SAPPHIRE

06: The Thirteenth Kingdom

The note had been a reminder from the Aswalds, she knew. Rena knew they were likely feeling impatient after two years of waiting; they probably wanted an update on what she was doing. Truth be told, Rena had yet to get started on her search for a cure. Since entering Garderobe she had been busy with an assortment of tasks and had not found time to do any research. In fact she had no idea what kind of disease she was dealing with in the first place. Rena decided that a good place to start was the library; hopefully they would have some information on the Black Valley. The library on the base was smaller than the library at Garderobe, but it was much more specific and contained the books she required. Although this was supposed to be her day off and a day to relax, Rena found that impossible. She woke up and had her breakfast early in the morning before hitting the books. Eileen, naturally curious as to her friend's sudden odd behaviour and interest in books, asked what was going on. 'Nothing much,' replied Rena casually, 'I just want to get some reading done.' Her friend from Garderobe looked at her sceptically but refrained from asking anymore questions. Eileen simply watched her friend walk off towards the library with the same envelope she had brought back the night before.

'…First and Second Platoon are moving out with the delegation,' said a sentry getting off duty.

'Damn, that's gotta suck,' replied his partner. 'Who wants to go to Artai? That place is a dump if you ask me.'

'Whatever, at least it's not us. Burke and Connor's team are slated to be the Detachments tagging along,' the other guard exclaimed. He laughed suddenly. 'Man oh man, are they going to have fun.'

'They'll be bored out of their wits. Christ, I pity them for having to deal with the FAF. Those guys are hopeless.'

She abruptly stopped in her tracks. So we're going? If these sentries were speaking the truth it would mean that Rena would have to be prepared to move out within the next few days. Realising the attention she had drawn to herself as the guards turned to look at her, Rena made to correct her error by falling to one knee and fixing her boots. The sentries shrugged and continued to move on, talking about what lay ahead. Rena had been walking past a group of barracks when she came across the two guards' discussion. She smiled inwardly with excitement. She was nervous, but she was also excited. This was it. This was her shot to prove herself to the team. The two guards did not think that a trip to Artai would be exciting, but Rena would beg to differ. Who cares where I'm going. This is it. Two years of hard work at Garderobe and here I am. Adventure, that's what it was.

Situated at the very centre of the base, the library was perhaps one of the most well designed structures of Fort Santa Ana. The architecture was sleek and modern; the sides and rear of the building – the building in the shape of a crescent moon – was made of limestone, but the front was entirely glass, allowing passers-by to see the three levels of the library. If there was one thing left in the city that could amaze her, the library on the base would be it. She stood before the entrance, looking up at the glass front of the building. Although she had been on the base for more than two weeks, this would be her first time entering the library. A blast of cool air greeted her upon opening the glass double doors; another set of double doors, also made of glass, behind led to the library; soft carpet covered the ground of all floors. The walls on the main floor were mostly lined with shelves of books, but much of the ground level was taken up by polished redwood tables and comfortable chairs, as well as lounge areas for casual reading. The second and third floor, connected by flights of stairs, contained aisles upon aisles of books. Whatever she was looking for, it was likely she would find it here. Empty except for a few people who were taking out books, Rena knew she would have some privacy to work with. It always amazed her how such an extravagant place was located on a military base. She always expected something like this to be open to the public and not restricted to military and government personnel. Of course the library did contain books that would normally be inaccessible to civilians.

Find the cure. She looked at the letter before checking the map of the library and the different sections it contained. Rena looked down at the map then up and around the library. There must have been a few thousand books in the library; several sections of the library looked like something relating to what she was looking for. This is going to take a while, she thought, sighing heavily. I guess I'll start by looking at the medical section. The section of books dedicated to diseases and viruses, the human body, and physiology was luckily located at the very back of the main floor. Rena was glad she wasn't required to go up to the second or third floor and bring the books she needed down the flight of stairs.

'Now what exactly am I looking for…' Her eyes scanned the volumes of medical encyclopaedias, lost on where to begin. Rena pulled a random book off the shelf and thumbed through the pages, browsing for anything that might be useful. She sighed in defeat and returned the volume back to its rightful place. Her answer was likely here, somewhere in this library, but she had no idea where to begin. How can I find a cure when I don't even know what the disease is? She frowned, racking her brain for a solution. Suddenly an idea came to her. Rena knew it would take her forever to sort through the volumes and look for a cure; instead she would read up on the disease that struck her people and work from there. Locate the problem, specify the problem, and find a solution. I'm a genius! She smiled inwardly at her grand idea and walked off towards the section of the library dedicated to world history.

Half of the history books were on the first floor and the other half was on the third – why it wasn't on the second, she had no idea. Rena grabbed an armful and took a seat at the nearest desk. She dropped seven thick volumes on the redwood table before her, creating a loud ruckus in the process; a soldier nearby raised his head from his book and looked at her with an annoyed expression. Rena mouthed "Sorry" and quietly took her seat at her table, reaching for a random book and opening it. She went immediately to the index at the back and looked for "Aswald". None. Rena took the next book and looked for the same term in the index. Nothing. Mildly frustrated, Rena tried the third book. Same result. Damn it, it's not like we don't exist, she thought angrily. The remaining four history books were the same – the Aswalds were not mentioned anywhere. Rena tried one last time, looking for the Black Valley, but came up short as well.

Rena pillowed her head in her arms on the table, feeling the stress and hopelessness weighing down on her. She had two years to focus on her studies at Garderobe but now that she was out, now that she was an Otome, it was time to get down to business. Midori and Yohko depended on her. That old lady across from her shabby chamber depended on her. Even Reito, sacrificing so much to ensure the Black Valley remained safe, depended on her. People she knew were probably dying this minute; people were likely dying everyday. Rena was never the one to be deterred from a path she set for herself. Some called her stubborn, others say persistent, but she believed she was strong-willed. The young Meister took calming breaths and knew that giving up would not only go against the values instilled by her people, but also against her personal beliefs. Rena found a renewed sense of strength and was keen on getting back to work. The day was still young and lunch had yet to come. She had plenty of time on her hands.

'The weather is wonderful outside. No need to stay cooped up in the library.'

She had expected it to be Emmett, but instead it was their team leader, Nathanial Connor. 'Connor,' said Rena in surprise, 'Er – hi.'

'It's great outside. Why're you in here?' he asked again. 'I was talking to Eileen earlier and she said you wanted to catch up on some reading.' He looked at the mound of textbooks on the table and said, 'That's some heavy reading you got going.'

'What? Oh – yeah – well I have an interest in history,' Rena lied.

Connor's eyes narrowed, looking at Rena with suspicion. He grinned knowingly. 'Rena, I've been doing this job for a helluva long time. My job sometimes calls on me to talk with the local villagers and build trust. That means I have to know when they're telling the truth and when they're lying,' he informed the young Meister. 'If it's not any of my business then it's not any of my business – I won't get in the way and I won't pester you – but just know that I can tell when people are lying.'

Rena felt ashamed for lying to her team leader. She thought she could get away with it but Connor was quick to pick up on the lies. 'I'm sorry, Connor,' the Meister apologised.

He shrugged it off. 'If it's not really a major concern of mine then I don't mind,' he said half-heartedly. Looking at the pile of books curiously, he then asked, 'Though if you don't mind me asking, what are you really reading up on? Or actually, why are you reading up on history?'

'Well…,' the Otome hesitated. Rena wasn't sure if she was willing to tell her team leader the truth, but if Connor knew something about the Black Valley then it might prove useful.

'Like I said, if it's none of my business then I'll stay out of it,' he reminded Rena. This was not a tactic to have the girl cough up the truth, but rather a sincere statement.

Rena looked around the library and knew there was no way for her to find the information she needed without some help. She would have to trust him. She would trust him like he trusted her. Rena turned to her team leader and replied, 'The truth is that I want to know more about the Aswald and the Black Valley.'

Connor frowned. 'The Aswald and the Black Valley, huh? Well isn't that an interesting topic right there,' he noted.

'I want to know their history, the area they live in, their way of life – basically everything about them,' explained Rena. Having told Connor the truth, she felt a significant weight had been lifted from her shoulders. All she could do now was to trust him to give her the truth. 'Do you know anything about them?' asked the Otome slowly.

The team leader scratched his chin, looking thoughtful. 'Let's see, where to begin,' he said after a thought. He took a seat next to Rena and went for one of the thick volumes; he opened it and began to flip through the pages at random. 'There used to be a time when the subject of the Black Valley and the Aswalds were taught at Windbloom University and even Garderobe, but after some time they – by "they" I mean the people with power – believed the subject to be useless. To the common Joe, the threat of the Black Valley and the Aswald had disappeared from their mind. People didn't care for them anymore, didn't want to be bothered about something that wasn't worth thinking about. You get more people complaining about the Schwarz who have been inactive for decades than you do with the Aswald. I've been doing this job for nearly two decades, Rena, and I still can't see the logic behind all of this. Can you?'

Rena shook her head. No, I can't, but I can tell you that I know how it feels to be ignored, she thought bitterly. To have someone like Connor say it to her merely confirmed the fact: the Black Valley and the fate of its people were of no interest to the world. 'Why are people like that?' she lamented quietly.

'Sorry?'

'Why do people think like that?' she repeated in the same tone. 'Why do people ignore things like that?'

'What do you mean?' Connor asked curiously.

Rena had done her best to keep her emotions in check since she departed from the Black Valley. For two long years – and for years to come until her service was up, or until she completed her mission – she had lived a lie. Rena had pretended to be someone else, to be like everyone else. Seeing that she had gone through two years as something of a phoney, Rena considered herself to be quite the actress – it was not so much of a skill but a curse. Growing up, words like "honour", "duty", and "loyalty" had become a large part of her personality and values. They were not simply words but actual entities, a living organism that would die if not taken care of. The entities were dying as each passing day starved them of nutrition. Rena felt the repercussions by a slow erosion of her girl-scout personality and a drive down a darker path. She was a prisoner inside her own body. If there was ever a time to break free and breathe, now would be the time to do it. Her resent and bitterness at the passing world sometimes likened to Reito's; the only difference between Reito and she lay in the fact that the Otome had patience and could conceal her true emotions. Her patience, though, was not impermeable to change. On the outset she smiled and laughed like everyone else, but inside the gravity of her work brought the girl to her knees.

Ω

Black Valley, six years ago…

The desert heat was inescapable. Whether they were hiding in the shade or resting in their chambers, the heat outside would find a way to creep inside. Yet despite this obvious irritation, the people of the Black Valley managed to cope with it. Adaptation had been one of the strong points of her people. They were able to move and adjust to their new surroundings at a moment's notice. From the sparsely populated mountainous region to the north, to the desert valleys in the south, the citizens of the Black Valley were only capable of living from day-to-day. Hard work and honest work were part of their beliefs and values. If one wished to survive, one would have to be able to carry his own weight and help others who could not. Those who were unfit to carry out their tasks would be delegated to other areas where they could be useful. No one was spared from work. Everyone had to do their part. If they did not then they would be removed from the community. Food was hard to come by so it only seemed natural to feed those who would be productive. It seemed cruel and inhumane to an outsider, but to those living in the Black Valley this had been their way of life since the beginning of their foundation. It was not necessarily that the strong survived, but rather the strong-willed. That was the Black Valley way; that was the way of the Aswalds.

In order to protect their people from hostile forces intent on their destruction, the Black Valley required a group that would step up and defend its people. The Knights of the Black Valley were formed as a result. The citizens looked up to the Aswalds as heroes, as role models. The Aswalds were a proud and honourable group that respected even its enemies as long as they held the same warrior code. For many of the young boys and girls growing up in the Black Valley, becoming a Knight of the Black Valley was a dream. Regardless of gender, as long as one was willing to make the appropriate sacrifices and be willing to commit with their life, they would be taken in for training. Not many – only a few out of a large group – ever become part of the Aswalds, but for those who do succeed, it will be the most rewarding experience in their life.

Rena sat underneath a makeshift hut, working diligently at solving the numerical patterns in front of her. Her tired blue eyes scanned the sheet of paper in front of her; her fingers mindlessly spun the pencil as she squinted at the paper in deep thought. Each series of numbers were different. None of them were the same in any way, or at least in a way she would recognise. A member of the Aswald had told the young girl that the patterns would help unlock a key to "something" at "some place". Why am I the one doing this? Gal, she had been told, was currently away on a mission so she was unable to handle to the task. Rena, one of the most intelligent person to grace the desolate Valley, was assigned to the monotonous task of finding a pattern from the numbers. For a ten-year-old girl growing up in a place forgotten by the world, life beyond the Valley was impossible to fathom. Yet it was her future to leave this place she called home and move on. It was her destiny to leave the Black Valley and find a cure for her people.

'Still working hard on that?' asked a young Reito, grinning at the girl's frustration. 'You better work harder or the Leader won't be happy.'

'Of course I'm working hard! When the Leader comes back I'll have the answer he needs!' snapped Rena, giving him a venomous glare. 'Go away! I'm concentrating!' The young girl huffed, turning her back to the boy, and began chewing on the back end of her pencil.

Reito did not leave as instructed. He leaned over the shoulder of Rena and watched the data sheet lying on the table with great interest. It was an obvious move to tease the girl. 'That looks boring,' he said after a moment.

'That's good because maybe now you'll leave me alone,' she replied acidly.

The boy grinned. Clearly he was having too much fun teasing his friend to let her go. Rena had gone back to chewing the end of her pencil; Reito snatched it from her and said, 'You know this pencil is dirty. We don't want you to catch some disease and die now, do we?'

'Go away, Reito! And give me back my pencil!' Rena fumed. She went to snatch the pencil from his hand but failed. 'I'm serious! I need to get back to work!'

'Fine, fine, have it your way,' he sighed, handing Rena back the pencil.

She took the pencil and went back to finding a pattern, muttering curses under her breath that were directed at Reito. Sensing that the boy had still not left her side, she turned around and asked rather rudely, 'What do you want? Don't you have anything better to do?'

Reito feigned a hurt expression. 'Don't you like me, Rena? I thought I was your friend?' he asked in a wounded tone.

The girl rolled her eyes and replied emphatically, 'Leave me be, get out of my sight, then we can be friends.'

'And here I thought we used to be on better terms,' said Reito sadly. He laughed and sat down next to her at the rickety wooden table. It seemed as though a simple breeze would be all it took to break the table. 'I can help, you know.'

'No you can't,' snapped Rena, not looking up from her work.

'Oh? Why's that?' asked Reito curiously.

'Because it's my job and mine alone,' she replied promptly. 'You wouldn't be able to do it. I was told to do this.'

Reito snorted. 'You're ten years old, Rena; you're not a machine. You're just a little girl with a destiny some crackpot lady fed to us when you were born,' Reito sneered. 'You've got more responsibilities than you're supposed to have.' He went to snatch the paper away but Rena kept it from him.

Rena looked at him in genuine disbelief. 'Of – of course I can do this! It doesn't matter whether I'm ten or twenty! I can find the pattern hidden here,' she replied quickly, staring hard at the sheet. 'I have to pull my own weight. Let me do my job and you do yours, okay? Now leave me be.'

The boy would not have any of it; it was his turn to roll his eyes. 'Look at that, how long have you been staring at that piece of paper? An hour? Two hours? Get a rest, Rena, you're too young to be stressed out over things like this.' He finally took the data sheet away from the girl, holding it above him so it was out of her reach. 'What are you going to do, Rena?'

'Give it back!' she commanded, reaching with her arms outstretched to grab the sheet of paper.

'Or what?' Reito baited, dangling the paper above her wanting hands.

Rena contorted her face into an expression of fury. 'Give it back or I'm going to… I'm going to…' She fumbled for an answer but fell short.

Reito smirked with satisfaction. 'Are you going to cry? Are you going to cry now?' he asked in a sing-song voice. '"Destiny Girl can't get her piece of paper back so now she's going to cry. Boo-hoo!" Is that what you're going to do?'

'I'm not going to cry!' exclaimed Rena angrily, feeling the tears well up in her eyes. She blinked them back and continued to stare at Reito with an expression of absolute hate.

'So you're going to tell your dad about me?' asked Reito. 'When he comes home you'll tell on me? Is that what you're going to do?'

Rena said nothing. She looked into the boy's eyes and merely said, 'I hate you, Reito. I hate you!'

'Whatever. You can have your dinky piece of paper back,' he said, letting the girl snatch it from his hands. Reito stood up from the table and stepped out from under the shade. Before turning to go on his way, he looked at Rena for a brief moment and said, 'Everyone in this Valley is cursed, Rena. Everyone except for you. Don't stress yourself over things like this. You should be happy and get out of here. Get out of this place and live the normal life you were blessed with. That whole "saviour" thing is lunacy.' With that he walked away from the hut; Rena stared at his back, wondering what to make of the boy's message.

Ω

Rena looked at Connor and held his gaze. She would reveal to him her true emotions on the subject at hand without giving herself away. 'The inhabitants of the Black Valley are misunderstood people,' she began, trying to keep her voice even. 'I don't understand why they're not being given the help they need. We go all around the world to help nations like Artai, Aries, Cardair – but what about the Black Valley? These people need our help more than anyone else. They hardly have enough food to get through the day. Forget money! They don't have jobs to get money because no one wants to help them!' Rena felt her voice rise but did nothing to stop herself.

'People starve and die everyday and what do we do? We do nothing! They live with a curse that will probably kill them before they reach adulthood, but what do we do? Nothing. We do absolutely nothing and leave those people to dry while we sit here and twaddle our thumbs. There are more deserving people in this world, Connor. There are people who need our help but we do nothing.' Rena felt her voice shake with emotion but she kept it under control. 'I don't know a lot about the history of the Black Valley, which is why I want to know more, but I don't recall them doing anything to us to deserve alienation.'

Connor had remained silent and watchful during Rena's heated outburst. He looked at the young Meister with a knowing expression and replied, 'It is unfortunate that the inhabitants of the Black Valley are forgotten, and that we focus on other matters. I agree that a kingdom such as Artai does not require our help, but you must understand that it is in the best interest of this nation to lend assistance. I'm a soldier, Rena, I don't deal with politics so I can't give you a proper explanation. Sorry.'

'That's okay,' said Rena quietly.

The team leader paused. He opened his mouth but quickly closed it. 'Rena,' he said after a while, 'do you want to know why the Black Valley is in such a bad way right now?'

Rena looked at him in surprise. 'Oh – sure,' she replied, taken slightly aback.

'Where to begin… Well let me first to tell you that I don't profess to know everything there is about the Black Valley and its people, but I do know quite a bit,' explained Connor; Rena nodded in assent. 'Anyway, I guess it all began with the Twelve Kingdom War some few hundred years ago. A lot of people died during the war; the world was permanently scarred. You know we should have all started working together back then, but no, we had to have the Dragon King War. Well what can you say? We're not all perfect.' Connor shook his head, sighing at the stupidity of it all.

'The Black Valley was a very sacred place, Rena,' said the team leader. 'Before the Twelve Kingdom War, the Black Valley was once a rich, flourishing place. Now I don't mean rich as in materialistic rich, but rich with vegetation, growth, and everything else. It was reputed to be the most beautiful place on the face of the planet. I mean I can't even begin to imagine what it was like. From what I've learned and from what I've read, the Black Valley was the ideal place to live. Of course it all made sense for settlers to gravitate towards this luxurious area. Pilgrims from the twelve kingdoms left their home to find a new place to live in the Black Valley. Within a hundred years the Black Valley became even greater, even more beautiful. I know it's hard to imagine, but try and picture a kingdom without blemishes, a kingdom that is pure and that is elegant. Have you read all those fantasy books in the archives?'

Connor referred to the picture books of fairytales and make-believe lands that were seemingly perfect in every aspect. Rena had yet to read any, but she had barrowed some from Eileen and gone through the books before. 'I've looked through them,' she replied.

'Imagine that. Imagine those white walls, those golden roofs, those shiny marble pathways that covered the streets. Can you picture that? Can you imagine that? The weather is perfect. It's always sunny, it's always clear, and it's always wonderful. A calm river flows through the middle of the kingdom, providing everyone with fresh water everyday. Nothing is wrong with this picture. Nothing will ever be wrong about it. The people are happy and living their life to the fullest. No one is unemployed because everyone looks out after one another.' Rena had been following every word spoken by her team leader in awe. His description of the utopia formed in her head. The beautiful kingdom he described starkly contrasted with the desolate valley she grew up in. Wherever the beauty went, Rena was only too curious to find out. Connor pursed his lips, looking grim. 'What I've told you so far has been recorded into the books to remain with us throughout history. However, this information is rarely accessible to the public for reasons unknown. I guess the people with power don't want the public to know about it, but I can only wonder why.' He shook his head and continued, 'The Black Valley soon became the most prosperous kingdom on the planet and –' his face darkened '– the most feared.'

Rena frowned in confusion. 'The most feared? Why's that?'

'First, let me ask you this: do you know why it's called "The Black Valley?"' asked Connor. Rena shook her head. For the life of her she couldn't give an explanation as to why it was called that in the first place. She had never been told why the area had been given that name, only that it was called the Black Valley. 'The answer is simple, to tell you the truth. The soil was black; vegetation grew incredibly well. Black soil, hence the name Black Valley. Simple, right?' She stared at him sceptically but took his word for it. 'Back then it wasn't called the Black Valley. Back then it was the Kingdom of Corun, nicknamed "Crystal Vale" because of its pureness and beauty. Now I don't know the specifics because it's this part that's missing from the history books, but they say the Otomes of Corun were able to materialise without a Master.'

'Without a Master?' Rena asked, thunderstruck. 'How can you materialise without a Master?'

'No one knows, or at least if anyone did they're keeping their mouth shut. Not only that, but after several generations the female population of Corun were all born with the nanomachines in their body. Actually, the nanomachines became an inseparable part of their body. To tell you the truth, it's not nanomachines, but something entirely different. It was something entirely biological that they were born with. I don't know how it's possible, but I guess you can say it was something in the water.' He grinned jokingly. 'Not every girl wished to become an Otome, but to become one would be a much easier task than it is today. Newborns had the latent ability to become an Otome at a whim; this here was threatening to the twelve kingdoms because this meant the entire nation of Corun could become an army of Otomes at a moment's notice. It didn't take long for the twelve kingdoms to plot the destruction and complete annihilation of the Crystal Vale.' Connor closed his eyes; he appeared to be in deep thought.

Rena waited for him to continue; he continued to remain silent, his eyes closed. 'But why do they want to destroy Corun? Why did the twelve kingdoms hate Corun so much?' she asked desperately. The injustice and cruelty of it all pained her deeply. This here, the utopia described by Connor, could have been her home.

The team leader slowly opened his eyes. She had never seen him stressed out or tired before, even when she saw him coming back from a thirty-kilometre run. Though he was not physically tired, Rena could tell that this discussion was taking a toll on him mentally. She did not want to push him further, but she wanted to know why the Kingdom of Corun was doomed for annihilation. 'If a kingdom had the power of several thousand Otomes, do you realise what kind of panic that would cause?' he asked in a distant voice. Rena nodded grimly. 'The Kingdom of Corun was too powerful for its own good. One could say that the Corunians being genetically superior made the other nations scared and jealous. The obvious option would to be to remove this cause of fear and jealousy.'

'And this is the Twelve Kingdom War?' Rena asked quietly.

'Partly,' answered Connor. 'The Twelve Kingdoms could not defeat the Corunians easily, but they had numbers and they had resources. The Crystal Vale was besieged for three years before it fell. Hundreds and thousands died during the war; the civilian population was brutally murdered. Whether it was a man, woman or child – if you came from the Crystal Vale then you were as good as dead. No one was spared.' Connor's voice shook as he spoke. 'When people are afraid they do stupid things. Some of the civilians escaped and were taken in by sympathetic families from all over the world. Today they live among us, no different than any of us. I doubt if they know anything about their own history.'

'Wait a minute,' said Rena suddenly. 'You said that was part of the Twelve Kingdom War – what was the other part?'

Connor laughed darkly. 'The senseless massacre of former allies. When the Kingdom of Corun was destroyed and the nation looted, the twelve kingdoms turned on each other and the second part of the war began. Some years later the war came to an end and they promised to never fight again.'

'Some promise that was,' noted Rena sarcastically.

'Yeah, the Dragon King War finally made them realise how stupid their promise had been. They needed something new, something official. The Luchar Treaty came to be but even then…' Connor doubted the effectiveness of the international peace treaty. 'That treaty isn't meant to last. If Artai pulls out of it then you can expect the whole thing to fall apart. Let's just hope we don't have another war on our hands. We're soldiers of Windbloom so if the bugle blows and we get the call, I'll have no qualms about going to fight, but still, it's better not to fight, isn't it?' Silence fell between the two for an unknown length of time; both pondered at the aspect of going to war. He checked his watch and suddenly exclaimed, 'Well I'll be! I still have to finish those reports.' He stood up from the redwood table and said, 'Well I hope I was of some help.' Looking around the library, he then said, 'Now I don't know why I was in here in the first place. Ah well – oh, I remember: why are you in here? Get outside, the weather's nice.'

'I will,' said Rena, sighing heavily as she stacked the books one on top of another to be put away.

Connor did not seem satisfied. 'Listen, tomorrow I want you off this base, hear me? Tomorrow after breakfast I want you off this base. Go out and have some fun while you can! Visit your family or friends, or I don't know, do fun things. Go shopping, go see a movie, but at least put the work off for the weekend,' said Connor emphatically. 'I understand that you're an Otome, but you're still just a kid. Don't stress yourself over matters like this. Enjoy your life because it only comes around once.'

'Yes, Sir,' said Rena mildly. The words of her team leader reminded her of Reito six years ago. Hadn't Reito warned her to live a normal life? Hadn't he warned her to not stress out over her work? Six years later and she still did not change. 'I hear we're moving out to Artai soon,' blurted the Otome. She had wanted to ask Connor since he showed up, but had been distracted for a great deal of time.

'How'd you know that?' he asked in surprise.

Rena shrugged. 'Two sentries were talking about it. I sort've listened into the conversation,' admitted the Meister.

'Well I'll make sure to find out who those two were,' said Connor with a small grin. 'But yeah, we're moving out soon – next week, to be exact. I suspect you'll tell Eileen?' Rena opened her mouth to answer but Connor interrupted, 'I suspect you will. Just try to keep it quiet, okay? No one is supposed to know about it yet.'

'Sure thing,' said Rena, feeling the excitement of going out on her first mission.

Connor began to leave when Rena suddenly called out, 'I have one more question!' He stopped and turned to her. 'Do you know why the inhabitants of the Black Valley are born with a deadly disease?'

The team leader looked thoughtful for a minute. 'If being born with the ability to become an Otome is a curse, maybe this disease is a gift? I honestly don't know, Rena. I never learned about that. Sorry,' he said apologetically. He turned to leave but stopped short, saying, 'I can't answer that question, but I can tell you this: the Sky Blue Sapphire came from the Crystal Vale. That GEM there is the oldest in known history, but not very many know of its past.' With that Connor finally took his leave.

Δ

Author's Note: Well as you can see I do enjoy taking my liberties with the story. It's an alternate universe so I figured the sky is the limit. Regardless, don't expect this story to match the manga or anime in any way. It'll be similar at points, but in the end everything is going to be different. Just as well, I should note that the summary length of doesn't give me the room to depict the true, general plot of this story. With this chapter comes an update for the summary – the story is focused more on Rena's journey of self-discovery than the actual growing conflict with Artai, which is simply a mild, but still important event.