Reminisce

Chapter 3: A cocoon of Lies

The soft sound of pages being flicked filled the massive –if not gigantic— library where the princess stayed in for hours on end. Bathed only with early morning light, the lone aristocrat sat on a chair as her eyes voraciously devoured all the written information within the books. Her green eyes sparkling with the knowledge they spilled over her.

Even as a child, the young Fabre would find fascination towards every book she can get a hold of; Fonic Arte books, Fontech books, History books, the old Ancient Ispanian books and even her own Uncle Jade's confounding Fomicry books that loitered around his shelf. Say it and as long as a written copy exists she will be able to name it! Her captivation with books was never ending that her brain swelled with sufficient knowledge that earned her the respect she was basking in as a princess now.

She sighed, stretching her stiff shoulders as she looked up to gaze at the window beside her. The sun was already up in the sky and probably, life had already started for all the inhabitants of Baticul. She smiled faintly, brushing a stray crimson lock away from her face as she imagined the lively citizens already at their designated places within the kingdom; vendors attending to their stores and goods to sell and the buyers walking by to scrutinize the product before deciding whether to purchase the merchandise. Kids would be, without any doubt, loitering around the streets playing tag and many sorts of games and then, there were the guards who kept a watchful eye of everything, especially the merchants that come in from places around Auldrant to make trade.

"It must be nice… to be able to roam around freely like that" she muttered under her breath as the smile slowly dissipated.

Ayu couldn't help but feel like history is repeating itself on her, she had heard countless of times about the story of her own father being confined within the Manor just like her because he got abducted before and was found in the desolate place which used to be the old rest house of the royal family. Things were different now, though the danger of abduction still lingers, the girl was no weakling. What could you expect from a girl who is evidently the union of both Lorelei and Yulia? Her artes were considerably powerful than anyone else's, add her abundant knowledge taken from books and she was an instant formidable adversary but she still feels helpless when she's ordered to do nothing but stay within the confines of the same Manor her own father was kept in. Somehow, she understood why her father had desired to grow of age immediately. Being cooped up like this makes you hunger for whatever the outside world may offer.

A faint knocking on the two colossal twin doors disrupted the girl's thoughts as she spun her head to look at the uninvited guest.

"Mind if I come in?" came the question of a man, whose hair was almost the same hue as the girl herself.

"Not at all, Father… besides, I was simply admiring the scenery from the window when you came in" she smiled at him.

"Reading again?"

She nods rather enthusiastically to which Luke just smiles again at.

"You're quite like your mom, you know"

"Mom was the one who introduced books to me." A gentle smile graced her face at the thought of the woman who gave her life, yet somehow a troubled look seems to pass her face for a moment.

"Nevertheless, I look exactly like my father! I get that a lot nowadays!"

She nodded her head, rather playfully to which the Duke just chuckled at before ruffling her hair, albeit slightly.

"Well, we know Fabre's have dominant genes, Ayu"

A small silence ensued before the girl spoke out of her own subconscious thoughts.

"I wish the Fabre would let go of the confining aristocrats within their Manors. It gets pretty boring at times inside the castle"

Luke's expression came out of empathy for her daughter. He knew that curiosity too well, and he knew the anxiety that came from being locked away from a world you were supposed to explore. Unlike him though, Ayu had enough freedom to roam the grounds of Baticul freely but not without a couple of guards following behind her, the girl also proved to be quite knowledgeable, hiding the fact that she's lived a sheltered life. He knew his daughter was not an image of his old self but during these times, when she starts to talk about her confinement; he couldn't help but see himself in her eyes. He sighed, shaking himself away from his thoughts as he patted the young girl's head.

"Why don't you pay your Aunt Natalia a visit? I'm sure she would love to have a chat with her favorite niece"

Luke felt his heart swell as he saw the smile on his child's face. She beamed at the thought and nodded agreeing with the suggestion before slipping of the chair and dashing off towards the doors. Luke only had to turn his head when he saw her stop shortly and turn back at him.

"Father, can I have a request?"

"What is it?"

"When I get back… can you explain why you look at me with such longing eyes when you refer to my likeness with mother? I just can't help but think you're seeing someone else other than me in front of you"

With that last statement, the princess left her father in astonishment of the words that left her mouth. He sighed, there was no denying how much of a different kind of Fabre Ayu was with that keen sense she inherited from her mother but it seems he needs to practice caution from now on.

'If you want to keep what's left of your pathetic family safe, Luke. Better keep your beloved Ayu from knowing what is concealed'

Luke shook his head, willing the thought to be thrown away with such vigorous physical effort. He might need to construct a good alibi to get his little princess to believe him. He sighed for what may have seemed the umpteenth time by now. Sometimes, he wished he could've been cleverer than he was now then he wouldn't be worrying of what to tell her later on. Ayu's own curiosity could prove a problem to him and he had promised himself never again to stitch lies but what is he doing up until now?

"I guess there's no other choice, I'll just see what works" he muttered bitterly as he left the library.

A small fleeting shadow passed by the window as he left, then a figure by the table where the girl had once stood appeared.

"Break the cocoon of lies that encases you within the darkness and soon… soon, my dear princess, you will metamorphose into the angel that will save us from the soon coming plague. But to do that, your fragmentary illusion of yourself must break. Your true form must be revealed to you alone first"

After stating this, the figure smirked and slowly dissipated into the air like dust within the wind despite the air being idly still within the whole room.