SS2: The Esprite and the Little Lady

I once walked in the darkest of night, my boots slipping on the zigzagging pavement on an old street. The chilly wind blew lightly on my back and a shiver followed, passing through my stiff fingers up to my neck.

As I walked, a little fellow kept following me, its spotted white, blue, and gold feathers hiding in the shadows of the night. Sometimes it runs in front of me, sometimes it plays with my moonlit shadows.

“Let me be,” I huffed, patching a grimace as I gaze at the things mysterious blue-colored eyes. I felt like I was looking at its soul. Its stubborn spirit reflected on its pupil, putting a transparent crack on my resolve once again.

The stubborn being raised its eyes and met mine. It straightened its feathers, patient. It flew, perching over my shoulders as it waited in silence for my decision.

…

I was born into a simple merchant family. I once considered that I should put my all into supporting this family. I was young, and I thought it was all that I had.

I was only ten when my grandfather, with his teary eyes, told me that my parents had died in an accident. That night, I cried so much. It hurts inside. Now there were only me and my grandpa. I thought my grandpa would leave me too if I’m not useful. So… I made myself useful.

At a young age, I learned to contribute to the family’s cause. I learned accounting, book-keeping, management, and trade. My quest for knowledge grew as I seek the approval of my elders.

Feeling unsatisfied, I also studied the arts of schemes, swordsmanship, history, and magic. Everything that I deemed necessary for the family. I even learned how to act as I tried to hide my unsightly smile. It was nothing but a weakness.

Soon enough, the elders of the family trusted me, putting me in small trades and transactions. That time I saw my grandpa’s eyes glinting in pride every time he looked at me.

I felt happy.

I also saw a baffling emotion behind his kind smiles. It was a pity. I had asked myself why? I looked at a lot of books, records, and documents, but I didn’t learn why.

At that time, I was only twelve years old. Yet my eyes shone with unmatched wisdom. They called me a genius. A prodigy. But no one had ever asked how much effort I invested to earn this knowledge in my head.

Time passed again…

My old grandfather died because of old age. I was only 13. He left me so suddenly that I felt numbed and shocked. Someone soon took my grandfather’s position in the family. I do not even know who he was, but apparently, he was the brother of my grandfather.

Well, I didn’t care.

Empty.

Hollow I was.

Alone I was.

I walked outside and stared at our extravagant mansion. I was a stranger in this place. The once small merchant family had turned into a behemoth. The simple and warm merchant family had already disappeared.

My mom, my dad, and my grandpa had already left me.

In my heart, my home was gone. Remembering the past when I was still with my parents offered nothing but gnawing melancholy. Heartache rather than comfort.

I had forgotten the faces of my mom and dad. Their warm smile was the only thing remaining in my blurry memories. I wished to catch a glimpse of their smiles again.

Soon enough, the small merchant family turned into a clan. Everything was changing fast.

The new head’s thirst for gold also dwindled, much to my relief, after the clan became the richest merchant family in the nation.

Still, I discovered one more thing. Human greed is endless.

My people. The clan. I could see the shadows of their schemes. They began to covet something that my old grandpa banned during his time.

A taboo.

They wished for power. Military power. The clan had shifted from normal goods to the arms trade, entering the smuggling of arms in gusto. Something that was not for simple protection.

The clan began amassing gold and building armies.

This time I learned I could see through their hearts. I thought I was the same as everyone but… I knew in my heart that I was not.

I could feel their greed. Their overwhelming greed.

They called me princess, especially the so-called old friends of my grandpa. Those smiles. Only a few of those were true. Hidden within their smiling facade was a bottomless pit of greed.

They wished to use what I know to create new schemes to reach their unsightly goals. War.

They saw me as a tool.

The truth stung. I wanted nothing right now… but to run away.

…

One day. An old friend of my grandpa arrived at the clan’s mansion. The guest was someone with power since everyone in the mansion had to bow their heads when they see her.

Their eyes filled with respect and… fear. The guest was a healthy old lady. Her eyes shone like the sun. She brimmed with energy and power, and on her head was a strange pointed hat.

It was my first time seeing such a hat.

It seemed the old lady came for me. My grandfather had prepared everything for me.

The old lady grasped my hands and smiled. What she said that day remained fresh in my memories.

“You will be my new disciple.” To me.

“I’m taking my little one.” To the clan.

She took me away from the house.

She didn’t even ask the smiling clan head. Still, hidden in the head’s kind smile… was animosity. Despite that, he could only smile and nod at the old lady’s every request—no demand, it was.

It was incomprehensible for the young me.

For some reason, every time I looked at her, the visage of my parents and my grandpa flashes before my eyes. I checked if it was magic, but I was wrong. So I asked her. She only giggled and whispered. “It’s not a spell.”

She then brought me to my new home. It was not like my gigantic mansion or the clans’ behemoth castles. It was a simple and cozy house in the middle of the forest that had a large underground library.

Under her I trained in magic, dwelling in her dusty library till it became my place to sleep.

At that place, she told me to call her grandma.

“Grandma,” I muttered.

At first, it was awkward. Yes, I was awkward and strange, but my heartbeat races and every time I utter those words. Happy.

A few years had passed, I became a 15-year-old girl. Grandma praised me, saying that she was very proud of me. According to her, I have learned all the things I must learn from the compounds of the library. Her smile reached from ear to ear.

“It’s time,” grandma said as she smiled at me, her eyes shining like a kid.

She enshrouded me with anti-cold magic tools before casting an anti-freezing spell on me.

My grandma brought me to a unique place. It was a small lake in a middle of a snow-filled forest. The white forest thrived with life as various animals went back and forth. Despite the extreme cold, the water in the lake never froze. It was mysterious.

My grandma then took a unique whistle on her neck and blew it.

Suddenly, I felt a heavy chill surrounding the whole place. I looked at grandma. Her eyes focused, watching the snow scatter as the wind blew from the north.

I held the hems of my grandma’s long dress. I felt a unique fear bubbling within me.

My grandma looked at me and giggled. She tapped and ruffled my hair, making it messy. I admit. Annoyed, I was.

With another bout of swishing icy breeze, I hid my face behind the back of my grandma. Peeking from the sides of the hem of my grandma’s dress. I looked at the north, wondering what kind of gigantic monster would come out of that place.

I was sure that it would look terrifying. I ran through the knowledge but failed to pinpoint what kind of beast would it be.

I hid and peeked from the hems of my grandma’s dress. There I saw all the animals around bowing towards the north as if a great king was coming in their midst.

Soon, I heard a unique cry. The sound was so relaxing and alluring as if it was a song of a beautiful maiden.

My eyes remained fixed towards the north… yet I saw none coming from it.

From then on, I questioned everything I was doing. I looked around. But there was no scary beast.

My grandma smiled as she watched me. She tapped my forehead with her hand. Her lips twitched. She was definitely holding her laughter!

“Show respect!”

I heard the soft voice again. It sounded like a little girl throwing tantrums.

I looked around me but could not find the source of the voice. Scratching my cheeks, I looked at grandma. It seemed like she already couldn’t hold her laughter. There were peals of tears on the side of her eyes as she grinned.

“Up!”

Thus, I lifted my head.

There I saw a bird, a little yet beautiful bird. If you would compare her to any bird around the whole continent. It was a cute little bird. Yet I knew, a bird, she was not. Her fluffy blue feathers veiled by a thin white raiment, and on her head was a golden crown. Her set of stubborn blue eyes glared at me.

Just from how she looked, I knew who she was. My eyes grew big as if it was about to pop out and jaw almost fell on the ground. The ruler of the north. The guardian against the tides of the evil beast.

“The Esprite of Ice—the Song of Winter Snow.”

Her name, I don’t know.

It’s just that the Esprite of Ice was depicted in books as a large ferocious eagle covered in ice. I never knew she was like this. Despite that, my senses were telling me she was an Esprite.

“Hahaha!”

I heard a burst of laughter coming from my grandma.

“Grandma!”

“Calley!”

My grandma ruffled my hair again, fixing my jaw back to its rightful place. She then looked at the beautiful little bird as she giggled.

She then wiped the tears building on the sides of her eyes.

“Little Annis, pfft, meet the Esprite of Ice, Allevi.”

My grandma. The great nature wizard Calley took a deep breath and smiled at the cute little bird.

“Allevi, meet my little grandchild, Annis.”