It was already morning the next day; I was admiring the gentle snowfall as I finished a silly request from a local farmer. The elder woman wanted me to pull weeds from her garden fields as she prepared them for the upcoming spring.
The gentle elderly woman had overpaid me because she didn't remember how much it was supposed to be. I tried to return the payment, but she insisted I keep the sackful of coins, saying it'd be too much work for her to make the exact change.
I strolled proudly along the canal, following it back to the Guild Tavern to turn in my request form.
As I made my way, I saw a girl sitting slumped as she held up a sign reading, "Homeless, Master OFFLINE for 15 days, left and abandoned, please help."
Very few merchants, players, and adventurers pass by, dropping a silver coin or maybe even 2 coppers into her little bowl. The girl was wearing a maid's outfit paired with steel armor that covered her waist; her attire resembled that of a gothic maid, and she wore no gloves. Most people passed and ignored her.
I looked at her. I paused. She reminded me of myself before I met Omega. Abandoned by the very world that doesn't forgive. Before I could take a step forward, a group of thugs kicked her bowl, causing the coins to scatter.
The maid didn't go pick them up; instead, she just remained seated. Hope all gone, and a blank stare at the road as if this was her punishment. The thugs laughed and joked as they took a few of the coins and walked away. The maid sighed as she slowly picked up the ones closer to her and put them back into the bowl.
I walked on over. Drop the entire sack into the bowl.
PLACK!
She gasped; the maid startled, looking up from my dragon greaves. The clouds started parting as the snow stopped, and the sun came out, shining from behind me, casting my silhouette as a shadow over her as she stared in amazement, wonder, and shock. Then her eyes met mine. I smiled as I then walked proudly to the Guild Tavern. Unbeknownst to me, the maid had picked up her belongings and followed me silently without me hearing her.
At the Guild Tavern, things were chaotic as ever. Tim and Tina were arguing with John and Shadowhunter over whose turn it was to pay for the Sundae. The guild receptionist was engaged in a calculation for a request form for another party group. People were arm wrestling and comparing spell tomes.
I entered the establishment, sighing from the completion. I made my way towards the guild receptionist to turn in my request form. The maid silently follows me with her head down in embarrassment.
"Welcome, how may-" The guild receptionist freezes as she points at the maid. "Who is that behind you?"
I turned back and squealed in fear. Surprise that she was there.
The maid bows to both of us as we acknowledge her presence.
"When did you get a new servant?" I joked with the guild receptionist, laughing. "She sure startled me."
"Please, master, command me as you wish," the maid bluntly requested.
"Wow, she's even asking for you to TELL her what to do, amazing!" I clapped.
"Me-Me!? I think she was referring to YOU!! THE GUILD MASTER WILL KILL ME!!" the guild receptionist frightfully panicked.
I then stopped clapping…
Eh?
The maid then bows once more, this time directly towards me.
The guild receptionist then grabs me by the shoulder to a PRIVATE DISCUSSION, "Isn't this the maid that's been outside on the streets begging for money?"
I nodded my head with great pride, like in those older cartoons.
The guild receptionist eyes the maid, then back to me, "How much…did you give her?"
With proud determination, I answered, "THE ENTIRE SACK!"
The maid overheard us while handing me and the guild receptionist the sack of coins, "If it's alright, I don't want the money…on the condition that you are responsible for me going forward…"
I immediately pushed the sack of money towards her, "Please-please take it, I'm sure you're hungry, and you need a place to sleep as well, PLEASE JUST DON'T INVOLVE ME!!"
"You already committed to taking care of me, YOU MIGHT AS WELL FOLD!" the maid said as she pushed the sack towards me.
I pushed back harder, "YOU WERE THE ONE WITH THE SIGN ASKING FOR HELP, NOT ASKING FOR ADOPTION!!"
The maid pushed back harder, "YOU'RE THE ONE WHO DECIDED TO GO BEYOND THE SIGN!!"
The guild receptionist looked back and forth as she didn't know whose side to help.
Tim and Tina's eyes suddenly sparkled as they intervened.
Tim speaking proudly as he puts his hand onto the sack, "Ladies, ladies, there's plenty of Tim to go around, but how about FIRST in line being that we pay our dues to LORD TIM who stalled the abductors from kidnapping Missy here!?"
The maid, the guild receptionist, and I stared at Tim in utter disgust.
Tina had her hand on her forehead as she shook it in utter embarrassment, "Why don't we settle this on the account of a game of rock-paper-scissors?"
The maid lets go of the sack as I tumble onto the floor with it; she then stands upright, "And if I win?"
Tim and Tina startled, "Well…well uhh…"
The guild receptionist intervenes while smiling, "Then you can stay with MISSY!"
In an instant, the guild receptionist's face twists into a dark, smug gremlin, "However, if you lose…be prepared to THINK OF ALL THE TRAGEDIES OF THE WORLD THAT BEHOLDS YOU…" (the environment turns dark as she says this).
Her expression changes immediately, becoming cheerful and happy, "So HOW ABOUT IT??"
The maid looks at the floor, then she decides as she steps forward.
Her hands then started glowing a blue hue, and two spell circles formed around her wrists as she took a stance, "Fine, I shall determine my own future with these hands of mine!"
"Fine!" I got up, handing the sack with coins to the guild receptionist, "I'm not scared!!"
I stood in front of the maid, my gauntlets releasing black flames as tiny little bubbles formed, and I took a stance, ready to play rock-paper-scissors as well.
By now, the tavern had quieted down, and everyone was focusing on the biggest gamble of ROCK-PAPER-SCISSORS.
Tim then explained (like a referee), "Remember, no spells, no buffs, NO BITING…this is a ONE-ROUND ROCK-PAPER-SCISSORS! …BEGIN!!!"
The maid and I both said in unison, "ROCK-PAPER-SCISSORS!!!!"
We both flashed down what we picked. I had scissors, and the maid had paper. Everyone gasped.
The maid froze. She was shocked, stunned. "I-I lost…"
I immediately took her open palm hands that were still open from her "Paper" and presented her like something I won at the carnival game to the Guild Receptionist while asking, "So what should I name her?"
The guild receptionist sighs but smiles.
The maid was still confused, "B-but I lost?"
I smiled at her and winked. "Yeah, you lost your past! Now you're going to make your present with us!" I pointed my thumb at myself, Tina, Tim, and the guild receptionist.
Tears then stained the wooden floor where the maid was standing, "Why?" The maid threw both her hands onto her face to hide herself.
"What did I do wrong, master?" She asked.
I didn't want to see her cry anymore, so I was about to pull her close before stopping, realizing my flames might react to burning her. I then gestured to the guild receptionist to hold her.
The guild receptionist held her gently as she sobbed uncontrollably.
The maid then uttered as she sobbed and buried herself into the guild receptionist's chest, "Please don't leave me alone anymore, I don't want to be alone anymore..."
Tina then reaches to tug on the maid's apron, "Well, don't worry, Missy! You're not alone anymore! You have Tim and me!"
The maid stopped immediately as she stared at all the faces in the tavern: Tim, Tina, John, Shadowhunter, the guild receptionist, the guild master, the other people in the tavern, and finally made eye contact with me, being the last one next to her.
"W-why?" she uttered.
I sigh, "Maybe I just see something different in you. Something that probably says you'll change. Make things wonderful, care for others, and do something wonderful to help others. Perhaps even contribute to the Guild and its laws, help defend those who are defenseless, and save those who are in need." I say so proudly. I remember those words, Noobie… Those very same words that gave me the mercy to shape me into who I've become today.
"You…you truly mean that?" the maid asks me with teary eyes.
I smiled, "I know so. For if it wasn't for the same person to say the same thing about me, I wouldn't be here today…"
The maid gets up to stand on her own; she bows in courtesy, looking directly at me with her head low, "Master, please name me as I am masterless…"
I didn't know any good names.
Then the Guild receptionist suggests one, "Why not call her, Cerelia? Since it's almost spring, and weren't you helping an elder take out some weeds?"
Hmm…Cerelia? I like it…like spring and rebirth, right? Just like how I was cleaning and pulling out weeds earlier today.
"Your new name is...Cerelia!!" I declared as I pointed my Scepter spear at the maid.
The maid's eyes lit up as her sadness faded, and a smile spread across her face.
Cerelia bowed once more, this time more formally, while she held both angles of her skirt high.
"WELCOME CERELIA, TO THE GUILD TAVERN!!" everyone shouted at the top of their voice, as they all went RIGHT back to what they were doing before the rock-paper-scissors game. Arm wrestling and buying drinks and comparing spell tomes, along with a bit of joking.
"Hey, Cerelia, did you want a Sundae or an Apple drink?" an adventurer sitting with Tim, Tina, John, and Shadow Hunter asked.
I would nod towards Cerlia as she looked at me, uncertain how to respond; upon seeing my nod, she'd then quickly join Tina, Tim, John, and Shadow Hunter with a few other adventurers to share joy in drinks and jump to sing.
"Great, now I can tend to myself," I said to myself.
The guild receptionist stared at me as I walked past. She had one hand on her cheek, bracing her jaw and smirking, "That declaration…I remember it, and I remember whom it was that said it…hehe."
I snapped my teeth. "Sh-shut up!" I replied.
The guild master then adds, "She's definitely not the same girl that came here trapped in a bubble, eh?"
The guild receptionist laughs, "No, sir, she definitely isn't, haha."
Whatever, I ignored them and made my way up to my room, as I couldn't take off the armor anymore, nor the greaves. So, I lay on my stomach on the bed and began writing in my diary.
Hmm, the night sky…is very cold. Noobie, Exile, and Kit are OFFLINE. Hopefully, they're doing well in the other world.
As the Guild Tavern quieted down as the hours passed late into the night, Cerelia came to my room. She knocked very quietly and politely.
"Come in," I answered while finishing my diary.
Cerelia entered, brushed herself, then bowed in courtesy, and proceeded to sit on the floor next
to my bed.
Startled, I stood up and gestured for her to sit on the bed. She shook her head in disapproval as I then said, "I ORDER you to behave and SIT on the bed."
She nodded her head in haste and obeyed.
I then sighed, "Cerelia?"
"Yes-yes, master?" Cerelia answered with a bit of hesitation and fear.
"I'm unable to touch you or get close to you with this armament on me…I don't know how to take it off…therefore, you MUST sleep on the bed, understood?" I informed her.
Cerelia, upon hearing me, shakes her head quickly, refusing to take the bed. I was going to order her to take the bed, but I didn't want to scare her any further…she was mine to take care of now, and I had to show her gently and kindly how a person should be treated.
"Cerelia?" I gestured her forward.
She stepped forward. I pushed her gently using my scepter spear's butt, causing her to land on the bed. Cerelia, surprised, tried to get back up, but I pinned her down with the scepter as I stared at her and made eye contact with her.
"Please, Cerelia…" I begged her.
Cerelia then smiles and holds me in place on her chest, disregarding the distance as we touch, and her wrist glows with blue hues of a spell circle.
Wait…I…Wasn't I burning her? The flames didn't activate?
I sat up immediately, with Cerelia sitting up in confusion, "Master, what's wrong?"
"M-my flames…they're not…triggering or burning you!?" I stuttered in confusion.
Cerelia looked at the palms of her hands that touched me, then at herself, and shook her head. She was fine. No flames present, nothing was burning her.
Why did the flames burn Noobie? And not Cerelia? I pondered over the thought.
"Master…master, may I test something? Perhaps it MAY answer your question?" Cerelia suggested.
I nodded as I turned around. Cerelia focused and breathed, then let out a breath, as the spell circles glowed once more around both her wrists. She then slowly but gently removed my dragon gauntlet, revealing my hand to my forearm.
No burning, no flames.
Cerelia managed to remove part of my armor without getting burned. I didn't know what was going on.
"I-I'm sorry, Master, I'll put your gauntlet back on," Cerelia said in haste.
"No…no keep it off…if you don't mind…are you able to take off my crown on my head?"
Cerelia nodded as she carefully and gently removed the crown, the dragon horns, and the gliders, sliding off gracefully.
I was bewildered, but now, seeing it up close. I noticed Cerelia's spell circles around her wrist were deactivating the black flames. Every time she touched the armor or something close by with magical properties, her wrists glowed with blue spell circles that negated the magic's priorities.
"Cerelia…who gave you that glow on your wrists, the spell circles?" I asked as she removed my greaves.
Cerelia stared at her wrists in question, but then replied, "My old master did, he said it'd keep me safe."
I sighed, a painful sigh. Perhaps it was her fate or her curse; either way, I didn't ponder it further.
She got my armor off me and then dressed me in proper sleepwear. Once Cerelia was done, I immediately told her to take the bed.
"Master…master, I-I can't do so…I'm not allowed to-" Cerelia stuttered.
"I-I guess we'll have to share then..." I said, quickly going to the side opposite Cerelia to lie on it.
I gestured for her to lie down next to me.
Cerelia hesitated before I removed the cover blocking her side. She then relaxed, took off her maid headband, and lay next to me, her back brushed against mine.
I felt like she couldn't sleep.
Then I heard her…quietly sobbing as she shook quietly and gently.
I slowly turned myself to her back and held her as she slowly drifted to sleep.
I stayed awake as I stared at her wrists glowing blue, the same blue spell circle.
I'd drift off to sleep knowing that she and I were safe.