The North

“You managed to look like a proper court lady this time…” Cro snickered once Ui was done scrambling inside the carriage for makeup and clothes. In the giant crate, Prishu, and likely her mother, had picked clothes that were overly elegant and cute for Ui’s taste, and she had made a mess trying to find something she was fine with.

Ui glared at him. “I learned a few things from the people at the Duke’s mansion…” She turned her attention towards the outside of the carriage. The trees and shrubs outside, species hardened to resist the harsher winter, had become unfamiliar to her. The winter winds snuck inside and bit at the exposed spots of her skin through any tiny gap in the carriage, but it wasn’t just the air that felt different. “So that’s Mt. Nalli, isn’t it?” The Udari referred to it as Nallimaru.

There was a river that separated Nallimaru from the road they were on. “And on this side of the river, the city of Nallient,” said Cro.

Gradually the road became paved, and there were people on both sides of the river who paused to take a quick glance at the new arrivals in town. The carriage was inconspicuous for Novestr standards, but it still stood out on the northern end of the island.

The closer they got, the structure of the city became clearer: Udari on one side of the river and Umans on the other. Ui looked through both windows. “I don’t like it.”

“I knew you wouldn’t.”

“You knew? I had an idea but…” They both remained silent as they made their way through the more populous parts of the city. Ui looked at Nallimaru, full of caverns, elevated from the flow of water, just like Auremaru was. “It’s like a tiny Mt. Aure.”

“Maybe that’s why they managed by themselves despite everything…”

Yet survival didn’t seem enough to Ui. The Udari that walked in and out of the caves of Nallimaru seemed less healthy and bright compared to the ones she knew in Auremaru. “Still. I don’t like it. Why didn’t you tell me?” Ui’s words were slowly polluted by regret. “Maybe I could’ve… done something.” Her eyes were fixed on the less vibrant hair colors of the Udari of the region.

“I didn’t tell you because you’re you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ui snapped angrily at Cro.

“You just can’t look away from anything. It’s either you, or your Udari self. I can’t tell anymore at this point. It’s a beautiful…” Cro sighed as he looked at both sides of the river. “Difficult… thing.”

They remained in a tense silence as the carriage kept going to the northernmost part of the island: the noble quarters, in a safely walled peninsula on the north end of the city of Nallient.

The city's silence grew unbearable in Ui’s heart. “I really don’t like this.” She sunk into her cold carriage seat.

“Looks like we have a lot of work to do, then.” Cro neither smiled nor provoked Ui, but did place his hand over hers and warmed it for just a few seconds.

The carriage eventually came to a gradual stop. Ui hopped out, eager to explore the city. But before she did anything else, she thanked the driver, a personal employee of the Duke that had been traveling with them. She also expressed her gratitude by petting the animal that tirelessly dragged them all the way there over the past few days.

“Miss Ui and Mister Croivtat. Welcome to our humble end of the world.” A man welcomed them. Ui turned around and saw a Uman man around the same age as her father, but slimmer and with a messier hairstyle. She had already started experiencing the winds from the north, cold and sudden, disturbing her hair. She thought everyone in the area likely didn’t bother keeping it too neat, either. Just from his smile and his voice, she could tell he was a kind man.

But Ui still had to hide the sadness she felt about the servant standing next to him. She was an Udari younger than her, but paler, and with a muted green hair tone, like the color of grass losing its color. The servant stood there quietly, not making eye contact. Ui couldn’t look, either.

Cro bowed politely. “I’m Croivtat Lront, and this is my sister Ui Lront,” he said.

Ui, instead of walking into one of the largest mansions she’d seen in the city, turned around and started walking towards the gate that led to the city.

She heard their host’s voice behind her, stopping her. “It would be best if you don’t visit the city for the time being, Miss Ui.”

Ui stopped walking and turned around, incredulous. “I can’t see the place I’m staying at?”

“Things are a bit tense at the moment, I can explain inside.” The man addressing her was the head of the household. “Forgive my rudeness, I’m Victure. My wife is the Baroness of these lands.”

Cro looked at Ui in a way that made her rethink her attempt to explore. “Nice to meet you,” he said. “Thank you and your wife for having us on such short notice.”

The servants carried all of their things inside, Ui couldn’t help but feel ashamed when she looked at the oversized crate with her belongings that Prishu had loaded onto the carriage, even if the Udari servants didn’t struggle carrying it. She wanted to tell them the crate wasn’t her choice, but, compared to the situation of the city, her embarrassment could wait.

“You don’t see Royal Mages around these parts often, it’s an honor.” Victure seemed genuinely excited over having the siblings as guests.

“You really are a big deal, aren’t you Cro.” Ui elbowed Cro teasingly.

“Let alone a Royal Singer… my wife the Baroness is ecstatic thinking about having a party for your arrival.”

Ui became unusually quiet when she realized that she might be a big deal, too.

The three toured the Baroness’s house. It was much smaller than the Royal Mansion, but also much larger than their home in Novestr. The materials were different, the walls and furniture had a different color than the capital, likely due to the darker woods and lighter stones from the north. There were plenty of servants too, and as Ui observed, all Udari.

They were both shown their rooms and a servant that would take care of them. Ui’s servant was the younger, green-haired Udari they had first met.

“You two must be tired. I’ll give you some space.” Victure left with a genuine smile compared to what the nobles of Novestr usually show.

She wanted to enjoy his hospitality, but she simply couldn’t. “Before you leave, Mr. Victure.” Ui stopped him from going too far. “I’d like to know why we can’t go into the city we’re staying in. I’d like to see it and learn all about it.” She didn’t want to be dismissed as a regular noble, with no interest in the commoners.

“We… can arrange it, Miss Ui. But it will need some planning. Things have been… difficult this year.” Victure spoke with caution in his voice.

Ui looked at Victure, confused, but didn’t want to impose further. “I understand. I’ll appreciate that.” Victure bowed and left, walking slightly more uncomfortable than before.

Cro, tired from the journey and his uniform, waved at Ui, exchanged eye contact for a few seconds, and withdrew himself to his room.

Ui opened the door and looked around her room. It was spacious, clean, and decorated in typical ways not unlike the nobles of Novestr. She walked inside and approached its one window.

The large window had a riverside view, the same river that split the Udari mountain and the Uman city. Ui admired the stillness of the river, widening and slowly pouring its waters past the peninsula and into the sea. Yet that river didn’t feel as beautiful as they usually did to her. Ui placed her hand on the window’s perfectly clean glass. Her hand was quickly chilled by the north’s winter while she lost herself gazing at the clear, blue sky.