"My apologies, Lord Soren," he stated shyly, "I was focused on cleaning up. It is late after all. And you brought a guest? What a strange night on the eve of the festival."
Soren chuckled, "It's fine, Ike. Emory, meet my cousin Ike and uncle Gwain. Family, please meet my new friend, Emory."
"You're not from around here, are you, Miss?" Ike asked as his eyes darted around different areas of her face, "I don't know if red is even a natural hair color, let alone one I can remember seeing dyed. It is stunning, if I could be so bold to say."
"Thank you, sir. I can assure you it is all natural," Emory blushed as she realized she had been flying around all day and been nowhere near a mirror. Indeed, if she could have seen how crazy her curls were right now, she might have fainted.
"Don't embarrass my guest, Ike. This is the first food she's trying in the city," Soren hissed, "We'll take two specials with the green sauce please." Ike gulped, nodded, and turned to join his father by the woks.
Emory turned to Soren and leaned on the countertop, "So what kind of food did you just order me? I can't imagine we have the same plants and animals as you do."
"It's called Terran with kernels. Basically, you fry battered bird meat, some sweet and sour fruits and vegetables in one of the sauces and then put it on top of a bed of small grains," Soren explained, "It's one of my favorite foods, and I try to support my cousin whenever I can."
"That's nice of you. It smells good around here to say the least. Back where I'm from, it reminds me of something called Asian cuisine, which I also enjoy," Emory took a deep breath in.
"Arcadia doesn't have a lot of food like this because it's from our side of the planet," Soren added, "But his stand is doing well. How long have you been here now, Ike?"
Ike called back without turning around, "Four months. If the festival goes well, I might look at getting a bigger stand in a month or two."
"What made you want to open a food stand?" Emory inquired as she unwrapped what she assumed would be silverware, "Back home, starting a new business is a lot of work."
"I've always enjoyed making people happy, and people seemed to like the food I made. Plus, I needed to get my mind off the red card I got," Ike shrugged, still not turning back to them.
"A red card means you're ineligible for the military," Soren whispered, "Ike has what's called an incomplete core, one of the only conditions we can't fix."
Emory nodded, "Well, the military's loss is our gain because the food smells delicious." A couple minutes later, Ike set a bowl of sorts in front of them with something that looked like wild rice. Then he brought the wok over and scooped half of the food into each bowl respectively. Steam rose from the completed dish, and sweet scents permeated the air around them. She picked up a utensil that was shaped like a spork and scooped a spoonful into her mouth. It tasted similar to sweet and sour chicken with some tart cherries and soy sauce. "This is really good," she complimented Ike, "It's got a wide range of tasty flavors. Tell me more about Terran."
"We raise them in farms for pretty much all their parts. Their eggs are also a big part of our diet, so the meat we get comes from males and older females. It's also the only protein you can find on all our planets as we like it so much, we've migrated them across the galaxy with us," Soren said in broad strokes.
"Soren, who did you bring in here? It sounds like you're talking to an alien," Ike joked before he surveyed their straight faces, "Are you really? I'm so sorry! Well, welcome to Arcadia!" He immediately began hyperventilating with the realization that an unknown race was getting their first Elandrian food from his food stand.
Emory laughed, "It's okay. I wouldn't really consider your people to be alien to us. Mythical would be more appropriate."
"You have stories about us?" Ike stuttered, "That is incredible! I hope they're good stories."
"You didn't mention this earlier. Tell me more about these stories," Soren pretended to pout.
"In our stories, you're called the Fae. Most of the stories stem from a few thousand years ago and paint you as beings of magik and freedom," Emory grinned, "Basically, with your vast magik, you are gods or demons, depending on the story. But those were considered to be a myth before quite recently, like the last week."
Ike rubbed his chin, "That's wild. I can't believe there are people out there beside the Apleem that remember us. It seems like we've been at war forever. I assume you've heard of the Apleem before?"
"I have. Even fought a few myself already," Emory clenched her fist, "I'm here as a representative of my people to join yours in the conflict. Though we're not as numerous as them or as powerful as you, we've got moxie."
"I think any new help in the fight will turn the battle in our favor. Eleven hundred years is a long time to be at war," Soren optimistically said.
"Soren's right, especially if you all have heart," Ike added, "Still, we'll need to deal with her, and that won't be easy by the time we make it deep into enemy territory."
Soren growled at the direction the conversation was going now, "Enough about the war; it's the eve of the festival. Which events are you going to?"
"Well, the light show midweek for sure. I'll probably go to the rodeo too," Ike considered, "Otherwise, I'll have to be here working. Most of the events are in this area; it'll be great for business."
"What kind of events does this festival have? We won't be stuck inside the whole time, right?" Emory suggested.
"No, we break every evening," Soren admitted, "Every night, there's a different event. There's a rodeo the first night and some other skill challenges the following few nights. Then on the fourth night, there's an aerial display of sorts. The rest of the nights there are people performing. Does that sound like fun?"
Emory cheered, "That sounds like a great idea! I'd love to experience more of the culture while I'm here."
They finished eating the food and thanked Ike for a delicious meal. Since they were both heading to the same building, they formed wings and flew off into the night. To Soren's surprise, Athos was standing outside the building with a nervous expression on his face as he paced back and forth. He rushed over to them as soon as they landed.
"Emory, you're safe!" Athos exclaimed, "At first, I thought you may have been just taking your time somewhere, but now it's rather late. I see you've met Lord Soren."
"Lord Athos, I apologize for keeping your honored guest out so late. We lost track of time talking," Soren bowed slightly.
"It's quite alright; I was just worried that she had gotten lost," Athos assured him before turning to Emory, "Did you enjoy Arcadia? It's good you found a friend your age to see the sights with you."
Emory nodded, "Lord Soren was a very gracious host. The city is quite exciting."
"I'm glad you had a good time. Let's get you to your room," Athos beckoned her, "While getting everything ready, I came across a book you might be interested in and laid it on your bed."
"Thank you for showing me around, Soren. I'll see you tomorrow," Emory turned to Soren and bowed slightly. Soren smiled and bowed in return before teleporting away, leaving Athos and Emory to walk alone to her room. "I was surprised to find one of the Five close to my age," Emory mentioned as they walked, "He's quite strong."
Athos smirked, "In combat, he's an absolute beast. He's earned his place among the Five. What did you two discuss, if I may so bold as to ask?"
"A lot of about magik and quite a bit about our homes as well. He clarified some questions I had about the Elandrian and the Five," Emory detailed, "Then we had Terran with kernels at a little stand downtown and talked about the festival."
"Oh yes, the festival. I had hoped you would come enjoy yourself there. Our meetings will only last until midafternoon, so you'll have plenty of time to roam after that. We try to have a celebration when all the leaders are meeting because it helps the people to think about something besides us," Athos explained.
"It sounds like the ones we have in the Sol System," Emory added, "I'm looking forward to it and seeing Lord Soren again."
Athos grinned, "I've never seen you act this way towards another person, Emory. Are you developing feelings for Soren?"
"What? No, it's not like that," Emory scoffed, "He's just very kind, and as I said before, there are not many people with my strength and my age. It's hard for me to find someone who can understand a little bit of what I'm going through."
"Sure, sure. And it's just an added bonus that he's tall and good-looking?" Athos laughed as he stopped in front of a door on the third floor.
"Is he? I didn't really notice," Emory was flustered, "Enough about him; tell me about this book you found."
Athos chuckled harder, "It's just inside. This is your room." He pushed open the door to reveal a luxurious room in the same color scheme as the rest of the mansion. A bed bigger than a king-sized was positioned carefully in one back corner partially hidden by the oversized wardrobe to the side. Across from the bed were panes of obscured glass that covered up a rain shower and personal hot tub. All the sheets and blankets looked like they were made of something like silk. And on the edge of the bed was a small leather-bound book. Emory rushed over and read the cover: gifts of future sight.
"What is this?" Emory asked with sparkles in her eyes, "Is this like a spellbook for gifts?"
"Sort of. Since even though two people may have the same gift and not express it the same way, it has some general tips for how to improve your ability to activate your gifts. It doesn't tell you exactly how to activate it, just ways to help you learn it yourself. I thought you might find it useful," Athos smiled.
"Thank you, Athos. I appreciate you lending this to me," Emory picked up the book and started flipping through it, "What time do we have to be downstairs tomorrow?"
Athos warned, "We'll start the ceremonies at dawn, so don't stay up all night looking through what I've given you. Tomorrow will be a long, boring day."
"Very well," Emory clicked her tongue as she shut the book, "I'll wait in the downstairs foyer for you in the morning." Athos bowed slightly before leaving the room and shutting the door tightly. Emory moved over to the wardrobe and found undergarments and robes, each set a different color. She wondered if the colors were for particular days, but since Athos didn't mention it, she didn't think about it for very long. After quickly deciding which set she wanted to wear tomorrow, she turned on the hot tub and stripped down to nothing before hopping in. With the jets on her back, her troubles melted away with the bubbles as she slowly relaxed. Time ticked away as she forgot about all the problems surrounding her and relaxed in the heat of the water. Finally, she got out, changed into a provided night gown, and curled up under the blankets where it only took a few minutes before she had peacefully fallen asleep.