Invitation

Last night went on as usual. We had a pleasant walk back. Celine, after a while, suggested the idea of going to a certain pastry shop where she bought the chocolate she used to make the hot chocolate drink she made earlier this morning. If it wasn't for the fact that the shop has been closed down, much to her dismay, then we would've had perhaps a quick snack on the way home.

Perhaps it's due to that, that Celine was really hungry when she came home and quickly had me make the dinner I promised a few hours earlier than usual. Our lovely mother came in, asked what we were up to, and once she heard that I was making food for my sister, decided that she wanted one as well and sat down the living room together with Celine. So with a wry smile I had to increase the portions of what I was initially preparing, not wanting to disappoint the two beautiful ladies waiting for me.

We still planned to have dinner later in the evening, so what I made was more of a snack rather than a meal. But it sufficed to quell Celine's hunger, judging by the look of contentment that was in my family's faces.

The sun inevitably had to go down, and darkness soon befell the city. We had dinner together later that evening before we finally retired to our rooms. We did a good job of clearing our traces and Mom didn't have any idea that earlier this morning, in this same room, on the same bed, her daughter was moaning happily while she was pressed under me. Now it was her, the mother, who was cordially inviting me with an expression similar to that of Celine's, and I was more than happy to oblige.

…

…

The next day went on as expected. I woke up with Mom already out of the bed, and with me still in my sleepwear. Unlike Mom, who sleeps with barely any clothes on, I sleep with most of my clothes on, because of the rare occasion like yesterday that Celine barges into the room while I was still asleep. Mom usually locks the door before sleeping herself, but once she's awake and heads out, she doesn't bother locking it again.

I came downstairs to eat breakfast and after a while, I had to go out to the yard because Mom would usually train me during this day. It was winter no more, thus I was more than enough to take care of our large garden. With spring's gentle breeze, I had Cherry Laurels serve as tall hedges, the plant not the woman, mind you. Shrubs of asters, primroses, and daffodils brought colour to the once empty garden and with my magic, I gave off results that would make one think I'm a professional gardener.

While I took beauty and aesthetic into consideration, I did it mostly for privacy's sake. I don't like other people looking in too much into our, especially my own, business, so I kept the hedges tall. It proved to be very useful as Mom could help me with my sword arts while being hidden from the prying eyes of our neighbors. And now after a spar, I was laying down on the ground on my stomach while Mom sat her butt down on my back with a victorious smile.

Everytime that I think I've improved, Mom would up her technique and was like 'No, you don't' and just go harder at me. It reminded me of what I read about yesterday and that she was going to wars during her youth, so I decided to ask her more about it. She was surprised at first, seeing me interested regarding her past. But her surprise was overtaken by her enthusiasm, as she didn't let go of an opportunity to boast to her son.

"Interested in Mommy, eh?" she said as she got off my back and then helping me get back on my feet. "Sure, I'll tell you" she said as she sat down the grass, urging me to to sit down beside her before she started telling her story

…

"The Civil War? Hmm… Yes, I was at the opposition's side during that time." she recalled

She went on to tell me more about her previous ranks and achievements, and that there was a world where she could've had a seat at the Royal Court, had things went differently. It wasn't certain nor was it likely but it was a possibility, she clarified. A small of a possibility it was, it was still something to boast about.

"Would you have taken it? If you were given the chance." I asked her

"Well, I was given a chance back then, not in the royal court but still a high position" she gave my answer some serious thought as she laid down her reasons "I rejected it back then and I'll still probably reject it now" she said

Mom said that the Emperor back then valued skill and talents, thus his marshals and generals were of different backgrounds. From illustrious children of old noble families, down to the child of a farmer. He was well respected and feared, and his authority was absolute back then, so he could promote people as he see fit and the success he brought back was all that he needed to silence any of the opposition.

'He was the only one that could do it' could be considered a praise of the highest magnitude, but it also had another meaning. 'If he was gone then no one else can.'. All his marshals were similar in the fact that they all respected him, but that didn't mean the same went for their colleagues. In his death, the thing that was keeping all of these ambitious people together was completely gone, and that was just his marshals and generals. Members of the old nobility that had been kept in line and was against some of his policies, suddenly came back like vultures.

"I don't have a good background myself, so I'll be forced to pick sides just to keep my life safe and even then, I'd be making enemies out of the opposing factions." she said "So I just asked for annual pay without work and went away."

Her storytime was interrupted by the sun who was making its presence known in the sky. It was soon noon and we had to go back inside the house and get changed. Once inside, we went upstairs back to our room to get changed. Mom went inside the bathroom first, and I was initially planning to go inside with her when I noticed a pigeon-like bird perched on one of the trees in our garden, looking directly at me.

Once we made eye contact, the bird then flew over and perched itself in the window frame. It had intelligence higher than what I would normally associate with birds judging from its actions, so I knew this bird was trained to some degree. The bird was larger than a normal pigeon and a sealed letter hung from a ribbon tied on its neck.

I quickly undid the ribbon and the letter fell from its neck and down to my hands. As if in a hurry, once I received the letter, the bird cooed before flying away and soon disappeared like a mirage. Taking off the seal, a light floral scent wafted into my nose and I had a slight idea about the gender of the person who sent this to me. I sat down the bed as I read the contents of the perfumed letter.

…

4th day of the 6th month,

My dearest student,

Forgive my long delay in contacting you, but I have simply been overwhelmed with work. It has been long since I've last attended to my duties as the daughter of a duke and it could sometimes be arduous. I am longing to be with you again, in our private chamber, where we can talk together freely and where I can teach you all that you want to know about the arts.

I do not suppose you have much interest to the troubles of this lady, so I will say no more. But I would just want you to know that I still hold and continue to cherish the gift that you've given me last year, that in the past months I have not forgotten about you or any of the promises I have ever told you.

I do hope that you have enjoyed your stay at the city so far, and I can understand that it could be a little jarring for you to suddenly be in a place so different. So if you haven't yet fully accustomed yourself to the surroundings or if there is a place you would like to visit in particular, then do tell me and I'll be more more than happy to take you along with me on a trip around the city.

I still have a lot on my table as of the day of writing this, but do not fret, for I will be able to rid myself of this workload by the upcoming week. As your teacher, I would also love to see your progress during the time that I was not with you. So won't you visit me at my residence in the upcoming week that I am free? I would love to see the face of my only dear pupil, whom I have been separated with for such a long time.

Starting from the 14th, my carriage will wait for you at the city square and bring you directly to my residence. You do not need to worry about bringing a single dime with you, for I just want to hear of your journey and experiences at the city so far. At your arrival, I promise you a hearty welcome and a loving greeting. Come! I am eagerly awaiting you.

Yours, as ever and always,

Aerin H. Incaross.

…

The letter ended with a '♥' at the end of her name along with her signature plus the seal of her family.

I didn't know what I was expecting. I don't even remember the last time I received a message from someone. I could guess it's something like 'Sry fam, can't help u with that :('. Messages with coherent words were rare enough as it is, usually one or two sentences is enough. So this was a sort of a fresh experience for me, but I guess this is the normal way of writing letters considering they still use letters.

We have a mailbox and there is a working postal system, but Aerin preferred to sent it via trained pigeons anyway. So she probably didn't want Celine or Mom snooping in. She even scented it with perfume, so I could imagine the letter wouldn't even reach my hands if it was Celine that got ahold of it.

She didn't write her address and the bird already left, so I had no way of writing a reply back to her. I wasn't planning on rejecting her invitation anyway so I'll just go there at the scheduled time. She said she was curious about my progress, but the thing is I haven't practiced at all lately. I was too busy enjoying and indulging myself on my family's sensual bodies. My fingers were doing a lot of work but it wasn't on any harp strings or piano keys.

"Aughhh..." I groaned as I held my head. It was like finding out that you had work due on Monday at Sunday late in the evening.

Like a true procrastinator, I looked at the bathroom door where Mom currently was and thought to myself 'One last taste, then I'll start practicing.'

…

…

It was at the 6th that I received Aerin's letter, so I had to wait for a week before the scheduled time where she said she would be free. During that time, I practiced my magic and sword arts with Mom and got myself used to playing instruments again. And when the day finally arrived, I fixed my appearance and told Mom that I'll be going out for a while. I didn't wear the crescent moon necklace that Laurel gifted me, for obvious reasons.

I took a brisk walk towards the city square and looked around for a carriage. There wasn't a single Silverwing Raptor in the square, but I noticed a black carriage standing infront of a shop. It wasn't as fancy as the one Aerin or Laurel uses, but it was still of decent-quality. Even the horses infront looked equally healthy and jubilant.

I walked towards it and the driver was the familiar looking woman that I once saw with Laurel, and Aerin before that. The woman had a pretty face with straight silky black hair and was wearing a clean suit like she did before. When she was me looking at her it looked like she didn't recognize me at first glance, but then started looking around as if there was someone else she's looking for.

"Aren't you…?" she asked with questioning eyes

"Maelriel. Is this Miss Aerin's carriage, perhaps?" I introduced myself before asking

"Indeed. And are you, by any chance… alone?" she asked

"…?" Aerin didn't say anything about me coming with someone else. Feeling curious, I asked her "What did miss Aerin say? Did she not say anything about me?"

"She ordered me to wait for someone… and that I'll know about it once the person arrives." she said while still looking around, until she finally gave up and looked at me as if to say 'I guess it must be you'

"Please forgive my insolence earlier. My name's Evelyn and I am tasked with bringing you over to Lady Aerin's residence" she got off the driver's seat and bowed in front of me in a respectful manner

"No, it's fine really." I waved it off and followed behind her as she opened the carriage's door for me

It wasn't enough to cause a huge spectacle, but some curious eyes were directed towards our direction seeing a formally dressed adult woman showing such courtesy to such a young guy.

Once inside, the lady closed the carriage and went back to the driver seat. I heard Evelyn crack her whip over the horses, which then ran abreast, and we set off on our journey.

We seemed to fly over the road with feverish haste, evidently, Evelyn had no intention of losing any time. Now and again we would pass by a leiter-wagon – the ordinary peasant's cart, which got me curious. I initially assumed we would be heading over the northern quadrant of the inner city, since that was the only place I could realistically think of that Laurel would find worthy living in.

But if that was so, then why would Aerin have me go all the way to the city square, which was outside the western gate, when she knew our residence was already inside the inner city. And judging by the leiter-wagons that I see us pass by, it doesn't seem like we're heading back inside the inner city walls anytime soon. Instead we kept heading west, taking a few turns on the streets here and there until we finally arrived to a wide street.

The streets wasn't disorderly or crowded by any means, but it had a busy traffic of feet, wagons, horses, and carriages alike. Something you wouldn't find that often in the residential areas of the inner city.

The avenue here is wide with trees in full bloom but the sidewalk is almost free of leaves. They are yet to tumble en-masse. The homes are like they ever were, old, tall, are made of stones with lines of wood and are built right next to each other, with not even an alley in between. "Heritage," I think we used to say.. Old as they were, they are by no means dull. The grey street, the colorful houses, the strokes of green that the foliage of flowers created, made a picturesque scene where the beauty of architecture and nature met and blended with each other.

The building we stopped by, stands on a corner, three storey tall, stone bricks with red painted cedar lining the corners, the windows, and the door. It had a shingle roof and appears to be a store. Evelyn came down the driver's seat to open the door for me, perhaps she saw the doubt and confusion in my eyes. So she pointed up to the second floor and explained. "Lady Aerin lives at the second floor."

The ground level door was meant for the store, but the stone steps at the side lead up to a balcony on the second floor led to the place that Aerin was staying at. It wasn't shabby by any means but… it wasn't the place you'd expect a stupidly rich duke's daughter would be living in. But then again, the same could be said about the place she stayed at in the village.

Evelyn didn't follow me any longer so I climbed up the steps to the balcony alone and knocked at the door. In no time, a beautiful adult woman with wavy blonde hair opened the door with a warm smile. I was pulled into a tight hug the moment Aerin saw me. "Riel… I've missed you, sweetie."