“My Lady,” Nex’s gentle voice brushed Liliene’s ears.
“Hm…” Liliene curled up and hid her head under the cover.
“Come on. You’re the one who asked to be woken up so early. No going back now.”
“Blood and chocolate on the banana…” Liliene grumbled.
“Ah…” Nex started to poke the cover. “My Lady. Wake up, or I’m going to play a prank on you.”
“Hm? Nex?” Liliene stirred and stretched. “Is it morning?”
“Tsk.” Nex stood up.
“Why are you grumpy?”
Nex brushed the front of her maid uniform. She had really taken a liking to it.
“I’m not. Now, why did you ask me to wake you up so early?”
Liliene stirred again, her arms rising high above her head and bumping against the wall. She slipped out of the warmth of the covers and sat at the edge of the bed. A smile bloomed on her face as she looked at Laura, sleeping peacefully on the bed next to hers.
She stood wordlessly, slipped out of her nightdress, and put on practical clothes: pants and a loose shirt. Then, silently, she crossed the room and borrowed Laura’s short sword.
“I’m lacking,” Liliene finally answered.
She turned to face Nex, whose eyes narrowed.
“I noticed during our fight. During the exams. Neither of us could use our powers, yet I still didn’t come close to you. Not in skill.”
“My Lady…” Nex trailed off and moved closer to Liliene, gently bringing the girl’s head against her shoulder. Which looked a bit ridiculous given the height difference. “Part of me is happy that you don’t. Part of me isn’t.”
“Eh?” Liliene tried to pull back to look at her big sister’s face, but the arms holding her head had another plan. “Why?”
“I’m happy because it means we did a good job, Luna and I.” Nex played with Liliene’s hair. “I taught you the basics. The rest is just… lots of practical experience.” She pressed a kiss to Liliene’s temple. “But I’m unhappy because you could reach much higher.” Nex’s voice dropped lower as she added, “Just trust me, Lili, and trust your instincts. I’ll make you the strongest.”
Liliene didn’t do anything for a while, simply enjoying the feeling of being cuddled. It had grown rare these days. “Can I ask… How many people did you kill?”
Nex’s fingers didn’t break the soothing rhythm. “More than you can count. Probably fewer than you’re picturing right now.”
Even though she had asked, Liliene wasn’t sure what to do with this information. She pulled back from the hug. “I’m going to drill.”
“I’ll join you once Miss Laura wakes up. It wouldn’t do for her to start the day in an empty room.”
“Thanks, Nex! I love you!”
Liliene rushed outside, greeted the innkeeper, and went to the narrow alley behind the inn. Sandwiched as it was between two tall buildings, the sun wouldn’t be a problem until midday. Her grip on the hilt tightened, and she drilled, her mind replaying the way Nex had moved.
She kept going without a break for hours. Sweat gathered in droplets at the tip of her locks, now damp, darkened, and sticking to her face.
“My Lady,” Nex’s voice came from behind her. She offered Liliene a clean cloth.
Liliene wiped her face and ruffled her hair. She looked at Nex and grinned; her hair erupted into tendrils in every direction, now the color and shape of the sun’s corona.
“Thanks. Wanna spar?”
“If you insist,” Nex said and drew her own sword. This story is hosted at g.com.
“Say, don’t you think the tests were too easy?” Liliene asked, parrying Nex’s blow purely on muscle memory. “It didn’t feel like we were tested on anything at all.”
“You’re growing sharper,” Nex praised her, keeping her strikes telegraphed enough for Liliene to keep up. “I think the church only dangles the prospect of education to bait a flock of poor folks. The poor don’t even want the money, only the chance for a better life. You can’t get cheaper labor than that.”
“That’s…” Liliene frowned, almost missing a block.
“Effective.”
“I was going for ‘mean,’ but… Yeah.”
“The world isn’t a nice place, Lili. Human cities even less so.”
“You don’t like humans much, do you?” Liliene asked, smiling wryly.
“I don’t. They took too much.” Nex paused her assault and held Liliene’s gaze. “Do you?”
Liliene frowned and pursed her lips, humming slowly. “I like Laura.”
“Then why did you help that boy yesterday?” Nex asked and resumed her choreographed assault.
“I don’t know. Helping people is the right thing to do. I don’t need to like them.”
“A shame,” Nex sighed and dived low, pressing Liliene for real. “You would have made a good queen.”
Back at the inn, they shared a hearty meal that Liliene devoured eagerly. Liliene was cuddling a studying Laura, and Nex was polishing her sword when someone knocked on their door.
Nex eyed it suspiciously, secured her sword to her belt, and opened the door. A nun stood on the other side and gave Nex three envelopes.
“Congratulations on your enrollment. God bless you.”
She turned and left, leaving everyone stunned.
“Did we tell them where we live?” Liliene asked nervously.
“No,” Nex said, frowning. She was eyeing the door like it had somehow killed her puppy.
“What else do they know?” Laura asked. She curled in on herself, knees drawn to her chest.
“If they knew…” Nex trailed off, looking at Liliene. “They would have tried something. But I’d be careful outside. Even more so now.”
They gathered around the table to read the letters. They were identical, save for the name on each.
“So, lessons only start in two months?” Liliene asked. “That’s so far.”
“Yes,” Laura confirmed. “It gives poor folks some time to prepare, delve, and make some money.”
“How generous,” Nex scoffed. “Seems like the first delve is the day after tomorrow, and ‘supervised by a master,’ as they say. Probably a real ruin, this time.”
“Where is it?”
“Some distance away.” Laura pointed to the map included with the letters. “It’ll take us the better part of a day to reach.”
“Well.” Nex stood up. “We'd better prepare, then.”
***
It turned out Laura was surprisingly good at reading a map, and with directions in general. Coupled with Nex’s excellent combat ability, it left Liliene with… something to find and claim as her specialty. Quickly.
They followed the road for most of the morning, then turned onto a path through the woods, though it was still an easy trek. The clearing came into sight a few hours later. It didn’t look natural, too round, punctuated by benches and tables. That little empty space in the forest clearly saw a lot of use.
All around it, prospective delvers clustered in groups, hanging around on benches or lounging against tables. To Liliene’s immediate right was Marc, carrying a bag taller than he was.
“Oh. Hi, Marc!” Get faster updates on g.com.
“Good day to you, Milady,” he said, keeping his face politely tilted downward. “My Ladies,” he corrected himself, seeing what were most likely Nex and Laura’s legs.
Liliene didn’t hate the deference. She stood taller, prouder, as she scanned his team. “Found yourself mates to delve with?”
The boys, maybe men, turned toward Liliene’s group. They were dressed practically, but Liliene had the impression they were better off than Marc. She was no expert, but their pants only had holes for their legs, which was a good indicator, in her opinion.
“This is Jean-Marie, Jean-Luc, and Jean-François,” Marc introduced them in turn.
Nex clicked her tongue. There was a joke there somewhere, yet she couldn’t find it.
“Nice to meet you.” Liliene curtsied and didn’t repeat their names. “I am Liliene. This is Laura, and Nex.”
Before they could make conversation, a rough-looking man stood on a table; he was accompanied by half a dozen other people, all equipped like professionals. He stomped his foot hard against the wood to gather attention.
“Alright, folks, pay attention. This will be your one and only training delve into a ruin. You will enter in groups of your choosing every thirty minutes. Traps, monsters, and real artifacts have been placed ahead of time to provide a meaningful challenge. It should be a decent preview of what to expect from a real one.” He paused, letting the words sink in. “Don’t think about pocketing the artifacts; they belong to the conservatory. Your job is to bring them back to us. Accompanying you will be a master, either myself or one of my colleagues.” He pointed toward the men around the table. “Now, questions?”
Liliene raised her hand. She wasn’t a fan of the attention, though.
“What monsters can we find inside? I’ve never seen one.”
The man nodded. “Inside this one? Overgrown animals and metal automatons. Most of the time, the automatons don’t attack humans.” He shrugged. “Most of the time.”
He brought a hand to his chin and scratched his three-day stubble, grimacing.
“Inside real ones? Anything, really. From wildlife to the worst monsters of all… smugglers. People delving without a license and stealing artifacts that rightfully belong to the conservatory.” He looked down at the crowd, his face cold with contempt. “Once you have your license, you’re allowed to apprehend or kill them.”
Liliene nodded sagely. That escalated quickly.
A few more rounds of questions went by; none interested Liliene.
The exams themselves were supposed to be a formality, but this wasn’t part of the exams anymore. Things were about to get real. Eager, Marc’s group was the first one to disappear into the cave’s entrance, Marc entering last, his large backpack hiding him completely from view.
“I hope he’ll be okay,” Liliene said.
“Three Jeans walk into a cave… Will they come out washed up?”
Laura and Liliene looked at Nex in silence. She looked pleased with herself.
Liliene decided to ignore her maid and look around the waiting groups. It was sort of boring, with everyone spaced thirty minutes apart. Maybe she should try to socialize?
As she was asking herself that, the third group of the day was called. Three men flanked a girl with flashy pink hair, and… were those horns? No, it couldn’t be. The men looked more capable than the average newbies around them. Bulkier. Better equipped as well.
“Ehh,” Liliene said, tilting her head. “Is pink hair really a thing? Is that another artifact?” She turned to Laura for wisdom.
“Where?” Laura stood on her toes and looked around. “I don’t see it.”
“Hm?” Liliene pointed rudely at the girl with her index finger. “Her.”
“Are you sure you’re okay? That’s brown.”
Nex watched the girl silently, her eyes narrowed into slits. Noticing the group’s attention, the girl jumped on the spot and waved cheerfully. Then, realizing her group had already entered, she ran after them.
“Do you know her?” Liliene asked, having waved back out of reflex.
“No,” Nex lied.