Arrival

"Wake up girl, we are nearly there."

Val woke Nova up. Nova sat up on her little cot and rubbed her eyes.

"Morning."

"Hn, Morning"

"I had the staff deliver breakfast."

Nova jumped off the cot and walked straight towards the food. She took one look at the steamed dumplings and began devouring them.

Before Val could even have her share, the petite looking girl had already finished the entire plate.

"You damn pig!"

Val reached over and playfully rubbed Nova's head.

[ALL PASSENGERS PLEASE PACK UP ALL BELONGINGS. THIS BOAT WILL STOP AT THE XUIR PORT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATRONAGE!]

Nova jumped. How did that voice sound everywhere? was it magic? No, her mother had told her long ago that things such as magic didn't exist. Then?

Val had noticed her peculiar face and chuckled.

"You silly girl. That isn't magic or anything like that. Look."

Val pointed to a black circle on the ceiling.

"That is a speaker. You can talk into a microphone somewhere else and the sound is transmitted here!"

Nova stared at the disc. Was such a thing really possible??

"Hehe, come on now. We haven't got all day~"

The two girls cleaned up the room before walking out onto the deck. During their ride on the boatVal's persona had taken a complete turn around.

She was still cold to the staff and people she didn't know but she was very kind to Nova. The warm breeze from the lake tickled Nova's stoic face.

Her hands gripped the ends of a new dress Val had got for her.

Her eyes glazed over in remembrance of her family. The staff led the passengers off the boat and onto a wooden dock.