Waldgott City, 684 (o. V.)

Cirla took a sip of tea and asked me to repeat my question.

'Well, I told you of what happened in Nabradia. It was a nice trip. But in the inn where we stayed, the woman showed us a portrait of Lady Ephedrine and Judge Zecht near Nabudis. I was just wondering why it was the Judge Magister who came to accompany her and not the Emperor', I said.

'The Emperor ?' Margit repeated. 'The Archadians would never let their emperor out of his palace!'

'That's right', Cirla confirmed while taking a cookie from the little plate on the bedroom's table. 'You know House Solidor did not reach the head of the Empire so easily. When they did, they enforced their control by enacting a series of laws – which we already studied – and created the Ministry of Law and the Order of Judges in the precise purpose of keeping their hands clean. So when it comes to travelling – to Nabudis or elsewhere –, the Emperor sends his wife instead – they say he bore no love to Ephedrine –, and assigns one of the Judge Magisters to her protection. Why Zecht? Because he used to wear many hats, including the one of Official Guard of Her Highness. I think the new Judge to hold this title is called Zargabaath. I believe that answers your question!'

He was about to take another cookie before his hand got slapped by his sister's.

'Yes, thank you', I said. 'How are the preparations for the election going?'

'Slow', Margit sighed. 'There have been so many controversial laws during this term that President Fördern is not sure to be reelected.'

'And he has many rivals. The longstanding challenger Free Republic party, not to forget the new outsider, Green Progress, that has distinguished itself recently by standing up to the government on the industrial issue', added Cirla.

'We haven't been much into politics, to be honest', Margit continued. 'But since our Father works in the Presidency's Office, things are different.'

'What about you, Noah? Who will you support?' asked Cirla.

I looked at each of them with a sort of amazement, then responded in a low tone:

'I'm not much into politics either. Even if I've developed a fond interest for law subjects, I never understood how they can be mixed with politics. Maybe it's because I've never approached a party.'

'Yes, that must be it', Margit said. 'It must be interesting for you to see how they work.'

I finished my cup of tea and stood up.

'Well, I've got to go. My mother told me Naria wanted to see me as soon as possible, otherwise she'll be mad at me.'

'Oh, so you have a date with her! Why didn't you tell us earlier, it's okay for us, we understand these things', said Margit with a wink, 'Especially Cirla'.

'Well, I wish I had a single date with my dear Doll', he said with an enormous sigh.

I told them goodbye and made my way back to the village.

I went directly to the Olszewski farm and greeted my friend as she was outside, feeding Book with Gysahl greens.

'Hey!' she said. 'I'm so happy to see you! Basch has come more often than you lately, and it has begun to annoy me. Listen! I want you and I to come to a special place. A very special one.'

My legs shivered as a million thoughts were crossing my head. She continued, while still giving the greens to the chocobo:

'What's wrong? I'm sure you will enjoy it. We've got a task to accomplish, and I will not feel relieved until we've done it.'

What the heck could she be talking about?

'I'm… I'm sorry', I said. 'I think I should help my mother at home…'

'Stop it, Noah! Auntie knows you're here and she agrees with my project. Listen, are you a brave guy, yes or no?'

'Well… I think I am; enough to help you at least.'

'Then come with me! We've got to help her!'

Her? Who's her?

'Come on!' she repeated, grabbing my arm. 'I'm all set. I was just waiting for you to come. Now let's go!'

Draped in a blue dress and a cloak, she rode her chocobo and looked at me with eagerness. With a small hesitation, I followed her while she said:

'We're going to Kalthof! Yahooooo!'

'The capital?! But it's even farther than Waldgott! What business do we have there?'

'You'll see soon enough. We're going to spend the whole afternoon there and then we'll be back here quickly, so don't worry about anything.'

The road to Kalthof was risky, with many beasts approaching the chocobo and causing me almost a heart attack every time. There came a moment where I literally closed my eyes in order not to see them. But Naria's ability to avoid the wolves and the wild hawks, while riding the chocobo with a great ease, knowing exactly where she was going midst the forest, surprised me and kind of reassured me near the end of the track.

Travelling northwest, we went through many villages and small towns, crossed the Radość river, and finally saw the coloured banners of the capital.

'We're not done yet!' Naria said, asking Book to go faster. 'We must reach the Spokój neighborhood! That's where we have our meeting.'

'A meeting? But with whom?'

'No time to explain! Let's get going!'

And the chocobo went even faster into town, sometimes bumping into random people without purpose. After asking multiple people about the said neighborhood, we eventually reached wide roads with big buildings. One of them, painted in green, had the following letters on its façade: GP.

'It's there!' Naria shouted, as she jumped off the chocobo and held out her hand towards me.

I followed her once again; she was entering the big building.

'Wait', she said before passing the door.

'Yes? What's wrong? Isn't here the place of the meeting?'

'Before we go in, I have to know something. Am I beautiful?'

Was was she asking this now? I tried to avoid the question by a million means and she was looking at me with a scornful face.

'I…' I said, 'I don't know… Each one's perception might be different… It's a hard subject…'

'Come on!' she shouted. 'Don't beat around the bush! I want a clear answer here and now!'

'You are beautiful, yes! I always thought you were the most beautiful and brave young lady of this country!' I shouted in turn, closing my eyes in shame. My cheeks must have turned all red and I felt my legs shaking again. But here, I said it; at least, this place was so far away no one must have heard.

'Well, that's a one-of-a-kind declaration.'

A man in dark green costume suddenly appeared from behind, and walked towards the same entry door. Why… Why could I never be left in peace?!

'Wait!'

Naria ran to him as he was about to disappear behind the walls of glass.

'Yes?'

'This boy is a gentleman, as you heard, and in reality I was asking him if I was dressed and with my hair styled properly enough to meet Mrs. Gretel Pfirsich. Do you know her, Sir?'

She was holding his hands with her eyes full of hope. So that was the reason…

He let his hands out of hers and scratched his head, his eyes blinking.

'If I know Greta? Of course I do. Everyone working in this building knows who she is. Tell me, why have you come here?'

'Because we want to help her! I come from Uwielbinie village, and in her last speech there, she said she would need the help of every single soul of Landis to make her win the election!'

He burst out laughing and nodded.

'I suppose you have an appointment with Tomasz Czarodziejski. He's the one who receives new recruits. It's on the first floor, the door on your right.'

'Thank you, Sir!'

She grabbed my arm and rushed to the stairs.

'Do you really have an appointment with this guy?' I whispered.

'Of course not. I asked someone from the village to write a letter for me and I'm not even sure this Tomasz read it. Let's enter!'

We knocked on the door mentioning the said name and entered a large, cosy office. In the middle, there was a large black table with several coloured pouffes around it. The desk was just by the door, a standard wooden table and a chair. Behind the dark-haired man sitting on it, a huge amount of folders were gathered on a brown cupboard's shelves.

Unlike what I was thinking, Mr. Czarodziejski seemed to be a stern man, with his rectangular glasses and arched eyebrows. He gave us a glacial look.

'Who allowed you to enter this place?'

'Please Sir', I tried to intervene, 'it's just…'

'Answer my question!' he added, with a harsh tone as he stood up all of a sudden.

I could feel Naria shivering; but she wasn't close to giving up yet.

'Listen, Sir; I sent you a letter. We are two friends from Uwielbinie Village and we had planned to come here for a long time.'

'Really?' said Czarodziejski and I at the same time. Naria stamped on my foot.

'Yes', Naria continued. 'We are not here to play. We have come to help!'

The man walked slowly towards us and closed the door. Eventually he invited us to sit around the big table. The silent around the whole building was so overwhelming it gave me chills.

'First of all, let me clarify one thing. You are certainly here to work as reporters. We do not welcome any more journalists on our headquarters. Is that clear? Goodbye.' And he stood up again.

'Wait, wait!' I screamed. 'What's that about journalists?'

'We're not journalists at all!' Naria confirmed. 'We are here to work directly with the team in charge of Gretel Pfirsich's campaign. That's our greatest wish for years! Please allow us to join in!'

I nodded and stood up in front of him. I tried to put all my conviction inside the look I gave to him, even if I had no idea what all this was about. After a few seconds, he sat down again and made a sign so I do so.

'My apologies. Lately we had a lot of young people coming in for interviews and pretending to inform the people of Landis, but in reality they were working for Archadian informer agencies'.

'We're not like them!' we both shouted.

'Please calm down', said Mr. Czarodziejski, 'I believe you now. But there's something I don't understand: if you're not journalists, then how exactly do you want to help? You seem so young. How old are you? Wait, I may find the letter you were talking about in this folder… What's your name?'

Naria decided to answer only to the last question.

'Nareszcie Olszewska.'

'Thank you.'

He searched and searched but eventually he came back empty-handed:

'I could not find the letter. We have received quite a lot of them these days. It's good to see our Party can gather so many people for the upcoming election, especially compared to the last one where we were almost unknown.'

'I am here to make Ms. Pfirsich win and no less!'

The man looked at her in surprise.

'Why so much interest? Don't you have school or other activities?'

'I do have a farm to look after, but I am ready to dedicate a lot of my time to preparing the election with you. I've been a fan of Ms. Pfirsich ever since she came to Uwielbinie a couple of times; I totally agree on what she says concerning economy and agriculture; for me agriculture is our strength and we have to go on relying on it! We have to transform Landis so our way of life is more respectful of the environment! This is what I believe in and this is why I hereby decide to join the Green Party, with my best friend Noah Fon Ronsenburg.'

She stood up and hit my rib so I do the same.

'Noah, is it?'

He observed me more accurately than a doctor.

'So I understand Miss Nareszcie's motivations, but what are yours?'

Mine?

'Noah is not especially interested in political matters', Naria intervened, 'but he certainly can lend a hand on many subjects'.

She added with a wink:

'He's the most clever boy I know in all Landis!'

Mr. Czarodziejski asked:

'In what subject exactly do you think you can help us?'

'Law', I managed to answer.

He took again his doctor-like look.

'Are you sure? Law? Aren't you too young to understand it?'

'I am fourteen years old but it's been two years I'm studying law with two friends from Waldgott who take monthly classes directly from the Archadian Law Akademy.'

He rolled his eyes then looked down.

'If that is true, this is simply the best skill we could recruit for our campaign. We need much help for the upcoming series of bills we're going to propose. Law knowledge is essential, but we may need as well help from people from – he showed Naria – agriculture. I shall discuss on this matter with Greta directly and I'll tell you what she said.'

He left us in the big office, walking fast on the stairs towards the upper floors.

'Tell me, Naria', I whispered, 'did you really send a letter before bringing us here?'

'Of course not', she whispered in turn, her face all distorted.

After a few minutes, Greta's assistant came back.

'I have good news for you. Greta wants to meet you.'

I could feel Naria was about to explode from the inside.

'But you have to be patient', Mr. Czarodziejski added. 'For now, you can just come back home and have a rest. Uwielbinie village is pretty far from here! You may come back next week, and we'll be working together.'

'Thank you Sir!' Naria shouted as she tried to hug him, 'thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much!'

He literally escaped from her arms and coughed a little.

'Well, have a nice trip back.'

'Wait!'

Suddenly, Naria's face turned into an ocean of sadness. What was going on? I did not dare to ask.

'What is it?' Mr. Czarodziejski said.

She lowered her head and her eyes became watery.

'I'm sorry for what I'll tell you. My friend Noah just told you he had the opportunity to take law lessons. Before, he went to school with his friends and his brother. But me… I've never been sent to school. I've always worked at my family's farm. This is why agriculture is so important for me. But at the same time… if I am to help you… I will not be able to write down a single word…'

And she burst into tears. Mr. Czarodziejski was visibly worried, as he was not used to my friend's mood swings.

'Come on, come on…' he said. 'Don't be ashamed of who you are, little lady. I shall also speak on this matter with Greta and… we'll find a solution. Together, I think we can move forward.'

He smiled to her and she immediately stopped crying. She smiled back, said goodbye and we went off to see Book, who was still where we left him.

Before leaving Kalthof, we stopped at a pancakes restaurant and discussed everything we saw about the GP headquarters and the city.

'It's time to go back!'

I had to pull Naria from her chair before sun set. We made the way back with as much fright as the first time… But I managed to come back home safe.

I did not know exactly what to feel about what Naria got me in, but at least it could be an opportunity to acquire practical skills. I ignored Basch's remarks on what he heard from the village boys about me spending a whole day with Naria outside, and fell asleep.

I woke up the next week to a sunny day. I waved goodbye to my mother – Basch had already gone to train to weapon handling with some of his friends – and met Naria halfway through the forest. We rode Book again to the capital. On the way, the weather changed to a slight rain shower without it being a disturbance. We reached Kalthof by the end of the morning, and introduced ourselves to people coming out of the GP building. Shortly after, they called Mr Czarodziejski and he asked us to wait outside.

Naria was strangely relaxed. She certainly had appreciated that the man didn't make a big deal about her illiteracy. A big smile was shining on her face and she had worn her comfy dress. I also didn't bother much about my clothing. I never did anyway.

'Sorry for the delay! Here I am, young GP members!'

I raised my head and… probably met the most eccentric person I've seen in my life.

She was a rather short woman with rectangular glasses. She was wearing a light green mid-sized skirt with a long dark green suit jacket, put over pink shirt and gloves. Her circular head was surrounded by forest-like orange hair, so messy that I couldn't even tell if they're normally curly or straight. In the middle, a white rose has been placed on the left side. After observing her in surprise, I took a look at Naria's face. She was simply captivated. She said – her voice not even able to come out of her throat properly – :

'Are you… Are you Greta Pfirsich?'

The woman then let appear what was certainly her biggest campaign weapon: a giant smile that covered half of her wrinkled face.

'Yes, that's me. I am very pleased to make your acquaintance.'

'I am Nareszcie Olszewska! And this is Noah Fon Ronsenburg!'

She turned her head towards me, without the smile.

'I have heard of you both. Please follow me, we will be more at ease inside.'

We obeyed and arrived at a giant meeting room on the same floor. Flowers were decorating it everywhere; the chairs were green and even the chimney was.

I was afraid of what was to happen.

'First of all, may I congratulate you, Miss Olszewska, for your courage? It's the first time I've ever received a new political activist this way. Usually we recruit from local meetings. Not to mention your young age! Really, you surprised me.'

I had the slight feeling I didn't exist.

'N… No, it's… nothing!' Naria said. 'It's been years I hear of your movement and I wanted to join. I'm so happy I met you… No one can imagine! And please… please call me Naria!'

'Then it's settled, Naria', Gretel Pfirsich said. 'You are officially a member of Green Progress. I will make sure your member card is sent to Uwielbinie!'

Naria's eyes were glowing like stars. I just realized she hadn't shut her mouth since we were outside. She closed her fists and took a winner pose. How could she be so relaxed in moments like these?

'And, oh, I see you brought a legal adviser with you. Right, Mr. Ronsenburg?'

'I'm… I'm Noah', I said. 'I thought of it and truly believe it will be a good experience for me to help you on this campaign.'

'Good, Noah. I think you can knock on Danek's door; his office is in front of this room. He is in charge of the Party's law proposals. I suggest you ask him the date of the next brainstorming session, so you can see how we work. In the meantime, he'll certainly have something for you to read.'

It took me several seconds before I understood her wide smile was an invitation to leave. I thanked her and moved towards the door. But as I was walking, I could still hear the conversation:

'As for you, Naria, you understand you cannot begin working with us today.'

'I also thought much about it, and I'm ready to do anything I can to overcome this and become helpful! Anything!'

Then I reached the door, and it became rude to stay any longer beside it.

I spent the afternoon in Danek's (his full name being Danek T. Eichhörnchen) office. He informed me that the brainstorming session was the following week, in Waldgott – that would be a good opportunity to pay my old friends a visit. Then he gave me a list of thirty themes around which the Party intended to make law proposals. I spent several hours thinking about how to enunciate these laws, make them plausible with the current legal context, and – the weirdest part – make them attractive. I love law, but how can a text be attractive? After speaking with Danek, he had told me that it meant that most people could relate to it. That gave me food for thought.

At the end of the day, as I was joining Naria outside of the big building, I was curious to see her reaction to whatever her idol had told her.

'Let's go', she said, without even taking a look in my direction.

I followed her on the chocobo and we began our way back. I had so much to tell her, but she never began talking, so I ended up not saying anything. Actually, I did want to find the courage to initiate the conversation myself, for many reasons. First, I liked her more with each passing day, but of course, that was the last thing I wanted to speak about. Then, I wanted to break the ice and ask her what decision had been taken to compensate the fact that she was unable to write – after all, she was the one truly involved in the Party, not I. And last but not least, I would have loved to thank her from the bottom of my heart, for everything we've been through together, and especially this opportunity to work on practical law-related tasks, which I certainly would never have found alone. As we reached the farm and she dismounted Book, I cleared my throat and eventually chose the second option.

'I hope you're not too disappointed by what Greta has told you', I said in a sympathetic tone. 'You know very well you can be useful to the Party no matter what your skills are. That's what…'

'What are you talking about?' she said almost rudely, as she was leading the chocobo to his stall.

'Well, about what she told you…'

'Do you even know what she told me? She told me I'd have free reading and writing lessons! She knew a teacher living here in Uwielbinie, who is going to come to the farm everyday so I learn fast! I'm so happy; I just wish… I had someone to announce it to once I come here…'

She looked at the corner where her father used to sit and nervously wait for her, with eyes full of tears. I looked at her and she seemed like coming from war.

'I am truly sorry…'

'It's… It's okay, Noah. I apologize for the pathetic sight I'm showing you. You should be back to your mom; she must be terribly worried by now, the night has almost settled. We'll meet next time to go back to Kalthof together… Are we agreed?'

'Aye!' I said, sad and joyful at the same time, before obeying. Crossing the forest during the night was slightly terrifying, and I promised myself to come back earlier the next time.

When I reached home and told Mom about everything that happened, she first did not believe me. Then she left the kitchen, raised her arms and shouted in my twin's direction:

'Basch, Basch, can you hear it? Oh please, put down this Swords Magazine you read everyday and listen to what your brother just said! Noah is going to be a politician!'

He obeyed – not gladly, it appeared – and shrugged.

'That's everything but what I said, Mom', I objected.

'But he's working in Green Progress! Do they pay you for it?'

'No, I'm still an apprentice and I joined as a volunteer.'

'Naria goes there too, right?' Basch asked.

'What of it?'

'Why did you have to build up this whole Party thing to be alone with her? There are other choices, you know! Like sports, weapon practicing…'

'She is not interested into these things!' I interrupted. 'And it was at Naria's invitation that I joined the team, not the opposite.'

'Come on, brother, you're ready for all lies just to keep your little secrets! But I don't care, I've also got something planned with her, she wants to go shopping in the City tomorrow evening and I'll be the one.'

'Stop it Basch! Don't fight over useless matters, at least in front of me', Mom shouted.

I sighed and went to the bedroom, waiting for dinner.

The following months were very productive. After the first brainstorming session, I learnt what were the key ideas of the Party and in which direction they wanted to move forward. I tried to implement them in my first task, and I had to admit Danek was a very good teacher. He was accurate in his words, patient in his coaching, encouraging in his lessons. I found that everything I read through books had a meaning in real life, how laws could actually help people build a better life and develop a country. Danek was surprised when I ofter gave examples of Archadian laws – he had asked me how I knew so much about the Empire and I had told him about the Drimers' law lessons. He then was even more surprised I knew 'so well-placed individuals'. I then realized school could make miracles happen, and that was the spirit I tried to communicate to Naria.

But she didn't need this; I had never seen her so concentrated on something ever before. She pursued her lessons and I felt like the proudest friend the day she showed me how to write her – complicated – name. Her teacher apparently wasn't the best, but what could she ask more than free lessons. In six months, she was able to read any text, understand the grammar and vocabulary, and even write a paragraph on her own. Basch tried to be present at these lessons once or twice – pushed by Mom –, but he quickly gave up on what he used to call 'filthy school'. In the meantime, Naria was showing more and more motivation, only looking at the bright side of things, as she was used to.

Quickly after that, Green Progress proposed she joined the campaign in a more concrete way and I felt she couldn't be happier. Even Basch, who was so reluctant to our political activities in the beginning, slowly admitted it was a good thing to be part of such a growing adventure. And he was also proud of our common friend, who was almost more literate than him at that point – I actually believe he was also jealous. Naria had been assigned to the agriculture hub of the Party, helping other fellow members in analyzing the agricultural state of Landis, travelling to farms around the country, interviewing people and organizations that made earth work beneficial for all. She was particularly good at criticizing the doings of the government, pointing out their flaws and saying things she shouldn't – as always. But at least, the positive side of it all was: we were both involved like ever in this common project.

Danek, I, and a group of others regularly received law sketches from the different hubs, and we in turn provided them feedback and improvements that could be made. In the end, we concluded that we could sort the thirty law proposals into six categories: Environment, Education, Economy, Social, Cultural and Health. We tried to come up with six definitive laws for each, but this was hard. There were categories where too much needed to be said – like Social – and others where we could hardly agree on a single proposal – like Health. But the Environment part was always full of ideas, and it was the one most cherished by Naria, who came up with crazy suggestions, like taxing people who didn't use chocobos for their inland travels. In the end, we had approximately all of our proposals, verified by Danek and I, and approved by everyone. We kept on meeting up in Kalthof once a week, but by the end of the campaign, it became clear that this frequency wasn't enough. So we travelled twice, then three times a week. Mom was a bit scared by this growing commitment to the Party, but I reassured her by telling her it was temporary.

As soon as I began to trust the persons I was working with, I made it clear to them I was not going to work for the Party after the election. It was important for me because Mom was right: it was taking too much of my time, and after all I was nothing but a fifteen-year-old boy. I was so shy at the beginning: too big a building, too many people, too different new topics… but somehow, coming with Naria every week gave me strength; I was staring at the building saying 'Here I come!' to myself, and I began to feel more and more… confident. It was a strange feeling because even at school, I was left aside as the weird guy, and laughed at. But then, it was a different world; not even workplace, it was just the community that welcomed me to make big things together. So even if I did not feel myself a member of the Party, I kept appreciating the experience very much and kept this interest until the very end. By the end I mean… the election.

My new work did not allow me much free time, but as soon as I had matters in Waldgott, I dropped by the Drimers' house to say hi. Cirla and Margit did not have much time themselves, but by the few words we exchanged, I could feel the opposite team was working just as much. My friends did not blame me at all for working with Green Progress, they were actually pleased and found it funny, especially when I told them it was Naria's idea and dream – they literally laughed. President Fördern apparently was ready for everything to be re-elected : he reprieved a handful of low-class criminals, and lowered the taxes threshold for almost everybody. But the battle was not over.

Poll after poll, Green Progress made it higher. In the beginning of the campaign, they were just another party that proposed old-fashioned ideas. But as Greta Pfirsich's interviews grew legion, as well as our press releases, people actually began to believe in us. Greta often told us anecdotes about teenagers like us stopping her in the street to ask for an autograph or questions. Her popularity, which determined the popularity of the Party, went growing so fast that the statistics could not find a comparison in history.

Then came the time of the debate. A general debate had been organized in Kalthof, with each party's representative. Greta's typical style and look made the difference. Although President Fördern did not have an awful assessment, his arguments were no match against Greta's expressiveness and attention to detail. She had an excellent memory that allowed her to point out what everybody else had forgotten, whilst always staying relevant to the current question. The other candidates did not particularly stand out. After the debate, many have blamed Green Progress for relying too much on appearances to gain voters' hearts. As a not politically involved person, I did not have an opinion on this; even if I had to admit Greta's speeches generally amused me. As always, Naria was very enthusiast everytime her role model was involved in something, and almost interrupted the debate out of applause and shouting (we had been kindly invited to attend with the audience). In these times, I had tried to look elsewhere, to see if Cirla and Margit were present on the other side, but they weren't there.

I met them afterwards, though. They were accompanying their father as he prepared to attend to the vice-presidents debate in Waldgott. Far from the Presidency's employee, they revealed to me how much they were impressed by Greta Pfirsich's eloquence and presence during the debate, as it was related to them. They encouraged me to pursue my work with the Party until the very end, and I had to promise.

Reality was, I had begun to feel tired, much more than in the beginning, and all these political topics, although mixed with law, were way above my head. Rivalry with the Presidency's camp had begun to materialize into pointless spars, pitiful comparisons and endless quarrels. Outside Green Progress meetings, several groups of Fördern supporters were waiting for us, and vice versa. This created a heavy atmosphere I was eager to see finished.

Finally, the big election reared its head. We were in a sunny week, mid-685. Everybody was ready, yet there was so much work to be done yet. People's expectations were changing; the context, led by President Fördern, was rapidly transforming, and so had to be our law proposals. Our meetings soon became daily, so Naria and I had to travel as often to the capital. I felt like my health was about to wear itself out, but I didn't like the idea of giving up so close. Naria's energy was incredible; ever since she learn how to write, she never stopped writing, and she insisted to give her papers to Greta herself. She knew how to lead a group, even if all the members were older than her. She was respected and appreciated within the Party, and somehow I'm sure Basch would have had the same talent, had he been at her place.

Amidst the sweat, the suffocating warmth and the stress, we all managed to be ready for the first electoral weekend. The first, and obviously longest part of the campaign was over, and to be honest I had many doubts on the law proposals I made, even if they had been corrected and approved by the Party. Doubts about the 'attractive' part. According to polls, Green Progress had no chance of winning the first round of the election, and apparently it wasn't Greta's main concern. The aim was to make a difference against the long-time rival of the president's party, Free Republic. They had a lot of innovative ideas and their posters were well-thought and attracted a lot of people. What's more, they did a lot of door-to-door to hand out their flyers and copies of their program. They historically gathered a lot of voters, and some people in the GP building even told me we were no match against them, and should be expecting the third place. But of course, Greta's public opinion was different, she encouraged everyone to believe in this small victory and to believe the change we made during the campaign could well be reflected in the results.

'Is it over yet?'

'No, people are still voting in Waldgott!'

'When will the damn votes end?'

'Half an hour left, guys! Let's stay alert!'

The results were given region by region, each region having a relatively big city as a capital like Waldgott or Kalthof, and opening hours for votes were of a wider range in those capitals. Out of the seven regions of Landis, two were still voting. Of course, these were Waldgott's and Kalthof's.

'Five! Four! Three! Two! One… Coooooount!'

The count was organized by an independent agency, approved by all the parties. But of course, members of all the parties were present in the majority of polling stations. In Kalthof, the city center's station was overcrowded by journalists who restlessly moved from delegation to delegation, with much noise. The count was scheduled to take all night, and the following morning. No official results were to be announced before noon of the following day. But of course, here again, polls were very active, and as the results were given, station by station, people started counting their own results.

Greta Pfirsich had prepared a giant room, on the third floor, for this electoral evening. She ordered vegetable quiches as a dinner, and Naria brought several fruit pies with her to share – Book was almost going to collapse during the trip. Several tables had been laid, and there were flowers everywhere, from floor to ceiling. The room had been re-painted and mostly decorated in yellow and pink. On the other side of the tables, there was a blackboard, and one member of the Party – named Drugi – was standing in front of it, regularly writing polling stations' results as they were coming.

'How is it going, young lad? You're not disappointed, are you?'

Danek joined me on my table as all my neighbors had stood up, walking nervously.

'No, I am not', I said.

'Electoral nights are hard, but you'll see, they are short. Hopefully a good outcome awaits for us at the end!'

'Let's hope.'

'What do you think of the campaign? Naria has been much more involved in the field than you have, being an official member of the Party. But it's interesting to have your opinion as well!'

'Well…' I said, 'I think I'm glad we finished what was planned.'

'And what was not! That's the magic of the elections! Oh, listen; Drugi is giving the results of Uwielbinie. Isn't that your home village?'

He was right. I listened carefully to what the man was saying but I was too far from the blackboard to catch up with his words, there was also too much noise. And I was too afraid to stand up and get closer, so I just read what he was writing.

UWIELBINIE STATION:

ORDER AND JUSTICE : 34.6%

FREE REPUBLIC : 25.7%

GREEN PROGRESS : 19.3%

Third place… I felt something close to shame. My own village chose our rivals instead of us. I took a look at Naria's direction, she was in tears.

'My friends!' said Greta, 'the count is not over! Keep faith in our hard work and in what we have achieved! There is still hope!'

But I could see many had already lost this hope and accepted the fact that we were third.

'Still not disappointed?' asked Danek.

'I am, a little', I admitted. 'But earlier, we saw many stations where GP came second. I think we should listen to Greta and hope for the best.'

'Typically the words of a youngster!' he said laughing. 'But that's why we need people like you among us. Let's listen to the rest of results.'

The rest was not as enthusiastic as the beginning. It was a series of Uwielbinie results repeating, over and over.

'We can't lose this way after putting so much effort!' Danek shouted. As the others, he was beginning to lose his nerves.

Outside, it was a ballet of chocobos running back and forth between the polling stations of all Landis, the parties' headquarters, and the official State buildings. We could see them through the light of storm magicites, that had been placed along the roads on this special night. I had begun to believe the final results would never be announced; the sun was showing up in the horizon and there were still an enormous number of results we were waiting for.

I tried to escape from the atmosphere of anxiety surrounding me, since I didn't have anything to lose or gain after all. Unlike what Danek had told me, hours were passing very slowly for me. The last hours…

'Ladies and gentlemen! The first round results!'

Greta's thundering voice woke me up from the sleep where I had fallen.

'You awake, lad? We'll finally have the final word!' Danek said, half mocking.

Greta exchanged some more words with the people who'd been riding chocobos all night, then nodded and turned towards us.

'My dear friends', she began. 'I have sad news to announce. Our Party did not win the first round of this election!'

Everyone was more or less aware of this fact, so only reassured whispers could be heard here and there. The whispers became more anxious once Greta spoke again:

'My dear friends. I have other news. Let us listen to them by the voice of Drugi, who's been working hard since yesterday to gather the results! Congratulations to him!'

There was a huge applause, then everyone became quiet again.

'My friends', said Drugi. 'In the name of the Party, I first wanted to thank you all for your continuous effort since the first day of the campaign. The long-time veterans, as well as the talented new recruits!'

He winked at my direction.

'Today is a great day. We strove to bring to the political landscape of Landis a new dawn, bringing in green fields and innovative projects instead of the eternal industrial mistakes that had been made by our government and suggested by our rivals. This hard work has certainly paid off: we are now recognized as a strong political force within our Republic, and we gathered many new members and allies, whom we all thank from the bottom of our hearts!'

I hadn't noticed the presence of journalists, who came during my sleep.

'And now', Drugi continued, 'let us proceed with the official final results of the first round of the Landisite Presidential Election.'

Everybody was holding their breath.

'With almost 40% of the votes, the party of the incumbent president, Błażej Fördern, are qualified for the second round of the election with 38.63% of the votes cast for Order and Justice.'

Some began booing after hearing those names.

'However, having not won the absolute majority, they cannot be considered as the definitive winners and Błażej Fördern is not certain to be re-elected!'

The boos transformed into hurrays.

'Now for the second place. Please, my friends…'

Silence came again. We expected Drugi to keep on talking, to finally know if Free Republic arrived second as expected, but instead the silence hadn't been broken.

'What's happening?' I asked Danek.

'I don't know', he whispered.

But soon, something unusual happened. Drugi fell on the ground and began to cry!

'Come on, come on Drugi, now is not the time', said Greta while pulling him up, visibly embarrassed. People began to talk again. Suddenly, Drugi stood up again and shouted from the bottom of his lungs:

'GREEN PROGRESS IS SECOND WITH 29.87%!'

The young man, still in tears, let himself fall into Greta's arms while Danek hugged a random woman behind us who was just beginning to smile. I was about to join the others in shouting and dancing when a familiar shape came straight towards me from the other side of the room.

'Noah! Noah, we're second!'

I tried to catch Narezscie as she was running, but I failed and we ended up on the floor, the table all upside down.

'I'm so happy Noah! We made it! We're the best!'

As we could hear Greta's speech of victory to the journalists, I raised my eyes to the top, storm and fire magicites giving a softened light, flowers garlands decorating the ceiling, and my best friend crying and laughing in my arms.

'Noah? Noah, where are you going?'

After the jubilation following the results of the first round, I fell asleep as soon as I got back home. Basch did not understand anything and my mother had to restrain him from making noise near the bedroom. The following morning, I woke up almost in a good shape and prepared to join Naria in Kalthof.

'To the capital, Mom.'

'But you just came back from that electoral night, darling! You should rest a bit! Why not read one of your law books?'

'The Party has more of them in its library than I could even dream of. I'll be back early, Mom, I promise.'

As usual, my mother was forced to see me go, powerless.

The battle between rounds was far from being won. Order and Justice had a comfortable advance over Green Progress, and after all they were the traditional party in Landisite minds, governing the country since ten years. They benefited from a solid popularity, a stable basis of voters, and an overall positive image due to good economical results. So Green Progress had to stand out even more, proposing solutions where Order and Justice had been blind, showing up matters that the others had forgotten, while still offering to the people an image of… order and justice.

That day was organized a new brainstorming session, especially for the in-between period we were living. A debate between Gretel Pfirsich and Błażej Fördern had been planned, and it was scheduled for two days later. Naria was there, as always, and impatiently waited for her turn to talk, to propose one of her out-of-the-blue ideas. When my turn came, I simply recalled some of my proposals that had not been retained by the Party's hierarchy, but that were very relevant at this time. They all listened carefully and Greta took notes.

The day of the debate eventually came. Naria and I had been invited once again, and we sat next to each other. She was holding my hand tight everytime Greta was asked to answer. Błażej Fördern was a rather tall man with black hair, and was wearing a brown suit.

'In our country', he said at the half of the debate, 'one of our strengths is indubitably the union and the harmony of our people. However, there are times when things are not going this way, and problems oppose people against one another. One of these problems we are facing is the agricultural crisis…'

'You mean, one of the problems you are facing after the actions you have taken!' interrupted Greta.

'Yeah! Well done!' Naria exclaimed, raising her fist as I was trying to calm her down.

'During this crisis', the president continued, 'I did not stay behind my desk. The role of a true president is to travel across the country to meet the people, their complaints and their question marks. And one of the recurring issues they told me they were facing, was the decrease of the exportations for most of their products. What are your solutions to solve this problem, Ms Pfirsich?'

Greta adjusted her glasses before answering.

'The agricultural crisis is indeed one of the main concerns of our people. Without being able to sell their products properly, how can one see a bright future for their business? We have been overrun by Dalmasca and Nabradia, to cite but a few. Chocobos and cockatrices make for a fine flock, but although new species have been introduced into our farms, revenues are little and prices are harsh in the international market. However, there are ways to increase exportations by diversifying the range of products and entering new markets. What about developing nanna farming? Nanna cheese and milk are still unknown in big markets like the Empires, and they have been proven to be good for the health. If I am elected president, I will sign a pact with the Garif, so they can provide us with some of these interesting animals. More products means more chances to export Landisite agriculture, and this could be a solution.'

'Yeah! Exactly as we said before!' Naria screamed again.

According to the Landisite Constitution, dating from the previous century, the future president was elected at the absolute majority of the votes cast. If that didn't happen in the first round, then a second round was organized with the two highest-scoring candidates. This was exactly what was happening, thus the presence of these two candidates in the debate. A same person can only aspire to two presidential mandates, each one being of five years.

'Hah!' President Fördern said. 'What a surprising idea from the candidate who recommended shutting down our most valuable factories!'

'I never said we should shut them down', Greta quickly corrected. 'But rather, that we should operate a giant operation of industrial transformation in our country. This is what Landis needs the most at this moment. By using renewable energy to produce what we do best, not only will we come out better off, we will create jobs as well. A whole range of the industry is yet to be discovered, and none of our leaders dared to try it before. If I am elected president, I will be the president of change and progress!'

All Green Progress allies applauded.

After the debate, there was still work ahead of us. Law proposals needed to be refined, and leaflets needed to be distributed to a maximum of people. This time, I had been asked to participate, but I refused. I was not a member of the Party, and distributions occurred mostly at evenings. I didn't want my mother to worry more than she already does. But Naria accepted. After all, she didn't have to answer for anything to anyone. So I kept travelling to Kalthof every morning, and coming back every afternoon. I had noticed Basch had begun to ask more and more questions at every dinner. He was convinced I was a member of the Party, and whatever justification I gave wouldn't do. So I quickly gave up explaining to him, and I gave the simplest answers possible to his curiosity. As for Mom, she was still worried to see me travel everyday restlessly, but she had begun to accept it; and without being supportive of the Party or anything, she wished me luck everyday, asking me to give my best.

And finally, the big day came. The period and end to the election. I arrived at Kalthof earlier in the morning this time. The sun was shining high in the sky, and people had just begun to arrive in the Party's headquarters. Naria came early in the afternoon, bringing a dozen of pies this time – so each one of us came with their own chocobo. The giant room was decorated exactly as the previous time, and Drugi was still standing next to the blackboard, ready to collect the results. Many journalists followed Greta Pfirsich as she went to vote in the nearest polling station. The others voted as well – except Naria and me, of course.

'Have you heard the news?' said someone as soon as we got back in the building.

'The post-debate poll results came out!'

'Look!'

'It's incredible!'

I managed to get one of the papers that were going from hand to hand, and read what was written.

'We are first!'

'Greta rocked the debate!'

They were right. If the election result was the same as this poll's, then Green Progress would win the Presidency of Landis. Was such a thing possible?

'My friends', Greta said with a strong voice. 'Let us not take conclusions too quickly. Everyone, at your post! We've still much to do!'

For the dinner, this time, there was a big buffet for every member, supporter and journalist. I often wondered where all the money came from, but Danek told me the previous time it came from the members' subscriptions, and since their number grew drastically since the beginning of the campaign, the Party had more money. And it also came from State subventions, which were given to all official political parties.

I was about to fall asleep again when I suddenly felt a strong hold on both my arms. I screamed.

'Hahahaha! Such a fright, isn't it?'

'Let him get a grip on himself, brother.'

The two voices kept quiet and I opened my eyes… Cirla and Margit were before me.

'Sorry…' I said. 'What in the world are you doing here? Shouldn't you be helping your father?'

'We asked him', Margit said. 'We really did. But all that we earned was 'Go back home' and 'Do what you want but don't follow me.''

'So, after insisting and not being able to enter President Fördern's headquarters, we chose to pay Green Progress a visit!' Cirla concluded.

'It's beautiful here! Look at all these flowers!' his sister exclaimed.

'But… Isn't there a problem that you're here?'

'Nah! We're just teenagers like you discovering politics. And since we're here, we're also going to support Green Progress… just for tonight. And… one more thing, Noah', Cirla said, raising his forefinger. 'You think too much that we're working all the time helping our father. That's not correct!'

'All we did was correcting a few papers and sharing our ideas with him', little Margit added. 'That's nothing in comparison with what you did here!'

'You've done a fantastic work! So you've been really involved in the Party's official law proposals! Working directly with the hierarchy! That is great!'

I tried to thank them but they kept praising me on and on, so I just interrupted them and invited them to take a meal at the buffet. They immediately obeyed.

'Where is Naria?' Cirla suddenly asked, his mouth full of meat.

'I don't know', I admitted. 'She's been working with the agricultural hub and she made friends there, so I guess she must be with them.'

'But that's so wrong, Noah!' Margit shouted after swallowing her juice. 'As a gentleman, you should always stay by her side! No matter the new friends, no matter the circumstances! You are important!'

'Maybe but, err… Could you keep your voice down?'

'Let's look for her', Cirla suggested. 'We have to congratulate her for all the effort she put into her lessons.'

'That's right! Let's go!'

Nareszcie was, as the previous time, at the other side of the room. But unlike what I had thought, she was alone. She greeted my friends with a full smile:

'Well hello, you two! I've missed you! It's been so long! Woohoo Margit, you're cuter than ever!'

'Oh please', Margit said, turning all red.

'Noah wanted to tell you something', Cirla said, without looking like it.

I promised to take my revenge against him once we met his Archadian 'Doll'.

'What is it?' Naria asked, turning her beautiful look towards my blushing face.

'Actually, it's them', I managed to say.

Fortunately, Margit followed my thought and they congratulated her for taking her lessons.

'It's a strange feeling!' Naria said. 'I feel almost as clever as the three of you, now!'

We laughed and a member of the Party asked us to speak more quietly.

'Let us go to my table', I suggested. 'There's almost no one around there.'

In the middle of the crowd, I lost my friends. I tried to keep Naria at sight but she vanished like the others. I was too shy to push people on the right and on the left, so I just waited for them to move and made my way forward. Finally, my sight was clear. I reached the bottom of the room, where I left my table, and… watched my three friends as they were talking to Basch.

'B… Basch? You too?' I said.

'I finished work at the farm so I asked Mom if I could go and she said yes. I finished everything I had to do. Can't say the same of you, heh?'

'Oh come on', Margit said. 'Noah has worked so hard with the Party, let him do what he wants!'

'It's so strange', Naria said in a low tone. 'Before reaching this place, I was convinced that Noah had come before us at the table, and that it was him waiting for us.'

'Hah! Don't compare me to him, okay?' Basch said.

'But how could we not: you are twin brothers!' Cirla exclaimed.

'But tell me, Basch, why have you asked Mom to come here?' I said nervously.

'Because I wanted to! Do I need a reason to do as I please now?'

'Please, please', Margit tried to calm him down again. 'He just asked you a question.'

I was pretty certain he came because of Naria, which did not exactly make me happy. Immediately after, he took her arm to whisper something in his ear and she laughed, while Cirla and Margit were talking about the changing weather. I decided to ask the latter:

'So… Will you stay until the results?'

'Of course!' said Cirla. 'We're going to party all night with you!'

'Well, this isn't exactly what I'd call a party… I am dispensed from working but they are other people who…'

'Don't bother!' Margit interrupted. 'We'll be alright together! We, too, asked our mother before coming so there's no problem.'

I was about to say something but each one took one of my arms, just like when they appeared, and dragged me away to the buffet, where they suggested we ate more free food.

Independently from the fact that I was with my friends, the atmosphere in the giant room was way better than the previous time. People shared food and exchanged smiles and encouraging words. Everybody believed in Green Progress's chances to win this election now. It was just a matter of time.

At the middle of the evening, Drugi announced the closure of all votes in the country. Everybody applauded, then we came back to our tables to listen to the first results. Some polls came out, saying that we had won, but Greta swept them away with a motion of her hand.

'Let us not focus on rumors, but rather on our actual chances to win together. And thanks to everything you managed to did, they are real!'

Everybody shouted: 'Gre-ta, Gre-ta, Greta' and Naria walked up the table so she could be seen once again by her idol. Then the leader went to give an nth interview to the journalists and the five of us looked one another straight in the eye.

'Well', said Basch loudly, 'What are we gonna do?'

'What you're going to do?'

Danek, who heard him speak, came towards us.

'I see you brought company, Noah.'

'Well, I… Not really…'

'Anyway', said Danek. 'If you want to help, here's something you can do. First of all, do all of you know how to count?'

Margit, Cirla, Naria and I nodded, while Basch looked at his feet.

'I can manage well with numbers', he said.

'Very good', said Danek. 'So basically here's the task: unofficial results are coming, station by station. Your aim will be to gather the results from all the polling stations of a region, to give us an idea of the percentage we made in each place. Here's a map of Landis next to the blackboard; the red dots are the towns with a station people voted in. Dispatch the regions as you please. We need a report every half hour. Good luck!'

And he went away. Once again, we stared at one another, speechless.

'What was that?' Basch asked after Danek disappeared.

'I don't know', Naria said, 'but it's for the Party, so I gotta do it!'

'Well, if you're doing something, count me in!' Basch concluded.

Eventually, we managed to take each one a region and began working. Cirla and Margit took respectively Waldgott and Kalthof regions, for their experience with their geography, and the remaining three took three more distant regions. Basch and Naria were particularly lost, but I was there to help one, then the other, then came back to the first – until they understood what there was to do and did it by themselves.

Drugi had begun writing the results. We literally battled to get in front of the map, to see which one's region the current station belonged to. At first, there were mainly the three remote ones, so Basch's, Naria's and mine, because the big cities' results came last. So it was a bit of a mess, since I was explaining all the time and the two did not listen to me. But eventually, they began adding the numbers calmly and counting the results. I asked them to re-calculate the total three times before they give it to the Party's hierarchy – just in case. Kalthof and Waldgott coming last was a good thing, because the three of us had less work, and both Basch and Naria were very tired. The little farmer even asked us if she could sleep on our knees – mine first, then Basch's, and for an equal time. I took a look at Margit's face as I was trying to disregard the blonde head peacefully sleeping on my thighs:

'Hey! Are you alright?'

She raised her thumb with a wink, and I knew she was alright. It was a relief because she was even younger than us, so I had thought she might be troubled by staying awake all night. But the little girl kept working endlessly, very concentrated and visibly motivated. Cirla showed more boredom, but I knew his spirit was the same.

'Official results in one hour!' Drugi suddenly shouted.

I felt ashamed for having fallen asleep, even if it was just for some minutes. In front of me, brother and sister were still conscientiously working on their numbers. The weigh on my thighs had disappeared: Naria had already gone to sleep on Basch's. The latter was still awake, looking at the blackboard from time to time. It was surprising to see Basch so concentrated on a task. It kind of made me happy. Fortunately, as I had thought before, Naria's region had not appeared on the board for hours, and neither did mine nor Basch's. So all the home stretch was left to my two Waldgott friends, which kind of made me annoyed.

'Is it okay for you to do all this?' I ventured to say.

'No problem!' Cirla exclaimed, without raising his feather. 'We had expected some task like this before coming. We're always ready to help, even if our father wouldn't agree on it!'

'You mean, especially if Dad wouldn't agree on it', added his sister with an angelic laugh.

'By the way', Cirla added, 'According to what I have here, Uwielbinie voted for Greta Pfirsich in majority!'

'Really?' Margit said. 'Then Naria has done a nice job convincing everyone!'

I looked at my sleeping friend and smiled.

'Results!'

'Results!'

'But…' Margit said, visibly disappointed. 'We were just finishing this report for…'

'Hand it over to me.'

Greta Pfirsich, who was walking nearby, stopped at our table and took their papers with a big smile.

'You are friends of…' she began.

'Noah', I said.

'… of Noah's, aren't you? Thank you very much for coming.'

She played with Margit's curls for a second then went away.

I was about to say something when the little girl opened her mouth in amazement and exclaimed:

'She's so cool!'

'You see? I told you!' Naria approved, awoken by the 'Results!' cry.

We all sat at our places and listened to Drugi, who was coming back from outside – the chocobos ballet again.

'My friends', he began. 'This year, and tonight in particular, we have had the opportunity to make a real change at the highest level of our beloved country. Our party, Green Progress, has made a spectacular advancement among all categories of Landisites. Now has come the time to have the final word of the story, the final results of the Landis Presidential Election. They are in this envelope you see before you – the same has been given to the President's headquarters. But will he remain president again for the next five years? This is what we will see now.'

The silence was so overwhelming I could hear Naria swallowing.

Among the results we gathered as a group, Green Progress had the highest score in almost half of the regions, and Order and Justice had the other half. So it was very risky to pick up a winner out of these reports. Plus, what we did didn't show the results on a national scale, which we hadn't been asked to do.

'The second candidate gathered a total of 49.24% of the votes.'

So close! The winner would not have won hands down. If Green Progress made this score, then I thought everybody could be proud of what we did, even if it's the second place.

'Come on!' the journalists lost patience. 'Say who it is!'

'It is…' Drugi said.

What if Greta had won? Naria would be the happiest girl on Ivalice, that would comfort her for years. After all, GP won according to the polls, and we had all our chances after the progress we made. What if the small village I was born in, Uwielbinie, could represent all of Landis, for once? All the lights were green, and Drugi just had to say that the President's party came second. I took a look at Cirla; his long hair was sticking to his skin, and his eyes were throwing red lightning. I had never seen him this way, even before an exam when we were in school. Margit was hiding her face behind her hands, her body was all shaking. Basch closed his fists and Naria was simply… motionless. I was holding my breath when I sensed a hand on my shoulder:

'Hey!' Danek whispered.

I nodded to make him know I was listening despite the crucial moment.

'Before we have the results, I wanted to tell you something. I've seen many law students be proficient in Education, Military or Social domains… But you, you are very good at every single field. Congratulations, little lad. I don't know what you'll choose to become, but let me tell you you will go very far.'

And he turned away. His words made me feel even more confident about our victory. I owed so much to this man. Now the first place had never looked so close. Drugi just had to say it.

'… Greta Pfirsich from Green Progress.'

A general silence settled in the room. It was so disturbing that Drugi could continue:

'Błażej Fördern has been re-elected with 50.76% of the votes cast. Thank you.'

The journalists quickly took notes and approached Greta to see her reaction, but she obviously didn't want to react.

For the third time, the five of us exchanged a blank look, then Naria rushed into my arms, all tears:

'I believed it so strongly, Noah! I believed this year was the year! And that we would win…'

'I'm sorry Greta has lost. But look at the positive side: the Party is now famous!'

She sniffed and raised her teary eyes towards mine. Then, in a common gesture of exhaustion, the five of us fell on the ground.

During the weeks following the defeat, I did not dare to come back to Naria's farm. First, because I knew she would be inconsolable that her idol lost. And second, because she was certainly very busy after all this month working for the Party, taking lessons, and delegating land work to Sydor. She had to keep up with what happened at the farm, dirty her hands again and probably make some changes to the way they worked. Alright, maybe the right motive was that I had no specific reason to go and see her. On the contrary, Basch went to see her almost every day, or they met with other young people at the central place of the village. I felt particularly uncomfortable meeting Naria with Basch, so I never accompanied him.

One day that both were having fun in the village, someone knocked on our door.

'Who is it?' asked Mom. 'It's too early to be Basch!'

I shrugged and opened the door.

'Hi Noah! Is your mother here?'

Little Margit, her hair all messy, did not even wait for my answer and rushed towards Mom.

'Auntie, it's terrible! Please, you have to help me!'

'Ma… Margit Drimer? What brings you here, my dear? Where is your coach driver? Is your mother aware that you're here?'

'Please, auntie! You have to believe me and come with me right now to the Waldgott Hospital! My brother is in a bad state!'

'What happened to Cirla?'

Margit completely ignored me and pulled my mother's arm. It was so unusual from this well-behaved little girl. I knew something really bad has indeed happened.

'Alright, I'm coming with you, Margit. Please calm down. Noah, you're in charge of the house until I come back.'

I nodded and looked at their shadows getting farther and farther away.

My mother came back early in the afternoon, but refused to tell me what she saw.

'Margit made me promise I don't tell it to anyone! She didn't mention an exception. But maybe you can pay the Drimers a visit and see for yourself.'

'Is Cirla out of the hospital?'

'Not yet, I'm afraid…'

I immediately took some gil and paid a cart to Waldgott.

Once I reached the house, it seemed like Margit was waiting for me.

'It has a link with Doll. I don't know how exactly, but my brother managed to exchange some words with her and it infuriated some people around her', she told me.

I then remembered our conversation about how supposedly dangerous it was to approach an Archadian.

'But why is your brother in the hospital?'

'They… They stabbed him in the shoulder. It was horrible. We cannot say anything to the parents and we needed an adult to sign some papers at the hospital; this is why I thought of your mother. I'm sorry to put you in this situation…'

'It's… it's okay! Do you know who committed this crime?'

'No. I just know they're Archadians who are trying to protect Doll's 'purity' and what not. They're not even from her family, although a family member might have sent them. If Mom come home and asks, the official version is that Cirla's having a complete medical check at the hospital and by the time he remembered he had to do it, he didn't have the time to warn anyone, alright?'

'But why can't you say it to your parents? It's important, you know! And after all, Cirla did not do anything wrong! It all comes from these filthy Archadians! If Doll is the problem, don't mention her; just say… he has been attacked randomly.'

'This attack cannot be seen without it context', Margit shook her head. 'It's indubitably because Cirla's interested by Doll that they did this to him. But the true reason why he asked me not to tell anyone anything is not the attack itself…'

'What is it then?' I asked, beginning to fear.

'I shouldn't make you worry more – the doctor said Cirla's not in danger. But this paper left him completely mad. And even if all this is a secret, I'm sure he would allow you to know.'

I bent over the table to see the paper she was talking about. It was an old scrap with red letters scribbled onto it.

'They left this in his pocket before fleeing', Margit explained.

She unfolded the paper completely and I blinked, not exactly sure of what I was reading:

NEXT TIME, IT'S YOUR SISTER'S HEAD.

I gasped.