Now that the timing would be perfect, the rain wouldn't stop.
Aureum let it wash over her in a haze. The wind howled, the rain pattered, and about four or six yards below the trees raked against each other.
Deciding upon sense, partially due to exhaustion, Aureum waited for Felixia to come to her.
It was a long wait, with a lot of time for thought. But even thought took effort. For an unrecounted time, Aureum just watched the rain fall against the backdrop of gray.
About the time the rain started to fall straight, Aureum began thinking of what to do next.
As exhausted as she was, the rock and the dirt were dirty and cold. A bit like her own victory. She heard a cry in the distance, but it could have been anything.
Should I start to look for Felixia? Or would she have headed down the mountain thinking I'd do the same?
Just as such thoughts became intolerable, her sister's voice rang out.
"AUREUM!"
Aureum jolted up. She took a step towards it and looked around. Only the trees below revealed themselves. At least the solution was easy.
"FELIXIA!"
"AUREUM?!"
Now there was shock, not just panic, in the shout.
"FELIXIA?"
"AUREUM, ARE YOU OKAY?"
Her sister's voice sounded nearer already.
A figure leapt up, high above the foliage. It was a beautiful sight if obscured by the rain. Like a bird taking flight.
"I'M HERE!"
This last shout was probably unnecessary. Still, the small figure twisted to Aureum's direction as she landed again beneath the trees.
They rustled.
Her sister shot out again. A dirty and rain-streaked face rushed towards her. Aureum was pushed back a few steps as Felixia hugged her.
"I'msosorry! I shouldn't have froze! I shouldn't have let you go, I should have jumped quicker! I should have never let you come up here in this! I should have carried you myself!"
Felixia gushed her words immediately, her voice pitching from concern to rage, and back to concern.
From Felixia's continued ramblings, Aureum gathered that she had hesitated when Aureum knocked away her hand, leaving her sister to fall. Even with all the mana to reinforce Felixia's body in the world, she wasn't used to dealing with life and death.
She'll die!
As soon as that thought had entered into Felixia's head, she was paralyzed upon that cliff. After she'd snapped out of it, Aureum was already out of sight. Her time since had been spent scouring the mountain in a panic.
She had gone down and up the mountain looking for her. Maybe her guess where Aureum fell was wrong, or Aureum had been knocked out and Felixia hadn't seen her.
"I should have slapped you! Harder! I should have never allowed you to come up here! I was supposed to watch out for you!"
"I'm fine, Felixia. I'm fine."
They pulled apart. Felixia cupped Aureum's face.
"You sure?"
"Well. I'm cold, exhausted, and dirty, but that's not what you're worried about, is it?"
Aureum pulled her sister's hands down from her face. Felixia's face crumpled as she cried.
"I think I would have died if you weren't all right."
Aureum watched her with a soft expression. The tears and snot ran down her face.
Yeah, this is my sister. Perfection, we are not.
She patted Felixia on the shoulder.
"I'm okay, and see? I even got what I wanted."
Aureum pointed at her head. Felixia sniffed as she squinted at it.
"Oh. Isn't it a bit… small?"
The mana pearl the size of a large pinhead did nothing to defend Felixia's point.
"Hey. I can just grow it from this point, as long as it formed. A win is a win."
"I guess."
Aureum could hear the doubts in her sister's voice. But Felixia left them unspoken for the moment. It was just a small step, but the first one was the hardest.
No, what's hardest is conceiving of the thought. Mountains can be climbed, even through adversity. However, if nobody thinks to climb them, nobody ever will. They just stay as the backdrop to everyday life.
That's why Aureum wasn't disappointed. It was already an accomplishment.
In some ways, it was a miracle, but Aureum didn't desire to dive into how much.
"Should we go higher?"
"Stop speaking nonsense."
"Ah, yeah. I'm just joking."
Neither had the energy to go up. Aureum didn't even have the energy to go back down. Felixia almost carried Aureum back down the mountain.
It didn't have to be suggested, or explained, or complained about. Both no longer wanted to risk anything more.
It took hours, with the rain never stopping. The wind picked back up at another point too. Without the rush, the journey down ended quietly.
The tent was still where they left it. The first thing both sisters did was change out of their wet clothes. Aureum fell into her sleeping roll in a heap, and Felixia desperately tried wringing her clothes with the entrance flap halfway open. Which accomplished only getting more water inside the tent than out.
———————————————————
The storm slowed into heavy rain before dying out into hours of spattered drizzling. It was the next morning before a clear sky broke out. The continued confinement only invited sharp comments. Exhaustion kept it from growing into anything serious.
"Achoo!"
More concerning was the sneezing and headache Aureum had the next day. Not to mention her cloak. It was in rough form. And still very wet.
Instead of trying to use it in this state, or waiting more days, Felixia encouraged her sister to ride piggyback back to the inn. Demanded, as some might describe it.
"I want a hot bath, and I want it now," is what her face screamed, even as her mouth voiced concern for Aureum's cough.
Aureum wasn't against the travel plans. Just more and more impressed by how her sister managed to carry all the wet bags, and her, and still ran at speed.
Definitely, I should never underestimate Felixia's endurance.
Although having her sister's dark and wavy hair slapping her face the whole day back was another experience. Such trials were worth it for the bath back at the first inn they came across.
"Ahhhhh, aaaa—ah, achoo!" Aureum sneezed in the bath.
Some tribulations weren't over so easily.
Returning from the bath, Aureum saw Felixia collapsed upon the bed. Her wet hair askew across the bed as she snored.
Aureum laid a blanket over her sister and then cracked open a window. A slight breeze slid into the room. She sat on her own bed and straightened her back.
With a small breeze, she was able to gain a minuscule amount of mana.
The next part of growing her mana pearl was layering it. Like when she formed the pearl, she'd have to gather mana. But because she already had a pearl, she could add to the original pearl without the mana dissipating. It could be done slowly. One-tenth of a nail's thickness at a time.
Of course, any imperfections in the layers would accumulate. When it came time to compress the pearl all those flaws piled on top of each other is what caused pearls to break.
It wasn't recommended to do it exhausted. Still, she felt better after the bath, and one or two layers wouldn't be too strenuous.
Mana came to her with a soft touch, easing her aches from the day. It wasn't true healing, but Aureum welcomed it all the same.
Besides, the current mana she could control was too little. The amount of mana she had now was below the average twelve-year-old.
She took a breath as she stopped. Layering was like running a marathon. Daily, consecutive practice was best.
That being that, what can I actually do with this pearl?
She reached out her hands and drew the wind around her finger. Making tight circles at a high speed from this breeze was like knitting a sweater from threads. Difficult. Yet.
This already feels effortless.
It was a bit different than the feeling her past pearl gave her. The feeling of having an instrument with strings freshly replaced and tuned, or having a brand new pair of shoes. That was what it was like.
Not as familiar as she expected.
Is it my experience that makes my control better? Or does the quality of the pearl naturally drop as layers are added? Is it just because I went without a pearl for a month or so?
There were too many variables and not enough information. One thing remained clear.
I need to steadily grow my pearl from here on out.
She did a few more layers before she felt the sweat roll down her nose. She wiped it off with a towel.
"Achoo!"
The next few days would be tedious. Aureum's looked over at Felixia. Still asleep.
Was that a blessing or a curse? She went downstairs and checked how her cloak was drying on the line from the window. It looked like it would take maybe a day.
Luckily, Aureum controlled the mana of the wind.
Without warm air, cold would have to do. Instead of using a large gust, which was entirely out of her league, she used a small breeze rushing through it. Carefully carrying the water out of it.
I can feel the weight of water that small?!
She grinned.
It seems all my pains weren't for nothing!
It still took her over an hour to try the cloak with breaks added in. The rest of her clothes were much better off. Which only meant they took less time to dry.
Her boots were a lost cause. At least they were after drying the rest of her limited wardrobe.
"Damp is better than soaking."
Her voice was weak as she admitted defeat. Packing her things she went back up to the room. Felixia was still snoring away happily. She'd shifted positions and curled up at least. Aureum glared down at her.
I wanted to give at least a half-proper goodbye. Now I can't even do that.
"Tch."
She got down to work writing a letter. It plainly stated that she intended to look for Spesavia. That she was heading out to clear her head, and to avoid any marriage proposals her father might have found. Oh, and it also told them not to worry.
Not that that's going to stop them from doing that.
It was brutally clear and honest. The best she could do was to keep her family from worrying about her sanity at least. It just made her into an insanely selfish daughter instead.
Maybe there was a better way.
But I sure as hell don't know it.
With her understanding of her family refreshed from the years of being apart, she knew that they would continue trying to help her. Which would be fine, if Aureum could be assured that "helping her" wouldn't include being locked at home or another marriage.
It was unlikely her parents would be able to competently lock her up. She understood that. They lacked the manpower, fortifications, or cruelty to lock her up indefinitely. This meant she would leave frequently, come back to them being angry, and leave again.
If it weren't her family, that might be fine too. Even a bit entertaining at times. But even Aureum didn't want to intentionally create and repeatedly meet the disappointment of her parents. That would be its own torture.
Even worse was the question of marriage. Her father was a wealthy merchant who built himself from nothing. It was his nature to ignore it when people advised him to stop. The kind of person that would make the impossible possible.
And making Aureum marry wasn't even impossible. Under Nix's laws, it did require Aureum's consent, of course. But brute force isn't the only way to convince someone.
As soon as Calces realized browbeating and disappointment weren't going to work, he'd likely start pulling from his larger bag of sophisticated tricks. He'd be very motivated with her future on the line.
Which would be… tiring, at the very least.
Aureum wasn't confident in her ability to endure it. She wouldn't marry Nivis again. That wasn't the worry.
But it was guaranteed that any man her father found would be rich. Rich men usually dragged along rich families, which is what bothered her.
It wasn't an option she currently wanted to allow until she established herself.
Yet she could not explain to her father why she felt this way. She would only be able to provide hypotheticals sounding like hyperbole to his ears. The whining of a spoiled girl, or the ravings of a lunatic.
Neither perception helped her.
With time, logic, and the offer of a different—a better, lazy life—Aureum wasn't confident she'd refuse. She'd already said yes once before. It was too easy to get comfortable. It's too easy to lose track of things in the present.
Instead of all that.
She'd put it off and focus on herself. While all her reasons were valid possibilities, they were also rationalizations.
In the end, I just want to live my life as I want.
She'd still have to suffer the consequences of her own decisions. Unless she wanted to cut off ties with her family forever, this would make them furious. Without the protection of her family, the possibilities of tragedy rolled out into a long list as well.
But her opponents probably wouldn't start off as powerful as Caducus Nix, or as determined as Calces Zizan. Not if she played her hand right. Her ability to maneuver around them would also continue to grow, day by day.
This is why she ultimately left the letter unchanged, with only a slow creak of the door voicing her reluctant goodbye.
Take care of yourself, Felixia.
———————————————————
"Lord, next I have a report for you about that one matter with young Lord Nivis and his former fiancée."
"Continue."
Caducus sat in his chair in the study. The man reporting to him dressed as a servant but stood like a soldier. Flos, an old friend and trusted aide of Caducus.
"Lord Nivis has agreed to break it off."
"Could he not have told me this himself?"
"He would also like to tell you he is leaving for a trip of enlightenment. He'll be going to the city of Fluentum."
"The city but not the university? Such enlightenment to be found there."
Caducus' tone was mild. It covered the habitual rage. Not a hint of surprise. He slowly unclenched his fingers from the chair.
Nivis had flaws, as any child his age would. There was plenty of time for him to learn better.
I'm curious how the son of that woman acts so cowardly.
Perhaps running from my admonishment is a form of courage.
Flos didn't take his leave.
"Was there something else?"
"Yes, you also received a gift from a small business owner named Piston. A pawnbroker, specifically. He returns the ring of the late lady Nix."
"Her wedding ring?"
"No, her engagement ring."
"Then it's connected to Nivis again."
"According to a short investigation, the ring was sold to him by Aureum Zizan."
Caducus didn't reply immediately. He rested his chin against his knuckles as he frowned.
"He obviously sent the ring hoping for a gift in return. Pay the man."
"Is that all?"
"This is a cheap price for me, Flos." Caducus shook his head. "Is it easier to keep people quiet about finding a dead body, or a crass girl selling something she should never have had in the first place? Killing her makes it look like we have something to hide."
Flos' confusion was understandable.
Before I wouldn't have thought like this. But for being able to cut ties with a daughter-in-law like that, even paying for five of these rings is too cheap.
Having a blood trail from her to him was certain to give him a migraine. All interactions with the woman did. He rubbed his forehead.
When had anything dealing with her gone simply or easily?
"Is he still going by Mendax these days?"
"Yes."
"Have him watch her."
"Of course, Lord Nix. He'll have to be pulled away from his current work though."
"That's fine."
Hopefully, she'll decide to live quietly in this life.
Without a pearl, how much damage could she possibly do?