The Upperside

Lirena could only smile at the reaction she had produced in Yvonne, and the date had not even started in proper.

The stout woman’s reaction to this part of the city was adorable to behold, though Lirena was not unaware of the startled glances around her at seeing an Earthtouched in the Upperside.

Better to make our way to our destination, lest someone wishes to start trouble, she thought, and took Yvonne’s hand. “Come along, we still have time to avoid the rush!” She said.

Lirena knew herself to be well-recognized in the city, and the sight of her holding hands with a Touched would probably spark a thousand rumors, many of which would reach her father’s ears, but there was no time to care for that.

Besides, between another fight with her father and Yvonne having a wonderful day, she cared for the latter far more.

Lirena at least knew she didn’t have to worry about such looks at the café. For all of the social prejudice, there was nothing legally keeping many Touched from the Upperside, save for finances, and the day was all a treat to Yvonne.

They were ahead of the lunch crowds, as she had intended, and a waiter quickly showed them to a booth off to the side. Yvonne looked at the menu with a perplexed look on her face.

I suppose few of the things here are served in the Low ward, she guessed. She only hoped something would suit her taste.

Yvonne was still looking but seemed more relaxed by the time the waitress came to take their order.

Lirena hadn’t even need to even look at the menu to order her usual. “I’ll have the roast beef sandwich with the side bisque and a cup of Darjeeling tea.”

“Very good, madam. And for you, miss?” The waitress asked Yvonne.

The blacksmith immediately darted her eyes in a panic across the menu again for a moment before relenting with “The same as her, please.”

The waitress bowed and headed back to the kitchen, leaving the two to their own devices.

“You could have taken a moment if it was too much,” Lirena said.

“So much of it was beyond me that I’d just spend the whole day asking questions. I’ll trust your judgment for my first time here,” Yvonne said.

“I’m glad you already find my taste so aligned with your own. This is useful knowledge for the rest of the date,” Lirena said with a grin.

Yvonne’s face flushed, but she pressed on. “So why did you invite me out, anyway?”

The waitress came back with their tea, pouring a cup for each of them before returning to her duties.

“Admittedly, the timing was a bit selfish on my part,” Lirena said before sipping her tea. “I… requested to be part of the next Zoner expedition, you see. I’m told it’s just big, not dangerous, but still, I wanted to do this before I left. The caravan heads out tomorrow.”

Yvonne’s eyes widened. “But you… you can’t. I mean… you can, there’s no real harm in it but… isn’t that sort of a big deal for nobles? To not become a Touched?”

Lirena chuckled. “Glad to see you care about how it affects me. But in short, I will be fine. Turns out I can’t be affected by the Zones, so I wanted to do something to put my talents and gifts to use. This was the answer I arrived at.”

Yvonne looked down at her teacup and ran her fingers along the rim of it as considered her words. “You’re a brave woman. Even if you’re somehow immune to the change, most wouldn’t dare consider the risk. That’s what folks like us are for.” She looked up to face Lirena. “Thank you. For going out of your way for us.”

Lirena gave a weak smile. “I only wish that what I was doing wasn’t so notable as to be deserving of special heartfelt praise. But on a brighter note, I was incredibly young when I was caught in a Zone, and I’ve never actually been to one since. Am I right to assume you spent more time in one?”

Yvonne nodded. “I was probably four or five when my village got consumed by an Earth Zone. We got lucky though. An Earth Zone could be anything from sudden rocky terrain and earthquakes causing damage to bountiful soil and consistently healthy crops. We got the latter.”

“Ah, then you must be from Destin! The kingdom gets a lot of produce from them.”

“The Zone ended up helping everyone, but we still have to do all of our business on the outside of the barrier around it. Never heard of anyone Untouched wanting to become one of us by stepping inside and seeing the place first-hand, but it’s a beautiful place.”

“I’d like to visit someday, then,” Lirena said. “Even if I didn’t have my immunity, it would be an honor to see the village that supports so many people.”

“That immunity would be handy. Bet people would hound me if you lost those emerald eyes of yours on my account,” Yvonne said and took a sip of her tea.

Lirena rested her chin on her hand. “It might give me eyes as pretty as yours though.”

The blacksmith choked a bit as she swallowed the tea.

“Those eyes are because of the Zone, right? Golden eyes don’t strike me as something you are born with,” Lirena asked, giving her date a bit of a chance to compose herself with a change in topic.

“Ah, yeah, they were brown when I was a little girl. The Zone changed them. And then when I was a teenager, the rocky patches formed along my back. Other than my senses, that was all that changed for me. Others had a complexion change - one of my old neighbors has a metallic sheen, for example. Our gifts were all apparently random, too. One reason we took to farming, other than the effects of the Zone on the land, is because so many people wound up with abilities that helped tend the earth better for crops.”

“But yours was metalworking,” Lirena said. “I guess there weren’t many that were similar?”

“Just my da’, but he was already a metalworker by trade for the village. So I have a similar gift as him, and he taught me everything he knew when I wouldn’t stay out of the forge like I was told.”

“My, what an incorrigible young lady you were,” Lirena chuckled.

“Eh, not much has changed, if I’m being honest. That’s why I took the plunge to set up in the capital. Gaz - the Flametouched man you ran into when you first came to my shop - he helped me get in touch with locals that could use my help. Been about three years since then, I guess?”The waitress brought their food and both gave their thanks to her as they began eating.“I’m honestly jealous,” Lirena said between bites. “You have a goal for yourself and a community to support you.”

Yvonne’s eyes widened as she tasted the sandwich. “Magus’ beard that’s good… I mean, it sounds like you have started on your goal by joining the Zoners. As for community… well, can’t say I know enough about the Upperside to weigh in on that, but you do have a reputation around the Commission already, it seems. I’m sure they’d be thrilled to know you better.”

“Is that an invitation to come spend time around you more often?” Lirena teased.

“Depends on if you want to spend time sweating in a shop with the sound of a clanging hammer or drum up a headache from the racket that lot can make,” Yvonne replied.

“Guess I’ll have to try both to see which I prefer!”

The two finished the meal and Lirena saw to the bill - despite some protests from Yvonne. With the day still young, Lirena next saw to it to take her into the shopping district.

She noticed as the crowds became thicker that more and more people were looking at Yvonne. Some with idle curiosity and others with utter contempt. Yvonne, for her part, seemed unbothered by the stares, as she seemed more preoccupied with taking in the sights along the way, but Lirena could hear the whispers around her remarking on her.

“The cleaners have been doing an awful job of keeping the streets tidy lately, I tell you,” a haughty man’s voice said from behind them. Lirena thought she recognized it, but paid no attention to him. “Why look, a pile of rubble in the middle of the street!”

Yvonne lurched forward upon that sentence, but caught herself from falling. Lirena whipped her head around and saw the reason - a young blond nobleman with his boot raised and another man snickering beside him. She recognized the assailant as Jason, the last young noble she had handily defeated in her most recent duel.

“Sturdy little rock, isn’t it?” his friend said. “Might need another go to knock it over?”

The attacker didn’t answer, as he had finally taken notice of Lirena’s presence.

“Jason,” Lirena said flatly, resting her left hand on her sword scabbard. “Lost a bout, so now you’re attacking women on the streets?”

Jason looked at Yvonne, who was glaring at him.

“A-ah, so this one’s a woman. Rather hard to tell don’t you thi-” He cut his sentence as Yvonne’s fists clenched and her arms tightened.

“You have three options, Jason,” Lirena said. “One - you and your friend walk away and never bother her or any other Touched again. Two - I duel you right here on the spot and give you a fresh memory of the last beating you took.” She rested a hand on Yvonne’s shoulder. “Three - I let my friend here get her self-defense blows in before we haul you off to the guards.”He huffed. “They would never believe someone of that crazed lot would be capable of ‘self-defense,’” he muttered.

“You forget whose name is on all of the shipments for their equipment,” Lirena flicked the sword guard with her thumb, lifting it slightly and letting it give off a satisfying clack as it fell back into its resting place. “So make your choice.”

The two men turned around and walked away as their only answer.

Lirena sighed. “I hate using my family name for that sort of nonsense.” She looked to Yvonne. “Are you alright?”

Yvonne stretched and her tension visibly eased. “Would have enjoyed taking a few slugs at the bastard, but probably best to let him slink away with his tail between his legs. That duel of yours must have been quite something for him to completely skip it as an option.”

“He’s not half the fighter he thinks he is,” Lirena replied. "I'll still report him later, for good measure."

“And you may hate using the power of your name, but uh…” Yvonne looked away to hide her face. “The confidence in the moment is a good look on you.”

Lirena couldn’t help but smirk. “Then hopefully next time you see it that it’s under better circumstances.”

“Maybe on the next date, then,” Yvonne said, finally looking back at her.

Lirena was a bit taken aback by the sudden boldness of the other woman, but found herself only grinning. “Glad you agree there will be another, but we’re not even through with today’s. Come, let me treat you to a little present while we’re here. Then you won’t have to fret about what you wear next time.”