Chapter 14: Out on the town

Lumière was standing in a daze in the middle borough, on a street named 'Mercurial Street', watching the rain subside its endless droves onto the stone paved streets, giving the bursting patches of flowers growing out of the cracks some respite. He had been trying with all of his effort to keep his messy head of chestnut hair from being ruffled in the wind, but with the strength of the crystalline downpour, it seemed almost fruitless.

Beside him, a woman with flowing golden hair and glimmering sky-blue eyes stood. She had her hands tucked neatly behind her back, and her warm smile seemed to cut through the rainfall. When she was out in public, a nun was unbound by the rules of the church. It served to say that in the same way, she could live a life of normalcy as a woman if she were not standing on what was considered 'consecrated ground'.

"Won't you take it?"

Sister Alinde had her hand extended outwards towards Lumière. He had some slight hesitation, but he still reached out and grabbed it regardless. His face brightened up with a slight red hue, so he glanced away as he stared aimlessly at the rain-strewn ground below him.

It was Lumière's birthday, so as much as he tried to deny her offers, Sister Alinde had dragged him out of the monastery to celebrate. To him, since the Hammond brothers had grown busy running the shop alongside their mother, and since Father Benedict had busied himself with the matters of the monastery, there had been no real reason to celebrate his birthday.

Gears whirred in the distance, and as the sun hit its midpoint in the sky, the giant clock tower in the distance began to chime loudly. Metal automatons followed alongside their masters, tasked with keeping track of the children eager to explore. If they were not personal attendants, they were employed as festival workers and handed out various treats and delicacies to the festival goers. They had various shades of skin to give them a somewhat human appeal. After many test versions had been released, the manufacturers behind the servant automatons had realised that walking metal beasts were far too frightful, and so they put utmost effort into disguising them as much as possible, giving them an 'almost human' exterior.

Peace Keepers in bright white uniforms were patrolling the festival-stricken streets, watching for anything that didn't conform to 'order', which for many years, had included lone children from the lower borough. In recent years, however, the greater organisation under the Empire, the Heavensward Corps, had begun to relax their idealisation of 'order' under the gaze of the Crown of Thorns, and so the attendance of the festivals had nearly doubled as children travelled through the gates leading up to the middle borough to participate. Although, most weren't enjoyers of the festival itself.

Sister Alinde started walking happily down the streets of the middle borough beside him as she swung his and her arm about in the air. The frozen winterish air had fallen away from the sky, and the only clouds in the sky were grey and somewhat far off, threatening only a beautiful morning of sunshine. While it was a century of rainfall within the weather cycle, there were remnants of its predecessor, the age of sunshine, buried within it. In a few years, it was a sure fact that those remnants would fade away, and all that the world would be left with was the constant rainfall.

So, at least for the time being, the flowers bloomed in the spring sun, laughter filled the air, and the morning sun shined brightly on the flagstone path that led through the middle borough. Children's laughter filled the air, holding the hands of their parents as they walked through the streets, holding balloons and sweet treats that dripped down towards the ground under the light heat of the sunshine.

'It's a little pretty… I suppose.'

Still, Lumière noticed one thing that shook his heart immensely. It was rare that a single child that was smiling was a child of the lower borough. Yet, there were dozens present. He could make out their forms in ragged clothes and dirtied faces. Although it wasn't too brisk out, their thin bodies shivered in the light breeze. Rather than participating in the festival, however, they were part of it.

The small children who couldn't carry the workload of a heavily physical job in the dockyards or the factories would usually end up serving smaller menial roles in the festival district, mercantile belt, or courtesan district. If they were incredibly desperate, those children who couldn't find jobs in those sections of Leiden would be forced to become thieves for larger groups in what was referred to as the 'hustler's sector', where cobbler's street was located. Otherwise, those with near to no hope would find jobs working in the sterile zone, where the sick and contagious were sent to die. Although, the children who went to work there were not allowed to return home so that any disease would fail to spread. It was where one would work until death, sending money back home to their families.

The festival which the children of the middle borough enjoyed, was an event where other children of the lower borough watched on as they waged. It was a joy denied of them by their birth. There were a few children obviously of the lower borough wandering around, but they were either too young to work, and so travelled up to the middle borough on their own in secret, or their parents had managed to gather enough wealth for a singular yearly outing without worrying about having enough to eat for the day.

"So, this is your idea of 'beauty'?" Lumière posed towards her as he watched the passing crowd from the sidelines.

"The sun is out… there's laughter about… is it not a beautiful day to you?"

"If it isn't a beautiful day for everyone, then I don't think it is at all."

Sister Alinde looked at him with a humoured expression.

"Well, that's why we do what we do." Sister Alinde smiled. "We are trying desperately to level the playing field so that everyone can enjoy a festival on a day like this…"

"Progress is stagnant. The world needs a change. We can't just glide past riding on unsure hope."

"Then why don't you be that change?" Sister Alinde posed. "If performing to make people smile for a moment isn't soothing your heart, then why not perform to make the world smile for eternity?"

"A performance that can make the world smile forever? Isn't that too grand a task? What should I do in the meantime?"

"Well, while you figure it out, what's wrong with enjoying your own circumstances a little bit? You can't help everyone, so you should buy potatoes every so often for you and the people around you, right?"

Lumière's eyes widened slightly as he listened to her words.

"So while I figure out a way to change the world, I should just enjoy it, and help as many people as I can?" Lumière asked with a shocked expression. He felt as if he had arrived at the direct answer with Sister Alinde's help. It was something that could both reignite his passion and fix the circumstances of others around him. Moreover, enjoying one's circumstances, although a little bit counterintuitive to his current beliefs, might have been what the Father and the Sister meant by 'the beauty of the sun in a cruel world'.

"Children are blind to faults. So, until they grow up, maybe you don't have to worry too much about them. All the children working here will find some way to enjoy their lives. Playing with friends, momentary spring treats, and enjoying the festival on their breaks… humanity always finds a way to flourish in the dark, like a flower determined to bloom." Sister Alinde spoke with a gentle smile. "So you have at least that much time."

"Until the children grow up, huh?" Lumière held a humoured smile on his face.

As soon as he had released some anxiety in his heart, his surroundings seemed to glow a bit brighter under the sun. Especially so were the flowers growing on vines against the stone walls of the buildings that burst with intense colours.

'So is this it...? Can things be so simply beautiful, and stand in stark contrast to the ugly parts of the world? Does that in turn make them that much more of a treasure?'

'The sun in a cruel world…' Lumière mused inwardly as he stepped out into the street, pulling Sister Alinde by her hand along with him.

The musicians by the wayside had begun to heighten the depth of their song in the wake of the sun, and so mercurial street was filled with the bright tunes of the orchestra. So, leading her by the hand, Lumière began to sway about in the street, a bright smile plastered upon his rosy cheeks. Sister Alinde's face seemed to brighten up as well, despite her surprise, but she began to sway along with his movements, caught up in a dance in the middle of the crowded street.

Too did those around them seem to brighten up slightly, watching on as the two danced about beside them. However, they were too caught up in their own moment to notice. So, as the two danced on, the crowd around them seemed to join in. Those who had partners seemed to sway about, and those without still stood in place, caught up in the bright atmosphere of mercurial street. Even the children, those of both middle and lower birth seemed to join in at the wayside, abandoning their tasks for but a moment, enthralled by the smiles of the people that seemed to spread around like the plague.

"Don't you see?" Sister Alinde mused as she directed his gaze to those who had gathered around them. "As soon as you begin to enjoy your own life, doesn't it become that much easier to spread a smile? How could someone be happy, if those around them aren't already happy?"

"Perhaps I was wrong, and you were quite right." Lumière smiled warmly, twirling Sister Alinde about in his arms as he looked at her gently.

"Well, that's always why you choose to seek me out above others. I surely am only ever right."

The two of them filled the halls of the long festival street with laughter as the sun reached the midpoint of the bright blue sky, and soon those that had gathered started to trickle away to enjoy the rest of the festivities.

Soon, it was only the two of them that stood on the lone corner, apart from one more person. A woman was standing apart from them, wearing a bright white cloak with golden embellishments stitched into its surface, with a glimmering silver brooch keeping it draped over her shoulders. Her long black hair was tied back behind her head, and her glimmering blue eyes seemed to soften as she stared at Lumière. It was Artis Faulkner, the 'Genius Blade' that Lumière dueled with often at the Fencer's association.

She stepped up slightly, her gaze averted from Lumière as she looked at Sister Alinde. Her eyes widened slightly, almost horrified, as if something that she had long suspected had been confirmed at that moment. Artis abandoned that look on her face as a quiet smile washed over her expression, looking back towards Lumière as she parted her lips as if to speak.

"She's a little prettier than I imagined. Rather, after all this time, I was sure she would have been a deformed mess." Artis spoke softly. "Is this woman the reason you won't marry me?"

Sister Alinde's eyes widened slightly, and she had to desperately attempt to purse her lips to prevent herself from bursting out with some sort of hurried slight. She simply held a gentle falsified smile on her face before gripping Lumière's hand even tighter. He jolted from this action, but he too held a smile on his face as he put up a front. However, what escaped his lips didn't exactly match his expression.

"Yes." He spoke softly.

His cheeks lit up a bright rosy colour, and it took all of his strength not to avert his gaze in embarrassment. Sister Alinde's face took on a surprised expression once more, but it was quickly appeased by a look of satisfaction.

"I see." Artis sighed out loud. "Well, I'm not sure it'll matter for too much longer. As long as I've remembered, it never really does..."

"I'm sorry?" Lumière asked in a confused tone of voice. "I'm not quite sure I understand."

"I'm sure you will eventually. Goodbye for now, Mr. Croft." Artis spoke in a cold tone, before turning her back towards him. As her cloak fluttered in the gentle breeze, Lumière's eyes widened. A sharp pain struck his mind, and his surroundings turned a pitch-black colour, like streaks of blood falling from the sky. He could see eyes burgeoning in the sky, bloodshot and widened as if staring down at him in unison, and a glowing white rabbit began to run through the fog that formed in the street. Everything seemed oddly familiar.

He stumbled slightly to the ground, and Sister Alinde quickly knelt to ascertain his condition. He could feel fear, intense fear. It was human fear. Its origin was endless, and yet nonexistent. With the abilities bestowed upon him by Lord Sinner, he could not trace it. It felt exactly like when he had signed the Deity's contract. IT was like a warning that danger was imminent.

"Are you all right, Lumi?" She exclaimed worriedly.

Lumière didn't answer, instead staring in the direction of Artis Faulkner, who had seemingly disappeared into the spring air, leaving nothing in her wake. His body trembled slightly, and his nerves felt a little cold. Everything felt strange to him.

Although, he wasn't horrified by the sight itself mostly, but more that it felt all too familiar to him.

In fact, despite the pain, the familiar sense made his heart feel warm.