A Lady as Blue as the Sky

It was the first time Haruki had seen his own quarters, though it had been given to him much, much earlier. Marina had led him to the westmost part of the castle—aptly named the “West Branch”. The elves didn’t seem too enamored with just naming it the “West Wing”.

Though his quarters were no bigger than a mid-sized single-room apartment in Tokyo, the curtained bed, veranda, and art nouveau furnishings would definitely mark it up for double the expected price back at home—if his quarters had a price.

Haruki combed the room with his hands, feeling the lack of dirt, grime, and imperfections on the furniture and architecture.

“You guys spared no expense for me. I’m flattered.”

Marina closed the wooden double-door behind her. It locked with an audible click.

Haruki turned in her direction, and a single sweat broke free from his temple. His head spun for a second. Nervous—a little infatuated. He was alone with Marina—behind locked doors.

He coughed, regaining composure. “So, Marina. What did you want to discuss?”

Her eyes shifted. “Hmm. Let’s rid ourselves of our deceptions first, shall we?”

“Deceptions?”

Marina waved her hands over both ears, In a single outward sweeping motion, she vanished their length like a magician, revealing regular-length human ears in their place.

“W-what?” Haruki stammered. “You’re—”

“Remove yours too, Haruki,” she said. “Let’s be honest with each other here.” He was only too happy to oblige.

“You’re… not an elf,” Haruki said.

“I’m the odd one out here. Though not a single soul in the kingdom knows. I’m a Sapia—like you.”

“Sapia? I’m a human. From Tokyo. Another world.”

“Is that what they call Sapias where you come from?” Marina cupped her chin and nodded. “Hornless ones. Those with short ears and unmitigated height. Those with no overgrowth of fur. That is a Sapia.”

So… a human. They just had a different name for it.

“I see.” Haruki leaned on the nearest desk, hip pressing on the edges. “So what’s the story here? Why disguise yourself as an elf? So you can be Minister of Foreign Affairs?”

“You’re a keen one,” she said. “As you may have seen, Ka-Ilyah is a homogenous nation. Kind as they are on the outside, they don’t take too well to non-elves. They don’t even take kindly to half-bloods and mixed races. If you’re not born a pure-elf, or move in as something else, you enter a peasant—and die a peasant. Upward mobility might as well be fiction to you.”

So Anemone is a half. A half-elf, like Haruki had read about in stories before. Some tales depicted them as long-lived as other elves, while others implied they only lived double the lifespan of a human. The latter must have been true for this world.

Marina smiled, noticing Haruki’s side-eye. “You must have figured out by now: Her Royal Highness isn’t a pureblood.”

“I’ve pieced it together, yeah.”

“You figure things out quickly,” she said, nodding. “As expected of a Sapia. Elves tend to think in slow motion.”

Haruki crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. “So why tell me all this? Not like this knowledge changes anything for me. I made my intentions clear back there. It hasn’t changed.”

“I’ll be honest with you, Haruki. While I promised you passage to the Inverted City with whatever means we have in Ka-Ilyah—such does not exist. Not here, at least. That was an empty promise I made in front of the king, since he’s still thankful for what you’ve done.”

He remained unfazed. He had a feeling that was the case. “I thought as much. But there’s no need to apologize,” he sighed, eyes downcast and wistful.

“I’m here to offer a real solution,” Marina said, eyes half-lidded. “Think of it as an act of camaraderie—between Sapia stuck in a foreign land.”

She walked over to the veranda and opened it, letting the faint chill of night dance in the room. “Over there,” she pointed over a distant mountain range below the Inverted City. “There’s a sea. Cross that sea, and you will arrive at my home—Bellfry, a city under the Federacy of Aquantis. They have extensive knowledge of the Inverted City, and may provide you with the means and information you need to reach it.”

Haruki held a breath, then exhaled sharply. “I thought you wanted me to fight for Ka-Ilyah. Now you want me to go?”

“Again, it was lip service,” she said. “These are my real intentions with you. And Princess Anemone—take her.”

“W-What?” Haruki’s eyes rounded.

“The princess—she wishes to run. She confided in me such,” she said, voice low and genuine. “There’s no future for her here. The kingdom’s very own king will outlive her. And should she ever decide to rule, hers will be frayed with unrest, distrust, and possible collapse. A sovereign of Ka-Ilyah who can only live up to around 150—a genuine danger. Better to give her a better chance at life than forfeit to a doomed future, yes? Ka-Ilyah will find a suitable heir in due time. King Haldur has to.”

Granting Anemone’s wish was already something swimming at the top of Haruki’s mind. Even the thought of leaving her here to go back to Tokyo already stung at his morals like a persistent hornet. But what would other people think of that? Her father? Was Haruki himself even in a position to care?

If he could bring Anemone home—wait, did “home” even promise freedom?

If he went back to Earth with Anemone in tow, wouldn’t both of them be subject to the twisted, broken systems that Haruki dreamed of escaping from in the first place?

But this place—the Federacy of Aquantis. There was no guarantee, but did she have a better shot at a life of freedom there?

“What about her father, the king? Wouldn’t he… be sad if she left?”

“The king has fallen into a deep depression for fifty years, far longer than I have even been in Ka-Ilyah. I do not know why, but he was indifferent even at the thought of his daughter fighting the Sky Legion.”

That’s not what he sounded like when he thanked me.

“That’s not nice of you,” Haruki harumphed.

“I know it isn’t,” Marina replied. “But your choice is to stay here and fight for a nation that looks down on you because you’re a Sapia, or leave and find a better life for you and the princess.” She tilted her head, smiling with self-satisfaction. “To me, the choice is obvious.”

It was obvious. She was right. That didn’t make the decision hurt any less.

“Alright. When do we start?” Haruki had made up his mind.

“In a few hours tonight,” she said, closing the veranda door and trapping the cold inside. “But will you hear my second request?”

Haruki groaned softly. “There’s more…?”

“This one is a more personal request of mine.”

Marina sat on the quarters’ bed, landing with a soft puff. She crossed her legs and stared at Haruki, curious, half-lidded eyes burning a hole through him.

She scrunched the sheets with a fistful of cloth. “I’ve seen how you look at me. Won’t you accompany me tonight?”

Haruki shook himself awake to check if he was dreaming. “Excuse me?”

Marina arched her back, her palms making themselves comfortable with the bed’s softness. “Elven mating rituals are long and involved, and they do it only when necessary. They only copulate for procreation. Congress for pleasure is not in their culture.”

Wandering eyes drifted towards Marina. Haruki sized her up, starting from her ample chest, going down to her waist, then legs visible through her stockings’ sheer. His gaze refocused on her red-flushed face.

Warmth raced up to his cheeks, and butterflies churned in his stomach. His trousers grew tight. Oh no. I’m getting drawn in.

He lurched towards her without realizing. When he walked closed enough, she grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into the bed atop her.

Moonlight gleamed through the windows, illuminating Marina’s face in a graceful silver. A fragrant aroma radiated from her, reminiscent of the beach at sundown. For a moment, time stopped when her soft fingers traced his arm.

“M-Marina. This is too sudden.”

“I know it is,” she said, her sultry voice melting Haruki’s resolve. “But I have been in this kingdom, alone, for almost four years now. I am an adult woman, and I have needs, too. I have been so, so alone all this time, without wanting the company of elven men.”

“I-I see.” Haruki gulped. “I’m not that experienced in this. This is my first time, so I’m sorry if I disappoint.”

Marina smiled softly. “This is my first time, too.”

She heaved, and so did Haruki—their breath mingling in a cloud of warmth between their distance.

She spoke, her voice quivering and face flushed beet red, dripping with lustful sweat. “Please, hurry,” she said, as her hands drifted toward Haruki’s waist. “I can’t wait anymore. It’s unbearable… like any Sapia will do now.”

Haruki paused. Though his heart raced, it was as if a hurricane had swept his thoughts wayside. He gently pushed her hands aside and rose from the bed, a heavy sigh leaving him.

“Haruki…?”

He leaned on the wall, a grimace having crept into his face.

“I’m sorry. I can’t fulfill your request.”

Marina got up. “Why?”

“Because any Sapia will do,” he said solemnly. “That means you’re doing it not because of me, but in spite of me. You shouldn’t be so quick to throw away your first time, as I am of mine.”

“Even if I wanted you?”

“But I don’t feel the same way.” Haruki grunted under his breath, the furious warmth leaving chest. “Maybe someday. But today, I don’t feel like being treated like a placeholder just because I’m a human—I mean, a Sapia.” His eyes grew weary with pity. “Marina, you are a beautiful girl. And I like a lot of things about you. So please respect yourself, and I’d like it if you didn’t just… throw yourself at me.”

Marina sighed. “I don’t understand…”

Haruki fixed his coat and slipped the small royal crest into his chest pocket. “You said your plan was happening tonight. When and where?”

“The forge, when half the moon drops under the mountain range. I’ve already told Her Royal Highness to meet you there,” she said, her tone having lost its smoothness. “Whether you agreed or not, she had already agreed to the plan. Refusing my first request would have just wasted both our time.”

Swatting the last of dust off his aviator coat, Haruki gave a bow. “Thank you, Marina,” he said as he turned towards the door. He glanced back one more time. “And I’m sorry.”

After Haruki had left the room, Marina covered her eyes with the back of her hand, plopping into the bed.

“If he had indulged me, would I have squandered my own plan?”

Marina bit her lip and muttered to herself.

“To think they would come home before I could. Fly—for me.”