Discovery

Feeling apprehension building up inside me, I stood completely still, keeping my breath steady to be as quiet as possible. I kept hiding behind the flowers and wall of thick vines, listening more to this conversation of my mother and elder sister.

“I, I don’t understand, Mother,” Vivienne said, audibly confused about what she had just heard.

“It is something I can’t keep ‌secret any longer. The other day, your grandmother summoned me. She told me that my daughter Avenelle would be given to the divine. In other words, offer her life.”

I lowered my gaze, still unable to comprehend what I was hearing. It all felt so unreal. I didn’t even do anything wrong. I had barely met my grandmother, and now she wants me to just throw away my life? To the Great Hand, no less? What a frightening notion.

“Why? Why my sweet little Avenelle?” Vivienne asked in a low voice.

“All I know is that she is needed for the stability of the divine’s presence in this world.”

“What does she have that we all do not?”

“... I do not know. But… there have been histories of a family member being offered to the Great Hand.”

“I never heard of that.”

“Not a commonly known information.”

“... What do you need me for?”

“When the time comes… I want you to ensure that Avenelle will be there. And… I might need your help telling the rest of the family slowly. They deserve the right to know.”

“What about Avenelle? Will she know?”

“... You must never tell her.”

I mildly shook my head, finding all of this to be absurd. If I had not ended up here, and not heard about it, I would have been oblivious of my own predetermined demise. Should I consider myself lucky?

“We do not know what she’ll do if she finds out,” Mother added.

“... That is… terrible…” Vivienne’s voice faltered. “Does Father know about this?”

“Not yet. But leave him to me. I’m still thinking of a way to tell him without him doing anything drastic… This news will certainly hurt him.”

“If it hurts Father, then it will certainly hurt my brothers. And you want me to tell them?”

“Yes, tell them when you think they are ready. Hiding it until the end… they might not take it very well.”

“... I certainly cannot tell them so soon. But my little Avenelle… When is it going to happen?”

“The next Communion. But only the Great Mother knows when exactly. But if I were to guess, in a couple of months.”

“That’s… that’s too soon, Mother. How will I even talk to my little sister knowing all of this?”

“... I do not know.”

I slowly and quietly stepped backwards, my trembling fists clenched tightly. My brow furrowed in both disappointment and fear. Taking a shaky breath, I closed my eyes, trying to keep my composure. I could never have imagined that something like this could happen. My life… My new life… was already in danger. To make it worse, it was death.

Unable to contain my emotions, I quietly walked away from the garden, and back to the palace corridors. My heart was throbbing so painfully, my ears were ringing, my mind was swirling into random countless thoughts.

Why? I don’t understand. What am I going to do? Where would I even go from here? I can’t do anything… There must be something I can do. How can I escape this predicament? Am I going to really die? There’s no way they’ll let me go. If I escape, they’ll find me easily… Oh God, I’m going to die… Why is this happening? This can’t be true. This has to be a dream. A nightmare.

As I aimlessly walked further and further, my legs weakened. Not of fatigue, but sheer nervousness and terror. I leaned on the wall, hands trembling as I thought of the grim future I had. Just thinking of the bad things made my tears slightly come out of my eyes.

I feared death… because I had not lived enough yet. I have yet to live a fulfilling life.

It can’t end like this. But… What can I even do against my family? Against this kingdom, against everyone?

I knew how many monsters there were in here, I had the memories. A lot of people were powerful here. There was no way I would stand a chance. The moment I resisted, it would be over for me.

I let out a shaky breath. As I wallowed in my despairing thoughts and circumstances, a maid suddenly came up to me without my notice.

“Princess? Are you alright?”

I slowly raised my head and saw a familiar face. She was a young woman with short brown hair, and brown eyes, and her skin was fair. She wore a common maid uniform, so she was not someone special among the servants. But I have met this girl before. It was the same maid that Alaric tried to flirt with, whom I saved from his shenanigans.

“I’m, I’m fine.” I rubbed my eyes before standing up straight. “Don’t tell anyone about this.”

“Y-Yes. But are you alright?”

“It’s, um, nothing.”

“... I see.” She stared at me for a moment. “... Um, Your Highness, I want to thank you.”

“For what?”

“For helping me from the prince.”

“Oh.”

“I have only been here for a week, so I was terrified when that happened, and confused.”

“Think nothing of it.” It was not that big of a deal, really. All I did was ‌talk my brother out of it.

“Still, it was a great help. I didn’t know how to respond to his actions. I still don’t fully grasp all the workings here in the palace. So, thank you so much.” She bowed her head.

“You’re welcome then…” It was a bit awkward being treated with this much respect. I was not used to it. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Clarissa, Clarissa Ardelle.”

“... You’re not of noble origin?”

“No. I am a commoner born in this city.”

“You must be pretty impressive then. The palace doesn't just take anyone.”

This palace had standards when taking in servants, and there were a lot of applicants that would apply. For commoners, getting to work in the palace could be the career of their life. The salary too was pretty good. But of course, as you’d be serving the royals, we’re pretty strict in letting anyone in.

Clarissa formed a self-deprecating smile. “I-I don’t know. I thought I was decent, but when I saw how everyone worked, I realized I still have a lot of things to work on.”

“Really now?”

She nodded. “My fellow servants, they’re all so amazing. And here I am, a nervous wreck.” She chuckled with a wry smile. “Ever since I started working here, I'm always so scared, especially of failure. The way everyone moves is so smooth and disciplined.”

“I thought they trained you.”

“... The actual thing is quite different.”

Quite understandable. Working in the actual field would be quite different, and quite more tense. Unlike in training, you couldn’t afford failure. And failure here could get pretty expensive. But we just tolerate it if it is tolerable. But it really depended on who saw it.

“I see.”

“I couldn’t match up to everyone. However, I still hope I can catch up to them someday. I need only to practice and grow. With time, I’m certain I’ll be better.”

“Enough to match them?”

“Yes! Even if I can’t, at least to the point where I won’t fall behind.”

Won’t fall behind, huh?

“... Clarissa, what would you do if you were cornered? You’ve hit a wall. But you need to overcome this obstacle in a place where everyone is way better than you.”

“Hm?” She placed a finger on her chin. “I’ll find a way, there must be a way to slip through. Maybe I’ll figure out where I’m lacking and improve on it.”

“But you are outnumbered, overwhelmed.”

“Surely that can’t be the end. I’ll search for a way out, even through the tiniest hole.” She smiled brightly. “Are you perhaps facing the same trouble, Princess?”

“... Just a hypothetical scenario.”

She nodded. “I see. For me, I ‌certainly won’t allow myself to be left behind. Even if it is hopeless, I just think of the positives — that I’ll get better. I know that soon enough I’ll overcome the obstacles I must face. Despite all the fears.”

“Even though you’ll face failures?”

“Failures are not always certain, I think. There are ways to go around it, like for instance, anticipating it, or learning from examples.”

“I see.” I lowered my head, inspiration growing inside my mind. I closed my eyes for a moment. “You’ve given me something to think about, Clarissa. Thank you.”

“Anything to serve you, Your Highness.” She curtsied.

Although you were pretty casual with me. Which is not always good to do with a royal.

“Please do not mention this conversation to anyone. Good day to you, Clarissa.”

“... You too, Princess.”

With that, I walked away and made my way to my room. Once I arrived, I gently closed the door, thinking and thinking about how to deal with the situation. I stared at my puppet-filled room. My dolls were not very useful yet in combat.

I’ll find a way.

If I were to survive this, I would struggle. Find a way to slip through the cracks. I must not be too impatient, I’d find answers pretty soon.

I held out my hand, and crimson strings appeared on all the puppets in the room. With a wave of my hand, they all started to move and stand up.

I’ll make an army if I have to.

I didn’t need to fight off everyone in this place. I only needed to escape, slip through their grips. And obtain the power I needed to survive. Here, and there outside. I must prepare. I had only a couple of months to prepare, but even that was uncertain. Grandmother might take me in a month.

Before then, I must do whatever is necessary.