It was found, time and time again, that music is among the most soothing and interesting pastimes in Gamindustri; its possibilities are almost limitless. I have to admit, I sometimes indulge in recreating and listening to the works of great musicians long gone.
-Histoire
Green Sigil was vast, just like any of the other main Basilicoms. To the two blunettes currently being guided through its furnished corridors, nary a sight could be more intimidating. The girls wandered after a young man in the staff's regular green robes who freely chatted away as they went. Neither of the two stopped him, even though none of his words registered with them.
The girls in question were clad in their school uniforms; those were the only somewhat formal pieces of dressware they had on hand when the invitation came. Sixteen and fifteen respectively, one could obviously see them to be siblings; both had the same slightly regal features, the same ocean blue hair, and even the same mole below their respective right eyes. One had deep blue irises, while the other featured a dark pink instead.
They were not twins, even though they came close to looking the part; what truly differentiated them was that the older one walked behind her sister, barely capable of keeping herself straight. She might as well be hiding away from the curious glances thrown at them.
While Lyrica Langley remained in her state of fright however, Carolyn Langley merely ignored the man talking the day away in front of her. Neither did she pay attention to her sister pulling at her shirt from behind. She only went along because the other blunette pleaded with her, taking pity on the fact Lyrica could not be at ease around strangers.
It was the older sister who had been invited to meet the Lady. While the younger one did look forward to seeing Green Heart as well, she could not forget that this was still all about Lyrica, not her. Just as always.
They had both believed things would get better after Carolyn managed to get them away from their abusive mother. Even if it was the older blunette who suffered more under that woman, neither of the two was still the same as they were in the past, during their childhood.
Even when Leanbox provided the sisters with money and any kind of care they might ask for, it was different to the old days; Lyrica's irrational fear of strangers was unlikely to ever fade and Carolyn had no desire to try going back to before. Not that anyone would notice, with how much everyone was fussing over her sister.
"Here we are." Carolyn's musings were cut off when they stopped in front of a wooden door; those existing in the restricted parts of Green Sigil came as a surprise. The thing was tinted greenish brown and completely unremarkable otherwise; their guide knocked carefully and waited a few seconds before entering, motioning for the girls to follow. "The misses Langley, my Lady."
They entered after him and found themselves in a medium-sized lounge with a pretty blue carpet and deep green walls. Two figures sat on the large couch at the far end, in front of them a table with small stacks of paperwork; the smaller one was clad in a white robe with matching veil, the taller one wore lush green the very same way.
The Ladies White Heart and Green Heart, masking their civilian faces as was proper; getting to see a CPU's civilian form was a sign of trust neither of them was worthy of. Nonetheless, the sight had Carolyn marvel despite everything. Seeing them in person did not have as much of an effect as she expected, but it made sense. She revered neither of them and none of the others, either. The CPUs did not save her father, or prevented her family from being ripped apart after his death.
"My, what wonderful timing. Please make yourself comfortable, you two." A gentle voice spoke up from beneath the veil before Green Heart's head turned to the side a bit, toward her staff. "Thank you very much. I will call you once we are done here."
"Of course, my Lady." While the man bowed his head and left, the two girls took a few steps into the room. Carolyn leaned against the wall, knowing that this was not about her. She figured she should stay out of the way.
Once their guide was gone, the ruler of Leanbox clasped her hands and the smile was audible in her voice: "I am terribly sorry that I could not inform you of my colleague's presence, but this meeting was rather rushed. I hope you do not mind her?"
As if either of them would. Getting a chance to be this close to not one, but two CPUs was a chance very few people got; especially if they were in their civilian forms. The siblings shook their heads, although Lyrica did so rather abruptly; Green Heart paid it no mind and just carried on. "Wonderful. I am glad you found the time to come here today; hearing you sing at this talent show was truly amazing, Lyrica."
Her sister ducked under the praise, blushing profusely; it was just as usual, even after her sibling was so thrilled when they got the message. Despite pulling Carolyn along for support, now she was as nervous as the younger blunette had ever seen her.
The two of them were a weird pair, Carolyn noted to herself. She who attempted to unveil the arcane, as well as her older sibling who could only shine when put on display. How strangely fitting, she mused, considering that her sister outdid her at every opportunity. It was a rather morbid thought to be sure, so the blunette pushed it aside; she watched with attempted indifference how Lyrica stammered her way through a response, all the while slowly following Green Heart's beckoning. "I-I am h-h-honoured t-to h-hear that, m-my Lady..."
The CPU's assumed smile remained hidden by her veil. She turned slightly after a few moments, though; no words were spoken, but the younger Langley knew that her not sitting with them was noticed.
In the meantime, White Heart poured some tea for them and pushed a cup over to Lyrica without a word. Then she sent another one flying with magic until it hovered right in front of Carolyn, who took it with a grateful bow of her head; the smaller CPU nodded once, the gesture almost invisible below her veil.
"I'm used to hearing a few interesting candidates, but I never saw anyone using magic in their music so expertly and to such a wonderful effect." Ah, the praising continued; Lyrica merely flushed again while Carolyn thought back to all those hours of training the two of them did together; they were both blessed with a large amount of Spellpower, which meant that there were few limits for them. Ever since they took up their magical studies, the sisters had been constantly impressive to their teachers.
Carolyn gently sipped her tea, the liquid still a little too hot for drinking; her magical control allowed her to keep a small buffer on her fingertips, preventing the hot cup from heating them up.
The Lady continued to talk with her sister, gently drawing out bit by bit from her. By all accounts, she was a good host at least; Lyrica began to ease up over those few minutes, her stammering slowly subsiding. Not that a meeting like this would be enough to make the aspiring singer completely comfortable, but it was a start. White Heart refrained from commenting on anything, though; Carolyn had the fleeting suspicion that she paid more attention to her, although she could not really base this on anything.
"Well, do you think you are up to singing for us now? Anything is fine, Lyrica." So they were where they were supposed to be now; this was what Green Heart had invited them for. The older sister swayed back and forth on her chair for a moment, but then gently nodded and stood. "Yes, I think so... just a moment, please." She hurried over to where her guitar case sat; Carolyn finished her cup and gently floated it back to the table.
When Lyrica carefully revealed her instrument, White Heart spoke up for the first time: "This one is an electrical guitar, right?" That it was; the question made the younger sibling grin. She made this guitar herself under appliance of a lot of knowledge and testing. It was completely independent from regular power sources, courtesy of their magic.
Sadly, Lyrica apparently saw the need to justify herself. "Um... y-yes, it is, um, L-Lady White Heart..." Carolyn rolled her eyes over this; they would be sitting here for way longer than was necessary if this went on like it did.
So she interrupted her sister: "My sibling is quite adept at what she does, Lady White Heart. I humbly ask to let her resume as she sees fit."
Lyrica shut up in an instant and both CPUs turned their attention to the younger blunette, who remained standing where she was. The place was fine and she doubted either of the two had any problem with her pompous way of talking. Some people did and kept their distance to her because of it, but Carolyn never really minded that. It simply meant that there was more time she could spend on practice and research.
In the end, the response she got was a chuckle from Green Heart, who held a hand in front of her veiled mouth and gently motioned for the older girl afterward. "I see. Carry on then, I am curious where this is going."
Lyrica, for her part, exchanged a glance with Carolyn; she just remained nonchalant about this, but then decided to give her sister an encouraging nod. Even if it irked her how she was always the center of attention, Carolyn was also weirdly happy to see her reach her goals.
The other blunette closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, then she marched into the room's center and double-checked her guitar. She was still fidgeting, but nowhere near as bad as when they first entered. It continued to die down, which told the blunette that her sister was starting to focus on the music.
Lyrica grasped her instrument properly, sparks beginning to dance on her fingertips; they brought the guitar to life and shone in the slightly dimmed light. Both CPUs became attentive at once while her sibling played a few chords; she was still checking whether everything was ready, but the sounds echoed through the room in a way they never would normally.
This was Lyrica Langley's magic: streams of electricity to power her instrument, paired with supremacy over the wind to carry both her music and her voice further than any other human being could. Carolyn continued to smirk while her sibling began to hum, trying to find her rythm. Then Lyrica switched to a strong yet gentle melody and sung in a clarity even her sister rarely heard; she was giving her all for this.
It made sense, all things considered. Carolyn knew her sibling had been thrilled about this chance; she even spent the last week hunched over her desk, trying to put together a song befitting of the vibrant nation of Leanbox, as well as its ruler.
In Carolyn's mind, she succeeded with that; she heard many variations of those melodies while experimenting with her magic at home, but this one was arguably the most fitting. Strong and resolute but also encouraging, inviting the audience to let go of their worries and indulge in the melody. Lyrica's magic carried it all around the room, producing a mystifying echo on top of everything else.
Carolyn noticed a few disturbances as her sister went, a misplaced echo here and a few unwanted sparks there... probably due to nervosity. Nonetheless, Lyrica's performance was as good as always.
Even she herself was not immune to the music, as it made her think back to the days of their youth; back in the day, when Carolyn had still liked her big sister much more than she did now. They still got along, but the feelings of adoration had left years ago.
Things might not have gone like this if the older sister were not always showered with attention, despite the younger one craving for the same and never receiving any. Pathetic it may be, but Carolyn would have been happy with being the center of attention at least once in a while, or at least for someone not her sister to recognise her own work and all the effort she made. But no, it was always just Lyrica; the girl too anxious to even speak to anyone properly.
The song came to an end on gentle chords, as faint as it started. Carolyn so far witnessed all kinds of reactions, reaching from roaring cheers to calm applause; the Ladies, however, did nothing of the sort. Both CPUs remained quiet, letting the song end in silence; even when Lyrica obviously held her breath while awaiting their judgement, they seemed to show their appreciation in a wordless manner. It was hard to say without being able to see their faces, though.
At one point, they nodded at each other and Green Heart broke the silence. "I am quite delighted to hear such a wonderful song. Your mastery of magic is indeed impressive, as is your singing voice." Lyrica beamed in joy and pride over the praise while Carolyn rolled her eyes and remained quiet. She knew how this went, people had probably forgotten about her presence once again; that was what usually happened.
"What about you, Carolyn? You're looking as if you have something to say." White Heart's words needed a moment to register, making the blunette blink a few times while her bitter thoughts vanished. This was unexpected. What was more, the Lady even noticed that she wanted to say something despite all her effort to keep a neutral face. Now she even lost that out of surprise, wondering what to say.
"Not exactly, Lady White Heart," she finally decided to respond, "Lyrica's performance was as good as ever." Both Green Heart and her sister kept quiet, watching the exchange while the ruler of Lowee considered for a moment. Then however, she simply dismissed the excuse for what it was: "I doubt this is everything. What did you notice during your sister's performance?"
Her tone was as calm as before, almost emotionless even; however, Carolyn got the feeling that she did not want to try wiggling out of this again. A deity asked, so... she probably should apologise to Lyrica later on. "There were... slight disturbances I did notice, yes. Probably a misplaced wave due to a wrongly directed burst of magic, which led to a dissonant echo somewhere during the second stanza."
The older blunette looked at her in surprise, then apparently tried to review herself. Meanwhile however, White Heart nodded almost invisibly and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I noticed. What else?"
This went on for a little bit. The CPU extracted every little detail out of Carolyn, having her explain both her reasoning about cause and effect as well as the point it happened at. As interesting a challenge it was to have to describe minor problems so thoroughly, she started to feel genuinely bad for her sister now; Lyrica kept looking at them in growing horror, her expression falling more with every little mistake her little sister named.
Carolyn was not happy to admit even the smallest flaws she found, but White Heart would not let up until she was done calling them all. In the end, the blunette was standing next to her sibling after at least ten minutes of analysis. She felt bad about the whole thing, which was why she ended as she did: "Even though, all of those mistakes are trivial matters entirely. Someone unused to the field would never even notice."
The Ladies looked at each other again. This time however, they did so only after lifting their veils and revealing their faces; both sisters held their breath over this, admiring their beauty. Even without the feeling of power behind the two, Carolyn could see their immaculate skin and sharp features; she also got the feeling of being able to glimpse the powerful minds residing behind their blue eyes when they finally returned to looking at them.
Green Heart was blonde, her hair gently falling down her back in a single wave of curly gold; White Heart had short, brown hair and admittedly looked a little boyish with it. But that did not matter much; two CPUs had decided to reveal their civilian faces to them, an honour beyond measure.
"Mhm," Green Heart began while the sisters were still somewhat frozen in admiration. "You are right in that all of these are trivial, but you taking notice of them certainly is not. Especially if the only tools you had to measure these trivial mistakes were your own ears. Do you, by any chance, plan on pursuing a career as a mage?"
Carolyn paused for a moment, flushing a bright scarlet under the praise; that was not supposed to happen, not at all. She underestimated the Lady. "Yes, that is what I plan to do, Lady Green Heart."
While she was still trying to get herself under control, both to fight the blush and stop herself from squeeing in joy, the CPU began to smile before throwing a glance at White Heart. "Oh my, now I get the feeling you want to say something, Blanc."
The other deity merely grimaced before sighing and shaking her head. When her colleague turned back to the blunettes, a small grin found its way onto her face. Carolyn had no idea what was going on there, but she did not really feel like interrupting the Ladies; that would be rude.
"Considering your expertise and theoretical knowledge, I think it would be prudent to offer you a chance to build on those basics. Would you be interested in joining my staff once you finish your education? Leanbox is always in need of good researchers and mages."
So they were offered a safe job right next to the Lady. This got Carolyn to think for a moment while she exchanged a glance with her sister; no, in fact, she had no need to bother thinking about it. They talked about this before and knew what the respective other thought. The CPUs waited patiently and let them speak once their wordless communication was over. Lyrica motioned for her to go first, but the aspiring mage shook her head. "You are the older one, so you should go first."
Her words brought a small smile to the older blunette. "I guess so." Then she turned and bowed deeply toward Green Heart. "I-I'm very sorry, but I have to decline your... generous offer. I want to become an idol once I'm of age, s-so I can't commit myself to this."
"As for me," Carolyn added once her sister was finished, "I plan on leaving Leanbox once my education is complete. I have to decline as well, Lady Green Heart." She did not leave the CPU any chance to reply to Lyrica in-between, then bowed her head as well.
For some reason however, White Heart's grin had grown wider while the ruler of Leanbox merely watched the two sisters; she did not frown and was still smiling, but this was probably not what she had wanted to hear. Then she nodded slowly and the friendly expression was back in full force. "I see, this is most unfortunate. It would be wrong to try persuading you otherwise; though I am rather curious about your reasoning, Carolyn. Why do you not want to stay in Leanbox?"
The question, albeit expected, made the younger blunette pause in thought. This was more of a private matter and she really wondered whether she should tell someone else about it. On the other hand, those in front of her were not just ordinary people, they were deities; what was more, they revealed their faces to them. The least she could do in exchange was to be honest; on top of that, she had no reason to leave an impression of displeasure with Leanbox itself.
"The simple truth is that I wish to get some distance between my sister and I, preferably before I start hating her. Leanbox is a wonderful nation, but I do not want to stay in the same country as Lyrica." They talked about this before, much to Carolyn's relief. Lyrica accepted her feelings when she came clear about them the previous year, so now her older sister only smiled in sad agreement; the CPUs, however, were staring at her as if she had grown a second head.
It was... probably an achievement in itself to surprise a goddess like that. Lyrica sheepishly played with her skirt when the dumbfounded gazes wandered over to her, but kept quiet otherwise.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, Green Heart sighed and took a sip from her cup. "I did not expect something like that to be the reason. You seem to get along rather well to me, to be honest."
Her sibling remained next to her, quiet as usual; Carolyn did not mind, although she took a moment to regard Lyrica once more. Then she faced the Lady again. "We used to be closer and our relationship has grown weaker as time went on; I very much doubt that it will get any better."
They still got along, but Carolyn knew her own feelings. Even if she did not want to end up hating her sister, it would happen if they stayed together; taking some distance to each other and living their respective lifes like that might help them to at least stay on good terms. She would like that very much.
The blunette was unable to continue this train of thought, seeing that White Heart took over from her thoughtful colleague: "Neither of us has any siblings, so I won't try to pretend I understand your feelings on the matter. If you both are fine with this decision, that is alright." She paused for a moment before closing one eye and measuring her again. "Say, do you have any trouble working in a team, Carolyn?"
The younger sibling raised an eyebrow over this question, all the while nervously opening and closing her hands; they were safely hidden away in her long sleeves, so no one would notice either way.
This question was weird. She would respond anyway, but it was obvious that White Heart was planning something. Green Heart turned back to her colleague as well, likely having similar thoughts.
Nonetheless, she decided to be honest about this. Almost none of her peers could keep up in terms of magical work anyway. Or academics, for that matter. "I never really manage to get along with others for long. Mostly because I am the most competent of the group quite often."
The CPU regarded her with a hard stare; she probably said something bad right now, even if it was the truth. Before Carolyn could backpedal on what she said after realising how much it sounded like boasting, White Heart smirked at her. This gave the blunette pause while the brunette straightened herself. Green Heart chuckled again, covering her mouth with a gloved hand.
When the ruler of Lowee spoke, her voice had become energetic: "Heh, so you want a challenge? That's good; I have a certain girl just a few years older than you, one who'd love to work with someone competent for a change."
Carolyn's eyes widened while the goddess spoke; she had somewhat expected Green Heart to make an offer, considering how her teachers always praised her outstanding abilities. But for White Heart to do the same, that was beyond her expectation. Was she really that big of a deal?
"Besides", the smaller CPU added while turning toward Lyrica, "Vert here has her hand in most of Leanbox' entertainment industry anyway. Even if you go to be an idol, you'll probably end up in the same place."
The two humans exchanged glances while Green Heart simply smiled mysteriously. All of this had taken a turn for the absurd, but that was nice in itself. Carolyn had really not expected for these things to happen, although she certainly would not complain. In fact, the offer from White Heart sounded quite good to her.
"I think we had enough serious talk for now," Green Heart noted at last before gently smiling at Lyrica. "Would you mind playing another song or two?"
These words made her sister snap out of the stupor the previous discussion sent her into while Carolyn moved out of the way. This time however, she slowly sat down on the couch, a bit away from White Heart; she needed a moment to let this sink in. The Ladies let her be while Lyrica played up to her next piece and the chords started to echo through the room again.
Carolyn still had trouble believing what just happened; she would definitely take whatever White Heart wanted to throw at her. Her only problem had been with Leanbox; getting employed by a CPU, which this was probably about, might be the best thing that could have happened. No, it definitely was the best possible outcome.
Maybe she had gone insane.
The thought presented itself quite calmly. It would make sense for all of this to just be a madness-induced illusion.
But then again, if madness felt that good, she had no problem being a mad magician.