INTERLUDE: ANIME-STYLE

***Cherwoods, sometime long ago…***

The Elf Saint, Lady Hinwe Tal-Inwir, had shut herself in her room, telling her maid, Ulve, never to allow anyone in. Though she kept on telling all that she was fine by consuming the food brought to her, the holy lady would not resume her duties on the saintly throne. What’s even worse was that, it’s been several long sleeps since she did that; the maids and the officials of the tree palace were concerned of the growing anger of their people for her inaction.

“What’s happening? It’s been long since the Saint has met us!”

“The sand is devouring our farms! Without her help, our crops will be destroyed!”

“Don’t hide her from her people! You palace folks are idiots!”

The only thing that separated the tranquility of the palace from the raging mob were the Life Guards, standing on the walls with their shields up and swords drawn. Nevertheless, the Lady Hinwe had given orders never to let blood and violence in her residence, so the elf warriors could do nothing but watch. Across the courtyard, senior palace officials watched in anxiety, as the tension between the Life Guards and their people never went down.

“…”

Meanwhile, across the silent halls of the tree palace were murmurs. Some were just harmless ones, like “Her Holiness must be tired from her travels checking her people…” and there were those who that were downright rebellious, as some of the more aggressive officials would say, “If the Lady Hinwe is easily exhausted, then that means she can’t rule as a saint anymore!”

“…”

All of these were heard by the Lady Ulve, who was the only one allowed by Her Holiness to enter her room. Though she wanted to answer—and correct—the rumors floating around, she remained tight-lipped; the Lady Hinwe asked her to. As such, there were people within the palace scattering stories about her as well, such as, “The Lady Ulve is hiding something behind the door where the saint is holed up,” or “She’s hiding Her Holiness so she can monopolize her!”

Of course, while she was faithful to her mistress, Ulve was still affected by the slanders. Her fellow servants looked at her with disdain, while the palace officials viewed her with suspicion. Still, the maid dismissed their allegations, though her patience was nearing its end.

And then…

“!!!”

The peaceful silence of the palace dissipated when something stirred outside, at the courtyard. Thinking that the angry crowd of elves outside the palace grounds had broken in, Ulve—along with the other palace officials—rushed to check on the situation. Much to everyone’s surprise, however, what greeted them at the courtyard was not the raging mob of elves. Instead, a hooded figure stood in the middle of a ring of spearheads, pointed at him by the alerted Life Guards.

“Who are you?” a senior palace official called out from his spot; all was afraid to get near the mysterious man.

The individual never answered. His lips only drew a smirk as he lifted an arm and pointed towards Ulve’s direction. Of course, everyone’s focus fell on his subject of attention, and the maid was bewildered.

“Wh-What do you need from me, sire?” Ulve couldn’t keep her voice from shaking.

“Your mistress,” the man replied. “Take me to her.”

“Who are you to demand an audience with Her Holiness?” another palace official challenged him.

“Did I talk to you?” the hooded man countered. “You bunch of long ears are so noisy, I can’t understand what the maid is saying!”

Then, much to everyone’s shock, they suddenly found themselves unable to open their mouths, nor they could produce a sound from their throats. The only one who remained unaffected was the Lady Ulve.

“Wh-Who are you…l-lord?” the maid couldn’t help but kneel before the man as he approached the dais that led to the main door of the tree palace. The Life Guards had no option but lower their spears, for those suddenly became heavy to bear.

“You’re Ulve, daughter of Finwir, right?” the man asked, then removing his cloak to reveal a familiar face. “Your faith in me and in your mistress has rewarded you. It’s not everyday you get to see the face of your god.”

“M-M-Milord…” Ulve couldn’t believe her eyes, “…m-my god, Lord Gaius!”

The former god smiled before her and said, “Take me to your mistress. We got something to discuss.”

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***The Saint’s Tree Palace, a few ‘long sleeps’ later***

“What do you think, Ulve?”

The maid, who was busy cleaning the room of the Elf Saint, looked at the paper her mistress showed to her. On it was an illustration of a familiar elf, with a big pair of eyes than what was real. “This is?” Ulve asked.

“You don’t know?” Her Holiness replied, checking on the drawing.

“No, I mean, that’s me, right?” the maid said. “I’m just surprised I got eyes that big.”

“Oh, I see…” Hinwe nodded. “Well, this is what the Lord Gaius calls ‘anime-style’ drawing. Apparently, this style of illustration focuses on the eyes of the character, to show their emotions through it.”

“Ah…so that’s why it’s big.”

“But honestly, what do you think?”

“Honestly, milady? I think I’m too cute in that drawing.”

“Hm?” Hinwe grinned, having confirmed her servant’s feelings when she peeked unto Ulve’s mind. “Well, you’re cute, Ulve! You just keep on denying, but I think if you dressed in beautiful clothes, the guys will fall for you.”

“I decided to serve you, Your Holiness,” the maid countered. “If someone’s going to become my husband, then he must accept that I love you first, then him second.”

Nevertheless, the Elf Saint was pretty happy with her work. Gaius taught her the ability to draw in that style, during his visit earlier. The former god kept on saying that she reminded him of himself after some friends ‘abandoned’ him before, so he thought of helping her by introducing her to manga and anime. And so far, Hinwe had been loving her new talent…

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Buoyed by the reception of Ulve, the Elf Saint made similar illustrations of the other servants and the palace officials as well. This was for her gratitude in their faithfulness to her, through their service in ensuring everything in the palace worked smoothly. So, she kept on drawing for a few long sleeps, sometimes even missing to take a break at all.

And when the time came to give the drawings to them…

“…”

“This is a small appreciation for your hard work,” Hinwe explained to the palace officials and the other maids as she handed down their respective illustrations made in anime-style. “I drew it myself!”

“…” It took some time for the officials and servants to give their reactions. But, they were all smiles; many praised the drawings of their mistress, some went far by declaring it would be their family’s heirloom from that point onwards. A few also came to her and personally expressed their gratitude.

However…

“…”

Hinwe had been reading their thoughts all along. Though they were saying good words to her face, deep inside…

“What’s this? Cherwoods is full of chaos, and all this saint thinks are drawing weird things?”

“I thought Her Holiness would give me gold, or silver…but this? How can I use this to buy the thing I want?”

“This saint is really useless. Instead of solving the problem of her people, all she does is stupid things!”

At that moment, Hinwe—already hurt by her experiences with the common folk—swore to herself never to bother with anyone else ever again…