Nonfiction

spring of the 217th year - Chamonix, Cubecraft

Chamonix is the other small town right next to Cubecraft City, in the exact opposite corner as Marseille is. It gave off similar feelings to the average visitor - cute little houses, light green grass, watermills, kind residents, and always a peaceful stillness in the air.

The difference was that Marseille was filled with very, very smart kids, every single day, as the most prestigious school in Cubecraft District was there - and the House of Lapine was also looming over their residents’ every move. (Well, their residence is practically next to the town.)

Twelve year old Lyra wasn’t sure if she was smart or not, but she was always grateful she lived in Chamonix. Living in the city seemed too crowded, and Marseille would obviously be a more anxious place to be in.

She walked to school every weekday and spent her spare time reading storybooks, daydreaming of being a heroine in one of those stories, helping out in the town, or working in her mother’s bakery. 

Today was a Friday, which means no school for the next two days. That always made Lyra happy and relax a little more. She could leave her homework until tomorrow to do, and she could spend a little extra time in the village.

The sun was spreading warmth onto the land, and shining, signifying the coming of summer. Lyra stretched a little when she reached the shade underneath the flower gate of the town, and then stepped into the sunlight again.

Today, however, the stillness was interrupted by the little girl running towards her - a panicked expression on her face. Lyra recognized that girl - Kanon, the village’s little sunshine.

“Lyra! Lyra! Please help me!” Kanon stopped in front of Lyra, catching her breath hard.

“What’s wrong?” Lyra asked, kneeling down in order to see eye-to-eye with the eight year old.

“Louis is lost in the forest!” Kanon said in between hard breaths.

“Louis?” Lyra blinked in confusion. There wasn’t anyone named Louis in Chamonix.

“My kite!” Kanon said. 

“You named…” your kite? Lyra smiled. Kanon was so cute and such a sparkle of life to have around town.

Kanon, however, seemed displeased with Lyra’s amused look. “It’s not funny!” Her eyes glimmered under the sunlight with tears that were about to fall. “Mom just bought me him from the city yesterday, I can’t believe I lost him already…”

“Ah…” Lyra patted Kanon on the head repeatedly - she had brown hair too, similar to Lyra’s own, although longer. “Don’t worry, I’ll find him.”

Chamonix does border a forest. Lyra hasn’t been in there since she was nine, though, when Haven - her mother - had taken her to go looking for mushrooms. It was dark and gloomy in there, and Lyra shuddered now at the thought of having to go there again.

She will definitely find Louis for Kanon, though. 

“Which direction did he go?” Lyra asked, turning to the forest.

“Over there!” Kanon pointed at the forest. Not very helpful.

“Can you be more specific?” Lyra tried.

“I just saw him go in there.” Kanon blinked.

“What does he look like?” 

“He’s an owl!” Kanon said, her eyes wide and shiny. “He’s brown!”

Lyra nodded. “I’ll go find him for you.”

She cut through the pebble paths and around the brown houses and green gardens, until she was at the broken yellow fence that once surrounded the town in whole. Now, she can just find a hole and squeeze through.

The forest greeted her after a trek across the field of grass. The trees were in contrast to the light green grass - dark, and gloomy, just like Lyra remembered. She shuddered, and then ducked inside. 

She started looking for signs of the brown owl - perhaps caught on a branch, or stuck to the leaves, but as she kept walking, nothing seemed to look like it.

She kept walking straight for a while, and then turned right after being forced to by a rock, and then tried to return to her path - but the trees seemed to change shapes somehow, and all of a sudden she wasn’t sure if she was on the path anymore.

She swallowed and turned to look around. Something brown seemed to be caught in a bush nearby - and her heart jumped up with excitement, but when she went to move the leaves aside, the little thorns on the bush poked her in the thumb.

Lyra bit back a yelp and moved the leaves aside more carefully. It wasn’t Louis, just a chunk of dirt. It’s too hard to tell through the dim light, with the sun almost completely covered by thick leaves.

She turned to the other side instead. The bush over there seemed suspicious… glimmering with light, somehow. She wondered if anyone had left a flashlight over there, or perhaps it was a mushroom that glowed in the dark.

She - very carefully this time - brushed the leaves aside. The light that came in her eyes was so bright that she had to look away for a solid second before looking back.

Sunlight was glimmering off of a beautiful, light-blue pond, covered in giant, light green lily pads and pink water lilies. The nearby trees were painted with a beautiful brush of light. Lyra’s eyes widened at the sight.

This… place… it’s almost as if it came straight out of a fairytale!

And it was right next to town.

Lyra stumbled through the bushes. The thorns opened her in a couple more places, but it was easy to ignore. She was underneath the sunlight now, taking in the heaven-like forest glade with light in her eyes.

A gray rock stood in the middle of the pond. Lyra squinted, sighting the brown owl-shaped kite caught right on top of it. Louis, there you are! 

But how would Lyra get to it?

It was far too far away for Lyra to reach with a stick, and there’s no convenient stepping stones either, unlike the stories Lyra read…

At least, she thought there wouldn’t be until she saw the huge lily pads lining up around the pond.

Carefully, she knelt down to the ground and reached for the closest lily pad, testing it with her hand to realize that it should be enough to support her weight.

Then, she realized that two, big eyes were blinking up at her. “Ahh!” It scared her and she jumped back.

“Ribbit.” The creature said. It was a frog - the exact same shade of lime green as the lily pad. It blended in.

But it was a cute frog. Its eyes were big and black, its belly was a more lime shade of green than its body, and its cheeks were pink and adorable. So cute! Lyra thought.

Then it jumped back into the pond, making a splash.

Lyra watched for a moment as the water settled. Beneath the clear water, she could see a couple of golden fishes, too. 

She re-focused her attention on the kite, and took a deep breath before stepping onto the first lilypad. It shook underneath her feet, but kept still.

She stepped to the next one - quickly, but not so quick as to tip it over by force. It also kept still.

Step by step, the gray rock in the middle seemed closer. With one final leap, Lyra was on the gray rock - although she had to use all fours to balance herself. 

The rock was bigger than it looked, and Lyra had to climb up a little before she could rest on the top. She was just about to reach for the kite when a frog leaped out of the water - its green body shining in the sunlight - and landed right on her hand with a splat. 

It’s slimy. 

The frog leaped again and landed on Lyra’s face. Lyra tried to cry out, but her mouth was muffled by the frog’s slimy body.

Now an awkward situation is created: in the middle of the pond, a brown-haired girl lying on a gray rock, with a big frog on her face. 

Thankfully it didn’t last, as the frog had decided to land on the nearest lilypad instead.

Lyra shifted her gaze down to look at the frog - it was similar to the first frog she saw, at the edge of the pond, but it had a shining, pink crown on its head.

Then, in front of her very own eyes, the frog started to glow. The pink crown on its head shone more, and its whole body started to change, to grow taller, until it became a human girl around the same size as Lyra. The crown disappeared, replace by an adorable, lime-green frog beanie hat.

“A human!” The now pink-haired girl in front of Lyra said, her strawberry-pink eyes glowing.

“AHHH! It’s talking!” This wasn’t supposed to happen in real life! 

“She’s talking.” The girl crossed her arms. “Respect!”

“Sorry…” Lyra said. “What are you?”

“I’m the one and only supreme frog princess of fairytale land!” The girl said. Her voice was rather high-pitched, reminding Lyra of Kanon, to a degree. Her clothes were light green, and the pink in her hair were like the lily pads around this pond.

She was so beautiful. Lyra couldn’t believe it. 

Since the girl was now just as tall as Lyra, Lyra was looking up to see her eyes. “What’s your name?” She breathed.

“My name is… uh, I’m not telling you it!” The frog princess stammered in her eyes.

Lyra tried to suppress the giant disappointment she felt in her heart. Whatever her name was, it was probably beautiful.

“It’s really nice to meet you,” Lyra said as she reached for Louis again, but her next words were immediately cut off as the frog princess reached down and splashed water on her face.

“You can’t touch that, that’s my treasure!” The frog princess declared.

“That’s Kanon’s kite.” Lyra muttered quietly, although she didn’t try to reach for it again.

“Who’s Kanon?” The frog princess frowned. “You know what, I don’t care. It’s mine now!”

Lyra thought of Kanon again - the look on her face as tears circled in her eyes. “I can’t let you have this.” 

“Hmm… if you really want it, you’ve got to give me something.” The frog princess crossed her arms, a bossy look in her eyes.

“What do you want?” Lyra asked.

“An apple! A green one.” The frog princess said. “I will not take any other colors of apples.”

Lyra squinted. Chamonix did not plant apples, and there weren’t any places nearby where she could just pick a green apple off of a tree. She’d have to go to the city to buy one from the farmers’ market - assuming that the market is still open and she can find a green apple there. But even then, she’d have to ask Haven for money first, and explain why she needs to buy a green apple… it’d all take too long!

“I don’t think I can get a green apple.” Lyra answered at last. “Is there anything else you want?”

The frog princess fell into thought for a moment. The sunlight was behind her from Lyra’s position, lying on the rock - her pink eyes seemed to glitter even more. 

“How about you tell me a story?” She said at last.

“Oh, I’m good at that!” Lyra thought, mentally thinking about some of her favorite stories. “Do you like dragons? Or heroic adventures? Romance? Or perhaps-”

“How about a story about frogs?” The frog princess smiled, showing her sharp - and extremely cute - teeth.

“Oh…” Lyra said. “Okay. I know!”

“Okay, start!” The frog princess looked down at her expectantly.

“Once upon a time,” Lyra began, “There was a spoiled princess.”

“Oooh! Sounds like me! Except I’m not spoiled. Not at all!” The frog princess immediately cut her off. “Oops. Anyways. Go on.”

“She was playing with her golden ball one day, when she accidentally dropped it into the pond.”

“Just like this kite!” 

“A frog appeared in the pond, willing to retrieve the ball, but only if the princess promise to be his friend, and let him eat from her plate, and drink from her cup, and sleep in her bed. The princess reluctantly agreed, and the prince gets the ball for her.”

“That’s just like us! Except there was no golden ball, no plates or cups, no one sleeping in anyone else’s bed, no friendship… never mind, it’s not like us at all.” The frog princess’ face drooped.

Lyra wished, more than anything else, that the “no friendship” part would change.

“Of course, the princess was planning on backing out. She didn’t want to be friends with an ugly frog!” The frog princess’ face scrunched up in indignation when Lyra got to the word ugly. “But when the frog came to visit during dinner the next day, her father made her keep the promise.”

“Good father!” The frog princess declared.

“So the prince ate from her plate, drank from her cup, and at night, slept on her bed. The princess was disgusted! Until the next morning, when she opened her eyes to find that it was not a frog sleeping next to her - instead, a very handsome and charming prince!”

The frog princess frowned. “Why do I feel like that’s not what really happened?”

Lyra shook her head, unwilling to admit that she forgot the very end of the story. “Either way, they had a very happily ever after.”

The frog princess’ eyes lit up. “That was so beautiful!”

Lyra smiled, and reached for Louis again. This time, the frog princess didn’t stop her.

She sat up, ignoring the pain she felt when the hard surface of the rock went against her back. “I should get this kite back to Kanon now…” she didn’t want to leave the magical, beautiful pond, or this beautiful girl in front of her.

“You can’t leave!” The frog princess complained. “I want to hear another story!”

Lyra fell into thought for a moment. “How about I come back and tell you another one tomorrow?”

“Yes PLEASE!” The frog princess said. “Same time?”

Lyra nodded. She stepped onto a lily pad on the side first, before turning around once again to face the frog girl. The beanie on top of her head was so cute, and so were her eyes and hair and all of her other colors. 

The sunlight reflected onto Lyra’s eyes, and she squinted. “I should know your name.”

The frog princess looked surprised, but didn’t seem as defensive as she seemed before when Lyra had asked the same question. “Fine… if you really want to know… my name is Sweetie.”

Lyra smiled. “I’m Lyra!”

“Wait, you don’t think I have a ridiculous name?” Sweetie blinked.

“A little, but it fits you a lot anyways.” Lyra said.

“Hey!” Sweetie called after her.

As Lyra carefully made her way to the edge of the pond, she turned around again to glance at the girl. 

Was it an illusion from the sunlight, or did she now look more faded?

“Come back tomorrow!” Sweetie called, snapping Lyra out of… whatever that was.

“I will!” Lyra waved.

~

“Yay! Louis! He’s back!” Kanon excitedly took the brown owl kite out of Lyra’s hands.

Lyra smiled. Louis was safe now, even though it took Lyra the entire afternoon.

“Thank you so much, Lyra!” Kanon beamed before running off.

Lyra watched, brushing the sweat out of her eyes before looking towards the sun. It’s about time that she went home now.

She walked along the pebble paths until she reached her own house, marked by the rainbow-colored flowers outside the front door that she had planted when she was little. 

Today, Haven, her mother, was waiting for her on the porch, looking worried. Lyra walked up to her. “Is something wrong?”

“Lyra, did you go to the forest all by yourself?” Haven asked, frowning.

“I did, but it was to retrieve Louis!” Lyra said, and then realized that Haven might not know who she was talking about. “Louis is… uh, Kanon’s kite.”

Haven looked confused for about a moment, before seemingly dismissing it with a sigh. “I’m proud of you, but you shouldn’t be going to the forest alone. It’s dangerous.”

Oh, but tomorrow- I already promised her that I would come see her again tomorrow.

She waited until Haven opened the front door, and then stepped inside with her before speaking. “In the middle of the forest there is a beautiful pond, and I met this super cute frog who turned into this princess!”

Haven frowned at first, and then almost immediately smiled instead, amusement glittering in her mint green eyes - a similar shade to Lyra’s, but slightly darker. “Sweetheart, I’m positive you imagined that.”

“I did not!” Lyra said. “She lived in the pond with these other super cute, lime-colored frogs…”

“Lyra, you’re always inside your head like that.” Haven only laughed.

“Mom, stop it!”

~

Lyra went back into the forest the next day, taking a while before finding the bush that opened up to the pond again. 

Sweetie was sitting on the gray-colored rock, her eyes closed as she looked at the sky. “Lyra!! Is that you?” 

“Hi!” Lyra ducked into the sunny glade once again, relishing in its mystifying aura. “I’m back, as promised.”

Sweetie glanced at her as she made her way to the middle of the pond - more sure of the lily pads this time. “So you’re from the outside world, huh?”

Lyra blinked up at her as she supported herself against a side of the rock. “Yeah.” Outside…

“What’s it like in the Cubecraft District?” Sweetie asked.

Why, do you live in this pond? 

“Cubecraft is ruled by our beloved leader, Charlotte, and there are nine royal houses spread around the land, which is split into two.” Lyra began to speak, but was immediately cut off.

“Ooh, what’s she like?”

“Charlotte?” Lyra blinked.

“Yeah!” Sweetie said.

“She has pink hair too… it’s a really similar color to yours. She’s older though, she’s been leader for a really long time.” Eleven years. Lyra added in her mind. “She’s kind and reasonable… and good at what she does.”

“She sounds nice! I hope I can meet her someday.” Sweetie said.

“You can.” Lyra said. Charlotte was always willing to see anyone who wanted to see her… although that does make her pretty busy.

“So why is Cubecraft split into two?” Sweetie asked.

“Well… uhh… there’s water in the middle of it.”

“Oh, like this?” Sweetie dipped her feet into the pond and kicked up a light blue splash.

“Yeah, but there’s a lot of it, and it's really big.”

“Tell me more.” Sweetie’s strawberry-colored eyes sparkled. The frog beanie on top of her head was lime green against the sunlight, and her hair, which fell upon her shoulders, were the most beautiful color of pink. 

“Okay,” Lyra said, a little mesmerized.

The girls switched to lying on the lily pads instead. They comfortably supported their weight and also allowed them to bathe in the sun. It felt so warm, but was too bright in Lyra’s eyes, to the point where she had to close them, as she kept talking to Sweetie about the ocean.

“...and Quintessence is separated by itself, too… so it’s also an island, but they’re bigger than Cubecraft.” The conversation somehow stretched to all the districts in the entire planet. “It’s separated into five areas… of sorts. Ah, I don’t remember their names.”

“Come back tomorrow, too.” Sweetie said. 

It was those words that made Lyra realize that the sun wasn’t so bright behind her closed eyes anymore, and that the warmth around them had gone away a little. “Oh, I have to go!”

She sprung up, which subsequently made the lily pad fall over, and Sweetie fell into the water while Lyra desperately clung onto the stem of a flower.

“Sweetie! I- I’m sorry-” The water that splashed onto Lyra’s face was cold as she scanned the unwavering water.

“I’m okay!” A muffled voice said, after a few seconds pause.

~

Lyra came back again, and again, and again. Today was a school day, so she ended up taking her homework to the glade to do.

“What is that?” Sweetie glanced hesitantly at the white sheet of paper.

“It’s my math homework.” Lyra explained.

“Like, adding numbers?” Sweetie asked. She was inside the water, only her head bobbing out as she looked up at Lyra.

“Slightly more complex.” Lyra said, looking down at the equations involving inequalities as she tapped her pencil against the rock.

“Let me see!” Sweetie suddenly hopped out of the water in one leap and grabbed the paper from Lyra.

“Sweetie, no-”

Of course, the paper was already dripping wet. 

“Sweetie!” Lyra almost snapped.

“What?” Sweetie glanced up at her innocently.

“You got it wet.”

Sweetie looked down at the paper in her hand. It’s pretty much beyond rescue.

“Now I can’t write on it or hand it in, and it will probably break.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Sweetie looked so genuinely upset that Lyra suddenly couldn’t muster up any anger. “Is it important?”

“Yes.” Lyra said.

“Why?”

“Because I have to hand it in, tomorrow morning.”

“Hand it in? To who and why?” Sweetie blinked so innocently. It made Lyra’s words get stuck inside her throat.

“I should probably solve this right now. I’ll be back.” Lyra said instead.

“Lyra, wait!”

She hopped on the lily pads and stumbled out of the glade.

~

Lyra ran straight past Chamonix, and headed for the bridge that led to Cubecraft City. The streets were busy at this hour, filled with chatter.

Her destination was Raina’s house. Raina, her best friend who always left her homework until right before the night completely falls. She’ll definitely be able to help.

Raina also lived right next to Cubecraft Academy, which meant that she could wake up two minutes before she had to leave and still always be on time. Right now, though, it meant that Lyra had to travel a tiring distance on foot, as it was located in the heart of the city.

Move to Chamonix already! Lyra thought when she arrived at the bottom of the building. Oh, today these stairs will be the end of her!

She clung onto the railing - the cleanliness of which is highly questionable, as her eyes focused on the white, shiny surface of the stairs, trying not to faint.

She knocked on Raina’s door at last.

The door was silent for a while before the finally burst open, and Lyra came face-to-face with Raina’s sapphire-colored eyes and fuzzy, electricity-filled yellow hair. “Lyra! You’ve finally come to visit!”

Lyra stepped inside the door of the home that she’d been inside so many times. Judging by the singular pair of yellow sneakers by the door, Raina’s mom is not here today.

“Do you have your homework?” Lyra asked. The request was a little embarrassing… luckily it’s Raina. “I need to photocopy it.”

Raina faked a huge gasp, her eyebrows going up to the sky as her eyes widened like an ocean. “LYRA LOST HER HOMEWORK??? I thought that was my job!!”

“No!! My friend got it wet, that’s all.” Lyra said. “Uhh… really wet.”

“Really wet.” Raina repeated. A glint of mischief sparkled in her eyes, one that Lyra didn’t get but knew that she didn’t want to hear about.

“Oh please…” Lyra said.

“Perhaps that friendship should be ENDED and your friend should be ROASTED like turkey!”

Actual drool was dripping down Raina’s lips.

Raina was not this… unhinged… usually. She must have been in a really good mood today.

“She’s a frog, I love frogs.” Lyra defended herself as she made her way to Raina’s room.

Raina knelt beside her desk and shuffled through some things, her voice came out muffled as her head was buried inside the shelf. “Your friend is a frog?”

“She’s a frog princess… she’s pretty much my size and my age. Her name is Sweetie.” Sweet feelings began to flow from Lyra’s heart as she mentioned her name.

Raina fished out a somewhat-crumpled piece of paper and looked back up at her.

“We just got that homework today!” Lyra pretended to be exasperated. Raina was always so messy!

Raina laughed and tried her best to smooth out the paper’s edges, before bringing it to the photocopy machine on the balcony.

“So is she a frog or a human?” 

“She’s a frog who can turn into a human.”

“You idiot, Lyra! Frogs can’t turn into humans.”

“Anything is possible. The House of Lapine has rabbit ears on their heads.” 

“Yeah, but they can’t turn into actual rabbits!”

Lyra shook her head. “What about in Velt, with dragons breathing fire and candy syrup?”

“CANDY SYRUP???” Raina’s eyes lit up with sparkles as a trail of drool ran down her lips again.

“Maybe you should eat.”

“Maybe you should stop imagining things!”

Lyra felt the first slight stream of real frustration inside. “You sound like my mom!”

A pause, as Raina handed her the new copy of her homework. “I’m sorry.” She rubbed the top of Lyra’s head. “I would love to have my own fairytale companion too!”

She’s not a fairytale… Lyra thought as she handed the homework over.

“I love you so much, but you wouldn’t understand.”

Raina tilted her head. “Maybe you should take me to meet her.”

“That’s a great idea! I should ask first.”

~

When Lyra got back to the pond, the sun was much lower in the sky. Lyra wasn’t going to risk getting her homework wet again, so she carefully hid it behind a rock on the side of the pond before stepping in again.

“Sweetie?” She called. The frog princess was missing right now.

A moment paused before a muffled voice finally answered from underwater. “Hi again, Lyra. You left so suddenly.”

“I’m sorry.” Lyra said. “I’m just really-” worried about my schoolwork-

“I should be sorry. I didn’t know how important your… homework… was, or that it doesn’t work anymore after being wet.” Sweetie said. “Here, I have it back for you.”

Sweetie handed Lyra the original copy of her homework back.

Completely. Dry.

Lyra blinked. 

But how could that be possible? It was clearly wet enough that Lyra had judged it totally unsalvageable earlier… even if Sweetie had left it out in the sun to dry, the process should have left in the paper the unique texture that was permanent evidence that it had once been soaked.

And yet, her homework was like when Lyra had just got it. The inequalities on the page did not bleed nor spread.

Had she misremembered somehow?

Lyra took her homework from Sweetie.

“Lyra?” Sweetie studied her face.

I can’t believe I ran to Cubecraft City for nothing. Wow.

“Hey, would you want to meet my best friend?” Lyra said, after a three-second silence.

Sweetie paused too, her facial expression changing just a little bit. “Wait, I’m not your best friend?”

Genuine hurt seemed to rise from Sweetie’s eyes. Lyra’s heart suddenly broke in a million pieces. 

“That’s not what I meant! Of course you are-” I love you, but Raina and I have been together since third grade- “That’s not what I meant either, what I meant to say is-”

“Hmph!” Sweetie crossed her arms as she cut her off. “In order to pay me back for saying that, I want to hear another story!”

Lyra sighed. I guess they’ll never be able to meet.

“What do you want to hear about?” Lyra sat down on a lily pad.

“How about the nine houses this time?” Sweetie thought for a moment before saying.

“Ah… well, we can start with the House of Caroling, they are the oldest clan in the land…”

“Which clan are you from?” 

“None of them… but anyways, the House of Caroling-”

“Oh, but I thought every Cubecraft person was from a clan!”

“Sweetie, are you not familiar with anything outside this forest at all?”

“Continue, continue! What were you going to say about the House of Caroling?!”

~

Lyra always wanted to see Sweetie. The frog princess was beautiful, charming, innocent, and did annoy her very occasionally, but it was the kind of annoyance that made Lyra love her so much more.

She couldn’t, though. Sometimes she had other obligations, sometimes Haven caught her and made her stay home.

And still, she continued to visit her at least twice a week. She told her about the world - about Cubecraft, other districts, Archiva, the hunger games, herself, her family and her friends, anything that Sweetie ever asked for. Most of their meetups included them glancing up at the sunlight or the clouds or the stars while talking and trying not to fall asleep.

Summer came without stopping, just like the current of time. Haven’s bakery suddenly got a lot busier as tourists from other districts increased in the season, so it occupied quite a bit of Lyra’s time.

~

“What’s summer like?” Sweetie asked, one heated afternoon in August.

Sweetie was similar-aged, there was no way that she didn’t live through the last summer.

“Sweetie, how long have you been alive?” 

Usually, the frog princess changed topics rapidly when Lyra asked any sort of personal question. She was expecting the same right now, but Sweetie paused for a moment first.

“Alive… what is alive?”

A cold breeze suddenly came through the air. Lyra shifted a little.

“Like…”

Sweetie was giving Lyra an existential crisis. 

“Conscious.” Lyra tried. “Aware that you’re existing.”

Sweetie blinked, shaking her head.

“Do you remember anything that happened last summer? A year ago?”

“How long is a year?”

“A year is 365 or 366 days… it’s a little over 52 weeks, I think.”

Sweetie only blinked again.

“The last time that it was as hot as this, with the days being the longest.” Lyra tried again.

“Maybe… I can recall that happening a little…” Sweetie said at long last. “But it was a really long time ago.”

“Okay.” Lyra said unsteadily. That didn’t answer the question. Sweetie was a magical being, though. Perhaps she has been here since the beginning of time… wherever that is.

“I’m just glad that I’m here with you now, Lyra.” Sweetie said.

“Me too.” Lyra found herself saying, as she looked into the strawberry-colored eyes that she had already looked into so many other times.

“Tell me more.”

~

September came again, and so did school.

Lyra had decided, with Raina, that they would be meeting each other in the courtyard of Cubecraft Academy, beneath the willow tree, when they last saw each other a month ago.

But now, as she waited for the day to officially start, Raina was nowhere to be seen.

It’s cloudy today. The morning left a streak of dew among the green grass, as the sound of the fountain a little further away blended in with the chatter of the students.

Cubecraft Academy is quite a big school… it does have to attend to the needs of all of the kids in the city. Except for the rich kids whose parents sent them to Marseille instead. 

There are even kids who fly in every morning, who live quite far away.

Lyra wasn’t good friends with any of them though, except Raina.

Raina, are you really going to miss the first day of school? Lyra sighed as she leaned back against the willow tree.

“Oh, hello, my fellow lonely girl.” 

The voice startled Lyra so much that she almost jumped, but she pressed herself to the tree instead.

“Why, are you also bathing in the glory of the morning sunlight?”

Lyra finally dared to look behind her. On the other side of the tree, a girl of similar age is also leaning against it. Her bright purple hair was long and messy.

Those clothes… she wore a beautiful robe of sorts, decorated with cherry blossoms. 

“I know you, you’re Mel!” Lyra recognized her finally.

Mel was from the same grade as her, and they were classmates last year. She was famous and popular in the school, because last school year she saved the school from a group of thieves.

“Oh, you know me? Oh uh- I- I’m sorry.” Suddenly she sounded a lot more quiet and a lot less confident.

“Hi, Mel.” Lyra lowered her voice too, aware of how startling her previous words must have been. “I’m Lyra.”

“Hi… Lyra.” Mel said. “I’m trying to make new friends this year. You know… trying to act more confident.”

Lyra laughed. “It’s not even sunny right now.”

“What…?” Mel also turned around. The two girls’ eyes met. Mint green against teal.

“You said, ‘glory of the morning sunlight’.” 

“Oh… uwah! Stop paying attention to all the details!”

~

Raina did not come to school the next day either.

Or the day afterwards. 

The day after that, there was no school. Haven was away for the day to Marseille for a baking contest, so Lyra was left to worry herself alone in her house.

She walked to Sweetie’s pond as usual on that day - a day where the autumn chill had finally caught up, even if only for a moment. It took her longer than usual to find the pond - she kept getting lost in places that she should have long ago stopped getting lost in.

“Hi, Lyra!!” 

Lyra found herself staring half-heartedly at her frog friend. Something felt wrong, although she didn’t know what.

“Hi, Sweetie.” Lyra said.

She shook her head. The sun was still shining, and her friend was still here. There is nothing to worry about. 

“I want to learn about the magic at Wynn!” Sweetie declared.

“Oh, but I know next to nothing about that.” Lyra sat down upon a huge lily pad.

“Lyra! You can’t mention a magical district to me and then not tell me anything about it!” Sweetie said playfully.

“There are books at the school library, about Wynn.” Lyra said, after some thought. “I can borrow one, and we can read it together next time.”

“Okay!” Sweetie beamed. “It’s a promise.”

~

When Monday came around again, Raina still wasn’t at school. At least that was what Lyra had thought in the morning, because she ended up waiting for class to begin all by herself, yet again.

Mel was a kind person, but she doesn’t seem to stop by the courtyard very much.

At lunch, Lyra ate by herself, missing the sometimes ridiculous conversations Raina would usually start up. Mel was sitting across the hall - also by herself. Her purple hair was eye-catching. 

Maybe I should try to talk to her. 

Lyra started to walk toward her, but changed her mind at the last second, and headed for the school library instead.

The library was quiet at this hour - it was always quiet, but right now there’s fewer students than usual. Lyra circled around to the nonfiction section, and looked for books that talked specifically about the districts, and then Wynn. 

Those books were so boring, though. Lyra did not want to read them, and she was pretty sure that Sweetie wouldn’t want to hear that either.

In the end, she decided to head over to the fiction section, looking for storybooks taking place in Wynn instead.

Lyra was no stranger to the familiar wooden shelves of the Cubecraft Academy library. Some of her favorite writers of all time are Desiderata of Archiva District, Aurelia, from Quintessence, Yakimochi, who lived in Kohi in his lifetime, and Stradella, whom no one knows the whereabouts of.

Still, each of those authors probably have a thousand works, so one of them probably wrote about Wynn, or at least talked about it in a story.

I hope Yakimochi did! That will surely make Sweetie laugh. Although it would be great if I find something by Stradella, I’m just not sure if we’ll have enough time to cry afterwards or fully absorb-

The thought was cut off by a fuzzy yellow-haired girl passing in front of Lyra. Lyra’s eyes widened. “Raina!”

Lyra ran through the shelves and caught up with Raina. Today, Raina was walking next to a purple-haired girl… a different shade than Mel’s, and longer, but not by much.

“Raina!” Lyra tapped Raina on the back.

“Wha- oh hi, Lyra, you scared me.” Raina said. Underneath the dimmer lights of the library, her blue eyes seemed less blue than usual.

The purple-haired girl turned around too - her eyes were an icy orange, if that was even possible. A completely different vibe than the one that Mel gives off.

“You scared me by not showing up to school for three days in a row!” Lyra said. She wanted to give Raina a hug, but the purple-haired girl’s icy gaze stopped her. I’ll save it for later.

“I was here this morning.” Raina said. 

“You… didn’t come to see me.”

“I was showing Cantarella around our school!” Raina’s eyes looked toward the purple-haired girl next to her. “Her family doesn’t settle down in a single place, but she’s going to be staying in Cubecraft District and attending our school for the next year.”

“Hi,” Cantarella said. 

Her voice is so icy too. A little deep for a girl who was probably also twelve years old.

“Hi, I’m Lyra.” Lyra said, and then felt the need to emphasize, “Raina’s best friend.”

Even so, somewhere far away in her stomach, a cold feeling seemed to have settled down.

“What about the first two days of school? You missed the introductions and icebreakers and everything.” Lyra said after a couple seconds of awkward silence.

“We were still traveling!” Raina answered. “Me and Cantarella met because mom and I went on vacation to Wynn, and her family was there too! We flew home together on dragons! It was such an adventure, was it not?” She looked to Cantarella again.

Cantarella nodded her head, agreeing in a cool voice. “Yeah.”

“Dragons… isn’t that Velt?” Lyra shook her head. “Never mind that. When did you go on this vacation?”

“Uhh… we left three, four weeks ago?” Raina squinted her eyes until her sapphire eyes were a slit. “The vacation was only two weeks long.”

“And you didn’t tell me that you'd be leaving?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I-”

The bell suddenly rang, and within seconds the quiet library began to grow with noise as students hurried to get up and get to their next class.

“We’ll talk later.” Lyra said, giving Raina a wave as she slipped through to leave.

~

It started to rain in the afternoon, and the next time Lyra saw Raina, it was after school let out for the day. She was walking off toward the distance with Cantarella. 

Even underneath the umbrella she was sharing with her, Lyra could still make out her best friend’s fuzzy yellow hair.

They were not walking in the direction of Raina’s house, but rather the opposite one. They must be walking to wherever Cantarella lives right now.

Lyra suddenly really didn’t like the purple-haired girl. Not that she was that friendly to begin with.

~

Sitting in her house by herself was making Lyra miserable. She tried to finish her homework - it really wasn’t that much work - but she kept getting distracted by the sound of rain hitting the roof. Haven was working late today - the bakery must be busy right now, with its warm lights and pink decorations that shield others from the rain.

Although, even if she was home, she probably wouldn’t be able to help Lyra feel better.

In the end, Lyra decided to find Sweetie once more.

It took a while for Lyra to navigate through the wet and miserable forest, but once she did, she discovered that the pond was completely sunny. 

Lyra blinked to the shining sun ahead. 

“Lyra!” Sweetie jumped out of the water, the droplets on her lime green frog beanie shining against the sunlight. “Did you bring the book about Wynn?”

The… ugh, Lyra had completely forgotten to borrow it!

Thinking about it now brought back memories she didn’t like, from the library. 

“I’m sorry, Sweetie, I didn’t…”

“But… you promised…”

Lyra shook her head. “Today, will you just sit with me for a bit? I’m not feeling well.”

Sweetie’s eyes softened.

That’s not to say that they weren’t soft before, but a different look has entered them. Calm, warm, and magical.

“I will give you a hug first.” She said, after blinking.

And then she hugged Lyra. She felt like a soft pillow, somewhat. Lyra wanted to sink into her.

“Thank you, Sweetie…” I love you… the words didn’t come out, but Lyra meant them in every life.

~

Things did not get better as the days went on, with Raina.

For one thing, she completely forgot about meeting Lyra in the mornings. Lyra tried waiting for her by the gate once, but she was so absorbed in conversing with Cantarella that she didn’t even see her.

She also started sitting with Cantarella at lunch, all the way on the other side of the cafeteria, away from where they usually sat by the windows.

Lyra tried to join them once, even though everything inside her was telling her not to. The entire time, they talked about Wynn. Raina asked about Lyra’s thoughts once, but she obviously didn’t have any, since she didn’t even know what they were talking about…

The next day, they were surrounded by even more students, including Mel. Lyra guessed that talking to her wasn’t an option now either.

~

Lyra stayed alone for two miserable months. At first, she had begun to pray for a year to pass as fast as possible, and for Cantarella to go back to where she came from. Eventually, though, she realized there was no point. 

The exchange-student-from-who-knows-where was also incredibly popular with everyone in the school, even the teachers. It turns out she can write poems and sing and paint prettier rainforests than everyone else in the class.

At least, that’s what Miss Minato said when she glanced over Cantarella’s shoulders during the rainforest painting project. She insisted on showing it to the entire class over the projector, in fact.

“Look at the beautiful streaks! Look at the reflections in the pond!” Miss Minato had gushed as she pushed the painting into sight.

Lyra had looked down at her own painting… it also had a pond in it. Sweetie suggested that she paint it after Lyra told her about the project. It didn’t look bad… but clearly nowhere as perfect as Cantarella’s was.

The rest of the class was getting awestruck, but Lyra just felt like throwing up.

~

In mid-November, the first snow fell. It wasn’t much - there was just enough of white on the ground for it to be a layer.

School is ending, and Lyra put her coat on to get ready for trudging home in the first hint of winter.

“Hey, Lyra.”

Lyra turned to see Raina, standing there. The reckless girl still had what was basically summer clothes on.

“Wanna walk home together? Canta’s not here today, so…”

Lyra frowned for a moment. Of course… she wanted to touch Raina’s fuzzy hair again! 

And yet, those words got in her throat and were swallowed back down.

How could this girl just appear now after not speaking to her for two months?

In fact, how dare she only think of Lyra on the day that her stupid, completely flawless friend from who-knows-where is not here?

Never mind the fact that they became friends after two weeks!

“No!” Lyra said, and attempted to walk away.

“Lyra, wait!” Raina caught her by the arm. 

“I thought we’re not friends anymore.” Lyra said through gritted teeth.

“Why…?” Raina’s voice was quiet.

“How could you be so… so… clueless?” Lyra turned to cry out, as she shook away Raina’s hand.

“What? I’m not!” Raina’s expression became disbelief.

“How dare you forget about me completely after two weeks of meeting someone?”

“Cantarella is new here, so they assigned me to welcome her! She doesn’t know anyone!”

“Is that a reason to not talk to me for two months?”

“Her family moves every single year, she never has any friends. Do you know how hard it is for her-”

“I don’t care! Stop talking about Cantarella. Think about how miserable I am…” tears threatened to rush out of Lyra’s eyes.

A crowd had gathered around them, students looking to take pleasure out of her misery.

“Oh wow, everyone, pity little Lyra!!” Raina said in a mocking tone. “Well, you’ll be fine, you have your little imaginary friend after all!”

“She’s. NOT. IMAGINARY!!”

“WELL, THEN SHE SHOULD BE ABLE TO KEEP YOU COMPANY, shouldn’t she?!”

“RAINA, I HATE YOU!”

For once, there seemed to be genuine shock on Raina’s face. 

Before Raina can say anything back, Lyra burst through the hallway and aimed for the exit.

~

Lyra was still crying when she arrived at the pond as usual. Even the sunlight didn’t make her feel better.

“Lyra…?” Sweetie’s voice was comforting, but it made Lyra cry more.

When Lyra looked up, she was walking towards her. She looked a little different, but Lyra couldn’t grasp as to how.

“What’s wrong, why are you crying?” Sweetie said.

Her voice was so gentle…

“Sweetie, I lost my best friend… today.”

“Why…?” 

Lyra’s eyes met Sweetie’s.

She started talking about it, from the beginning, to what happened earlier.

“Oh…” Sweetie said, when Lyra finally had no more words to say.

Lyra looked down at the floor instead. It seemed to flash white… must be the tears.

“I know something that can cheer you up, Lyra.” Sweetie said. Footsteps indicated that she was walking toward the pond.

“Nothing will.” Lyra called after her.

“Just watch! And wipe away the tears, they’ll get in the way.”

Sweetie doesn’t sound like herself today, but Lyra was happy to obey. 

Sweetie stopped on the center rock, and turned back to wave at Lyra, who gave a tired wave back as she focused on wiping away her tears.

To Lyra’s surprise, Sweetie began to sing.

Her voice was soft, warm, and beautiful. Lyra couldn’t even describe it, or come close to describe it. 

Sweetie had sung with Lyra before as a joke, badly. But clearly, the real Sweetie was capable of singing in a magnificent way.

Now that Lyra was thinking about it… she couldn’t understand what Sweetie was saying. It seemed like it was a forgotten story, from a long time ago. Another planet, perhaps. Another time, in which everything was filled with a sweet scent of home.

Various other frogs began popping out of the water, and landing on the lily pads, one by one, until there were a crowd of them, in a fan shape facing Lyra. They were all lime green, cute, and they began filling the harmonies with their own voices.

The pond glowed in the afternoon sunlight, and Lyra listened until the song came to a climax. Sweetie’s voice could go so high, but it still retained its magnificence.

At the end, the frog singers backed up one by one until it was just Sweetie again, ending on a note that emphasized the sweetness of the song.

“Sweetie…” Lyra called.

She was in such a hurry to hug her that she misstepped, and fell into the pond.

“Whenever you feel sad again, ever, in this life, just remember- Lyra???” Sweetie’s voice faded to a panic as she scrambled to attempt to fish Lyra out of the pond.

“I’m okay!” Thanks to you.

~

The next day was cold and unbearable. It snowed even more. 

Lyra avoided Raina all together and focused on not looking at anyone. She hung onto the song, and made it through the school day. 

She couldn’t wait to see Sweetie again and feel happy with her around.

Lyra came to the forest right after school. The usual path had no light, and Lyra thought she might freeze over underneath the cold.

It took her so long to find the pond, that she was panicking that it had disappeared.

But it felt different today. For one thing, the sun was glowing orange even though it should still be mid-afternoon. And it was still cold.

“Sweetie?” Lyra tried to keep her teeth from clattering.

Silence.

And then, “hi, Lyra.”

Sweetie emerged from the water.

She’s faded. She doesn’t look as lively as before.

“Sweetie, you look a little off.” Lyra said. An unsettling feeling was settling inside her.

“Lyra, there’s something that I have to tell you.”

“What?”

“Today is my last day… I have to… go back.”

“What do you mean?!?” Lyra felt her voice tremble.

“I’m not real. When the winter comes around, we have to disappear.” Sweetie said.

“No!” Lyra tried to hug Sweetie, but her arms went right through her and touched only themselves. “What… you can’t!!”

“I have to go back to fairytale land… essentially.”

“But you’re not a fairytale!” Lyra was crying now. 

“I am, that’s the first thing that I said to you.” Sweetie offered a bitter smile. There were tears rolling down her cheeks, too. “The frog princess from fairytale land, I said.”

“Please, I can’t lose you too…” Lyra fell to the ground. Despair threatened to overwhelm her like a dark storm cloud.

“I don’t have time left… I’ve been holding out and waiting for you.” Sweetie knelt down and said. Her voice was gentle, even as she struggled with the tears in her eyes. “Good night, Lyra.”

“Sweetie, please…” Lyra looked up to see Sweetie looking at her. Her figure was see-through now.

“Lyra,” Sweetie’s voice was fading too. “I love you.”

When Lyra looked up again, white snowflakes were falling from a bleak sky, and she was kneeling on snow. 

There was nothing in the glade, with the exception of Sweetie’s frog beanie, which now sat in front of her.

Lyra cried and cried until her tears were frozen.

~

Lyra was sick the next day. And then she got better, but she pretended to be sick anyways, so that she wouldn't have to go to school. 

She couldn’t look at the outside without thinking of the miserable cold.

“We should call a doctor.” Haven decided.

“No need.” Lyra, who was already not sick anymore, said.

The next day, her “cold” magically cured itself and she went to school.

She drifted through all of her classes, unable to feel anything. She watched the calendar and counted the days until spring, and the very thought that it would be at least March until the weather gets warm again made her feel an unbearable weight down her chest.

~

The third day, she came face-to-face with Raina and Cantarella, who were holding hands, and were also holding hands with three other classmates.

Even though it was “face-to-face”, she didn’t notice them until she practically already bumped into them. 

She looked up, the situation not registering itself in her head, even as she met Raina’s gaze.

Raina blinked at her. “Lyra?”

Lyra blinked back and walked around her.

“Lyra?” 

It was the cooler voice. Cantarella.

“Are you okay?”

Lyra looked back at her, shook her head, and walked away.

From behind her, she could hear Cantarella saying, “you should check on her.”

Raina’s reply was too faded to hear. 

But Raina wouldn’t understand. Nobody would.

Lyra avoided them from then on.

~

“Lyra!”

The voice was Kanon. She was still radiating like sunlight, even though it was the midst of winter.

“Hi, Kanon.” Lyra looked down at her.

“You’ve been looking sad recently.” Kanon said.

Lyra shook her head and managed a smile. “I’m okay.”

“But you’re not talking to anyone in the village anymore, and you’re not going to the forest anymore.” Kanon pointed out. Her finger, red from the cold, pointed to the snow-covered forest.

“Oh…” Lyra said. “It’s just because of the cold.”

“The winter?” Kanon tilted her head.

It was all because of trying to retrieve Kanon’s kite, that Lyra had met Sweetie in the first place. She couldn’t bring herself to blame the village sunshine though, she was grateful they met, and only wished, more than anything else, that they could stay together for life.

For life… 

Lyra felt tears threatening to come down. She turned away from Kanon to hide it.

“Yeah, the winter.”

“There’s a word for what you’re feeling right now.” Kanon said after a couple of seconds of silence.

“I don’t want to hear it!” Lyra ran, and called behind her. The snow became covered in her rapid footprints.

~

“Did you hear…? Leader Charlotte is visiting today.”

Lyra looked up to see Mel standing over her.

“Really?” Lyra asked, but she was mostly happy that someone had come to talk to her.

Mel squinted her eyes. “Hmm, you’re Lyra, aren’t you?”

Lyra nodded her head, a little stunned.

“Good…!” Mel bounded away.

Had she really forgotten Lyra’s name? 

~

Lyra got a few glances of the pink-haired leader, chatting with teachers in the hallways. That was it, though. 

Most of the other students had admired the leader from afar, too scared to talk to her, as well.

She was sitting in art class with Miss Minato later, attempting to paint a night sky, when it happened.

“Everyone, look at Cantarella’s design!” Miss Minato squealed as she put the piece of paper underneath the projector. It was a lovely purple gradient, from almost black to almost orange, that filled the paper, dotted with stars.

Lyra couldn’t look at it without feeling the urge to throw up, so she didn’t.

Of course, Raina was the one squealing the loudest. “Canta, you’re amazing!”

Lyra should be glad that this was the only class they shared. (aside from physical education, ugh.)

Cantarella laughed as she took her paper back and started walking back to her seat. Her other hand was carrying an inkwell containing purple ink.

Lyra looked down, trying to keep her negative feelings inside.

Cantarella walked directly behind Lyra, and paused. What?! Lyra snapped as she sat up straight.

Then something hard fell on top of her, to the floor, and shattered everywhere. It was wet. 

The ink! Lyra realized, as gasps from her classmates sounded around the room. It’s streaming down her hair. Cantarella must have dropped it on her on purpose. This… stupid…

All of the misery from the past few months came flowing back, threatening a breakdown. Lyra stood up and hit Cantarella on the back. Hard.

Cantarella flinched, and then turned around to look at her. “Hey!”

“Lyra!!” Raina shouted first, her voice full of fury.

“Lyra!” Miss Minato said. 

The reality of what she did was beginning to hit her. “She’s the one who dropped the ink on me on purpose!”

“I dropped it by accident!” Cantarella rebuked.

“Lyra, we do not hit people in this school. Go to the office!”

Of course Miss Minato would favor Cantarella. 

Lyra walked away, feeling more dread than anything else now. She was always a good student, how could this have happened…?

~

Lyra sat in the office for a while, looking at Principal Kasey, who was taking phone calls from Miss Minato on the incident that occurred.

“Yes, alright.” Kasey said into the phone, after a long, gruesome phone call. “Can you have Cantarella come down, too?”

Then she finally hung up.

Lyra sighed and stared at the floor, because she could feel Kasey looking at her.

A minute later, Cantarella appeared. She closed the glass door behind her and sat on the opposite side of the room as Lyra.

“Mind telling me about what happened?” Kasey asked once Cantarella sat down.

Before either of them could start to speak - not that they wanted to - the door opened again. It was Leader Charlotte.

“What’s going on here?” Charlotte asked.

“There is no need to worry.” Kasey said. “Students get into fights all the time.”

“Not that often, I thought.” Charlotte said. “Anyways, what happened between them?”

“Well, according to Minato, Lyra had hit Cantarella on the back after Cantarella dropped an inkwell on her, but I’m waiting for these students to recap it themselves.”

“But you’re right.” Cantarella said. “It’s just that I did not drop the inkwell on purpose.”

“Yes you did.” Lyra said.

“Why would I? I don’t have anything against you, Lyra.”

How could anyone believe that? Lyra was about to say something, before realizing that she had nothing to say.

Because she couldn’t remember anything Cantarella had done that made it clear that she had something against her.

“It was just an inkwell, why did you snap?”

Lyra looked up into Charlotte’s eyes to find them piercing her. To make matters worse, they somewhat resembled Sweetie’s.

Lyra couldn’t answer that question.

“It’s because she has something against me.” Cantarella finally answered.

“That’s not true.” Lyra said.

“I can understand that, but it’s not my fault. You should pin it on Raina, if anything, but she’s - genuinely - just trying to be a good welcome buddy.” Cantarella said.

“Who’s Raina?” Charlotte interjected. Her voice was even and professional.

“Let’s not bring other students into this.” Kasey said. “The truth of the matter is that this happened, and personally, I’m willing to believe Cantarella on the inkwell being an accident.”

Lyra was about to object, when Charlotte interjected first. “I would like for Lyra to be expelled from Cubecraft Academy.”

What?

Before Lyra could process her shock, Kasey stood up. “No, my leader! At most, this is worth a day of in-school suspension.”

“I can see something in Lyra.” Charlotte said instead. “Will you please trust me on this?”

Kasey blinked at her, and then blinked at Lyra. “If you must.” She finally said.

“Thank you.” Charlotte said.

Lyra could only blink in despair. What will her mother think once she finds out she’s been expelled?

“I would like for you to get your things, and come with me to the castle after the visit ends. I’ll tell you your punishment then.” Charlotte said.

Getting expelled wasn’t enough?

~

By the end of the day, everyone knew that Lyra got expelled. Cantarella sure did a great job not keeping what happened at the office private.

Even people who have never talked to Lyra once in their lives came up to give their… uh… condolences.

“Lyra, I’ll miss you.” Mel said.

You literally forgot my name this morning. Lyra tried her best to say thank you in an appreciative way.

“Lyra. Someday. We meet again.” The speaker was a humanoid frog. 

Who are you?! Lyra’s head was dizzy. This frog was certainly not anything like Sweetie…

She glanced toward a little further away, underneath a tree. Raina was standing there. Of course she wouldn’t have anything to say to Lyra… she’s probably just waiting for Cantarella. Once again, like every day.

“Let’s go.” Charlotte tapped Lyra on the back. 

The two walked through the courtyard, which suddenly became quiet. 

“The leader is punishing her herself!” Lyra heard whispers. “Oooh, this is going to be juicy!”

Charlotte turned toward the direction of the whisper, and they shut up. “Whatever ‘punishment’ you think I’ll administer, you sure won’t be there to see it.” She said, before leading Lyra away.

The moment they were finally away, Lyra spoke. “What are you planning to do?”

“I’m thinking about making you a Royal Guard.” Charlotte said. “But you have to drop out of school first.”

A… Royal… 

Lyra blinked.

“And you also have to be thirteen years old. When is your birthday?” Charlotte asked.

“January.” Lyra answered. “The 23rd.”

“Good… until then, your punishment will be confinement in the castle.” Charlotte decided.

“What will you tell my mother?” Lyra felt fear at the thought of Haven knowing everything.

“That you’ll be a Royal Guard. I’m sure she’ll be proud.” Charlotte said. “The treats from her bakery are quite good.”

“But why?” Lyra stopped walking. The city was flowing around them when Charlotte turned around.

“I just think there should be some more kindness on the team.” Charlotte answered. “Also, you look miserable. Being a Royal Guard might help.”

Lyra didn’t know the leader that well, but she saw something in her at that moment that was hard to describe.

~

“Hi everyone, this is Lyra.” Charlotte said to the row of castle staff. “Have her stay in the guest bedroom, treat her well.”

And then, her castle life began. Abruptly, without any warning.

~

The castle chef, Reesle, cooked the three meals of the day. Lyra learned of his amazing skills the very first morning of her castle confinement, when she had tasted his pancakes, alone, in the giant dining hall of the castle.

The dining hall consisted of a table so long it came straight out of a movie. The dark red wall was decorated with nothing except a giant portrait of a chocolate cake.

“If you need anything, feel free to ask us.” The maids in the corner had said. They looked like, and were probably, sisters.

Lyra thanked them. She was beginning to feel like she wasn’t really being punished at all, the only restriction was that she couldn’t leave the castle. But inside the castle, she could breathe, unlike her normal life of switching between home and school.

There was plenty to do inside the castle… Lyra started with the library.

It was really just a big room with books in it. A single librarian sat at the wooden desk, her bare feet up on the table, somehow in an elegant fashion. She was wearing the hat of a witch, and her magenta-colored hair flowed down beneath it.

“A visitor?” She looked up at Lyra, revealing her green eyes, as she took a sip of a cup of green tea that was steaming.

“I’m living here until January 23rd.” Lyra said.

“Why so specific?”

“I turn 13.”

“Ah, so she’s going to train you as a Royal Guard.” 

“Does that happen often?”

The librarian seemed to fall into thought, although only for a moment. “Yeah. She’ll sometimes meet someone worthy and ask them, and they usually accept. Never someone as young as you, though.” The librarian eyed Lyra closely.

“I guess it’s an honor. Can I read?”

“The books? They’re mostly pretty complicated, but sure.”

And so, Lyra spent the morning of her first day looking through the books. There were very few storybooks, to her disappointment. They were some history books, some nonfiction books about the world, but most of them seemed to be about the study of magic.

Still, she was able to find a few that she liked. 

She took a pause at noon, looking at the clock and wondering if Reesle would cook lunch. She decided to venture into the kitchen at the end.

“I’m serving the council today.” Reesle took a look at her and said. “Why don’t you join everyone and wait a little?”

The kitchen was connected to the dining room, so Lyra took a look. The table was filled with colorful people chattering, all Royal Guards, Lyra assumed. She gulped, and took a step back.

“Can I help you?” Lyra asked Reesle instead.

Reesle nodded. “I would really appreciate that. Why don’t you start by washing the light green vegetables on the counter over there?” He pointed with his one free hand, as his other was handling a pan.

“Okay.” Lyra said.

~

She actually liked working with Reesle. The castle chef had little words to say, except about his dishes, which were great. (He let Lyra take a bite of the tartiflette, it was AMAZING.)

“It’s done! Let’s bring it to everyone together.”

Lyra carried the tartiflette, with Reesle following behind her, carrying a bigger dish that contained chicken.

“Lunch!” A high-pitched voice squealed out, and everyone turned. 

“Potatoes.” Someone else commented, and the table erupted in chatter.

“Wow, Reesle, is that your new apprentice?” 

Lyra recognized Deputy Bastien, sitting at one end of the table while Charlotte sat on the other.

“She’s a future Royal Guard.” Charlotte said.

“She’s awfully young.” A green-haired guard said.

“We don’t know that yet,” a purple-haired one said, referring to Charlotte’s comment. “We’ll have to see if she can pass training.”

“It’s not that difficult! Haven’t we all passed it?” The high-pitched girl who squealed out “lunch” earlier said.

“We shall see.” Charlotte waved everyone off.

“Come on.” Reesle called to Lyra, “let’s get all the dishes.”

~

Reesle, after carrying all of the dishes out along with Lyra, was invited to stay by Charlotte.

“No thank you.” He waved at her instead. “Enjoy the meal.” And then he whispered to Lyra. “You should, though. Get used to the environment, you know.”

Lyra followed his advice, despite her stomach telling her not to. Her stomach was right in that it was awkward. The Royal Guards seemed to be in a joking mood today, but Lyra still couldn’t understand any of the things they were joking about. Mostly, people didn’t pay her attention, though. 

She enjoyed the tartiflette in silence, sharing it with the outgoing, pink-haired guard with a high-pitched voice who had said “lunch” earlier.

“We should just make them get married!” The “lunch” guard abruptly called aloud, to someone else’s comment prior, which Lyra hadn’t paid any attention to.

“You can go marry both of them, Momo.” The purple-haired Royal Guard said.

~

Lyra’s plan was to go back to the library to read, but the Royal Guard named Momo followed her. “Are you going to the scary lady’s room?”

“The librarian?” Lyra blinked.

“You mean Tartiflette.” Momo said.

“No way that’s her name.”

“I think it’s nice that her mom gave her such a delicious name, because she’s quite scary.” Momo said.

Momo was probably older than Lyra, but not all-grown-up yet. She acted like she was, at least. Lyra appreciated having her around, but it turned out that she had to leave for the day. Some Royal Guard business. 

“You’ll see me at the council meeting on Sunday!” Momo had said.

“That wasn’t the council meeting at lunch?”

Momo laughed. “Of course not!”

~

Charlotte invited Lyra to sit in on the meetings, but Lyra was overwhelmed. There were so many Royal Guards. 

She did see Momo’s bright short, pink hair again, though. Momo sat next to the purple-haired guard named Amethyst, who was a lot older and embedded her hair with purple gems.

~

“When you start training, you’ll get a mentor.” Momo came to the castle again on January 1st. 

“A mentor?” Charlotte, and the other guards, had mentioned it plenty of times, but Lyra didn’t understand much.

“An older guard who will teach you everything!” Momo said. 

“How long is training?” Lyra asked.

“Anywhere from a month to half a year, depending on when your mentor thinks you’re ready.”

That’s a long time… 

“Anyways, I hope I get to be your mentor. I’m sure Charly sees how much I like you at this point!” Momo’s expression flashed a happy smile. 

“Who was yours?” Lyra asked.

“Mine was Amethyst! She’s really kind.” Momo turned around. “By the way, do you want to come to see the new year’s fireworks with me?”

“I can’t leave the castle.” Lyra sighed. She was disappointed, for the first time in a while.

“Let’s ask Charly! She’s not unreasonable.”

~

Charlotte did let her leave the castle - just for this night, though. “Momo, you’re in charge of her. If she runs away, I’m blaming you.” Charlotte said, in a good-natured way as she winked.

Lyra liked the leader, and she was more and more thankful that she had chosen her to become a Royal Guard. 

The castle was not suffocating, like home. Lyra even had a friend here.

A friend who she was grateful for now, as they paraded the night city together. Looking up toward the sky, for fireworks the color of rainbows.

Lyra didn’t know Momo that well yet, but she knew that if she worked hard and passed her training, they would have lots of time together.

~

“We’re having a visitor today.” Charlotte woke Lyra up. 

This was the first time that Lyra had ever been woken up by the leader. She glanced at the window outside - the sky wasn’t even bright yet.

“I would like for you to meet her. Consider this an early start to your training.”

Then Charlotte closed the door and left the light on, leaving Lyra to sit up by herself.

~

“What kind of visitor are we having?” Lyra was alone at breakfast, taking a bite out of the steak tartare that Reesle had cooked for breakfast.

“A member of the Quintessential Five, from Quintessence District.” The aforementioned Reesle replied. “Farica.”

“Is she a deputy?”

“She’s a member of the Quintessential Five - the five rulers who each oversee one of Quintessence’s regions. She oversees Crescent.”

Lyra doesn’t know too much about the faraway district, except for what she had learned in school so far.

“Charlotte wants me to make something nice. Want to help?”

~

After helping Reesle make food, Lyra waited by the grand staircase of the castle for the mysterious visitor. 

She did appear as mysterious as one can be - with short purple hair and a single strand of gold, and glowing amber eyes that reminded Lyra of a cat. Even the way she walked was of someone with authority.

“Welcome to the castle.” Lyra called.

Farica eyed her. “I’m just here to see Tartiflette.”

“I’ll take you to the book room.” Lyra said.

That was interesting. So the visitor from Quintessence was not here to see Charlotte after all.

Looking around, Charlotte’s presence was nowhere to be found. Maybe she had purposefully hidden so that Farica could get to her destination as quickly as possible.

Lyra led Farica into the room, with Tartiflette sitting at the desk and sipping tea, as always. 

“Hi, Farica!” Tartiflette knew her, from this tone of voice.

“Hi, Tartiflette.” Farica said. 

Lyra felt like that was her cue to leave, but she stopped short at the door when Farica said the next sentence.

“I’ve been conducting a research on fairytales.”

“Fairytales?”

Lyra felt her heart skip a beat. She ducked out of the doorway, her eyes widening at the floor. 

“Yes. After one had appeared on the grounds of Crescent, I stayed to talk to it during a patrol. I roped some valuable information out of it, but it was gone the second it snowed.”

Tartiflette made a noise that seemed to indicate she was listening.

“But it’s unlikely that it’s gone forever. I concluded that there was indeed, power to bring it back. It’s a power similar to the Lostflower.”

The Lostflower? That was the treasure capable of reviving someone from the dead. 

The next Lostflower Trial will be held on the 225th year… it’s a really long time from now.

Still, Lyra seemed to suddenly miss Sweetie more than anything else. Nothing could ever replace her sweetness or cheerfulness, or the nights they spent stargazing and storytelling, or the beautiful song Sweetie had sung to cheer her up…

It was the day before she disappeared…

“I was hoping you would have some clues on how to uncover this power.”

The setting of a teacup sounded as Tartiflette spoke. “I don’t believe in bringing people back from the dead.”

“It wasn’t real.” Farica said simply. “And I do not want to practice it. My pursuit of it is knowledge only, because I know how dangerous it is. I condemn it, in fact. Anything of that kind.”

“Good.” Tartiflette said. “You can flip around in the magic books if you’d like. You’ll probably find something valuable.”

As the room became quiet behind Lyra, an idea popped up in her mind.

Could she bring Sweetie back?

She turned around, the idea brewing in her mind. She didn’t know anything about magic, but she could learn! One day, she’ll stand beside Sweetie again, and tell her stories again. She’ll finally borrow that book about Wynn and they’ll be able to see the world together…

Her heart ached at the thoughts.

Lyra wanted to get started on it now! But the library was occupied, for now, by Farica… and she would probably get suspicious.

Lyra could sneak out and go to the public library… but what if she was caught?

Not that the stay-inside-the-castle policy was ever strictly enforced, but it could start to be! Lyra could lose all of the trustworthiness she’d built up and maybe even her chance to become a Royal Guard.

That would be terrible.

In the end, Lyra decided to wait, until Farica leaves.

~

She was sitting by the staircase, staring off into the void and thinking about Sweetie, when the silent footsteps approached from behind her.

“Lyra, is it?”

It was Farica. The ruler from the Quintessential Five seemed to have just finished browsing the books.

“Hi.” Lyra said, waving at her.

“That’s a cute frog beanie you have.” Farica pointed to the top of Lyra’s head.

Lyra had been wearing it ever since Sweetie left it behind. “Thank you.” 

“In Quintessence, some people can see the future.” Farica said, abruptly.

Lyra was confused as to why she was bringing this up now.

“And I can see… well, they’re not very clear, but I can see two kinds of possibilities in you. There’s one where you’re helping countless people and doing things for a good cause, and there’s one where some kind of darkness has consumed you, where you seem to be doing endless experiments to accomplish something that should only be kept as a sweet memory.”

Lyra was stunned. How is she seeing all of that? 

“It seems like my visions haven’t failed, then.” Farica walked until she was in front of Lyra, and then she turned around. “So, Lyra, will you pick the right one?”

~

“It is my pleasure to announce the naming of a new Royal-Guard-in-training.” Charlotte announced. 

As it was January 23rd, Charlotte had ordered Reesle to make a grand, white-and-lime-green cake, decorated with pink gumball-like candy. It is now filled with thirteen candles, already lit up.

Lyra was staring at it now, waiting for Charlotte to continue speaking. 

Many of the Royal Guards were gathered around the table at this time, invited to also share the moment.

“Lyra, do you accept the responsibilities of a Royal-Guard-in-training?”

“Yes, I do!” Lyra called.

“Then I assign you your mentor. From now on until whenever she sees fit, your training will be conducted by Amethyst, Royal Guard from the House of Mignon.”

The purple-haired guard closed her eyes and smiled. Lyra smiled back, even though she couldn’t see. Lyra was happy with her choice, even though it wasn’t Momo.

“Not fair, Charly!” Momo faked a pout.

Charlotte rolled her eyes. “Alright Lyra, make a wish!”

Lyra stared at the cake, and the lit candles. The maids turned off the light in the dining room, so the only light was the faint glow. I wish…

Well, I think everything is going okay right now, actually.

Lyra smiled and blew the candles out.

~

Amethyst started training by teaching Lyra the rules, a bunch of house politics, and major town names along with prominent people.

“I have to memorize this?” Lyra was shocked at the amount of words written on the sheets.

“And take a test on them.” Amethyst said. “Everyone has had to do it, though, you’ll be fine.”

~

“It wasn’t me, but I’m really glad that it was Amethyst.” Momo had said. “We’ll be sisters by mentor!”

“Has Amethyst mentored any other Royal Guards?” Lyra asked.

“Yes, but she quit.” Momo looked down, sadly. “But it’s okay. Nectarine will always be our sister.”

“Nectarine.” Lyra reflected on the name.

“Your confinement is lifted, we can go see her.” Momo said. “As a part of a sister-bonding trip!”

~

Nectarine was an artist who lived by a lake, near Cubecraft City but not in either of the towns. She had short, peach-colored hair, and orange eyes.

“We can help you with the training.” Nectarine’s voice was soft and pretty.

“Yeah! Like all the fighting stuff.”

“I think Amethyst might never let me go on to that if I don’t memorize all the members of the clans.” Lyra said as she looked around at Nectarine’s sculptures - most of which were nature-related, but there was one of a human too. One with long, pretty hair. It resembled Amethyst.

“Then let’s memorize all the members of the clans!” Momo squealed delightfully. 

Lyra was not as enthusiastic about memorization, but she smiled. For the moment, she was truly happy.

~

“Ninety-five. Pretty good.” Amethyst said as she finished grading Lyra’s clans test.

“Momo and Nectarine have been helping me.” Lyra said. 

“I’m glad you met them.” Amethyst said. “I think it’s time to start on some of the fighting stuff too.”

Lyra tried to hide her glimmering excitement. 

“First of all, you’ll have to pick a weapon that you like…”

Lyra ended up choosing a small-looking white blade that she liked the looks of.

“Good choice. Now you must spar.” 

Now Lyra wasn’t so keen on the idea anymore.

~

Over the course of a month, Lyra got really good at “the art of stabby-stab”, as Momo had called it. 

Nectarine pretty much retired from fighting, and Momo was most proficient with her pink bow, so Amethyst was teaching most of the techniques to Lyra.

She took Lyra out at night to the sea to fight a bunch of Drowned - real targets! It was really scary for Lyra at first, but she soon discovered that all the Drowned were pretty slow and stupid.

The trip mostly made Lyra learn more about Amethyst. The way her eyes glinted in the dark made Lyra realize that she really, really appreciated her mentor.

“I think you might be ready for the test soon.”

Sweetie, I hope you’re seeing this! I’m going to be a Royal Guard…

~

“The test is to fight Charlotte herself?” Lyra was stunned once again.

“Wow, unfair! I didn’t even get that trial.” Momo feigned anger.

“I don’t think that happens normally.” Nectarine commented.

The four of them were sitting in Nectarine’s house, drinking peach-flavored milk, because Nectarine didn’t seem to drink anything else.

“Well, she’d have to be an incredibly difficult foe to fight.” Amethyst said. “Let’s figure out her weaknesses.”

In the end, they couldn’t find any that were physical or visible to the eye.

“I think you’ll just have to practice more and hope for the best.” Momo gulped.

~

The trial was held a little more than exactly a month after Lyra’s training began. The stakes were high, because it was held right at the heart of the city, and the spectators were many.

“Please stay safe.” Haven had said, before Lyra carried her blade to get up on the stage.

Lyra had moved back home after her confinement ended, so she was seeing her mother again. “Of course I will!”

When Lyra got up to the stage, Charlotte whispered in her ear. “You should tell them a little about yourself.”

What is this? Am I back in school again? 

Lyra swallowed a little. She was at least facing an audience of five hundred!

Still, once the words come out, they become easier. “I’m Lyra, today is my trial. If I can pass it, I’ll become your newest Royal Guard.”

An audience member shouted, “from what house?”

“I’m not affiliated with any of them.” Lyra said.

“What are the rules?” Another audience member asked.

“The first to pin the other to the floor wins.” Charlotte took over the microphone.

Lyra glanced at the leader who’d given her so much. Today will be the day that determines it all…

She recalled and summoned all of the training that Amethyst had given her, through her kind words and sparkling eyes. The comfortable atmosphere of Nectarine’s home, and Momo’s encouraging squeals. 

And then, right behind them, Sweetie’s smile and cheerful tones that she would never forget.

~

“You were so cool up there!” Momo squealed, bounding up to the stage afterwards. “Welcome, officially, to the rank of the Amethyst sisters!”

“She would still be an Amethyst sister even if she didn’t pass.” Nectarine said quietly.

“I’m proud of you.” Amethyst said, at the end. “Royal Guard Lyra.”

Looking up at her mentor with a smile, Lyra spotted another familiar face… yellow, fuzzy… 

It’s Raina. 

Lyra suddenly had an urge to hide, but she knew she should be strong, more than anything else.

“Hi, Lyra.” Raina waved at her. “Congratulations…!”

Lyra nodded her head, but she was still wary of her.

“Um… I’m just… really sorry for what happened before.”

Lyra’s eyes softened. 

“I shouldn’t have neglected you, I’m really sorry.”

“Apology accepted.” Lyra decided. And gave her best friend a hug.

~~~

“I’m going to resign.”

It was an early winter day, years later, when she said it. 

Charlotte’s sudden announcement shocked the council into silence.

“You can’t!” Wild, from the House of Egmont, said.

“You can’t leave…” Worlden followed up with their own tearful statement.

“Well, it’s been sixteen years of doing this.” Charlotte sighed as she stood up.

Suddenly, Lyra realized how tired she looked. 

“Wait, if you leave now-” Lyra started to speak.

“You’ll die.” Amethyst finished. Straightforward, if anything.

“I think I’ve lived a good life.” Charlotte said. “I’ll be handing over you guys to the new leader soon.”

“Who’s running for leader?” Deputy Bastien asked.

“Durante and Sena, both from the Lapine Clan.” Charlotte said. “Whoever wins, I’m sure that Cubecraft District will be in good hands.”

Cubecraft… District.

Lyra straightened out the frog beanie on her head as she watched her leader’s tired expression.

~

By the balcony of the castle, the girl with the frog beanie stood with her purple-haired friend on one side and her pink-haired friend on the other. They gazed down along with the line of the rest of the Royal Guards, at the young new leader being led into the castle by Charlotte.

“I sure hope she does a good job.” Amethyst whispered.

They all knew what was going to happen once Charlotte led Sena to the basement. 

Still, this was something that had to happen, because change was a part of everything. There has to be a new leader, there has to be new Royal Guards. Sweetie had to leave, because she had to go back home.

Lyra touched the frog beanie on her head, feeling ready to protect Cubecraft, even in another era.