A Distant Light
– Lenessia thinks she's finally found what she'd been looking for all along.
Stars shine above the land, distant and cold.
Lenessia had never liked stargazing when she was a child. Her servants had usually already whisked her to bed before she even got a glimpse. When she was older, there were only banquets and parties and fake smiles to look at.
She's never bothered looking up.
Light shines between clusters of trees, in the city of Akibahara, like a sun descended onto the earth. It just the light of the Market, she knows, but it's so bright and magical she's come to think of the light as a warm, secure cloud around cluster of free, cheerful people. Above that light shines the obscured, starlit sky.
Lenessia watches through the window of her room, in her villa, where she can still count herself as a prisoner.
Krusty comes to her villa the next day, with that same annoying, all-knowing smirk he always wears around her.
"What's this?" he asks, and she would have ignored him if it wasn't for the fact that he always managed to peak her interest... or annoy her into snapping at him.
She sighs in irritation. "You're such a bother."
"Now, now Princess, don't you know?" he questions lightly, but in a tone that tell her he had a particularly interesting secret he wanted to share with her.
And like every time, Lelessia gave in. "Know what?"
Krusty just smiles in return, saying. "If a flower is keep from the sun for to long, it will eventually wilt."
He leaves a few hours later, but she finds a dress in her lounge not long after he's gone – well, not a dress, per say – but Adventurer garb. His words ring in her ears.
Lenessia stares at the robes, thinks of her Father, then her Grandfather and then of the light waiting just outside.
Globes of golden and orange dance among the people, a warpath in their twinkling glow.
The robes are baggy and too big for Lenessia's slight figure and it's clothing a Princess shouldn't be caught dead wearing, but there is no one here to nag her about etiquette or social status. It hides her face and her hair, so she easily blends in with every other person on the street.
After that first night out, she sneaks out every so often.
And people see her. Ordinary people, peasants, people who should be deeply honored to simply look at her – pass her by without sparing her a glance. She doesn't know why it feel so good, and yet still so wrong at the same time. But there are people who see her. She doesn't know why their gazes are different from everyone else's (in Akibahara, in the Kingdom), but they are.
Sir Shiroe has that look, but it's colder than the others – somehow understanding but not very interested in getting himself involved, or perhaps he was wary. Yes, maybe, he always seems so exhausted.
And then there's Krusty as well, who is a riddle wrapped in a mystery. He is among friends when he leads his forces into battle, but he is lonely when he fights. He is polite and controlled – contained – but when he is released he is savage and wild. What could he possibly be holding back?
There are others on this list as well, but they are few and far in between and she hasn't really gotten around to talking to them all. She doesn't even know their names. Still, she hopes to meet them some day, they seem like nice people.
She contemplates this as she wanders the streets of a place she barely knows but is already starting to creep under her skin. She thinks about etiquette and proper conduct, but they always fade to the back of her mind, soothed away by the gentle lights and joyful chatter. The glow of magical globes, formed from the spells and power of Adventurers – and used for such a tedious and superfluous task, merely to light the dark streets – is comforting and somehow all-powerful in this realm.
It is this glow that is the heart of the city, of Akibahara, of the Adventurers. It a light she wants to bask in forever.
AN: You know guys, it's not life-threatening to leave a review. I mean we're already on chapter four and so far I haven't gotten One. Single. Review. That's simply wonderful for my self-esteem issues. Ah, well, whatever. Leave a review if you want and if you don't, well, I guess I'll just have to get used to that.