TIARA’S LOG: CAGED BIRD FROM THE BURNING STAKE

I’ve never seen my father since I was born. All I know is his family name which is Solstice. It was only my mother, Yukiko Hikari-Solstice who raised me.

We lived a simple and peaceful life in a small village.

The Hikari family is a bloodline of outstanding Gate Guardians. They serve several Gate Guardian shrines for generations.

My mother was a powerful Eidolon hunter but never seen as a heroine by other people. She was beautiful and passionate, with her unbreakable will and justice.

Her eyes are like a chimera. Her left eye is golden brown, but her right eye is crimson red. Some people… No. All people say that she was cursed.

When I was four, our house was raided by the townspeople. They grabbed my mother and displayed her in front of a town hall. They chained us and put to a gigantic dump of hay. And I can hear the voices of the town people.

“Burn the witch! Burn the witch! Burn the witch!”

I hugged my mother as we both watch the torch lit the hay where they have put us. It was getting hot and my sweat evaporates in seconds. Before the fire touched me, my mother said her final words.

“Live a happy life, my dear Tiara. I love you.”

Her eyes glowed and the next thing I realized I was away from the stake. I heard my mother’s screams as the flames of hatred reduce her to ashes.

During the commotion, a shrine maiden picked me up and escaped from the village. It was Asumi Kozukata who rescued me from the angry townspeople.

And then my new life began on Heightsburg City, in the Kozukata Shrine. I used my mother’s name, Hikari, in order to hide my existence from my mother’s enemies.

Asumi was so kind. She gave me food, clothing, and shelter, and even trained me to become a proper shrine maiden. I also learned martial arts, fate readings and basic exorcisms under her care.

My daily life as a shut-in shrine maiden must make everyone think that I had a boring life. It’s true because my freedom is greatly restricted. I’m like a caged bird who can’t use her wings to fly. My daily routines are repetitive, and the only time I can see other types of people are on Sundays when tourists visit the shrine.

What makes my life a lot lonely is that I’m still the subject of heartless words and judging eyes. Most shrine maidens avoid me for being the daughter of the witch. Only Asumi-nee and Ayano are there to talk to me. I never had any friends my age at all.

When I was ten, my stepmother retrieved me from the shrine’s care. I thought I will be happy because I will be with my half-sisters, but it turned out to be the opposite.

I was locked inside their big house and was prohibited to go outside. It was worse than being a shrine maiden. I was forced to do all the work in their house as if I’m a slave.

My stepmother curses on me so much that I almost thought my name was ‘Fuck’. My half-sisters, Alice and Bella harshly treated me like a dog. I’m too clumsy, so they punish me for every single mistake I made. At night, I would sleep in the warehouse without proper beddings, not even a pillow. I was only able to eat five times a week at their care.

I can ignore all those hardships, but about the deprivation of food...That was too terrible.

After two months of abuse, it was Asumi’s turn to rescue me. She used her position as the head of the Kozukata Shrine to press some legal matters, and so, I was finally back to the shrine and continued my training to become a proper Gate Guardian.

When Kozukata shrine maidens turn sixteen, they are granted to go outside the shine. I used the opportunity to learn more about the outside world. I enrolled in a high school hoping that my dreams to reunite my family would someday come true.