by Jake Taylor
Vivian chuckled. “I won’t even try. During our check-up this morning, she seemed to feel the same way.”
Haruka nodded, growing a little more silent. “How is she, by the way? I mean…”
The doctor looked away before sighing and forcing herself to look back at Haruka. “Not well. She should be okay for today, but… Are you really sure you want to hear this?” Haruka nodded again. “Given the rate her body is degrading at, I’d say you have… two months, at most.”
Haruka looked down and set her hands on the desk, giving a slow nod. “And there’s no way to slow it down?”
Vivian shook her head. “Her body is shutting down. She’s going to get worse over time; her body has warred against itself for too long, and the stress put on it over the past year has only made it worse. And whatever that final transformation was that you both described… it did something that can’t be reversed. Given the cause, only transplants would slow it – and in that case you would have to replace every organ, despite matches being virtually impossible to find given her racial nature, and even then it wouldn’t help because there are organs we can’t transplant. I’m sorry, but the only thing we can do is what you’re doing – make the time she has left worthwhile.”
Haruka nodded, pushing herself off the desk. She paced for a few seconds before sniffing and folding her arms, staring at nothing in a random direction. “I won’t focus on it today; I can’t. Today will just be about today. We’ll live in the present.”
“That’s the best thing you can do,” Vivian said as she stood and laid a hand on Haruka’s shoulder. “Focus on how lucky you are to have the time you do.”
IXH
The ceremony was short and simple, as befitted the two brides. Isabella laughed as she came out and Freya had to lead her through hundreds of people. “Girliest bunch o’ mercs I ever seen!” the pirate said as she waved them out of the way, eventually making it to Haruka before passing her off with a wink. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“That includes… nothing,” Haruka said, drawing a laugh from Freya as she moved to stand with Dalgus, Vivian, Able and Suria. Haruka turned and smiled at Isabella, taking her hand. “You look amazing.”
Isabella laughed and cut herself off with a grin. “I’m sorry, I can’t stop laughing. This is all so unbelievable; it’s hard to believe I made it here.”
“You can laugh as much as you want; you’ve earned it.”
“Not without you I didn’t.”
“You won’t have to do anything without me again.”
Everyone else was quiet enough to listen to them, but they didn’t care. Ophelia waited to start and then performed the short ceremony with a smile, aside from when she silenced a section of the oft-rowdy crowd with a harsh look. “Either one of you may kiss the bride,” she finished with an amused smile, having given up silencing the people, and to no one’s surprise the kiss lasted quite a while. The crowd erupted into a mercenary’s idea of celebration, with a lot of cheers and shouts of encouragement and humorous lines.
They finally broke apart laughing and Freya thrust her captain’s hat in the air to be seen, raising her voice above the rest. “Now let’s bring out the drinks!” The cheers multiplied and the crowd began to split, some heading for the tent, some remaining to talk and wait their turn, others going to congratulate the women.
In the end Isabella found herself sitting beside Haruka in the tent, with her hand in hers. Freya and Dalgus were engaged in a drinking contest in front of them while trading insults, Suria was right next to them talking to Able about the kind of wedding she’d want, and Ophelia was speaking with Vivian about something far more intelligent than she was willing to try to understand. Isabella just smiled and closed her eyes, listening to the conversation around her.
“No one’s paying attention.”
Isabella opened her eyes and smiled at Haruka. “I know. I don’t care.”
Haruka shook her head. “No, I mean… No one’s paying attention to us.”
“Well, they’re…” Isabella blinked, studying Haruka’s eyes. “Wait… You’re not suggesting…” Haruka simply raised an eyebrow. “Ditch our own reception?”
Haruka shrugged, tilting her head and flashing a grin. “I found a really nice private area.”
“Haruka, we can’t… I mean…” Isabella stared at her for another few moments. “…Where is it?”
Haruka laughed, Bella grinned, and no one noticed when they disappeared from their seats. It was noticed eventually, but as it turned out, Isabella and Haruka could be very hard to find.
IXH
“I can’t help it, I’m excited!”
Haruka chuckled, smiling at Bella’s enthusiasm. They were on a train bound for the Imperial City, the first destination of their planned travels. For the next two months that was what they would be doing, travelling from place to place to see and experience what they could. Freya’s unexpected generosity had made it possible – the pirate captain had given them a sum of money so sizable that there was literally nothing they couldn’t afford to do. When Haruka had attempted to talk about repayment, Freya had threatened to send her to the ocean floor, forcing her to accept it as a gift. She had explained it didn’t matter anyway, as the amount of money she actually owned was so vast it didn’t even make a dent. Knowing the Pirate Queen of the Eastern Seas had certainly worked out for them many times, Haruka thought.
Being from a land where they had no real technology, Isabella wanted to go to the Imperial City more than anywhere else. Before she had met Haruka she had avoided it, along with any other large population center, fearing that her old self could come out at any time and make her a threat to the people. That was no longer a worry, and now she wanted to see all the things Haruka had told her about.
During their trip, Isabella often wrote in some sort of journal, but when Haruka asked about it she would always get the same reaction: Isabella would say “It’s nothing” and change the subject. Haruka was curious about her new habit, but if she wasn’t meant to know now, she would accept that. Perhaps Isabella was writing down their story, and that of her parents – she had said she thought it should be remembered. If that were the case, Haruka would get the chance to read it eventually, and she would guard it closely.
It was night when they arrived, and Isabella was struck speechless. Ravakan City - more commonly called The Imperial City - was like nothing she had ever seen; spanning thousands of square miles and with a population in the tens of millions, saying that it dwarfed any city she had ever seen was akin to saying an adult dragon dwarfed a fly. The capitol of the Ravakan Empire’s skyscrapers lived up to their name, stretching high overhead like monoliths beyond anything Isabella had known mortals could create. They looked far different than the buildings she was used to; they were rectangular with smooth sides filled with endless windows, most of which had non-flickering light – “electric lighting” as Haruka said – inside of them, like the train. The skyscrapers and other buildings themselves were minimally lit up on the outside as well, highlighting them against the night sky.
The city was encircled by a thick wall upon which soldiers in strange black armor patrolled, holding weapons from swords to spears to what Haruka called “rifles”. “Spotlights” were placed along the wall and scanned around the ground and air surrounding the city, and Isabella wondered just how many things would have to be explained to her here. Haruka pointed out the train tracks circling the city she had mentioned before, and Isabella watched as others passed by while theirs entered the city and circled through to its stop. At the platform they were allowed off the train and into the city proper with no trouble, and inside Isabella was overwhelmed.
Haruka had to explain everything; the roads with horseless vehicles speeding along them, the lights along the streets that held no fire, the screens showing moving images of reporters and distant places, the vehicles that flew – without wings! – in the sky overhead. Fortunately, Isabella didn’t feel stupid – every so o
ften she would see another person or group of people who seemed as fascinated and shocked as she was. “The Imperial City is the center of this part of the world,” Haruka explained. “It gets more visitors and travelers than any other spot on Sanctum. Every day a thousand people experience exactly what you are right now. It’s a technological and cultural marvel.” She pointed along a street showing various small buildings, seemingly endless, along with people standing outside with stalls. “We entered into the Market District, which is probably always the busiest, hence the crowds. Due to the melting-pot nature of this city, I guarantee you can find anything here, to the point where if there’s a food or type of item you miss from Areya, someone will have it.”
Isabella shook her head. “I had thought you were exaggerating, at least a little bit. I see now that if anything, you were understating this place. I can’t wrap my head around it; it’s like I’ve stepped through a portal to another world, another time.”
“The Empire is ridiculously advanced compared with the rest of the world. In a manner of speaking, this is another time – they’re way ahead.”
Isabella beamed at her. “I’m so happy I got to come here. I want to see everything! I want to try everything!”
“We’ll do whatever we can. Where do you want to start?” Before Isabella could answer, she jumped as the sound of gunfire suddenly broke out on the wall. She spun around to see why, but it ended after only a few seconds; most of the people around her didn’t seem bothered or surprised, including Haruka. “All the light and sound sometimes attracts curiosity,” she explained in response to Isabella’s questioning look. “Monsters mainly, being able to smell and hear the masses of people and hoping to pick off one. They’re too stupid to know it’s impossible; the sentries shoot them down before they ever get close.”
“What about something big?” Isabella asked as she looked over the wall. “Could they shoot down a dragon?”
“Their scales tend to be pretty invulnerable to gunfire. If something like that came, it would probably be taken out by the Order.”
“The Order?”
“The Order of the Black Rose, the most elite group in the world.” Haruka smirked at her. “They’re pretty much all like you in terms of ability. That’s the Order Tower up there, beside the Imperial Tower and across from the Council Tower.”
Isabella followed Haruka’s pointing, spotting the trinity of the tallest towers in the city; they were positioned in the very center of the massive city and surrounded by other skyscrapers, but separated in an inner circle and still visible above the skyline. The central skyscraper narrowed at the top in a pyramid-like style, while the other two had flat tops. All three buildings were a bit more of a gothic style than the modern others showing their age, and had decorative things on them, some of which Isabella assumed were gargoyle-like things, and others being long banners. “I guess an empire of this size would need a group like that.”
“It’d be more impressive if you weren’t equal to them. To the common man, they’re like gods; around here, they’re celebrities. People know the names of all the members, they have trading cards and games and fictional books and shows about them, they appear on the news, teenagers have posters of their favorite member on their bedroom wall, kids have action figures of theirs; it’s a really big thing.”
“Wow,” Isabella said, thinking. “It’s kind of like the next step after what I was; a leader having a powerful person at their side, but this emperor has a whole team?”
Haruka nodded. “Yep. Many of them hold different positions in the empire as well; one is the Archmage and one is a general, for example.”
“It’s kind of eerily similar to my own situation.”
Haruka tilted her head. “I suppose so, except they all have different reasons for joining. I find it interesting – had you been born here, you probably would have been a member.”
“You think so?” Isabella looked up at the Order Tower. If she had been born here, she may have ended up living there, Haruka said… “I don’t know if my life would have been very different.”
“I think it would,” Haruka responded. “The Empire spreads tolerance and order. It’s definitely not perfect, but racial crimes are not permitted or at all common.”
“So my parents would have been accepted?” Isabella looked back at Haruka and smiled. “Even if it doesn’t change what happened, I like knowing that a place like this exists, where others of my kind are accepted.”
“It gives you a bit more faith in people, doesn’t it?”
“It does.” Isabella sighed, looking around. “This whole city gives me faith; I’m amazed at what people can accomplish. Being able to see this place… It couldn’t have been built without so many people working together. And here, all these different kinds of people live and work together, talking to each other without caring about their race. This place is the opposite of Areya in every way. My parents would have loved it.”
“Then they’re probably happy that you’re here.”
Isabella smiled at her. “I think they’re happier that you’re here.”
IXH
A vehicle flew along a highway at a ridiculous speed, veering around others with wild abandon. The car hovered about a foot from the ground and was a sleek red in color, and was breaking quite a few laws at the moment. In the passenger seat was a thin male human with even thinner black hair, glasses, and a tight grip on two handles inside the car. “LEFT!” he was screaming, “Left, left! There’s a left curve up here – LEFT!”
The car slid around the turn and narrowly avoided a truck, picking up speed once more after the turn was complete. “I saw it, I saw it! Calm down, will you?” said Isabella, who was in the driver’s seat with hands more relaxed on the wheel than the instructor would have liked. “There’s no need to panic.”
“Yes, you wouldn’t want to die panicking, would you?” Haruka said dryly from her seat in the back, behind the passenger seat so that she could see Bella. She was trying to focus on surviving this, but that certainly didn’t mean she was planning to ignore her duty of providing appropriate commentary.
“We’re not going to die,” Isabella reassured them despite the instructor’s whining, which was followed by a scream from all three of them as the car flew through an intersection and somehow managed to avoid all the cars crossing. Isabella looked over her shoulder at the intersection as they left it. “See? Those cars barely even came close to killing us.”
“Oh, we’re only almost dead. I feel better.”
“Would you prefer to drive, Ruki?”
“Would I rather drive myself or ride in a screaming death trap and die in a fiery crash? That’s a hard call.”
“I’m not that bad-“ The instructor screamed again and she looked forward to see a transport crossing in front of them. With a yank on the controls she veered the car to the side, flying right alongside the transport before moving away from it. “See? I totally avoided that.”
“We are more or less alive, I’ll give you that.”
“STOP THE CAR!” the instructor shouted, his body tense from bracing himself.
“Um, how do I do that again?” she said as she scanned over the controls.
“Brake! BRAAAAAKE!”
Isabella looked up to see a support column approaching rapidly, which caused her to yelp and yank the handbrake up as soon as she remembered it. The sudden stop jerked them all and the poor instructor’s face hit the dash in front of him, breaking his nose. Isabella squeaked and clapped her hands over her mouth. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to do that! Are you okay?”
“Out! Out of the car!”
Isabella and Haruka got out and watched him switch to the driver’s seat before shooting them a glare and speeding away. “…Well he was certainly rude.”
“No manners at all. So did you enjoy driving?”
“It was great!” Isabella beamed at her. “So much fun. I don’t know why he was panicking so much though; I’ve run as fast as I was driving be
fore.”
“Yes, well, most people can’t run at faster-than-eyesight speeds.”
“Oh, right.” Isabella clasped her hands behind her back, smiling. “Whatever. I got to drive one of those floating vehicle thingies, so I’m happy.”
“That’s all that matters.”
IXH
“So a spa is just like, a relaxation thing?”
“More or less,” Haruka said as she opened the door for Isabella. She had hoped to bring her here – more for one reason than any other. She would enjoy most of it. Probably. It didn’t matter, Haruka was really here for her own entertainment. “I’ve got our schedule. Ready to enjoy a day of nothing strenuous?”
“I think we deserve it.”
“Agreed.”
It did go just as well as expected, although Haruka did get a few odd looks for the mask she refused to remove. The woman who was helping them smiled kindly, saying, “Your mud bath is ready in room three,” before leaving.
“What.” Isabella blinked at the door before turning towards Haruka, who seemed to find something on the ceiling incredibly interesting. “What.”
“Hmm?” Haruka spun back to her. “Oh, we should get going to room three!”
“Wait! Ack!” Isabella struggled as Haruka dragged her into the hallway. “No one told me about this! This is abuse! Help!” Two minutes later she stood in front of said mud bath, staring into it. “So… Mud… My old nemesis… We meet again,” she said before going silent for another minute. “…I’m not getting into that.”
“Oh, come on! It’s good for your skin!”
“It’s mud.”
“It will cleanse you.”
“It’s mud.”
“It will help with joint pain.”
“I’m twenty-nine! And it’s mud!” Isabella whirled on her, narrowing her eyes and pointing at her. “You planned this. You want me to suffer.”
