Nineteenth

When she finally awoke again, sunlight was streaming through the window of the bedroom.

"...Morning..."

"Finally, you lazy human." The fairy yawned widely, stretching luxuriously, claws extending as she did so, causing her to nearly rip holes in the bedcovers as a consequence.

"Hey. Careful, Mia."

"Whatever. I am hungry!" She complained, stretching out fully.

"Ah, right. You eat-"

"Human souls!"

"Chocolate." Emily shot the katsith a skeptical glance and went to fetch something for them to eat.

"...Fine." Mia's pink ears drooped sadly as she sat on the counter and pouted at Emily. "Just remember your promise. If you feed me chocolate I won't eat anyone."

Sheesh. She is so demanding in the morning...

Emily thought as she retrieved a piece of chocolate cake for her from the kitchen.

It didn't take long for the cook to prepare breakfast for them both, and soon the two girls were sitting together eating peacefully at a small table in the corner of the dining room.

The cook gave her an odd look when she asked for chocolate cake along with her breakfast but...

Well.

Fortunately he still gave it to her.

I guess that's the...Keybearer....perks...

She wasn't sure how she felt about using those 'perks' for something so ridiculous.

Mia tore into the treat eagerly, eating it all in three bites, devouring it completely, leaving only a tiny smear of frosting behind.

Emily watched, slightly surprised by the feline's ravenous appetite, and wondered if it was because of how different chocolate cake and human souls were.

Or...

Well.

Maybe the two were closer than she'd think, given that Mia ate one in lieu of the other.

The fairy informed her that in order to awaken their magic, she will need to 'kiss them'. She did not, however, tell her who the keys were!!

Frustrated, and having gotten no useful information from her fuzzy pink companion, Emily decided to spend some time alone in the library to read the ancient books on the history of the world of Myrricene.

She did find an interesting reference to 'the Great Calamity' that supposedly repeated every few thousand years, where seven knights (seemingly similar in function to the 7 keys) used the combined might of their powers to repel it.

Unfortunately there was no mention of any kind of...maiden or...bearer or anything. Not in the previous calamities.

So many those calamities had nothing to do with the thing she was supposed to avert? Despite the seven knights seven keys thing...

She spent most of the afternoon reading through books in the royal library, scouring every inch of available volumes she could get her hands on to find information relevant to her task, but found none.

Every single volume seemed to focus exclusively on the history of the kingdoms and peoples within the realm, paying little to no attention whatsoever towards things such as beasts or demons, or other forces beyond mortal comprehension.

An exasperated sigh escaped her lips as she sat down heavily, closing the cover of the final book on the topic, having discovered nothing worthwhile amongst its pages.

"Hmph! Of course!"

Mia snorted derisively and shook her head from where she perched on a nearby table, sneering down at Emily imperiously from above. "You humans truly know so little."

"...Well then. Can you tell me where I could find these 'keys'?" Emily demanded impatiently, crossing her arms and glowering at the little Katsith, whose pink ears twitched irritably at the accusation.

"I'm a familiar. Not a guide dog." Mia scoffed and looked away haughtily.

"I'm just trying to learn about how to even find the keys...!"

Mia sighed. "A Keybearer can sense it. If you learn how."

"If I learn--!"

"...It's easy. Look." The fairy gestured at her.

She squinted at the tiny magical cat.

"Close your eyes. Reach out. Try to feel their presence. Like..." She scratched her ear idly with her paw. "A butterfly landing on your skin. Not so obvious, but there."

Emily furrowed her brows in concentration and concentrated, trying to reach out to feel a 'presence' or whatever.

It wasn't something that came easily to her though.

Her mental focus drifted off, and she began thinking about things she could actually perceive in real life. The room. The bed. The floor. The walls.

Her hunger.

Suddenly a voice spoke up beside her, startling her badly.

"You're doing it wrong!"

"GAH!!!"

"Nyaa! You scared the soul right out of me!" The little katsith huffed indignantly and leapt off the table in an offended manner, tail lashing wildly as she glared up at Emily.

"O-oh!" Emily blushed darkly. "S-Sorry...um...you startled me."

The pink Katsith hissed in displeasure at being blamed for Emily's clumsiness, and stalked towards Emily, flicking her tail angrily. "Humans are so incompetent!"

Emily frowned as the angry cat approached. "Um...Mia..."

The little beast reached a paw up and batted Emily on the forehead. "Sit up straight! Pay attention!"

She obediently sat upright.

Mia circled around in front of her, fixing her with an intense gaze. "Now look. Concentrate. Focus inward. Find your core."

Emily took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

The tiny pink Katsith poked at Emily's knee with one tiny pink claw, forcing it to bend slightly, disrupting her posture slightly. "Nyafu. Too tense. Loosen up. Relax."

She opened one eye and squinted at her.

"Close it! Close it! Focus!" Mia scolded.

She sighed and closed her eye.

"Breathe slowly, in and out..."

She tried that.

"Clear your mind...let go of all thoughts...release everything around you, concentrate only on your inner self..."

She did, but then felt very bored and almost immediately lost all focus on trying to reach inward to find 'her core'. Instead, she ended up just thinking about things outside her, like her hunger and wondering what the time was and if lunch was soon and--

"UGH, YOU INCOMPETENT, STUPID HUMAN!!! HOW COULD YOU DO SUCH AN OBVIOUSLY SIMPLE TASK SO POORLY?!?!"

She jumped at the sound of the yelling fairy standing inches in front of her.

"Gah! Sorry!"

"Pay attention! You are awful at this!"

Emily sighed and nodded reluctantly.

The fairy tapped her tiny foot impatiently, tail flicking in annoyance.

"Look...breathe slowly again..."

She did so.

"...imagine that your core is a spinning orb...like the moon...contained within your own body..."

Emily frowned, not sure how to make an image of the moon within her mind work.

She tried, however.

As best as she could anyway.

Eventually she got tired of trying to make it spin inside her like a moon, so she instead tried picturing it like an actual moon.

"Very good. Now, open your eyes and tell me what you see." The Katsith prompted.