The next day Yuriko was in a conundrum. None of her clothes fit. She’d grown about six inches since she was last home and even the sundresses Mum bought for her back then were woefully short, not to mention tight across her bosom and hips. She couldn’t wear her traveller’s clothes the entire time, since she only had three changes.

More so when she received a letter this morning.

“After Founding 2999

60th Day of Air

Yuriko Mishala Davar

21 West Avenue, Central District

Faron’s Crossing

Dear Miss Davar,

(I) It gladdens my (heat) heart to find you safe and back in Rumiga plane. I wish to speak with you in private, but that is up to (you) your desires. If it pleases you, (we) shall we meet at the Olde Sweet Shoppe on the morrow, the 61st Day of Air, at the lunch hour? I look forward to being in (you) your dazzling presence.

Yours truly,

Heron Synka Muryh”

There were several erasures though she couldn’t make out what the blotted-out words were. Yuriko gave an affirmative when she received the crane last night. And it was only when she rummaged through her closet did she realise her dilemma.

Her room was clean with barely a speck of dust on the surfaces. There were some in the corners and behind the wardrobe, desk, and her bed, but she couldn’t expect Rami to have cleaned them all by himself. The rest of the house was in similar condition. She wouldn’t have noticed without using her Anima perception though, so there was that.

Thok, thok!

“Come in.”

Desire pushed open the door and stood waiting at the threshold. She’d fed the Chaos Lord last night, and they’d agreed on a few things. Foremost was that Desire would go to Ashley Gin’s homestead without Yuriko.

“Your mere presence would bend them to your Will, master. If you truly wish to give them the choice, I should go alone,” was what she said.

“Going out so early?” Yuriko asked mildly. From her window, she could see the first rays of the dawn.

“You said my family were farmers. They rise before dawn.” Desire shrugged. “I’ll see you later, master. I’ll probably be hungry by then.” She licked her lips and stared at Yuriko’s eyes provocatively, eliciting a blush from her.

“Fine, fine,” Yuriko grumbled.

Desire’s feeding habits were getting to be…uhm, never mind.

Yuriko put on one of her traveller’s outfits and headed downstairs. For a wonder, Rami was already up, fixing breakfast.

Thud!

The front door opened and closed, prompting the twelve-year-old boy to look up from his hot cake batter.

“Hmmm?”

“Desire. She’s headed out to see her family,” Yuriko answered. She took a quick look at his meal preparation, noting that he’d made enough for four of them. Shrugging, to herself, she used her kinesis to help while she sat on the table bench.

Rami froze at the sight of pots, pans, oil, flour, eggs, and whisk floating about.

“That’s convenient.”

“Hmmm, yes…” Yuriko hummed. “What’re your plans for the day?”

Rami gave her an odd stare. “School.”

“Oh. Oh yeah.” Yuriko stuck out the tip of her tongue and giggled.

Through her aura, she could see that Gwendith was still snoring fitfully in the guest room. She supposed the other girl wasn’t used to early days. Or rather, her days back in Ouera Bo had probably been way too early and late for civilised people. A few minutes later, the hot cakes were ready.

Rami drizzled some sweet syrup over his food while Yuriko contented herself with lavan berry toppings. Yum.

As she finished her breakfast, someone knocked on the door. Rami had gone up to his room to get dressed and yelled down at her to see who was there. When she did, she was faced with a couple of boys, one had dark hair and green eyes, while the other had dark blue and black eyes. They looked familiar.

The two of them stared up at her, agape, with the black-haired boy’s hand still raised to knock. She waited for them to say something, but neither moved a muscle. She arched an eyebrow which only resulted in more red faces and mute shock.

“Lance, Awley!” Rami said as he pushed past Yuriko. “Let’s go!”

He grabbed both of their wrists and dragged them along behind him, chuckling all the while.

“...was that?”

“My big sis. You don’t recognise her?”

“That’s big sis Yuri? Wow!”

She waved goodbye at them and shut the door. Ah, she remembered now. Lance Zorin and Awley Keryn. Krystal’s and Millie’s younger brothers.

Hmph, compared to her, they were the ones who’ve grown a lot!

She settled on the backyard deck to meditate, letting the rays of the Radiant Sun fill her with warmth. Radiant energy welled from her Essence and left her Anima and body, only to be replaced by the ones shining down from above. An hour or so later, she heard Gwendith coming downstairs.

“Yuri?”

“Back here,” she answered and pulled open the back door with her kinesis.

“Oh, good morning!” Gwendith said brightly.

“Good morning. Go have breakfast.”

“Right.”

Yuriko finished her meditation round and entered the kitchen just in time for Gwendith to finish.

“What are you planning to do?” Yuriko asked.

“Dunno. What about you?”

“I need new clothes,” Yuriko said with a wry chuckle. “I’ve outgrown what I have here.”

“Oh! Uhm, I need some, too.”

Yuriko eyed the other girl. Gwendith was about her height two years ago, though her bosom was much bigger than hers.

“Think some of my old clothes would fit you? I’ve, uh, no idea where to buy here,” she said shamefacedly.

Gwendith raised a questioning eyebrow. “Didn’t you grow up here?”

“Ehehehe, I, uh, didn’t really buy my own clothes.”

“Uhm, market square?”

“That’s a good place to start, I guess.”

“I saw several eateries and inns on the way yesterday. Let’s have lunch in one of those?”

“Ah.” Yuriko coughed. “I’ve received an invitation for lunch.”

“Oh, from whom?”

“Heron.”

“Ah, Muryh, wasn’t it? The tall fellow who’s your childhood friend.” Gwendith nodded knowingly, “Ah, cheating on your prince already?” she teased.

Yuriko rolled her eyes. “Nothing of the sort,” Yuriko snorted. “And don’t insinuate that I’ve accepted the prince as my fiance,” she added sharply.

“Hie hie!” Gwendith giggled. “Well, have a great time later!”

“Uhm, you don’t mind?”

“Why would I?” Gwendith shrugged. “It's not as if we’re in a relationship.” She grinned. “Unless you think we are?”

“Ah, uhm, ehehe.”

“Come on, I’ll spare you the embarrassment and let's go grab new clothes!” Gwendith grabbed Yuriko’s arm and dragged her along.

There was a market in the Central District, but also another one in the Foreign District in the east. Since the one near the town square was only a few blocks away, they headed there. There was a fountain with a statue of the Empress in the centre though the details of her face were obscured. Water fell from her fingertips and splashed noisily on the basin.

There were stalls along the square’s edge, as well as a couple of rows. Most of them were selling produce, handicrafts, and art pieces. No clothes, unfortunately, though there were some merchants selling bolts of fabric. About half of the stalls were empty, however, and when she asked one of the stall owners, he said, “No one’s coming up from Haveena.”

She got directions to a seamstress who could whip up a dress or two if she brought fabrics. A silver crown gave her enough to make three dresses, with the cloth mostly being pastel blues and violets.

Gwendith bought a bolt of silver and green and she haggled down the seller by at least half of the stated price. Grinning, the two of them headed to a shop another block away. The sign didn’t have a name but was instead a pair of scissors, thread, and needles.

The attendant, a girl that was probably a year younger than Yuriko, perked up as the two of them entered and greeted, “Welcome to Madame Maggie’s!”

“Hello! We’ve come to get some dresses made.” Yuriko said brightly.

“Oh, sure. Uhm, come in. come in. Have a seat.” The girl gestured towards a wooden bench and once they were seated she continued. “Would you like to look at some premade designs or would you for Madame to custom design for you?”

“Uhm, I guess if you have pre-made designs?” Yuriko said.

“Very well.”

The girl, who introduced herself as Harriet Penny, brought out a portfolio, sat across them, and laid it out on the low table. Each page had a single design, rendered in multiple angles, and looked quite elegant and exquisite. Yuriko actually preferred sundresses as opposed to other designs, and since she could easily handle the cold, it wasn’t a problem.

In the end, both Yuriko and Gwendith weren’t bothered by the cold and picked out four designs. Gwendith cajoled Yuriko into getting a daring dress that had a hemline halfway up her thighs.

“You’ve got gorgeous legs, you’ve got to show them off.” Gwendith said with a grin.

The entire thing cost about five hundred Sovies a piece since they provided their own cloth, so Yuriko paid a gold mark and five silver crowns. Gwendith paid for her own though Yuriko didn’t know where she got her coins from.

“I drew a salary while we were in the Frozen Camp and the caravan. I withdrew it from the camp treasurer before we left. Yours is probably deposited into your account at the Imperial Bank.”

“Oh. Right.”

“Anyway, enjoy your…date.” Gwendith giggled and gave Yuriko a warm hug. “Tell me about it back home?”

“Alright.”

Alone now, Yuriko headed towards the Olde Sweet Shoppe. It was a bit early, but it wouldn’t matter all that much. She wanted parfaits.

When she arrived she was given a table in the al fresco area, at a corner that gave her quite a bit of privacy. She didn’t see her childhood friend Millie on the service floor, but the girl was probably in the kitchen working on the food.

A server brought her a tall parfait glass and she glomped down on the sweets, shivering in such palpable pleasure that she felt her Mien leak out. She hurriedly reined it in, but the damage was already done.

Ehehehe.

Quite a few diners were staring at her and the server’s face was slack and drool ran down the corner of his mouth. She flared her Anima a bit, forcing the light to distort around her. The others took the hint, and with her Mien making a muck of things, they settled down easily enough.

She’d just finished her parfait when Heron arrived and took the seat across the table. He stared at her eyes for a long moment, but Yuriko’s perception aura took note of the changes to her old classmate.

Aside from the fact that he was now as tall as Marron, Heron was notably bulkier. His shoulders were broad, and if she stood in front of him, he would completely block the view. His dark eyes were as intense as ever and his hair had been tamed. There were calluses on his palms and fingers.

“Yuri,” He began, then paused to swallow. “I… it’s been a long time.”

“Yup,” She replied lightly, though given the look behind his eyes, she was already dreading what he would say. Aspiration lay heavy behind his irises and guilt pressed down on her shoulders.

“I…”

“Uhm...” she interrupted. “Before you say anything, you…you’re probably affected by my Mishala Mien.”

“Eh?” He tilted his head in endearing confusion.

“It’s an ability I’ve recently awakened, though my cousin and Mum, said that some part of it had always been active. You…” Yuriko paused and sighed. “Your infatuation may have been, no, it should have been caused by that.”

“Wait, you knew how I felt?”

“Uh, no. Not then. Just, uhm, I just recognised the signs of the Mien affecting you yesterday.”

“Oh.”

He seemed lost in thought.

They shared a few minutes of decidedly uncomfortable silence, before Heron said, “It doesn’t matter. I know how I felt. And I know I’ve felt that way for longer than your ability was active.” He gave her a shy grin. “And I’ll say it now since I never had to courage to say it before.”

Yuriko wanted to ask why he didn’t have that bravery before since there was ample evidence to the contrary, but the tone of his voice and the earnestness of his eyes stilled her tongue. She found herself suddenly short of breath, too.

“I love you.”

All at once, something within her stirred. Time slowed, then froze, and she could see halfway into the dreamscape. Her Mien uncoiled and struck like a serpent, latching on to Heron’s Anima. Golden Threads of Fate materialised and entangled both of them, though they looked more like chains around the boy.

Intense emotions gushed out of him and flowed into her Anima, and she knew it to be true. Heron would sacrifice himself to keep her safe, and though he was rough and somewhat bumbling, the sheer tenacity of his bonds charmed her.

But…

She was suddenly presented with a choice. Knowledge and instincts seeped up into her mind. It was different from how Damien’s memories leached into hers. No, the difference was that this was something more primordial. Of Chaos and beyond.

The choice, the one that every fibre of her being told her to take was to turn him into her thrall. To take him and use him to sake her needs and lusts, since those were certainly welling up inside her now. To use him as her third incarnation did every night.

But the other choice was to unbind. Every bit of her rebelled at that thought. The Mien, as it was now, grew stronger the more thralls it held on to. Every aspect of her Mien would grow more powerful. Charm, Inspiration, and Terror. All three aspects that she’d unlocked and used would grow stronger, and it would come to a point where all she needed to do to defeat her foes, from a single assailant to an entire nation, was to appear and tell them what she wanted them to do. To become her slaves or to fall on their own blades, each subject to her whims. The Radiant Essence within her also boiled with excitement. Combined, her Mishala Mien and the Radiant meant that she would be able to affect everything the light touched…

Grandiose notions and daydreams whirled in her mind, tempting her. Take him. Take Gwendith, too. Desire is already hers and it wouldn’t take much more to turn the rest of her friends and acquaintances to her Will. Accept.

No.

She couldn’t do that to him? Bound by false emotion! No, she couldn’t!

Fool!

With a gut-wrenching tug, she snapped the chains that bound Heron to her. And the dreamscape faded from her thoughts. She blinked at Heron, who had frozen in mid-word. He blinked. The signs of Aspiration behind his eyes…were gone.

But then, his words didn’t change.

“I love you,” he said, and Yuriko’s heart raced.

She shook her head. “I… Heron, I think, we, you, need to think things through. Uhm, I just said that my ability manipulated your emotions and your mind, please, take some time to…uhm, recentre yourself.”

He smiled at her beatifically. “Alright.”

It would be awkward to remain in contact at the moment, so she paid for her parfait and left. When she got home, she locked the door to her room, fell on top of her bed and squealed in her pillows. She didn’t know what to think now.