Moon Fragments

A vast, pale-blue sky stretched out overhead.

Clouds streamed past and filtered the heat of the sun, shielding those

below.

Amid this gentle afternoon, the clang of metal clashing against metal

echoed throughout the castle courtyard. The clear sound rang brightly. At

times, it would come in quick staccato, while at others, it would be a slow

legato.

"Don't fall back right away, Tinasha."

"Urgh."

Practice sword in hand, the witch parried blows from a similar weapon.

She advanced toward her opponent's left. Leaning forward lightly, she

attempted to knock him off his feet.

Her blade was repelled with a soft clink, however. It went flying out of

her hand, rotated several times in midair, and landed some distance away.

"Oh, that was close," she said, clutching her numb wrist as she eyed the

fallen sword.

Oscar rested the flat of his sword on Tinasha's shoulder as he drawled,

"Put up a barrier to repel anyone who might get close. I don't want stray

swords impaling people."

"All right," Tinasha agreed, and she jogged over to retrieve the weapon.

After checking her wrist, she took hold of the hilt and assumed a fighting

stance again.

"Is His Majesty here?" asked Als as he popped into the lounge. He'd looked

everywhere for his king, and this was the last place on the list. He cocked

his head to the side when he failed to find Oscar there, either.

Kav looked up from the essay he was writing and answered, "He's

outside."

"Outside?" Als repeated, glancing toward the windows in the back. The

mages who frequented the lounge were standing there, watching the

courtyard below.

Als joined them and peered down, too. There he found his lord and the

witch having a sword fight. "What's going on here?" he inquired.

Pamyra answered him with a wince. "His Majesty said his reflexes were

slowing and dragged Lady Tinasha out there."

"I see."

The witch was quite capable with a sword, but Oscar's superior skill was

quite apparent, even at a distance. Als, who fell somewhere between the

two when it came to swordsmanship, studied their practice with rapt

interest.

"Those two really do get along well," commented Sylvia.

"I suppose they do," replied Doan from his spot next to her. Then he

remembered something, and an evil smirk crossed his face. "There's only

four months left in their contract. How about we bet on whether they'll get

married before it expires?"

"What?" cried Sylvia. Her brows knitted disapprovingly.

From behind them, Kav declared, "I'll wager on it never happening,"

without even looking up from his writing.

Doan laughed out loud after hearing his challenge so readily accepted.

"I bet that they will get married!" Sylvia shot back with a huff. Her

cheeks were puffed out.

With sides drawn, the instigator of the wager joined in and said, "I'm

with Kav. It won't happen."

Als shook his head in exasperation as he listened to the three mages.

When the trio looked at him expectantly, however, he admitted, "I think

they will. That's my hope anyway."

The votes were split half-and-half, and everyone looked pensive.

Pamyra, who hadn't placed a bet yet, offered, "I think the most important

issue facing them isn't their own feelings but the political situation

surrounding them."

"True enough," Doan agreed with a nod.

Als cut in. "But in terms of someone who'll be an immediate asset,

there's no better queen than Miss Tinasha. She's strong, and she's the heir

to Tuldarr. She has knowledge and techniques that any other country would

love to have."

"She brought almost all the artifacts from the Tuldarr treasure vault to

Farsas," Pamyra revealed.

"You don't say," Als replied. He looked down at the witch in the

courtyard with a good degree of shock. She was parrying and thrusting her

sword in silence, her lithe form supple and flexible.

Pamyra watched her lady calmly. "I bet they will get married. I'd like

her to find happiness sometime soon."

Unaware she was the subject of much speculation, Tinasha lunged again

and once more found her sword knocked away.

Oscar returned to his study, feeling satisfied now that he'd loosened up

his muscles. Tinasha, however, flopped onto the couch by the wall as soon

as she got through the door. She crumpled into her seat like a boneless cat.

"You all right?" Oscar asked with a frown.

"I'll be fine once I've had an hour to rest. I don't have a lot of

stamina…"

"You should put on a bit more weight."

"I don't think I can build any more muscle than this," she answered,

staring at her thin arms and legs. To all appearances, mage's bodies were

low in fat and muscle.

It was stranger still that she could even wield a sword with that

physique, but perhaps her many years of experience had afforded her

technique enough to compensate. In reality, no one could've held something

as heavy as a sword without first strengthening their physical form in some

way.

"You're not tired?" Tinasha asked.

"That was just a warm-up for me. Lately I feel like I'm going to rot

away behind a desk."

As she thought about it, Tinasha realized that she'd seen Oscar doing

nothing but clerical work for the past three weeks. The last time the king

had enjoyed some fresh air and exercise had been during the death song

incident.

To Tinasha, Oscar seemed the type who belonged out in the thick of

battle. The truth, however, was that he spent almost all his time dealing with

documents. He never even took time off. Tinasha felt a bit sorry for him.

Oscar was still a young man, after all.

"What do you think about visiting the brothel?" the witch suddenly

suggested.

"Are you teasing me?" Oscar asked, incredulous.

"I'm not trying to…," Tinasha said, floating up into the air and zooming

over to his side. She was so tired that it was easier to use magic than walk.

With his free hand, Oscar tugged on a lock of her hair. "I'd rather you

take me to the sea again."

"That's easy enough," replied the witch, sinking down onto the edge of

the desk and picking up the papers that were left. She felt like there weren't

as many as usual. Checking the clock, she saw that it was only noon. "Then

how about I help you with these, and we go somewhere in the evening? We

can go to the sea or wherever else you'd like."

Oscar's eyes widened a fraction at her suggestion. "We can go

anywhere?"

"As long as it's on the mainland. The city, the mountains, the lake,

anywhere."

"The lake, then," Oscar decided.

"The lake it is," Tinasha repeated with a soft smile.

Oscar felt his heart dance with joy like when he was a child.

After all his hard work, he'd earned a bit of fun. So long as he was with

his witch, he couldn't ask for anything more.

With Tinasha's help, Oscar's remaining paperwork was resolved in

under half an hour. She went back to her rooms to get ready and changed

into a light, flowy dress.

"Normally the two of you are busy when you go out together, so relax

and enjoy yourselves," Pamyra said cheerily as she helped her lady change.

Tinasha nodded but picked up on something odd she couldn't overlook.

"Something about what you said makes it sound like we're a pair of

lovers…"

"That's precisely what it looks like."

"Wait…," Tinasha objected, feeling as if something was wrong.

Pamyra gave the witch a placid smile in return. "Judging by

appearances, the two of you are very intimate."

This was a clear wake-up call. When Tinasha reflected on how she and

Oscar normally interacted, she could certainly see why things would seem

that way. Tinasha acknowledged the facts and let out a sigh. "I guess it's

because I've gotten used to him touching me all the time…and I end up

touching him, too. If this keeps up for another hundred years, I might end

up marrying him by mistake. Scary!"

"Will it really take another hundred years…? And even then, 'by

mistake'…?" Pamyra murmured, feeling incredibly disappointed. She was

hoping to see her lady happily wed.

Oscar and Tinasha left the castle before sunset. First, they used

Tinasha's transportation array to jump to her tower; then they flew farther

west on Nark's back. Oscar was in holiday mode, carrying a normal

longsword instead of Akashia.

"Which lake are we headed to?" he inquired.

"Lake Soknas in the south of Old Tuldarr. Now it's part of Magdalsia, I

believe. We're almost there."

Magdalsia was a small nation in the southwest. Cattle farming thrived

there, and mountains and forest dominated the majority of the country.

As they flew through the evening sky on Nark's back, red slowly began

to tinge the sky. The setting sun dipped over the mountaintops. Tinasha

pointed to the overlapping peaks.

"There it is, look."

Tucked between the mountains was a flat stretch of land. Its edges were

ringed with trees, and the lake in the center glittered with a reflection of the

evening sun. Nark gradually dropped altitude.

"I came here many, many times when I was little. A long time ago, you

used to be able to collect bluish crystals called moonstones by the

waterside, but I heard that you almost never find them now. I miss them,"

Tinasha explained.

"…I see," Oscar answered.

It was rare for the witch to talk about her past, and Oscar studied her

face intently. He saw only nostalgia there, no gloom, and that reassured

him.

Nark descended lower and lower. By the time the dragon was about

three stories above the ground, it was flying directly over the lake. The

witch leaned to one side off the dragon's back and gazed down below. The

water was clear but fairly deep, as the bottom wasn't visible.

"Where should we land?" Tinasha wondered aloud.

"Okay, let's go!" Oscar declared.

"What?"

He scooped her up in his arms and leaped off the dragon.

Her long scream echoed across the lake, followed by a gigantic splash.

Several seconds later, Oscar floated to the surface with Tinasha in his

arms. He burst out laughing at the shock on her face.

"Y-you gave me a scare… What do you think you're doing?"

"I thought that would be nice and invigorating."

"It was more like terrifying!" Tinasha cried. She felt all over his body to

check for injuries. He'd shielded her from the impact, so she was fine. Most

likely owing to the protective barrier, even his sword was still in its sheath.

All was well.

Looking up, Oscar saw Nark circling the lake while shrinking smaller; it

had noticed its master was gone. Still laughing, Oscar readjusted his hold

on Tinasha. "That's the first time I've heard you scream."

"It's been a while since I've heard it myself…," she grumbled, placing a

hand on Oscar's shoulder and pushing off up into the air. She wrung out

water from the hem of her dress. She hadn't planned to swim today, so the

cloth was sopping and heavy. Looking down, Tinasha saw that Oscar had

started swimming. Fortunately, the water temperature was perfect. He was

having so much fun that he actually looked his age for once, and Tinasha

grinned. "It looks like this will be a good break for you. I'm glad."

"All thanks to you. Does anything live in this lake?"

"In the past, it was just ordinary sea creatures, but now no one knows.

Try to be careful."

"Got it."

After flying around the area, Nark landed on the witch's shoulder. She

lowered herself to the surface of the water and sat down there.

The eastern edge of the lake glittered a crimson shade, while in the west

it was dark from the shade of the trees. A pale moon began to claw its way

up. The sky was still a few shades lighter than the color of Oscar's eyes.

Tinasha raked back her wet hair. She could use magic to dry it, but it

wasn't especially necessary, since it could very easily get wet again. Oscar

swam up to her and rested his chin on her knees. "You look like a water

spirit doing that."

"Do I? Maybe I shouldn't be sitting on the water."

"Eh, I think it's fine," Oscar said. He tugged on her hair to bring her face

close and planted a kiss on her cheek.

Tinasha's eyes narrowed like a cat's, and she gazed back at him with a

complicated look on her face. "You know, Pamyra said we seem like a pair

of lovers."

"Do you have a problem with that?" Oscar's counter came so quickly

that the witch had to take a moment to consider the question. Even if they

seemed that way to others, that didn't mean anything had actually changed.

"…Not really."

"I suppose we would, though," Oscar commented, smiling at Tinasha as

he pushed back stray locks of his hair. Most of his smiles were more on the

intimidating side—wry smirks or amused grins—so when he showed a

simple grin like this, it was utterly captivating.

Tinasha reached out to touch his face. His blue eyes reflected the

darkling sky. Upon gazing into them, she thought she could see the moon

there, too, and leaned closer for a better look.

That was when Oscar yanked Tinasha down into the water, cradling her

in his arms and pulling her to him. Not a moment later, something whizzed

through the air. Something flew in from the shore and collided with Oscar's

barrier.

"What was that?!" Tinasha cried.

"An arrow…," Oscar replied.

Tinasha rushed to catch Nark in her arms as the creature hit the water.

Narrowly avoiding sinking, it thrashed in her arms. Oscar stood in front of

them protectively, glaring at the shore.

"Did you hit it?"

"I don't know. It went into the water."

Five men stared out at the lake surface from the forest at the water's

edge.

It'd looked like someone was sitting on top of the water, but that must

have been an optical illusion. One man gave up and shrugged, lowering his

bow.

"Would've been great to get a water spirit's treasure, though."

"If that really was a water spirit, you don't want to provoke it. And even

if you killed it, it would just sink into the lake and you'd never get it."

"Whatever it was looked human, but it was probably a fish or

something."

The men exchanged disappointed and relieved remarks as they turned

back to leave.

Just then, a loud splash came from behind them.

There was a woman standing on the shore that they could see through

the trees. Her feet were submerged, and the hem of her black dress trailed in

the water. Long jet-black hair and glistening white skin painted a portrait of

ethereal beauty.

The men froze, but one of the younger ones pulled out an arrow. Taking

that as a signal, the rest of the group did the same.

"Wait. We're human," the woman insisted. The men squinted

suspiciously at her.

"Human? Really?"

"Yes, really. We came from Farsas."

"I knew you'd look like a water spirit," came a new voice. Startled, the

group of hapless hunters scanned the woods. They saw a young man

leaning against a tree with a sword fastened at his hip. He was dripping wet

from head to toe, as if he'd been swimming. "That's my companion. She's a

mage."

"Ah…," the men murmured, finally accepting the explanation. Mages

were a rare sight in rural lands, though there were many in Farsas who were

ignorant of magic users as well.

A man who looked to be the oldest of the group stepped forward. "We're

very sorry. We were convinced she was a water spirit and acted terribly. Are

you hurt at all?"

"I'm fine," the woman said with a bright smile, coming to stand next to

her companion. The men bowed their heads, abashed.

"Normally, we'd be too scared of a water spirit to lay a finger on one,

but we panicked…"

"Has there been some sort of problem recently?" inquired the witch.

"No, there's a festival in our town today," one hunter explained.

"A festival? For water spirit elimination?" Tinasha repeated, finding it

curious. Quickly, she dried her clothes and Oscar's. The men were

thoroughly impressed by the trick.

One man in the middle of the group laughed as he explained, "It's a

marriage festival. Nowadays, the celebration almost never accompanies a

real marriage, but the whole town still gets into it. People come from

neighboring towns and villages to take part, too. Would you two like to join

in?"

"What would that entail?" Tinasha pressed.

"Women just wait in town. Men make the rounds of the lake and rustle

up gifts—from nature, that is. They bring them back to the woman they

want to propose to."

"I see."

Rural areas had curious festivals. Mountain hamlets without much in the

way of entertainment might toil all year preparing for festivals like this one.

While Tinasha was impressed, she had no intention of participating. No

sooner had she opened her mouth to refuse the invitation than Oscar tapped

her lightly on the head.

"Sounds interesting. Let's do it."

"What?! Wh-what's gotten into you?" she protested.

"We're here and everything, so why not? You go head on into town."

"You can't be serious… You don't even have Aka—"

Tinasha was about to say Akashia when Oscar ground his knuckles

against her temples.

"I'll be fine. Go on now," Oscar insisted.

"I didn't miss you doing this to me! Ow!"

Oscar patted his worrywart protector's head. Leaning slightly, he

whispered in her ear, "We're somewhere safe. There's no danger, so relax

and wait for me. Things like this can be fun once in a while."

"…All right. We did come here for you in the first place…"

Oscar still had Tinasha's protective barrier, but above all else, he was a

strong fighter in his own right. The townsmen saw that they'd wrapped up

their discussion and showed Tinasha the way back to the town. Apparently,

while there were only five of them now, many more would soon arrive to

scour the woods.

Oscar gave the witch a jaunty wave. "Don't follow any men you don't

know."

"I'm not some lost child!" Tinasha retorted. While she still felt a bit

uneasy, she had no choice but to leave and head for the town.

It only took a few minutes of walking before she arrived at the

settlement. The place was in full festival mode. People were crowded onto

the narrow streets, with alcohol and food on offer everywhere. It was

completely dark, but soft lights gleamed from every direction, giving the

whole place a warm glow. The sound of children singing drifted from

somewhere nearby.

As Tinasha stood and paused at the entrance taking everything in, an

unfamiliar middle-aged woman tapped her on the shoulder. "You're here for

the festival, aren't you? Where have you come from?"

"Farsas."

"Another faraway place… Well, you're welcome here. Are you here

alone?"

"I came with someone, but he's out gathering things in the forest."

"Ah, so you've got a boyfriend. Then you'll need to change."

"What?"

Before Tinasha could even ask why she needed to change, she was led

away.

The middle-aged woman brought Tinasha to the town gathering hall,

where she guided the confused witch into a room jammed full of women

changing. A chorus of admiring cries rose up from the women near the

entrance.

"Wow, so gorgeous."

"Heard she came from Farsas. So sophisticated."

The excited women ushered Tinasha into a chair before she could get a

word in edgewise and set about applying makeup to her.

"Um…"

"Don't talk! I'm putting on your lipstick now."

All the ladies surrounding poor Tinasha appeared to be married. They

gleefully painted her face. The younger women, on the other hand, were

busy getting themselves ready. Tinasha wondered why she'd bothered

coming to such a distant place when she could've been subjected to the

same treatment back in the castle. She wanted to run away but knew that

it'd upset the people attending to her.

Partway through a little sigh, Tinasha's eyes suddenly widened.

Something had made contact with Oscar's protective barrier. A slight

fluctuation in magic reverberated within her.

"What's wrong?" asked the woman powdering Tinasha's face after

noticing her darkened expression.

"Nothing… I'm just worried about my companion."

"He's fine. You should trust your boyfriend more!" the lady assured her

with a grin, clapping Tinasha on the back cheerfully. Worry had already

sunk in, however, and Tinasha couldn't shake it.

Finally, the women finished getting ready and trooped out to the town

plaza. Tinasha followed, clad in the outfit she'd been forcibly loaned.

The center of the village was now full to the brim with women in

gorgeous costumes, filling the place with the bright din of youth. As the

women waited for their suitors, men returned from the woods one after

another, found their mates, and presented them with gifts. Each presentation

earned a chorus of sighing admiration, which in turn only elevated the

overall excitement.

Tinasha took in the spectacle, standing at one edge of the plaza with a

veil covering her face.

She did have some awareness of how her features made her stand out in

a crowd. All she had to do now was meet up with Oscar and go home, but

no matter how long she waited, he failed to show. Tinasha detected no

further disturbances to the barrier, but that did little to reassure her.

The witch looked up at the sky from the gap in the veil. The moon

glimmered translucently in the heavens.

She wondered if she should go after him or not.

It wasn't that Tinasha didn't trust Oscar, but knowing that he was alone

made it difficult for her to relax. She was staring at the ground, plagued

with indecision, when her veil was suddenly lifted up. Startled, Tinasha

looked up.

"Did I keep you waiting?" asked a familiar voice.

Tinasha recognized Oscar and sighed deeply in relief. When they parted,

his clothes were dry, but for some reason, he'd gotten all wet again. As she

reached out to dry his clothes, she smiled and admitted, "I was worried."

"No trust in me at all, huh? Hold out your hand."

Puzzled, Tinasha held out both hands. Oscar dropped something he'd

been holding into them. The five rounded crystals were tinged with faintest

blue.

"These are…"

"I bet you haven't seen them in a while, right?"

The townspeople surrounding the pair gasped at the sight of the rare

moonstones.

For a while, Tinasha merely stared at the collected stones that rested in

her open palms. She recalled the ones she'd once collected herself. They

were long gone now.

Warmth bubbled up inside the witch's chest. Blinking rapidly, she felt on

the verge of tears. When she looked up at Oscar, he offered her an abashed

smile.

"Thank you. I'm really…very happy," Tinasha said, beaming at him.

While her childhood was long past, the grin on her face still appeared

innocent. She was positive she wasn't doing a very good job of smiling, but

she really was very happy.

Oscar leaned in close to her. She closed her eyes and accepted his kiss.

It didn't matter that they looked like a pair of lovers even though they

weren't. She couldn't put it into words.

It was enough that he was next to her, touching her.

All of it felt entirely natural, and that's what made it real.

After Tinasha changed back, she and Oscar left the town. From Nark's

back, they watched the lake grow smaller and smaller in the distance.

Tinasha was clutching the moonstones protectively. "Where were

these?"

"The lake bottom. I grabbed a water spirit and made it show me."

The witch's jaw dropped; she was speechless. This man had the rare

talent of finding trouble wherever he went.

Tinasha didn't feel like lecturing him at the moment, however. The

moonstones were warm from her body heat.

"When we get back to the castle, will you change their shape and mold

them into a necklace or something?" Oscar inquired.

"No… I'll keep them like this."

"Okay then," he accepted, patting her on the head. She closed her eyes,

happy.

Oscar's touch was warm and fond, and Tinasha abandoned herself to the

memories that washed over her.