Mira came to stand at her back, wondering what could have shocked Athea so much that she turned pale. As long as Mira can tell, the gown looked just fine; it even used to be among Athea's favorites. Were there creases on it, or a tear that she was not aware of? She took a cursory look from the top to the hem of the dress, and it looked just fine.
"What is wrong, Milady?" "Anything wrong with the gown? It looked perfect to me."
"That is the problem, Mira, it looks too perfect, how on earth!"
Mira watches her as she goes from shock to sheer admiration. She watched as Athea swung from side to side, as she turned and took a cursory look at her backside appreciatively. As if this was the first time that she's taking notice of her near-perfect features. Mira recoils at her own jealousy; calling Athea near-perfect could only be an understatement, for she was the perfect human when it came to beauty.
She had the most beautiful greyish eyes, with brows so full they curled back on themselves. Her face, which can be cupped with two palms, and there would still be spaces left. Athea could easily pass as a goddess, and her strides with those long, smooth legs, nothing could be more beautiful.
Athea acting like she just took notice of this, almost infuriated Mira. She wondered if it was a bad attempt at being modest, humble even. She folded the hem of her gown and made a small mold with the excess of the dress and sat on it, now looking at Athea like an entertaining spectacle.
Diane wondered how she had never thought that, since she reincarnated into a new world, she would most definitely look like Athea and not Diane. This perfect girl she sees in the mirror is now her. Those eyes that looked like they oversaw a deep, hazy sea were hers, and this spotless face. She thought about the many years she suffered with her acne-prone skin. Now, not only does she look spotless, but she is tall, beautiful, and thin. Diane never thought a day would come when she'd refer to herself as thin.
Maybe living here as Athea won't be so bad anyway, she thought to herself. Satisfied with her look, she grabbed the hem of her gown and started striding happily out of the room. All the pain she felt early in the morning had now disappeared completely. Why are there no scars either? With the pain she felt when she woke up, she knew there should be several cuts on her face and lips, even, but none were there.
She notices Mira dragging her legs behind her and increases her pace. A little more now, and she would be running instead of walking. This erupted in a grunt of disapproval from Mira, which made Athea laugh. Why does it look like she would enjoy frustrating Mira?
"I felt bruises and cuts this morning when I woke up, how come I see none now?" she asked breathless from exhaustion.
"You are from the Lyselle family, Athea, though illegitimate, you are still the family's daughter," Mira answered uninterested.
"What would that have to do with it?" Athea asked as she finally slowed down. Now they have passed the hallway that led to the kitchen. From here, she has to take it slow and let Mira lead the way. She had suggested they follow the gate that could be accessed through the kitchen, but led to the Pluto-hall, residence to the duke. They walk into the kitchen, which smells of spices and sweet. The cooks must have retired for the night. She tried now to catch up with Mira.
"It means that you, milady, have the ability to self-heal, even if you have always had weak healing powers. "The house of Lyselle may have never been warriors like Ravenforth, but still wield influence in a different way; healing powers, milady". The house of Lyselle is literally the kingdom's custodians of history, medicine, and mysterious magic.
They finally made it out to the backyard, facing it was a tall gate mostly made of the same texture as the one Diane saw at the garden. Only that the small passage of this particular gate wasn't padlocked. Mira gave it a slight push, carefully looking sideways lest someone sees them. Once inside Pluto-hall, Diane realized how different it was from her residence. It was literally bustling with people, some dressed in different uniforms, going about their way. Here, they could mix up and be unrecognizable. Diane liked the anonymity of it all.
"So, the crown had ordered a marriage between the two families, which I think was a weak attempt at preventing the kingdom from tipping to either side". Mira finally ended her story as she looked up at Diane in that "Are you even listening to me" kind of look.
Diane nodded with a smile. She imagined many things since her being in this place, but she never thought about the fact that she might have come from a great family too. Above all, the fact that she has healing power was absurd, she thought. It explains the difference between when she first woke up and now, how she went from feeling like she was going to die to feeling so strong, she mumbled to herself. If healing herself like this was considered very weak, Diane could not begin to imagine what kind of powers her family wielded.
They walked a bit longer around the different buildings, which, according to Mira, were built around the Pluto-hall. Mira ducked at intervals and would drag Diane down with her until they finally came towards a gate where two heavily built men stood on guard. Mira let go of her hands and walked to one of the men. Diane saw her smile, and then they stepped aside a bit, and Mira beckoned to her. They walked out, and the first thing that greeted Diane was that smell of red dust mixed with rainwater.
Inside the manor were with what looked like hard-formed bricks, and so seeing ground covered with earth was a new world entirely. Diane was so tempted to walk barefoot, but she advised herself against doing so as she wouldn't want to agitate Mira any more than she already did.
"We need to get back before the gate is locked, that means we have until the third ring of the bell to get home, unless we'd be locked out and your absence noticed," Mira began in her usual worried manner.
Diane imagined how hard it would be having to clean up after a willful "Master," and getting more careful and foreboding must have come with it. Having someone who cares so much about you is not that bad, though, Daine thought to herself as she grabbed Mira by the hand and they walked through the street that took them away from the manor and into the town.
Both sides of the street were lined with trees that has sweet-scented flowers on them; the way they were perfectly lined showed they were not an afterthought. On a few of them, lanterns that Diane had only seen in historical dramas or read about in books were hung. She stopped as she looked at a tree where one of such lanterns hung. The lantern dimly glowed, contrasting with its dark surroundings. A couple holding hands passed them, giggling as they went on their way. There was every indication that they were into each other.
"They're unmarried". Diane blurted out.
"How did you know?! Wow, you are still as sharp as ever, Athea." Mira chirped as they both burst out with laughter and continued on their way.
"How would you describe Dravon as a person?" Diane asked, as she wondered if it was the silence of the night or the couple attached to the hip that made her sentimental.
"Well, if you are asking what he looks like, I have no idea, as I have never actually set my eyes on him, neither you, his wife." "No one except his family actually knows what he looks like". Mira said, wondering why Athea is suddenly showing interest in Dravon. Athea had hated the idea of being married off to a family with the highest level of secrecy in Valerune. To a son, highly rumored to be a living terror, who killed anyone who dared to cross him. Dravon, who was born to Kail Ravenforth, and the most powerful healer ever to be born in Valerune; Seraya Lyselle, whose mysterious death had been the beginning of an internal war between both families.
It was also rumored that Dravon had mystical powers, and this had made people even more wary of him. It is one thing to be of Ravenforth war-soaked blood and another to also possess divine powers. The healing ability of the house of Lyselle had always been known to pass unto the daughters, never the sons. And so, the highly educated doubted the possibility of Dravon having mystical power, but they agree that anything can forge from the combination of two strong blood; typically, a monster instead of a healer.
Mira finally stopped talking, thinking, and walking. She had not heard from Athea in what felt like several minutes. Why was she suddenly quiet, and when did she stop holding her hands? She felt like she had just gotten out of a trance.
She turned to face Athea but met an empty space and silence.