her attendings and Agnès who had met with the child already and was in the process of deeming her worthy as a vestaling, I didn't have enough time to look for him. Naturally, I was so used to his presence when he was around me, that I could always tell when he was guarding me; but in Florem he wasn't guarding me at all which meant he was up to something else here. Perhaps he was playing the role of Ringabel a bit too well and was cavorting with the women here but I couldn't know for sure. All I knew was that it drove me crazy not knowing where he was.

Agnès had suggested the obvious solution. "You should ask - and ask, Edea, not command like you usually do - him to guard you."

But that would mean telling him I needed protection. I did not need protection and my pride would never let him know in any circumstances that I needed him even though the real purpose of asking him to stay by my side was to keep an eye on him.

Marshaling my thoughts away from him, I noticed a lot of women looking our way. "I think it's time to go," I said in a low voice.

Agnès sighed, a weary look taking over her face. "Who cares if they know we're here? Edea, you hiding is ridiculous. Months ago, you would've never done this." She paused for a moment, before adding, "I know I might've, but not you."

I pursed my lips; she did have a point. Months ago, the old Edea would have stared them down and asked what their problem was. New Edea was being more cautious. Still, the sooner I confronted those around me, the better. I shouldn't act like I had anything to hide. I had to hold my head up high, no matter what I thought about myself.

I still hadn't found my answer with Alternis yet - what exactly did I want to do? Was I born to lead Eternia, after all? It seemed like each day, the answer became more muddled. I shoved my chair back and stood, but before I could make a step out, a woman blocked my way. She had long, flowing locks of purple hair and her large eyes were a vivid shade of blue. Mine looked totally washed out by comparison. She was lovely, very lovely.

"You're Edea Lee?" she asked dubiously.

"Uh, yeah. Whose asking?" I responded nervously. My hand traveled down to my hilt attached to my hip. It was difficult to judge the attitude Floremese women had on Eternians, so I kept myself prepared at all times. I was determined not to do a repeat of the Durrah situation, but that didn't mean I couldn't arm myself.

Her lips pouted into a frown. "I heard you were entering the beauty contest for the Spring Festival."

My face grew hot. I felt my brows contort into an angry frown. I wasn't sure how she'd gotten that information, or how it had spread. My first reaction to that leaking of the information was to get angry. I'd have some choice words with my crew. But then I realized that the information would've gotten out anyway. I slumped my shoulders. "Is that so? What? Do you think I don't have what it takes?"

She stroked her chin, eyeing me thoughtfully. "The men I was just with got a glimpse of you and made a bet with me. They told me I couldn't even get you to the top ten."

"Oh yeah?! They think I'm ugly? I'll give 'em ugly!" I growled. I gripped the handle of my sword so tightly, my knuckles turned white.

"Edea, do not be so harsh," Agnès said gently, placing a hand on my shoulder. Turning towards the woman she said, "I'm afraid I must apologize. You already seem to know who Edea Lee is. I am Agnès Oblige, the Wind Vestal from Ancheim. Unfortunately, I do not know who you are, but I would be delighted to know."

The girl flipped her hair, turning to Agnès. I saw her eyes appraising Agnès quickly with an expert artist's eye. Then she said, "Of course, I think I'd have better luck with you. Your skin's got a healthy, glowing tan and your hair seems to be a lot more manageable. You've also got the right curves. You could be my client. Are you interested?"

Agnès blushed slightly at her words. "Thank you for your kind words but I must decline. However, your name...?"

Her face brightened, as if she'd forgotten that we hadn't introduced properly. "Oh! Right, I forgot! I'm Rose Fontaine. I run one of Florem's most well established salons. We do hair styling, make up, primping, grooming, and even dressing up! Perhaps you've heard of it? The Fontaine Salon?"

Agnès and I exchanged looks. We hadn't. "No," I said bluntly.

Rose's face went scarlet but even in her obvious embarrassment she was still really quite enchanting. "Well, perhaps you were too busy."

Maybe Agnès and Tiz were, but Ringabel and I had roamed the streets of Florem and spoken to the locals for information on what was in fashion in Florem. Most locals had directed us to two salons which had confirmed the killings of the fairies and Orochi for the clips and dyes. "I only visited two salons the last time I was here," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "Eriel's Blue Ceiling Salon and the Little Red Lipstick."

Rose's face darkened. "Eriel? Seriously? And Little Red Lipstick? Who was your salonist there?"

I swallowed nervously. "I don't remember," I lied. Yvette.

"It better have not been Yvette. That woman'll do anything for an extra buck." Rose rolled her eyes. She crossed her arms and faced me. It was startling to see her go from scrutinizing us, to bright and friendly, to business-like. I had a feeling she changed moods frequently. "Listen here, Lee. I'm not lying when I say I lead one of the best beauty salon teams. True, lately business hasn't been picking up thanks to that ridiculous fairy wing clip and dye obsession that I refused to take part in, but the fad's already started to die down so I'll be getting busy sooner. Let me tell you something; I don't normally offer to do makeups and hair and costume for free. But you have something I want and I'm sure I also have something you want."

I folded my arms. She'd impressed me already when she said she refused to partake in the fairy wing clips and the dye coming from the Orochi, but I still wanted to know more about who she was. "And that is?" I challenged.

"Word on the street is that you want to win that contest bad and I figure I know why. You think you can win Florem's people over if you're the Spring Festival princess. You'd be right." I opened my mouth to protest, but she cut me off. "Don't think I'm stupid. I can tell you and I aren't much different."

"What's in it for you?"

"Aside from the wad of cash I'll get for making you get into the top ten - the men really don't think you can make it compared to the other dames here - I'll get a lot of publicity. Simply put, if the women of Florem see that I can do the impossible, which is to make you win, they'll come flocking to my salon."

"Do not be so crass," Agnès said, sounding irritable. "Edea does not have an impossible shot at winning the beauty contest. She is a pretty, classy young woman." I almost snorted at her response.

"When I'm done with her, the odds will be in her favor," Rose argued.

I was touched that Agnès said that, but I also knew Rose had a point. If I was going to compete in the contest, I needed a professional team. The question was whether or not Rose had the skill. I stared at her face; she certainly was very attractive. "I'll agree on a few conditions."

Rose's face relaxed; she knew I was buckling down. "And those are?"

"One is that you show me your work first, and if I like what I see, I'll agree."

"Fair enough."

"Secondly, I want to know if the makeup, hair, and appearance in general is your own work."

"Oh, yes, it is. I had a little bit of silicone implanted into my lips, but other than that..."

"Thirdly, I would like to see you without make up."

Rose blanched and flushed a deeper scarlet. "Are you joking?" She sounded like I said something very offensive.

"What?" I challenged.

Rose narrowed her eyes at me. She took a deep, breath that sounded like she was royally pissed off. "Excuse me, Lee. Perhaps you're not familiar with our customs here. Only our most loved ones can see us without our make up. Like our lifelong mates and that too, it's not very common."

So it was kind of like seeing a person naked, only more sacred. I thought about it for half a second before realizing I didn't care. "It's clear to me that you take pride in your work. I see the make up on your face and I want to know the skill you put into it. I'm sure I'll see it on your other clients. But I want to see the before and after on you. It's clear to me that you use your best work on yourself."

Rose opened her mouth, then shut it. She looked like she was struggling against herself for a long time. Finally, her cheeks still flaming, she dipped her head in confirmation. "Alright. Fine. But I'll have to draw up the blinds, and I'll let you have a look after salon hours. If you mention what you saw to anybody, I will make you pay."

"I won't tell anybody about it," I promised, a little stunned it worked.

"Good. Oh, and Edea?" She didn't wait for me to acknowledge her. "I think it would do you well to be a little more sensitive to Florem's customs otherwise you'll win nobody's approval ratings here." Her voice, while mildly polite, bordered on frosty. Had I made an enemy in the process?

I gulped. "Noted. Sorry," I muttered.

After agreeing to show up at the Fontaine Salon that very night, Agnès and I decided to part paths. She needed to examine the next vestaling and had asked me to come along but I declined. Although I was very interested in seeing the girl properly for the first time, I wasn't sure I was ready to face her yet. I hadn't told Agnès yet about my suspicions that Victoria had killed her parents.

Of course, we'd never really know who killed her parents, but I was more than certain it had been Victoria. My first instinct was that she knew that the girl was being most seriously considered by Olivia as a vestaling. If the Matriarch had known, then it wouldn't be that hard to obtain the information. But Victoria tended to play with her victims if she held a personal grudge. Unfortunately, that narrowed down to precisely... nothing. Victoria was petty, and often was jealous over those who were happy. I thought back to the time when Victoria had nearly killed me just because I disobeyed Father's orders. I'd always considered her a tragic story because she was. But at the same time, I couldn't excuse her actions.

I spent the rest of my afternoon roaming the streets of Florem and taking in the sights, my mind going back and forth between Victoria and the city itself. The city was, as always, very beautiful with its numerous fountains and its dreamy, soft-featured buildings. But the city was also a lot more crowded than normal, which I attributed to the fact that the festival was nearly about to start. I had to watch my step to make sure I didn't bump into anyone. Femininity breathed in every corner. Despite the fact that Florem had its own flaws, I felt almost content just taking in the sights. I almost wished I had somebody to share the sights with. Somebody like Alternis.

I frowned. That was absurd. I couldn't see Alternis appreciating beauty. Well, perhaps he could. I'd seen his sketches in his journals after all, and he had a keen eye for detail. I just never really saw him as a person who stopped to take in the ambiance; he always was the kind of guy who stayed focus on the task at hand. The fact that he'd come with me to just roam the city at leisure was probably never going to happen.

Unaware of where I was going, a woman accidentally shoved me into an ice cream shop. It wasn't the worst place to fall into, I supposed. I hadn't had ice cream in a long time, but I was still annoyed that somebody had shoved me hard enough to reel into the shop into the first place. "Watch where you're going!" I yelled at the woman, but the door had already shut, making my admonishment futile.

But somebody did hear me. "Ah, that annoying voice. I'd hoped I'd never have to hear it again." The voice was musical yet surly.

I whirled around to face a pretty girl with curly, windblown, blonde hair. She stood nearly a foot taller than me. "Praline?" I blinked. "What are you doing here?" I said, without thinking. What were the odds that I'd run into her of all people?

She narrowed her cornflower blue eyes at me. "I don't like that mean tone you're using on me! As it happens, I do live here." She crossed her arms, and for the first time I got a glimpse of the dress she was wearing. Before, her dress had hugged at her waist comfortably. I assumed that this was because she needed to breathe deeply to sing. But now the corset hugged at her tightly and her waist seemed tiny in comparison to the rest of her body.

"Apologies," I said, still a little startled. "I'd forgotten this was your homeland." It wasn't that Praline was ugly - on the contrary I'd always thought her glamorous if not ostentatiously dressed. But by Florem standards, her image was a little on the plain side which was odd because her voice most certainly wasn't.

Praline flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder. "Yes, well I do live here again unfortunately, thanks to you. And now it seems I must always be harangued by my past," she added dramatically. I was about to roll my eyes at her dramatic language when she said, "First that Ringabel boy and now you!"

"Ringabel?" I asked, my heart thumping. That had to be Alternis. I started paying more more attention. "What do you mean you bumped into him?" I'd spent the last few days trying to track him, yet all Praline had to do was stumble into him.

Praline eyed me curiously. "I saw him going into one of those beauty salons," she huffed. "He looked a little dirty, now that I think about it. And he stank real bad."

I pressed my lips together tightly. What did that mean? "Which salon was it?"

Praline shrugged. "There are hundreds in Florem, so I'm not sure which one it was. It was by the weaponry shop though." Her eyes were looking upward as though trying to place it. She shrugged. "Anyway, he seemed super busy. He couldn't even say hello! It was very rude."

Now that struck me as strange. Alternis would definitely have recognized Praline. She was a prominent member of the Black Blades after all, and I knew Alternis had kept in contact with Master Kamiizumi regularly. Father had also told me that Alternis had kept in contact with all the forces spread throughout Luxendarc, although his main priorities were in Caldisla.

If Alternis hadn't recognized Praline, something else was definitely taking over his mind. I frowned. I knew I needed answers, and there were only a few places I could search for them.

Dear Father,

As you have probably heard from Mother, I have successfully gotten Ancheim's approval. Our alliance is still somewhat weary, but with the conception of the United Nations of Luxendarc, I hope our alliance grows ever stronger and a more quicker fashion. I know you must be busy ruling Eternia which is why I have not written to you, but I confess I miss your presence.

The crew you have assembled for me has been behaving spectacularly so far, and Agnés is proving to be one of my greatest allies. With her alongside me, we are slowly turning the world back in balance. The search for the next vestals are also underway. Agnés has in fact seemed to have found her next vestaling in Florem. I have not had a chance to meet the girl, but I am told her parents were murdered. Traces of the scene show that it was most likely Victoria which saddens me greatly.

As always, Alternis Dim is a very dutiful guard. I thought he would never perform as admirably as he is now in Florem of all places. I never got to ask, but his story here seems so tragic. I was wondering if you knew any details when you found him here?

Please let me know if my work for you thus far is sufficient. The last thing I'd want for you is to be disappointed in me.

Edea

P.S: If you know anything that might be helpful about this "Blood of the People" or Krov, that Mother keeps mentioning, I would be delighted to hear it, as I feel keeping up with any news about him may give me some preparation to going against him.

Edea contacting her father? That's a first... If it didn't come off as earlier, I always kind of pictured Edea as the type of girl who thinks she's always bothering her Father when she seeks him out and only tries to get his attention by being perfect or being extraordinary which is why she's never sent him any letters. This wouldn't exactly be a first for her, but it definitely is a rare thing for her to do.

How long has it been since I've been here?! Too long, I'd say. Well, as you know, I was doing NaNo (And didn't get to finish... I was off by 10,000 words or so!) and then after that I had a slew of exams to finish, lol. Tomorrow's my last one, so I thought I'd get this chapter in before I got too complacent with this fic. Besides that, I've been showering my other account some much needed attention (I probably forgot to mention this, but this isn't my main account, huehuehue...)

Thank you once again to all my dear reviewers (So many reviews while I was gone! Looks like this might become my main account lol), and as usual, I appreciate any attention you send my way because I'm an attention whore lol.