EDEN
- Part III -
It was too early in the morning when Rin decided to leave her bed. Leaving her bed was a difficult task, if she would be asked. Basically, she couldn't do anything without anyone's help, hence she was fairly aware that her presence in the selection was kind of a burden to their House. She was no fool. The looks people had given her back in their home were way too obvious to be ignored. All of them were worried that she, Rin Summers, the crippled daughter from the lineage of the late king, might get hurt in the selection. Well, they seemed more worried which of the Summers would take the throne. She didn't mind all those things, though. For a pacifist such as she, Rin was more concerned in the peaceful selection the consejo promised, that no one would lose another life just to claim the throne – a faux pas she blindly believed.
Crippled, that was she. Nevertheless, only her upper body, waist up, was mobile. Her legs were too weak to support her even when standing so she fully relied on her wheelchair in order to move around wherever she was. Sadly, due to the rules of set by the consejo, Houses were not allowed to employ any servants. All chores must be taken care of by the members of the house, regardless of the area of one's shelter. Other words, not even her own nanny could help her move herself to her wheelchair.
The blonde untucked herself from the blanket, and then leaned to the headboard to drag her legs out of the bed. When her legs dangled on the sides of the bed, she heaved a sigh. Doing that alone tired her quickly, she wondered if she could sit herself properly on her wheelchair. It wasn't even near her now. The blonde looked around the room, squinting her eyes in the dimness of the room until she found her wheelchair two meters away from her.
"No one's here," she sighed, brushing her fringe away from her eyes. Her brother and cousin's room were located two hallways away from her, so she really couldn't call out to them. She could ring the bell, but wasn't that asking so much? Len was worried about other matters. She shouldn't add on his stress.
Rin was about to go back to sleep when she heard her door creek as it opened. She watched carefully as a barefoot stepped in, its long nightgown circling two inches above its ankle. Then stepped in the other foot, and Rin looked up to see who was this person.
"Good morning, Lady Rin," her long teal hair seemed like a waterfall cascading as she curtseyed to the blonde.
"Lady Miku!" Rin exclaimed. "Did I...did I bother your sleep? What brings you here?" She knew that Miku's room was right next to her, however she was not really familiar to her like Rinto. Rin had not spoken to her even once after Miku arrived in the mansion, for the teal-haired noble busied herself in practicing with Rinto in using swords, while Rin was never left unaccompanied by her brother. Len did not spare a minute talking to either Rinto or Miku ever since Eden began.
"I figured out that you're awake. I want to help you. Is there any place you want to visit now? The sun won't rise until six. It's only half past four," Miku walked to the corner, fetching Rin's wheelchair from where it was. "I was informed by Sir Rinto that you would often rise too early to have a stroll. And you would usually do it with your elder brother. Would you like me to call Sir Len for you?"
"Please, no," Rin smiled, reaching out to touch Miku's hand when she was within the breadth. "I don't want to trouble him. Not while we're in a crucial selection. I hope this won't be asking a lot from you but...Lady Miku, can you stay by my side? I really can't do anything by myself."
They were all lies, of course. She had troubled her brother enough. Len kept insisting his disinterest to the throne despite Rin's encouragement. He claimed that he valued Rin's safety more than anything, and he couldn't care less if Rinto and Lady Miku would hurt themselves once the consejo decided for the first task. Right from the start, Len explained matters to his sister. When the messenger of the House of Eden escorted them from their manor, Len made it clear that he was going to the selection just for formality. He renounced his claim long before, so nothing would change his mind – no one would, not even Rin.
"I'll be glad to do so, only if you will fix that attitude of yours first," Miku leaned down and swept up the crippled blonde from the bed, then put her down to the wheelchair. Rin was giving her a bewildered look, that kind of face asking what wrong she did. "Don't get so worked up. I am meaning to ask you to halt your negative thoughts. I really don't want to help people who think they're helpless. If you will keep on thinking that you aren't capable of doing anything, then I don't think I can be of any help to you, too. If you don't want to believe in yourself, then I don't have any reason to help you."
Rin looked up to her, but she saw nothing more than a face where shadows cast. It was too dark, she couldn't make what expression this Lady from the House of Unschuld had. "That is a strange way of motivating people, Lady Miku." The blonde chuckled and let out a sigh afterwards. "Do you not like me because I am what I am?"
"I don't intend to uplift you, either. I have no intention of motivating you, Lady Rin. I just wish you'll talk and think more positive about yourself. And no, I like you. You painfully remind me of someone who's very hard on oneself." Miku pushed the lady out of the room, and quietly they went down a ramp that brought them to the vast reception area of the House of Aurum.
"Pray tell me, Lady Miku. Can you read minds?" Rin glanced at the tall portraits hanging on the wall, the classic paintings of the founding families who established not only the House of Aurum, but also the House of Eden. She caught sight of a portrait of man and woman hanging on the far end of the hall. It was quite a distance so she really couldn't see their faces. But one thing was for sure, the man was blond and the woman had the same hair like Miku. They must be Miku's forefathers. "I heard that each house has a supernatural gift. Whether that gift is an advantage for the house or not, it really depends on how they use it."
"No, I can read hearts not minds. I hear what the mind refuses to say," Miku whispered in reply, pushing the wheelchair to a different corridor. "And no house has distinct supernatural gift, Lady Rin. Those individuals serving the houses, they do. Apparently for the House of Aurum, no one was blessed with that gift."
"But you can read hearts?" Rin insisted, raising a hand so she could touch Miku's hand as the teal-haired girl pushed her around. It was a habit she grew accustomed to, to hold someone's hand to assure herself that she wasn't really alone wherever she would go. After all, the world was a tad cruel to people with disability like her.
"It's a metaphor," Miku patted her head for a short while. Though she told the blonde that it was just a metaphor – that she could read hearts – perhaps there was a little truth in those words.
"How saddening," mumbled Rin. The two felt the cold breeze against their faces as they exited the backdoor in the kitchen. The sky was a black canvas with a smudge of blueness, adorned with the tiny glittering stars. It felt so peaceful while they stood under the moonless firmament. "This is a false image of peace," whispered the blond as she savored the tender caresses of the cool breeze. "Correct?" she opened an eye to glance at the quiet lady.
Miku was a fine lady. It was her taciturnity that gave her the look of a refined lady. Rin had been observing the older lady for a while now, and from a distance she would always watch how Miku would shower the ballroom with grace as she would slowly defeat Rinto in their duel. Whether in a dress or in pants, Miku looked so beautiful. What the blonde girl disliked about Miku was her lack of expression. Sure, she was a woman of lofty beauty, but her face and eyes remained stoic like a statue. It was as if she forgot how to feel. On one hand, Rinto mentioned it once that Miku was as old as him and Len, and that still surprised Rin. The members of the House of Aurum were all five years older than her.
The trees rustled as the wind blew; it sounded more like hushed whispering of people rather than rustling in reality. Miku stared at the glistening water cascading from the fountain in the centre of the garden with full-bloomed roses surrounding it. This was a nostalgic place for her – she knew by heart how the trees would rustle and the breeze would blow at this time of the day. It happened long ago, here in this place too. She asked the same question Rin just asked her – to a person who might have kept her heart if only he lived, and Miku could still remember his answer and the truth in his words.
"No," replied Miku, her leaf green eyes gazed somewhere far. She wanted to believe that he would come back, that behind those tall trees he would emerge. But the trees continued to sway and no one appeared from the foliage.
"All I have been hearing from you is your disapproval," the blonde chuckled. She never met someone as blunt as Miku before, and so far this wasn't the nicest first conversation with someone—and yet this was the most honest. Indeed, this was her first time speaking to Miku Unschuld.
"The consejo just dropped a letter in the doorstep a few minutes before you woke up. Prepare for the first task tomorrow; This is a brief moment of serenity, Lady Rin. A huge mess is waiting ahead at the breaking of dawn, until then you should cherish this peace. I am certain that the other Houses will not grant us the peaceful selection you are dreaming of," Miku spoke the exact words told to her, delivering it at the same manner it was spoken, one century ago.