The Land of White Serenity is everything its name promises and more; even though only a native would remain comfortable staying outside for long, especially at night, Lowee is the most peaceful nation of the four in appearance. Loweean air, albeit cold, is clear and refreshing. The people might appear quite detached because few are seen outside in less than thick winter clothes, but they will always have a warm welcome for anyone who wants to withstand the cold and visit them.
-The Hitchhiker's Guide to Gamindustri, Volume 3: "Lowee"
A snowstorm was coming up, which would end the day's activities early in northern Lowee without doubt. It would cover everything, even the crater left behind by a lone figure roaming the frozen landscape. Its brown and grey form alone sullied the white blanket of innocence.
Blanc wondered whether she should suppress the storm for her citizens, but ultimately decided it was fine to let this happen once in a while; in addition, walking through this kind of weather was a feeling she rarely got to enjoy.
She was Lowee's White Heart, currently returning from the extermination of a swarm of Phoenixes. The avian monsters rarely appeared this far to the north, being more common in Leanbox and Lastation. On the other hand, Lowee had an overabundance of Dolphins and Whales in exchange.
The wind already began to pick up, curling her brown hair all around; she enjoyed the sensation, sighing in content over her tingling skin.
Either way, Blanc decided to call it a day and return home in a few hours; they were ahead on paperwork anyway, especially with Mina's contributions. The Nishizawa family's second daughter was more than just pulling her weight even though these were still her early years as Oracle. This was a great ease on the CPU herself, who could spend more time killing Monsters that way. Now she even managed to get herself some free time.
On the flipside, she knew, it was probably better not to leave Keiko unsupervised for too long. Her previous Oracle, despite being sent into retirement because she kept working too much at her old age, was still coming by to help out. She would definitely work overtime again if Blanc did not send her home.
Her feet carelessly pushed the snow aside without any trouble, the cold not much of a bother after all; she was still clad in a heavy coat, though mostly for the feeling of wearing something warm and fluffy. There was quite a bit of distance toward the next town and a small forest of pine trees stood close to where the goddess walked; they huddled around a set of hills that might protect them from the wind.
Amidst the calm thoughts of how to start her next manuscript however, something yellow caught her eye. At first Blanc assumed it to be a snowrose, knowing that those were in bloom at the moment.
Idling with the thought of plucking such a flower and wearing it in her hair for the time she spent here, the CPU turned her head; what she found, however, was not a flower. It was close to yellow in appearance only; strands of hair rolled in the wind around a person's head, who was collapsed on the ground face-down.
The brunette cursed under her breath and rushed over at speeds that sent the small layer of snow on the ground flying in all directions; all the while she called out to the human and quickly assessed the situation.
First of all, it was a girl. Maybe a young woman; the fact it was so easy to see was that she had neither a coat nor any kind of protection against the cold; she wore indoor clothes, a blue skirt and a light green shirt. Turning her around and checking her body revealed that the girl was unconcious, as well as freezing.
"Damn it... just what are you doing out here?!" Anger bubbled up from within Blanc, but she forced it back down and quickly lifted the petite frame in a princess carry. Flying to a hospital would probably take too long, so she had to stabilise her first. With a snowstorm coming up.
Forcing the storm away would not help in the slightest, though; Blanc just sighed and stomped down, having the earth around them convulse and form up into a hill around the two. Snow melted or was pushed away while the CPU's power formed a cave with a small entrance, big enough to move around in; however, she sealed the entrance shut with ice.
The only things she still needed now were more light and warmth, the former mostly for when her freezing charge came to. There was little else on her mind at the moment, she just split her attention between recycling the air within this enclosed space and warming it at the same time. At least this was no large area she had to keep under her control, or she might tire herself out.
Only half a minute had passed so far, so she made good time. Blanc allowed herself a small grin before gently putting her hands on the girl's mid-section, right below the breasts. Forcing a wave of healing magic, the CPU calmed herself. Her charge should be fine, even though the frostbite was nasty.
Once more, she cursed the fact she had no aptitude for healing magic. Every CPU could do some, but none of her generation possessed any significant healing capabilities. It was enough to treat basically any injury a human might have short of death, but that took time. Plus, the effects on CPUs were nonexistent. If Blanc ever got lucky enough to get a Candidate, she truly hoped for one with a healing aptitude.
The CPU shook her head and switched topics in her mind. She really did not expect her break to end like this, not even close. On the other hand, this was better than not finding the girl at all.
Her magic slowly worked through the frozen tissue and repaired what it could, but the aftereffects would probably still be uncomfortable; she treated frostbite quite often over the years, so Blanc knew that by heart.
Nonetheless, the immediate danger was soon over. A wave of relief surged through the brunette at the sight before she quickly warmed the air up some more; considering that the child's clothes were not as cold as the ground they sat on, taking them away would not help either.
With one last effort, Blanc hardened the ground below her charge and had it warm up as well, then she slumped backward and came to sit at the wall.
A few minutes later, she knew, and that girl would have been dead. Lowee's climate was harsh, so she wondered what in the world brought one of her people to run outside dressed like this.
Now that Blanc had time to take a closer look, she started by quickly checking the girl's pockets; nothing inside, she really only had what she wore on her person. The brunette wondered if maybe a carriage broke down, but discarded the idea. Such a thing would not happen in the middle of a snow field; not to mention that none of the few cities close enough together to keep streets aboveground were nearby. The next town lay a kilometre away and this girl was probably from there.
Aside from that, she appeared to be a pretty girl as well; even though her blonde hair was damp from lying in the snow and dissheveled, it did show signs of good care. The child was slender and sported a peaceful expression while asleep. Taller than Blanc herself and also a little bit above the average female citizen, if she saw that right. All in all, her age could be anywhere between sixteen and twenty.
Her appearance gave no indication for why this girl was out and about like this, outside of the protective walls. Blanc pondered the matter for several moments.
Then an idea formed and reared its ugly head, reminding the CPU of a problem her nation still faced. She carefully crouched forward and took off the girl's shirt to check her arms. Nothing. Nothing on her back, either; Blanc decided not to check other places and just assume it was not domestic abuse after all. It was a rare occurence anyway, especially with her bringing down the hammer on any offenders - sometimes literally, in the most horrendous cases.
In this case, the pun did not manage to tease a smile out of her. Abusive families were still the number one reason for frozen corpses to be found out in the wild. The very same thing that almost happened to this girl, had she not been around.
Blanc gently warmed the shirt with some more air before pulling it over the blonde's head again. She must be passed out from exhaustion, considering that all of this moving around and the sensation of magic flowing through her body did not wake her up.
After heaving another sigh, Blanc returned to the wall, head tilted to both keep an eye on her charge and on the small layer of ice separating them from the outside. A small mental snap made it flow around and become as clear as glass. Blanc passed the time looking outside, watching how snow and ice began to fall. The storm howling out there was just a dull roar inside, unable to get in no matter how much frozen water it threw against the barrier.
She was missing out on walking through the storm. It did not matter much, but the brunette was still a little disappointed. Her charge healed and would only need a check-up to make sure, so Blanc would have to wait for now.
. .
. .
She became a little bit restless after some hours had passed, but Blanc could cope with doing nothing quite well. Her cellphone was upgraded with Planeptunian tech, mostly because they simply had the best electronics imaginable; she needed to be reachable at any time, even in a storm such as this one.
However, the brunette held back on making any calls; she just sent a note back to Lowee Castle so no one would worry about where she went. The remainder of her time, Blanc spent creating the framework for her new story; doing something this dark was not what she usually did, but it was worth a try. Maybe this one would finally become good enough to be published.
When she noticed the little bit of daylight subsiding, the CPU got a fire going while opening up the ice; taking care of the smoke on top of keeping the air warm was just calling for it. The constant strain on her terraforming-abilities was already tiring and only centuries of experience kept her in a state to keep this up. As well as Lowee's high Share count, that was.
The storm was still going outside, though in the process of subsiding, when the girl stirred with a groan. Blanc was already by her side the moment her eyelids rolled open, blue eyes staring at the cave's ceiling without much comprehension; the CPU gently put an arm under her shoulders and helped her sit up while explaining: "I found you out there in the snowfield. You're safe now."
Her charge blinked a few times and turned to look at the storm roaring on the outside, still partly walled off with ice. There was a hole letting in cold air, but Blanc quickly converted it and kept the warmth inside as well as she could. It was probably warmer in here than a summer day in Leanbox, where most people did not even leave their homes to stay out of the sun.
"Um, I... I... oh heavens!" The whisper ended in an outcry while the girl grabbed onto Blanc and held on for dear life; probably the shock from realising what almost happened to her. The brunette got this kind of reaction before, so she knew just to hold her tightly until she calmed down a bit.
"Oh no, I never... I, I almost..."
"Shh, it's fine."
Blanc gently stroked her back, letting her cry it out and repeating what she said before when necessary; a minute or two passed and the girl soon calmed down. At that point, Blanc slowly stopped comforting the child and let go, holding her at arm's length. "What's your name?"
"F-Fina. T-Thank you for saving me, I am so glad..." She trailed off, but Blanc merely smiled and let go of her shoulders; this one took her situation better than a few others she saw. Fina herself took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment, then her own lips curled into a bright smile. She once again looked at the brunette and bowed her head. "I mean it, I am incredibly grateful for what you did. Truly you must hold the Lady's blessings for such a kindness."
She just waved it off; anyone would have helped out when they found a person passed out like this. Even though it was a little bit amusing to be praised with her own blessing again. However, More important to Blanc right now was what brought the blonde out into the snow. "It's nothing, really. What were you doing out there in the snow to begin with? And in indoor clothes no less."
Fina looked herself over at that and, for some reason, blushed heavily. "Oh, uh... well, I kind of ran away without thinking straight." The girl lowered her gaze sheepishly, not meeting Blanc's confused expression. "You see, I was not in much luck up to now. I have two older siblings, so I can not inherit the family business. My grades in everything but math were just average, too. What I mean is, well, I always wanted to be an accountant and I got the math down for that, but... a boy my age from a well-off family was interested in me; mother pressed for me to accept his proposal, but I didn't want to... so..."
She stopped there, but this gave Blanc more than enough to work with. The brunette finished what the blonde left hanging in the room: "So you ran away?"
Fina just nodded sadly and pulled her legs up to her chin, a cold breeze from outside playing with her hair. "It is pathetic, really. I do not want to get married and stay at home. I do not like Koujiro that way to begin with, but all I managed was to almost die two or three hours after running off and now I'm bothering the nice girl who saved me with all of this. Ah, what would my Lady think of me?"
She started rambling at this point while Blanc thought about the problem at hand; it would not do to just bring this girl back home. Even though arranged marriages were legal in Lowee, it was unusual to do it like this. Either the family arranged something very early, when the child was around six to ten years old, or not at all. She also long since made forcing a child into an arranged marriage against their will illegal. Sadly, the border between nudging them to accept and forcing them was not very clear.
"Fina." The girl shut up in an instant and focussed her attention on Blanc, who looked back with interest. The flickering fire cast shadows over their faces. "How old are you?"
"Um, seventeen." So that was as expected; the CPU nodded once and decided to just do what she always did in a situation like this one. People in Lowee could go and live by themselves earlier if they had a valid reasoning, after all. Nonetheless, she should ask just to make sure. "You have no desire to marry that boy, so why not leave your home properly? You're old enough to live by yourself."
Fina shivered a little, whether from the question or from the air was unsure; she also lowered her gaze and looked as if she would break down in tears again. Then however, she spoke sadly and without ever looking at the brunette: "Mother only wants for me to be happy. She just does not believe in me is all. If I did that, it would break her heart and I do not want that... just what kind of daughter would want to hurt her parents like that?"
So the problem was not that the mother wanted to better her standing, but that she wanted a good future for her child too much? Of course, it was never easy. Blanc mulled this over; she already knew what she wanted to say, but Fina was currently a bit unstable and might not be happy to hear it. What was more, the silence between the two of them quickly became awkward. "You have to make that decision, though. Things rarely turn out perfect for everyone, but they won't get better for you if you don't try."
Both of them kept quiet again, the silence stretching while the fire slowly subsided; Blanc threw more of the wood she grew previously onto it. As the flames started to lick at their new fuel, a quiet grumbling could be heard and Fina clutched her stomach. "Uah, I'm hungry."
Blanc did not have any food with her. At least the storm was almost completely gone, so they could get going soon. "I will bring you back home in a few minutes." Still, this was no good for Blanc. She did not want to leave this girl to herself in such a situation; she should at least give her a proper choice here, not just between a predetermined path and a complete unknown. "If you feel like taking matters into your own hands, I can get you a job and a place to stay."
Now the blonde looked up in surprise, which made Blanc smirk a little; the shadows hid it from her charge, though. Of course she would look after them, that much was nothing.
"B-But... how can you say something like that? I mean I'm grateful, but shouldn't you ask your parents about something like that first?"
What was that cracking noise, Blanc wondered. Only to realise she still held a piece of wood a moment ago. Throwing the paste aside and against the wall, she scowled at the flinching girl. "I'm thirty freaking times older than you, so cut the crap!"
With how Fina looked like a deer in headlights, the CPU quickly reined in her boiling anger; snapping at Vert was okay, she could take it. Snapping at a child, or most any human for that matter, was not. Just why were there so many people thinking she was a kid?
"Th-Thirty... oh heavens!"
...
So much for not giving herself away.
While Blanc was still getting unhappy about what she just blurted out without thinking, Fina kneeled before her and quickly continued: "I-I'm so sorry, my Lady! I had no idea it was you and, and-"
"Enough." It never changed; not over all the generations she saw growing up, people still did this kind of thing the moment they found out. "I'm not mad at you, so stop that."
"Ah, of course. I, I'm, um..."
Blanc got to her feet with a suppressed sigh. She understood that most people were not really ready to talk to their Lady properly, but it was nonetheless annoying that anyone she just revealed herself to kept on stuttering. "Aside from that, I mean it. If you want to change your life, I can lend you a hand."
Fina stopped and stared with wide eyes while the CPU just rolled hers. "You're one of mine, a child of Lowee. So get back to your feet this instant." She did not raise her voice, but the blonde stood ramrod straight a moment later, as if she just screamed at her. Blanc smiled and held out a hand. "I ask again; do you want to live your own life, or what another believes is best?"
Fina lowered her gaze again, but then looked up with glistening eyes. "I want to be myself, I want it so very much. But... could you... could you maybe tell my mother? I'm sure she will be happy that way, so I have nothing to regret."
It was actually heartwarming to see such a caring daughter; whatever kind of woman gave birth to her must have been really lucky. "That's all you need? Fine with me."
They kept standing as they were for but a long moment; the smiling goddess and the flabbergasted human being; then Fina began to beam and happily took the offered hand.