I had the fortune of meeting what appeared like an ordinary asian woman. Her outfit was nothing special. A blue cloak with soft fabric draped around what looked like a hunting dress and a skirt. She should have looked out of place, but in the gardens she managed to look natural. If she slung a bow over her back, I may have mistaken her for an elf. Her dress was snug over her lithe form, and if she wasn't zipping through the air I would have thought she was nothing more than ordinary.

But she wasn't. Selina, as she called herself, glided through with a childish familiarity. Butterflies trailed her as she flew from tree to tree in the garden. There was just so much that was charming about her. The carefree flying position, the large, innocent eyes. She was the image of a pixie, if pixies were human sized and could fly, that is. That first day I had spent with her was more confusing than anything else.

"Who are you?" She asked. I found myself startled by her voice. Soft and sweet, like honey. It stuck to my ears long after she had gone silent.

I tried to meet her gaze, but found that it was too difficult. With her incessant flying around, I never knew where to look. "Leon Marshall." I said, feeling my head spin.

"No titles?" She sounded surprised.

"A few of the peasants at village called me lord, if that means anything. To tell the truth, it probably doesn't. Silvana's the lady. I'm just the celestial she found in the Waywood, or whatever that's called."

"Quite lucky of you. She sounds rather nice, most would have had you chained and sold to the king already." She said. She held out a hand to a tree, as if expecting it to wave at her. A fruit flew into her hand.

I froze. "Sold?"

I saw her curl her lip out of the corner of my eye. "The king is an incompetent fool. The celestials he buys are keeping the kingdom together." She shook her head. "Selling humans, disgusting."

I found myself liking her. "I have to agree. Where are they?"

"I wish I knew. Most are dead, probably. The assassins rarely make mistakes." She sighed. "Always the dog, ever biting the hand that feeds. Why did you come here? One wrong step and you might just die."

Selina had finally took a liking to one place. I looked her in the eye. "They kill us?"

She tilted her head. "Of course they are. Celestials are powerful assets for noble houses. That makes them targets for their rivals. You really don't know much, do you?" She took a bite of what looked like a cross between an apple and a peach.

I swallowed. "How long does the average celestial last?"

She tapped her mouth as she ate. "In the capital? Most are killed before reaching the palace. How did you even make it so far? I saw the king's guard escort you here. A hidden assassin should have killed you already."

That was news to me. "I don't know, I'm not even sure what I'm here to do!" I protested.

"That makes sense. If you were working for a noble house, you would be dead. But nobody knew you were in teacher's faction until you arrived. By then, it was too late."

"There are political factions?"

Selina pouted. "Please, we're on the same side. There's no need for that."

"What?" I asked.

She laughed, tapping my forehead. "Oh, you're good. I almost believed you."

"I'm not! I don't even the name Satora before I got here!" I protested.

Selina frowned. "That's better, but you shouted too much. Nobles should be more refined." She spat out a few seeds.

I slumped. "What did I just get myself into?"

"Don't worry, no assassin can touch you with me here." She promised.

"You?" I almost wanted to laugh. "Who even are you?"

"Ah-" The peach-apple thing dropped to the grass below. She looked at me again. "Now that's ridiculous. You can't expect anyone to believe you don't know me. No matter how good your acting is."

I groaned. "I'm not acting."

She looked down at her fruit. "Oh, can you just be honest? Practicing with people gets tiresome, you know. What am I, a wooden training dummy? You're good, there's no need to show off."

It seemed that my silence did more to convince her than my words. I heard her yelp. "Wait, you really don't know? How long have you been in the seven skies? Is this your first day?"

"Around my first month, but I spent most of it on the road or in a village. I never heard of you." I said.

"Never?" She stomped her foot. "Were there no shrines at the village? I didn't expect them to be that poor."

"A large stone building?" I asked. An image of what looked like the village church came to mind.

Her eyes lit up. "Yes... no! There was a shrine and nobody talked about me?" She sounded affronted. Her hands crossed over her chest. "Muddy peasants."

"Ok, ok, that's enough. Who are you?"

She giggled, and I felt like a thousand idiots merged into one. "I'm not sure if my name makes sense in your language. It sounds like selili, so people here call me Selina. Not the best, but I haven't heard anything better. I'm the Saintess, you have to know who that is."

"Saintess? I have no clue. As for you name... How about Silly, does that sound better?" Her horrified face bought a smile to my lips. "Or maybe Lily?"

She flew forward and swatted me across the face. "Lily it is, unless you want to be silly." I decided. I saw her cheeks puff up and turn red. If that wasn't the cutest thing I had seen, I don't know what was.

"Careful!" She warned. "If my father finds out he will have your head." For some reason, I suspect she meant her words quite literally.

"Your father? Who?" I asked.

Her eyes grew wider, don't ask me how that was possible. "You really don't know anybody."

"I don't, that's why I'm asking."

Lily pursed her lips. "Sect master of the eternity sect, I believe your people call him Serpenthead." It sounded more like a threat than a boast.