LualaDy

And there she was, rolling on the grass, then getting up, running in circles, then falling some more on the ground, rolling, redecorating the place a little bit with her horns… Beauty was happy. That put smiles on Mio’s and Khattu’s faces, making them forget everything for a few moments. If only life could be about green grass and silly fantasy horses… Khattu joined his furry friend by laying down, albeit at a safe distance. He closed his eyes and sighed. Mio sat down close to him and took a moment to appreciate the calming properties of the clearing. She could feel gentle sun rays on her shoulders and her arms, hear the birds singing, see Beauty’s mane glisten in the sunshine... It wasn’t enough, she had to ask: “So, when are you going to tell me?” “I know, I know, just …” The whole situation weighed on him more than he wanted to admit. On one hand they were meant to be as one, no secrets, on the other he couldn’t realistically dump everything onto her. This was all new for her

“Alright, but can you tell me why we’re walking…” Mio took a deep breath for a dramatic repetition. “Walking!” She gestured footsteps with her hands. “Next to the bicorn?” “Because I suggested a walk, and not a ride?” Answered Khattu, half amused, half surprised. She sighed, defeated. Her vocabulary was not on point yet. “That’s what you get for missing classes.” She thought. A walk is for feet, a ride is for hooves. This was ridiculous, many languages did not distinguish between means of transport when talking about a brief travel, though some did. She sighed again, she couldn’t even win the argument with herself. “We’re not going far,” Said Kha. “Just to the clearing over there, Beauty is absolutely crazy over it for some reason.” Just as he said that, the creature started speeding, leaving them behind. “Aren’t you afraid she’s going to run away?” Asked Mio, concerned. Khattu shook his head. “Nah, this girl goes where she pleases. She’s got a mind of her own, I’m just lucky

Mio watched Khattu intercepting Ara as she was about to exit the window’s field of view. She looked very angry. Mio couldn’t hear anything they were saying, but the scout’s accusatory finger wasn’t a good sign. Did her party encounter yet another pack of bandits? “Well, uh…” Said Sofi, breaking the silence. “We were about to fix Mina’s haircut, I don’t know if you want to stay.” “Yeah, no… thanks.” Replied Mio. “I’ll, I’ll leave you to it.” She nonchalantly left the room, carefully closing the door behind her, then, once she was hopefully far enough, she started running. She passed a few hallways, took several flights of stairs along with a few wrong turns, then still ended up at the stables where she found Khattu. She silently congratulated herself for predicting his movements then started attacking him with questions: “What happened? Why is she back so soon? Is something wrong? What’s our next move? Can I still have my party?” He let out an exasperated grunt and stood there

They stopped in front of a noisy door. Khattu firmly knocked three times, just to be sure. There was a thud followed by a little yelp and some loud footsteps. The door opened, it was Sofi. “Khaa… t-ttu!” She said with a smile, which quickly disappeared as soon as she noticed Mio. “Goddess, what time is it? I forgot…” “Don’t worry, I got this.” Khattu interrupted her. “Obviously you don’t.” Said Sofi staring Mio’s plain braid down. She stepped out of the doorframe and invited them in. It was a small room with two single beds, one nightstand and a wardrobe. It would have looked as depressing as those student dorms Mio used to live in, if not for the sizable window letting in the golden sunlight. Mio shivered. She knew she had to study hard in order to earn her own money and eventually get a nice place of her own, but who knew how long that would have taken her? After living in her quarters at the Old Palace for several months now, she felt like she actually could not go back to her

“Alright.” She sighed. “What’s the plan?” Khattu put on a smug smile on his face. “You’ll see.” As they started walking, Mio noticed they were heading towards an area of the palace consisting mainly of living quarters, much like a dormitory. “Well, since you’re so happy and everything,” Said Mio, skipping alongside him. “Can we have a party?” “A party?” Mio nodded eagerly, to which he raised an eyebrow. She continued: “Yeah, we can dance, have fun, drink alcohol…” Khattu stopped and tilted his head backwards as if he was looking at some invisible chart on the ceiling. “Sure, yeah, we can have a party.” He resumed walking. “But you can’t drink.” “What?” Mio put her displeased face back on. “I’m an adult!!!!!” She argued. He pointed a finger at her. “You can’t!” She slapped his finger, which he then pointed at himself. “I can’t! That's how it is. We never get a break from our jobs!” He then added with a tired voice: “They’re much too important.” “I never signed up for

Mio slept in. Sofi didn’t wake her up that day, and she didn’t know how to get out of bed without an alarm clock. Not long before midday, the sunlight pouring through her bedroom windows was strong enough to make her slowly open her eyes. She groaned, rolled over to her other side and… “Aaaaah! What are you doing here?” Khattu was sitting in one of the armchairs. For how long has he been there? He seemed somewhat pleased. “Why are you smiling?” Asked Mio, clutching the bedsheet closer to her chest. “Good morning!” He said calmly. “You’re screaming.” “Of course I am screaming! What makes you think you can just come into my bedroom and sit there like a … like … uuugh.” Her voice lowered, as if she was talking to herself. “I need to ask Hiro for a lesson on insults.” “Oh,” He chuckled. “That can wait. Plus, you missed your time slot. It’s almost lunch time.” “Yeah, well … whose fault is that, huh?” She pouted. “Will be yours if you don’t get ready fast!” He said, pointing at her

“Waaaaaaaa! It’s so pretty!” Three girl servants were inspecting a long and intricate piece of fabric, specifically woven for their princess. The different shades of green gave it a lot of depth and dimension, while the gold embellishments just seemed to pop right out. “Where does it end?” asked the youngest, baffled. “How are we going to drape it on her? She’s not a giant!” The second girl replied: “I don’t know, a train, a cape, a …” She was making big gestures with her arms. “A veil maybe.” “The veil is separate, you dirty peasant!” Replied the third and eldest. “Hey! I washed in the morning!” Protested the second. The oldest looked at her in disgust. “This part goes over the shoulder, then through the belt and … uuuuuh.” She sighed. “Why am I telling you all that?” “I’ve never seen a ceremony drape before.” Said the first, ashamed of herself. “I just started a month ago.” “They say the Princess will get a husband now, do you think it’s true?” Said the second, stars in her

All over the Old Palace, the daylight was slowly being replaced with the yellow glow of the lanterns. The technology behind them was beyond its residents, all they knew was that they would automatically light at dusk and turn off at dawn. A small group of people were gathered under such a lantern, seemingly not making any efforts to be quiet. “Oh, I’m so important, I can’t hang out with you guys, you don’t understand!” The young girl’s exaggerated impression made everybody burst into laughter. Next to her, a young man plucked the strings of his instrument and contributed to the show in tune: “And I have a big ass swoooooooooooord!” “But, be real, don’t you envy him a little?” Asked the man who looked like he was the oldest of the group. “Yeah, like she’s so special!” Replied a young woman with a flip of the hair. “Technically she is." He said. "But … oh!” “Oh-oh-oh!” Sang the music man. “I guess we will find out real soon.” Continued the oldest, as he saw his friend drop the acting and

The infirmary of the Old Palace was a sad place. It wasn't because of the people suffering there, on the contrary, nobody was ever sick for too long with a gifted healer. The cabinets were full of potions for all sorts of minor inconveniences like headaches or stomach burns, some bandages and sweet snacks for tricking children into taking their medicine. In fact, if you asked, nobody would have said it was a sad place, unless you asked Saïa. She knew that if something would ever come to happen to her, their small community would be left with no means to treat their more serious afflictions. Further from the entrance, a line-up of simple but comfortable looking beds made it look more like a lounge room than a sick bay. Only one spot was occupied by the bandit leader they brought back from their previous adventure. Saïa was sitting by the unfortunate patient’s bedside when Khattu came in. “I knew I’d find you here.” He grabbed a stool and sat on the other side of the bed, facing

“This is so boring, I’m so bored, this is torture!” Mumbled Mio, rolling her head on her desk, almost knocking down the ink bottle. Following her latest complaints, Khattu declared she’d have to take princess classes before anything else, which mandated she’d first learn how to read and write. To add insult to injury, her teacher was a teenager, A TEENAGER!!! Don’t they have old teachers, like normal people? Hiro was a cheerful young boy, with sky blue hair and eyes. His gift might have something to do with intelligence, as he spent half his time in the library studying and half of it teaching children. Well, children and Mio now. She was surprised Khattu didn’t actually put her in a classroom with the little ones just to annoy her, she was pretty sure he was capable of it. Why was she listening to him anyway? Was this really her only way of getting back home? Why did she need to learn calligraphy in order to complete a “save the world” quest? “My head hurts…”