The girl from the palace

Aurelia stared at her little sister sleeping soundly on her bed. She was already in her nightwear so she had been here for some time. Though Aurelia wanted to ask her sister where she was, she was already sleeping.

As she was walking away, something caught her eye. Looking closer at her sister, she spots a book she held close to her chest.

'The basics of mana manifestation?'

That was odd. Aurelia looked at her sister with confusion on her face.

'Have you already awakened?'

That was the conclusion that Aurelia had come to after seeing the book. Otherwise, the book was rather meaningless in her hands. But if that was the case, that caused another question.

'Why are you hiding it little sis?'

Awakening as a mage was a rather big deal. Though it happened to most of the population, it was still a joyous occasion for those who do it. Even with the blessings of the sun being bestowed on their family guaranteeing that they would awaken, they still celebrated when she did. Yet here was her little sister hiding that fact from them.

'But why?'

Aurelia paced back and forth trying to come up with an answer for her question. Though try as she might, there was none that she could think of. Unable to satisfy her curiosity, Aurelia tried to wake her sister.

"Mira. Mira, wake up."

She spoke in a hushed tone and shook her lightly to try and wake her as gently as she could. Though in response the girl only turned to her side. Aurelia grumbled at the response. 

"Mira. Mira! Wake up."

This time she used a bit more force but still barely a reaction. With a sigh of defeat, Aurelia left her sister's room. Judging that waking her up would be difficult and not to mention rude.

There were a lot of questions that she wanted to ask that sleeping face, but it looked like those will have to wait for tomorrow. With a conclusion reached, Aurelia leaned in closer, gave her a small kiss on the forehead and whispered in the girl's ears.

"Sweet dreams, lil sis."

With those last words, she left the girl's room moving towards her own.

****

It was just past midnight when Aurelia went to her old room. Opening it back up, she's greeted by a familiar scene.

"Wow, even this is still the same."

It looked like the room was barely touched in the past three years that she was away. The book that she was reading before her departure was still on the desk. Her pens were still neatly arranged by her notebooks.

'Hmm.'

Seeing her old notebooks, she wondered if that was still there. Going towards her nightstand, she feels underneath it to check.

"Looks like it is."

She retrieved a small notebook with a heart shaped lock on it. It was a little dusty as no one but her had any idea that it even existed. Looking at the journal in her hands, a sense of nostalgia grew inside her as the memories of writing in the notebook reared its head.

Opening and reading the journal contents, nothing was particularly special. No one else would find it interesting, but to Aurelia the book was full of meaning. Written inside were her thoughts and feelings as she was preparing for her heir tests.

'To think that I'm being sent away to manage a palace all on my own… I'm scared… What am I gonna do? How long will I be gone from here?'

"Hahaha…ha…"

Aurelia laughed at her previous self's thoughts. Though she did manage the entire palace, she was not on her own. Half the staff came with her as she moved and stayed with her until the very end.

She was grateful to them, but she also felt guilty. Seeing them reunite with their friends whom they had to leave was heartwarming.

"Well we're all back now."

They had lost some time together but they could all still make up for it now that they were home. As she flipped through the pages of her old journal, she came across an entry about her first meeting with her fiance Ivan.

'I can't believe that I'm already engaged to someone I just met. It's not like any of the stories that mommy and daddy read to me. My fiance's not even a prince!'

Aurelia shut the journal close after reading the first part of the entry. She knew full well of her feelings upon first hearing that she was already set to marry someone. It was safe to say that she took the news poorly. After all, Ivan was far from the prince that she had dreamt of marrying.

"He may not have been a prince, but you'll learn to like him… Though I wish that didn't happen now..."

Holding back the tears that were threatening to come out, she tucked the journal back away into its spot and proceeded to change into her nightwear. Far from the majestic aura that she exuded earlier, now she was just a girl getting ready for bed.

After laying down on her bed, a wave of fatigue came crashing down on her. And as there was no reason for her to resist, she let the waves take her consciousness.

****

Old habits were difficult to change. For Aurelia, that meant her body would naturally wake up rather early. She had always done so during the test period so there was no need to do it now that it was over. Not that she had any control of it.

Being greeted by the bright light shining through her windows, she removed her blanket and stretched her stiff body. Looking at the window, she saw a lot of snow falling outside.

"Snow's really coming down."

It was a good thing that they had rushed to come here yesterday. At the rate that the snow was falling, if they had delayed it themselves by a day, nature would delay them at least a few. Looking at the clock, it was just around six o'clock so Karliah should be coming in to help her change.

So Aurelia layed back down and waited for her to come. Though she only wanted to rest a bit more, her mind wanted a lot more. And in her current state, relaxing in bed was more than enough for her to fall asleep again.

"!!!"

After some time, Aurelia's eyes bolted open and she sat back up. She grabbed the clock of her nightstand and checked the time. Her eyes grew wide as she looked at its face.

"Oh Goddess, It's already eleven?!"

She kicked off her blanket and went to her closet. Opening it up, She grabbed the first thing she saw and quickly put it on. There was some slight difficulty putting it on by herself but as she had done so before she was able to dress herself. After brushing her hair and making sure she was presentable enough, she went to her door expecting someone to be on the other side.

Though as she stepped outside, the palace halls were silent. Eerily so.

"Where is everyone?"

As Aurelia walked around there was no one inside to greet her. The halls were brightly lit by the sun, but they were devoid of people. The silence as Aurelia walked through the empty palace was deafening only being broken by the echoes of her footsteps. Hot air was flowing through the vents, but the empty palace gave off a chilling atmosphere.

"Hello?? Anyone there?"

Aurelia tried shouting at the empty palace hoping for an answer. Her question bounced off the walls and returned back to her. Without any signs of life, she continued on her walk to find anyone. Walking towards the servants' quarters she finally heard some signs of life coming from the rooms.

"Augh…"

"Eugh…"

Though sadly no conversation seemed to be held, only the sounds of groaning came from the room. Aurelia tried opening the door but found it locked.

"Hello? Are you guys ok?"

She tried talking to them through the door but got no response from the people inside.

"You're not gonna get anything from anyone there Princess."

Turning around, Aurelia finally saw someone. The elderly butler who had welcomed her home last night.

"Count Hibiki! Good morning."

"Good morning to you as well Princess. I apologize for the… lackingness of the staff right now. Everyone went a little hard on the drinking last night, so odds are most are gonna be very very hungover."

"It's alright Count Hibiki. I'm sure everyone was excited about seeing each other again."

"Aye, that we were, Princess. That we were augh…"

Shira staggered slightly and held his head. Aurelia quickly moved to support Shira.

"Are you ok?"

"Yes, thank you Princess. Just a small bit of alcohol in my system making its presence known. It's not as serious as everyone else's case."

That remark made Aurelia realize something strange.

"You… were drinking just as much if not more than everyone. How come you're not dying in your room?"

"Once someone gets to my age Princess, one tends to be able to handle their liquor better. It lets us have all the fun that comes with drinking while suffering less backlash."

Just then, another servant that Aurelia was not familiar came running out of their room and hunched over a nearby garbage bin. There was no need to ask them if they were alright as the sounds of them throwing up were already enough of an answer.

"Ha! At least he was conscious enough to find himself a bin instead of staying in his room. Take your time Marsh, take your time."

Whether Marsh heard Shira's words or not, a few moments later Marsh steadied himself against the bin. He turned towards them and waved his hands at them. There were dark circles on his eyes and some bile still on his mouth. He almost looked like a zombie that Aurelia had heard about. After giving him a small wave, Marsh stumbled back into his room and promptly continued to suffer the effects of the alcohol.

"Is he gonna be ok?"

"He'll be fine. I heard it was his first time drinking last night so such a reaction is to be expected."

"Is that what happens to everyone who drinks?"

"Not really. Everyone's a little different after all. Just cause he's not handling the hangover well doesn't mean others will be the same."

"Is that so?"

'I wonder if I'll be like that if I drink as heavy as they did last night.'

Aurelia tried to picture herself acting like that. It was not a pretty picture to paint for herself.

"Well enough about them for now. Shall we head to the dining hall? I'm not as good as Myuki or Gao, but I should be able to make you something that will tide you over until he can make you a proper meal."

"I-"

Before Aurelia could even respond, her body had already done so for her. A loud roar came from her stomach causing her to look down with a slightly red face.

"Yes please…"

"Hahaha… Please follow me Princess Aurelia."

Shira leads Aurelia towards the dining hall and away from the hall of zombies that was once the servants' quarters.

****

The walk towards the dining hall was almost just as silent as Aurelia's earlier trips. It was a strange sight for Aurelia who was used to seeing people constantly around the palace. She walked a little closer towards Shira.

"Seeing the palace so… silent is really unnerving."

"I guess seeing it for the first time you would feel that."

"This happened before?"

"Of course it did, Princess. There's a multitude of reasons for people to celebrate like that."

"Such as?"

"Off the top of my head? Your first birthday and then second birthday."

"Second birthday?"

"The day you awakened Princess Aurelia. It's always a cause for celebration when that happens."

Shira opened the double doors of the dining hall. Much to their surprise, there was already someone inside as the sound and smell of cooking was emanating from the kitchen.

"Is that you Myuki?"

"Sir Shira? Yes it's me."

A young man with fiery red hair walked out of the kitchen with a plate full of steak in his hands. For Aurelia who had technically been awake five hours ago, the sight was mouth watering.

"Oh hello Princess Aurelia. Good morning."

"Good morning, Sir Myuki"

"That's a lot of meat there Myuki."

"Well she did request it after all."

"Oh? Is Mira already awake?"

Aurelia remembered that her sister was a big fan of the steak that Myuki was holding. It was logical for her to think that way based on her memories.

"No it was mine, dear."

Turning around, Aurelia saw her mother pressing an ice pack against her temple. Jyllene gave her daughter a small smile.

"Good morning dear. It's nice to see someone else up and about."