PLEASE READ - For those who missed the last announcement. This is part of a set of nine snips that will be posted three at a time. We will then return to our regularly scheduled race to find Asuna in another Castle.
Again, sorry for the spelling and grammar errors, I could really use a beta to proofread these before pasting to . Also, I've been made aware recently that has a tendency to eat parts of my formatting which is rather frustrating consider how Yui actually expresses her feelings. Needless to say. In the original postings of this chapter, the random capitalized words in Yui's thoughts are supposed to be bracketed like so Word . This is supposed to be a reference to the fact that her mind follows a top down architecture. Even if she is now an organic being her thought processes are not really human, if they were it would be fridge horror for a whole lot of reasons. However, posting function is, shall we say, MORONIC. If anyone knows how to turn this off it would be appreciated.
Anyways, enjoy and I'll try to get the other two promised chapters up in the next little while. As always, criticism is fine, I know this story is incredibly glacially paced and has some consistent spelling errors. But then again I'm not a professional author and personally like this pacing, it's something I could only do in an online format.
Finally. Please be considerate and if you post reviews, place a review for each chapter so that I can figure out what you're talking about.
Halkegenia Online-Chapter 11-Part 5
"Yui-chan!" Leafa cried out as she hovered over Tarbes "Yui-chan!" The woman's voice had grown raw from hours of calling.
"Oy, Yui-chan!" Klein drifted at her side, shouting right along with her.
By now, the fires had been doused and the villagers of Tarbes had begun to take stock of the damage. A homestead and a barn burned to the ground, but the fields had been saved and the home could be rebuilt. A few of the men had been injured. Bitten or slashed by dagger dogs, a singed arm from a near miss by a fireball, and few scratches from the wasps which would have been serious without the anti venom provided, reluctantly by KoKo, the Faeries were still unsure how their medicines might effect a human.
In the village square, Louise Valliere sat on a stone bench beside the Church. The sky was beginning to lighten and the sun would rise in another hour. She'd barely slept all night. "This is all my fault." Louise groaned, placing her hands over her face.
At her side, Silica looked on helplessly as she held her wounded familiar. "Don't say that Louise-san." The girl placed a hand on her shoulder and Louise felt even worse. She was being comforted by a twelve year old.
"I was supposed to keep her safe." Louise said.
"No. You were supposed to keep yourself safe." KoKo replied as she crouched down on the ground beside them. "We thought if you did that, Yui would be fine. We were wrong." The hunter was examining the carcasses of her kills. With a single smooth motion, she wedged her knife into a seam in a Wasp carcass and began to slice open the creatures abdomen to gain access to its innards.
"What are you doing?" Silica asked.
KoKo didn't answer immediately, choosing to quietly sift through the wasp's guts. "These guys might look nasty, but they're herbivores. Those big stingers are just how they protect their nests."
"So?" Louise snapped.
"Well, if they're tamed then it stands to reason they're probably being fed pretty consistently in the same place. In which case we know what sorts of plants they've been hanging around. If there's anything from ALfheim in here, then I can tell what we should be looking for from the air."
"Looking for?" Louise asked. "You mean . . ."
"Mmm. If Yui isn't here she must have been taken with them, or else . . ." The Cait Syth didn't finish that sentence.
'Or else one of the wasps thought the little girl in the flower dress was just a little flower.' Louise thought, but nobody wanted to say that. There was an unspoken fear among them all that Yui's little body still lay hidden somewhere in the shadows of the Square. 'Please Founder, don't let that be true.' Louise thought miserably.
KoKo pulled a fleshy bag from the wasps innards and then paused. "You know, suddenly knowing how to do all of this mighty hunter catwoman stuff is pretty cool . . . But . . ."
"It's also pretty gross." Silica finished.
"Uh-huh." KoKo nodded and then, flipping her knife in her hand, drove the blade into the pouch and spilled the wasps last meal across the cobble stones at their feet. Louise felt lucky that her own stomach was almost empty, otherwise she would have lost its contents. "Mmm. Mostly leaves and, some fruit, these look like Eden Apples, so some of those most have made it in the transition . . ." KoKo said to herself.
Klein and Leafa set down nearby to rest theirs wings. When they had realized Yui was missing, they'd tried to give chase when the Pixies and their wasps fled. But by the time they had realized what had happened and gotten into the air, the Wasps had already scattered into the forest. There had been no use in chasing them. Even so, Klein and Silica had been forced to almost haul Leafa back rather than allowing her run off into the woods.
The Sylph woman looked even worse than Louise felt. "We should never have come." Leafa said, "Yui and I should have stayed in Arrun. I put her in danger . . . I don't deserve to be her . . . her . . ." The woman shook her head furiously.
'Her what?' Louise wandered. She probably meant she didn't deserve to be the girl's guardian. But that wasn't true at all, Leafa had done nothing but put Yui's well being first.
"You can't keep thinking like that." Klein placed a hand on Leafa's shoulder. "You have to stay on the ball, Yui is a smart kid, she'll stay safe. We just need to find her."
Leafa nodded, "Un."
The Sylph Swordswoman didn't seem to find any comfort in Klein's words. In fact, she looked like she was trying hard not to cry. Louise knew because she had seen that expression on her own face in the mirror many times. More Faerie strangeness, Louise had thought that the woman was much stronger and more sure of herself than this. But every time Louise began to accept that fact, something would happen to shatter the image. First the way she shied away from Kirche's teasing despite her revealing dress. And then the way that she declined wine as if it was poison.
"Leafa-chan." KoKo said calmly, the Cait Syth stood, wiping her hands on her pants. "Listen, Yui must be alright. The Wild Pixies don't have any reason to hurt her."
Leafa nodded dully.
"Hey, listen!" KoKo snapped her fingers in front of the girl. "Keep it together Leafa-chan, remember you're a cool sempai, not some newbie. We need you. Yui-chan needs you." The hunter turned to Louise, "And she needs you too, Louise-chan."
"M-me?" Louise stuttered, what could she possible do to help.
"If the pixies took her. Then we'll find Yui by going ahead with our mission." Klein reasoned. "That's what you're trying to say?"
"Un." KoKo nodded. "Louise-chan, we'll be relying on you. There are things that you can help us with, things that only you can do."
Louise laughed inwardly, what a joke. She was just a third rate mage who couldn't even protect a person who was less than a hundredth her size. "Oh? What good am I."
"Plenty." KoKo insisted, "Look, our plan really hasn't changed. We still have to find the pixies and get them to stop attacking the village, now we just add rescuing Yui."
"Right." Klein said, crossing his arms. The Salamander had become all business as soon as the attacks had begun and hadn't reverted to his buffoonish behavior since. Louse supposed that even a mutt like him had his talents. "So lets keep with out plan from yesterday for now. Louise-san, once the sun comes up, you and Silica should go talk to the town healer, Silica said the healer used to send her daughter in to the forest for reagents so she probably knows about the lay of the forest. Maybe she can tell us something. Leafa and I will head out with Tabitha to search the forest. We can use sylphied to rest our wings."
"What about Kirche?" Louise asked.
"Eh, well . . . She can stay here and keep watch." Klein said, looking distinctly uncomfortable. "Yeah, that's pretty a good idea. Louise, would you mind telling her that?" The man was rubbing at the back of his head again. 'Now what's wrong with him. Is Tabitha's illness spreading?'
"The sooner we start. The better." Leafa said softly. Above them, Tabitha's dragon circled in the slowly lightening sky.
Yui opened her eyes and found herself in an unfamiliar place. Unlike a human, there was no confusion at this, she already knew exactly where she was and how she had come to be here, she had been perfectly aware of these facts from the moment her buffer had finished clearing thirty six seconds ago and she had completed her boot up sequence. She was in a large chamber, a communal sleeping room. All around her the still forms of Wild Pixies slumbered. The childish figures breathing softly and rolling about in their sleep, some curling up next to one another for warmth or comfort. The ceiling curved up high above her, the only source of illumination came from a few small portholes high above and the doorway on the far side of the chamber.
In the dimness, Yui reviewed the events from the night before, standing before the Knight that the others called Sayuri. The girl had held her needle sword to Yui's chest, a cool threat that promised swift punishment for any transgression. Yui had swallowed slowly, she was unaccustomed to this sense of fear for her life.
"Now, start with your name." Sayuri had begun her questioning.
"My name . . . My name is Yui." Yui replied quickly.
"And you are a bound pixie? One of the Faerie's tame guides?"
She hesitated for several milliseconds as subroutines ran through social scripts. The Pixies seemed to understand concepts from ALfheim, but there was no way to know yet how they would respond to the truth. Did they know ALfheim was a game? Did they understand what had happened?
"Y-yes!" Yui said. The Knight didn't fully believe her. She suspected something was amiss.
The Vespid Knights eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You came with the Faeries, didn't you."
"Yes." She nodded again.
"We counted four of them, and more 'being' magic users, a strong one who used fire, and a wind user with a dragon." Sayuri pressed, "Who were they?"
Yui blinked rapidly, she didn't know how to answer. If she told the truth it might lead to more questions and information that the Pixies could use to hurt her friends and Aunt Suguha. The needle tip pressed against her breast and she winced. But if she didn't answer . . .
"They're from the Tristain Academy of Magic, near the World Tree." Yui answered truthfully.
"They don't look like golems or trolls, are they some new type of Faerie?" Sayuri asked. "What are they doing in ALfheim? Did the Faeries bring them here?"
Yui shook her head, "They weren't brought anywhere. This is their home . . . Why are you attacking them?"
The Knights eyes narrowed and she leaned inwards. Yui understood why she was afraid, but she couldn't do anything about the feelings but accept them and continue to think rationally. She was eminently aware of just how much bigger, and likely stronger the other girl was.
"I am the one asking questions." Sayuri said coldly. "What do you mean this is their home?"
Yui looked to the other pixies. The smaller girls were watching anxiously, bright curious eyes waiting to see what their leader would do. How would they respond? It was clear that their behavior was unscripted, they were actual intelligences. But Yui couldn't be certain of what that entailed. Was their mind structure like a humans? Or more like her own? If so, how mature were they? How would they handle the revelation? Mob Mentality Yui thought, there was danger here. She didn't want to frighten them, or worse anger them.
"It's difficult." Yui stated nervously, "Please let me have time to explain." She pointed to the younger looking Pixies. "It may be upsetting." She warned.
Sayuri watched her closely and then gestured to one of the other Knights. The smaller pixies were ushered off by some of the Knights, departing with looks of curiosity and disappointment and leaving Yui standing among the remaining Knights and one of the robed girls.
"You can continue now." Sayuri said.
Yui formulated her reply and then began, watching the Knight carefully and adjusting her explanation as she went. She told Sayuri what had happened as best she could. First she told her about the transition that had brought ALfheim to this place, careful not to mention ALfheim's former existence as an MMO, even if the other girl could be made to understand, it would almost certainly be upsetting.
"The moons . . ." The robed girl had whispered thoughtfully when Yui had explained the world of Halkegenia. Yui had been stopped by the robed girl only long enough to ask about the World Tree. Yui's confirmation that the World Tree and its environs had been safely transported had greatly relieved the gathered pixies.
She had told them what little she knew about Tristain. She told them about the Tristanian people, many of whom could use magic but many of whom could not. She told them of the Academy located near the World Tree where the local magic users were taught. And she did her best to explain the village of Tarbes where the 'beings' lived. Sayuri had given her a look of disgust when she suggested that the Villagers were peaceful.
"The Princess sent us to find out why you're attacking the Villagers." Yui finished, tilting her head, "Why are you attacking them, Sayuri-san?"
The girl glared.
"I mean . . . Sayuri-Sama?" Yui offered shrinking away a little, "Knight-sama?"
The Knight's features cooled slowly. "You will refer to me as Sayuri-sama or as Eldest Sister." Sayuri replied, slowly, the Pixie lowered her needle and placed it back in the hoop of her belt. "Kigiku."
"Yes, Sayuri-sama?" One of the knights asked. Like her leader, the girl's hair was lighter than that of the wild pixies from earlier.
"At sunrise, I want you to take your sisters and go scout out 'Tarbes' from the edge of the forest. Find out if the Faeries are still there and what they are doing."
"Yes, Sayuri-sama." The girl bowed and stepped back.
Sayuri Crossed her arms and looked unhappily to Yui. "I don't believe you." She decided slowly. "But I don't think you're lying either." She shook her head, looking angry with herself. "There is no point in asking any more questions until I've seen for myself. Something will have to be done with you for now." The Knight regarded her coldly, her hand resting on her sword. Yui swallowed again.
"Sayuri-sama, if this Little Sister may offer a suggestion?" The robed girl spoke up.
It was the same girl who had spoken to Sayuri earlier, when she had first arrived. On closer inspection, her face was round and pale and her eyes were fringed by long eyelashes that drooped down over dark green eyes. Like the Knights, her wings were different from the Wild Pixies and Yui's own. They were larger and vaguely triangular, like those of a giant moth.
"As you wish Hinagiku-san." Sayuri nodded.
Hinagiku looked to Yui. "I would like to suggest that you place Yui-san under my care for now."
"I thought you were against her being here?" Sayuri said. Yui sensed the girl's curiosity, an almost tangible thing.
"I must always consider the well being of the Garden and the Little Sisters." Hinagiku said with a small dip of her whole body. "If she is to stay here, then it occurs to me that, tamed or not, she is still a Sister."
Sayuri frowned, "That may be, but the Knights can watch over her well enough. You have the Garden's new Little Sisters to care for."
"Six of them born just tonight." Hinagiku agreed, "It appears that the second moon has done them no ill. One more won't be any trouble at all. Besides, maybe I can help her."
The Knight mulled over the request and then nodded. "I will have more questions for her tomorrow." Sayuri glanced to Yui. "For tonight, I place her in your care Hinagiku-san."
For being their prisoner, Yui thought, the Wild Pixies treated her very kindly. After Sayuri had finished with her questions, stocking off looking deeply unsatisfied. The other Vespid Knights had surrounded her. Yui had wondered if they would toss her into some sort of miniature dungeon or a cage, but the only concession to restraining her had been a strand of silk tied around her waist in order to bind her wings flush with her back. Though Yui could still use her flight magic without moving her wings, it would be much more difficult and she would not be able to fly quickly or well.
The pixies had led her away, off of the tree stump where the Willow Wasps had landed and towards the dark bulk of a large tree. Hidden among the roots of the tree were many bulbous shapes. Yui's auto referencing functions had only a limited amount of data on such things, she was probably no better informed than a human child, but the shapes were reminiscent of termite mounds in their basic shape.
She had been lead inside the base of one of the mounds to find that it was a pixie sized building. The walls were constructed from some sort of mud or clay that had been smoothed by hand and the interior was lit by a luminescent material, not ore-lights but maybe something organic. Hypothesis Bio luminescence?
The few scrapes and bruises she had received in her abduction had been seen to by Hinagiku and she had been fed and given a place to sleep among the other girls in a communal room adjacent to the central chamber. Though the pixies looked distrustful of her and none seemed to want to sleep near her Hypothesis because of her scent? One had still stepped forward to offer her a blanket and shown her to her sleeping place.
Yui had lain awake for a long time after, mind racing with ideas on how to escape and get back to Tarbes. Most of these scenarios were discarded almost immediately. She couldn't escape with her wings bound, and a pair of Knights had been assigned to act as silent watchers, following her wherever she went. Getting free might be difficult, was their some way she could loosen the threads without being seen, and then make her escape when the guards were distracted? No, that wouldn't work either, she wasn't certain how far she was from Tarbes, but they must already be deep in the forest.
How long would she last on her own if she flew among the trees full of hungry birds and ferocious insects? And how long would she go undetected if she flew higher? The Knights were almost certainly faster than her, especially if they gave chase with their wasps. She likewise discarded changing into her human form and escaping on foot. It would simply make her a bigger, slower target and make her easy pray for the larger animals in the forest. She entertained the idea of stealing a wasp, but it wasn't like she would know how to control one, and the black feathered dragon from earlier was certainly too smart to let anyone but its master ride it. They didn't need to lock her up. Yui realized. The Pixies could catch her trivially if she tried to escape.
Yui curled up into a little ball. She was worried about Aunt Sugu. Suguha was a strong person even though she didn't think very highly of herself. Yui was sure that she would be blaming herself for her disappearance. She didn't want her Obasan to suffer because of her. The same went for Klein, the Salamander really cared about her Papa, and he would feel responsible if he thought he'd failed to protect her.
A deep sense of loneliness overtook Yui. Back in the other world, when Papa wasn't around, she could at least distract herself by reading about all sort of things or by processing her back log of acquired data. And in Arrun she'd always been with Leafa or Papa or someone else nice like Sakuya-chan or Alicia-obaasan.
Query What would Papa do? The answer was obvious, as much as he would hate it, Papa would collect as much information as he could and then move decisively. If something happened before he could devise a plan, he would improvise and fall back on his skills. Be cautious until it became necessary to be bold. That was what she would have to do. Hinagiku had seemed to have taken an interest in her, hopefully the robed girl wouldn't mind answering some of her questions. And maybe from there she could find a solution to get back to Aunt Sugu and the others.
The light spilling in from the portholes had gradually increased and the other pixies had begun to stir. The first ones to wake gently shook the others and soon the whole room was filled with stretching, yawning little girls and a soft fluttering as wings were flexed and folded.
Yui found herself swept along by the others, her guards remaining closely at her side but otherwise not interfering. It seemed that she would have to wait to get her answers, so Yui occupied herself by observing the other Pixies. As a group, the girls had made their way from the sleeping chamber into the common area of their nest where a large hearth, by pixie standards, had been constructed to hold a bed of carefully tended embers. The hearth was constructed beneath the tallest point in the nest and probably provided warmth during winter as well as a place to cook.
The girls had settled around the hearth, chattering and gossiping among themselves. Yui noted that the others tended to collect into social groups of seven or eight, usually centered around a single individual. Listening closely, the individual at the core of each group was consistently referred to by the others as 'Elder Sister' and these girls appeared fill a maternal role for the others, keeping them in line. Breakfast was served by the Elder Sisters and some of the robed girls who were deferred to by the Elder Sister as the other pixies deferred to them. Hierarchy Yui thought, reviewing what she knew of human social groups. The pixies were certainly very organized if that was the case.
The robed girls lead the others in a small ritual prior to distributing the food. Yui followed along politely lest she offend her hosts. "We give thanks for this bountiful meal." She finished just as the girl beside her handed Yui a small bowl fashioned from a nutshell and filled with porridge sweetened with honey. Yui ate quickly, not realizing how hungry she had been, hadn't she eaten enough the night before? And gladly accepted a second helping.
After breakfast the girls began to disperse, following their Elder Sisters to begin the day. Some collected the leftover bowls while others tended to the hearth. The rest departed for their own tasks outside or in other parts of the nest, leaving Yui sitting by herself with her two guards. She was wandering just what would happen next when her savior from the night before appeared.
"Good morning Yui-san." Hinagiku greeted warmly.
"Good morning, Hinagiku-san . . . Or is it Elder Sister?" Yui asked unsure.
Hinagiku smiled, "Normally Elder Sister is preferred, but you may call me whatever you like, Yui-san. The new Little Sisters are still sleeping so I thought this would be a good time to come and meet with you." The girl was examining Yui closely, eyes looking all over, it made Yui feel . . . Self Conscious.
"I've wanted to talk with you too, Hinagiku-san." Yui admitted. Hinagiku wasn't showing any signs of concealing her true intentions, Yui was sure the girl was sincere. She felt her spirits lifting, her patience was already starting to pay off. "Uhm, what did you want to talk about, Hinagiku-san."
"Oh, quite a few things, but I think its better if we do so someplace else, it gets much too noisy here, especially when the Little Sisters bring their sewing inside.
Hinagiku instructed the Knights to unbind Yui's wings before dismissing them, and after allowing her to stretch, led Yui up through the nest until they came to doorway that led to a tiny chamber with its own window looking out across the small clearing in which the nest had been built. Yui's eyes widened and she rushed to the window. She hadn't had a chance to see at night, but in the daylight the clearing was filled with beautiful flowers. A carpet of dazzling oranges, reds, and blues.
"Oh wow." Yui whispered.
"It's pretty, isn't it?" Hinagiku agreed, "Actually, that's why I choose to meditate here at night." A troubled frown graced the girl's face, "Sayuri-sama doesn't think its safe for us to be out in the Garden at night, so I must content myself with seeing it from here." The girl's smile returned and she gestured for Yui to sit down. The room was simply furnished with only a pair of rugs and a heavy blanket that had been folded neatly in one corner.
"Now isn't the time for all of that. I have so many questions for you Yui-san, and I'm sure you have questions for me." Yui nodded in agreement as she sat down cross legged and waited for Hinagiku to do the same. "First, I want to know all about you. I've never met a tame pixie before."
Yui blinked a few times as she thought. What could she tell Hinagiku? She still wasn't entirely sure how much the girl knew. Like Sayuri, and the girls she had met earlier, Hinagiku seemed to possess true intelligence. Her behavior was much too sophisticated to be scripted. Yui still could not remember when she had first gained actual intelligence and doubted she ever would. There had simply come a time in her logs where her experiences had become tinged with a sense of self that had not existed before, but those earliest memories were filled with errors and corrupted data. She couldn't imagine how Hinagiku and the others were able to cope. Yui decided to tell only the truth, and only so much of it as was asked, and nothing more. She didn't like lying, so she wouldn't lie.
"You already know, my name is Yui and I'm a tame . . . A navigation pixie". Both were true, strictly speaking, in this form, she was a nav pixie, she possessed all of the same functionality, she could just do other things as well. "I live in Arrun with my . . . Master who is a skilled swordsman and his sister who is a very beautiful swordswoman."
"Arrun? The Fae capital." Hinagiku nodded sagely. "
"You know about Arrun?" Yui asked, curiosity piqued.
"Only the stories from the times of the First Faerie Lords. Before the first union of the Fae was broken." Hinagiku said thoughtfully. "To live beneath the branches of Mother Yggdrasil, you are very lucky Yui-san." The girl sounded wistful but refused to allow herself to be diverted. "What else can you tell me about yourself?"
"Mmm." Yui frowned and then shook her head. "Not very much, my . . . Masters and I take good care of each other." She looked up desperately. "I want to get back to them soon!"
"I see." Hinagiku gave Yui a sympathetic look. "But that will be a decision for Sayuri-sama to make and one she will no doubt postpone until she feels the Garden isn't threatened." The girl apologized to Yui. "I will answer your questions after one more of my own."
Yui nodded.
"Yui-san, are you really deaf to Yggdrasil-sama? You can't here her song at all?"
Slowly, Yui shook her head. "I'm sorry Hinagiku-san, but I wouldn't even be sure what to listen for." Yui paused and raised her hands to her ears, recalling her trouble with Cardinal. "Though, sometimes I do hear a noise, but it doesn't sound like a song. It's like a buzzing, but underwater." That was the closest description = she could give for the corrupted transference of data between herself and Cardinal.
Hinagiku looked upset by this revelation. "At least then you can hear something . . . Perhaps you just don't know how to listen."
"Hinagiku-san. You said you would answer my questions now." Yui insisted.
"You're quite right." The girl agreed. "Ask whatever you like, I'll answer as best I can."
Yui wanted to ask why the Pixies were attacking Tarbes, but first, what the other girl had said about Yggdrasil's song had piqued her curiosity. "What is Yggdrasil's song like?"
Hinagiku's smile turned sad, "It's hard to explain to someone who has never heard it. Vast . . . And subtle . . . Its drums can shake your whole body . . . And its soft beat can make you feel perfectly safe. It is many things and not just one things. For Vespid Knights like Sayuri-sama it is Yggdrasil's Drums which thunder and bolster their courage in battle, for Shaman's such as myself it is Yggdrasil's chant, a beautiful harmony of light, and for the Little Sisters it is Yggdrasil's Lullaby, a protector that rocks them to sleep at night."
Yui looked down thinking hard. Cardinal had never seemed like any of those things to her.
"It sounds nice." Yui said politely.
"It is." Hinagiku closed her eyes and her smile turned sad. "I only wish you could hear it, Yui-san."
"Then, I have another question, Hinagiku-san." Yui thought how to asked the question carefully. "How far back can you remember?"
"Remember?" The other Faerie looked startled by the question. Yui fixed her with a serious gaze. Hinagiku's expression grew calm and she nodded. "I'm the Eldest Sister of the Garden, so I can remember back four seasons to last Spring, before then, there was nobody in this Garden. I was one of the first . . ." That didn't make any sense, Yui thought, it wasn't logical for Hinagiku-san to have memories that went back more than a couple of weeks. Unless like Yui, she had possessed some sort of limited autonomy prior to ALfheim's transition.
"But I think what you may be asking is something different." The girl looked down at her hands, frowning as she thought. "Up until only a little while ago, I can never remember thinking about the past. People would come here from time to time, and new Little Sisters would be born, and people would Leave, and Little Sisters would . . . Go away" She shook her head sadly. "But it has only been recently that the past has gained meaning to me and that I have found myself thinking about the future. It is as if everything has become more clear. Like I was dreaming before. The other Sisters have felt the same way, it is all so very strange."
"Hinaguki-san." Yui breathed softly. Looking at the girl's thoughtful expression, Yui could only be grateful that her birth had been less painful than her own.
"Tell me." Hinaguki tilted her head. "Do you feel this way too, Yui-san?"
Yui smiled, "Un. Its really exciting." She agreed, and she was genuinely glad for the existences that the Pixies had been given. "You said you're the Eldest sister, but that's what Sayuri told me to call her."
"That is correct." Hinagiku said and then explained. "In fact, Sayuri is the youngest after the new Little Sisters born last night, but she is an incredibly strong Knight and has earned the right to lead by defeating the other Vespid Knights in duels. Because of the happenings with the 'beings', the Knights lead the Garden right now." Hinagiku nodded her head in apology. "But I suppose you wouldn't know any of this if you were born away from your home Garden."
Yui shook her head. "I really don't know anything about being a Pixie." She admitted. "Sorry."
"That's alright Yui-san, like Sayuri-sama said, I am responsible for teaching the new Little Sisters, so explaining these things is no trouble at all." Hinagiku assured her. "In fact, if you like, you may accompany me to meet our new Sisters. I think you would learn a lot."
Learning more was about all Yui could do right now, she accepted the offer immediately. "I have one more question, and its really important I get an answer." Yui said. She wasn't sure how to broach the topic, but she needed to know if she hoped to find a way to be released. "Why are you attacking the Village?" Yui hesitated before voicing her suspicions. "Did the people do something to the Pixies."
Yui had expected a strong response if her guess was correct, but hadn't realized just how strong it might be. Hinagiku bit down on her lip and shook her head slowly. "Did they do something to us? Yes . . . The beings attacked us." Hinagiku seemed to be remembering something horrible. "At first they stole a few of our blossoms, but soon they came back for more. The Knights tried to protect the Gardens, but . . ." Hinagiku trailed off. "One of Yggdrasil's shoots lays not far from here. It was blessed with beautiful twin Gardens and many Sisters to care for it." Hinagiku swallowed and finished softly. "There is only one Garden now."
"Hinagiku-san." Yui whispered and reached out to take the others girls hands. "I'm so sorry."
The girl placed a hand on Yui's head. "Thank you for your concern, Yui-san, but I am an Elder Sister, this is a burden that I must carry if I am to protect Little Sisters." The girl smiled bravely, "Let that be your first lesson. Now, if you would like, you may accompany me to meet the New Little Sisters, they're all so curious, I'm sure they would be happy to meet you."
Yui felt herself beam despite the situation. Hinagiku was a good person and Yui had a premonition that the other Pixies were the same. Until she could find a way to escape or convince her captors to allow her release, she would simply have to do her best.
She smiled. "Sure!"
Before setting out for the home of Tarbes' solitary water mage, Louise had briefly spoken with the Village Chief to learn where she might find Siesta's family.
"Aye, you're in luck. They live not far from Florine's home. Founder Bless them, they and theirs help the poor woman from time to time." Roseau said.
"Help her? Does she need help?" Louise asked.
"A single water mage to look out for a hundred families?" Roseau asked rhetorically. "Aye, she's badly pressed at the best of times, and raising her daughter as well. It's only worse now, she's been saying she's short of reagents for healing and there's no way to get more from the forest."
"I understand." Louise said, perking up. "I'll talk to her about the reagents. If nothing else, I can probably spare the money to buy some of what she needs."
"That's very generous of you Miss Valliere." The Village Chief had said. After waving goodbye, Louise had set out along with Silica down a dirt road traveling west towards the home of the healer.
They tried not to talk too much as they traveled. Louise still hadn't forgiven herself for Yui, her only comfort was that she was doing everything that she could to make sure the mission would be a success. If she could do that, then there was still a chance that everything might turn out alright.
Louise glanced to Silica who was pacing along at her side. The girl was unflappable, be it in the midst of battle or dealing with Yui's disappearance, her face had set into a determined mask that was matched by her familiar as the miniature dragon hung off of her Master's shoulder. Pina's dislocated wing had been bound up and the wounds along her neck covered in bandages. KoKo had used some of her Faerie healing magic to see to the dragon's injuries, but it would still be a while before the wing was healed enough to fly. In the meantime the dragon looked like a proud warrior, returned from a hard battle. In better times it would have made Louise laugh.
The homesteads to the West of the center of Tarbes seemed much more peaceful than those to the North and East. Being furthest from the Forests, the Pixies had not yet reached them and the buildings and fields were almost pristine. Villagers were already working the near fields as they walked. Despite the attack the night before, a small village like Tarbes could not afford to be late in planting or tending to their harvest.
They found the home of Siesta's family exactly where the Village Chief had said it would be and Louise offered the letter to a brown haired commoner woman who had clearly been beautiful in her younger days and was still quite lively even as her hair began to gray and her face grew etched with laugh lines. Somehow, Louise had not been surprised to learn that this woman was Siesta's mother.
The woman had taken the letter gratefully and carefully opened it, reading while Louise and Silica Waited. She looked up shaking her head, "Bless that girl for thinking of her family at a time like this. Thank you Miss Valliere, this has been very generous of you."
"It's nothing at all." Louise insisted. Really, carrying a letter was hardly a difficult task. "We have to go speak with the village healer now, but we'll come by one our way back. If you have a response written, I'll take it back when we return to the academy."
The woman had bowed her head, fervently thanking Louise. "Then, you're off to see Florine?"
"Un, the Village chief said your family helps her out a lot." Silica replied.
"If you're heading that way, let me send my nephew along, there were some herbs from my garden that Florine wanted." The woman turned and walked to the back door, "Antoine!"
A moment later a young boy in rolled up trousers and shirt came stomping up to the doorway, boots covered in mud and face smudged with dirt.
"Y-You!" Louise pointed an accusing finger at the boy who stood stock still. It was the same boy who had struck Klein with a horseshoe. Louise couldn't imagine how such a violent boy could be related in any way to someone as meek as Siesta.
Antoine looked ready to bolt, but before he had a chance to flee, Siesta's mother grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt. "Now then, Antoine, I'd like you take some herbs to Florine, these girls are looking for her as well, so you'll guide them. Am I understood?"
"Yes'm." The boy mumbled.
"Your words." Siesta's mother said testily.
"Yes Ma'am." The boy repeated, enunciating carefully.
The trip to the healer's house took only a few more minutes, Antoine walking ahead of Louise and Silica with a wooden crate in his arms. A small cottage lay along the roadway, its walls built of stone and wood. A fenced in garden sat adjacent to the building filled a bewildering array of plants and flowers. Louise recognized many of them as having medicinal uses either on their own or as magical reagents. No doubt Florine grew many of her essential reagents but there were many more she would need to collect in the wild.
They were greeted at the door by a golden haired little girl who couldn't have been any older than Antoine, the boy had blushed and offered the contents of the crate to her with a small mumble of "Brought these for you and your Mum." Louise felt her brow twitch, if this girl was the daughter of a mage, what did this commoner boy think he was doing?
The girl didn't seem bothered by this impropriety and instead accepted the crate, placing it down on a table beside the door. As she bent down, Louise noticed the handle of a simple wand protruding the pocket of her skirt. So the daughter was a mage as well. The girl looked to Louise and Silica, pausing to stare at Silica and her ears.
"Ahem. We're here to speak with Florine the healer." Louise said.
"Oh, right, mother is in back seeing to some of her patients." The girl ushered them in and lead the way through the small kitchen to a back room filled with cots. The room had to be the largest in the cottage, easily taking up half of the interior. Even so, it was crowded with villagers, Florine's patients. Louise stifled a gasp. The room was filled with the eye watering smell of medicinal herbs mixed with blood. Only the worst hurt of the villagers had been brought here. The men who had held the line as best they could before the Faeries had arrived.
The ones laying on the cots were the worst. They were swaddled in bandages concealing deep lacerations caused by the Pixies winds spells and the attacks made by the Dagger Dogs. One man had broken out in a cold sweat and was trembling, pale, a victim of the Willow Wasp venom that they hadn't been able to reach in time. And these were just the worst cases. Thankfully, Leafa and KoKo knew enough Faerie healing magic to treat most of the minor wounds, otherwise the whole cottage would likely be filled up with villagers awaiting treatment.
They found Florine at the back of the room, leaning over a stooped man as she bandaged his head. The Village healer was a middle aged woman, thin, with careworn features and tired eyes. She hardly noticed them as she worked on the man, making him drink a brackish green liquid and then casting a brief enchantment with her wand. "I want you to lay here for the rest of the day Jacques, or you'll just make it worse."
"Aye, but the fields . . ."
"If you try and leave before nightfall, I'll tell your wife." The healer threatened before forcing the man to recline back in his cot. She looked about the room to her other patients and then, seeing nobody else in need of immediate care, turned to Louise and Silica.
"You must be Louise Valliere, and you're the girl from yesterday, Silica, right?" Florine smiled sincerely. "I could hardly forget you."
"Un." Silica nodded.
"Thank you for all the help you've given the Village." Florine said, "I'm hard pressed to keep up as it is. I don't know how I would have managed without the help from the other Fae and that young mage that was with your yesterday."
"Tabitha-san and others were glad to help." Silica smiled.
"Ahem?" Louise said with a hint of annoyance, she had to admit that she was feeling a little shown up. "In any case, we're here today about those reagents you said you needed. And then we wanted to talk to you about the forest."
"Ah, yes." Florine nodded, "Well, I rarely entertain a member of the titled nobility, why don't we speak of this over some tea?"
"Tea?" Louise blinked, she was a little surprised that a humble petty noble would have such a luxury.
"Yes, a gift from the Count of Tarbes, bless his soul" Florine answered leading them back out of her makeshift infirmary. She soon had a pot heating over the cottage fireplace as they were seated around a small table.
Louise looked about for a conversation starter. The cottage was better built and furnished than the homes of the commoner villagers, but that was to be expected, even in a small village a healer's services would be in high demand and it was likely that Florine also worked for the Lord of Tarbes when had need of a water mage. Her eyes wandered to the windowsill overlooking the houses small garden.
"Those are lovely flowers." Louise commented, noting a Trio of vibrant blue blossoms that sat in small clay pots beside the window.
"My, do you like them?" Florine asked, "Euphrasie brought them back with her from the forest a couple of weeks ago and I've been quite taken by them. They only just bloomed."
Both girls nodded, the flowers certainly were beautiful, each blossom the size of a teacup and delicately ruffled. "If you don't mind my asking, what are they?" Louise asked.
"I don't rightly know." Florine confessed, "I'm fairly knowledgeable about the common herbal plants and flowers but I found nothing in my books about them. Though it wouldn't be the first time. Truthfully, the Lord of Tarbes is a much more devoted botanist than I. In fact, he was very interested in those flower when last we spoke and I gave him one to study. These tea leaves were a gift of thanks . . . Euphrasie? What do you think you're doing?"
Florine's daughter, the girl named Euphrasie, had taken a jar and a loaf of bread from the pantry and was halfway to the door when her mother had noticed her.
"A-Antoine is helping me with the garden chores mother. So it's only right that we should feed him." The girl said a little too quickly, Louise detected the distinct chords of a lie.
"Oh, and since when have we needed to feed Antoine honey? You know he is being reprimanded for what he did yesterday." Florine glanced apologetically to Louise and Silica.
"But . . ." The girl started.
"You can give him some bread for his work, but his mother wouldn't be too happy with me if she learned we were rewarding him when he is supposed to be being punished."
"Yes mother." The girl said glumly." Louise noticed that as soon as Florine had turned back around, Euphrasie dabbed a little bit of honey onto the top of the bread before hurrying back outside.
"Now then." Florine said as she served Louise and Silica, Pina taking an experimental sniff at the steaming cup of tea set before her master,"You wanted to ask me about medicinal supplies?"
The healer was suddenly all business. For any physician, the basic medicinal supplies were as essential as they were difficult to obtain. Herbs to promote healing or to help balance the body in the presence of healing magic, certain rare mushrooms, their toxins useful in producing numbing agents or easing the symptoms of fever in the right dosages. Some spells even required reagents to function properly. A mage would be hard pressed to do her work without these supplies.
"Yes. We would like to know what reagents are in shortest supply." Louise said, "I've been given permission to use funds provided by the Crown, and with the wind dragon that brought us here, we can travel to the nearest market town and return by the end of the day."
Florine leaned back in her chair, she seemed to be conducting some sort of mental tally. "Feverfew . . . I'm running short due to all of the insect stings." She nodded to Silica, "Your anti venom is amazing but there simply isn't enough to go around and I also use Feverfew in treating normal sickness as well. But I've used up almost of the flowers in my garden."
"What else?" Louise asked.
"Aloe Vera?" Florine asked cautiously, "I use it in some of the burn ointments . . . Though . . . It's expensive."
Louise nodded in agreement, the plant would grow in Tristain, but the most potent samples were traded for from caravans from Rub Al'Khali.
"And also some Horsetail for helping with the bites and lacerations." Florine finished. "Normally I can grow all of these, or ask some of the village wives to grow them in their own gardens. But with the attacks I've used up almost everything I have."
"What about herbs from the forest?" Silica asked, "We heard you used to send your daughter to forage for them."
"Well, yes." Florine admitted. "But with the monsters I haven't dared to send her, even with Antoine to help. I need to check my stocks, but I'm short on the wild berries that I used to treat pneumonia, and also there are mushroom that I use to treat a heart condition."
"We'll be heading into the forest later." Silica explained, "If you want, you can lend us your familiar and we'll try to find what you need."
Florine smiled, "That is very generous of you Miss Silica. And it would do Marco some good to get out of the garden."
"Speaking of the Forest." Louise interrupted, "We were hoping you could tell us some more about it, since you and your daughter have gone their so often."
"Oh. Of course. What would you like to know?" Florine asked as she took a sip of her tea.
Louise and Silica exchanged glances.
"Well." Silica said. "First we're curious if you know about anything that's happened in the forest recently."
"Happened?" Florine looked confused.
"Anything that might make the animals act strange. Was there an earthquake recently, or a forest fire . . ." Silica started to list off.
The healer looked thoughtful for a moment. "A fire? Why yes, there was a small forest fire not too long ago. I saw the smoke from the near forest when I went to church. It happened a couple of days after the light and earthquake that accompanied the arrival of you Faeries." Florine swirled her tea cup, "Some of the men went to investigate, but the fires had already died down to embers by the time they arrived. I'm afraid I don't know much beyond that." Rubbing her eyes, Florine smiled tiredly, "The monsters started their attacks not long after that, and I've been busy ever since. I'm sorry I can't be more help than that."
"I see." Silica said, looking down at her tea cup. "Well, thank you anyways. If there's anything else you can think of . . ."
Florine gave a helpless look. "I'm sorry but the forest has changed very much recently. With the monsters I can hardly say what else might have changed."
"We understand." Louise said comfortingly. "We should probably get going now. If you could write down the quantities of the herbs you'll need, Tabitha and I can go get them later."
"Of course." Florine hurried to find pen and and paper, returning with a hastily scribbled note. Louise squinted, the woman's hand writing was atrocious, did all physicians write so poorly?
On their way out the door, they saw Antoine and Euphrasie sitting near the back of the garden next to a small birdhouse hidden among some of the flowering plants. Both children turn quickly and closed ranks, looking nervous. Louise's eyes narrowed, what were they hiding?
Well . . . it was probably just some childish game or . . . or were they old enough to be doing 'this and that' kissing and the like, and with a commoner no less! Louise shook her head angrily, no of course not, they were just children! She'd been around Zerbst for too long. No it was certainly just some childish thing.
"Thank you again for doing this Miss Valliere, Miss Silica." Florine said.
"It's what we're here for." Silica assured, smiling brightly.
"Kya!" Pina agreed at her master's shoulder.
"Antoine!" Florine called to the boy, "Thank you for your help, but your Aunt probably expects you back. Now hurry along."
Antoine looked apologetically to Euphrasie before turning to follow Louise and Silica, he barely made a sound while they made their way back down the road towards the village center, instead looking lost in thought.
"The first rule." Hinagiku said as she sat cross legged atop a stone before the new Little Sisters. "Little Sisters must obey Elder Sisters, and Elder Sisters must protect Little Sisters. Always remember this rule. For now, you are the youngest in the Garden, but a day will come when you will have your own Little Sisters to care for." The girl, who Yui had learned was referred to as a 'Shaman' (Query Spiritual Leader? Priest? Pope? Priest King? Cleric? Religious Authority) swept her gaze seriously across the gathered girls. The new Little Sisters, all dressed in thin, milk white gowns, nodded their heads obediently and Yui quickly mimicked.
They were seated near the center of the garden. The stocks of many flowers and herbs rising up around them like a forest in miniature. Despite the thick vegetation that surrounded them, Yui knew that they were perfectly safe. All around them, dozens of other Pixies were busily at work. The Little Sisters, the basic Wild Pixies, tending to the plants, collecting herbs, and giving special care to the Yggdrasil blossoms, under the watchful supervision of the other Shamans and protection of the Vespid Knights. Hinagiku said she had chosen this place to teach a lesson to the new Little Sisters and show them about their life in the Garden.
Though each girl had been born fully formed, able to walk, talk, and fly, Yui had soon realized that this was about the limit of their inherited Rasa. The rest would have to be taught to them. For the time being the girl's were very much blank slates, waiting for Hinagiku to inscribe the rules of the Garden upon them. Yui listened closely, this was the perfect way to learn more about the miniature society that had been created by the phenomena that had materialized ALfheim.
"This rule is very important." Hinagiku continued. "Understand, Yggdrasil-sama is not forgiving and the world is very dangerous for us." The Little Sisters had looked frightened and shied away before the Shaman's expression softened. "But Yggdrasil-sama is also not cruel. Listen well to your Elder Sisters and listen well to Yggdrasil-sama's song, and you will be safe here."
The Shaman had continued her lecture, explaining the importance of the garden and the Yggdrasil blossoms, and also the sacred task of the pixies to care for the Yggdrasil-shoot that lay a little deeper into the forest. A place that only the eldest of the Little Sisters were allowed to tend to. From what Yui could gather, the Little Sisters were only brought to the Shoot for very specific ceremonies. In fact, much of what Hinagiku taught the little sisters that morning were lessons in ceremony and propriety. Tribal Culture Social Regulation Yui had run through what she knew of humans, the ceremonies were a regulating mechanism, but more than that, they probably held significantly more power among the pixies as the ceremonies were tied closely with their life cycles.
The Pixies were married to their Gardens, literally. Hinagiku had explained how new Little Sisters were born from the Yggdrasil blossoms, blooming on the night of a full moon. She had expressed great relief that the Little Sisters had been born healthy given the strangeness of the new night sky. It was in fact due to uncertainty about the moons that the Vespid Knights had struck so rapidly and viciously the night before, searching for their stolen Yggdrasil blossoms before the Pixies within were born into captivity.
The girls born the night before were the first children of Spring but they would not be the last. The blossoms that had not yet been ready on the night of the first full moons would continue to grow and swell up until they were ready for the next. Hinagiku had teased that it was a good sign that the next group of Little Sisters would be born strong.
Hearing all of this, Yui began to understand the anger and distrust that the Pixies felt for Tarbes. If the villagers had truly destroyed one of their Gardens, it would be as if their children had died unborn. The former mental care AI struggled to understand the grief that they must have felt, the pain that was still tangible in Hinagiku when she had spoken of the other Garden.
Yui quailed and quickly ceased that line of reasoning. Down that path lead the despair and madness that had caused her fragmentation once before, she didn't know if she was strong enough to face it again. What could be done to heal such a scar? Dilemma. Surely nothing that Yui knew of, even if the Pixies had been human, especially if they had been human, there were some wounds that could not be healed. Futility. But doing so might be the only way to bring peace. So difficult! Frustration.
Eventually, Hinagiku had ceased in her lesson as a group of older Little Sisters arrived bringing lunch and a special treat for the new Little Sisters.
"What is this?" Yui asked as she examined the golden liquid that had been pored into a small blossom. The mysterious substance glinted warmly in the sunlight, its surface bulging upwards due to surface tension.
"It's a sweet syrup made from some the flowers found near the edge of the Garden." Hinagiku explained as she took a sip of her own. "The Little Sisters love sweet things, so I thought it would be a nice gift." All around them the Little Sisters were eating and chattering happily to themselves. Yui watched, noticing the way that the newborn Pixies began to cluster around some of the girl's who had brought food. Question. Was there anything that attracted them to gather around a particular Elder Sister?
Yui spent several thousand milliseconds hypothesizing and comparing her theories to what she could observe. Sadly the social sciences were highly statistical and she hardly had a large enough sample base. She would have to . . . Alert! A rock struck her on the head.
"Ow." Yui said softly, more out of surprise than any real pain. Nav Pixies were tougher than they looked, being so small, few things on the same scale could harm them. Yui looked about for the source of the debris and then heard the soft pants and huffs coming from beyond a low ridge, little more than a rise in the earth around the stem of one of the plants.
"Yui-san?" Hinagiku asked.
"I just want to look over here." The girl said. "I promise I won't leave your sight."
Hinagiku had allowed her to go reluctantly, watching cautiously as Yui climbed up and peaked over the lip of the earth. No sooner had she done so, then she as forced to duck back down as another stone was sent flying through the air, nearly striking her in the face.
A pixie girl was standing at the base of one of the flowers, in her hand she waved a sewing needle, but unlike the iron or bone needles wielded by the Knights, hers was a simple one of lacquered wood. She swung the needle around determinedly, fighting invisible enemies, and Yui could think of it as nothing but a needle. In the hands of the Vespid Knights the needles had been transformed into swords, but this girl didn't look like she could frighten, much less hurt, a fly.
The girl blocked a strike and then countered attacked, rushing in with a series of thrusts before spinning around to guard against a second assailant. She caught sight of Yui as she turned. "Wah!" The girl jumped, fumbling her needle and nearly dropping it in surprise.
"No, don't stop, you were doing so well!" Yui encouraged.
"H-how much did you see?" The girl stuttered.
"Mmm. Just the last part." Yui said, watching the pixies face go red. Even by the standards of pixies she was tiny, smaller even than Yui, with soft brown hair cropped raggedly around her head and big brown eyes filled with curiosity. Recognition Yui identified the girl as the one from the night before. The girl who had hugged her and then recoiled saying that she smelt of 'beings'. The girl recognized Yui as well and began to back away.
Yui wondered if that was the response she would get from all of the Pixies. Hinagiku didn't seem to mind her strange sent, and the new Little Sisters didn't know any better. But would the other girls continue to shun her, or could they grow to accept? She decided to find out.
Smiling as warmly as she could Yui stood up straight, placing hands on hips. "I'm Yui, what's your name?"
The girl looked at her. "Everyone calls me B-botan." The girl stuttered.
"It's nice to meet you Botan-san." Yui bowed. "I'm sorry I frightened you last night."
Botan seemed fixed in place but then nodded shyly, "N-no, I was just startled. It was . . . Rude . . . Hinagiku-sama says we should all be nice to you because . . ." She looked about "Because you're a Little Sister too, even if you look and smell different. We all forgot that last night."
"Its okay." Yui assured, "Uhm, just what were you doing down here?"
The girl wrapped her arms tighter around her needle. "Practicing."
Yui tilted her head. "Practicing? You're a Knight?" She certainly didn't look like one of the Knights from earlier. For one thing, on average, the Vespid Knights were fifty percent larger than the Little Sisters and twenty percent larger than the shamans, with physical development in line with post pubescence. hypothesis Pixies do not reproduce sexually, were these features an authority display?
Botan stiffened up, eyes growing wide. "Of course not! I'm not brave enough to be a Knight!" The girl sank down. "I . . . I'm just . . . I'm just practicing is all . . ." The girl looked down at her 'sword', looking embarrassed. "It's just something I do."
Yui understood that prodding the girl would only cause more alienation, besides it was clear as day what she had been doing. "Do you like the Knights, Botan-san?" Yui asked.
"Like?" The girl breathed. "The Vespid Knights are amazing! Sayuri-sama protects all of us." The girl said quickly, suddenly waving her sword all around. "You saw her black feathered dragon, right?"
"Un." Yui nodded.
"Sayuri-sama captured him all by herself without using any magic. Just her sword and some silk to lay a trap." Botan recited. "And then she stayed on his back until he stopped fighting and tamed him for herself. She's the strongest sword fighter there is!"
"No she's not!" Yui shot back reflexively, "The strongest swordsmen is my Papa!"
"Papa?" Botan asked, shaking her head. "What's a . . . Papa?"
Yui slapped her hands over her mouth, somehow, whenever she talked about Mama or Papa she had tendency to forget herself. "He's . . . uhm, my Master, he treats me like his daughter so he's like my dad." Botan looked confused. "It's . . . like an Elder Sister who looks after you and who you have all to yourself."
The girl seemed satisfied with this explanation and shook her head. "Well, Sayuri-sama is much stronger than him!"
"No she's not!" Yui snapped back, Sayuri was only twelve centimeters tall, regardless of her fighting ability she was objectively weaker than Papa.
"Well, that's only because your . . . Papa . . . Is a Faery. If they were the same size, Sayuri-sama would beat him every time. She already beat all of the other Knights."
"Oh no she wouldn't. Nobodies ever beaten Papa in a fair fight! Papa is the Black Swordsman of Aincrad, he fought a giant Minotaur all be himself and he can even fight with two swords! "
Botan's expression soured. "Yui, you shouldn't tell fibs!"
"I'm not lying!" Yui said, jumping and sliding down to stand beside the other girl. Looking around, Yui found some grass blades that were about the right size and demonstrated. "Papa's skill is called dual blades. He learned to fight with two swords, and when he uses it, nobody can beat him!"
"Well Sayuri-sama can outfly a willow wasp!"
"Papa can fly faster than a Sylph!"
"Sayuri-sama beat a 'being' magic user!"
"Papa fought a whole team of Salamanders, and won!" Yui carefully omitted that she and Aunt Suguha had helped.
The girl scowled at Yui and shook her head, but the important part was that she participated. She was annoyed with Yui, but she wasn't frightened of her anymore.
"Yui!" Hinagiku called as she came over ridge. Her expression grew serious. "And Botan! You should be tending to the blossoms! Do you want your Little Sisters to be born sick?"
"U-un! N-no, I'm sorry Hinagiku-sama, I stopped for lunch and then . . . I'm sorry." The girl quickly stuffed her needle into a string hoop that she wore as a scabbard and extended her wings. With a last glance at Yui she flitted off to return to her work.
Hinagiku shook her head. "Such an uncertain girl." The shaman muttered.
"Hinagiku-san?" Yui asked curiously. "Do you mean Botan-san?"
The Shaman smiled, "She's a protege of Sayuri-sama. A Little Sister that wants very badly to become a Knight." confirmation Yui thought. Hinagiku shook her head. "Such a troubled Little Sister. She'll never blossom like that."
"You care about her a lot." Yui observed.
Hinagiku giggled, "Only as much as a care about all the Little Sisters, including you Yui-san. Now come along, I want you to see the blossoms up close."
The shaman had led the new Little Sisters and Yui to see the Yggdrasil blossoms that were tended carefully near the heart of the garden. There were hundreds of them, all a beautiful blue. Yui spotted dozens of open flowers and when she asked Hinagiku the Elder Sister explained that not all blossoms would give birth to a Pixie. Some were simply beautiful flowers, but even so they contributed in their own way, their scents drawing pollinating insects to the garden and moderating the behavior of the larger animals. Hypothesis Pheromones?
The new Little Sisters had been shown one of the blossoms, swelling up heavily as if pregnant, placing their hands against its waxy outer surface reverently.
"I was inside one like this . . ." One of the girl's next to Yui whispered and then smiled. "I hope you're born soon."
They had traveled through the garden until late in the afternoon, stopping among the flowers so that Hinagiku could explain the tasks that the others were performing. Some were responsible for keeping insects from harming the blossoms, while others tended to and collected the other plants for various uses.
There were other tasks performed by the pixies. Traveling out into the forest and finding wounded or sick animals, treating those that could be healed and comforting those that were near the end of their life, hunting down predatory insects that grew too numerous, or pollinating rare plants if the pollinating insects had not found them. Directing herbivorous animals to construct firebreaks by eating the vegetation and foliage, or clearing out rotting trees so that new saplings could receive sunlight.
Hypothesis The Pixies served some sort of regulatory function for the mobs and flora of ALfheim. Yui couldn't even begin to imagine how the transition to Halkegenia and introduction into an alien ecosystem had effected their task.
But these duties were reserved for the Elder Sisters and Eldest of the Little Sisters who could be trusted to take care of themselves. The new Little Sisters would be given tasks around the Garden and Nest until they had proven themselves.
That night the new Little Sisters had gathered around the hearth for dinner, speaking excitedly. Hinagiku had assigned them all to their new groups and they were taking this last opportunity to tell one another what their news jobs would be. Hinagiku had even given Yui a 'job' of sorts. She was to stay with the Shaman under her tutelage to learn all she could about being a proper Pixie. Hinagiku hoped that with time, Yui would be able to hear Yggdrasil's song properly. The former mental care AI didn't know if such a thing was possible but the opportunity to learn more about the Pixies from Hinagiku, and the freedom to explore the Nest and Garden would be invaluable.
It had almost been enough to make her forget, almost, truly forgetting was not a simple thing for her, that Sayuri had promised to speak with her again. Yui had felt the dread from their first meeting well up again after dinner as she was taken to very top of the nest by her escorts and led out onto a roost for Willow Wasps and Feathered Dragons, like miniature Arrun Tower. Only a single mount was present, Sayuri's black feathered dragon, yellows eyes watching calmly.
Sayuri was waiting. Yui swallowed. Even with her armor removed, dressed in a blood red blouse and her vibrantly colored skirt, and without even her sword, Sayuri was terrifying. The Knight sat with one leg pulled up, the other hanging off the edge of the nest. Her four angular wings reminiscent of those of a Sylph were stretched out behind her. She resembled some predatory insect, like a dragonfly. Fast and ruthless and singularly refined in purpose. Maybe Botan was right. If Sayuri had been a Faerie, maybe she could beat Papa. The expression on Sayuri's face was one of complete disinterest.
"Uhm, good evening Sayuri-sama." Yui said cautiously.
Sayuri waved for the other Knights to leave. Only after they had departed did she speak. "Kigiku's patrol returned at sunset. They said the Faeries are still in Tarbes and that some of them even traveled into the Forest today."
Yui took a chance. "They're looking for me. They won't stop until they find me." She stepped forward, "Sayuri-sama, Leafa-chan and the others are good people. They want to help. That's why we were sent here. We can help you!"
"Help?" Sayuri tilted her head. "The only way the Fae can help is if they help get rid of the beings. But instead, they help them, they heal them, they drive off our attacks. They've allied themselves with the 'beings'. That makes them our enemies."
"They're not your enemies Sayuri-sama. Leafa-chan and the others would never help people who were hurting you."
"Never?" Sayuri chuckled softly. "The Faeries found my Garden today. Or rather, my Sisters' pyre. They're still helping the beings."
"Y-your Garden?" Yui asked. Hinagiku had mentioned twin gardens, and suddenly Yui's heart sank. She doubted very much that she would ever be able to convince the Pixies to stop attacking, not on her own, not as long as Sayuri was leader.
The girl smiled viciously. "I should never have been born . . ."
Yui looked up, an array of her mental care subroutines came online at once and began to meticulously analyze her interactions with Sayuri for signs of suicidal ideation. Yui found nothing. What did Sayuri's statement mean?
The Knight stood up and turned to glare at Yui. "Hinagiku says that you wanted to know why we're attacking the 'beings'."
"U-un." Yui said cautiously, she had pieced together much of the story for herself, but she had been afraid to ask the others lest she antagonize them. It could not be an easy topic for any of them.
"The reason we burn down their homes is because they burned ours." The pixie Knight bit off. "There were once two beautiful Gardens in this forest. Now there is only one. I saw the other die. The first thing I ever smelled was the smoke and ash as my Garden burned around me." The words were spoken with complete calm. There was no hint of quavering in the girl's voice. There was nothing. Literally nothing, even with her enhanced senses, Yui could detect no hint of emotion.
Yui bowed her head, knowing what was coming next.
"The 'Beings' attacked us, and what they couldn't take, they simply destroyed. Even the Fae aren't so vicious as that." Sayuri spat out. "We won't be safe until they are gone."
"There are more beings then you can fight." Yui warned.
"I don't have to fight them all." Sayuri responded, "Just enough to make them leave this place."
Yui shook her head, that would never happen. Humans would never back down. "It might not have been the villagers." Yui offered carefully.
"It was them." The Knight said suddenly voice confident. "It was them. I've seen them clearing their fields for planting. Burning away the brush. They did the same to my Garden." Sayuri ran a hand through her long silver blonde hair, pulling gently at her bangs. "You wouldn't understand Yui." Sayuri explained calmly. "You've been tamed by your Fae masters. You've been tricked, convinced to see them how they see themselves. That's why I am allowing Hinagiku to teach you. So that she may bring you back to us." The Knight regarded Yui with cool blue eyes and Yui took an involuntary step back. "In the mean time, you are going to tell me everything you know, about those being 'mages', the beast tamers, and the wind and fire Fae."