LualaDy

The day of the party finally arrived. There were a few hours left before the gathering, but Sofi insisted they start Mio’s hairdo early, and for a good reason. On one hand, Mio was happy to break free from the chokehold the braid crown had on Sofi’s creativity, on the other she was starting to get some serious backache from sitting still for so long. Sofi had braided and unbraided, pinned and unpinned, twisted and untwisted her hair so much, Mio was wondering if she shouldn’t just go to the party with her hair down at that point. Some eternities later, Sofi was done, but it was worth it. Mio’s hair was laying on her back in a complex braid of braids decorated with so many tiny flowers that she looked like Rapunzel in that animated movie. She smiled, Sofi wouldn’t get the reference. The young maid then promptly disappeared, mumbling something about a surprise. Mio took advantage of the well deserved break to sink into one of her armchairs. She grabbed the book that she left nearby

One thing Mio couldn’t escape was the bandit’s funeral. What if the woman died after touching her for two seconds? It wasn’t her fault! Khattu said it was part of her job and that if she couldn’t be compassionate, she should at least be professional. Professional, what a funny word, she never asked to be a queen. She was fine with the prospect of being an engineer, or was she? She didn’t know anymore. Saïa was there, the bandit’s death weighed a lot on her. From what Mio had gathered, it was a rare thing for Saïa to not be able to heal someone, though she still didn’t comprehend the concept of healing your enemy.  Among the few people gathered there, Mio recognized the girl from the other night, the one who didn’t dance, she couldn’t remember her name. She waved to her. “Hi! I’m s…” The latter cut her off. “Heiress.” She bowed slightly, then walked past her, taking position closer to the grave. Mio’s smile faded. Of course, what was she thinking? One by one, everybody stopped

Including passages already written during Developmentober. Hiro was a quiet kid. He was always nice and helpful. He didn’t talk much and liked to spend his days in the library working on deciphering who knows what old book he found in there. He was doing a great job at teaching the younger ones how to read and write and so, nobody minded him having his own secret little life. He didn’t really have friends, but he didn’t have enemies either, and for that reason everybody thought the weird blue haired boy was doing just fine. Hiro might have thought that as well, until the day he reunited with his twin. He didn’t know of her existence, yet it became obvious the moment he first saw her: she was what had always been missing. For the first time in his life he felt like his existence had a meaning. He wasn’t a half empty shell anymore, he was part of a whole. With her he could talk, and talk, and talk, and she would listen until the end, even if it took hours. She was never bored or

Tarig came to the talent show not because he thought he had a chance at becoming king, but in a desperate attempt at promoting his business. He had faith in his talents as a baker, it was his dream job, but the cursed place he could barely afford didn’t bring him nearly enough customers to make an honest living. Burning through all of his savings was a bold move and he would be lying if he said he wasn’t scared. He’d be closing shop and crawling back to his parents in their sad village to live single until his death if that didn’t work. Women like big arms, don’t they? Well, he flexed just to make sure, kneading dough gives you big arms. He remembered he wasn’t here to find a woman, though… he thought, staring into the void, … no! No noble woman would look at a simple worker. Waking up early… smelling like… freshly baked bread… that’s a positive… His train of thoughts was stopped by a young woman collapsing at his stall. She said something about being bored, and tired, and hungry

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