A Katarina Vacation Arc
In an effort to convince Katarina to part with her blood, Aunt Leona had invited Katarina and Mili to see her laboratory. Cousin Matthew came along to make sure her mother didn't try anything. It seemed that against Katarina's protests, she intended to continue to protect her cousin's recovery.
"Isn't this great-great-great uncle Froderick's old laboratory?" Mili said, looking around the brightly lit room. "Where he tried to make undead using body parts he stole from graveyards? The one with the enormous… nevermind."
"Yes," Aunt Leona said cheerfully "Don't worry, I gave it a thorough cleaning, and finally found the arm of that skeleton that had gotten stuck under the floorboards. It was really glad to have it back."
Eh? EH? Wait, did Fortune Lover have this setting? This was news to Katarina!
"How is it so bright?" Katarina asked. The place was in the basement of the house and had no windows, yet it was really, really bright. Supermarket bright!
"Fu fu fu!" Aunt Leona said.
"Honestly Leona, at your age," Mili said. "I think I have a handkerchief here…"
"I didn't sneeze!" Aunt Leona said. "That was my smug laugh!"
"You have a smug laugh now?" Mili said.
"Of course!" Aunt Leona said. "And I'm glad you asked, dear niece! My laboratory is lit by magic tools that use magic to heat pieces of quicklime, giving us this bright, even light you just can't get even with chandeliers."
"Oooh," Katarina went, looking at the light sources and trying to see what her aunt was saying.
"No, don't stare directly at them, you'll go blind," her aunt said, covering her eyes and making her turn away.
"Aw…" Katarina said. "Can you make it really small so that people can carry around their own bright little light?"
"It's a bit too hot for that right now, but I'm confident that if I can get hold of the blood of a Light Magic wielder I'll be able to make something like that," Aunt Leona said.
"Ah, no," Katarina said. She knew this one. "Light Magic doesn't actually make visible light."
Aunt Leona blinked. "What, really?"
"Yup," Katarina said. "My friend Lady Maria complains about it all the time."
"Hexes. Back to the transposition kiln, then," Aunt Leona said.
"So, what did you need Katarina's blood for?" Mili said.
"This!" Aunt Leona cried, whipping the sheet of a table.
Katarina and Mili stared at the empty table.
Aunt Leona followed their gaze and sighed. She raised her voice. "Marie! Where's that hammer I made, the one that's supposed to be a replica of the Great Hammer of Ledo?"
Cousin Marie peeked her head into the room, a pair of brass goggles with leather straps on her head. "Oh, I had the servants move that into storage last week. You were building the pseudo-pyromancy gauntlet and needed the table, remember?"
"Oh, right," Aunt Leona said flatly. "Thank you dear!" She turned back to Katarina and Mili. "Okay, the big thing is gone, but we still have THIS!"
She opened a drawer and pulled out a round thing about the size of her hand. "I call it a prototype golem core!"
"They're actually called dirt dolls," Katarina said helpfully.
"No, I mean like the golems from myth, like Vendrick's golems or the Iron Golem," Aunt Leona said. "With the blood of an Earth Magic wielder, you can stick this in a pile of dirt and have a short-lived dirt doll! Even someone of average strength in Earth Magic can make a huge golem that they can control with their magic! The golem core does all the work of keeping it upright and mobile!"
"Um, my Earth Magic is actually pretty weak," Katarina said.
"Oh, strength doesn't matter. As long as you're able to do more than just, oh, make bumps of earth on the ground for people to trip on, your blood will have enough magical power for the magic tool!" Aunt Leona said proudly.
Mili and Katarina looked at each other, silently asking who had to tell her the bad news…
Aunt Leona eventually got over her crushing disappointment. In the meantime, she showed them the magic tools she'd made. This included a magic tool that was, to Katarina's eyes, basically a refrigerator, that used Water Magic to compress water into huge blocks of ice that they used to keep their food storage cool, and explained why they so readily had ice for Katarina's leg bruise. They also had a Wind Magic magic tool that circulated air around the manor, keeping the whole building cool in summer and warm in winter.
"We're very popular for parties," Aunt Henriette explained during afternoon tea. All the ladies were present, which made it seem more like a small tea party than just regular tea. "In fact, we're having one in a few days in your honor."
"Don't worry," Sheryl said, sitting next to her wife. "We only invited women who didn't badmouth you, family friends, and new people who don't know your history. We are NOT going to let the party get awkward for you."
"Thank you sister, sister-in-law," Mili said as Katarina happily ate the tea cakes. "I hope to do the family proud."
"Oh, you already do that, just let the family know you're having a good time at the party," Aunt Sheryl said.
"And you might even be able to find Katarina a nice boy there," Aunt Leona teased.
"Or girl," Aunt Henriette added.
"That won't be necessary, she's already engaged," Mili said with a disappointed sigh that made her sisters give her a strange look.
Katarina nodded, echoing her mother's sigh. "Besides, I doubt anyone would want the girl with villainous eyes," she said, pointing at her face.
A few seats over, Olga slumped. Her sister Marie patted her on the back, a well-practiced gesture.
"But… aren't you engaged, Katarina?" Matthew asked, confused.
"Ah, no, that was just a matter of honor," Katarina said. "When I was young, I accidentally got a scar on my forehead. To make up for it, my friend took responsibility and asked me to become his fiancée to make up for scarring my face. We've been engaged ever since." Katarina shrugged. "I told him that the scar is gone now and he doesn't have to do that anymore, but he says the scar is still there." She sighed. "So I'm still engaged."
"Wait, so… you're being forced to marry against your will?!" Matthew said, looking shocked and filled with knightly outrage.
"Well, there are circumstances on his end too," Katarina said. "If he didn't have a convenient shield protecting him, women would be sending him all sorts of engagement proposals, and he'd probably find that a huge bother. So I act as a shield for him. He's my friend too in addition to being my fiancée, after all. Ah, but don't worry. I've made it quite clear to him that if he ever finds someone he loves I'll be willing to step aside right away so he doesn't have to have me killed to be able to get married."
Why were all her relatives staring at her like that?
"Er, do I have something on my face?" Katarina asked. She'd been eating a lot of cake, after all. Almost as much as cousin Marie.
"You have some cream," said cousin said helpfully. "Here, let me get it for you."
"Oh, thank you!" Katarina said. Keith was usually the one who pointed things like that out for her. Her cousin was so nice!
"Is your fiancé secretly into men or something?" Aunt Henriette said. "Not that there's anything wrong with that, a lot of people are into men."
"Yes, I know, I'm the one who bought you that portrait of Nicol Ascart, remember?" Aunt Sheryl said.
"And I thank you for your understanding, my Sherry," Aunt Henriette said, giving Aunt Sheryl a kiss on the cheek. "Though it would certainly explain why he needs a shield."
"Hmm… that would actually explain a lot," Katarina said thoughtfully. "It would certainly explain why he always smiles when he sees Keith… and why his only friend is a really good looking man…" But why had he never told her? Was he afraid she'd reject him, that she'd stop being his friend or something? Or maybe it was a royalty thing, like a prince can't be gay the same way that an idol can't have a boyfriend? Oh, that was so sad! When she got back, she'd have to reassure him she'd always be his friend even if he came out as fujoshi bait!
"Er, Aunt Millidiana?" Cousin Iosekfa said, sounding concerned. "Are you all right?"
"I'm… fine, dear," Mili said. "Just… having my eyes opened to new realizations."
+3 Insight
