Faustina kept on dreaming that stormy night at sea.Occasional dreams about people whose faces are a blur, and events that never transpired. Things that never materialized. Dreams that she did not take part in. Reveries depicting how she was only a bystander, never doing anything but watch.
Dreams that started when her master died.
Nightmares.
She stood in the corner of a large room on that certain dream. It was raining outside; the balcony doors were dripping with beads of rainwater as the plummeting shower reverberated outside the fortress. Faustina stares at the bed which mattress was covered with white silk and transparent lace curtains. She walked soundlessly towards the bed, her foot as light as a feather.
A person was sleeping soundlessly against the mattress, shawled in an intricately simple silk dress. Faustina knew who this person was, yet in her mind she couldn"t utter her name. In her dream she did not know how to even speak.
She was like a puppet in her own mind.
"So, you"re here," says a male voice from behind.
Before Faustina could turn around, the presence was gone and then the balcony doors opened in a loud thud. The thunder roared loudly as the breeze enters the entirety of the room unwelcomed. She pinned her eyes to the outside for a moment.
And sooner as it may have been, the body from the bed was gone.
Faustina held the evidence the person had left. A proof that somebody was here moments ago. She held the "evidence"—a piece of a red hair strand— closer to her heart as she speaks the owner"s name.
Eula.
**
"Ah, another young adventurer looking for the renowned cure of the Lurid disease? Well, boy! Why don"t you check these enchantments and take a look at my freights? Perchance you could find the answers you seek!"
"Mana crystals! Mana refills! Mana weapons! Only for three hundred sh.e.l.lings!"
"Fabled swashbucklers retrieved these gems from a large cave in the Arctic Mountain located in a.s.siah! And these uplighters are said to ward off any hobgoblin or Darkwielder-made monsters you may encounter in your journey! Come, buy one!"
"Kebabs! Watermelon beverage packed with mana!"
"Come look at our wares!"
"Aha, you want information on Magierstadt, or the professor themselves? I personally don"t know much, but that lofty queer athwart the boulevard shawled in a dark cloak claims to know things, and would tell secrets for a reasonable price."
"Oh—oh and, he also cautions all and sundry who inquires to steer clear of asking the professors directly for some reason. Yes, him. That strange man athwart the thoroughfare in the dark cloak with a sleuth covering his face. I don"t know what to think of him apart from how outlandish he is, and how dreadfully unsettling those blood-red eyes are. Some say he may have sold his soul to the devil!"
"Thank you," Orwell says as he walks away from the stall of the blacksmith who called himself Dragoon. He then walked towards the middle of the busy streets of Magierstadt, the air wafting with cooked boar meat, grilled onion, and cheese. Orwell missed this scent. It was the scent that reminded him of the days he still was a student.
They were now in Magierstadt.
It didn"t take him a while before he reached the uniform shop. The store was large and was accommodating a large number of students-to-be—Faustina one of them.
"Orwell," Faustina exclaims the moment Orwell stood alongside her.
"Still not trying on the uniform?" Orwell asks Maddie, who was beside Faustina.
"Her sizes were taken by the tailor first," Maddie says.
"W-wait, is this MOSCOW?"
Orwell blinked as his gaze shifted to the source of that voice.
"Madame Hillberry!" Orwell exclaims as he smiles, "it"s pleasant to see you in this early morning!"
"Oh, I"m sorry, it"s Lotheringwood now, eh?" Madame Hillberry says, and then smiles at Faustina and Maddie, "oh I"m sorry; where are my manners? I am Georgiana Hillberry, the owner of this uniform shop. I presume you are d.u.c.h.ess Adalia"s daughter in the company of Orwell?"
Faustina nodded, and bowed gracefully.
"Beautiful," Madame Hillberry exclaims, as she clapped her hand. A staff went towards her holding a large gift box.
"Now uniforms are finished," says Madame Hillberry, "made to hug your curves and be comfortable enough when you conjure magic. You ought to try it, it seems Moscow is very eager to see you in a uniform, child!"
Before Faustina could even utter a word, she was pulled by Maddie to the dressing room.
"I heard from my compatriots you"re asking odd questions to some people in the streets, Lotheringwood." Madame Hillberry says. "I advise you to refrain from doing so. First day in the Magician country and you"re already sticking your nose to shady business?"
Orwell chuckles. "It was out of necessity. I hope you"ll be able to conceal the fact that I was snooping around?"
Georgiana Hillberry sighs. "You always come to ask me favors. When did I ever say no?"
Faustina waited as she gets dressed by Maddie.
"This is amazing, how were they able to loom this so fast?" Faustina asks as Maddie wears her the uniform.
"I told you, M"lady, that magic is amazing." Says Maddie.
"But in other shops in the capital seem to be using looms and the traditional way of weaving clothes?" Faustina asks.
"Well, it"s because Magierstadt is different, M"lady!" Maddie answers as she ties Faustina"s ribbon to her collar. "Almost everything here is done with magic. Raising crops, weaving clothes, even cooking . . .! Mr. Orwell told me that."
"Hmm . . ." Faustina mutters in bedazzlement.
They arrived in Magierstadt about an hour earlier. The ports were closer to the cities. Magierstadt was like a mountain (but not a mountain) where edifices of different kinds stood. There were floating lands everywhere, and towering structures and buildings with residences and streets jam-packed with people of different races. Faustina was awestruck for the whole time they were outside.
They decided to head to the uniform shop first, which was also chockfull of students-to-be ordering and retrieving their uniforms. It was the first time she wasn"t an attention magnet due to the fact that there are others who are a sight to behold. People with purple-colored hair, people with beautifully tanned skin laced with intricate tattoos, and some with animal ears, tails, and feet! Faustina was speechless.
Magierstadt is indeed the only country that could harbor such peace! Races coming from the two continents—Zuerst and Zweite—intermingling. Her heart was beating so fast in excitement that she just wanted to get the uniform-making done so she could explore.
Orwell told Maddie and Faustina he would be gathering intel the moment he sent the two of them to the tailor. She didn"t expect him to be back so soon, but here he was. She fidgeted as Maddie did her finishing touch to the uniform.
"And . . . done!" Maddie exclaims. "You"re beautiful, M"lady!"
Faustina blushed. She wasn"t really that used to compliments.
Her chocolate-brown eyes stared back at her from her reflection as she sees herself in Magierstadt"s uniform.
Now marks the first step of her uncovering the truth.