Anatomy of a Jewel Flower (I)

Picture this scenario, please~

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You are given the title of a Garden Mage, and you'd expect that all the assigned work would be just tending to the flowers and refining them. And maybeeee, on some rare occasions, if you sensed an anomaly in the essence, you could jot down your findings in a cozy journal.

And then later, during your visit to the post office, your findings will be delivered to the research institutes.

What the researchers do next won't concern you. Because your job was done, and that would be the extent of your entire routine.

Sounds simple! Yay!

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But of course it wasn't that easy.

See, the title was only granted to people with 'crystal blood', those who could hone the jewel flower's raw essence. And although there were dozens of people with crystal blood during the emergence of the Time flower… But then, after so many years, the number was down to the size of a small family.

A family of four, to be exact. Which too, then, after some years, dwindled down to just two.

Eleina and her older sister.

And so, to Eleina, it was understandable! That with only a couple of eligible candidates left, the title of the Garden Mage gained more and more weight, and by the time Eleina's turn came… the king happily dropped a dozen more duties on her as if she was asking for them.

(Note: she did NOT ask for them).

So aside from "frolicking" among the precious flowers all day (also the king's words, by the way. Eleina would rather die than simplify her work as just "frolicking")… she had been assigned many duties, such as: classify the flowers by their different levels of essence, figure out how each type would be efficiently utilized, write and send the research to the Helper Mages, fact check and approve the reports and educational materials sent her way, give seminars to students on the benefits of Jewel Flowers at said institutions, work with a weapon specialist to see what better weapons would synergize with each magical essence and—

See? See? See? Even an amateur can tell it was all too much for one person!

So, since her flowers came first, she conveniently forgot most of the bothersome work assigned to her, only sending out half-hearted paperwork whenever she felt like it… But the duty to protect her people was something she'd never neglect.

…Because, yes, on top of it all, she was assigned to watch over the entirety of Canreia, and keep it safe from beasts. The territorial disputes, war and politics between other nations… blah, blah blah… those weren't her problem, thankfully. It was just the beasts.

And thankfully thankfully, even though she put up the protective barrier made from the bulky orange jewel flowers, the beasts never came even remotely close, always staying miles away from any jewel flower essence.

And yet:

…

"…Eleina? The barrier…" Prince Raimond was saying when she snapped back to her senses.

When another loud rumble shook the air itself, he stopped whatever he'd meant to say and grabbed the hilt of his sword in one hand, while taking out a red palm-sized gem in the other. Then he turned, giving her a nod (probably hinting that their discussion wasn't over) before rushing outside towards where the mechanical elevator was waiting.

Meanwhile the air inside the house seemed to still as Eleina paused at the entire situation.

'Huh? Was he just about to doubt the strength of my barrier…?'

Wait. No way. An attack? Right where the population of the magical flowers was the densest? Here???

But she hadn't sensed anything, had she?

"Eleina, the Time Flower is dying—"

The image of the amethyst flower she had failed to save, paired together with the words Raimond had just said before the explosion…

'No. I have this all under control.'

She quickly swiped her dusty cloak from a closet, finally acknowledging the buzzing noise hovering in the air, and strained her ears; some of the flowers—the ones she had specifically refined to deliver the sounds from the town below—called out to her. Her breath reflexively matched the flow of the essence as she marched out. And the essence filtering in her ear, split into different distinguishable voices of:

"Eeeek! M-monster…"

"My merchandise! Not again!"

"-uick—! The royal guard—"

"—! the Garden Mage—someone alert her!"

"Mommyy… Hck—Daddy… W-where are you—"

The whole situation was absurd, because it did confirm her suspicion; but she didn't have time to figure out the why's and how's… only that she had to focus on sprinting as fast as her feet can carry her regardless of the confusion piling up inside her head.

'No, no no, no. Why was this happening???'

But the buzzing in the air only heightened the uneasiness, and as a result her heart was starting to thump loudly in her ears. For the first time in a while, the essence of the jewel flowers crackled in her chest like it was about to merge with her boiling blood.

"General Eswin, what's going on down there—?!" Raimond's commanding voice carried veiled concern as she came within earshot. His fingers around the glinting Relay Gem—the special one every on-field specialist used—trembled as he barked orders to the guards stationed below. "Hey! Can you hear me— Protect the civilians, Eswin, do you hear me? I'll be right there!"

The gem lost its shine before he could even finish his sentence.

"…Was it the neighboring kingdoms?" he said, apparently addressing her in that pretentious way of his. His frown deepened as he squinted to see past the thick fog enveloping the town, "No. It's those elves… I'm sure of it."

"Elves wouldn't...hah…attack innocent civilians," Eleina said as she took a moment to catch her breath.

"Who else then?"

"It's…"

Dammit. Should she tell him? What if he thinks she's incompetent or prattles about it to the king…

No. The lives of citizens come first, and she needed him to know so he can be prepared. Plus, she'll handle it all herself anyway, so it was better he'd step aside ahead of time.

"It's the beasts."

The change in his demeanor wasn't too much, rather it only made him more alert, but he also didn't eye her with suspicion or disappointment like she had expected.

'He was already expecting this, wasn't he?'

"Did your flowers tell you that? Sure wish they'd be a bit more helpful though…" he muttered, waving to the guard from earlier and making his way towards the mechanical elevator at the side. "Y'know, the barrier and all…"

"Excuse me?" Eleina felt her hands twitch. A slow, pounding headache was beginning to emerge.

"I mean… your precious barrier? The one father originally assigned you to make? Or were you neglecting that too, just like the paperwork on your desk?"

"Shut—" She bit her tongue just in time before she could spout out anything blasphemious against the… absolute, royal pain of a bloodline in front of her—

'Eleina, calm… your people need you first. Dealing with him comes later.'

Eleina repeated the thoughts like a spell and simply planted her feet firmly on the ground, the action not going unnoticed by the prince, who, when finally getting inside the elevator, looked at her in annoyance.

"What…? Oh no, you wouldn't."

"Oh I would. Stay out of my way as I fix this."

She bent her legs enough to get a good boost, and effortlessly leapt off the island with a strong jump, missing the outstretched hand that flung her way at the last second.

"Eleina!"

*****

The people of Wistshire were scattering around in mass panic; some scuttled into their homes, few shopkeepers were packing their goods into whatever container or bag they had, while others shouted for their children and cowered in whatever dark corners they could find.

"Sheesh… mom was right. Maybe I shouldn't have visited this place, after all."

A girl was watching from one of the most elusive hiding spots that the beasts had yet to find—yes, the ever unexpected trashheap dump—located in the shadows of one of the alleyways.

Fortunately there was no casualty amidst the ongoing rampage, because the royal guard (who strangely seemed to be present in the town today) was holding off the beasts fairly well. They sent off the people to safe spots and managed to take down two of the dozen of beasts that had infiltrated the town.

Although the smell of rotten fruit and other assortment of trash was unbearable, the young girl had no intention of getting out. She looked around the chaos happening in the town center, taking a quick scan of one of the guards (a general most likely) yelling into a Relay Gem… her eyes still occasionally flitted back to the sheesh kebab stand that was now empty.

"…"

Her stomach, even at a time like this, rumbled.

'The guy just booked it when he saw the beasts, leaving his stall as it was… I'll probably be doing him a favor by taking care of the kebabs… I'll pay up lat— hm? What's...'

As soon as she had entertained the thought, she saw something else.

One particular child, that probably went unnoticed by the guards, was hiding underneath an upturned wheelbarrow, sniffling into his hands. Sobs violently shook his body when he noticed a dark shadow loom over the spot.

'Oh, no.'

Beasts, not very subtle creatures, were devoid of the behavior an ordinary wild animal possessed. This one, the girl noticed, was tall and shaped like a giraffe with two heads of pure, glinting malice… which grinned when its small beady eyes finally located the little boy's silhouette.

"Hck—!" The boy couldn't hold in his cries anymore, and just sat there, frozen.

And just then.

"Hey, ugly-face."

Visteria decided to abandon her precious trash-y spot. Hopefully it would still be unoccupied by the time she was done here…

"Over here."

The beast paused, turning one of its head towards her.

When it grinned at the fifteen-year-old teenager standing before it, Visteria only swallowed back a gulp. The thing looked vicious. She did make a terrible decision coming out of her hiding spot… but the little kid needed help. Plus, it wasn't as if she didn't have anything to fight the beast with! Rather, right here in her pockets—

"…uh. …??"

As the beast slowly stalked closer, Visteria frantically searched her side pockets while keeping her eye trained on the beast. Beads of sweat were forming on her forehead and it took all her willpower to not to run and abandon the child.

'It's all gone?! Did a pickpocket steal it?? …Hah. Today's the day I die…? Just like that? Wish I had one of those gems so I could tell sis not to take over my stuff when I'm g-gone…'

Visteria kept a hand in front of her, palm facing the beast… But it was no creature that could be tamed nor placated… Her boot crunched on a broken rooftile as she took a step back, the sound in the eerie stillness making her grimace.

'None of the guards are nearby too…'

Ah…

'…to think I came here to see her, and now I'd die without even meeting—'

As the beast finally took a plunge, a hot rope wrapped around her hand and pulled her away.

"What the…?!"

Whatever the beast collided with caused a massive bundle of blinding, colorful rays to envelope the entire area. Like a huge dissonance rupturing the sound and light of the place itself, its crackling energy shook the earth and surrounded the beast with it. It screeched as though the light burned its very core.

Something about the energy felt familiar to Visteria, but her attention was diverted when she noticed the frightened kid get out of the wheelbarrow… probably hoping to get away from the… from the crackling noise that was emerging again!

'Bad time, kid, bad time—!'

With weakness still lingering in her legs, Visteria practically lunged to his side and took hold of the boy, shielding him in a tight embrace just in time before another scorching beam went flashing past, barely grazing her back with indescribable heat.

"Argh…!"

The kid looked up at her in alarm, but covered his ears when the creature's peircing yells resonated in the very air itself. Visteria risked a glance, and noticed the light slowly fading out… leaving the creature writhing until all that was left, was a pile of ash.

Slowly the afterimage of the blinding light died out, and their eyes begun to adjust to the only person standing in front of the ashes.

'…? No way.'

"Oh God. There were two of you… A-are both of you okay? I didn't hit any of you, did I?"

Visteria couldn't believe her eyes.

It really was her..! The Garden Mage… to whom she'd been sending fanmail for the past couple of months!