Change my Destiny 07 Realization
A: In the time it took me to complete this chapter, I completed Final Fantasy VII Remake, started playing Final Fantasy XIV again, and restarted playing the Dissidia mobile game. It feels so amazing to relive why I love Final Fantasy. Strange how I never wrote a fic for it. Maybe one day.
Albion
She was tired of waiting.
The Myoznitirn moved through the halls and up the stairs of Albion's Castle with purpose, each step silent as it was graceful. The moons shone brightly through the dark sky, peeking through the windows in the hall, bathing it in a blue and white light. Reaching the end of the spiralling staircase, she opened the door to the roofs. It might have been beautiful had she decided to take in the view of her getaway, yet each day she spent in this castle choked her to the core. All the planning. All the scheming.
It sickened her like a poison, burning in her veins ever since she found out Sasha had come with the Gandalfr.
For all Raziel's cunning, despite all his foresight, she knew that Sasha was an unknown variable to him. She had recognized it the instant she mentioned the woman's name. The gall on the man, to turn it around on her so easily.
He told her the Gandalfr would come, about the lies of the Church, his future plans and the true purpose of the familiars of the void. He would uproot their plans one at a time, taking control in key regions and establishing himself as a hidden superpower right underneath their noses, and she would assist. She had saved him from that madman after all. She owed him that much, yet now she couldn't so much as focus on a single task without her mind wandering, focusing on the truth that she had long denied.
She had to know.
She had given up hope, thrown herself into her responsibilities to forget, but now it baited her, the sleek, silver hook of chance dangling the old life she had thrown away in front of her.
With a wave of her staff, a black portal opened before her. The missive she had sent to Charlotte should have made it by now, alerting her of her coming. A simple letter, the writing disguised with a personal coding she designed and taught to the wind user for their own entertainment. She hadn't expected it to come in handy and Raziel had his own ways of receiving reports.
She sighed, bracing herself for the moment of truth.
She stepped through the portal. Darkness surrounded her, a sense of weightlessness throwing her surroundings past her, yet she stood stock still, untouched by even the wind. A moment passed, and she emerged through the exit, finding herself on the rooftops of Tristain's Magic Academy.
She felt Avalon's presence, and fell on her knees.
Phantom pains coursed through her chest, and she clutched her arms, shaking her head as emotions long gone slammed into her like a freight train.
Of course it was him. His mother came right along with him, who else would it have been? Yet she hadn't wanted to believe that she would see him again, believing instead that this world would not grant the one wish that she had longed for ever since she came to this forsaken place.
He hadn't changed at all. Even after all these years, his presence felt just as overwhelming with kindness, shining in her mind's eye like a beacon of security in the sky.
No! Why did it have to be him?! How could this have happened?!
"Raziel… you bastard!" she snarled to the air, yet her discipline had kept her from truly shouting her emotions.
He had told her there would one day be others like her, that they would have to band together, that she would have to gather them all. But if Avalon had not changed, and she could feel that he didn't, then there was no way he would agree to what Raziel had planned for the world.
A voice broke her out of her thoughts, calling her by a long forgotten name she had abandoned; her body shaking, hands on her shoulders. She sensed her presence, feeling numb yet not surprised. Of course she'd been able to sneak up on her. She was the only one who could. She was the only one she would ever let her walls down around in this world.
"Char…"
Amy threw her hands around Tabitha, and sobbed.
-Change my Destiny-
Elsewhere on Tristain's Academy
Henrietta stood in the privacy of her chapters, staring out the window of the academy. It gave her a beautiful and generous view of the plains below, the servants moving moonlight in the distance. In her hand was another letter from Prince Wales, detailing more about the Reconquista movement. Wales wrote of what he saw, the breaking of his spirit when Raziel took his father's magic to bestow it upon the commoners.
Henrietta's heart reached out to him, great concern rising in her mind. Was this Raziel truly sent by Ethera? Was this their punishment for all the petty and greedy nobles that they of them had all become? What would their father have said, if he were to see her and Henry now? Would he have been angry at himself, for not being able to teach them better? Would he have been disappointed that his children weren't able to follow his footsteps? Henrietta could only wonder.
She stared out her window to the people below, contemplating on what she was going to do next.
"Getting more concrete information on this Raziel would be a start. A mole would suffice... but who?" Henrietta wondered aloud. Sending a mage would be out of the question, they were the targets. That significantly lowered the number of candidates, but...
Would it be worth the risk? What would her father do?
Should she tell Henrik?
"...Agnes?" said Henrietta. Her guard opened the doors, revealing herself to her queen. She quickly entered, falling to one knee before Henrietta. Henrietta steeled her heart, and turned.
"Yes, my princess?" Agnes asked. Henrietta passed her the letter.
"I have a mission for you."
-Change my Destiny-
It was dawn. Louise had woken up at first light, stretching. She stood up from her bed and pulled the curtain free, taking in the landscape beyond the school walls. The faint sounds of metal clashing could be heard behind the glass. She listened to it for several moments before the final blow was struck with a dull thud, Avalon's moan as clear as day. She giggled.
"Well, can't fall behind on my training either."
Breathing in slowly, she sat down cross-legged, feeling her magic coursing through her body like she was underwater. The cool sensation was refreshing, and woke up her slow mind. She fell deeper into her meditation.
"Oh, blasted bird, what do you want?" A pigeon incessantly tapped on Louise's window, breaking her concentration. A scroll was attached to its leg. Getting up with an annoyed sigh, Louise opened the window and retrieved the parchment, freezing as she laid her eyes on its wax seal.
"When was the last time you wrote to me, I wonder?" Louise whispered to herself with a smile. She promptly opened the letter, reading its contents. Louise couldn't help but giggle.
Eagerly scampering towards her desk, Louise pulled out a small piece of parchment, and began writing about her experiences at the school. Her successful summoning…
"Oh, I can't tell them about the void, can I?" Louise paused, thinking carefully about what to say. "I don't want to cause trouble with the Church…
"Speaking of the Church, I probably shouldn't mention Sasha being an elf either. If only we could just find a way to hide her ears…" Scratching her head furiously, Louise shook her head. "I'll think about that later. Still, I'm a bit surprised no one has reported there being an elf at the academy… I wonder what Osmond did." She leaned back in her chair, tapping her chin.
"Avalon will be easier to blend in. He doesn't have his mother's ears, but his magic is a big giveaway… Maybe I should buy him a wand? It's the weekend, and I wouldn't mind to do a little shopping…"
With her plan decided, Louise quickly wrote on, and attached her letter to the pigeon's leg, rushing out the door. She came back in a few moments later.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid! What was I thinking, going outside in my sleepwear?!"
-Change my Destiny-
"Are you okay?" Tabitha asked. Avalon waved his hand, feeling rested.
"Yeah, I'm used to it. Don't worry about me." Removing his head from her lap, he sat up with a small stretch. "Mom was never gentle with our training; said it would toughen me up."
Tabitha handed Avalon a damp towel, and he wiped his face with it. She moved to the table set up by Siesta earlier, taking a seat. Avalon joined her soon after. The table was dressed with a fine cloth, a basket of fresh fruits and bread at the ready. Each of them had their own plates, meat and vegetables neatly arranged, cutlery on the side. The two ate in content silence, until Avalon broke it.
"So, about earlier. Do you think you could help me with reading again tomorrow?"
"I don't mind," replied Tabitha. Avalon gave her a smile.
It was something that occurred to him the other night. He had gone to the library to do more research on the history of Halkeginia, only to find that the translation spell did not extend to his eyes. He could have easily done a spell that would do just that; he had made it before as part of an assignment for school on magic theory. But his mother wouldn't have it.
"Languages are the doors to other worlds," she would say.
So instead she taught him. He didn't like it at first, but he came to see not only the value but the practicality. Learning another language was much better in the long term than relying on magic to solve his problem every time he came across it. So he sought out Tabitha, brought her to his mother (much to her judgement) and asked if Sasha could disable the translation spell cast on him when he walked through the portal.
"Well, to be fair it was your fault that you brought Tabitha to her without telling her."
"Oh come on, Kavaid! You know she only brings up marriage to tease me. Even Tabitha was embarassed!"
"Yes, but really, you should have expected that."
In the end, they had decided to have Sasha teach Avalon the basics of the language, with Tabitha bringing books to help him read while pointing out the modern aspects. Sasha's dialect was very old, and the glint he noticed in Tabitha's eyes when she had heard it for the first time was quite fascinating. Tabitha had even taken to learning English.
"Speaking of mother…" Looking around the court, Avalon realized his mother was gone.
"Did mom leave already?"
"Yes. Professor Colbert. Close to a breakthrough."
"A breakthrough? Well, I guess in this backwater country anything she could make would be a breakthrough…"
Tabitha nodded in agreement, though Avalon noticed a small spark in Tabitha's eyes. They continued on with their meal.
"Avalon," Louise's shout cut through the courtyard. "Are you still here?"
"Over here, Louise!" Waving to her as she turned the corner, the strawberry blonde jogged over, although that's not what caught Avalon's attention.
"Why are you in uniform? Don't you have the weekend off?" Avalon asked. Stopping to catch her breath for a few moments, Louise regained her composure.
"I am well aware of my schedule. Still, it occurred to me that I have no plans for today, and I would like you to accompany me to town. I wish to buy you a staff, that you may better disguise yourself among our peers."
"Huh? Why? I can just use my spear."
"…The Church," Tabitha said suddenly. Avalon gave her a confused look.
"Avalon, I don't think you realize this, but Elves are feared greatly among the nobility. Not just for their battle prowess, but also for their almost unknown nature. We know almost nothing about Elven society other than where it is located, and whenever they have shown themselves, danger followed. As a result the country's relationship has been strained with them at best. In other words, your magic can cause a big scandal that I want to avoid." Louise concluded. "Besides, you've been wearing the same, foreign clothes for the past week, and honestly they're starting to annoy me. You need to fix your wardrobe!"
"Hey, I like these clothes! They're comfortable as well as functional!"
"You stand out," said Tabitha. Avalon gave her a betrayed look.
"She's right, Avalon. You should consider dressing as a noble would, at least that would give you the advantage of surprise."
Avalon looked between the two, trying to round a comeback, but they all were against him. He sighed.
"Fine, let me just tell mom. Honestly, women and their shopping…"
-Change my Destiny-
"Mom, are you here? Hello?" Avalon called out as he, Tabitha and Louise approached the bustling shack. Noises of turning gears and the striking of a hammer could be heard from the outside.
"Are they… building something?" Louise asked.
"I would hope so," replied Avalon. As he opened the door wide, the group was assaulted by an odd and terrible smell. They knocked on the door, but only heard conversation inside.
"So you insert the ink into this chamber, slide it into the case like this, and…" Sasha screwed the case shut, and pushed the button atop the case. "Voila! This is a pen, professor." She made a few demonstrative strokes on a piece of parchment. "This will surely save you resources and time when writing documents. Distribute these with the notebooks that I made."
Colbert's face lit up with tears, and the man broke down into a sob.
"Oh, Miss Sasha, you are a genius! Thank you, thank you so much for your help! To think I could have so many of my inventions completed, and in just the span of a few days!"
"Oh, think nothing of it. I'm just glad I could help. Speaking of which, if possible," she gestured to her inventions behind her, "I would like to make revenue off of these."
"Yes, of course! You mentioned wanting to gather savings for your son, correct? You are as admirable as they come, Miss Sasha. With your standardized process, we can sell the notebooks, pens, clocks, and pocket watches all at reasonable prices! Even the commoners will be able to afford them! Although…" Looking to the back of his workplace, Colbert scratched his head with a chuckle. On one of Colbert's desks at the back sat a large, black box. "I'm not sure how we're going to sell the, what was it? The camera obscura?"
"Oh, that old projector? Don't worry about that. That model is a rather old. There are vast improvements that I can make, but I'd rather not introduce too many things too quickly. We can finish the printing press first."
Avalon knocked on the door again. This time, Sasha answered, "Come in!"
The group covered their noses on reaction as the surprised and gleeful Professor Colbert Bracing himself, Avalon entered the shack first, the others following after. It was a large square, with every inch of space taken up by various desks cluttered with sealed test tubes, beakers with boiling chemicals, and parts of machinery. On the ceiling was a skeleton of what appeared to be a dragon of some sort. In the dead center of the room were Professor Colbert and Sasha, marveling at the invention that was before them. It was an analog grandfather clock, the weight behind the glass clicking gently as it swung back and forth in time with the second-hand. The wood was a deep mahogany, finely polished, bearing elaborate patterns and etches. It was his mother's work, no doubt.
Placing the hammer down on the desk, Sasha removed her dirtied, white gloves, tossing them away nonchalantly. "Morning everyone. I believe you were calling for me earlier? How can I help you?"
"Ah, we wanted to let you know that we were going to travel to town to go shopping for clothes. I also wanted to buy Avalon a staff or a wand, to help him disguise himself better among my peers. Do you want anything?" Louise replied. Sasha cupped her chin in thought.
"Well, nothing comes to mind at the moment, but if you see any interesting jewels on sale, see if you can haggle for them; I have some things I would like to show Professor Colbert."
"Does it have anything to do with my textbooks?" Avalon looked over at his geology books, which were open at the rocks and minerals section.
"You could say that." Sasha smiled. "Be a good boy while you're in town, Avalon."
