The Shape of My Future

Following the audition day, Ui’s sleep patterns became even more disturbed than usual. And as usual, the normal house staff was not enough to break the cycle. And as usual, there was someone, that if perhaps not the most qualified, was the most consistent to answer her calls for help.

Three firm knocks on her door preceded Cro’s words. “Ui, I’m coming in.”

Ui was lying on her mostly undone bed with her clothes messily stacked next to her as if providing an inert nighttime friend. The room was dark, and it felt like the sunshine had been missing from it for days. Cro tossed all the clothes on her bed aside and sat next to her. A brief look revealed all the books that seemed to be barely opened, with an unsatisfied Ui beside them.

“It’s been a few days, Ui… Did you really want that audition so badly? I thought—”

“It’s not that, silly...” She answered with a half-weary smile.

“You look terrible.”

“You look great.” Ui pointed at Cro’s neat Royal Mage uniform.

“You could look great, too, Ui.” Cro looked concerned, a face that always stung Ui. “You’re worrying everyone—again.”

“Fine, fine.” It didn’t take much to convince Ui, who was used to laying these traps as cries for attention.

Cro stood up and started getting ready to leave when she tugged on his uniform to stop him short. She remained silent, pulling on Cro’s clothes with barely enough strength for him to notice and stop.

“Is it really fine, everything I’ve done?” Her voice barely had enough volume to be audible, even in that quiet, dark room.

“You did what you had to do, Ui.” Cro’s voice was soft, sympathetic, and filled Ui with an unusual energy. “That’s what we all do.” He grabbed her hand briefly before softly placing it back on her bed. “I don’t want to see you like this when I get back.” Cro looked at the clock inside her room, and left. There was no hurry in his step, despite Ui delaying him noticeably.

◆

A few hours later, Ui put on one of the multiple dresses she’d never worn before and left the house with energetic steps, humming one of her own melodies. The grey streets of the city didn’t seem too bleak that day, and she had new goals that accumulated during her time indoors: new things to eat and read. She had to get her mind off the audition, and the Duke, badly.

She decided to break her patterns and not visit Odoe that day, and instead tried one of the multiple drink stands across town. She wanted to try a creamy, mildly sweet drink with a touch of bitterness that was imported from the mainland.

It wasn’t great, but she was happy that she tried. Nearby, she purchased a few books. Realizing the books at home were not interesting to her, she made sure to buy some for herself. She stopped once she noticed her bag was a little heavier with books than she expected. The bag was so full that even someone as strong as Ui noticed, which meant it was far fuller than it should be. She realized she had to go back home soon.

And so she started the last leg of her trip: a kitchen shop. She had been looking to buy some bowls for home that reminded her of Aure, to bring some color to her Uman home and family.

Her long list of errands would soon be over, as soon as she could reach the highest shelf in the shop, taunting her with beautiful bowls just outside of her normal reach. Umans never designed things with her height in mind. She looked around her: the shop was a little too crowded for her to jump with her usual strength.

So instead she made sure no one was close to her, and, with half-baked hops, tried to reach the top shelf—and failed. She tried one last time, with a little more strength than a girl like her should have, only to have the bowl swiped away by a tall Uman man next to her.

She looked around, confused by how the man had somehow surprised her, suddenly appearing by her side.

“You looked minuscule on that stage, but I really didn’t understand. I thought it was the stage.”

Ui recognized him. He was the Duke’s assistant, a man that had laughed at her. She leapt, angrily, and snatched the bowl off his hands. The books in her bag noisily spilled on the floor as a result.

“You’re slightly short for a Uman, aren’t you?” he asked tauntingly.

Ui slowly came to the realization of what she had just done and panic took over her voice and face. “I’m s-s-orry!”

“Don’t be. I wasn’t being nice to you.” The Duke’s assistant reached up for three more bowls and handed them to Ui. “For your father, mother, and brother, too.” He smiled… but that smile was too smug for her liking. Her face reflected her displeasure.

“You’re the Duke’s assistant.” Ui looked at him, with his medium length, asymmetrical locks of typical Uman white hair. He was wearing a fairly standard set of Uman clothes: A dark coat with grey slacks. His clothes were fancier than the average Novestr citizen, yet still inconspicuous. She assumed the purpose of his disguise was for him to easily walk around Novestr unnoticed.

The Duke’s assistant grinned, and then motioned her to keep quiet. “The name’s Miront,” he whispered close to Ui. Miront picked up the books Ui had spilled on the floor.

She repeated the name in her head, knowing the names of nobility were important to remember. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Miront.”

“Uman history and Udari culture books, a strange combination. Is this how you get inspiration for your songs?”

“Y-yeah that’s exactly it,” said Ui hesitantly.

Miront seemed in no rush to continue the conversation. “You really don’t leave the house much, do you?” A grinning Miront meant Ui couldn’t help but blush and look away.

Miront paid for her bowls, and then asked her to walk together with him.

“One of my main responsibilities is to—” he looked at Ui with mischievous eyes “—ensure everyone inside the Duke’s inner circle can be of no harm to him.”

Ui slowly ramped into full shock as she processed those words. “Does that mean I—”

“I just wanted to give you the news personally. Your family should be finding out soon. They’ll be happy. Congratulations.” Miront smiled, and winked, at Ui.

A mixture of dread and genuine happiness weakened Ui’s grip. One by one, Ui’s bowl, Cro’s, their mother and father’s bowls fell and shattered somewhere over the streets of Novestr. She froze for a second before diligently picking the pieces up to make sure they were disposed of correctly, and when she looked up, Miront was no longer there.