Roaming through Orseth's streets felt no different than Casca's. The same hustle and bustle of daily lives cheered and echoed through the air. The same energy and voices raced through the streets.
Vivia tugged the hood closer to her face, her pace becoming faster and faster.
"You're walking a little too fast, Princess."
"Sshh!" She turned around in horror and signaled her guarding knight to stay quiet.
"Don't expose my identity!"
Benjamin's expression stayed as it was. "As instructed by Her Majesty, I must not be more than an arm's length distance from you. But you were walking too fast."
His blank gaze betrayed no feelings.
Why did Her Majesty choose this man to be my guard? He's not flexible at all!
Before, Regina was vehemently vocal in her disagreement regarding her daughter leaving the palace when the culprit was still at large. But after much convincing and cute faces from Vivia, she eventually caved in on the condition that one of her most trusted knights would guard her. Benjamin, the valiant soldier of the Captain-General's rank, led a considerable troop of soldiers in the Emberlain Royal Army. Capability and strength was in his very DNA.
"And now you mentioned Her Majesty. You really want to expose me, don't you?"
"My only task is to protect you."
"Which you can do without addressing me as Princess or uttering anything about the palace."
"What should I address you as?"
"Just use my lady," she sighed, "With you following me around, I don't expect to be assumed as a commoner, but a noble should be fine. Princess is a definite no-no!"
"As you command, my lady. But please stay within the distance, or I'll have to report this to Her Majesty."
Her jaw dropped, dumbfounded. "Are you saying you'll tattletale on me to Mother?"
"If my lady doesn't adhere to the rules set by Her Majesty, then yes," he said with all seriousness.
Ugh…! This is going to be a difficult day.
"My lady," Erissa came hopping in and beamed. "We've reached the jeweler store."
The doorbell softly chimed with Vivia's entrance, and the owner immediately greeted her with an elegant smile.
"Ah, there you are, my lady. Please come in."
"Greetings, Sir Klaus."
He bowed. "Greetings, my lady. Rest assured, it's only us here, so Princess can be at ease. Your maid has informed me about your wish for anonymity."
"Thank you, Sir Klaus and apologies for the inconvenience."
His eyes widened. "Please don't apologize, Princess. My head will be on the guillotine for this sin!"
She coughed.
"Anyway, this is the gemstone here," Vivia carefully handed the velvet pouch to him.
Klaus took it out, carefully studying it under his lens. "Oh my, what a beautiful Moonflame Opal! I've heard it's only found in the Realm of Harmony's forest."
"Is that so?" She blinked.
"Yes. This gemstone has not been sighted anywhere in the Human Realm and from my reports, neither in the Demon Realm. Realm of Harmony is a treasure trove of all kinds of mysterious things," he nodded with a hint of eagerness.
"I assume it'll be very expensive then."
He chuckled. "Even Earls and Marquesses will not be able to afford it, my lady. Only the royals can, so I understand why the Princess has it. But I'm curious. Where did you find such a rare jewel?"
"From Rudaheim…" She eventually revealed the source, though unsure at first.
Klaus's expression changed at that. "I see. Seems like some demons got their hands on this rare jewel."
"What makes it so special? Is it only because it's rare?" She asked, wanting to figure out if it was a jewel of misfortune or something that housed a vengeful spirit.
"Rare yes, but its price comes from the fact that it's only found in the Realm of Harmony. For centuries, that neutral border between our realms has been embodied in mystery. Legend says that the first opals were formed thousands of years ago out of a God's tears desperate to stop his dear brother's rampage to destroy the world. Those opals looked breathtaking like a beautiful rainbow. Those vibrant colorful hues became a symbol of good fortune and prophecy when the rampage had stopped."
Drisennia's near-apocalyptic prophecy and her terror witnessed in Casca's festival came to her mind.
That wasn't a good prophecy though…
Wait a minute.
"Good fortune. So there are opals…symbolizing bad fortune too?"
He nodded. "The colorful opals became Heaven's symbol over time. But there were some stones that never saw the light of the day. Only one such place exists in this world - Hell. A place in eternal darkness. Those opals hardened deep beneath the earth's surface, forged by Mount Lavos's intense underground and volcanic heat and pressure. Over time, those opal stones got associated with bad fortune because Hell symbolizes a place of pain and suffering. Some even said they housed vengeful spirits as Hell is a place where souls with bad deeds come through the Hell's Gate."
The demon jeweler, Sir Irlas, had shown me three opals too. Interesting.
The tears of a brother trying to calm his dear brother's fury…Huh. Why do I feel like Master had also once mentioned a story of two brothers?
Was I sleeping in during that lesson? She cleared her throat.
Sir Klaus broke her chain of thoughts. "From such legends that I've come across, I learned that Moonflame Opal is special because it can house auras - if you might call it - and it changes color based on whose energy it is. Or at least, that's the theory. Nobody knows for sure."
Klaus raised the milky-white stone under the light and pointed at some faintly visible lines.
"Do you see those lines inside the stone?"
Vivia squinted her eyes and noticed the mesh of interlocked lines. "Ah yes, I see them."
"We call them veins because they resemble the veins we humans have in our bodies. The veins in this opal are green in hue, probably because it's imbued with Princess's natural aura. It matches your emerald green eyes."
"Oh!"
Though the theory is exciting, this still doesn't answer my question…
She left it at that and asked Klaus to forge a ring based on it.
"May I get it by today itself if possible?" The risk of the troublesome jewel to be away from her sight for too long didn't sit well with Vivia.
"Certainly, Princess. It'll be done in a few hours," he bowed.
Expressing her deepest gratitude, they left his store while Vivia lazily stretched her arms.
Now that the ring is set, let's start on my-
An abrupt freeze shackled her as her gaze fell on the other end of the street. A woman, her head covered in a hood, stood across the path in weighted silence. The reddish hue of her eyes was locked onto Vivia's, and her matching red hair locks swayed gently with the wind.
Audreya…
The hooded woman turned around, quietly slipping into the crowd.
"Wait!"
Not wasting a second's time, she chased after Audreya, leaving Benjamin and Erissa stunned. But Benjamin was quick on his feet and began rushing after Vivia.
"My lady, please come back!"
His words and caution fell on deaf ears as she continued to chase after Audreya. The latter picked up speed and navigated among the crowd with a graceful ease.
You think you're the only one to have trained an excellent footwork? Don't forget that we're rivals!
Flexing the muscles around her sole and toes, Vivia swiftly ramped up her pace, catching up with the distance in short, quick bursts of breaths. Following up with her, she entered a half-ruined watchtower, climbing the now cold and abandoned stairs. Once she was on the rooftop, her gaze caught Audreya, standing still at the center with nowhere to run.
Vivia's light, breathless voice hushed in the air between them, "You…You're Audreya. You're Audreya, aren't you?"
In a flash, the woman turned around, a metallic silver sheen gleaming under the light. The answer to her question then dawned upon Vivia in the form of a dagger she held - whose tip was now aimed straight at her face.