Standing on the Sky - Part Two, Chapter One Standing on the Sky
Part Two, Chapter One
By Aiko-chan


The room was not comfortable. The floor had a carpet, woven with red and gold patterns, laid out on it, yes, but the material was thin, and the cold from the stone floor beneath soaked through.

The walls, as well, were cold, gray stone. They had been that way in her old room, as they were in all the rooms of the house, but these walls were bare, save for the gold-framed mirror that hung on the wall opposite the heavy oak door.

The girl sat, her legs folded to one side, on the straw-filled matress in the corner. That she could sleep on, but the straw itched and made her sneeze. She missed layers of cotton sheets on her bed in her old room that prevented the straw from irritating her allergies.

The girl traced a circle on the cold stone floor where the carpet did not cover. She dug at the floor, getting loose dirt caught under her fingernail. Then she used the thumbnail of her opposite hand to scrape the dirt out again. A stupid, monotonous passtime, but a passtime none the less.

After a moment's thought, the girl stood up, flinching as her bare feet touched the cold floor. She yawned, pulling her long, stringy black hair back away from her face, holding it back as though it were in a low ponytail. She looked over at the mirror on her wall. "Front garden," she said.

The reflection of the dim room shifted out of view, and a picture of the front of the huge house came into view. Past the long dirt path leading to the front door and the flowers growing at its sides, she saw that the sun had already risen, hanging just above the horizon.

She turned towards the closet as the image faded and the reflection returned. She released her hair from her grip, crossing over to the closet and opening one of the doors.

After selecting a pale yellow skirt, the girl pulled off the old, off-white shirt that served as her nightclothes and put on the dress in its place. Using an ivory-colored comb sitting on the floor by her bed, she untangled her long hair, then pulled on a pair of socks and her brown boots.

Once she was dressed, she stood in front of the dresser, splashing some water from the bowl on her face. There. That felt much better.

The girl dried her face on the hem of her long skirt as she went to stand in front of the mirror on the wall. Smoothing her skirt, she sighed and said, "Spirit of my mother, please show your face."

Again, the girl's reflection shifted from view. The pale, semi-translucent face of her mother took its place. Her dark blue eyes were sad, as always, but she wore a smile like the girl had never seen.

"Mother, why are you so happy? I thought you and Father were unhappy now."

"We are both still rather sad, and angry" the woman answered. She lifted her blue eyes to meet her daughter's golden yellow ones. "But we are happier than before." Her smile shone with pride. "Your sister has taken control of Farl Presea."

"Mother." The girl's tone was flat. "Why are you telling me this? You're only making me upset. It was to be my job to command Farl Presea in the murder of the Magic Knights."

"Oh, my dear child." The brown-haired woman touched her hand lightly to the glass. "You can't understand how much I would love that. Cerise is so young, and even though she's doing the right thing, I would rather not have her involved in any killing. You are mature enough to understand far better than she."

"Then why not me?!"

"Meline, sweetheart, calm your temper." The woman's expression was sad. "Your father and I would allow you to do the job, if you weren't sick."

Meline folded her arms stubbornly. "I'm not sick. When have I ever done anything to prove that I might have even the slightest thing wrong up here?" She tapped the side of her head.

"Just because you have periods of stability, like now, does not mean that you aren't ill."

"I'm not crazy, Mother!"

The woman's face grew sadder. "Oh, Meline, you know I wish I could believe that. But past events, and even recent ones, prove otherwise. You've done and said things that categorize you as mentally ill. You know how much that hurts your father and I, but that's the way it has to be."

"I hate this. Cerise takes care of me. She's a child!" Meline's eyes were angry. "There's nothing wrong with me, but you keep me locked in here and have my little sister treat me like a prisoner!" She spun on her heel, turning away from her mother's face. "This isn't fair to me."

There was a long moment of silence. Then, quietly, her mother's voice came to Meline from behind. "My dear, if you wish to prove that you are well again, then I have a task for you."

Meline spun around again. "Anything, to get me out of here."

The woman's face was grave. "If you don't succeed due to your sickness, you'll only be making it worse for yourself."

"I'm confidant. I'm not insane. I can do whatever you ask me to."

"All right." The woman locked her gaze on Meline's deep amber eyes. "You will help Cerise. You will lure one of the Magic Knights here, so that it will be easier for Cerise in completing her own task. Once one of them is here, the others will come, and Cerise can command Farl Presea to finish the job. I doubt that your sister can get one of them here on her own. That is your job."

Meline nodded. "Yes, Mother. I promise that I'll do my best."

The woman smiled sadly with a small sigh. "I do hope your best will be good enough. I love you, sweetheart."

"I love you, too, Mother." The woman's face shimmered and disappeared, leaving Meline staring back at her own face. She scratched her nose, thinking. When Cerise brought breakfast, she'd tell her what their mother had said.


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Fuu's voice was quiet and shaky as she relayed with she had seen to Umi, Hikaru, and Ferio. She would not look up to meet their eyes, and she kept her hands clenched together tightly in her lap. Her viridescent gaze was fixed on the intertwined fingers, and nothing else.

Ferio sat with his arm around the blond girl's shoulders, holding her to his side. Umi listened with her hand pressed over her mouth; Hikaru stared at her shoes, playing with the hem of her skirt. The redhead wouldn't make eye contact with anyone, either.

As she finished, Fuu took a deep, shaky breath. She allowed Ferio to take her hand, and he squeezed it reassuringly, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb. "I'm afraid for Presea-san," she continued. She lifted her gaze, looking at her companions. "I do not know what happened, or where she is now."

"That... that little girl," Hikaru said quietly, watching her own hands as she bunched up the hem of her skirt in little folds. "Could she have something to do with it?"

"I hope so."

Umi gave her a confused look. "You hope so? Fuu, I thought you said that girl wanted to make Presea kill someone."

"I would rather have Presea with that child, and have at least some idea about whether she was safe or not, than to have no idea at all." Umi adverted her eyes as Fuu continued. "I do not think that the girl wanted to hurt Presea-san. I think she only wanted to use her for her own purpose."

Ferio held her closer to his side, still holding her hand. "There's nothing we can do, Fuu-chan," he said gently as she leaned her head on his shoulder. "I know you feel bad, but we don't know where Presea is." He kissed the top of her head. "I want you to try and calm down. And it's almost dinnertime." Ferio smiled a little. "I'm going to be eating in the kitchen tonight, with you and those friends you have down there. I want all three of you to be there." He gave Fuu one more tight hug, kissed her lips lightly, then got to his feet. "I'll tell Guru Clef what happened to Presea. You girls don't worry --- we'll figure this out." Then he lifted his hand in farewell before exiting their bedroom, closing the door quietly behind him.

There was a long moment of silence before Umi spoke up. "Should we get ready for dinner, then?"

Hikaru shook her head. "I'm not very hungry, Umi-chan."

"Hikaru-san, reemember what Ferio said." Fuu smiled slightly. "He's expecting all three of us."

"Yeah, he'll kick our butts if we aren't there." Umi raised one eyebrow. "Besides, Hikaru, I think you'll like dinner tonight."

The redhead's face brightened. "Are we having that orange fruit? I love that stuff!"

Fuu's smile widened. "It is called a daudrite, Hikaru-san. I think we might."

The petite girl thought a moment. "Well... okay." She got to her feet, pulling down the hem of her skirt to smooth out the wrinkles she had made. "Umi-chan, you can have my maudre. I really do have a pretty small appetite tonight."

The three girls went out into the hall, shutting the door behind them. They were silent for the most part as they walked, their moods greatly mellowed.

When they got to the kitchen, one of the huge doors was open. Beyond it, the girls could see that people were dashing around, some yelling at one another, shouting things like, "These are squishy! Get some fresher fruit!" and "Jana, what are you doing with those biscuits?! Put some hyredem paste on them, the sweetest you can find!" Above all of the chaos, however, they could hear Ferio's voice bellowing, "I'm telling you, just make a regular meal!"

The Knights pushed through the bustle of people until they reached Ferio. The green-haired prince was standing there looking frustrated. "They won't stop!" he said in exasperation. "As soon as I said I was eating in here, they started fussing and trying to make the nicest food they have!" He shook his head. "I'm not fond of all the fancy stuff they make for us. I know they eat plainer things, and that's one reason I wanted to eat in here."

Fuu thought a moment, then answered, "Let me." She grabbed the arm of a portly woman as she passed by. "Excuse me, Decaira-san?"

Decaira turned to her, brushing loose pieces of dark hair out of her face. "Yes, Fuu?"

Fuu looked over her shoulder at Ferio. "Ferio, this is Decaira-san. She is the head cook." She turned back to Decaira. "Decaira-san, Ferio wanted to eat dinner with us here in the kitchen tonight."

Decaira nodded, beaming. "I know. It's an honor. We're working to make the best we can."

"That is the point. Ferio would like a simple dinner, like the ones we always have here."

Decaira looked at the blond girl, puzzled. "But Ferio-ouji should---"

"Decaira, ma'am, please," Ferio said, laying a hand on Fuu's shoulder. "I hardly ever get a good, plain meal. Couldn't I have a break, just this once?"

Decaira nodded. "Of course, Ferio-ouji. I'll go speak to the rest of the cooks." She hurried off, yelling at a young man to put those spices back right away.

Umi motioned for Ferio to follow them. "The tables are in this room over here. Come on, Ferio."

She led Ferio across the large room, weaving through women, young men, and teenage girls, until they reached the simple wooden double doors. Umi pulled one open, gesturing for Ferio to enter.

Fuu took the prince's hand, gently pulling him towards the table where the three girls always ate with Larumele, Waemi, and the other girls. The Fuu sat with Ferio at two chairs at one end of the table; Umi and Hikaru sat on the chairs on either side of the table that were next to the end.

Ferio smiled. "I'm glad to see that you all came."

"Hikaru didn't want to come. She said she wasn't hungry." Umi grinned. "But we told her there'd probably be daudrites tonight, and she got enthusiastic about."

He nodded. "That's good."

Fuu smiled somewhat sadly. She could tell that he was trying so hard to keep their minds off the worries at hand.

She rested her chin in her hand, looking down at the wooden tabletop. There was a small splinter sticking up from the smooth surface. Fuu dug her fingernail under it, peeling it up more, then took the end of it between her thumb and first finger. She peeled up the splinter until it finally seperated from the table, the free end curling in. It left a noticable gash on the table. She sighed.

"Fuu-san," a smiling voice said, "you're scarring that poor table."

Fuu looked up with a small smile. She recognized Yeiry's voice. "Konban wa, Yeiry-san."

Yeiry sat down next to Umi. Hedaimo and Larumele had already found their seats next to Hikaru, and Nobyre was sitting in the last chair on the side where Umi and Yeiry sat. Waemi sat down in one of the two chairs on the opposite end of the table.

Hikaru leaned one elbow on the table and gave the younger girls a puzzled look. "I don't mean to seem rude, but dosen't one of you usually bring the food in?"

Hedaimo beamed. "Tonight is a special night."

Ferio groaned. "I hope you aren't referring to me." Hedaimo's face flushed, and he looked confused. "What?"

"Who's blushing now?" Larumele cackled, poking her friend's shoulder.

Nobyre shook her head, smiling. "Some of the older women are serving everyone tonight." Her eyes gleamed. "It is a special night."

Hikaru opened her mouth to question why, but she didn't get the chance.

From beyond the open wooden doors, two rows of women came into the room. The first six were carrying a wide tray in each hand; the women behind them were pushing small carts. Both the trays and the carts had plates, bowls, and mugs of steaming liquids covering them.

One of the women with the trays came over to their table. She looked to be in her mid-thirties, but with the people of Cephiro, one could never be quite sure of someone's age. Her thin hair was a golden brown, and wisps stubbornly fell from the loose bun tied at the back of her head. She set one of the trays on the table, balancing the other on her hip and smiling at the people sitting at it. "Good evening, girls. Good evening, Ferio-ouji."

The tray she had set on the table was filled with small plates of maudre. She took one off, setting it in front of Waemi, then repeated the action until all the people seated had a plate of the dark brown bread. It was still hot, fresh from the ovens. The yellowish fruit spread hadn't dried on the thin crust, but was still sticky. The maudre didn't often get to them when it was still hot.

Waemi broke a piece off her maudre, sighing after she had finished it. "I've tasted some of the other kitchen workers' maudre," she said, "and I still think ours is the best."

Fuu nodded. "You girls made this. I can tell." She smiled. "I can taste extra amals in it."

Larumele, who made the fruit spread, grinned sheepishly. "I have a weakness for them."

As they talked, the woman serving them took from the other tray bowls with pieces of fruit arranged in them. Wedges of dark orange daudrites lined the edges, with the long, thin strips of pale blue that amals were cut into crossed between them. There were some themins, sliced in half, neatly set in the middle. Across the top of all the other fruit lay a row of tiny, circular pieces of yellow fruit. Hikaru looked over at Ferio. "What are those yellow ones?"

Ferio wrinkled his nose. "Pirilomes. They're really sour. Oh no, don't eat them!" he warned as Umi laid a finger on one. "Don't eat them, they'll make you sick. Just squeeze a little of the juice over the rest of the fruit."

The three girls did as he told them. Then Hikaru grinned, pulling a piece of daudrite from beneath the amals and themins. She took a bite, then smiled wider. "I love these. I'm glad we had them."

Waemi nodded. "Yeah. We don't eat them a lot, though. Daudrites are usually only used for food in breakfast or, during special occasions, dinner." She shrank back as the other kitchen workers shot her a glare.

Hikaru, however, simply smiled. "Well, I'm still glad." She finished the wedge of fruit in one bite.

After they had eaten all the maudre and fruit, the women started coming around again. First, the same woman as the first time came with a tray of steaming mugs. She set them in front of each person, and Nobyre took a long drink. "I love this stuff."

Umi took a small sip. "What is it? It tastes familiar."

"It's cider from daudrites." Hikaru's face lit up at Ferio's statement, and he smiled at her as she took a drink. "Yeah, I thought you might like that. It's one of my favorites, too."

Another woman, dressed in a pale pink apron and pushing one of the small carts, came up to their table as she left the one next to them. She smiled at them with her light green eyes, taking plates of food down from the cart and setting them in front of them. "Enjoy your meal." After they were all served, she pushed the cart back towards the kitchen to get more food, her long, dark skirt billowing.

Hedaimo pointed out the different foods to Fuu, Hikaru, and Umi. "That piece of meat there is kymarle --- you've had that before, we eat it a lot. The darker meat next to it is pyfol --- it's a water bird. Kind of like those things you told me about, Fuu-san. What were they called? Ducks? Yeah.

"The shredded plant on top of the pyfol is hyredem. It's a grass. Then on the biscuits, that green stuff? That's hyredem paste. It's got juice from amals in it, so it's really sweet.

"There's some themins there, and the piece of white bread is a pastry. It has chunks of yeral in a sauce inside, and there's some nectar from kisaheles with it."

Fuu smiled. "Kisahele... Ferio showed me some. They are beautiful flowers."

Hedaimo nodded. "They are."

Conversation buzzed not only at their own table, but all around them as dinner wore on. It was a long time before their plates were cleared of all the meat, berries, and the delicious yeral fruit pastries, which had a sugary taste to them. The women kept coming around, refilling their mugs of daudrite cider or giving them more maudre or fruit if they asked for it.

They sat for a little while, talking, after their plates were emptied before the women cleared them from the table. As they left, however, the women asked them to please remain seated.

So they sat. The kitchen workers at all the other tables stayed where they were, too. There was still the buzz of chatter, but it was quieter now, as though they were waiting.

Within a few minutes, the two wooden doors swung open. Hikaru looked up to see four women enter the room. Two were holding one of the large trays. On it sat a big cake.

The women wove through the tables, coming up to theirs. They sat the tray in the center of the table. A grin spread across Hikaru's face.

The cake had three layers, each half as thick as Hikaru's first finger. It was covered in a light yellow frosting --- Ferio told her later that it was dyed yellow from themin juice used for flavoring. Across the top, in thick red icing, wide letters read, "Happy Birthday". Lining the edges of the cake were seventeen red candles, each lit.

Hikaru beamed at Umi and Fuu. "It was you! You remembered that it was my birthday!"

Fuu smiled back. "Now, do you think we would forget such an important thing, Hikaru-san?"

Hedaimo, who sat next to Hikaru, grinned. "Fuu-san and Umi-san told us it was custom in your world to blow out the candles and make a wish." She gestured towards the cake. "Make a wish, Hikaru-san!"

The redhead smiled in reply. She stood up, leaning over to the cake. Closing her cranberry eyes, she wished hard.

Keep Presea safe.

Hikaru blew out the candles. There were tears in her eyes as one of the women cut the cake into slices. She knew they weren't there because she was touched by her friends' thoughtfulness --- although she was, very much. But there were tears in her eyes not because of that, but because Presea wasn't there among the faces that were beaming at her.