The Tiny Witch from the Deep Woods: Volume 2, page 22
“I want a prosthetic arm. Not just for looks—I want one that actually works. And I’m sure the People of the Forest are capable of that,” Shydein replied, lifting his head to meet her gaze.
“I thought you said your missing arm wasn’t getting in your way?” Misha asked.
“True. I can eat. I can work. If living was all I cared about, then one arm would be enough.” Like Misha, his voice had turned terribly quiet, yet deadly serious. “But I’m too greedy to be satisfied with that. There are things I want to protect. I can’t do that with one arm.”
The tension between them was painfully taut. Kite could only watch nervously. Neither of them moved, as if time itself were standing still.
The two stared at each other in silence for quite some time, but eventually Misha was the one to break the silence with another sigh.
“I can’t promise you anything, but I can get you a meeting with one of my friends.”
She then turned back to her soup. Though it had grown a bit colder now, the familiar taste still softened her expression.
“That’s more than enough,” Shydein replied, turning back to his food as well.
Kite finally relaxed. For some reason, that exchange had unnerved him far more than a demonstration in front of the king would have. But with the two of them going back to eating like nothing had happened, it felt weird for him to say something, so he could only sigh and bite into his sandwich.
Chapter 21: Walking in the City (Alone with Kite)
“Okay then, I’ve got some stuff to take care of, so I’ll be on my way now.” After putting the vegetables and meat left in front of him between some pieces of fried bread, Shydein jumped back to his feet.
“Wait, you’re not going to come with us?” Misha asked.
“Nope. I’ve already got what I came for, so I won’t spoil your good time any further,” he said with a playful wink. “Besides, if I’m gonna ask you to negotiate for me, I’ll need to stay in Redford for a while, which means I have to find both a place to stay and some work. People are in a great mood here thanks to that upcoming festival, so I’m sure I’ll find something. Don’t worry, I’ll get Kite to tell you where I’m staying before he heads home.”
With a wave of his left hand, the large ex-captain disappeared into the crowd. He was so quick that Misha didn’t really have time to try and stop him, which left her staring at the empty space he had once occupied.
“We’ll probably be staying at the same inn until I head back to Bluheitz, so you don’t need to worry about him,” Kite said, too used to Shydein’s behavior to let something like this interrupt his meal.
Once she’d inferred as much from Kite’s behavior, Misha decided not to let Shydein’s sudden departure bother her and turned her attention back to her rapidly cooling soup. She fished out a tuber and popped it into her mouth. The well-cooked vegetable practically melted in her mouth.
“Is there anywhere in particular you’d like to go, Kite?”
Kite thought for a moment. “I’d like to see the cathedral. After that, my mother asked for souvenirs, so I’d appreciate some help finding some things for my family.”
He bit into his fried fish. Meanwhile, Misha lined up some plans that would take them to some shops where they could find gifts that she thought a woman would appreciate.
“Okay, then let’s start with the cathedral. With how crowded the city is, it will probably take us quite a while to get a turn inside.”
Kite grinned at her. “You’re the king’s guest of honor, aren’t you? Can’t you skip the line?”
They both stood up, having finished their meal.
“You can’t break the rules in a holy place like that!” Misha declared haughtily, turning away. Kite dropped his shoulders in a show of disappointment. They were quiet for a while, but it wasn’t long before they both broke down into fits of laughter.
“Fine, I guess I’ll be a good believer and endure the trial of worshipping with the crowd.”
“A wise choice. Let’s go.”
The two walked into the town, giggling as they made their way to the cathedral.
The cathedral in question was a building with as much history as the capital itself, and it was the heart of Redford’s national religion. It was also the home of the largest religion in Carmine, so even though the city had recently experienced war firsthand, even those invaders hadn’t been bold enough to desecrate it, so it had survived the conflict virtually unscathed. As such, it had maintained its original appearance from the time of Redford’s founding.
That made it a prime spot for both the faithful and nonbeliever tourists, so almost everyone who visited the capital made their way to the cathedral at some point. This time of year, when the capital was bursting with visitors for the Moonflower Festival, the cathedral was unbelievably packed. Locals not doing business there typically avoided the cathedral during the festival.
Being only a recent resident of the city, Misha was unaware of this, and so she found herself quickly being swept away by the crowds. She very easily would have been lost if it weren’t for Kite grabbing her arm and pulling her close.
“I knew it was going to be crowded, but wow,” he commented. The road leading to the cathedral was packed so tight, one had to wonder where all these people were even coming from. Once they found themselves in the crowd, escape was almost impossible. All they could do was let the flow of people carry them forward.
Held tight in Kite’s arms, she was so bewildered by the crowd around them that she couldn’t even be embarrassed by how they were close together. She understood one thing very clearly: If she got separated from him for even a moment, there would be no telling where the crowd would take her. In short, she’d be lost. And that wasn’t something she was willing to put up with at her age. In her minor state of panic, she didn’t realize that she knew the area well enough that she could easily find her way back to the castle from here. Even Kite could likely manage on his own.
Meanwhile, Kite was a bit surprised to find Misha practically clinging to him rather than fighting to keep her distance. But one look at her face was enough to figure out her mental state, so he made sure to stifle his laughter. Instead, he turned his attention to the crowds around them.
They were packed quite tightly into the crowd, so Misha’s secret escort had been driven away from them. He wouldn’t be able to see or hear them, and with how small Misha was, the best he could hope to see was the top of her head. With how crowded the area was, it would be perfectly normal to pull one’s face quite close just to converse normally, and since she was so short, they’d have to bend down quite low to do so. That would naturally hide their faces as they spoke. Even someone skilled at lip reading would have no way of figuring out what they were talking about.
This was exactly the opportunity Kite had been waiting for.
He bent down, whispering into her ear, “Misha, please listen carefully.”
She jumped a little at the sensation of his breath on her ear.
“I have a message from the duke. Ryne will be visiting soon, so please wait for him.”
“You mean my uncle?!” Misha gulped.
She hadn’t expected this at all. If she was going to hear anything about Ryne, she’d figured it would come from Miranda. She had left Misha’s side to search for him, after all.
Misha whipped her head around to face him, and Kite had to quickly lean back, narrowly avoiding an unintentional headbutt. It was at that moment Misha realized precisely how close Kite was, and she yelped in surprise.
“Oh, I’m sorry! Wait, no,” she instinctively apologized before correcting herself. She needed to get as much information about Ryne as possible while she still could. “My uncle visited my father? And he’s coming here? Why?”
As she tried to turn around and face him properly, Kite held her tight, stopping her. Slowly and gently, he guided her forward to keep moving with the crowd.
“Calm down. We don’t want news about your family getting out, right? Not even to your escort, so keep quiet.”
She tilted her head as she got a glance at the trouble clear on Kite’s face. She had declined to take an escort with her because she knew she’d be with Kite. She had bid that escort farewell at the library once Kite had shown up, but he was talking as if the escort was still watching her.
“I don’t think they have any ill intent, but there’s no harm in being careful. That’s why I need you to calm down, keep facing forward. With this many people around, your escort will probably only be able to catch glimpses of your hair and nothing more.”
Misha finally realized why Kite was bringing this up now. When they were in the castle, they had no idea who was listening or from where. Besides, the maids were always around. Even their present excursion, where the two of them were alone, had been met with quite a bit of opposition, such as “A boy and a girl of your ages spending time alone together will start unseemly rumors.” Misha had to laugh at that.
If Kite had brought up Ryne in that environment, news that another one of the People of the Forest was approaching would have reached the king’s ears in an instant. Whether that was acceptable or not was up to Ryne to decide, and so Misha didn’t think it was her place to reveal his presence. After all that had happened, she had come to understand that the People of the Forest didn’t like their own presence being made public.
“When is he coming?” she asked softly, facing forward as Kite had instructed.
“I don’t know. But when he visited the duke, he sent a mail bird ahead of him, so he will likely give you the same courtesy. Apparently, Ryne arrived at the duke’s estate four days after we departed, so if he left to come see you immediately, I expect he’ll be here in about that long,” he replied, voice just as quiet.
Though the noise of the crowd around them all but drowned out his whispers, they were standing close enough that she could hear him strangely well.
“Oh, so Kyne is with him.” Misha’s eyes twinkled as she thought about the friend she had left behind in the forest. She had raised her from an egg, so she was very much family to her.
Misha knew Ryne had a soft spot for Kyne as well. Her uncle had happened to be visiting on the day she hatched, so he had been dragged into helping take care of the newborn bird. There was a reason “Ryne” and “Kyne” were only one letter off from each other.
She couldn’t stop herself from beaming as she remembered her mother talking about them. “She’s named after someone incredibly free-spirited. There’s no doubt she’ll grow up to fly freely through the skies.”
“Okay. I’ll put something in my window so Kyne can find me easily. Thank you for telling me, Kite.”
Misha giggled. She had thought it was strange for someone like Kite to be interested in a tourist trap like the cathedral, but now it all made sense. He must have wanted the crowds here to hide the two of them from Misha’s escort, who she hadn’t expected to follow them.
Kite gave her a confused look.
“I thought it was weird you wanted to see the cathedral,” Misha explained. “But this is what you were after, wasn’t it?”
“Well...I still underestimated just how many people were going to be here. The festival season is more than I bargained for.” He sighed, shielding Misha from the throng pressing in on all sides. “Oh well. It’s too late to escape the crowd, so we’ll have to see it through to the end. I’m sure it’ll be a funny story later.”
His lackadaisical attitude made her laugh again. “The sculptures there are really beautiful, you know!” Misha insisted. “Hmm, but I don’t know if we’ll really have the time to appreciate them.” She looked back up at him. “Once we’re out of here, I’ll treat you to a drink. I know a place with some great juice.”
“I’ll look forward to it.” He replied to Misha’s carefree smile with a wry one of his own, finally able to relax now that his final mission was complete.
Misha left a small bundle of dried flowers on the windowsill of her bedroom in the small cabin in the garden. It was good for keeping the bugs out, so there was nothing particularly unnatural about the display—not even if someone were to notice the dried fruit on a stick right in the middle of them all.
It was one of Kyne’s favorites, something Misha used to give her as a treat back in the forest. She was sure that a bird as smart as Kyne would notice it.
The breeze coming in from the open window was still warm, reminiscent of the heat of the day. Luckily, it hadn’t rained, but nature had traded that for the unseasonably harsh sun. On the bright side, that made the juice even tastier, so it wasn’t all bad.
Once they had actually made it into the cathedral, they’d had much more time to enjoy themselves than Misha had first expected. Kite had seemed a bit embarrassed about his lack of knowledge of art; even so, he had been enraptured by the sculptures lining the hallways. And though Misha had been there once before, on a second viewing, she picked up a great many new details, so it was great fun for the both of them.
Afterward, they had gone shopping for souvenirs. Kite was happy to just pick up any random thing that was currently popular, but Misha had been insistent they get something tailored specifically to each person. They had ended up having an enjoyable time wandering around all kinds of shops.
Misha reached for her hair. She had bundled it up under her hat, but now it was hanging loose on her shoulders and swaying in the night breeze, aside from a small bit pinned up with a pale-pink flower hairpin.
Kite had given her a present as a thank-you for taking him around the city. When she brought it home and opened it, she’d been surprised to find it was an item she had singled out as particularly cute while they were shopping. He must have bought it behind her back.
The soft cloth hairpin, folded and arranged in the shape of flower petals, was perfect for Misha’s gentle personality. Though there was no one to show it off to, she was so happy, she had to stick it in her hair immediately. She laughed again, thinking back on her haste. She couldn’t help feeling a bit abashed now, but it wasn’t unpleasant.
The night breeze brought the scent of dried flowers hanging in the window back into the room.
“Maybe I’ll make him some potpourri as a thank-you gift.” He often worked outside, so the bug repellant effects might come in handy. “Or maybe he’d prefer something like pain medicine? But that’s not very cute...”
Misha muttered to herself as she stared up at a beautiful moon hanging in the night sky.
Chapter 22: Her First Ball (Part 1)
“I’m so nervous, I feel like I’m going to throw up,” Misha murmured. She was already in her dress with her hair perfectly arranged.
The ball was soon to begin. After a light lunch, Misha had been hauled away by the maids to be done up properly. Normally, they tried something similar after she had a bath but would give up if she refused. This time, however, they very much forced her to comply—by begging her in tears. They left her skin smooth and sparkling all over before wrapping her up in her formal dress. For a girl who preferred the kind of clothes that commoners wore, this formal style with a corset was a considerable challenge for her.
“You are already quite slender, so we didn’t have to tie it so tightly,” Isabella said with a gentle expression as she worked on Misha’s hair.
Misha met the maid’s gaze through the mirror and shrugged. “That’s not really the problem...”
“Oh, but it is. Some people need us to call in the men to come and tie it up for us! Your corset is really just for the aesthetic,” Tia added as she started laying out the accessories Misha would be wearing.
Misha’s shoulders slumped. “If you tie it that tight, people will have breathing and circulation problems.”
“True,” Isabella said, “but we’re always ready for that with emergency rooms, waiting for the inevitable few to pass out.”
In any place, at any time in history, women were always willing to push just a little bit too far in pursuit of beauty, the maids explained to a stunned Misha.
“Okay, you’re ready.”
Looking up, Misha saw that her hair, usually left partially down, was now fully arranged behind her head, leaving her slender neck on full display. Though it didn’t reach into the territory of “alluring,” she was definitely beautiful enough to garner considerable attention.
The unfamiliar hairstyle took her aback, but her misgivings were immediately blown away when one of the maids leaned in.
“Excuse my hands,” she said, placing something around Misha’s neck. The sparkling green jewelry lay just above her décolletage. “As I thought, your hair being in an updo like this really brings out the beauty of the necklace.” Nodding in approval, the maids then added the matching earrings.
When Misha had received the jewelry, she had been unable to fight the urge to try them for herself, so she had asked the maids about them. She had been worried, since it might have thrown off the ensemble they had arranged for her already, but in the end, they had matched the dress Lalaya prepared for her perfectly, so the maids accepted the request enthusiastically. In exchange, she had been forced to sit through a lengthy session of “experimentation” with her hair, on top of a dress rehearsal of the outfit.
Ultimately, they had ended up needing to alter the neckline of the dress to match. Misha felt bad for putting more work on the maids’ shoulders, but such last-minute alterations were par for the course, so they didn’t think much of it. In fact, the seamstresses had been overjoyed when Misha gave them some hand cream in return.
Their work complete, Isabella and Tia sighed in admiration.
“You really are beautiful.”
“Isn’t she, though?”
Misha stared at her own reflection, almost ignoring the maids behind her. With her usually loose hair tied up behind her head and all the makeup they had put on her, she felt like the image in the mirror resembled her mother more than it did herself. The emerald necklace solidified the impression, reminding her very clearly of the picture of her mother in her wedding dress.
