Ravissant

Antequam Reditus - Before The Return

Antequam Reditus - Before The Return

Fortem grabbed two apples from the banquet table while Milos followed him. He suddenly stopped walking causing Milos to bump on his back. Her mind was definitely somewhere else.

“Sorry Captain,” Milos was surprised. Fortem barely felt the pressure of Milos’ body on his back. He slowly turned and looked at Milos. She was standing like how soldiers should address their superiors - feet slightly apart with both hands on the back.

Fortem handed Milos the apple. “Here, have something to eat.” He said.

Milos took the apple then went back to her soldier stance and said, “Thank you, Captain.”

“Soldier, could you relax and be normal,” Fortem said, in an authoritative voice.

Milos was slightly surprised but immediately relaxed from her stern look and stance.

“There, much better,” Fortem said. “Now eat the apple and follow me to Emma’s place,” Fortem said, turned his back from Milos, and continued walking.

Milos chewed on her apple and followed Fortem.

The noise from the festivities slowly faded as Milos followed Fortem to the needle woman’s house. They needed to have clothes for tomorrow’s mission and they were forbidden to use magic while inside the mundane world. They do not want to cause any problem or expose themselves to Gilgamesh.

The only magic allowed for them to use as they scout the mundane world is the magic that they will use to open the door at the Edge of the Earth.

After a few more minutes of walking, they finally arrived at Emma’s place. It is one of the nearest homes close to the castle.

Emma lived in a small hut. Fortem knocked.

She heard a woman coughing, walking towards the door. It was Emma.

Emma is one of the famous needlewomen in the kingdom. She has sewn several clothes for the Queen. She even remembered that during their eighth birthday. Neonella wore a dress that Emma made, a gift for her aunt, Queen Belvedere.

It has been years since she last saw Emma. She still looks young, almost as young as her mother. However, she knew that Emma was already more than a century old. She was one of the original elders of Omnia. A respected member of their community.

“Ah, just right on time as always.” She said to Fortem as if she was already expecting him.

Fortem took off his bascinet. It showed his long red hair tied in knots. His Elvin's ears were exposed.

Milos removed her bascinet too. Her hair tied in a bun, now dyed black, a choice she made when she officially became a part of the Elvin army. She used to have long white hair. She kept her hair long but didn’t want too much attention drawn to her. Olethea who had dark brown hair always envied her beautiful white Elvin locks.

Neonella on the other hand kept her dark green hair. Even as one of the Captains of the Elvin army, she didn’t opt to color her black. This made her even more noticeable. Some even called her the Dark Green Monster Slayer.

She, Milos, on the other hand, wanted people to forget about her. Forget about the young girl who caused the monsters of Omnia to escape. How come they have forgiven Neonella while continuously despising her.

Fortem called her name. “Milos,” prompting her to follow and enter Emma’s home.

“Come you two. There is a lot of work to be done.” Emma urged them to enter the room. “Please remove your cloaks.”

Emma immediately went to work. She started by taking Milos’s measurements, then Fortem’s.

“Now, help me understand how you would want these clothes to look,” Emma told them.

Milos walked towards Emma’s working table, “May I?” She asked for permission before picking up a pen.

She scribbled the clothing that she had when she entered the mundane world. She was good at sketching. Not as good as Neonella who had the hands of a painter, but good enough to give Emma a clear idea of how human clothes looked like.

Milos also drew one for Fortem. She remembered Lucas, the human they met when they entered the Old World for the second time. He wore something shorter for his bottoms but for Fortem, she drew something longer, something similar to their army bottoms, but wider.

Their inner armor was tight, close to the skin. This exposes their lean muscles, a symbol of their hard training as soldiers of the Elvin army. All the bulk you see during battle and ceremonies in the castles were metals. They were too heavy to carry unless you were trained to carry their weight.

She continued sketching. Fortem looked at her drawing. He looked pleased.

Emma looked at her sketch. “You have a talented child,” She said, touching her hands tenderly.

Emma’s hands were cold. Or maybe she already forgot how touching someone else’s skin felt.

“Can you describe to me the type of material used for these items, the color used?” Emma asked, holding Milos by the arm leading her to walk towards her working area. There were different types of textiles there.

“May I,” She asked Emma. Milos learned never to touch anything without permission the hard way. After all her realizations after what happened to Olethea, she made sure to avoid any physical contact with anyone. She kept her distance from people and things. She only touched what was allowed.

“Go on, child.”

There were a lot of textiles, all arranged in cabinets, the table, and another table that looks like where Emma sewed clothes.

Her younger self would call these textiles pretty. But the soldier in her now chose to pick darker colors. Colors that will not make her stand out. She carefully arranged the textiles that she saw similar to what they wore back in the mundane world. She marked each one and then marked her sketch for Emma’s reference.

Fortem saw the textiles that she chose. “Aren’t those colors too dark?” He asked Milos.

“I think we are too old for bright colors,” Milos replied.

Fortem went silent. “Could you get our horses from the castle?” He instead told Milos. “Bring them here, we will go to Silver Rock.” He added.

Milos was surprised by the sudden dismissal but followed what Fortem said. She picked her cloak and bascinet. She gave Fortem a salute before leaving Emma’s home.

“What a sad child she is,” Emma told Fortem. Milos was already out and didn’t hear what the needlewoman had to say.

“She is a rather sad one.” Fortem agreed. “And with that, could you change some of these materials with a brighter color?” Fortem added. “A little bit of color will not compromise our mission.”

“I agree,” Emma said and began sewing.

“I shall leave you then,” Fortem said, picking up his cloak and bascinet. “I shall return later tonight as we leave for the Old World as soon as the sun rises,” he informed Emma.

“Do not worry, I’ll be done before the sun sets.”

Fortem went outside and walked towards the castle.