Kayla sat in shock, the knowledge had been forcibly given to her much like the System did on occasion but instead by one of the spirits, a large mostly shapeless one that had a skull as a face that seemed hyper realistic, as if it was more realistic than anything around her. It was a nauseating thought, she didn't know how to comprehend any of this. But... all of these spirits, they viewed Lily as their queen? And her [Class] was a [Witch]?? A variant class at that, [Noble] she had never heard of that variant before.
"I-I don't know what to say, Lily is... she's human how could she be your queen?" Kayla asked carefully, despite the fact that Spirits were on a plane called the Spirit Wilds, one shifted just slightly out of sync with the real world did not mean they were powerless. If she angered them she was unsure what would happen, she was still but a little girl.
A deep chuckle escaped from a Raven with multiple eyes, it looked at her as if she was not truly there. "Our Queen is not so simple to be constrained by things such as race, for her to be human all the better for the great union. You do not see? You cannot perceive her greatness? Her majesty! Moon Walker you are to be our conduit you must see! Is it more knowledge? The One of History can give you more yes? Until you understand!"
Kayla instinctively moved away, "N-no that's okay... but what kind of gift could you even give? You aren't... physically here." She mentioned, ready to run for her life at a moment's notice.
"Any! Our Queen deserves all that exists upon this realm! What does she desire, what does she seek! We shall ensure she gets it!"
Kayla thought for a moment, what Lily desired? She knew that well enough, she was confident and made no effort to hide her goals from Kayla. Status, Power and Knowledge. She wished to be royalty not in her own words mere nobility. As if she felt like even Kayla's status was beneath her. That made Kayla laugh, she had always felt inferior to Lily ever since meeting her but it was an inferiority that she always thought with enough work, enough effort she would eventually bridge. But how could she now? She was apparently Queen of the Fairies! And a [Noble Witch] at that.
"Well... I guess she loves books? She's always reading a book, studying something. She's obsessed with knowledge." Kayla said apprehensively, truthfully she was scared of what these spirits would do if she said something along the lines of Lily wanting to be Queen of Elsetean or something of that regard. She didn't know how far they would go to grant her wishes, they already believed her to be a queen.
Chattering began amongst the spirits, she spoke so quickly that Kayla could scarcely follow along. Suddenly they all stopped and turned to her, so many eyes watched her keenly that she felt as if they could read her thoughts. "Moon Dancer, our gift shall be the Arcanum Codex, let our Queen know we shall arrive with it in ten years." The raven spoke all of its eyes wide and crazed as it spoke to her.
Kayla just... nodded. Slowly but surely all of the spirits disappeared, leaving her alone. Small massless spirits slowly creeped out, a few had stayed with her regardless of Lily and all had hidden when the surge of spirits with actual bodies arrived. She chuckled a bit at that. She reached out, running her hand along one, although it slipped through she felt she got her point across.
"You guys are just like me huh?" She said bitterly, here she was, heir to Ravenshire, a future Marquess, yet... Lily was a sun that consumed everything around her. How could she compare when she wasn't even a small star? She didn't know when they started but the tears just dripped down her face. She knew Lily did not like her more than a friend yet she had always had hope, that one day she would bridge that gap and Lily would notice her in that way. But that seemed as likely as Kayla becoming Queen of Elsetean.
Lily was currently humming, sitting in the Blackguard back to Fairhill, her legs lightly swung as she read the book on her lap. All in all she felt pretty good, after a long rest she had decided she had an entire trip to pick out her skills and all of these advantages just got her closer to her goals! She couldn't wait to impress Alice with all her skills and magical ability! She began to daydream, imagining her finding a village girl who looked just like Alice, not letting her know who she was at first, slowly seducing her. She giggled as she thought about how she could tease her about falling for the charms of the first noble woman who batted her eyes.
She paused, her day dream ending as she read the Skill name that was currently on the page in front of her.
Quick Processing, this skill allows you to process information at inhuman speeds, allowing you to quickly go through vast amounts of information. Further upgrades include Supernatural Processing and Divine Processing.
She quickly focused on accessing her Skill Points, shifting through the list she quickly found the Skill. She selected it without hesitation despite the fact that due to its rarity it cost her an entire fifty skill points!
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
She could instantly notice the effects of the skill, not only could she process what she had learned recently in her head she noticed details around her quickly. There was a small tear on one of the soft pads of the carriage, nothing major but if not repaired in time it would grow and become a bigger problem. She thought for a moment before nodding to herself, she opened her Skill Points again, she found it much easier to sort through all the skills she could buy.
It was a magic that normally only the peasantry took, it made their usual jobs easier such as cleaning and tailoring. However Lily wished to be able to do things herself, besides if she was the Beloved of the Arcane she should not shun any magic. She nodded with her logic, she held her hand to the rip and casted [Mend]. Quickly the small tear was repaired and Lily gained a smug smile on her face.
"Mother, when we arrive back in Fairhill I wish to exit the Blackguard early. If I am to take over the estate I believe I should know it. I'd like to explore it on my own." Lily said putting every bit of her [Noble Etiquette] into her words in an attempt to convince her "mother".
Heather looked at her, she stared at her seriously for a moment, which Lily returned and then... to much of Lily's shock, she began to burst into laughter. "Oh Lilypad, no. You're barely a month away from five! I'm not allowing you to explore a town you don't know alone!"
Lily grumbled unhappily, "I may be young but I am smart enough to take care of myself! Besides, I have magic! I'll be perfectly fine!" She complained, she thought she was being perfectly reasonable, she did not realize she was whining like a child. An action that made Heather smile at her.
"Maybe when you're a bit older, but I am not wanton to let my child flee the nest so quickly." Heather said, giving her that motherly tone she often took, Lily would never say so to her but it always made her uncomfortable. She failed to see this woman as her mother, it wasn't Heather's fault she did nothing wrong but all the same Lily could just not do so. She was grateful to her false parents of course, they took care of her and provided her with a safe life but she could not simply abandon her feelings for those from her old world. One that ultimately she thought she wished to return to.
Deep down this world felt... suffocating in a way, like she was constantly being watched, pressed, the air tasted different, the smells were different even the colors! Truthfully without her knowledge that her Alice existed somewhere in this world she may not have the drive that she did simply because she felt.... out of place.
"Very well Mother, however this is not the last of this discussion!" She conceded in her own way. Which only granted her a chuckle from the woman across from her.
"That will be all for tonight Lia." Lily said in a firm tone that emphasized her status, Lia had just finished helping her change into her night gown and gave her a chuckle.
"Why of course Young Lady, if you have a need of me simply ring my bell." She said with a warm smile. Lily briefly looked over at the Bell, it was a magical object that Lia was linked to, if it rang it would ring inside Lia's hand so long as she was within a certain radius, which happened to be the size of the manor. Typically these items were crafted at the behest of nobles and customized to be the radius of their general grounds. It was an efficient tool that she highly approved of.
Lily nodded to her, "Of course, have a pleasant night Lia." she stated before she laid down into bed, Lia gave her one more smile before she left the room, closing the door carefully behind her. Lily laid there for ten minutes, ensuring that Lia was far away back to the Servant Wing.
She quickly got up, a big smile on her face. She found it funny, she was back to sneaking out to defy authority figures, how long had it been since she had done so? Years possibly, it was ultimately an action that while she had not needed to do she enjoyed greatly. After all, it had been how everything had started with Alice all those years ago. Sneaking out cause she was upset at her Dad for moving them again. Mad at her step-mother for trying to act like her Mom.
And there Alice had been, sitting on the back porch of her house staring up at the stars while Lily had stumbled and fallen off the fence she was climbing. Alice had of course rushed to her rescue, not catching her but making sure she was okay and grabbing band-aids from her house to cover the nasty cut that Lily had obtained.
That's when it had all started... and now she was doing similar, climbing out of a window... although this time it was four stories high, not two. And she was a little girl, not a rebellious teenager. Luckily there was more than one difference between then and now. [Wind Magic] was a useful skill indeed. She quickly casted [Slow Fall] on her body and leaped out of the window, her body's descent was much slower than it would have been as wind circulated around her letting her simply float down.
She had originally been a bit sad upon looking at her spells, most of the spells she had gained from her new magics were not particularly helpful... however one was now showing use she did not think she would have needed.
Shadow Sprint
- Mana Cost: 5
- Description: This spell allows you to teleport between two shadows, range is limited by mastery of the spell. It was created in the 1st Era in the inception of Shadow Magic.
A simple spell but extremely useful for getting around the guards that patrolled the grounds, she used it to teleport around the dark areas of the grounds, skipping around until she found herself at the walls. Luckily they were not solid walls rather fancy iron bars on stone. She could see through them which meant she could teleport out to the shadow of a tree.
She began to stalk through the forest, she had a decent idea which way Fairhill was she just had to get there.
Everything was going fine... until she heard it, a large growl came from behind her and she suddenly was very aware she wasn't in the manor, not in a town or city. She was in the wilderness, and in the wilderness... monsters roamed.