Misery Loves Company

Maharis III

“What do you think she would say if she saw me like this?” He sighed and downed another drink. It had been a rough day, so he would be excused for doing so. “I promised her that greatness she so proudly spoke to you about, but in the end, I strayed from the path and betrayed her. My punishment is nothing but deserved.”
Ianari poured him another drink. “Now, now, you should not be too hard on yourself. It is one thing to abuse your powers for the wrong reasons, but history looks much more kindly on those who abuse their powers for the right reasons.” She stood up and walked around the bar to take the seat next to him. “I understand why you did what you did, but you have to understand that I cannot allow anyone to interfere with my domain, even if that anyone happens to be family.”
The old arcanist nodded, a nostalgic look still inhabiting his tired face. “I didn’t mean to interfere, of course. All I wanted was for her to get a chance at life. If paying for this with my own life is the way to go about it, I feel no shame in doing so.”
“And you have no reason to be ashamed. You did the things you did out of love for your family and that is admirable. Not many people would give up everything they’ve worked for their entire life, just to grant happiness to another person. I can see what my daughter saw in you now.”
The man smiled. It was his first sincere smile since he arrived in Maharis. “That means a lot to me, especially coming from you.”
One of her nine tails swung around behind him and patted him on his back. “Enough drinks for you now, isn’t there someone else you have to say some things to?”
His smile turned melancholic again as he let out a deep sigh. “You’re right, there’s someone I need to apologize to.”
“Go on, then,” Ianari said, as she lightly pushed him towards the door.
He looked back at her and she nodded. He then stepped outside and made his way to the riverbank.

A full week went by after Charlotte had suddenly appeared at the Foxire Library. Even though time seemed to be a less important metric to the people living at the library, Charlotte had quickly gotten impatient and was eager to go to the tower. Today was the day.
Liari and Charlotte were both putting on scarves and thick coats. It was early in the afternoon and although the snowstorm outside had mostly subsided, temperatures were still low and some snow was falling here and there. And the walk to the tower was going to take them a little while, especially with the layers of fresh snow hampering their speed.
“Now, be careful not to touch things you shouldn’t touch, Fesquera can be very particular about his belongings.” Miranda had been lecturing them all morning about this and Liari was lectured this way many times before, so she’d gotten used to it.
“It will all be fine, we’ll just go to see if he’s there. If he’s not, we’ll leave again.” Liari said for at least the third time.
“Very well then, I expect you to be back soon enough.” With a quick wave goodbye to Miranda, the two young women stepped out the door and into the cold snow.
“It’s amazing what adrenaline does to a person. When I traveled here I didn’t notice how cold it really was,” Charlotte said. The fresh snow sounded crisp under their feet and the cold seemed to penetrate all the way to their bones.
“I think it was even colder when you arrived, with the wind being as strong as it was.” Liari took the lead, since she’d walked the path to the tower numerous times throughout the years. It was a challenge getting through the snow, which reached above their knees, and it took her almost three times as long as normal, but the two of them managed to reach the tower without issue.
“There is no snow on the tower itself, how strange.” Charlotte remarked.
Liari looked at where Charlotte was pointing and realized she was right. The tower had no snow on it whatsoever and even a small ring of grass surrounding the place seemed to be completely dry.
“Maybe there’s some sort of magic about this place that is keeping the snow away?” Fesquera had mostly been away during the winters, so she never had to come here this time of year before.
Charlotte shook her head. “I’ll never understand arcanists and their strange habits.”
“You get used to it.” Liari hadn’t seen that many crazy things happen, but she took pride in being close with Fesquera, so she pretended like she was more aware of these things. She stepped out of the snow and onto the patch of grass. She tried the handle of the front door and it opened like normal. Charlotte followed her inside. The ground floor was exactly as they’d left it. The door to the storage room was on the left, and the circular stairway started on the right. They both carefully walked up the creaking wooden stairs. The spiderwebs were as present as ever.
“Is this door locked?” Charlotte asked when they came upon the large wooden door with the carvings in it that led to Fesquera’s study.
Liari nodded. “It’s locked, but I can unlock it.” She reached out to the door and touched the gem in the center. The carvings slowly lit up and the door swung open ever so slightly.
“I thought you didn’t know how to use magic?” Charlotte said with a surprised look on her face.
Liari looked puzzled by this remark. “I don’t. This door is Fesquera’s magic. He just explained to me the trick of unlocking it.”
Charlotte didn’t seem convinced by this explanation. “Perhaps that’s the way he’s explained it to you, but I don’t think anyone without magical capabilities could open a lock like that.” She reached for the door and shut it again. The carvings readjusted to the closed position. “Explain the trick to me and let me try it.”
Liari shrugged and then pointed out the trick she used to open the door.
Charlotte put three fingers on the orb and closed her eyes. A few seconds passed. Another few seconds passed. Eventually she opened her eyes again. “See, nothing’s happening.”
Liari was confused by this. She did the same thing and the door opened. “Huh.”
Unsure what to think of this, Liari pushed the thoughts away for now and went into Fesquera’s study, Charlotte following close behind her.

Drab black curtains were hung on the windows. Liari opened one of them to let in a bit of light, before getting a fire started in the fireplace. 
“It’s not nearly as cold in here as it is outside,” Charlotte remarked.
Liari had noticed the same thing. “I think that has something to do with magic as well.” 
“Magic tower, magic temperatures, magic door; I’m beginning to think there’s a magic solution to all of our problems,” Charlotte said, laughing slightly.
“There’s a reason why people write so many books about it.” Liari said. She’d gotten a fire started and was looking around the room for any signs of life.
“I suppose you’re right,” Charlotte replied. She had never been here before, so she was distracted by looking around the room.
On quick inspection, it seemed like the room was empty. Compared to all the other times Liari had been here, the room was quite tidy and everything was neatly put away. All the books were taken from the ground and desk and either put on the many bookshelves or moved elsewhere. 
The pillows next to the fire were stacked on the side and there were no signs of any plates or cups anywhere. Liari quickly peeked into the kitchen. As she had suspected, it was completely clean as well.
Liari then turned her attention to the desk, which was the only spot left to look. On the desk stood what looked to be a small box, about the size of a book. There was a small note lying on top of it. The note read: ‘To my daughter, Liari’ in very neat but recognizable handwriting.
Liari was the first to spot the box with the note on it. She ended up staring for a while, unsure if she should look at it. Charlotte walked up beside her and read the words out loud. A look of shock came across her face. She looked at Liari. “Did you know?”
Liari shook her head.
“Oh.” Charlotte took a step back. She waited for a few moments before speaking up again. “Do you want to read it?” She had a worried look on her face.
Liari nodded. She carefully picked up the note from the little box and opened it. The seal was one that she’d seen before, Fesquera used it to seal his letters that he sometimes gave to Miranda. Liari had looked at one once when she had to deliver one such letter. After peeling it away it revealed the letter, written in the same neat handwriting as what was on the front was a letter to her.

My dearest Liari,

After watching over you for all these years, it feels strange to write you a letter like this. I have seen you grow from a young girl to an impressive scholar. Yet you still have a very long way to go.
I hope that growing up in a remote location like this library wasn’t too hard on you, although you’re not the type to complain quickly, are you now?
A long time ago I committed a sin that I will have to atone for. I was in a unique position where I was given some time to tie up loose ends before my retribution came. If you are reading this, that means I have passed away. Don’t worry, I will say hi to your mother who left long before me, and tell her that you’re doing just fine.
As for why I’m writing this letter, I hope to impart some wisdom to you before I go. Throughout my many years of traveling, and later as an archmage, I have learned more about magic than most will ever do, and I hope you follow in my footsteps. Of course, that decision is up to you. If you do choose to follow after me, there is a key to my basement laboratory in the box next to this letter. Go there to learn more. If that is not a path you wish to seek out, you can leave the box where it is. My former assistant will come and pick it up eventually.
As for now, it saddens me that we will no longer get to talk, but my time is up. I wish you the best of luck in this dangerous world, and please say hi to Miranda for me. I owe her that much.
It has been a pleasure knowing my daughter has grown up into such a fine young lady and I hope to hear tales of your exploits even in the afterlife.

Archmage Fesquera Foxire.

“What did it say?” Charlotte asked, curious about the contents of the letter.
Liari realized she’d been staring at the letter without saying anything for a few minutes. She shook her head to snap out of it. “It says that Fesquera passed away.” She felt a tear roll down her face.
“Oh.” Charlotte wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that. “Is that not just an excuse for him to disappear for a while? Does it say anything else?”
Liari shook her head. “I don’t think that’s it, that’s not the tone I’m getting.”
“Well, does it say anything else then?”
“He says I’m his daughter.”
Charlotte thought for a minute. “I didn’t know he had children.”
“Neither did I.” Liari folded the letter and grabbed the little box.
“Oh.” Charlotte struggled to find the words and instead changed the subject. “What do you think is in there?” She asked.
“The key to the basement, according to this letter.” Liari was getting a bit frustrated with all the questions. This was a lot to process all of a sudden. She understood that the princess was impatient, but still, she could wait.
“Let’s go back for now,” she said.
Charlotte took the hint and nodded. They closed the large wooden door and trudged back through the layers of snow to the library. There they sat in the kitchen and waited for the water to boil. Miranda came to join them as well.
“What did you find out?”
“He left a letter, saying that he has died.”
Miranda sighed and sat down opposite of them. “I knew this would happen sooner rather than later..”
“You did?” Both women said in unison and looked at Miranda.
Miranda nodded. “Fesquera has alluded to it before and when he gave you that necklace, I was convinced it was time.”
Liari threw up her hands in frustration. “Next thing you’re going to tell me is that you knew I was his daughter, too.”
Miranda didn’t say anything, but Liari could see it in her eyes. “Why have you never told me?” There was a hint of sadness to her voice that pained Miranda. Liari felt betrayed and the old librarian understood why. She put down her cup and let out a deep sigh. “I’ll tell you everything I know, but I doubt it’s much more than he’s already told you.” She sat down and crossed her legs. “I’ll start with telling you a bit about myself.” She looked from Liari to Charlotte. “Liari knows a lot of this, but for you it might be of interest to hear the entire story.”
They both nodded and waited for her to begin.

“When I first came to this library, I was only a young girl, a couple years younger than the two of you are now. I know, that sounds like it was a very long time ago, and it was. Things were very different back then.” She looked at Charlotte. “Your father wasn’t even born yet, and the Fyrston Empire was still a lot smaller than it is now. The Zanian Kingdom to the north was so small and brittle that it wasn’t even considered a threat. And beyond that, most of the kingdoms and empires that are big today weren’t as big back then.” She took a sip from her tea that had cooled down just enough. “I lived in a small village several hours west of Larania. The village was called Mira, and I’m willing to bet a lot of money that neither of you have heard of it.”
They both shook their heads and Miranda smiled. “Back then, people were quickly moving away from it to larger nearby towns. Eventually everyone left and the village disappeared. I’m sure some of the buildings are still there. I used to travel from Mira to Larania, back and forth with my small cart full of vegetables and dried meats. Trading was a good way to make some money, and my parents weren’t particularly well off. As time went on, I started heading into the forest as well. Back then, the Cel’Narvil tribe was located closer to the edge of the forest than they are now, and I often ran into them. Eventually, I made friends with a young man from the tribe. He told me about a strange new building he found hidden deep away in the forest. According to him, there was a brick tower with strange lights coming from it, as well as a large tree that was growing faster than any of the other trees around it.” She paused, as if to take a moment to remember her friend, before continuing. “Needless to say, a curious young girl like myself had to see this for herself, so we both went to the strange tower, where we found a young man sitting outside, reading a book. The journey there had tired us out, so even though we were wary when the man motioned us to come over, we accepted and joined him in the spring meadow. After Jarica’s story I’d expected some creepy tower with a demon inside, as he’d exaggerated a fair bit, but to our surprise the man was kind and friendly, and invited us to join him for some food. He told us he was building a sort of library with the books, scrolls and artifacts he’d come across throughout the years. Apparently, he’d traveled to many places already, but the Celeran Canopy felt like a great place for something like that. Jarica quickly lost interest as he wasn’t much of a studious person, but I was immediately sold on the idea. I had to be a part of this. I could listen to him talk about his travels for hours and hours.” She laughed. “And talking about his travels he did. If there’s one thing Fesquera liked more than reading books, it was traveling. He had seen places I hadn’t even heard of, and written most of it down as well. Before I knew it, the Foxire Library was my home. Back then, it wasn’t named that yet, that came way later.” A somewhat melancholic look washed over her face, as if a bad memory just slipped in between the good ones. “Eventually, I went back to my parents, gave them some of the money I’d made from trading, and packed my back to take permanent residence in the library. Fesquera always managed to provide enough food, until we set up the garden so that he wouldn’t have to bring food from other places anymore. This place quickly grew with the help of some of the Cel’Narvil tribesmen who had been informed by Jarica that there was a new neighbor in the area. Although they were very hesitant of the arcanist at first, he quickly won them over and soon the tradition of sending tribespeople to the library had begun. Without it ever being said out loud, I had become the head librarian. This was mainly because Fesquera often had to leave. First, he only left once every so often, and for a couple of days at a time. Before too long, he started taking longer trips, and sometimes he would be gone for weeks or months at a time.” She got up to pour a new cup of tea. “Talking makes me thirsty,” she said as she sat back down. “A few decades had passed before we started getting visitors from outside of the forest. Some were people who stumbled upon the library by accident, but a majority of them were invited by Fesquera. I remember a long time ago when your grandmother visited as well.” She looked at Charlotte again.
Charlotte looked surprised. “You’ve met my grandmother?”
Miranda nodded. “She had your red hair and everything, and even your temper.”
Charlotte blushed.
Miranda continued. “Maybe fifty or so years ago, Fesquera stopped coming to the library as often as before. He said he had something important to take care of, and that was all I knew.
Then twenty-five years ago, he suddenly showed up holding a baby girl in his hands.” Miranda looked at Liari, who immediately understood. “The girl was underfed and looked very sickly, and he was cradling her like she was the most important thing in the world. He told me to take care of this young girl, who had fur-covered ears and a fox tail that I had never seen before. When I asked for an explanation, he promised me he would tell me in due time. At this point I’d known Fesquera for quite a while and I knew better than to pry. I remembered later that one time I’d seen Fesquera out in the forest, talking to a woman with similar ears, and I quickly put two and two together.
A couple of years passed and you were about seven years old when Fesquera came back and told me a little bit more. He had gotten married to your mother and needed to keep you safe. Your mother had unfortunately passed away at that point and he had an important reason to keep his distance. When I asked what could possibly be so important to keep him from raising his own daughter, he wouldn’t explain himself.” The look on Miranda’s face had shifted to a combination of sadness and anger. “It’s one of the more selfish things he’d done, but at least he showed up from time to time. It was definitely something that strained our friendship in the more recent years. I ended up raising you as best I could. As you know, in the past few years he’d been visiting a bit more and I thought that was his way to connect with you. Until last year, when he showed up with a serious look on his face. He told me that he had only about a year left to live. He asked me to take care of you after he passed and send you on the right path. What that path was, I don’t know. I reckon he wanted you to choose your own path, but who knows. The only thing he was willing to divulge about the situation was that he had sins to pay for and that it was unavoidable.” The anger had vanished from her face and turned into sadness altogether. “When he said his goodbyes the final time, I knew it would be the last time I would ever see him.” Tears started streaming down her face and even Liari had started to tear up. “That necklace he gave you was very precious to him. He had it on the first time I met him and had worn it on many occasions. I couldn’t tell you what it does, but I think it has to do with magic.” She chuckled. “All these years of studying at a library that belonged to an archmage, and not once did I have the urge to learn about magic.” She let out a deep sigh. “I know that he wants you to follow your own path. And I know that no matter what that path is, he will be watching with pride.”
Liari sat in silence for a while, processing all this information. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? I could have said goodbye, I could have asked questions. Even this morning you were pretending like you had no idea.” She started putting the pieces together in her head. Miranda had known, and knew when she sent them to go to the tower. She felt betrayed and lied to.
Miranda had a sorrowful look on her face. “It was the last thing I promised to him. He said he didn’t want to complicate things.”
Liari looked at her, tears welling up in her eyes. “And what I want isn’t important then?”
“That’s not what we meant, dear,” Miranda said, reaching out a hand to Liari.
Liari wasn’t having it and she stood up and rushed out of the room.
Charlotte stood up shortly after. “I’ll go talk to her.”
“Thank you.”

Charlotte followed Liari up the stairs and knocked on her door. There was no response, but the door was still slightly ajar. She pushed it open and found Liari sitting on her bed, back turned to the door.
“You okay?”
Liari responded but didn’t turn around. “I’m fine.”
Charlotte took the chair from next to the desk and sat down. She waited a few minutes until Liari eventually turned around. Her eyes were slightly red. “Thank you,” she said.
Charlotte smiled. “I didn’t do anything though.”
“You came after me to check on me, I appreciate that.”
“So, what is next for you?” Charlotte asked. She stood up from the chair and walked around the room.
“I think I’ll go and look at the basement that the letter mentioned.” She had put the box with the key on her desk and hadn’t touched it since then.
“Are you sure?” The eagerness and impatience that Charlotte had shown earlier had been replaced by genuine compassion for Liari.
Liari nodded. “The letter said to choose my own path, but I know he would be proud if I followed in his footsteps.” She laughed. “Besides, I’ve thought about leaving this place eventually.”
“I’ll go with you then.”
This surprised Liari. “I thought you came here for help. Don’t you have things to do?”
“I’ve been thinking about that since long before I came here. What would I do if Fesquera didn’t want to help, or couldn’t help for some reason. I never really found an answer to that question. My house is destroyed, my family dead, I have nowhere to return to.”
She sat back down, tears streaming down her face. “I suppose we have something in common and I want to help you out. Maybe along the way we’ll think of a solution to my problems as well.”
Liari looked at Charlotte and started crying as well. “And I will do what I can to support you as well.” She stood up and grabbed Charlotte, hugging her tight.
Charlotte smiled through the tears. “We’ll figure this out together.”

The Princess and the snowstorm

Maharis II

“If you don’t mind me calling you that, of course,” the elderly man said to the woman standing behind the bar. She picked up another patron’s empty glass and doused it in water before cleaning it with a cloth, never quite breaking eye contact with him. There was a grace to every moment she made like a dancer never breaking character.
“But of course, I do not mind. In fact, I feel honored. I’ve heard many a tale about you.” After she finished cleaning, she poured herself a drink as well. She held it up to him. “Cheers.”
He picked up his glass in response. “Cheers.” The sound of glass clinking followed and each of them took a sip. It was a pleasantly warm drink that immediately seemed to calm some of his nerves. There was a hint of cinnamon to it.
“It truly is a wonderful place. You’ve created something of sheer beauty hiding something quite sad.”
“I do not think of the passing of life as sad.” She let out a deep sigh. “It is inevitable and special in its own way. Perhaps I’m biased as its overseer, but I think the process of moving on is quite beautiful.” She refilled both of their glasses and a smile formed on her face. “It is my life’s work, after all.”
“I would ask you how long it took you, but I was told by your daughter many times that it is rude to ask a lady her age, so I will refrain.” He sighed. “She truly was something else, wasn’t she.”
The look on her face turned nostalgic as she nodded in agreement. “She spoke very highly of you when she was here. She told me all these stories about how you were going to change the world and usher in a new era of prosperity. That you were the wisest, kindest and most infallible person she had ever met.” She looked him dead in the eyes. “Yet here you are.”
He didn’t back down from her gaze. “Yet here I am.” 

Winter in the Celeran Canopy was often quite harsh, but this year seemed to be something else. Rain turned into snow and cold turned into freezing as the days went by, until everyone living at the Foxire Library was forced to stay inside unless they wished to risk their safety.
Liari was cooped up in a corner of the library itself, huddled in a blanket with a pile of books next to her. Ever since Fesquera’s last visit, which was several months ago now, she had been studying more and more books on magic and she slowly started to understand some of the theory behind it. The book she was currently reading, The practical use of a magic focus, was particularly interesting to her, as Fesquera had given her a focus gem as a gift. So far, she’d learned that they can be used to store energy and that this energy can then be manipulated as long as you knew how to. There were many ways of storing energy in a focus, but the most common two methods were meditation, which had you store your own energy in the catalyst, as well as absorbing energy from your surroundings. The second method was less efficient, but it didn’t require you to sacrifice some of your own energy, and according to the book it could be quite tiring to use your energy this way. She just got to a passage about how to start meditation practice when the doors to the library swung open violently. A pile of snow rolled into the room, followed by a figure collapsing. A moment of silence followed before Liari, as well as Miroc who was nearby, rushed towards the collapsed figure to see what was going on. Liari got there first and looked at the person, a young elven woman with scarlet red hair, to see if she was okay. The woman looked extremely pale and was breathing heavily. Her fingertips were almost devoid of color as if there was no blood left in them, and the same could be said about her face.
Miroc pushed the doors back closed, which took some effort with the pile of snow that had blocked it, but he managed. Miranda came running down from the first floor. “Move her to a chair near the fire,” she said to Liari and Miroc. She then turned to Rimah, who had come out of her room to see what the commotion was all about. “Get some blankets and bring them to the kitchen, quickly.”
Moments later the girl was propped up in a chair next to the fire, while water was boiling for tea.
“You have to be crazy to travel through these woods alone at this time of year,” Miroc said. 
“I’m sure she has her reasons, now go make some tea,” Miranda said. She was looking over at the girl to see if she was in any immediate danger.
As they were bickering about what to do, the woman shifted ever so slightly and opened her eyes. “Where am I?” she asked.
“This is the Foxire Library, we found you collapsed on our doorstep.”
“So I made it to the right place then.” She let out a sigh of relief and closed her eyes again.
A few seconds went by before Miroc said, “I think you bored her so much she fell asleep.”
Miranda gave him an angry stare. Rimah entered the small kitchen. “I’ve prepared one of the guestrooms for her, do you think it’s smart to move her there now?”
Miranda nodded. “Liari, fetch her some of your dry clothes as well.”
With haste Liari went to her room to grab some clothes for the girl and they got her settled in one of the guest bedrooms further down the hall from Liari. It was quite exciting to have a visitor in this boring snowy weather, even though it looked like the visitor wasn’t in the best of health. Liari wondered why the woman came here in the middle of winter. She decided it must be something quite serious. She’d been wearing pretty fancy looking clothes under her big winter coat. Maybe she was an important person. 

Two days passed by without anything of note happening. Liari was sitting in her room with a few scrolls. She was making a schedule for meditating when someone knocked on the door. “Come on in, the door is open.” Liari replied.
The door creaked open and in stepped the elven woman with the scarlet red hair.
“You’re finally awake, how are you feeling?” Liari put down her quill and turned around. The woman looked pale as a ghost still, although the purple hues of the cold had left her. Her cheeks were hauntingly thin and her entire figure screamed that she was greatly malnourished. She was wearing an old woolen dress that Liari had grabbed for her, and she was holding an empty plate. “Is this where Fesquera lives?” She asked, looking around the room.
Before Liari could answer the question, she heard footsteps coming from the hallway as Miranda came walking up. “Oh, thank goodness you’re awake. Please, come down to the kitchen for some fresh food and tea, we can talk there.” She motioned to Liari to join them as well. The three of them walked to the kitchen behind the library, the girl at quite a slow pace. It seemed like her journey had definitely taken a toll on her, wherever she had come from. After everyone had some tea, they sat around the kitchen table and waited for the girl to start talking.
“I suppose I do owe you all some kind of explanation, after suddenly collapsing at your door. That was rather rude of me, I have to admit. So hereby I apologize.” She ever so slightly lowered her head.
She looked at them one by one. “I am Charlotte Dira Fyrston, daughter of Crimson Fyrston and the rightful heir to the throne. After my family was killed during the recent attack on our empire, I have come to seek the aid of Fesquera, who – by my knowledge – lives around here.”
Miroc, who was sitting in the corner by the fire, let out a deep breath. “That’s one hell of an opener.”
Miranda and Liari exchanged a look. Miranda then spoke. “Fesquera does live here from time to time, but it has been months since we last saw him. And with him, it is hard to say when he’ll be back. It’s rare that he’s gone this long anyway.” The tone of her voice was almost filled with regret, as if she knew more than she was letting on.
Charlotte looked from Miranda to Liari and back. She opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it. Silence filled the room for several minutes until Miranda stood up. “If there is anything else we can do for you, please let us know later, but for now I think it’s most important that you get some rest. You may feel alright now, but you were doing terribly just the other day. I’m sending you back to bed for at least another two days.”
Charlotte jumped up to complain, but immediately sat back down after she wobbled from the sudden movement. “I can’t lie in bed now, I’m in a hurry, I have to figure out what to do next.”
“No objections, young lady, I don’t care if you’re a princess or whatever, you’re endangering your own health. I want you in the guest room and I don’t want to see you outside of it for the rest of today, am I clear?”
“But –”
“Am I clear?”
Charlotte slowly nodded. “You are.” She didn’t have the strength to continue protesting and she knew it.
“Very good. Liari, please escort her back to her room. We will talk about this later.”
The two walked back through the main hall and up the stairs to the guest room. Liari waited for Charlotte to go back to bed. “If there is anything I can help you with, I sleep in the next room over, so you can let me know.”
Charlotte gave a forced smile. “I appreciate that.”
Liari then nodded and left the room. There was a real princess here. She didn’t quite know how to act around someone like that, but it seemed exciting. She spoke of an attack though, that was worrying. She decided to go back downstairs to the kitchen, where Miranda was tidying up. When Liari came back, Miranda sat back down. Miroc had moved from his corner of the room to the kitchen table as well. A plate of freshly baked bread was now in the center of the table to complement the rest of the meal.
”This is dire news. If the Fyrston Empire has fallen, that means we no longer have reliable protection from outsiders.” Miranda sighed. “Of course, it’s hard to get to this place, considering how dense and dangerous the forest around us is, but we’ve had a longstanding agreement with the Empire. Fesquera helped them out from time to time, that is probably how the young lady knew of him as well.”
“It has been a while since we last saw him, do you think he might have gotten caught up in this?” Liari asked. “Since you’re saying that he has dealt with them before.”
Miranda thought about it for a second. “I don’t think so, you might not realize just how powerful and resourceful he really is. If he’s been gone for this long, he must have run into some serious trouble. Probably something more to do with the arcane. I hope I don’t anger him by telling you this, but apparently he’s made some very powerful enemies throughout the years, some of which have the power to burn cities to the ground if they wished to.” She laughed. “Of course, most mages are trained so thoroughly that it is rare for one to do something like that, especially since they know they’ll feel the wrath of the entire Arcane Archipelago.”
“I’m worried about him.” Liari said. She didn’t quite believe all of Miranda’s fanciful tales. Fesquera was probably very powerful, but having enemies that burned down cities? That sounded a bit far-fetched. Still, she agreed with Miranda that he was rarely gone for this long and it didn’t make her feel great.
“So am I, child.” Miranda said. “So am I.”

Charlotte didn’t show up in her room with questions for the rest of the day, but the next day, late in the afternoon, Liari heard a knock on her door. “Come in, it’s still open.” She replied.
Just like the day before, the door creaked open and in walked Charlotte. Some color had returned to her face and she looked a bit better than the previous day. She looked around the room. “May I sit?”
“Of course, of course, sit down.” Liari got a bit nervous. She didn’t get to talk to strangers often and only now did she realize that she didn’t know what to say.
“So, you live here at this library?”
Liari nodded. “I do.”
“And where are you originally from?”
“I’m not sure I understand the question.” The question made Liari a bit nervous.
“Where were you born?”
“I was born here. At least I think I was born here. I’ve never quite questioned it, but I’ve been here since as long as I can remember.”
Charlotte looked surprised by this. “That’s peculiar. So you’ve never been to a city?”
“I’ve visited Larania once, which is on the edge of the Celeran Canopy.”
“I’m familiar, I came through there on my way here. But I wouldn’t call that a city. I’d barely call it a village, if I’m honest.”
This piqued Liari’s interests. She’d read about cities, and supposedly K’tapur, the capital city of the Fyrston Empire, was one of the larger cities on this continent. “Are there many bigger cities in the Empire?”
Charlotte thought about this for a second. “Honestly, even the small villages that aren’t even named are generally bigger than Larania is. Larania is just a tiny group of people living secluded from the rest of the Empire.” She saw some parchment lying on Liari’s desk. “What are you writing?”
Liari followed her gaze to see what she was looking at. “Oh, I’m currently trying to learn how to meditate efficiently. This book I’ve been reading talks about how any magic is improved by being a more focused individual.” She rummaged through a drawer and took out the emerald gemstone necklace that Fesquera had given her. “Supposedly you can store energy in this thing, it’s called a magical focus. Meditating is a way to build a connection with the magic focus.”
“I’ve seen these before, they’re often used by our army. I’ve heard they’re not very reliable and have a short lifespan.”
Liari nodded. “This book told me about that as well. Apparently, they break quite easily and it takes a very skilled arcanist to use one properly. Fesquera gave it to me, so I hope it’s a good one, but as of right now, I still have no idea what to do with it.” She stood up and poured some tea into two cups. “I’m sorry about your family.” She didn’t quite know what to say to her, but this seemed right.
“Thanks, I appreciate that.” Charlotte sipped some tea. “They came very suddenly. We’ve been at odds with Zanian for a while, but it never got past skirmishes at the border until recently. Within days, they went from breaching Fort Zarash to invading the capital city. There was nothing we could do, I just pray that others managed to make it out of the palace. I fled through the tunnels beneath the city and managed to slip by them on my own.” She let out a deep sigh and Liari could hear the resentment in her voice. “Without a real plan or direction, I figured that Fesquera might be able to help. He was always kind to me when he visited and father often told me that he was his most powerful ally. I knew he lived here and I managed to find the library, and now here I am.”
“You must have gotten quite lucky then, these forests are dangerous and the library is well hidden.”
“I was given some directions in Larania, but when the snow started falling, they said I should wait until it was spring. I didn’t listen and I almost paid the price.” She sighed as if she now regretted the risk she took.
Liari agreed. The princess seemed extremely level-headed for someone who had just gone through serious trauma. Well, besides the part where she traveled through the middle of a snow storm without proper preparation. She wondered if all royals were like that. She didn’t know people very well, so maybe this was normal. But from what she’d read, and the few people she did meet, there was something sad about seeing her like this. As if she was suppressing the pain she was feeling. “Do you also like studying?” She asked Charlotte, attempting to change the topic to something less traumatic and sad.
“Not too much, although I’ve done my fair share. Mother always made me learn etiquette and the names of different nobles around the country. I also learned the history of our country, as well as that of our neighbors, and I’ve read about exotic places whenever Fesquera would bring a book with him.” She smiled. “His visits were always a cause for celebration, it’s like everyone in the royal palace liked him.” Her smile quickly faded. “Of course, most of those people are no longer alive.”
Liari didn’t quite know what to say, so she stayed silent for a while. After a few minutes passed and both of them finished their tea, Liari asked: “What are you going to do now?”
“Talk to Fesquera.”
“I understand that, but besides talking to Fesquera.”
“Honestly, I haven’t really thought past that.” Charlotte seemed a bit upset by the question.
Maybe Liari had asked the wrong question, she didn’t mean to offend. “We could ask Miranda as well, she’s pretty smart. Besides, I think it’s time for dinner, so we should head to the kitchen.”
“Let’s do that then,” Charlotte replied. They both got up and started for the kitchen.

“Liari, Charlotte, there’s a tub of heated water in the kitchen for you to freshen up with.” Miranda yelled from downstairs. For fairly obvious reasons it was ill-advised to use the nearby stream during winter, so instead they brought some water in with buckets and heated it in a large cast-iron tub. Liari never bothered to bathe too much, but the hot water would be nice with these cold temperatures. Charlotte joined her as well. The bath was in the kitchen, so there wasn’t too much privacy. Charlotte was scrubbing her own back off to the side while Liari was submerged in the water. When it came time to step out of the tub Liari became hesitant. She hadn’t shown her tail yet to Charlotte, and she was worried what she would say. Liari let out a sigh and stepped out of the bath, wrapping a towel around herself. Charlotte got up and went to the tub now. She looked at Liari while she stepped over and hesitated for a second.
Liari went to a corner to dry herself off and put on some clean clothes. Charlotte sat in the bath.
“May I ask you something?” Charlotte said after a few minutes of silence. Liari had gotten fully dressed by this point and was about to leave the room.
“Yes?” She replied.
“I hope you don’t find me rude, but I’ve been wondering ever since I arrived at this place. Why do you have some of the features of a fox? It’s something I’ve not seen before.”
Liari turned around to face Charlotte. She hesitated for a moment. She wasn’t sure how weird Charlotte would find her. She knew a lot about the outside world from books, but she hadn’t talked to many people. What would they think of someone like her? “I don’t know. That’s the short answer.” She paused, waiting for Charlotte to interrupt. The princess stayed quiet so she continued.  “The longer answer is that I was born this way, and Fesquera has always told me it was a gift from my mother. He wouldn’t tell me anything else. I’ve always assumed there had to be more people like me out there, but in all my studies I’ve not read about it. Have you never seen anything like it either?”
Charlotte thought for a while but eventually shook her head. “No, I can’t say I’ve seen it before. I’ve seen many people, but the world is a vast place, and I’m sure there are places out there where people look similar to you. Maybe that’s where you were born. Or where your mother was born, if Fesquera says this was her gift to you.” She sank down in the tub until everything below her chin was submerged. It got a bit cramped but it barely fit. “Does it bother you?” She asked Liari.
Liari shook her head. “I’m just me, so it never bothered me that I look like this. Miroc has a different color skin from you and me, there was once a human traveler who had very different looking ears. I think many people look different from others. But it does make me curious. Why have I not heard of anyone who looks similar to me? Why was Fesquera somewhat dismissive when I asked him? Why did he say it was a gift from my mother? Was my mother from a different race that lives somewhere far away from here?”
Charlotte thought about it for a moment. “Maybe we can ask him the next time we see him.”
Liari nodded. “That might be a good idea.”
Charlotte got out of the bath and Liari looked away while she wrapped herself in a towel.
“Does it feel like a normal fox?” She asked Liari.
Liari held out her tail and Charlotte felt it. It felt just like she assumed fox hair would feel. Liari knew that already, she’d been able to convince wild foxes to come close enough to pet them.
“It does suit you,” she said, seemingly worried she offended Liari with her questions.
Liari blushed. “Thank you, I’m happy to hear it.”
After they were done and tidied up the kitchen Liari went to her room to put away her old clothes for now, and by the time she got back to the kitchen area, Charlotte was fully dressed as well and Miroc was dragging the tub out of the room, after having funneled the water out of the room. Water for tea was already boiling and a few moments later the two were sitting around the small kitchen table, each a cup of tea in their hands to keep them warm.
“I had a sister.” Charlotte said. 
Liari looked at her, not sure what to say, but Charlotte quickly continued. “Her name was Scarlet and she was supposed to become the next queen. She was the smartest, kindest and most beautiful person that ever lived. I always looked up to her. She was the one who sent me through the underground passageway and helped me escape.”
“Did she not come with you?” Liari asked.
Charlotte shook her head. “No, for some reason she went back in, she said she had to get something. That was the last I saw of her. I heard later that she was among the people who were executed.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Liari took another sip of her tea and stared into the fire. “I don’t know what it’s like to have siblings.”
“It’s fun, frustrating, annoying and amazing all at the same time.”
Liari frowned. “That sounds confusing.”
Charlotte laughed. “You can say that.” She stood up and walked to the window. “When do you think the weather will clear up?”
“According to Miroc, the weather should be clearing up enough for us to go to the tower in a day or two. Maybe we can find some more information there.”
“That would be nice. I’m honestly a bit lost on what to do next. I was convinced I could get Fesquera’s help, but with no way to reach him, I don’t know what to do.” A somber expression filled her face and Liari kind of regretted bringing it up.
“Well, maybe we’ll find a way to contact him, so not all is lost.”
Charlotte nodded. “You’re right, no need to be pessimistic without reason. We’ll see when we get there.”
The two continued reading as the snowfall slowly subsided and the wind got less intense.