Chapter cover: A pale hand; adorning a white sleeve, reaching for a limped tanned hand with the glowing mark of a Dragon Master in the sea of black.
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Date: 16/10/ X643
Time: 05:14:02
These days – to the Queen of Elves – the Maple World is at peace, at least on the surface. If she crossed the thin line, she knew it was still the same – humans and other species holding grudges against each other, but it was not as bad as three hundred years ago, where strife thrived on their negativity.
Yes, it is peaceful – Mercedes thought as she strokes her friend's fine mane gingerly. Sylvidia, the flying unicorn, nuzzled her and it brought a smile to the Elf Queen's lips. The queen had a long, wavy, pale-blonde hair, pinned with a berry leaf hair garment by her left side.
If people saw her eyes, their breath were taken away for it reminded them of the sea with those deep aqua eyes. Most women envy for her soft lips. Like her kind, she has pale porcelain skin and sharp, pointed ears – and nobody can mistake her as a human unless she hid them with her long hair.
Currently, she wore a summer dress and a straw hat on her head instead of her battle clothes as they were being mended by a human tailor – not that she could complain, since, some tailors can use magic, but not as much as a full-fledge mage. And they did well – much to her surprise.
However, she went to one particular tailor – an old man who has ears and eyes almost everywhere in the Maple World. She found out about the tailor through Grendal when she once, albeit reluctantly, told the Magician Job Instructor about her predicament regarding her clothes. Yes, she may have spares, but those spares were running out and her town's tailor is still frozen in ice – much to Mercedes's dismay.
Given with a paper with instructions, Mercedes found his lair easily. It was a dark place, with little light filtering through the deep woods of the north of Ellinia. Despite that – the old man prefers the darkness rather than the light.
The home, which the old tailor called 'home' was a place full of mannequins, with samples of clothes tailored for battle – and the strange thing was, the quality is on par with an Elf's battle outfit, despite a more human touch on them. The walls were bare except for sketches of clothes – most of them were more of casual wear than armor as he claimed he has no forge.
Basically, he has no good equipments meant for warriors.
Mercedes was bored waiting for her battle clothes to finish fixing – and decided to test her dexterity with her long hair. She was curious on how the girl Aran managed to fix a small braid and tied it in a ponytail with little time.
As she did a braid, her mind wandered back to the past.
Her first try was a catastrophe and she remembered Freud and Luminous trying not to laugh at her. On the other hand, the only other girl of the group of quartet sighed and gently pulled the tangled strands of hair with infinite patience although she needed a break.
The second attempt was almost just as bad as the first. The poor warrior was on a watch duty and could only give her tips about it – from one of the branches of the tree. 'Part them into 3 sections next time, how you want to hold them is up to you – the center should be left alone though. Oh, and make sure you tighten it; you don't want to leave any gaps. While doing the braiding, comb them to prevent any tangled hairs.'
Before Mercedes could begin her third attempt, the child made sure to show a demonstration – and to Luminous's surprise, she let her snow white hair down and combed them with her fingers. Once she was satisfied, she did it slowly and carefully. The end result was a small braid hanging down her side, but without a ponytail.
Mercedes's eyes drank the movements greedily before doing hers. When it was done, Mercedes felt slight sense of achievement and the boys stopped teasing her – although Freud stopped it once he learned the hard way.
When she saw the girl Aran gave her the smallest of a smile, Mercedes thought she was imagining things as almost immediately, the smile was gone and replaced with her usual serious expression.
It was a small thing – but, it is a start of bonding between the two girls since the group was first formed.
Sylvidia threw her head up before pawing the ground, a signal to Mercedes somebody was here. The Elf Queen would have not noticed the signal if she hadn't felt a surge of mana nearby, far stronger than the old tailor's.
Mercedes inwardly groaned and her almost done braid unraveled itself as she let them slip past her fingers.
"I must say, it is a surprise to see you here too, Mercedes!" A friendly voice called out. Mercedes shook her head and turned towards a familiar thief who had appeared through the tornado of cards at a good distance. The faint light shone on the newcomers, allowing Mercedes to have a good look at them.
Phantom is still wearing the same fancy hat, but his clothes were more…casual when compared to his noble clothes. The master thief wore a long sleeved shirt and brown slacks along with his usual decorated gloves.
Is it her or all the Heroes are having a day off today?
Beside the thief, was a person she didn't know, but looked similar to the young child she bonded centuries ago, was beside Phantom. For a moment, Mercedes saw an image of the girl Aran in her place.
"Aran?!" Mercedes exclaimed, and Phantom chuckled.
The girl snorted and tucked her arms. She has the same hairstyle as Aran, her eyes looked harsh – mature – Mercedes corrected herself – and the way she carried herself was not like the lowly peasants of Ariant. When Mercedes looked closer, she realized she had made a big mistake.
The hair and eyes were different – both were obsidian black, and the shade of her skin was at least a few shades lighter than the twins' dark tanned skin. The girl wore a loose white T-shirt and pink shorts with black leggings and black sneakers. Her left arm was wrapped with bandages for a reason – and the sight gave Mercedes shivers as it reminded her of the eerily similar situation in the past.
"Care to tell me who is that?!" Mercedes said through her gritted teeth. Sylvidia was giving the duo suspicious looks, as best as it could. Phantom approached them first and the girl followed, yawning. It was obvious the girl was tired.
Once they were face to face, Phantom cleared his throat. "Mercedes, the Elf Queen – Lea Stellar, information broker." Said Phantom, when he mentioned their names, the two girls nodded.
The two girls greeted each other with a wave and a forced smile.
"Okay…Phantom, explain why do I have to meet her." Mercedes pointed accusingly at Lea. The not-really-Aran muttered evenly, "Fair question."
Phantom was smooth with his words. "You two will work together in the future!"
"For?" The elf was incredulous – what on earth did Phantom drink?
"Lots of things," said Lea, and she looked as if she didn't care. Mercedes raised an eyebrow, it was either an answer to her verbal question or both verbal and non-verbal questions. "you guys are looking for somebody, right?"
"Aran is their name!" snapped Mercedes. Lea waved it away.
"I didn't even know there were two of them – much less, know them personally." Lea let out another long yawn and sat down on the grass while Mercedes remained standing.
Phantom grimaced under Mercedes's accusing glare. "Mercedes – she's our ally." But Mercedes was still unconvinced.
"Prove it." Mercedes caught Lea's glint and smug smirk. The latter closed her eyes lazily and flicked a finger at Mercedes. Mercedes heard the wind's calling and they readily aid the young girl, forming a twofold barrier, surrounding at least 3 km radius of this area as Lea acting as the central point.
Bounded Field – the elf thought – it was weak, but still strong enough to serve its purpose. The trees, bushes and grass rustled as monsters that were roaming in this area, retreated to a safer place and the old man shouted in surprise, "WHAT IN THE WORLD?!" Phantom whistled.
And the old tailor came out, disgruntled and had Mercedes's battle blouse in his hands, along with a thin thread with the needle. He pointed the needle at Mercedes, opening his mouth to ask, and then realized he had company and looked at the sleeping girl and the master thief.
"Did you do it?" He asked Phantom and Lea. Lea raised her hand, eyes still close. When he looked at the girl, his hard eyes soften a fraction and his hands continued the work before turning his back onto them, mutterings that were lost to the wind.
Fortunately, Mercedes didn't have to explain much – but she needed some explanations. The interaction between the old man and the young girl told her a little.
Lea opened her right eye, still with that smug smirk on her face. "Happy?"
Mercedes could only nod while her flying friend neighed, almost similar to laughter. "She caught you!" Sylvidia spoke; its voice was one of a female, soft-spoken. Phantom had a poker face on – plus, his mask shadowed the upper half of his face.
"Not that I can complain," Phantom remarked. "I didn't know you can do that, can't you teach Evan about it? And Mir."
Lea scratched the side of her neck, looking thoughtful for once. "I guess, but don't dump the whole work on me – I can see he has made a huge progress, even if he doesn't notice or knows it."
Mercedes looked at Lea, then at Phantom before rolling her eyes to the heavens. She is officially lost.
The elf made a mental note to strangle Phantom when she has the chance – a friend/fan of his or not, she cannot deny Phantom is one hell of annoyance. A big one, Mercedes added sourly.
...
A/N: Confused? Wait for the next chapter. The time skip was on purpose, and I intend to explain it later.
To Samjok-o: I will, but it will take time for me to update for I do occasionally get writer's block. I hope you did enjoy Mercedes's sort of POV.