Tea and Talk

Altair had not expected to run into the Third Imperial Princess while on a random errand, but he had enough tact not to gawk and quickly accepted her offer to chat. Moving further down the street to a cosy looking café, the stepped inside and took a table near the window with a nice view. Casually looking through the menu, Altair picked the first sweet thing he saw without much thought. For him, most foods that weren't purposely cooked to have strong flavours all tasted bland. It seemed to be genetic, since Sia and Raphaniel also had the same tastes.

Appraising the girl before him, Altair recited everything he knew about the Augustus Family in his head. A Magi House from the Dark Era, they were a key supporter of the Fernandez and took part in the Great War, upon which they quickly built up authority and rapport for being on the frontlines. When the Fernandez Family mysteriously collapsed at the end of the War, the Churches supported the Augustus Family to become the new Royals of the Gaia Continent. That was over a thousand years ago, and the Augustus Family had changed since.

The current King had seven children and two wives, four sons and three daughters. Ophelia Augustus was the youngest daughter born from the Queen (the first wife) and was a contender for the throne. This was the case despite being the sixth child born because both the eldest son and daughter had perished when they were younger, and the second daughter had long since announced her disinterest in the throne. This left Ophelia and her three brothers as the ones suitable for the throne. The King hadn't announced a new heir since the death of his first son, so the one who would end up on the throne was still up in the air, making competition tense and possibly bloody. 

As for how the First Prince and Princess had perished, the former allegedly committed suicide one day while the latter fell into a coma and never woke up. The Princess' death was attributed to a Curse from a believer of Chanteur, since "He" held Authority over Sleep and Dreams, but the Floating City never said anything. The Ark Covenant claimed credit for the death of the First Prince, causing a Continent-wide manhunt for Cultists to break out that resulted in thousands of deaths and huge collateral. All that happened when Raphaniel was just a young girl however, and had nothing to do with the current Altair. 

"So Princess-"

"Please, just call me Ophelia" she interjected. "We are classmates after all, and I don't want to lord my status over you. As the son of a Duchess, our statuses aren't much different anyways."

Altair paused before continuing his question, "So Ophelia, what did you want to talk about? I presume you had a specific topic in mind when you called me over?". Ophelia didn't answer immediately as the items they ordered were brought over: a cake for Altair and tea for her.

"Well, I kind of just wanted to talk? Despite knowing each other for several days, we haven't interacted at all! I've seen your sister around the campus a few times, but you are something of a ghost" she teased him slightly, lifting the teacup and taking a sip. "You mostly seem to hang around with Elizabeth and Alexander, but no one else. Ah, I also heard you visit the library a fair bit but with no real schedule."

"You seem very interested in me" Altair pointed out, eyeing her suspiciously. She merely laughed however, circling the rim of her cup with her dainty finger. "To be honest, I've already had this talk with our other classmates" she revealed. "An introduction, that is. You're the only one left, but you almost seem to be avoiding me on purpose! Every time I figurer out where you are, you've moved on to someone else. I had given up and just decided to talk to you in class, but who would have guessed I would meet you here?"

"Why didn't you just ask in class to begin with?" he asked curiously, taking a bite out of his cake. 'Mhm, sweet' he praised the baker in his head as he took another chomp out of the cake. "I feel more comfortable in one-on-one conversations" Ophelia shrugged. "Plus I thought you might be uncomfortable talking about yourself in front of others too. You are the youngest in our year, after all."

Altair blocked his scoff with another bite of cake, wiping his mouth with the napkin before responding. "Well since we're here together now, why don't we get this chat on the road?"

"Well, I suppose we should do the basics then" she laughed softly. "I'm Ophelia Augustus, and I have an Air Affinity. My preferred weapon is a spear, though I'm also used to wielding staves. My favourite food is steak and I love all sorts of animals. Oh, and like romance novels too."

Seeing her smile at him, Altair began to revaluate his opinion of her. He had presumed she would be cold and aloof due to her nature as a Princess, but she was incredibly friendly and charismatic...of course, such traits were also valuable as a Royal and there was the possibility she was merely faking it, but Altair could only feel sincerity at the moment. Finishing off his cake slice, he cleared his throat. "Well, I'm Altair Atrazark, and I have an Air and Shadow Affinity. My sister is Sia Atrazark in Class B and my best friend is Elizabeth Tortaga. I like books and admiring the scenery, and I have an interest in history."

It sounded superficial but to be honest, Altair didn't have much going for him at the moment. Being only four (nearly five) years old and spending all of it cooped up in a mansion hadn't done great for his social life, and before arriving at Sky Cross the only people he had interacted with was basically his sister. Quite sad yes, he was aware. Thankfully Ophelia didn't seem to expect much, as she just smiled and drank the rest of the tea...gracefully. 

"I must admit, I am quite curious about the life you've lived until now. Ascending at the mere age of four, getting into Class A, having such an advanced mental state...All these things warrant further conversations, don't you think?"

"Indeed they do, which is why I am not in a hurry to start" Altair said wryly. She chuckled back and rested her chin on her palm. "I quite understand, being a Princess and all. It must have been hard for you and your sister though, growing up without a father in the house..."

Altair frowned and looked at Ophelia with displeasure evident on his face. Catching herself, she looked ashamed as he lowered her gaze to the table. "My apologies" she said gently. "I believe I overstepped my bounds there." Altair leaned back and waved his hand with a pleasant smile, his previous expression gone. "No no, I am well aware its uncommon. And to be honest, Mother does seem quite stressed at times."

"I imagine the politics is exhausting" Ophelia gave her sympathies. "In that regard, being the second child means you likely won't have to become the Head and take on all those burdens. You and I share the blessing."

"You don't want to take the throne?" Altair asked. "Not really" she revealed, "It's an open secret that while the heir is chosen by the ruling sovereign, you can only become King or Queen with the support of the Churches. In that regard, I am behind my three brothers even if my political standing is fine. And the biggest reason of course, is that I'm only a twelve year old child, haha."

"The King still has long left in him" Altair smiled. "You might stand a higher chance than you think." 

"I appreciate the encouragement but I know my place. Speaking of, I actually have somewhere else to be so I must be going now. It was a pleasure talking to you, Altair."

Despite feeling very little had actually been said, Altair just watched her get up and pay at the counter. Waving goodbye, he continued to look out the window as she vanished into the crowds. After a few minutes, he stood up and walked out the café, hands in pockets and face expressionless. Seeing the sun had make progress towards the horizon, he decided to call it a day and go back to the apartment. As he made his way back, his thoughts remained on the Princess.

'That girl had a strange aura about her, one I've only seen on Sister, Elizabeth and Nephelae...A Blessed?'