witchesreign | @Trabia | Not deaged

[Gwendolyn, not for the first time, is of the belief that her stay in this world is not the result of a loopy Sorceress kompressing time, but actually a punishment from her father. Having spent the past week and a half essentially babysitting what were normally fellow cadets, with some of the adults taking their being regressed to her age as an excuse to shirk duties, strikes her as the sort of ironic hell that would drive Queen Odette jealous for not having thought of it first.

Still, at least her fellow unaffected have taken to the task of looking after the afflicted well, to the point that by now they can afford to let some of them take time off. Which is what she'ss doing in Trabia Garden at the moment (well, that and keeping an eye in case the one guiding the children on a field trip missed one).

She finds the weather rather chilly today, to the point that she's wearing her cadet uniform - her wings come out of slits she had made on the skirt, but it doesn't seem to raise much attention, thankfully.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Gwendolyn notices the tone behind that one word. Well, no going back on this, now...]

...Oswald the Shadow Knight.

[A pause soon followed as Mercedes processed what she heard.]

...

[She looked just about every direction that she could as she thought to herself, and when she finally looked back to Gwendolyn she spoke.]

I do not believe he was ever allied to anyone other than Melvin. He may have lived in Ringford and served under the orders he was given... but the Shadow Knight showed where his loyalty truly was when my mother was no longer queen.

...I see.

[Gwendolyn takes a moment to process what Mercedes says. It seems to gel with what Oswald's claimed - though he never mentioned this Melvin, then again he had no reason to - and she sounds truthful enough.]

I suppose that would explain why he tends to do little but glare at most people who aren't Instructors.

[She nearly double-takes when the Fairy admits to being the current queen.]

..ah, I believe we haven't introduced ourselves. I am Gwendolyn, formerly of Ragnanival. [She does the standard SeeD salute.]

[A look of conflict passed over Mercedes' face when Gwendolyn said 'formerly'.]

I am Mercedes, Queen of the Fairies. While that doesn't mean anything to the other people of this world... that is who I am and who I will continue to be until I return my name to the heavens.

[It seemed that she thought the other girl had given up on returning and made this place her new home.] We may be in this world for now but that does not change where we belong.

We will return one day, and until then... [She paused a moment and looked away.] ... [There was more that she had to say, but instead she glanced back to Gwendolyn.] What do you plan to do with your time here?

True, a part of me will always belong to Ragnanival. However, even if we were to return to Erion tomorrow, my own return to my homeland would remain in doubt.

[That of course, is her way of saying she's exiled. She won't come out and say it, of course, since she's not about to open up like that to anyone yet, especially not to an enemy-turned-ally.]

In the meantime, I intend to become a SeeD and trascend as one. My pride as a Valkyrie would settle for no less.

[And Mercedes does not think to pry into Gwendolyn's affairs, but there was a slight tilt of her head as she stared curiously at the other girl for a few moments.]

I agree. There ways may be different, but there are many things that can be learned here that will be useful back home. [Also there's the thing about Mercedes wanting to be a SeeD so that she can keep her GF guilt-free. But... that isn't something she'll openly tell many people. If anyone at all.]

[She was silent for a short time, but soon enough, she looked back and spoke with a tone that was far more concerned than she would have liked.] Do you know what intentions the Shadow Knight may have?

[She takes a moment to consider the answer well. Obviously, Mercedes would want to be sure that he's not planning anything, so she can't just give a vague reassurance - both because that's not what she does, and because that'd be very hypocritical of her.]

If he has any long-term plan, he's made no show of it. Aside from observing me on occasions, he spends most of his free time in the Training Center.

I see.

[Mercedes doesn't know what to do with this information. Normally this would be the point where she would turn to someone else and get advice, that she may or may not ignore. It also doesn't help that there isn't an immediate threat for her to oppose. There is no Cauldron or war here for her, and as far as she is aware, King Odin is not here either.

When she started to adjust her momentum toward training as a cadet, it hadn't been too difficult because it didn't take long for her to realize that it was the best thing for her to do. She just focused on having a GF of her own and knew that she needed to do something instead of just being idle.

But this situation took her by surprise because she had not thought about the chance of running into anyone else from her world. It was strange enough that she came here... so she didn't even consider it would happen again. Now that she's come to face with someone else from Erion, she struggled with how to deal with it.

Does she go on like Gwendolyn is just like any other student? Should she go find the Shadow Knight to make sure he has no thoughts of avenging Melvin? And if all of them are now enlisted within Garden... does that make them all allies now? It would be good to stay close to one another since they are from the same world... right?

For a very long time she was silent as she became absorbed with her own thoughts, desperately trying to figure out what she should do next.]

@Trabia | Not deaged | Open to all

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject