A Cold Town In A Warm World

"but I just killed him, what's he doing here."

"I brought him back," she answered as if it was an everyday task for her.

I'd only been here for a week at most, weren't you stretching my beliefs a bit too far. In the first place, even if magic exist, shouldn't resurrection be like at the very end?

"I can already tell what you are thinking, don't worry, it's only a mirage."

Seraph pinched the chubby cheeks of little Gerald, and lifted him up. He then swung his arms around in an effort to escape. Seeing that he was in a hopeless situation, he soon began crying.

Yep, that's Gerald alright.

"It looks like you didn't know him well enough, he can't even talk," she said and kept tossing him up in the air. Juggling him like a ball.

"You mean to say that he was based off of me?"

"Based off of what you remembered about him. It's one of my abilities."

As she said that, She catched Gerald one last time and crushed him with her palms.

The expected screams and blood didn't appear, though. The only thing that happened was the sound similar to shattered glass ringing in my ears and Gerald turning into a ray of light as he slowly dissolved. In the end, only a transparent fluid was left dripping through her fingers.

"Don't worry, he would have disappeared anyways."

"Why?"

"The strength of your magic is based on how strong your philosophy is, the more it is aligned to the truth of this world, the powerful it is," she then added, "actually, stop calling it magic, that name's only for peasants. Call it Alterea. To change abstract things into physiccal components, that is what it means."

"Alterea," I repeated in a daze. I then took the lily and also plucked a petal. Unlike Seraphs, mine was a bit smaller, but it shouldn't matter, I thought.

Just like her, I held it up against the sun that was already setting and cited, "the dead live in the memories of the living."

I closed my eyes to rouse my imagination, when I opened them again, I saw . . . A pale white petal, fluttering in the currents created by the wind.

"Damn it," I shouted and threw it on the ground.

"Obviously my Alterea doesn't work when you use it."

"How is that obvious," I replied in defeat. Maybe I was just not destined for magic.

Seraph listlessly scanned me from head to toe while massaging her forehead in irritation, "listen, only your philosophy on life can invoke the Alterea, it must be a belief that you wholeheartedly abide to, if you don't understand the nuances and meaning behind my sentence, how could you possibly understand the 'magic' behind it?"

"Oh, so what exactly is your philosophy?"

"Even if you knew, there was no use if you wouldn't follow it. Besides, I've wasted enough words on you, let's keep moving."

She then turned around and without waiting for me, left.

"Hey wait, is that it? Aren't you gonna tell me more," I comlained.

She replied with a volume that was just high enough for me to hear, "what I've just told you is the very core of the Alterea, you should be grateful. Not even your king knows that much."

And that was the end of the conversation. We made our way back to the road and neither of us talked. The sun soon disappeared, leaving only silence between us.

However, I did not mind it. I had my thoughts that occupied me, and I'm sure she had her own, as well.

Thus time had slowly passed.

The remaining light was swallowed by descending blackness. Night had fallen.

Without rest, I kept following Seraph, in hopes that she would lead me to my destination. The pale moon kept following us and guided me with his illumination. The evergreen forest and vast fields had been covered by a dark blue tint. My sight remained on the starry sky, as I sorely relied on the footsteps before me to lead the way. What I was thinking about, I already forgot.

The quiet night I was experiencing, was a lot different than the noisy morning I had.

I tacitly let the sound of crunched gravel overwhelm me and fell in a trance.

Suddenly, in the inked sky, an evanescent streak of light lightly flew parallel to our path. Similar to a flare, the single star bravely soared amidst its still species.

My eyes widened in admiration and I tugged at Seraphs sleeves.

"Look, a shooting star."

She drowsily lifted her head and stopped walking. To confirm whether she was truly watching, I glanced at her emotionless face, only to see an ever so slight sparkle in her round irises, an expression that was really impressive for someone like her.

I was just wondering what she could be thinking at the moment, when another flicker of light moved through the ocean of darkness. Soon, one star after another began their motion, as if inspired by their predecessor. Like a snowfall they headed towards the earth.

My eyes glistened and I unwittingly let out a ", woah," in astonishment.

"It's a meteor shower," I whispered, but my voice was drowned out by the breathtaking atmosphere.

Seraph kept on staring at the wondrous sight before us. Her lips were closed and eyes half opened, but she never looked away. She didn't make any noise and just kept focusing on the falling stars.

I felt like even if the world were to end, she would still not show any emotions.

I placed my cold hands on her equally cold shoulders and we observed the enchanting night-sky.

"Let's keep going," she said after a while.

And so the meteor shower continued above us, as we marched forward.

Only after we had encountered a small town before us, did the shooting stars decrease.

The town was still far away and I was only able to make out it's silhouette even with a dim light emitting from it.

The town consisted of no more than just a few houses and even then, they were smaller compared to the place I resided in. Surrounding it were some farmlands with crops that had yet to bud.

There was a loose wooden fence surrounding the whole town. Who it could possibly fend off was not known.

I asked Seraph, "is that the village you wanted to go to?"

"No, it's still a bit further," she told me.

As soon as we arrived, a person stopped us from approaching any further. I didn't want to refer to him as a guard. He wasn't even close to being a patrol. At most, he was only a concerned citizen. His body was robust, but his clothes were just too shabby.

"What's two kids like ya doin' in a- uargh!"

Just a moment ago, that guy stood there with his intimidating aura preaching like a proper adult, and the next thing I knew, it sounded like he had swallowed his tongue.

"Hey, you scared him with those eyes of yours," I told Seraph.

"Mine? I would argue it's your murderous intent that made him choke," she replied.

"What did you say, I'm just an innocent little lady, can't you tell from my name?"

Listening to our talk, the person in question, gulped once, and soon his face reddened in embarrassment.

He scratched his head and said, "well, looks like everything is alright, I will be taking my leave now, enjoy your stay." He then took off with his toned body shaking violently.

"Ah, wait a minute," I shouted.

As soon as I did, I swear I saw him run even faster.

Only after I shouted again, did he come to a full stop. It was like I was watching a burglar who got caught, as he rigidly turned his face to our direction with a stiff smile. Is that how the police felt every time they had to chase me in the past?

I walked towards him, while pulling Seraph along, and the distance he had created so painstakingly was slowly closed.

"Good evening, my name's Agnes, what about you?"

"Um, Harold," he replied and then cautiously stared at Seraph, who stood next to me.

I shot her a look indicating that she should also introduce herself. Instead of reciprocating my thoughts, she actually had the nerve to reply with a, "I don't wanna," in her mind, thus creating an awkward pause.

"Sorry, that girl is a bit shy around strangers, don't mind her."

"Uh, is that so," he laughed humourlessly.

"Now, that's not what this is about. Say, is there an inn nearby for the two two of us to stay in?"

"Oh so that's what you needed, as a matter of fact there really is. Walk towards the end of this road and turn right, you should see the shield hanging there. Anyways, I just remembered I had something to take care of, bye bye."

I couldn't even thank him properly, when he already jogged away. Was I really that scary? Maybe this was my Alterea, the death stare. I jest, it's probably Seraphs fault.

I asked her, "hey, why didn't you say your name?"

"I didn't feel like talking."

"You could have just acted like when you met me."

"To be honest, I was so embarrassed when you exposed me that I'm now scared to do it again."

"So you also know how to make a joke."

"In troubling times like these, you need jokes to de-stress."

"Don't use what I say against me."

I wanted to flick her forehead, but I decided against it.

It did not take long for us to reach the inn and we promptly opened the door. It was only two stories high, and even though the inn was double the size of its neighboring houses, it was still small in comparison to the one I saw in the plaza.

The floor was paved with stone, while the walls were entirely wooden and a thick fabric covered the windows. A dim fire illuminated the humble decorations. There were chairs and tables arranged in a way that would be efficient to save space. In the furthermost corner was a bar. A bodily odor and the smell of burned herbs wafted through the air, as it was surprisingly busy.

Different groups of people were doing different kind of things. Some were drinking beer out of a keg, some chattered while eating a sumptuous meal and some went upstairs. Nevertheless, they were all people who decided to find lodging in this place. As soon as we entered, we caught the attention of the customers.

"Hello, welcome to the 'Vanilla Pixie' inn, how may I help you," a voluptuous woman dressed in brown tavern clothes with a red trim asked us, "oh, a priestess, how rare," that woman then added. Her maroon hair was tied into a bun and covered by a headband. She was wearing long sleeved clothing that fully covered her arms. There was a small bruise on her lips, but nothing too noticeable.

"We are searching for a place to stay the night at. Oh and some food would be nice," I pointed at Seraph, "she's paying."

"Two silver," she replied and scrutinized us from head to toe. In an effort to not have the same tragedy from before happen, I covered Seraphs eyes and tried mustering the most innocent face I could. My acting skills were apperently still pretty good, as she led us upstairs to our logding, "check for yourself if it's to your liking, afterwards come back down for a stew," she then swiftly closed the door behind us.

The accommodation we were given was a cozy room. The interior was only a makeshift bed with straw replacing the mattress and a thin cloth covering it. Next to it was a small shelf carved out of wood. The only way to navigate in the room was by walking sideways. Above the bed was a single window that could more or less be closed. It was in all honesty, really shabby.

"Well, let's eat something first," I suggested and she nodded.

The food in contrast was great. It was a thick milk-based soup, containing vegetables and thin slices of bacon. The sweet aroma tickled my nose. I took a wooden spoon

and scooped a mouthful after another, and before I knew it, it was already gone. The soup had a creamy texture with a tartan taste, the bacon was smokey, creating an equilibrium between sweet and bitter.

"Did you enjoy the food," the woman asked, and I replied with a smile.

"By the way, I want to ask you something," I said, "how do I get to the D'Anele territory from here?"

"D'Anele territory, uhm, if you take the exit where the eastern tower is and only turn left on the way, you would reach it in half a day."

"The eastern tower?"

"Yes, it's the only watchtower in this town, you should find it as long as you search for it," she told me with a smile.

"Ok then, thank you."

The woman took our plates and went away.

"Did you hear that Seraph, let's head to the tower tomorrow and check it out."

"Don't act that friendly with me, and yes, I think we should."

Was the first part of the sentence really necessary?

With nothing better to do, we moved back to our room.

As soon as I opened the door, a chilly breeze blew through the closed window, sending shivers through my whole body.

I looked at Seraph and saw no reaction. Well, if she wasn't complaining, then I couldn't either.

Gently I got onto the bed that had not been warmed, followed by her who went from the other side. It was just big enough for us to not touch each other. With a blanket, we shielded against the wind. The wooden walls which weren't properly insulated, kept collecting the cold from outside.

"Isn't it freezing?"

"Not at all."

She moved towards the edge and curled up.

I stood up and wanted to berate her, but she had already closed her eyes. Her long white eyelashes fluttered in the moonlight, while a warm vapor escaped her pale lips. Her face was relaxed as she breathed in a rhythmic manner. From afar, she looked like the sleeping beauty in a fairy tale.

I raised the blanket up to cover her shoulders and silently ran my hand through her silky smooth hair.

Afterwards, I simply turned away and also went to sleep. My eyelids closed like the curtains I wish this room had and my sight descended into darkness.