Side Story - Maria 4: Frame of View

AN: This one actually plays in the present, basically at the same time as chapter 200+
AN2: Happy New Year!

Recently, Maria had been having visions of Aperio interspersed with her nights of dreaming, but most of them had been amidst an incomprehensible mess of colours and symbols so she had made no attempt to pain them. This one, however, had made sense enough to be worth the try.

Now that she was nearing completion, she frowned at the painting in front of her. It rose quite a few questions, as it depicted Aperio walking through a town with Caethya and two others Maria did not know. The weirdest part, though, was reserved for the city itself as well as the people that lived in it.

There were so many things she had never seen before, and even the clothes and architecture itself looked foreign. A little otherworldly. So much glass. Drawing the hundreds of panes had been a struggle unto itself.

"Do you know where this is?" Maria asked, peeking past the canvas at Amelia.

The maid raised a brow at the question but approached her charge regardless, stepping around the easel to look at the painting.

"I can't say that I have," Amelia said. "Doesn't look like anything you could find on Verenier, though. Are you sure it was an actual vision and not just a dream?"

"It was a vision," the girl replied. "A normal dream doesn't have the same… clarity. They don't have the All-Mother in them either. I think. Dreams always grow hazy once I have been up for a while; the visions always stay the same no matter how much time passes." Maria giggled slightly. "You could say they are as eternal as Aperio herself."

"I doubt that your visions are quite as long lasting as the All-Mother," Amelia remarked as she walked back to her position by the door. "They probably won't outlive the universe, for example."

Maria gave another giggle at her maid's words. "Who knows, maybe I'll be a Goddess one day."

Her maid did not reply, only shaking her head slightly. She knew as well as Maria herself that the blessing she had received made that a very real possibility. Whether or not anything would come of it was a question for a future version of herself, however. At the moment, she had little desire to think about what being a Goddess would entail. There was only one thing Maria was certain about when it came to that potential future path, and that was the fact that there would be precious little free time. Like father, in a way.

Geshton always tried his best to make time for her, but ever since Aperio had removed most of the Gods, that had gotten a lot harder. Keeping order in Ebenlowe might not be her father's job, but it still added to what he had to do.

"Has my brother returned yet?" Maria asked as she picked up her brush again. "Father said that he would come back after Kejeran started to fall into anarchy."

"Master Jace has not arrived in Ebenlowe yet," Amelia replied. "It will be a few more hours, I'm afraid."

"Didn't father say people were working on this ancient gate that used to connect Ebenlowe to the world?" Maria asked as her paintless brush moved over the canvas, adding a tiny dash of colour so the image would reflect the vision she had seen a little better.

"They are," her maid said, the small smile obvious in her voice, "but it would seem they have encountered an obstacle the mages can't work around."

Maria lowered her brush again at the words. Aperio had not really taught her magic like she had said she would — and Caethya had only given her a few brief lessons — but she still felt like she should help somehow. Maybe I could ask Aperio to help them for me? She made magic, so it shouldn't be an issue for her, right?

Reaching out to her Goddess was always a weird experience. For one, Maria was never quite sure if she was even doing it correctly. Sometimes she would get a reply, or at least feel like Aperio turned her attention towards her, but other times nothing seemed to happen at all.

Maria still closed her eyes and drew on her largely untouched reserves of mana. She nudged it along, pushing the shape of her thoughts into the energy before letting it slip through a small crack in reality that had formed as soon as she had begun; almost like the world itself had known she had wished to offer up a prayer.

"Have they tried asking others for help?" Maria asked, peeking past the canvas to see if Amelia had noticed her attempt to contact Aperio. "A prayer to Mayeia might get them what they need."

"The divine usually do not care about our problems," Amelia said with a sigh. "Not everyone is as connected to their chosen deity as you are, Maria. You should keep that in mind."

"I will."Maria looked back at the canvas, raising her brush for a moment before she sighed and put it down. "Could we have something to eat?"

"Of course," Amelia replied, opening the door without hesitation and waiting for her charge to step outside.

The girl quickly followed, giving Lula — the Dragonkin that stood outside her room — a small smile and wave. Ever since the whole ‘Aperio killed the Gods’ thing, there had been a few more people around to guard her. It did not bother Maria much, as she had known all of her maids for her entire life, but it had made visiting Brenia a little harder.

It did not take long for Maria and her small entourage to reach one of the numerous common rooms that were dotted around the estate. Why she couldn't just eat something in her room or atelier was beyond Maria, but she had long since stopped asking both her maids and her father to change that useless rule.

"Anything specific you wish to eat?" Amelia asked as she opened the door so Maria could step inside.

"Anything is fine," the girl replied. "Have the cook make something for yourself and the maids as well."

"Of course," Amelia replied with a shake of her head. While it was most certainly not the norm for a noble to eat with their servants — or even give them the option — Maria had never cared for that. That seemed to be a family trait of sorts, as her father had never cared much for the rule either. Neither had her mother, from what she could gather from the stories she had been told about her. Father doesn't want me eating in my rooms, though. The girl could only mentally shrug at the disparity between the two thoughts. It was weird but, in the end, it also did not matter.

While Maria sat herself down, the Dragonkin maid that had accompanied them took position inside the room just next to the door. Another one briefly looked inside the room, giving Maria a small wave before she closed the door, presumably standing next to it just like her colleague was.

"Is this really necessary?" Maria asked as the glint of one of the many weapons Lula had hidden inside her uniform caught her eyes. "It seems a little excessive."

"Perhaps," the maid agreed. "But everyone here would rather be safe than sorry. Plus, it's not like this is much of a change for many of us. We are used to providing protection."

"I guess." Maria sighed quietly, gripping the hem of her dress as she sat down and holding it as tight as she could. "I just don't like the idea of people putting themselves in harm's way for me."

"We all have our reasons for being here, Maria." Lula smiled at the words, a bit of teeth showing like they usually did. "But most importantly, none of us would have taken this job if we were not okay with the risk."

"I guess," Maria repeated and directed her gaze at the floor.

///

"Let me carry that," Jace said, grabbing the heavy suitcase before Imoru could get to it.

The old butler gave him a sour look but straightened himself only a moment later, placing his hands behind his back. "As you wish, Master Jace. I will note, however, that your father will be most displeased that you carried your own luggage yet again."

"We both know that he won't," Jace replied as he playfully swung the suitcase around. To many, it would have been heavy indeed, but the Class he had gotten had helped his strength quite a bit. "He will be happy that I arrived safely back home and then ask me all about my Class. Me becoming a [Void Knight] is most certainly not what any of us expected; even if it fit with Mother's magic."

"The Lady was truly gifted with the absence of things," Imoru replied, the hint of a smile showing on his face. "Being proficient in void magic is a feat not many can claim. Space is usually beyond the Human mind, as the Lady would say."

"I hope the beyond has given her a better life," Jace mumbled as he directed his eyes to the sky. He took a breath as he recalled the letters both Maria and his father had written him. "Or should I say that I hope she has given her a better life?"

"I doubt invoking the name of a divine in that way would be advisable," the old butler said. "Even if your sister has said that she is harmless and willing to help the family."

"If she doesn't want me to speak ill of her, she should strike me down right now," Jace said as he narrowed his eyes at one of the clouds that lazily drifted overhead.

"Not even twenty years of age and already trying to challenge the Gods," Imoru said with feigned disappointment. "I shall report your ambitions to your father."

Jace only laughed in reply. His father would not mind such a goal, as they both knew that it was unreachable for either of them. The only one in the family that had a hope of even getting close to that was his sister, and Maria was very much not fond of violence. But she is also still a sheltered child.

He understood that it had been necessary of course, but Jace could not help but feel more than a little disgusted at the fact that they had to essentially imprison his sister for most of her life. But only for a few more years…

Once Maria turned sixteen she would have to attend one school or another, no matter what Geshton wished for. Not that she will be any less protected. Amelia and Lula would undoubtedly accompany her and if what his sister had written him about her Goddess was even remotely true, he already feared what might happen to anyone who went against her. I doubt that, though.

His father had not spoken much on the matter, and Maria's view on it was likely a little more rosy than that of true reality. The girl had a talent for only seeing the good things in the world, no matter how much evil or despair surrounded her. Protecting that world view was one of the few reasons he had worked as hard as he did. The memory of his mother, and his wish to help ease the burden his father had shouldered alone for so long, comprised the rest of his life's driving force.

"The boat is ready, Master Jace," Imoru said, taking him from his thoughts. "While I don't think Herbert minds waiting, I would not test his patience too much."

"You are right," Jace agreed, shaking his head and stepping away from the terminal, allowing himself to be absorbed by the river of people moving towards the harbour and its boats.

Being on the non-island part of Ebenlowe always seemed strange, mainly because it held all of the shops owned by those who lived outside the city. It also was where one could find all the officials hailing from nations or kingdoms small and unimportant enough to not warrant a building on Embassy Island.

Though every isle had its own bits of weirdness, none of them stood out quite as much as the ones on land, which was by far the most non-traditional part of Ebenlowe. Every grouping of nobles here had a hand in the rules, nudging them to be more lax. That was probably what allowed it to stand out as an oddity, he supposed.

"Do remember the package our father wanted you to pick up," the old butler said as he fell into step behind Jace. "It did sound very important to him."

"Probably picking up the gift he said he got me," Jace said with a small smile. "Or some more books for him to fill."

"Why not both?" Imoru said as he placed a hand on Jace's shoulder and steered him to the right, placing a few more people between the two of them and whatever the old man had decided was a threat.

"Unwanted attention?" Jace asked, but did not resist the move.

"Indeed," the butler said. "Zealots, if my eyes do not deceive me."

"They rarely do," Jace mumbled, letting one of the skills he had chosen manifest itself around the two of them. "Best to remain hidden, then."