As Aster and Lily sat there in the comfortable silence for a moment, the soft pitter-patter of rain could be heard outside.
He had not known when it started, but Aster wasn't complaining, he was fond of such weather, even if a bit cold.
Looking at Lily's face, he sighed. "Well, I did not lie when I said I met royalty today, you know?"
He knew, of course, that she would not believe him just like that. After all, meeting a royalty was different than stumbling upon one by accident.
She lingered for a moment, turned to her side, and grabbed her book again. Then, she opened it, flipped a few pages, and pulled out a long white feather that she might've placed in there.
It was a quill pen.
Aster observed her silently, as she then turned to write something on the page of the book. A few moments later, Lily held the book in front of him, wanting him to read what she had written on the rough paper.
The writing was neat and elegant. It read:
"Was it Rose? She is the only one I know who would go around messing with people."
'Huh…'
He lingered for a moment, and then shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, yes. It was her… Princess Rose."
As he watched, the writing on the rough paper slowly faded, and then disappeared completely after he had read it, leaving the paper pristine once again.
Like a distant whisper that never quite reached your ears.
It was no wonder, though. The pen was imbued with her Mana, so she didn't have to carry the ink everywhere she went. The imprint of her writing would disappear within a minute or so. Or for as long as she could keep providing it with her Mana, it would linger indefinitely.
Lily… was mute. She could not speak, so she carried an austere book most of where she went, to express what she wanted to say with written words.
He felt both grief and awe whenever he saw her write down.
It must be agonizing, to not be able to speak? The longing, the powerlessness she might have felt at times… that must be both overwhelming and devastating.
It was much like a bird with mangled wings. It could see its kin soar high into the sky, drifting through the vast expanse above, but not do so itself.
…Of course, he wasn't going to say anything about that.
Though, he sometimes imagined being in her place instead, too. What would it feel to be the only one unable to express yourself, while the others around you could?
It was a torment, to say the least.
Lily remained motionless for a while, then scribbled something on the rough paper of the book again. Soon, he read: "Oh, no wonder you're acting smug. What, did she hand you a royal order to be her significant other or something?"
Aster choked on thin air.
Well… cold thin air.
He stared at her with wide eyes for a moment, then let out an exasperated sigh, shaking his head as he felt his cheeks warm up at the thought…
He contemplated for a moment, glaring at her from the corner of his eye. There was this wide, idiotic grin plastered on her face, like she had won something…
Aster scoffed, then smirked as he pulled out a small deep indigo woolen cloth, holding it in front of her like a grand prize he had procured.
"As a matter of fact, she did! Here, is this proof enough for you?"
Lily gazed down at the peculiar cloth for a moment, a subtle frown appearing on her delicate face. Then, as though remembering something, her eyes widened comically.
Aster's smirk turned into a full blown grin at the sight. 'Hah! Got you!'
Aster had known that Lily and Rose were both friends, and both spent quite some time together, whenever they had the chance to. He, on the other hand, though, never had the privilege to be anyone else's friend aside from a certain bewildered loaf.
He did not know how they both knew each other, and did not really care to find out. But, because of that, Lily must know a lot about Rose, including this peculiar piece of cloth.
Well, not everyone in the academy was fond of using a handkerchief especially woven out of wool, and one that of such a colour atop that. So, she must have gotten the hint. Sure, she could also think that Aster might have procured one from somewhere to mess with her, but he never even met the princess before.
Lily opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it, and picked up the quill again. Before she could write down something on the paper, though, Aster chuckled lightly and shook his head.
It was written all over her face, so he knew what she was going to write. "How do I have this handkerchief? Well, it's a long story. Where do I even start from…"
But at that moment, someone else entered the room, as well, bringing with them a rich, deeply savory, and earthy aroma.
Miss Rebecca walked towards the dining table beside the window and placed down the porcelain dishes she was holding. A large tray, in which was three bowls, each filled with beef broth. There was some bread, too, and beef jerky, as well.
Looking at the food, Aster gulped. He had not eaten anything since morning, so he was quite hungry. And that was the exact moment his stomach chose to grumble!
He blinked, then laughed a little in embarrassment.
Miss Rebecca glanced at them with a hint of amusement. Because, as Aster looked at Lily, she was still wide eyed, mouth slightly agape, but now for a completely different reason than the shock of knowing his encounter with Princess Rose.
Miss Rebecca shook her head and sat down on a chair, gesturing for them to do the same. "Come, eat first. We can talk about anything else later."
—— ——
Soon enough, Aster had satiated his hunger. He had not cared about any decorum or mannerisms, attacking his food like a hungry wolf.
And now, he was letting out a satisfied sigh, a wide smile on his face as leaned back comfortably in his chair.
Miss Rebecca sat across from him, while Lily was by his side. The table was round, so they sat in a circle. Currently, Lily was still finishing her broth, while Miss Rebecca stared at him with narrowed eyes, as if observing a prey.
Aster's smile grew a little forced. 'Here comes.'
"So… how about you start explaining yourself, mister?"
Aster took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. The inevitable had come, and there was no way to escape it. He hastily went over everything that had transpired today, and nodded.
"Well, I was coming back from the Academy when these pompous noble brats picked up a fight with me."
Miss Rebecca raised an eyebrow, not quite surprised at the word "noble". Lily, on the other hand, was also as nonchalant as ever.
They both were used to him getting into such a mess.
'But still… they can at least react a little!'
"Oh yeah? So was I not entirely wrong when I said 'if you spent half as much time practicing your parry as you do running your mouth at random places, I wouldn't have to waste my good knitbone root on your ugly face'."
Was she… teasing him?
Aster stared at her like he had seen something so offensive, it hurt… it hurt his soul! 'These damn loafs…'
Lily seemed to be enjoying her broth while listening to them.
Seeing his reaction, Miss Rebecca smirked and clicked her tongue. "Relax, I was just teasing. Don't look at me like that."
She lingered for a moment, and then sighed. "So, what happened then?"
Aster shrugged nonchalantly. He thought about it for a moment, then went about his ordeals.
He first explained how he had the misfortune of stumbling upon those noble kids from the Proelium Family. That was quite the unpleasant experience he ever had, but not the worst… he didn't know why, but it felt as though he had gone through more nightmarish phases than that.
That experience felt almost insignificant to those dreadful feelings. The emotions sometimes got so intense that he felt as though he was being strangled by an invisible force.
It was both harrowing and dreadful.
Of course, Aster kept those emotions to himself, never letting them become obvious in front of anyone.
Every time he tried to think of what made him feel that way, or why he felt that way, he just couldn't recall anything.
His emotions were like a spider-web. The more he tried to figure them out, the more he got stuck in them.
Sometimes, he would also feel depersonalized.
…Aster then went about how he was then saved by two radiant figures amidst the all-consuming darkness, and was lifted back to reality, expelling that darkness with their benevolence… 'Huh, that's a bit of an exaggeration…'
Of course, those two radiant, benevolent figures were none other than Princess Rose and her personal knight, Amor.
And then how he spent some time being comforted by the princess herself, also while giving him back a handkerchief that he certainly didn't remember giving her, ever.
"And, after they left, I soon came back home… nothing much…"
Aster observed the faces of Lily and Miss Rebecca quietly, wanting to see their reactions. Well… their expressions were quite intense, to say the least. Aside from Lily's, who seemed more amused than anything.
He would be lying if he said he wasn't excited to see how they would react.
…Well, how "she" would react, because he never thought Lily would be at home, too. And that excitement only doubled down when he got to know that she was indeed here.
'Is she going to say it?'
Miss Rebecca took a deep breath, then slumped back in her chair like she just came back from an arduous, perilous journey, and finally allowed herself to relax.
Waving a dismissive hand, she said: "What are you, a damsel in distress? Being saved by a knight in shining armour?"
'She said it!' Aster huffed indignantly, crossing his arms.
"Well, what of it? I think you should rather be concerned and consoling me, than making sarcastic jokes right now!"
Lily, who seemed both amused and concerned, couldn't help but let out a chuckle. As much as it could be called a "chuckle", considering that she was mute.
Miss Rebecca, on the other hand, shook her head and extended her hand over the table of empty dishes… but then froze mid-way.
Pulling her hand back, she gave him a regretful look and said: "Right, your face is bruised, can't do anything right now."
Aster stared at her for a bit.
Then stared some more.
Then a little bit more…
Eventually, he shook his head, both exasperated and amused.
"You're both damn loafs!"
Seeing his reaction, Miss Rebecca blinked a couple of times, then left out a soft laugh.
Getting up, she ruffled his hair and started to gather the now empty dishes. When she spoke again, Aster felt that she was the one more consoled than he was.
"Well… whatever you say, your highness. But… I'm glad that there was someone who saved you, be it the princess herself. And… I'm really glad that you shared everything with us."
Once she cleaned up the table, she looked at both of them one last time before turning around to leave, while saying:
"Make sure that his grace gets his beauty to sleep, Lily. Or else, how would he be able to seduce some princesses if there are bags under those pretty eyes?"
With that, she closed the door behind her, giggling to herself as she left them alone once again.
Aster stared at the closed door a moment, a storm of complicated emotions raging inside his heart.
He grimaced.
He felt more at ease now, but still tense for some reason. He was relieved, but also anxious at the same time.
…He did not know why.
And that frustrated him.
'Ah, it's all such a mess.'
At that moment, Lily poked his arm. Looking at her worried expression, Aster sighed and shook his head. Smiling widely, he said:
"How about we read that story again?!"
Aster and Lily spent some time together like siblings would. They read the story together, sometimes asking each other random questions while sometimes teasing and messing with each other.
The rain outside continued to fall silently. The pitter-patter of rain drops against the window like a soothing symphony.
Aster had closed the window at some point while they were eating, shivering as he had felt that cold, wet breeze caress his warm skin.
Soon enough, after saying good night to Lily, he returned back to his own room.
Closing the door behind him, Aster leaned back against it, letting out a long sigh, his shoulders dropping.
He gazed around for a moment, observing the warmly lit room.
His own room was pretty austere, consisting of a simple cot with a warm mattress and blanket on it. The cot was made out of the same pale polished wood of the dining table and Lily's cot, and so was the study table a few steps beside it.
His cot was right beside the window that faced the front of the apothecary, and he could see the alley below, and the desolate house that stood in front of their own.
There were a few books on it with leather covers encasing them, some ink in a small glass bottle, and some quill pens. All made of white feathers.
He walked towards the table and pulled the chair back slightly. Slowly, he lowered himself onto the chair and allowed himself to relax.
Then, he grabbed a book with black leather cover and flipped through its pages. Soon enough, he grabbed one quill pen from the rack, opened the lid of the ink bottle, dipped the quill into the dark ink, and started writing.
[30th December
17th year of the reign of King Keith
Today was both pleasant and unpleasant.
I ended up getting entangled with these infamous noble kids from the Academy. However, I ended up getting saved by someone akin to an angel. She caught me before I could get drowned into my own despair.
She was ineffable. I have no words to describe her otherworldly beauty.
She also gave me a handkerchief, telling me that it was mine, but I don't remember when I ever gave it to her.
My memories also feel more distorted than ever.]
Letting out a sigh, he mentally read everything over one last time before closing the notebook and putting everything back to their place again.
'Well… now I feel a lot lighter.'
Aster had developed a habit of writing journals every night before he went to sleep.
It wasn't always like this, he didn't use to write about the stuff that happened to him. But recently, he thought it would help him with his messy emotions and distorted memories.
If he forgot something, he could simply pick up the journal and read about what he was forgetting. Ah, but it was a futile attempt.
Even if he did just that, he didn't quite recall most of the things that were written in the journal. At least only a few, to his relief.
But mostly, it helped him cope with the desolate feelings and emotions that haunted him. To lighten the suffocating feeling that never left.
But that was alright.
Aster was slowly coming to terms with this mess of conflicting emotions and distorted memories.
Shaking his head, he turned to look outside the window. It was raining heavily now, and it was dead-dark outside, the sky devoid of any flashes of lightning.
Slowly, his gaze crept up the window. Just above, was hung a wooden frame onto the brick wall. In that wooden frame, was a drawing.
It was as though the shadows had solidified to resemble an ineffable being. It was a bird with black plumage, featuring striking shades of dark radiance. It boasted a majestic, peacock-like crest and brilliant eyes.
It was a Phoenix.
The Phoenix was soaring high into the sky, above a vast expanse of a legion of unfathomable shadows like a divine deity of darkness.
The drawing was vivid and made with charcoal, as though the painter had fallen in love with their imagination before giving it a shape with meticulous, caring, and loving hands.
The vast expanse of the legion of shadows seemed to rustle under its majestic form, in waves.
Of course, those shadows were supposed to illustrate a vast ocean.
And that drawing… was one of his creations.
Aster couldn't help but smile with pride and satisfaction.
There were rumours that such beings existed in this world. Even in books, it was told that these magnificent creatures were Divine beings.
Of course, he didn't believe such nonsense unless saw a Phoenix himself.
Though… when Aster had first read the description of a Phoenix in the history books, he was so mesmerized that he wanted to draw an illustration himself.
This masterpiece of his had taken him more than a month to complete, but the wait was worth it.
Aster liked Phoenixes.
Letting out a quiet sigh, he got up and changed into something more comfortable. The pain of the bruises was still there, but manageable now. He had thrown the linen cloth away a long time ago, and rinsed his face with luke-warm water.
Soon enough, he was peacefully asleep in the embrace of his warm blanket, too tired to even put out the lantern.