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Faelight

« All is fair in love and war »

There was the soft ticking of a clock, the tranquil rustling of paper and the ever woeful sigh of the sorrowful. The petals of a flowering tree fell upon the dark blue hair of a Half-fae female by an open window. So in a library a short distance away from a city of both El energy and henir power, there she sat on a suspended seat, the space were floating balls of light that set her aglow in a soft radiance. She wore an oversized beige knit sweater that swished as she flipped pages of a book bound in velvet. The familiar scent of ancient books comforted her, remaining the same throughout worlds.

Surrounded by the lofty wooden shelves, a spiraling staircase had ivy curling around the railings. The rounded ceiling housed the stained glass depicting various events throughout Elrian history while the air was light, a dreamy haze glazing the scene. The female hummed a slight tune and she tapped a finger on a leg covered by black tights then let her flats drop to the ground, the ribbons trailing in the air like shadows before they landed on the worn wooden floor. They lay beside yet another abandoned pair of shoes, the former being tall chestnut lace up boots. Left there until the burden of snow and ice blanketed the verdant soils, when winter finally came to snuff out life and claim Elrianode with an icy heart of darkness. All was unforgiving, especially the rulers that saw through each and everyone's actions with a deceitful eye.

The half Fae hardly reacted to the thump, only adjusting the rose gold framed glasses she wore that allowed her to read hidden messages with astounding Nasod tech. She was not simply just reading after all, she was a researcher for the dictating government. In this way, it was a bargain. For their protection, she would have to work for them to find information concerning the possibly of conflict. But honestly, the choice was not hers to make, to have that freedom in a place she didnt hail from. They controlled her just like everyone else, just a stepping stone for power. It was a shame that such a beautiful place was grabbed ahold by corruption, tainting its allure.

A few moments later, she let out a frustrated sigh and let the book drop, picking up a camera beside her gingerly before inhaling lightly. Around her was the delicate scent of flowers as vibrant flowers were placed amongst her dull hair drawn into a braided chignon. Her usually large bright turquoise eyes were sleepily half-lidded, like gems that twinkled even in the shadows cast by her lashes. Yawning, the delicate female glanced out the wide paned window with boredom evident on her face.

When would this session be over?

Would she ever have a chance to return to her homelands?

She did not know yet she wondered, the thoughts lingering for a long while before a slight glimpse at the skies stole her breath away. With a intake of breath, the female gazed silently to the new lands spread before her, each significant building like a chess piece on a board. The pale stone buildings with their golden rooftops, though some spires darkened with the invading dark power, who would claim checkmate? This world all seemed like a political game to her, each leader lying or destroying their way to the thrones. A bead of sweat rolled down her temple, usually calm demeanor broken as a disturbing thought came through.

Would there be war? Bloodshed, more unnecessary death. Then what would she do? The female shook her head, trying to clear the cobwebs of negativity away before raising with fresh eyes the camera up to capture one of her favorite moments of the day, on the eve of what was to be an important day. The Harmony Festival, the only day where the civilians were allowed joy and laughter throughout the whole night.

The setting sun set the horizon aglow with pinks and oranges, hints of yellow then deepening into a startling night sky of blue and violet. Swirling clouds lay like ribbons and stats glimmered, the elfin female sighed from her high perch at the lovely sight. Away from the Elrianode, this was a library that was a hidden gem to little. To her, it was her only place of solace, the only place where she could be without the jeers of the small city's people. As she smiled serenely, she felt a small jolt of happiness in her chest, bringing hands up to press against her heart.

"Simply beautiful. I should go visit Elysion, I hear the El Trees are especially thriving this time of the year." She murmured softly before seeing a white bird flutter up to her, the avian creature perching itself on her extended finger with an envelope in hand.

Elysion, a place that is neither here or there, a dimension entirely apart from both Lurensia and Fluone. Perfect for her, she thought.

The bird nudged her cheek, making small sounds for her attention. Perhaps it was another message for her attendance or maybe a warning, the female did not know. A small smile found itself appearing on her lips as a faint rosy hue spread itself over her cheeks. In the olden days, love letters were said to be sent this way but alas, those times were long over, gone like mist when she fled her lands. She sighed mournfully and gently took the envelope, opening it to reveal a firm request for more work. The bird chirped once more, a laugh at her misfortune before launching itself into the bright skies. The longing for the freedom of being free struck her heart, to be away from the glided cage she now called "home". Moving to close the window, the scent of flowers now sickly sweet a surprising sight caught her eye. Walking up the thorn filled path to the library was what seemed like two Elrian officers, and the female gasped, pressing a slender hand to her chest.

Officers didnt generally come to this hidden area and by the weapons they held, these people were on high alert. Did someone tip them off to something here?

She quickly gathered her things, sliding them into a bursting messenger back and climbed down. Hastily, her flats were placed on, kicking her boots away and the female quickly climbed into an alcove, pressing herself to the shadows and holding a small gem, she whispered a spell that would render her invisible as long as she stayed close to the enchanted jewel.

Did they realize I left Elrianode without permission? No time to run, something's the best may to hide in plain sight.

"If they did that was quite unexpected. Considering I'm not under their rule since…" She let out a bitter sigh, "I belong to a different world anyways. At worst they would punish me by beatings…" The memories of the punishments dished out to her fellow civilians chilled her to the core, their bloody backsides and the ever haunting wail of a mother who had lost her child.

Was she doomed? A bout of nausea welled up and the half-fae female let out a choking gasp, bracing for the worst. The door to the library creaked and opened as her thoughts ended abruptly. Peeking in was a chestnut haired male, tresses ebony in the shadows but an officer indeed. His uniform was prominent and a few badges glittered here and there in the fading light, a faint sheen of sweat on his skin. The other officer was no where to be seen, maybe patrolling the outside watching for suspicious movements.

She squirmed uncomfortably in the alcove, it was cramped and as expected, something always went wrong when it came to situations like this. At this rate her backside would be sore if she managed to go home safely. As the officer closely examined the space before him, she froze and found herself looking into apricot color eyes, a memorizing mixture of pink within the orange. When she did, it was if he sensed something array when unexpectedly his eyes fell on petals fallen below a window seat suspended next to a window.

Oh… My flowers…!

The Half-Fae sat back a little nervously, her hand reaching for her weapons before forgetting she had left them back in her home, foolishly thinking she was well off. Did she condemn herself? would she be lucky enough for him to assume they floated in from the open window? It would have seemed like a good possibility if not for the fact the flowers came from a different area. Never mind that however, she had to quickly rid herself of the flowers before more came loose. She quickly start plucking the flowers away from her, setting them down before stopping as something tickled her nose.

—

A single petal fell from her hair and fell to the ground.

She held her breath softly.

—

"Petals…?" The male questioned aloud as he examined them, furrowing his eyebrows. It seemed a little strange to it, the flowers seem fresh, not wilted like it would if left here for weeks. Seeing how this library by the looks of it was hidden the young officer wasn't sure when the last time someone visited it. Although… He was sure Asuka, his Bethma hailing partner, saw the silhouette of someone in the windows before it disappeared. The male rubbed his eyes, it was probably because of his fatigue. This days the commander was working them harder then usual, always grumbling on about how they were planning something. Whoever was "they" he did not know.

"Doesn't seem like anything here." The officer said, and snorted, looks like their patrol would end early today. False alarm then, nothing to suspect. Then, just as he turned a slightly flicker of color caught the corner of his eyes. The male curiously stopped and walked over to yet another petal that fell to the bottom of an alcove this time. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the surroundings, the only flowers in this area were that of the pink and blue variety yet these, these were of vibrant colors not found from these parts.

But then how would a petal land there? Was it perhaps a foreigner had been here?

"Be careful of magic." His higher ups would always hiss.

"Well of course whenever you see something out of the ordinary it might just be that. After all after the war when the veil broke who knows what creatures escaped into here!"

The officer squinted into the alcove, he saw nothing, but then again, maybe his sight was deceiving him. He held out a hand but hesitated the air felt like it was crackling. Then after a split second his hand flickered and disappeared. "What in the world?!" The male sputtered, skin paling, and in an explosion of movement something brushed by him, an assortment of vibrant flowers and a single pale ribbon fluttered down.

"Stop!" He shouted and pulled out a longsword, seeing nothing except the wild fluttering of papers as an entity ran past like the wind. His dumbfound sight followed the storm it created in its wake, not quite believing his own eyes. So there was something here, when they caught whoever it was there would have to be an interrogation in order. The door was yanked open and just before they closed, he saw a few navy blue tresses flicker into sight before the door slammed shut. The dumbfound officer stood there for a second before sliding his sword back into the sheath and giving pursuit. He shouted for his partner but no reply came from here, was she wandering off again to pester some random commoner? Running onto the paved path outside the building, he gritted his teeth and looked to his left, seeing nothing then spotting the flash of movement to his right.

"On orders of the Elrian government, I command you to stop!"

The female by the looks of only let her dark hair cover her face before leaping through a rosebush. He darted to the rosebush then that instant, grabbing ahold of her arm, pulling her to a stop. The female attempted to wiggle away but as an Officer, even with his slender frame he had tremendous strength honed from the training each of them had to go through.

"Who are you?" He asked, his eyes searching her features for identification, searching his limited internal database for if he recognized this girl. Dark blue hair, unknown eye color… Pointed ears?

"Ms. Takiyama?" He murmured and she flinched, "The half-fae?" Previously he had seen the tall female on several occasions when he went on his rounds. She had always been reading a book or on some days, simply admiring the gardens that were laid around the grounds. She coughed lightly and stiffly pulled away, rubbing her wrist as she did so. "Indeed so. Now leave me be Mr. Officer. I-I was just conducting experiments." The researcher said softly and bowed slightly. Her hands were twisting the fabric of her bag nervously and he could see the glint of fright in her eyes, fearing the punishment he would give her.

"I understand I have broken protocol and I will continue my work in my home." Her head lowered, she was visibly trembling slightly and the officer looked around desperately for his partner, unsure in what to do with the female. It would be proper to punish her accordingly but would he face repercussions for doing so to their official researcher.

"Asuka!" The male called, deciding to find his partner for this and then older officers faint voice replied back quickly. He was new after all so she would have more experience with this. "Come here."

She shouted back her compliance, her arrival was noisy and within a minute, he could see her dark crimson hair appearing by the trees. He waved his arm up, keeping his eyes firmly on the Half-Fae before his partner arrived. Was this the right thing to do? He thought.

"Well, what do we have here, a rule breaker or soon to be prisoner?" Asuka said, looking Ms. Takiyama up and down, checking for weapons. She shed away from the female officers gaze and held her pale hands up to show her unarmed figure. "Please, I didn't mean to. I just wanted some peace here." He ignored her words, a twinge of guilt twisted his heart as he nodded at his senior while the soft pleads of the other female continued.

"This is a warning for now, do note that next time there might be harsher consequences. We do not tolerate broken rules but unfortunately your standing protected you." Asuka glowered, "For now." She added as she held out a hand. "Give me your hand Ms. Takiyama and allow me to ask some questions."

"… Why?" She asked quietly, he couldn't miss the his sympathy as he glanced at the outcast. Her story was a rumor among the citizens so whenever he went out for a trip he would sometimes catch bits and pieces of the Half-Fae's name being tosses around. Chiyo Takiyama, they would also say, an abomination, her kind are the new invader and ruin of our lands. She was unknown to them all and that made them fear her, and making her a useful asset to the government. They say that the Demon War had created this, the rift between what were separate worlds connected by the El.

Asuka scoffed and with a resounding crack, she swiftly and ruthlessly twisted Chiyo's hand, an audible crack could be heard as a look of surprise spread across the recipients face, turquoise eyes widening.

"I'm sure you won't need your hand much hm? Useless girl. Will you talk now?" The officer laughed and let go of the now swollen wrist, Chiyo holding it to her chest with a pained gaze. "What were you doing in there?"

"I—" The female grimaced and swallowed hard, "I was looking over some papers for my work. It was about the El Masters who once governed the land. I was told to look into it to find any clues about the true power of the El." She responded quietly, flinching as she shuffled.

"The El Masters? Forget about them pfft. I dont see why they're important. Come now Aiden, patrol's done for the day." Asuka said, raising an eyebrow at him before stalking off, as if she had not just broken a hand. He hesitantly followed, sparing a glance behind him as he did. The Half-Fae was still standing there, her head raised to look directly at him, he thought it seemed accusing and faltered. Her shattered wrist with also as he now noticed scratches from her haste running had make the blood vividly dark against her fair skin, she turned then to disappear into the evening.

Were they really the protectors of Elrios?

The male sighed.

—

Only time could tell.

—

Fast forwards to the later evening, Chiyo couldn't help but smile softly as she arrived to the doorstep of her quaint home, the interior having a simple design but a large space with plenty sunshine. Even after what happened, relief threatened to bring her to her knees. She managed to arrive without any other disruptions and laid a hand on the handle of her Lurencian styled doors, the glass paned door clicking shut gently. It was dark inside, as expected nothing was touched during the duration she was out.

"Now to treat my hand, I need some light." She muttered while bitting back her yelps of pain. As she moved to light some candles however, she noticed something odd. Her drawers weren't organized the way they were before, the papers were neat but placed in the wrong spot. Whoever had done this were careful to hide their tracks however as she spotted nothing to pinpoint a culprit.

Nothing to be afraid of however, she thought, bringing some gauze out and wrapping her swollen wrist, fabric already turning incarnadine. Before she could use a spell to heal the injury, it would be better to let the bones settle into place itself with natural treatment or else she let herself have a deformed wrist for her long life. The half-fae sighed and grabbed the TV remote, now then perhaps giving more thought to the matrer, if she had been robbed, was there a renowned thief around these parts? Her shoulders lifted in a shrug to her own question, she was worried but clicked the power on, the screen of her television crackling to life showing the news anchor. Maybe she could learn something new to distract her from both the pain and the disturbance, as nothing seemed stolen.

"Knowledge is everything though," The female looked back to her papers. "But I would have been hauled to prison if I've been found out by now no?" She hummed a small melody as she busied herself with organizing the pile, significantly harder as she was now one handed for the time being.

The emblem of the news channel popped up then, and the song slipped from her mind, mouth going dry. Normally the female would skip past this in favor for the history documentaries she loved but the hurried appearance of the reporter had caught her attention. The reporter looked a bit nervous, uncommon and her hair was disheveled, like she had ran a hand through the coiffed curls. The suit she wore was crooked as if she had hastily dresses.

"Today evening at 5:32pm, the body of government official was discovered in his home by police after he failed to pick up the phone for an urgent meeting, they are warning civilians to stay inside for the duration of the investigation. Currently the cause of death is unknown but it is suspected that due to suspicious markings it would be the cause of runaway—"

Click.

Chiyo shivered and threw down the remote, when she got up to her windows she could already hear rumors floating up from the cobble stone paved street of Sector 2A. Even as she was protected here, her home listed as Arisu Takiyama, the few that knew her real identity might suspect her. After all, she was away from her home when this happened. Her hand still throbbed from the memory and the female grimaced. Like her current mood, clouds were swiftly covering the expanse of the sky.

"Holy El, did you just hear the news?" A voice called out to someone below, she recognized it as the familiar sound of her neighbor.

"Yes I did. I hear the Fae representative did it!" Another replied.

"Lady Akane, how filthy those creatures are. Worst then the Elves I would say." Ever since a conflict that happened 150 years or so ago, the relationship between Elrians and Elves had soured, the two races growing far apart and all trades ceasing. It had been a poor time for Elrios but the economy soon rose as the Nasod Technology soon dominated markets.

"On the eve of the Harmony Festival no less."

"Do you think the Elves will come back for revenge too?"

She bit her lip, deep in thought as she looked back to the news anchor. Times were dangerous, maybe it would be best if she should escape to Altera, she had heard that the government, led by Nasods, were a bit more rational. However since the assassination of Lady Eve and the thief of her Core containing the Code: Empress, it had been highly unstable. Before in her rule, the floating island had been a peaceful place but now the chaos of that place could conceal her then.

"The Harmony Festival Is tomorrow, that would be too haste to make an escape. Perhaps..." She huffed and clenched her fists, frustration taking root. "Then once things settle down I can quietly leave." She would have to plan it out carefully, as the official researcher she wasn't suppose to leave because she was entrusted with some important documents. There wasn't anywhere they think she would go to anyways, or else they wouldn't have trusted her when she first stumbled into Elrios.

"By the El Lady, I hope for luck to bless us all." Chiyo murmured. "Save us from the ruin that threatens to consume us again."

The first patterings of rain fell on her roof in answer.

It was only the beginning of the end after all.

Note

Haiyo~ Apologies for any grammer mistakes, etc. I'm grateful that you take the time to read my writing and happy that you enjoy my style, warms my heart ;v; ❤

Expected date for next update: Unknown, please bear with my random schedule (which will hopefully stabilize)

- A Song of Daydreams